Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai
Chapter three: Big trouble in Little Oreburgh
The workers in the Oreburgh Mine were scrambling to keep up with fighting off the criminals calling themselves Team Rocket. Those villains, consisting of a blue haired guy, a red haired girl with her hair in a long curve, and surprisingly a talking Meowth, were causing a lot of trouble for the workers. At this rate, the workers feared that Team Rocket was going to make off with the Skull and Armor Fossils that a senior worker in the mine found.
After Jessie's Seviper knocked away a worker's Machop, the Team Rocket girl laughed as she boasted, "That ought to be the last of what you guys can do!"
"You'll never get away with this, you fiends!" one younger male worker in the mine swore.
"Oh?" James said as his Cacnea stood there next to him, "And who exactly is there left to-"
"Albedo, use Fury Cutter on Cacnea! Akiza, use Extrasensory on Seviper! Chi-Chi, use Mach Punch on Meowth!"
Team Rocket barely finished hearing all of that before Meowth saw a fist in his face before it struck him between his eyes, hard, and sent him flying back into the nearest obstacle, which was one of the mining carts. Similarly, a Gligar swiped at Cacnea and made it cry out in pain, and Seviper began to writhe in pain as a psychic energy surrounded its head and caused it harm. Jessie and James looked in the direction of where the attacks had come from.
To their surprise, a female worker, Roark the Oreburgh City gym leader, and Dawn who is the girl that Team Rocket recognized as the one who foiled their one attempt to steal Ash's Pikachu a while ago were all standing there, with a Roselia standing next to the girl as a Monferno and the Gligar landed back near her. "Hey, it's that girl who stopped us from stealing the twerp's Pikachu a while ago!" Jessie called out as she pointed right Dawn, "What are you doing here, little girl?"
Dawn, remembering from her previous life how Team Rocket in the anime worked, simply said, "I came here to help stop you criminal jerks from stealing the fossils that were found!"
Meowth barely picked himself back up after he got hit in the face by Chi-Chi's Mach Punch. "Ow," Meowth moaned in pain after getting back to his feet, "Hey, what was that for?"
"One, how are you even able to talk?" Dawn replied, remembering that this was the first time that she in this world had heard and seen Meowth talk so she had to play along, "And two, you're a Pokémon with the villains trying to steal the fossils, so that makes you fair game to attack!"
"One right back at you," James began, "Meowth's ability to talk is a long story to explain, and two right back at you, Meowth is generally off limits from being attacked unless he attacks first!"
"You guys are literally criminals who are not only trying to steal Pokémon fossils that were found here in the mine, but you've also attacked workers here in the mine unprovoked," Roark scolded, "Why expect us to play by any of your rules?"
As Meowth was still more or less out of it, James and Jessie ordered their Pokémon to go on the offensive. However Seviper was flinching, and Cacnea was still reeling a bit from that Fury Cutter hit. Jessie even sent her Dustox out to try to even the playing field.
As far as Dawn was concerned, that meant her Pokémon didn't have to share targets. "Albedo, use Fury Cutter on Cacnea again!" Dawn ordered, "Chi-Chi, use Flame Wheel on Dustox! Akiza, use Extrasensory on Seviper again!" Dawn's Pokémon all used their attacks, rushing Team Rocket's Pokémon and hitting all of them hard. Cacnea, Seviper, and Dustox were all taken out in quick order.
As Team Rocket recalled their fainted Pokémon, they saw that they were in a tight spot. To make matters worse for them, Ash and Brock came running into the mine at that point. "So Team Rocket is here!" Ash exclaimed, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Piiiiikaaaaachuuuuu!"
...
From outside of the mine, one could see a blast of dust escape from the entrance of the mine as Team Rocket, with James holding the still hurt Meowth, flew out of the mine and into the sky, disappearing into the horizon with a twinkle as they said, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" As Team Rocket flew away, Roark ran out of the mine, followed by the female worker that came with him, a few of the male workers already in the mine, Dawn, Ash, and Brock.
