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-five: Battles allowed and interrupted
Later that evening at the local Pokémon Center in Sunyshore City, the heroes were relaxing with Flint and the Proprietor. It was just the guys, though, as Dawn came walking over. "Well, I just got back from rotating my party a bit," Dawn said.
"So Dawn," Kenny began, "Now that you've qualified for the Sinnoh league conference, how do you feel?"
The reborn trainer closed her eyes, let out a sigh. "...That I'll be in for the fight of my life when the Sinnoh league conference takes place."
"Oh, it'll be held on Lily of the Valley Island in a little over a month from now," Flint spoke up, "But then again news of it has already hit the air waves on TV here in Sinnoh. The big tournament where everyone battles to see who'll earn the right to battle me and the rest of the Sinnoh elite four." With a smirk, Flint added, "And beating all four of us there nets one the right to challenge Cynthia for her title of champion of Sinnoh."
"What about that doesn't get a trainer's blood pumping?" the Proprietor asked rhetorically, a hint of amusement in his tone, "And speaking of getting a trainer's blood pumping." Turning to look at Ash and Kenny, the Proprietor said, "You boys better keep up the work that Dawn got started. Volkner needs it just as much as the two of you still need your final badges to qualify for the Sinnoh league conference on Lily of the Valley Island."
Both Ash and Kenny nodded in agreement, with the latter saying, "Oh, I did some party rotation earlier myself, so my cringe posse and I are ready to give Volkner the business as soon as he's-"
Kenny was cut off when the Nurse Joy came over. "Oh, Kenny," Nurse Joy said while Brock's Croagunk was dragging Brock off, "Volkner asked me to tell you that he's ready to face you at the Sunyshore City gym."
Leaping up from his seat, Kenny declared, "It's time to bring the hurt, because I got my eighth and final gym badge to obtain!" Kenny then ran out of the Pokémon Center, forcing the others to run to catch up with him.
"Where *huff* does that young man get so much *huff* energy?" the Proprietor asked as he due to being older had to struggle more to keep up.
Flint, meanwhile, couldn't help but laugh in sincere amusement. "I don't know, but it's bound to be just the ticket to turn Volkner from sourpuss to passionate trainer!" Everyone then continued to run after Kenny, who was clearly eager to have his gym battle against Volkner.
A short while later over at the Sunyshore City gym, everyone aside from Kenny was seated in the bleachers while Kenny himself stood on the battlefield before Volkner. "You got your work cut out for you, Kenny," Volkner called out, an amused smirk on his face, "Dawn set the bar pretty high for you and Ash after you to reach."
"Never let it be said I ain't up for the challenge!" Kenny declared. The referee, this time a robotic one rather than the human one during the match Volkner had with Dawn, gave the usual conditions for the gym battle before each trainer sent their first Pokémon out.
"Jolteon, I choose you!" Volkner said, sending his Jolteon out.
"Alright, Elay!" Kenny said as he sent in his shiny Sandslash, "Let's make it cringe!"
"You have a shiny Pokémon?" Volkner said, "Wow, that's pretty exciting in and of itself!" Pointing forward, Volkner declared, "Jolteon, use Shadow Ball!"
"Elay, ram into with with Rapid Spin!" Kenny ordered. Elay spun incredibly fast as he rolled at Jolteon, blasting the Shadow Ball away before going on to ram right into Jolteon. The Jolteon was not knocked out, but it did take some damage.
Volkner smirked. "Interesting play. I had better-"
*VOOOOM*
Volkner was cut off when the power went out suddenly, making everyone look around. Even the robotic referee turned off suddenly. "Why did the power go out?!" the Proprietor asked.
Looking around, Volkner gave an annoyed growl. "Well with the power out and the robotic referee out of commission, we're going to have to cancel the gym battle." Volkner then led everyone out of the gym, where they saw the orange sky above showing the sunset. As they stood around, they were met up by the local Officer Jenny.
"There's a city wide blackout going on!" Officer Jenny said, "It all stems from Sunyshore Tower, which is the source of all of the city's power!"
Volkner looked in the direction of the tower. "Must be some sort of malfunction somewhere in the power system," Volkner said, "We can easily-"
Volkner was cut off when the ground started to shake, which also caused damage to the gym. "What is going on here?!" Volkner exclaimed.
