Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai
Chapter seventeen: Steeled Resolve
The morning following Dawn and Kenny saving workers over on Iron Island, the two reborn trainers went back there so that they could do their training with their Pokémon in preparation for when the two of them have their respective goes at Byron at the Canalave City gym. As Dawn had Chi-Chi and Germany spar for a bit before heading out to battle random wild Pokémon, she was walking around her named Infernape and Gabite as she carried the Pokémon egg she received from Moinko after bringing Izashi home safely.
"Yes, Chi-Chi and Germany," Dawn said, "You guys are doing well."
Kenny, who came walking back over a ways followed along by Goofy and Zarbon, noticed how his friend was pacing around where her Pokémon were sparring. He also noticed that Dawn was holding her new Pokémon egg, and he was able to put two and two together. "Trying to get some steps in yourself, my main man?" Kenny asked, catching Dawn's attention.
Dawn stopped, looked over at Kenny. "...Well it wouldn't hurt to get in multiple goals as well," Dawn said as she walked over to Kenny. When she reached him, the two reborn trainers saw that Dawn's Pokémon egg started emitting a faint glow.
"Ooh!" Kenny remarked upon seeing the glowing come from the egg, "Could that be what I think it could be, Dawn?"
Dawn nodded along in agreement. "Yeah, I think that my egg is about to hatch really soon."
Clapping once before throwing his right hand into the air, Kenny cheered, "Aww yeah, this is going to be off the chain! What Pokémon do you think is going to hatch from the egg?"
Gently shaking her head as Chi-Chi and Germany came over to see, Dawn replied, "Given what all we've seen, who knows what will hatch from this egg?" The reborn trainer gently rubbed the side of the faintly glowing egg as she gave a gentle smile. "...But I have the feeling it'll be a wonderful new addition to my rotation of Pokémon that I have already."
Gesturing to Dawn, Kenny said, "Well you walking around with the egg while carrying it seems to be doing wonders, Dawn. You ought to keep it up." Dawn nodded in agreement as she had Chi-Chi and Germany go back to sparring with one another, resuming her walking around where her two named Pokémon were sparring.
There was more to Dawn having her Pokémon spar as she walked around them while carrying the egg she had than just to get more steps in towards the goal of getting the egg to hatch; Dawn was wanting to get Chi-Chi and Germany ready for when she used them in her bid for the Mine Badge over at the Canalave City gym. Germany especially so, as this training would help with getting him to the point that Dawn wanted him to reach.
...
A short while later, Kenny decided to set up the dining area for him, Dawn, and their Pokémon to all have lunch. He once again sprung for a curry cookout like in camping from the Sword and Shield games in his and Dawn's previous life. After getting the curry pot set up, however, Kenny stopped short when he heard Dawn cry out in surprise. Pulling out a big pocket knife whose size had made it more akin to a hunting knife, Kenny said, "Aww yeah, now I got an excuse to use violence!"
Kenny rushed over to where he heard Dawn cry out, then when he saw Dawn, Kenny raised his big pocket knife into the air and yelled, "Alright, you dumb bastards harassing my main man Dawn here! Come out with your hands-"
"Kenny, no one's harassing me," Dawn said, her back to Kenny.
Lowering his arm that held the pocket knife, Kenny asked, "Then why did you cry out?" Dawn turned around and saw Dawn's reason for crying out in her arms; the egg that Dawn had been gifted over in Canalave City had hatched into a Riolu. Kenny folded his pocket knife back up and jogged over to where Dawn stood, cradling her newly hatched Riolu. "Sweetness, Dawn," Kenny said as he looked at the newly hatched Riolu, "You got a Riolu here!"
Nodding, Dawn said, "Yeah. Anyway, let's head back to camp."
Back at the campsite that the reborn trainers had, Dawn took time to look at her Riolu's stats by scanning its pokéball with her pokédex. The Riolu is female, has a timid nature, and the Steadfast ability. After looking at that info, Dawn turned to look at her new Riolu. "I'm going to name her Leni."
"It's a girl Riolu?" Kenny asked, looking surprised. Dawn nodded in the affirmative as she reached into her bag, pulled out the Soothe Bell held item, and gave it to Leni to hold.
Gently ruffling the top of Leni's head, Dawn said, "Now I can begin her training."
"But we're literally sitting down to lunch, Dawn," Kenny pointed out, "You can train your Riolu after we're done eating."
Rolling her eyes, Dawn explained, "Building up friendship and affection is a big part of Leni's training, as I need to build up as much of that as possible with Leni to help her evolve."