Turning to look at Ash, Dawn said in a dry tone, "Smooth move. We could have apprehended those criminals if you didn't send them flying like that."
Chuckling a bit in embarrassment, Ash said, "Heh, sorry. It's just sort of force of habit for me at this point to get rid of Team Rocket like that."
As the people outside the mine nonetheless celebrated having dealt with Team Rocket, an older male worker came out of the mine. "One of the lads told me that a girl who came to the mine with Roark helped defeat those criminals," the older worker said, "Is that true?"
Turning to face the older worker, Roark said while gesturing to Dawn, "Yeah, you're looking for Dawn right here."
The older worker turned to look directly at Dawn. Smiling appreciatively, the older worker said, "Thank you, young lady. Those criminals almost stole the Skull and Armor Fossils that I had found."
"Oh, so you're the worker I heard found those fossils," Dawn replied, "Either way, you're welcome."
The older worker looked down at where Chi-Chi, Akiza, and Albedo were gathered near Dawn. "Those are some impressive Pokémon, young lady," the older worker remarked, "No wonder you were able to deal with those villainous jokers calling themselves Team Rocket." The older worker had a look of contemplation on his face before he turned to look at Roark. "Hey Roark, I'd like to clear with you my idea of how I can properly thank the young lady here."
Roark looked a bit curious at that. "What is it, Chon?"
Gesturing to Dawn, the now named Chon said to Roark, "I'd like it if she could be given one of the fossils I found. After all, she did help save them from being stolen. The reason I ask you is because fossils found in the mine here generally have to be run by you first."
Dawn and the others looked surprised, even Roark. "Well, technically me and the fossil research team at the museum here in Oreburgh City," Roark pointed out, then added with a small smile, "But I bet that they'd have no problem with it, especially when we inform them that Dawn is the reason why the fossils weren't stolen by criminal thieves." Turning to look at Dawn, Roark went on, "What do you say, Dawn? If you do accept one of the fossils, it will be revived by the fossil research team at the museum into a Pokémon for you."
This was not something that Dawn was expecting, especially since in her previous life, the ability to get fossils wasn't available until reaching the Grand Underground, which wasn't until around the time that the second badge was obtained. This was something that Dawn was going to attribute to anime logic. She knew which fossil revived into what, and knew what she wanted to pick, but she had to play dumb since, as far as most people here in her new life would know, she had no idea.
"Could you give me an idea as to which Pokémon I could expect?" Dawn asked.
"Certainly," Roark replied with a smile, "The Armor Fossil can be revived into a Pokémon called Shieldon." Roark took out a small guide book and flipped it open to a page that had a picture of Shieldon on it. "This is what Shieldon looks like," Roark explained, "And as for the Skull Fossil, it can be revived into a Cranidos, like what I used in our battle earlier."
"Oh, she battled you, Roark?" Chon remarked, looking surprised.
Chuckling a bit in embarrassment, Roark admitted, "Yeah, and she got me good. All of my Pokémon are at the Center right now being treated." Pointing Ash out to Chon, Roark went on, "I'm going to be battling Ash here later this evening after my Pokémon are treated."
Chon gave an amused laugh. "Well I'll be! Roark's a tough rock to crack, young lady. You ought to be proud of your win!"
Dawn gave a single nod. "Thank you, sir." Turning to Roark, Dawn asked, "Anyway, which fossil did you say can be revived into Cranidos? Because I'm interested in that one. After seeing you use one in our battle earlier, I'd like to get a Cranidos of my own." Dawn remembered, in her previous life, that since she played the Pearl versions primarily, she was stuck with Shieldon and Bastiodon as they were the exclusive fossils to the Pearl versions; she had to do some play throughs of the Diamond versions to get Cranidos and Rampardos.