Suddenly, Sunyshore Tower began lifting up off of the ground like a rocket as it tried flying off. "We'll be delivering this tower to the boss as a never-ending source of energy!" Jessie of Team Rocket declared as she, along with James and Meowth, flew the Sunyshore Tower which they had modified into a rocket up and away from Sunyshore City.
"Team Rocket!" Ash exclaimed, "They're stealing Sunyshore Tower!"
"They're... stealing a building," Kenny said, more impressed than outraged. Regardless, Kenny gave chase after the tower with the others.
Ash, Dawn, and Kenny all pulled ahead with Volkner, and the four of them managed to reach where the tower had been set up next to a rocket launch sight. Brock, Flint, and the Proprietor tried to go after them, but the rocket took off right as they got there, leaving them on the ground as Volkner and the trainers taking the gym challenge were alone in dealing with Team Rocket trying to fly away in Sunyshore Tower.
As they scaled the outside of the tower while it flew, Dawn slipped and fell, but luckily she was caught by Kenny. "Grab a hold, my dude!" Kenny said. Dawn thanked Kenny for the save before they along with Ash and Volkner found a window they could open and head into the Tower, so that they could go confront Team Rocket.
Inside of the tower rocket, Volkner led Ash, Dawn, and Kenny around as they made their way to the cockpit. "Why would Team Rocket want to steal a building of all things?" Kenny asked, "It's just too crazy, even for them."
"Well I-" Ash began, only to get cut off when a cage dropped around them, trapping all four of the trainers inside.
"Nice try, twerps!" Jessie taunted over the loudspeakers, "But you won't stop us from making off with this tower!"
"We've been watching your every move as you entered the tower," James said, "Nothing you can do will surprise us!"
"Oh yeah?!" Kenny said as he called Zarbon out, "Zarbon! Bend the bars on this cage apart so we can get out of it!" Acting on command, Zarbon pried the bars of the cage apart with his mighty strength, creating a gap through which everyone in the cage could run out of.
As everyone got out of the cage, Kenny had Zarbon break a gate door down, allowing everyone to run into the cockpit to confront Team Rocket. "You won't get away with this, Team Rocket!" Ash declared as he pointed up at Team Rocket.
Growling in annoyance, Meowth snarled, "Like you twerps can stop us!"
"You interrupted the gym battle I was having against Volkner!" Kenny snapped, "You shall be made to pay for your crimes! Ready, Zarbon?"
"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash said as he sent his Pikachu in.
"Raichu, I choose you!" Volkner said as he sent his Raichu out.
"Alright, Leni!" Dawn said as she sent in her Lucario, "Let's get goin'!"
"Go Seviper and Yanmega!" Jessie said as she sent her Pokémon in to confront the Pokémon used by the heroes.
"Go Carnivine and Mime Jr.!" James said as he sent out his two Pokémon.
"Sevpier, use Poison Tail on Raichu!" Jessie ordered, "Yanmega, use Ancient Power on Pikachu!"
"Carnivine, use Vine Whip on Lucario!" James ordered. Picking up and holding Mime Jr., James said, "You can just stay here safe with me, Mime Jr."
"All of them have to fight, James!" Jessie scolded.
While Team Rocket bickered, Ash said, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Mime Jr.!"
"Raichu, use Iron Tail on Carnivine!" Volkner called out.
"Zarbon, use Stone Edge on Yanmega!" Kenny ordered.
"Leni, use Psychic on Seviper!" Dawn commanded.
Leni blasted Seviper with a telekinetic blast that sent Seviper flying back defeated. Carnivine was smacked away from attacking Leni by Raichu's attack. Zarbon nailed Yanmega with Stone Edge, sending it flying back with Seviper. And of course, Pikachu's Thunderbolt flew right at Mime Jr., who was still in James's arms, meaning all of Team Rocket was struck and blown up, sent flying out of the rocket as they went blasting off again.
This, of course, made a hole that air rushed out of, prompting Ash to call out his Torterra for everyone to cling to for dear life as Volkner rushed to the control panels. Using a bulkhead, Volkner was able to seal the hole, letting everyone relax. "We're going to need to use some electric Pokémon to help power things here!" Volkner said, "I can pilot the tower back to where it's supposed to be, but I'll need that power first!"
