Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai

Chapter thirty-four: The sourpuss of Sunyshore

Dawn and Kenny, after having woken up at their camp sight on Route 222 and packed everything up, made their way to Sunyshore city, getting there at around ten in the morning. The two reborn trainers were both amazed to see how there were moving sidewalks powered by solar energy panels. Dawn remembered seeing this in the anime in her and Kenny's previous life, but seeing it here and now, where it was now real life for them, that was something else entirely.

"So you think that we can take on Volkner?" Kenny asked.

"He's the strongest gym leader in Sinnoh," Dawn pointed out, "But if we're both careful then I feel that we can both manage it."

Kenny nodded in agreement. "He uses electric Pokémon, so us using ground Pokémon will be a safe bet. But I'm also betting that he'll have counters for that."

Dawn nodded in agreement. "It's part of why two of the Pokémon I plan to go at him with are going to be Shadow and Inosuke. Their dual typings ought to shake things up for Volkner." Dawn gave her friend a curious look. "...What Pokémon do you plan to go in with?"

Kenny held a hand to his chin, wore a look of contemplation on his face. "...Well I'm totally going to have to spring for both Roshi and Elay. Slick's got a good bit of bulk to him, so he might be a decent contender. As four my fourth Pokémon... hmm..." As the two reborn trainers walked, they eventually reached the Sunyshore City gym, only to see that Ash and Brock had arrived at the gym, with Ash arguing with some automated answering system for the gym that he wanted to earn the Beacon Badge from the gym properly, rather than have it just given to him.

Ash was about to get more forceful with the gym, but stopped short when Dawn called out, "Hey Ash! Brock!" The two boys turned to look, and saw that Dawn and Kenny had both made there to Sunyshore City.

"Dawn, Kenny, you won't believe this!" Ash said in an annoyed tone, "Apparently, the Sunyshore gym is just giving the badges away! Paul actually came by earlier and when I told him about it, he agreed with me that it's dumb!"

"Yeah, I believe that badges ought to be earned as well," Brock said firmly, "We ought to find the gym leader and explain things to him."

"If it's the Sunyshore City gym leader that you're looking for," a casual male voice called out, "I can lead you right to him!" Everyone turned to look to see who had spoken up just now, and as such they all saw Flint of Sinnoh's elite four come walking up. "Word up with thee," Flint greeted, "The name's Flint, and I'm a member of Sinnoh's elite four!"

"You're a member of the elite four here in Sinnoh?" Ash asked, "You also said something about knowing where the local gym leader is located right now."

Flint nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can take you to Volkner." Giving Ash a quick look, Flint went on, "You got a spark in you, lil' dude. I bet you can reignite Volkner's passion for battles."

"I certainly hope so," Dawn spoke up, getting Flint to turn to face her and Kenny, "Because I'd like to properly earn a badge from the gym here in Sunyshore City rather than have it simply given to me due to how the gym leader has seemed to of lost his drive fo-"

"Hey," Flint began, cutting Dawn off. The elite four member gave Dawn a curious look as he looked like he was trying to figure out who Dawn was. "...Are you Dawn Berlitz?"

Dawn looked surprised by Flint knowing who she was before she introduced herself. "You know me?"

Flint nodded in confirmation. "Cynthia told me that you helped out with stopping some majorly bad stuff that the now defunct Team Galactic had tried pulling off. She mentioned that you caught some super powerful Pokémon as well, but she didn't tell me what it was." Arching a wry eyebrow at Dawn, Flint said, "Maybe you can entice Volkner into battling you by baiting him with the chance to face your super powerful Pokémon that Cynthia says you had caught."

Dawn took out the ball that held her Palkia, looked at it. "...You really think that Volkner can be baited into battling me if he knows there's a chance I'll use Tsukune against him?" Dawn asked as she looked at the Master Ball that held her legendary Pokémon.

Ash had a curious look on his face. "Would that really work, Flint?"

"I figure something like that may spark his passion for battling again," Flint answered, "And I'm willing to try anything that has any shot at all." The heroes, all in agreement with Flint, decided to hear him out and go with him to see Volkner over at Sunyshore Tower.

A short while later over at Sunyshore Tower, Flint led the heroes as they made their way up. "Volkner used to have a strong passion for battling," Flint said, a hint of mild melancholy in his words, "But after a series of challengers to his gym that proved no match for him, Volkner's passion diminished to the point he just gives Beacon Badges out so he can focus more time on improving all of the various high tech stuff here in Sunyshore City."

"So with no one strong as of late giving him enough drive," Brock said, "He's become the kind of person that he is now."