Roark let out an amused laugh, indicating that hearing Dawn express interest in raising a Cranidos of her own helped to restore his spirits that were dampened earlier. "Then Chon will be giving you the Skull Fossil that he found. We can get the fossil research team at the museum to revive it for you as soon as we get the fossils over there."
"Wow, congratulations Dawn!" Ash remarked, "You're going to get a Cranidos!" The rest of the folks there all laughed in amusement as they took the fossils over to the fossil research team over at the museum, with Dawn recalling her Pokémon that she had out first before going.
After the fossils were taken to the museum in Oreburgh City, Roark made arrangements with the fossil research team to have the Skull Fossil revived into a Pokémon. "We'll have it ready by around seven this evening," the female lab worker at the museum said, "So you can try checking back in by sometime after Roark has his battle with the boy in the hat."
Dawn nodded in thanks. After that, Dawn left the fossil research team be, expressing an interest in looking at what all was on display in the museum as a whole. Dawn was surprised to find that she was amazed by what all was on display here in the Oreburgh City museum, and ended up getting lost in thought as she looked around. It was as Dawn looked around that she was met up by Brock, who came in looking like he was looking for someone.
With that being the case, as he made a beeline for Dawn upon spotting her. "Hey Dawn," Brock began, "Roark is ready to accept Ash's challenge for the Coal Badge. Would you be interested in coming to watch?"
Dawn, hearing what Brock said, turned to look at a clock on the wall, and was surprised to find that it was about a quarter past six. "Holy geez, I lost track of the time!" Dawn exclaimed, "I just got so caught up at looking at everything here in the museum. It all looks amazing." Calming down a bit, Dawn said, "Yeah, I'd love to come watch and cheer Ash on." Dawn proceeded to follow Brock out of the Oreburgh City museum, and over to the Oreburgh City gym.
As she followed Brock, Dawn remembered in her previous life how Ash in the anime lost on his first try against Roark. Dawn had a bit of a dreading feeling for Ash's sake, feeling like she was going to watch him lose to Roark as things were more or less playing out like the anime. Still, she would be there for him nonetheless to cheer for him, as well as be there for him when he most likely loses on his first try against Roark.
To Dawn's utter surprise, Ash ended up winning on his first try against Roark. But hoo boy did Roark go down fighting.
First off, Roark had sent out his Onix first, saying that he doesn't always start battles off with the same Pokémon every time. Dawn remembered Roark explaining this in the anime in her previous life, but Roark had sent Cranidos out first against Ash there. To Dawn's further surprise, Ash sent a Buneary out first; she distinctly remembered that Ash had never caught one of those in the anime in her previous life.
Further surprising Dawn even more, Ash's Buneary used Ice Beam on Onix, striking it and even inflicting freeze on the Onix. Putting two and two together, Dawn realized that the Buneary that Ash had was the one that, in the anime in her previous life, anime!Dawn had caught. Buneary struck Onix with another Ice Beam, then after Onix got out of the freeze trapping him, struck Buneary with a Double Edge, hitting her but not knocking her out.
With Onix on the edge, Ash had Buneary strike Onix with a Dizzy Punch. Not very effective, but it did do enough to knock Onix out. When Ash praised Buneary for doing a good job while Pikachu also cheered, Buneary acted bashful under Pikachu's praise, further confirming for Dawn that Ash had caught the Buneary that anime!Dawn caught as that Buneary was always seen crushing on Ash's Pikachu. Dawn wondered if Ash somehow used Pikachu as a bargaining chip to convince Buneary to let him catch her.
Roark's next Pokémon was his Geodude, who rammed into Buneary with Rollout. Ash's Buneary used Ice Beam and hit Geodude, but it wasn't fully deterred. Another Rollout from Geodude knocked Buneary out, making Ash call her back and send in Turtwig. One Razor Leaf from Turtwig was all that was needed to defeat Geodude by that point. Roark called Geodude back and sent out the last of his three Pokémon, Cranidos.