Volkner's Raichu was already out and volunteering, as was Ash's Pikachu. Kenny brought out Juan, and Volkner sent out his Luxray. With the electric Pokémon powering things, Volkner with some difficulty was still able to land Sunyshore Tower back to where it was supposed to be in the first place. Once the tower was secure, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Later, with everyone outside of the Sunyshore gym, Volkner said, "I'm very sorry, Kenny, that our battle was not only canceled but now has to be postponed. The tower has been returned and power is now back to all of Sunyshore City, but the tower and the gym have sustained heavy damage. I need to get all of that business fixed before you and I can pick up where we left off." Turning to look at Ash, Volkner went on, "And that means your battle with me will have to wait even longer, Ash."
The two boys nodded in understanding. "That's fair, Volkner," Kenny replied.
"It gives us extra time for training anyway," Ash supplied.
Smiling a bit in amusement, Volkner said, "Well now, that means I better get a real workout from the both of you."
Giving Volkner a wry look, Kenny said, "And I hope that you get some training in as well. You aren't the only one here who wants a workout, you know."
"Ah ha ha ha ha ha!" Volkner laughed, "Now this is what I'm talking about! More trainers need to be like you, Ash, and Dawn! That's what'll make being a gym leader worth it!" Volkner, with Flint and the Proprietor at his side, waved the heroes off, with the heroes promising to return when the repairs to both the tower and the gym have been completed.
...
"So where should we go for our training?" Ash asked as he and the others walked along the Valor Lakefront area.
Stretching his arms into the air, Kenny said, "I'm actually in the mood to look for this one place that I remember hearing about in stories when I was a wee little laddy." Turning to look at Dawn, Kenny asked, "Care to join me, my main man?"
"So long as it's not some crazy plan of yours, sure," Dawn replied, "I'm all game fo-"
"Oh, Dawn!" a familiar female voice called out, interrupting Dawn and making her and the others all turn to look and see Johanna come jogging up to them, followed by her Glameow and Umbreon.
"Mom?" Dawn asked, "What are you doing here?"
Gesturing towards where there was a seaside town, Johanna explained, "I came here to help with prep for the Sinnoh Grand Festival. It'll be held soon."
"That's right," Dawn thought, "This is around the point in the anime where the Sinnoh Grand Festival is about to take place." Speaking up, Dawn said, "Well it sounds exciting. Given that Ash and Kenny have to wait until they can challenge the Sunyshore gym, maybe we all can help out a bit, lighten the load for you."
"Oh yeah, you kids are taking the gym challenge," Johanna said, "Speaking of, how are you doing, Dawn?" To answer that, Dawn took her badge case out and showed her mom that she had earned all eight badges she needed to qualify for the Sinnoh league conference. "Oh my goodness! You got all eight badges!" Johanna declared, "Then with that being the case, I feel much more confident in asking you for some help!"
Dawn's interest was piqued, as was that of the boys. "...What's going on?"
Johanna sighed in a troubled tone. "...You see, a number of the younger children who were set to attend a special class I was going to teach have gone missing."
"Children have gone missing, Mrs. B?" Kenny nearly exclaimed.
Nodding in the affirmative, Johanna went on, "According to one woman who's the mother of a girl about three years younger than Dawn, said young daughter and a few other kids her age were seen all walking away in the middle of the night last night, looking to be under a trance. A girl coming in for the Sinnoh Grand Festival named Zoey said she spotted the group on the way to Route 214, and the group looked to be heading down the Spring Path."
"Zoey saw them, huh?" Ash said, "Did she try stopping them?"
"She claims to have tried, but a Dusknoir leading the children fought her off and sent her running away," Johanna said, "Zoey came by the nearby Pokémon Center earlier and is still having all of her Pokémon treated."
The heroes all looked concerned by that. "A Dusknoir?" Ash exclaimed, "That doesn't sound good at all!" Turning to look at the others, Ash said, "We need to go stop that Dusknoir from whatever it's doing and save those kids!" The others all nodded in agreement with Ash and proceeded to all run after him, with Johanna yelling after them to all be careful.
Later, when night had just settled, the heroes were walking down Spring Path. "You know," Kenny began, "This may be a bad time to mention it, but the place that I was talking about wanting to do a bit of training at is located beyond Spring Path here."