Seeing what Dawn was getting at, Kenny said, "Ah, I see. Well you better get all buddy buddy with her if that's the case." Dawn nodded in agreement, and soon after that the two reborn trainers and their Pokémon began eating lunch. While eating lunch, Dawn carefully fed Leni, being gentle and friendly with her as if she were Dawn's child. Dawn held her right hand to the back of Leni's head as she carefully spoon fed her some of the curry, which Leni ate up quickly.
After everyone ate, it was back to training. Dawn recalled her Pokémon to go off to train by battling and defeating wild Pokémon, while Kenny remained at the camp site and had his Pokémon spar with one another. By later that afternoon, close to evening, Dawn came back and she and Kenny had dinner, letting their Pokémon relax before a bit more training. As they ate dinner, Kenny saw that Dawn was babying Leni again, being sweet and caring towards her.
"So how was the training against the wild Pokémon?" Kenny asked.
"I started off with Leni in every encounter," Dawn explained, "But immediately switched her out to send in one of my other Pokémon, usually Chi-Chi or Germany, to actually fight and defeat the wild Pokémon in question. I took out at least twenty wild Pokémon like this, with five of them being wild Steelix."
Holding a cup up to Dawn in a toast, Kenny said, "Mozel tov. Sounds like your Riolu ought to have gained a good few couple of levels in that fashion. But we can't forget that Infernape and Gabite are also pulling some considerable weight here."
Dawn nodded in agreement. "I'm wanting to do an especial amount of work on Germany, given that I want to get him to evolve as soon as I can manage it."
"If I recall correctly," Kenny said, "Gabite evolves into Garchomp." Arching a wry eyebrow at Dawn, Kenny asked, "Wanting to have a taste of the power that Champion Cynthia enjoys, do you?"
"Having a Pokémon like that would make things go more smoothly for me," Dawn pointed out. The two reborn trainers continued their dinner, with Dawn continuing to pamper Leni as much as she could. After eating, Dawn and Kenny got in some more training before camping out on Iron Island for the night, intending to get in some more training in the morning.
After waking up the following morning, Dawn and Kenny had a curry cookout breakfast, before Dawn went off to train by battling and defeating wild Pokémon again, leaving Kenny to have his own Pokémon spar at the camp site. That continued for a few hours before Kenny, after checking the time, saw that it would be a great time to break for lunch. As such, he recalled his Pokémon aside from Zarbon who was wearing a pink frilly cooking apron that said 'Kiss the Cook' which Zarbon had picked out at a store in Canalave City. Kenny's named Machamp served as his sous chef.
Kenny got the curry cooking station set up again, and he was using his big pocket knife to chop up some ingredients for the lunch time curry cookout. As he chopped up a carrot, Kenny stopped as he looked up into the air, a look of curious wonder on his face. "...Hey Zarbon," Kenny began, "How do you think Dawn's training with her Riolu is going?"
*VROOM*
*CRASH*
Kenny and Zarbon jumped a bit when an Aura Sphere flew into and crushed a nearby rock, breaking it into smaller chunks. Looking over, Kenny and his named Machamp saw a Lucario standing there, pulling its arms back after having cast its Aura Sphere attack. Dawn then came running up to where Kenny and Zarbon stood. "Sorry," Dawn said as she tried catching her breath, "If Leni gave you a fright just now. She was just eager to test out her new Aura Sphere attack that she learned after she evolved into Lucario."
"Your Riolu evolved into Lucario already?" Kenny asked.
"Riolu into Lucario is a friendship based evolution," Dawn said, "The curry cookout meals we've had, plus the Soothe Bell I had Leni hold, and a good bit of training, were all that was needed for Leni to evolve." Leni the Lucario nodded in agreement.
Looking around, Kenny said, "Well at least the dining area wasn't messed up. Anyway, let's eat lunch." Dawn nodded in agreement as she sat down at the dining table, with Leni sitting next to her. While eating, Dawn explained to Leni that now they were ready to move her away from the part of the training that had baby wheels attached, and that Leni will now be expected to be able to begin catching up to the big boys and big girls of Dawn's rotation.
Leni, happy to see that she was being viewed as if she were one of Dawn's more experienced Pokémon, held her hands up into the air and cheered, like a young child happy to be given a chance to show that she was becoming more grown up.
A few days later, Dawn and Kenny returned to Canalave City on the mainland of Sinnoh. "So I think that I'll be going with Zarbon, Roshi, and Goofy as my three against Byron ultimately," Kenny said, "How about you, Dawn?"
"I'm thinking Chi-Chi, Leni, and Germany," Dawn explained. As she and Kenny walked, they made their way over to the Canalave City gym. Upon arriving, they were met up by the gym's referee. "Sorry, but the gym leader Byron is a little busy at the moment," the referee explained.