Ash had Turtwig use Razor Leaf, which Roark countered by having Cranidos use Flamethrower, burning the leaves to a crisp. But Turtwig ran around the Flamethrower and, with Ash ordering it to use Bite, bit down on Cranidos's arm, causing some damage. Roark had Cranidos use Flamethrower again while Ash had Turtwig use Razor Leaf again, figuring that Cranidos couldn't avoid it at point blank range like that.
Cranidos was hit by Razor Leaf and Turtwig was hit by Flamethrower, so both Pokémon were hurt. But Turtwig was writhing a bit in pain, giving Roark an opening to finish Turtwig off with a Headbutt. Ash recalled his fainted Turtwig and sent out his Pikachu. Pikachu being fresh gave Ash a decent advantage here over Roark, as Cranidos was hurt and panting a bit. Regardless, Roark was going to give this battle his all, and called for Cranidos to use Flamethrower.
Ash had Pikachu counter with Thunderbolt, with the two attacks meeting and blowing up into one another. Through the smoke cloud that was kicked up, Ash had Pikachu run through as he told him to get in close to use Iron Tail. Cranidos was surprised when it saw Pikachu burst through the smoke cloud, his tail glowing. Pikachu then swung around and struck Cranidos in its right side with the Iron Tail, sending Cranidos reeling back until it hit the ground, defeated.
...
"Here's your Coal Badge, Ash," Roark said, handing Ash the first Sinnoh badge that the Kanto native had earned. "Oh, Dawn," Roark said as he turned to look at Dawn, "I got a call from the fossil research team at the museum. They told me that they have finished reviving the Skull Fossil for you." Giving Dawn a knowing smirk, Roark added, "You got a Cranidos waiting for you."
"So she's getting a Cranidos, huh?" Paul remarked indifferently; just like he did earlier when Dawn had battled Roark, Paul also came and watched the battle Ash had. Dawn remembered from her previous life that, in the anime, Paul expressed a poor opinion of Ash when he lost to Roark on the first try. Here, where Ash won on his first try against Roark instead, Paul gave a simple congrats that, in Dawn's opinion, was lukewarm at best.
"Hey Paul," Ash began, "Would you mind it if I came to watch your battle with Roark?"
Paul gave an indifferent 'hmph' in response. "Do as you wish. You'll only see a repeat of what you and the girl who nicknames her Pokémon were able to accomplish." Paul then left the Oreburgh City gym, with Roark telling him he'll be ready for their match at eight tomorrow morning. After Paul had left, Roark said that, after he drops his Pokémon off at the Center for treatment, he'll take everyone over to the museum so Dawn can get her Cranidos, with Ash saying he'll drop his Pokémon who had fought in the gym battle off at the Center as we!l.
Over at the museum, Dawn, with Ash, Brock, and Roark behind her, walked over to the Cranidos that the female lab worker said was hers. Looking down at the Cranidos, Dawn crouched down so she was more level with it. "Hello there, Cranidos," Dawn said in a friendly tone. She reached out to pet Cranidos on the side of its head, but it met her halfway by pushing its head right into the hand that Dawn was holding out while giving a happy cry.
Dawn smiled gently. "I guess you're happy to be in the modern world now, huh?" After getting the Cranidos's pokéball, Dawn scanned it with her pokédex and saw that it was male, had the jolly nature, and the Mold Breaker ability. "I'm going to name you Souji," Dawn said to her new Cranidos. After recalling the now named Souji to his ball, Dawn expressed interest in getting to work with her new Pokémon, saying that she had to send Albedo to Rowan's lab to make room in her party so she could collect her newest addition to the Pokémon she owned.
Given the late time, Dawn suggested that everyone turn in for the night. Dawn, as well as Ash and Brock, ended up crashing at the Pokémon Center for the night. The next morning, as Dawn had gotten ready to hit the road, Ash asked her if she was going to head over to the Oreburgh City gym to watch Paul battle for the Coal Badge. "That Paul guy seems a bit rude to me," Dawn explained in a conerned tone, "But he was there to watch your and my respective battles, Ash. I guess I'll come."