Flint nodded in confirmation. "That's why I'm hoping that Ash with his intense determination to battle, or Dawn with her super powerful Pokémon that Cynthia said she had caught at Spear Pillar, can reignite Volkner's passion for battles." As the group made their way up, they were eventually met up by a Raichu who looked primed to attack, but he stopped short upon seeing Flint. Raichu ran up to Flint and hugged him.

As Flint petted Raichu on the head, the group heard a voice call out, "Hey Flint, who are these kids that you brought with you?" Everyone turned to look, and as such they saw a resigned looking Volkner come walking into view.

Flint smirked a bit in amusement. "Yo Volkner, my main man, these here kids are just the opponents that I guarantee will get your motors running for Pokémon battles again!"

"I call shenanigans on that," Volkner replied in a melancholy tone.

"And I call shenanigans on you being a gym leader!" Kenny automatically retorted, pointing an accusing finger right at Volkner.

Volkner had a mild hint of annoyance enter his expression. "...You think these kids will interest me in battles again because one of them thinks taunting me will work?" Volkner said to Flint, not even giving Kenny the time of day.

"With all due respect, Volkner," Dawn began, "You're being awfully unprofessional as a gym leader. Just because none of the challengers to your gym as of late have been exciting for you to battle doesn't mean you can just hand badges out to avoid having to fight battles that you feel are boring."

The leader of the Sunyshore gym gave Dawn a curious look. "...You seem to think you know how I ought to do my job, young lady."

"Dawn here actually has a point, dude," Flint began, "As a gym leader, you need to show professional courtesy and accept challenges from those coming to your gym seeking to-"

"Hold up," Volkner said, cutting Flint off. Turning to look at Dawn, Volkner said, "Your name is Dawn?"

Seeing where this could potentially go, Dawn nodded twice in the affirmative. "...Yes. My full name is Dawn Berlitz."

Volkner, upon hearing Dawn give her full name, turned more of his attention onto her. "...I was with Flint at the time that Cynthia, the Sinnoh league champion, said that you had caught a very powerful Pokémon over at the ruins of Spear Pillar located on Mt. Coronet. Said Pokémon apparently was partly responsible for the chaos flowing out from Mt. Coronet a short while ago that was troubling all of Sinnoh. Cynthia also said that the Pokémon you supposedly caught is comparable to another Pokémon that knocked her Garchomp out in one hit."

Dawn gave Volkner a serious look. She took out the ball she had caught Tsukune in, expanded it and held it as she looked down at it. "...I'm guessing that Cynthia didn't tell you what kind of Pokémon that Tsukune is."

His interest piqued by what he was seeing, Volkner said, "No, Cynthia never mentioned to me or Flint what the Pokémon you had caught was. But if you had to use a Master Ball to catch it, then I'm willing to bet that Cynthia's claims of how powerful it is are justified."

"Yeah, Dawn's got a very powerful Pokémon right there," Ash said, sounding like he was going to try to egg Volkner on, "But if you're going to just give Dawn the badge from your gym, then I suppose that you'll never get to battle against it."

"...If the mystery Pokémon that Dawn Berlitz caught really is comparable to the Pokémon that knocked Cynthia's strongest Pokémon out in one hit," Volkner said, "Then I suppose I will be willing to give Dawn the challenge for the Beacon Badge." Volkner then recalled his Raichu. Turning around, Volkner said, "I'll be heading to the Sunyshore gym to get ready. I hope that you're as strong as Flint and Cynthia say you are, Dawn. I'll be ready in an hour."

Volkner then took off for his gym, leaving the group at the tower. After Volkner was gone, Flint got everyone's attention by saying, "Well, we ought to get going. I know this great cafe place here that has amazing sandwiches and coffee. We can have a bit of a lunch there, my treat, while we wait for Volkner to get ready."

"Sounds like a plan," Brock remarked as the heroes all followed Flint out of Sunyshore Tower.

A short while later over at a local cafe, the heroes and Flint were chatting it up with the Proprietor of the cafe. "...You're kidding me," the Proprietor said after Flint told him the story, his tone carrying a hint of disbelief, "You actually were able to convince Volkner to accept a challenge from this girl with you and the boys here."

"Is it really that big of a deal?" Kenny asked after swallowing a mouthful of coffee.

Letting out a resigned sigh, the Proprietor explained, "Volkner actually used to love battling. But after a very long series of challengers that proved to be no match for him, Volkner lost a lot of drive for his gym leader duties."