"Really, Kenny?" Brock asked.
The reborn trainer nodded in the affirmative. "It's a place called Sendoff Spring, which leads to another location called Turnback Cave. From what I heard, the cave's crawling with powerful wild Pokémon that will be be great for my Pokémon to battle against for training."
Dawn had a look of knowing realization on her face; Kenny was probably counting on training in what is essentially a post game area before taking on the final gym in the hopes that it'd boost his power up enough to let him steam roll over Volkner's team. And seeing hints of excitement on Ash's face, the reborn trainer was willing to bet that the Kanto region native was enticed by the prospect of getting to train in such a location.
The heroes, moving sneakily, eventually made their way to the entrance to Sendoff Spring. Dawn was getting bad vibes that made the skin on the back of her spine crawl, even though she had her all star team on hand. She was sincerely hoping that she and the boys wouldn't have to do any more than find the missing younger kids, fight off the wild Dusknoir supposedly, and get the kids back to where her mom can return them to their parents.
Dawn, following along behind the boys, entered Sendoff Spring. To Dawn's surprise, to the surprise of the boys, what they saw took them by surprise. They saw loads of younger children, all of them with tired looking expressions on their faces that were clear signs they were under a trance, going about building some manner of large wooden hut, the size of which looked comparable to a sort of fortress. The enthralled kids were working under the directions of multiple wild Dusclops, one of which to the surprise of Dawn and the boys is a shiny.
The Dusclops were all relaying orders to the enthralled kids from a wild Dusknoir, who was overseeing the construction of the crude wooden fortress hut, as if it were a construction foreman. "So there really is a wild Dusknoir," Brock harshly whispered to the others, "The Dusknoir must have enthralled the kids using Confuse Ray in order to lead them here to Sendoff Spring, where it and its Dusclops minions are directing them in building that giant wooden fortress hut."
"But wait a minute here," Ash whispered back, "Why would Dusknoir and its Dusclops minions force the kids to build that fortress hut for them?"
As the heroes watched on, they soon got their answer when the Dusknoir and its Dusclops minions all heard a horde of wild Pokémon cry out. Looking over, the heroes saw that a massive number of wild Bibarel, about equal in number to the Dusknoir and its Dusclops minions, came charging up from a ways away, led by a male Bibarel that looked to be twice as tall as normal for its species.
"That horde of wild Bibarel looks like they're going to wage war on the Dusknoir and its Dusclops minions," Brock pointed out, "The two groups must be fighting for territory. That would explain why the Dusknoir and its Dusclops minions had the enthralled kids build the fortress hut for them."
Looking down where the fortress hut was, Dawn saw the shiny Dusclops, at the direction of the Dusknoir, lead all of the enthralled children away from the ensuing battle, with the other Dusclops looking like they were also telling the kids to get and stay back before the ghost Pokémon went out to battle the invaders. "At the very least, the Dusknoir and its Dusclops minions aren't wanting to risk the children they've lured away," Dawn pointed out.
The ensuing battle between the two hordes of Pokémon ended up unfurling like a war between two armies. The Bibarels fired Water Gun attacks at the Dusclops minions, who fought back by rushing in with the various elemental punch attacks. However, due to the Bibarel having the advantage of distance and using ranged attacks, some of the Dusclops minions were pushed back, with one or two even being taken out, by the time a few of the Dusclops minions reached the Bibarel horde and began punching at them.
Meanwhile, the large Bibarel met up with the Dusknoir, and the two of them began duking it out one on one. Bibarel cast a Surf attack that Dusknoir struck away with Shadow Ball, sending both the Surf and the Shadow Ball off course where they flew into the entrance to a nearby cave. Bibarel jumped up, curled into a ball, and rolled at Dusknoir, slamming it hard with a solid looking Rollout attack that sent Dusknoir reeling back.
Dusknoir came back to and fired a Hyper Beam at the Bibarel, who deflected it with a well placed Superpower, sending the Hyper Beam flying right into the cave entrance that the Shadow Ball and Surf attacks previously had flown into, making an explosion occur inside of the cave. The Bibarel and Dusknoir, the two army generals, seemed evenly matched with one another, and neither would back down from the fighting.