...
To Dawn's utter surprise, Paul ended up losing to Roark. Their battle went more or less the same as it did in the anime that Dawn remembered in her previous life, but Roark's Cranidos had evolved into Rampardos during the battle, and that gave Roark the edge that he needed to win. "You can try again later this evening after my Pokémon had a chance to be rested at the center," Roark offered, trying to sound like he was extending an olive branch.
Paul, clearly trying to hide how he was steamed, replied, "Oh, I won't stop trying until I win." Paul then turned around and left the gym, the vibes he was giving off making it clear that he was in no mood to talk to anyone. Even Ash got the picture to leave Paul be for now. All that Dawn and the boys could do was leave Paul be, although Dawn got some bad vibes about how exactly Paul was going to take this loss he had suffered.
Secretly, Dawn followed Paul, taking care to not be seen or noticed. Along the way, she saw Paul give away his Azumarill to the same kid who, in the anime in Dawn's previous life, he gave that very Pokémon to. She eventually shadowed Paul into a clearing, hiding in the bushes as she saw, to her shock, Paul release his Chimchar. She knew that Paul would eventually do so, as he did the same from what she remembered about the anime, but here and now, Paul was releasing his Chimchar way ahead of schedule.
"I can't believe you!" Paul scolded the Chimchar, "That was by far one of the most pathetic excuses for a performance that I ever saw out of any Pokémon I ever commanded! I can't believe that I had ever thought that you could amount to anything! You couldn't have even activate your Blaze ability properly! Get out of my sight!" Paul then promptly turned around and left, leaving the Chimchar sitting there to cry.
Upon seeing Paul's act of releasing and harshly berating Chimchar like that, Dawn wished that she could go up to Paul and tear him a new one; she never liked Paul, and his releasing of Chimchar here, aside from being ahead of schedule from what Dawn remembered, was arguably worse than it was in the anime in Dawn's previous life. But Dawn wanted to play things carefully, so after slipping her smartphone away, and making sure that the coast was clear, Dawn called Chi-Chi out and had her follow along to go out to Chimchar.
The now wild Chimchar looked up at Dawn with worry, but soon calmed down a bit when Dawn said, "I am sorry. I am so sorry that you had to go through that." Dawn then knelt down, scooped up the Chimchar, and held him against her chest like he was a small child, him sitting on her left forearm as she gently stroked the back of his head with her right hand. Chi-Chi, recognizing Chimchar as the younger member of the evolutionary line she herself was part of, also patted Chimchar on the back, acting like a comforting big sister.
After Chimchar had cried himself out, Dawn knew what she had to do.
...
"Paul did what?!"
Like he was in the anime as Dawn remembered in her previous life, Ash wasn't happy with Paul releasing Chimchar. But Ash's anger here was a bit stronger, especially since Dawn showed him and Brock the video she secretly recorded of Paul's act. "You know, this is evidence that could be used to get Paul in trouble with the Sinnoh Pokémon League," Brock remarked, disappointment clear in his tone, "It's clear cut evidence of him committing Pokémon abuse. That could very easily get him kicked out, blacklisted, and so on."
To the surprise of the boys, Dawn gently shook her head. "We'll need more evidence than this. Got to build a case first." Brock and especially Ash looked concerned, but both ultimately agreed. "In the meantime," Dawn said, sounding a bit business like, "There's something I'd like to discuss with Ash."
"Huh? Something you want to discuss with me?" Ash repeated.
Dawn nodded once in confirmation. "Yes. As you know, I already have Chi-Chi, so I'm not exactly hurting for a fire type Pokémon right now. I honestly can't give the Chimchar that Paul released the attention it needs, as much as I'd like to. That's where you come in." Dawn jerked a thumb to where Chimchar, his head resting in Chi-Chi's lap as they laid and sat respectively on the floor nearby, was fast asleep as his figurative big sis was watching over him.