As Dawn was about to ask what was going on, she and Kenny heard Ash call out, "Hey Dawn! Kenny!" The two reborn trainers turned around and saw Ash and Brock come walking over to them. "You guys just got here too?" Ash asked.
"Actually, we got here roughly a week ago," Kenny explained, "We've been doing a lot of training over on Iron Island."
Dawn nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, we came here to see what's going on with the Canalave City gym, as the both of us are ready to try to earn our sixth gym badges each." Gesturing to the referee, Dawn said, "This gentleman here however was telling us of some news that the gym leader Byron is a little busy at the moment."
The referee nodded in confirmation. "Indeed. Byron has his son, Roark the Oreburgh City gym leader, over because they're discussing some rather heavy topics."
"Heavy topics?" Brock asked out of concern as the door to the Canalave City gym opened from inside, "What do you mean by-"
"Oh, I remember you guys," the familiar voice of Roark called out, making the heroes all turn to see that Roark was standing there. The Orebugh City gym leader had a bit of a concerned look on his face. "...Maybe you all can help me explain something to my dad Byron," Roark said in a concerned tone, the air he was giving off making it clear that something bad had happened earlier, "Given what Dawn is doing to bring that cruel trainer to justice."
That clue made Dawn realize that Paul was behind something that had happened. "...If you don't mind my friends and I intruding, then sure," Dawn replied. Roark nodded in thanks as he gestured for the heroes to come on in to the Canalave City gym.
Inside of the gym, the heroes sat with Roark as they talked to his dad Byron, the leader of the Canalave City gym. The older gym leader had his arms folded over his chest as he sat there and listened to the story. "I still can't see how that Paul boy is as bad as you're saying," Byron replied, "I mean, sure he gave off an air suggesting he's a little rough around the edges, but I saw nothing really wrong with him in his brief time here where he defeated me and earned the Mine Badge fair and square."
"So he's got another badge now," Dawn heard Ash mutter under his breath, too quietly to be heard by Byron or Roark.
Sighing, Roark said, "That's all well and good, but you didn't see enough of that boy to know how much of a bad seed he really is. My Rampardos has barely just finished recovering from the brutal beat down he suffered when Paul rematched me for the Coal Badge. And need I tell you how far the damage Paul's battling had done to Maylene in their rematch?"
"There's also how there's multiple witnesses to Paul blaming Ash for their loss in the Hearthome Tag battle competition," Brock pointed out, "And a few people, myself included, saw Paul straight up threaten Ash. Oh, Dawn also has video evidence showing Paul committing Pokémon abuse."
Byron's eyes widened a bit in response to that. "...Did you say you have video proof that the Paul boy committed Pokémon abuse?" The tone of Byron's voice made it clear he didn't seem all that happy with the implications. At Roark's prompting, Dawn showed Byron the video of Paul releasing his Chimchar, harshly berate it for losing, then taking off. Byron leaned back in his seat after taking in what he had seen. It was clear that he was by no means amused.
"...If there is one thing I hate," Byron said, "It's trainers committing Pokémon abuse. That is not cool at all." Looking to his son, Byron went on, "You said that these trainers here were in the process of building a case against that Paul boy?"
Roark nodded in confirmation. "I did, yes."
Turning to look at the heroes, Byron remarked, "I hope you get everything you need to throw the book at that boy. People like him have no right to work with Pokémon. Not if that's the way he acts simply because he lost a battle." Arching a wry eyebrow, Byron went on, "But I can tell by how the lot of you are diligently pursuing justice here that you are noble trainers who care for Pokémon." Byron smirked in amusement. "I'm betting that some of you are here to challenge my gy-"
Byron was cut off when an alarm system went off. Everyone stood up from where they were all sitting. "That's the alarm system for the fossil room!" Byron exclaimed, "Someone's broken in! We need to hurry!" With Byron leading the way, everyone ran to go see what exactly was going on with the fossil room, although Dawn and Kenny, due to the knowledge they have thanks to their previous life, had a sinking suspicion on what could be up.
In the fossil room, everyone but Byron noticed that the room was empty of fossils while Byron was drawn to the perfectly round hole. "A hole this perfect must have been made by a machine," Byron said, "There's no way hand made efforts could make so perfectly round a hole!"
"Dad, your fossils are all missing," Roark pointed out dryly.
Getting up and looking around, Byron did indeed see that all of his fossils were missing. "You've got to be kidding me!" Everyone face palmed at Byron's obliviousness.
Going up to the hole, Kenny jumped in as he said, "Let's go down the Thieving Hole to round up some thieves!" Dawn and the others all jumped in after Kenny, intent on catching up to the thieves who were trying to make off with Byron's collection of fossils.