Flint nodded in agreement. "Volkner and I knew each other since we were kids. We always battled, developing a rivalry of sorts, and ended up becoming friends in the process." Gesturing to the Proprietor, Flint added, "We even met and eventually befriended this cool dude right here, convincing him to abandon his previous lifestyle as a Pokémon poacher in the process."

"Wait, he used to be a Pokémon poacher?" Ash asked, looking mildly alarmed.

Sighing, the Proprietor explained, "Yeah, and let me just say I'm not particularly proud of the past I have. I got into Pokémon poaching solely because I was desperate for cash at the time because I needed to cover my wife's urgent medical expenses, and Pokémon poaching was the quickest and easiest way to get the necessary scratch I needed." Smiling gently, the Proprietor went on while he gestured to Flint, "Part of why I'm so grateful to Flint and Volkner is because they helped me to find the honest career that I got and still have to this day."

"Yeah, he's been able to leave his past life as a Pokémon poacher behind, given he's able to comfortably and legally afford to cover his wife's medical expenses," Flint said, "Hell, he's even gotten bonuses from law enforcement because he's been able to help track down and deal with other Pokémon poachers, aiding them with his expertise on the subject."

"Yeah, I've gotten more help than I deserve, if I were to be honest," the Proprietor said, "Which is part of why I'm hoping that you kids can help Volkner who's one of the ones who's helped me so much. This isn't directed solely at the young lady, but to all of you who aim to challenge Volkner to earn the badge from his gym properly. Please, reignite his passion for battling."

Pounding a fist into his hand, Kenny said, "Don't you worry, after Dawn's done giving Volkner the business, I intend to show him da wae."

Smiling confidently, Ash added, "And far be it from me to let a person who lost their passion for battling to stay that way. I'll do what I can to reignite Volkner's drive to battle!"

Flint chuckled in sincere amusement at the determination of the three trainers all aiming to fight Volkner to properly earn the Beacon Badge. "Well now, I ought to keep an eye on how all of these battles will go! This is bound to be exciting!" The group then finished eating lunch, with Dawn saying she intended to finish lunch early because she wanted to rotate her party a bit before she went in to battle Volkner for the Beacon Badge.

Later, everyone made their way over to the Sunyshore City gym. As they walked through the lobby to find Volkner in the stadium, Kenny asked as he whispered to Dawn, "Yo Dawn, who do you plan to use against Volkner?"

"Well I rotated Shadow, Inosuke, and Albedo into my party," Dawn whispered back, "So I have them in addition to Germany, Chi-Chi, and Tsukune on hand. I plan to use Germany, Shadow, and Albedo at the very least, and depending on how things go, the last one will be a toss up between Inosuke and Tsukune."

Flint, unable to hear what Dawn and Kenny were whispering about, spoke up, "Discussing strategy against Volkner, I take it?"

"Somewhat, yes," Dawn replied as she turned to look at Flint while speaking up. Eventually, the group made their way into the stadium of the Sunyshore gym, where Volkner was already waiting.

Dawn took her place on the battlefield as Volkner took his, while everyone else went up into the bleachers to find where to sit and watch. "...I really hope you won't prove to be a pushover like the other challengers I've had before you," Volkner said, his tone suggesting he was expecting to be let down again as he spoke to Dawn.

"...You'll just have to find out the hard way, huh?" Dawn replied.

As both trainers were ready, the referee announced, "This official Sunyshore City gym battle will be between the gym leader, Volkner, and the challenger, Dawn Berlitz from Twinleaf Town! Each trainer may use four Pokémon, and the battle is over when all of one trainer's Pokémon is unable to battle! Additionally, only the challenger may change Pokémon out at any time! Now then, let this battle..." Raising a hand up, the referee exclaimed, "...BEGIN!"

Tossing up a pokéball, Volkner said with a mild but distinct lack of enthusiasm in his tone, "Jolteon, I choose you!"

"Alright, Germany!" Dawn said as she sent out her named Garchomp, "Let's get goin'!"

Seeing that Dawn had sent a Garchomp out, Volkner's eyes narrowed. "...You got a Garchomp, same as Cynthia," Volkner remarked, "Maybe you will be an interesting opponent after all." Pointing right on ahead, Volkner said, "Jolteon, use Shadow Ball!"

"Germany, use Earthquake!" Dawn called out. The named Garchomp triggered a massive quake that violently shook the battlefield, slamming Jolteon with seismic waves as it tried to conjure a Shadow Ball to cast at its opponent. But getting slammed by those seismic waves proved too much, and soon Jolteon was sent reeling back, sliding on the battlefield until it had come to a stop where it laid still, clearly knocked out.