"Would you be interested in taking Chimchar, Ash?"
Ash looked surprised by the offer, but then relaxed and looked over at where Chimchar rested with Chi-Chi. Dawn recalled how, in the anime, Ash took in Chimchar after Paul released him. Dawn was hoping that, since Paul released Chimchar ahead of schedule here, it would translate to Ash taking in Chimchar ahead of schedule as well. To Dawn's relief, Ash said that he'd gladly take in Chimchar, provided that he was willing to come with him.
After Chimchar was stirred from his nap, Dawn and Ash explained to him what was going on, and asked if he would be okay going with Ash. Chimchar could tell that Ash was a good person, and after looking a bit concerned for a bit, ultimately relaxed and indicated that he'd be okay with joining up with Ash. After the Kanto native took out a spare pokéball, he used it on Chimchar, who went into the pokéball and was caught by it.
"I still can't believe what a jerk Paul can be," Ash said bitterly, "Blaming his Pokémon like that."
"Well I'm sure he'll get what he has coming eventually," Dawn replied, "Anyway, take good care of Chimchar. He needs help getting over how he was treated under that sorry excuse for a trainer, so you got a lot of work ahead of you."
Ash gave Dawn a smile in response. "You can count on me. I always make sure to let my Pokémon know I care about them. Chimchar couldn't be in better hands." Ash's Pikachu gave a happy cry of agreement, indicating that he felt Ash was right.
"...You know, I started with a Chimchar," Dawn began, gesturing to Chi-Chi, "As you can tell by how I have a Monferno over here. That being said, I'm not exactly fond of seeing Chimchars being treated poorly like that."
"I hope you can gather more evidence against Paul," Brock said, "People like him don't deserve to work with Pokémon if you ask me."
Dawn nodded in agreement. "Well anyway, my work here in Oreburgh City is done, so I'm off to Floaroma Town."
Ash looked a bit surprised by Dawn leaving. "You're not going to stay to watch Paul's rematch with Roark in a few hours?"
"I got better things to do with my time than show any support to a sore loser who mistreats his Pokémon over his own incompetence," Dawn replied flatly in a mildly unamused tone, proceeding to take off after recalling Chi-Chi. Dawn waved Ash and Brock goodbye, telling her to let her know the next time they meet how Paul's rematch with Roark went. Dawn had a feeling that things might be ugly, and she didn't want to be around for it.
Regardless, Dawn was interested in going to Floaroma Town because that's where, in the games in her previous life, one first learned of honey trees, which can attract a number of different Pokémon if you apply honey to them. It would also get her closer towards the gym in Eterna City, where Dawn was intending to earn her second badge. Dawn also remembered that in the anime in her previous life, anime!Dawn entered a contest in Floaroma Town.
Dawn here had no intention of doing contests, but still wanted to check out the honey trees and see if she could nab a Pokémon that's attracted to the honey trees after applying honey to it. Dawn had remembered that one could even get a Munchlax if one was lucky enough, although Dawn wanted something else other than Munchlax. There was a specific honey tree catchable Pokémon who was on Dawn's list, and she hoped like hell she'll find it.
END, CHAPTER THREE
Author's notes;
This chapter shows that canon events in the anime will occur differently here in the story. The main examples in this chapter are Ash having caught the Buneary that anime!Dawn caught, Ash winning on his first try against Roark, Paul losing on his first try against Roark, and Paul releasing Chimchar way ahead of schedule which led to Ash getting that very Chimchar way ahead of schedule. There will be a lot of other changes here, but those are some examples.
Anyway, the next chapter will see Dawn in Floaroma Town to check out the honey trees. There, she'll run into other trainers her age, most of them from the kindergarten class anime!Dawn was in. One boy will be especially important, given what I have in mind for him. Take care.