...
Team Rocket, with their new drill mecha, emerged in a clearing in some wooded area. "Woowee! We got a haul of fossils just now!" Jessie cheered, "The boss will shower us with praise after this!"
"Yeah, let's vamoose now," James said, "We don't wanna get-"
"Team Rocket!" Ash exclaimed as he came out of the hole, followed by the rest of the group.
Pointing dramatically at Team Rocket, Byron exclaimed, "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves! You should only dig holes by hand, not with machines!"
"Dad, these guys are the ones who stole your fossils," Roark pointed out dryly.
"No one who could have made so perfect a hole could be all that bad!" Byron declared.
Team Rocket, who looked a little confused, shrugged as Meowth said, "Actually yeah, we did just steal all of the fossils just now."
Byron, now infuriated, yelled, "Then I'll just get my fossils back from you thieves!" Tossing up a pokéball, Byron exclaimed, "I love Bastiodon!"
"Rampardos, I choose you!" Roark said as he sent in his freshly recovered Rampardos.
"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash said as he had Pikachu join in on the melee.
"Alright, Leni! Let's get goin'!" Dawn called out as she sent in her Lucario.
"Okay, Elay! Let's make it cringe!" Kenny cheered as he sent in his shiny Sandslash.
Team Rocket took a step back upon seeing Elay, remembering him as the shiny Sandshrew who had harassed them for a period of time a while ago. "Ahh! It's that annoying Sandslash!" Jessie cried in mild alarm, "The annoying twerp had caught it!"
Pointing at Team Rocket, Kenny accused, "You guys simply just don't know da wae!" Pointing skyward in dramatic fashion, Kenny said, "Elay, use Dig!"
"To the mech!" Meowth yelled as he, Jessie, and James all rushed into the mech and closed it shut behind them.
"Leni, use Psychic on the joints of the mech's arms!" Dawn ordered, "Try damaging them!"
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the mech!" Ash called out.
"Bastiodon, use Iron Head!" Byron ordered.
"Rampardos, use Head Smash!" Roark commanded.
Dawn's named Lucario had her eyes glow with psychic energy as that same energy surrounded the joints on the arms of Team Rocket's mech, crushing the joints on the mech's arm that held the bag containing Byron's fossil collection. After that, Pikachu's Thunderbolt struck the mech, but seemed to have done nothing. Even Elay bursting out from beneath the ground under the mech didn't do all that much, making the shiny Sandslash jump back to where his trainer stood.
"Aha, nice try, twerps!" Meowth called from within the mech, "But this baby's designed to withstand any Thunderbolts you can throw at us!" The mech under Meowth's control then began picking up chunks of earth and tossed them at Roark's Rampardos and Byron's Bastiodon.
Growling, Ash said, "Pikachu, knock those chunks down with Thunderbolt!"
"Leni, help out with knocking those chunks down by using Dark Pulse!" Dawn called out.
The two Pokémon cast their attacks at the chunks of earth, bolts of electricity and pulsing beams of dark aura, and destroyed the chunks, allowing Rampardos and Bastiodon to ram right into the side of the mech, leaving dents. Dawn then spotted a hole in the mech in the dent that Roark's Rampardos had made. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the mech again!" Ash commanded.
Another Thunderbolt from Pikachu flew at Team Rocket's mech, but did hardly anything; Dawn did see some sparks in the hole she spotted, and it gave her an idea. "What did Meowth just tell you, twerp?" James called out, "Our mech here is Thunderbolt proof! Although I'm not too sure about one or two more headbutting attacks."
Looking to his son, Byron said, "Well ain't this a good activity for us! Father and son fighting to stop criminals and take back what they had stolen!"
Roark smiled in response. "Well maybe after we get your fossils back, you'll be willing to hear me out for something I want to ask of you."
"Ah ha ha! I'll be glad to hear it, son!" Byron barked in amused laughter.
"We ought to focus on stopping Team Rocket and getting your fossils back, sir," Dawn remarked then added as she turned to look at the mech, "And I have an idea on how to stop them!" Pointing at the mech, Dawn said, "Leni, see that hole in the one dent on the mech?" After her named Lucario nodded in confirmation, Dawn said, "I want you to try opening it up a bit more! Burst it open with Flash Cannon!"
Leni threw her hands forward as if casting a ki beam, making her Flash Cannon fly right for Team Rocket's mech and bursting open a hole in the hull where Rampardos had attacked earlier. Ash saw the exposed insides, and got an idea. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on that big hole in the side of the mech that's just been opened up!"
"Piiiiikaaaaachuuuuu!"