Holding a hand up, the referee announced, "Jolteon is unable to battle! The winner is Garchomp!"

Volkner quickly recalled his fainted Jolteon, a look of mildly piqued interest on his face. "...I see that you at least know about type advantages. Let's see if that's all you have in you bag of tricks." Tossing up another pokéball, Volkner called out, "Electivire, I choose you!"

"Germany that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Pokémon out, "Alright, Shadow! Let's get goin'!" Taking the place of Dawn's Garchomp was her west sea Gastrodon.

This also caught Volkner's attention. "...You also have a Gastrodon, and it's the west sea variant. Another hallmark to Cynthia?" Looking intrigued, Volkner said, "So you think you can beat me by being a Cynthia copycat, huh?"

"I'm a far different person from the Sinnoh champion," Dawn said. Pointing forward, Dawn ordered, "Shadow, use Earth Power!"

"Electivire, use Iron Tail!" Volkner called out. Both Pokémon hit each other, with Electivire slamming Shadow with Iron Tail first, not doing too much damage to be honest. Shadow, on the other hand, made bursts of power erupt from the ground that was right beneath Electivire, making Electivire cry out in pain and surprise as it stumbled backwards away from Shadow. "Electivire, use Ice Punch!" Volkner commanded.

"Shadow, use Earth Power again!" Dawn called out.

Electivire ran in towards Shadow, its right fist pulled back in preparation to slug Shadow in the face with an icy cold fist emanating a frosty air. However, Shadow made power erupt from the ground again, making bursts explode up and strike Electivire a few times. Electivire cried out as it stumbled backwards again, only this time it ended up falling over backwards where it landed on its back were it laid on the battlefield, knocked out.

Holding up a hand, the referee announced, "Electivire is unable to battle! The winner is Gastrodon!"

Volkner recalled his fainted Electivire, a look of surprise on his face. "...Even though you're using type advantage to its fullest, I'm still surprised that you have a two Pokémon lead on me and yet you haven't lost a single Pokémon in the process." Volkner smirked a bit. "This battle is getting me a bit excited, I have to admit. Let's see if you can keep making this exciting!" Tossing up the pokéball that held his third Pokémon, Volkner said, "Raichu, I choose you!"

"Shadow that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said, switching her Pokémon out again, "Alright, Albedo! Let's get goin'!" Dawn's third Pokémon for the battle against Volkner was her named Gliscor, who cried out as she entered the battle.

"Raichu, use Iron Tail!" Volkner ordered.

"Albedo, use Earthquake!" Dawn commanded.

Raichu ran at Albedo, his tail glowing and shining like polished metal, while the named Glicsor triggered a massive quake that shook the battlefield. Raichu was able so smack Albedo on her left side before he fell down and got smacked around by the seismic waves of Earthquake. Raichu cried out in great pain as he was struck hard by the super effective attack but, as if responding to the increasing excitement of Volkner, Raichu was able to tough it out by the skin of his teeth.

Volkner smirked, a hint of excitement in his eyes now. "Holy crud, I can't remember the last time I was made to actually work in a battle against a challenger!" Volkner exclaimed, "This battle really has been worth it! And there's no way I'm wanting it to end so soon!" Pointing forward, Volkner said, "Raichu, use Iron Tail!"

"Albedo, use Cross Poison!" Dawn ordered. Raichu and Albedo rushed at one another, Raichu's tail glowing and shining like polished metal again while Albedo's pincers glowed purple. Albedo was the faster of the two, and as such she made an x-shaped slashing cross attack at Raichu that glowed purple, throwing Raichu back until he slammed onto the battlefield and skidded for a bit until he came to a stop, and was clearly knocked out.

Holding up a hand, the referee announced, "Raichu is unable to battle! The winner is Gliscor!"

Volkner recalled his third Pokémon to go down, but rather than looking worried that he was on the losing end of this battle, he actually looked like he was happy, like he was on an ultimate high. "There ought to be a lot more challengers like you, Dawn!" Volkner declared, "Because it's people like you who actually make my job as gym leader here in Sunyshore City exciting!"

Dawn allowed herself a small smirk. "...Then in that case, maybe you'll be willing to duke it out against Ash and Kenny?"

"If they can make the battles exciting like what you're doing, then I'm all for it!" Volkner said, "And speaking of battles, we still have our battle here to finish!" Tossing up the pokéball that held his last Pokémon, Volkner said, "Luxury, I choose you!"

"Albedo that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said, switching her Pokémon out once more, "Alright Shadow, let's get goin'!"

Seeing that Dawn sent her Gastrodon out, Volkner looked a bit confused. "...What? You aren't using your super powerful Pokémon?"

"Not yet," Dawn said, giving Volkner a knowing look, "Tsukune will be my fourth, but only if Shadow, Albedo, and Germany all go down first."

Volkner looked like he saw what Dawn was getting at. "Ah, so your mystery Pokémon is serving as your trump card. I get it." Pointing forward, Volkner said, "Luxury, use Iron Tail!"

"Shadow, use Surf!" Dawn called out. Luxray, its tail glowing and shining like polished metal, ran at the named Gastrodon as it conjured up a wave that it rode at Luxray, bringing the wave crashing down right onto Luxray and sending it reeling back. "Shadow, use Earth Power!" Dawn commanded.

"Luxray, get out of there!" Volkner called out. Luxray tried getting up, but bursts of power erupted from the ground under it, blowing up into it and sending it flying back, where it landed on the battlefield with a thud that kicked up a dust cloud. When the dust settled, everyone saw, to their surprise, that Luxray had been defeated.

Holding up a hand, the referee announced, "Luxray is unable to battle! The winner is Gastrodon!" Gesturing to Dawn, the referee declared, "Victory of this battle goes to the challenger, Dawn Berlitz!"

Volkner recalled his defeated Luxray, hung his head. However, rather than sound upset, he actually chuckled a bit. He then threw his head back, an elated, closed eye smile on his face as he laughed out loud. "That's it!" Volkner exclaimed, "That's the kind of challenge I've been craving! Even with what I had prepared to deal with trainers using ground Pokémon, someone was still able to find a way to overcome me! There really is a reason for me to continue!"

...

After Volkner had relaxed, he approached Dawn and handed to her the Beacon Badge, which she had rightfully earned from an excited gym leader, rather than be handed to her by an apathetic gym leader. Turning to look at Ash and Kenny, Volkner said, "I actually have to take my Pokémon to the Pokémon Center to be rested for the first time in a long time. You two don't mind that my battle with one of you will have to wait until later this evening, do you?"

"Ash and I still have to determine who between us will get the go at you later this evening," Kenny explained.

Volkner nodded once in understanding, then took off towards the Pokémon Center, letting out a laugh as he left. After Volkner was gone, Flint and the Proprietor turned to face the heroes. "Well now, I'd certainly say that Volkner's got some spark reignited in him again," Flint said, "A battle that showed him he still has room to grow and become stronger, plus a few that both promise him more excitement to come."

"A part of me thinks Volkner's spark was reignited because he faced an opponent with a hidden trump card," the Proprietor began with a knowing smirk, "And that he failed to force said opponent to reveal said trump card before going down in the battle. No doubt he'll be working harder at his gym leader job now, aiming to get stronger so that he could try again in the future." Looking to Ash and Kenny, the Proprietor said, "I hope that you two boys can keep Volkner's spark going."

"I intend to," Ash declared.

"Same here," Kenny added, "And I'll do it first!"

"No, I will!" Ash argued. The two boys then played rock paper scissors, best two out of three, to determine who between them would get the next shot at Volkner. Kenny won, and he pumped his fists into the air as he cheered while Ash sulked a bit because he would have to wait to face Volkner. Dawn and the others couldn't help but laugh a bit in good humor at the banter between the two boys, as well as how Volkner's passion for battling had been reignited.

By a girl who just earned the eighth and final badge she needed to qualify for the Sinnoh league conference.

END, CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Author's notes;

This chapter sees all of the heroes reach Sunyshore City, and run into Volkner who, as he was in the anime at this point, apathetic about battling. A different method was used to entice Volkner into battling here, as he was baited by the prospect of a challenger using a Pokémon comparable to the one who knocked Cynthia's strongest Pokémon out in one it. Dawn battled against and defeated Volkner, earning the last badge that she needed to qualify for the Sinnoh league conference, as well as getting Volkner excited for the battles against Ash and Kenny, which will occur over the next chapter or so. Keep your eyes peeled, folks.

Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Germany (male Garchomp), Tsukune (Palkia), Inosuke (male Mamoswine), Shadow (male Gastrodon), Albedo (female Gliscor)

Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Zarbon (male Machamp), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Kermit (male Politoed), Shallot (male Glaceon), Elay (male Sandslash; shiny)

Ash's Pokémon: Pikachu (male), Staraptor (male), Swampert (female), Infernape (male), Torterra (male), Gliscor (male)