The Thunderbolt struck true, and the mech was blown up, sending Team Rocket blasting off again. After Team Rocket was gone, the heroes went over to the dropped bag of fossils. Byron opened the bag and dug through it, sighing in relief before pulling out a small wooden box. Opening it, Byron revealed a small fossilized leaf nestled on a small cusion inside.
"This is a fossilized Sunkern leaf," Byron explained to the heroes, "Roark when he was a little kid found it while digging in the mines. It was the first fossil he ever found, and he gave it to me while expressing pride over how he had finally become more like me." Closing the wooden box, Bryon said, "It's the most prized fossil I own."
Smiling, Roark said, "Then maybe you'll be willing to hear me out?"
"Ah yes, your request," Byron replied, "What is it?"
"Your and mom's anniversary is coming up," Roark pointed out, "It'd be nice if you came back to Oreburgh City for the date."
Clapping his hands to the sides of his head, Byron with a freaked out look on his face exclaimed, "Oh, thanks for reminding me, Roark! I had almost forgotten! I can't miss going back home for me and your mom's anniversary! I mean seriously! I love your mom!"
Smiling, Roark replied, "Well I'm glad to see that I don't have to argue with or try to convince you. I mean you can get caught up in mining more than me." Gesturing to the heroes, Roark said, "But you and mom's anniversary isn't until the end of this week. You have a solid five days to get back home to Oreburgh City, so you have some time to accept challenges from Ash, Dawn, and Kenny here."
"Ah yes! Gym challengers!" Byron declared, "Hoo boy, battles with them will make for excellent stories to tell your mom about when I get back home for our anniversary!" Looking to the trainers, Byron said, "You'll have to give me until tomorrow morning, as my Bastiodon needs time to rest after having fought off those thieves. But I'll be able to squeeze in at least two challenges tomorrow!"
The heroes agreed, and after helping Byron and Roark get the fossil collection back to the fossil room, they took off to rest their own Pokémon over at the Pokémon Center.
Over at the Canalave City Pokémon Center, Ash and Brock were talking to Dawn and Kenny about how they had just dealt with Team Rocket, as well as help Roark and Byron out with some family stuff. Then Ash's expression took on a more concerned shade. "...I still can't believe that Paul is pulling on ahead," Ash said, "It's like he's not going to get what he has coming to him."
"We still need to gather some evidence," Dawn explained, "But with what we got so far, the case has some legging to stand on already. Now we just need to solidify the case." Dawn saw Kenny reach for his pocket that his pocket knife was in like he was going to pull it out, but Dawn stopped him by placing her hand on his shoulder and pushing down gently. Looking to Ash, Dawn asked, "So Ash, do you have any plans for when you face Byron?"
Leaning back, Ash replied, "Well I know he has a Bastiodon. And he's a steel Pokémon user." Looking to Dawn and Kenny, Ash said, "I'm thinking Gliscor, Floatzel, and Monferno." Giving Dawn and Kenny a curious look, Ash asked, "What about you guys?"
Dawn and Kenny then told Ash what Pokémon they were respectively planning to bring to the table when they had their goes at Byron. They had to act like they had no idea aside from Bastiodon what Pokémon Byron could have, although Dawn clearly remembered from the anime in her and Kenny's previous life that Byron was going to be packing Bronzor, Steelix, and Bastiodon. But things could change, like with Maylene having a Riolu instead, and when Kenny faced Roark, the Oreburgh gym leader only use Onix and Geodude.
Dawn wasn't exactly sure what to expect, so after talking it out with Ash and Kenny, they all agreed that Dawn would get the first go at Byron. She was essentially volunteering herself as a scout to see what Pokémon from Byron the boys could expect. The reborn trainer didn't mind though, as she was willing to do what it took to win.
END, CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Author's notes;
This chapter sees the training on Iron Island complete, followed by a return to the mainland where they resolve the issue with Byron and Roark, although here there's hardly any arguing and the subject is about how Paul has a vicious cruel streak a mile wide. They also fight off Team Rocket, save Byron's fossil collection, and make arrangements for Dawn and the boys to each try to earn the Mine Badge off of Byron before he heads home for his anniversary. The next chapter will see some gym battling, so don't turn that dial.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Cyrus (male Staraptor), Germany (male Gabite), Shadow (male Gastrodon), Lynn (female Floatzel), Leni (female Lucario)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Zarbon (male Machamp), Elay (male Sandslash; shiny), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Goofy (male Houndoom), Juan (male Pikachu)
Ash's Pokémon: Pikachu (male), Grotle (male), Monferno (male), Staravia (male), Floatzel (male), Buneary (female)