As the heroes saw all of this as they hid, Brock said, "Amazing. This is a large scale fight for territory between two large groups of wild Pokémon."
Looking down where the shiny Dusclops had the enthralled children standing back, Dawn said, "Let's see if we can convince the Dusclops to let us take the children back to their homes. Follow me, boys." With the boys all following her, Dawn led the way down to where the enthralled children were all corralled by the shiny Dusclops.
...
Meanwhile, down where it had the enthralled children, the shiny Dusclops was doing a quick head count of all of them. After it finished counting, it looked like it was sighing in relief, but then it jumped a bit in alarm when it heard Dawn call out, "You and your friends aren't really aiming to harm any of the kids, are you?" The shiny Dusclops saw Dawn and the boys approach, so it moved to stand protectively in front of the enthralled children, a Shadow Punch ready to be fired from its right hand right at the heroes.
Holding her hands up, Dawn said, "Woah there, cowboy. We come in peace." The shiny Dusclops, looking mildly confused, lowered its guard a bit but still kept the Shadow Punch ready to be fired off at a moment's notice. "From what my friends and I can tell," Dawn began, "You and your friends are simply desperate to fight off the wild Bibarel horde from territory you're trying to maintain. That would explain why you guys spirited away these kids to build that fortress hut for you guys."
"Look, Dusclops," Ash began, "As much as we can understand your need that you and your friends have to protect your territory from being invaded, spiriting away the children of the nearby homes close to the Lake Valor area has the parents of the children rightfully worried. You and your friends have to let them go."
"We can also tell that you and your friends aren't trying to do any harm to the kids," Brock pointed out, "We saw you guys instruct the kids to back away before the fighting started, and we also saw you look relieved after counting all of the kids. There's good in you guys, so please let us appeal to that good in-"
*KABOOM*
The heroes looked over in the direction of the explosion that they heard just now. "...Sounds like Dusknoir and the large Bibarel sent attacks off course and flying into that nearby cave again," Brock said, "At least they aren't causing any damage to the surrounding territory that the Dusknoir and all of its friends are trying to defend from the Bibarel horde."
"...Wait a minute," Dawn said, memories from her past life surfacing back to the forefront of her mind, "Those attacks are being sent off course to blow up inside of a nearby cave?"
"And it sounds like Dusknoir and the large Bibarel are still duking it out," Ash replied, his attention drawn towards the direction that the sounds of the battle between Dusknoir and the large Bibarel were coming from.
Kenny's eyes widened a bit, as he seemed to understand why Dawn was starting to sound a little worried. "...The only cave in the surrounding area is Turnback Cave," Kenny said, a notable hint of trepidation in his tone, "And if attacks keep flying into that cave to blow up, then powerful Pokémon residing within that cave might take note, get mad, and come out to see what's going on."
"That would add a whole new level of chaos to this war for territory between the two large groups of wild Pokémon," Brock said, "I just hope that-"
"BIIIIIISSSSSHHHHHHAAAAAAANNNNN!"
The heroes all froze up. The shiny Dusclops froze up. The other Dusclops minions and their Dusknoir leader froze up. Even most of the Bibarel, the large one included, froze up. Only a small handful of the Bibarel, too caught up in the battle, and the enthralled children, still under the sway of the ghost Pokémon, didn't hear the enraged cry of a powerful Pokémon from within Turnback Cave just now.
The few Bibarel who didn't stop fighting knocked back some of the Dusclops minions before they all noticed that everyone else had stopped and was looking in the direction of Turnback Cave. Suddenly, a massive burst came out of Turnback Cave, rather than go barreling in due to attacks from Dusknoir and the large Bibarel being sent off course. When the dust settled, everyone saw what made that enraged cry, what had come out of Turnback Cave.
Giratina.
"Wha..." Brock said, clearly frightened by the sudden appearance of Giratina, "...What kind of Pokémon is that?!"
"I think it's called Giratina," Dawn said, likewise worried but for other reasons, "Giratina, from what I remember hearing in some old stories a while ago, is a legendary Pokémon said to be on par with Dialga and Palkia."
"That thing is equal to those two?!" Ash nearly exclaimed in panic. The Kanto region native forced himself to calm down. "We have to fight Giratina off!" Ash declared, "If it's allowed to rampage, then the children here will be in dang-"
"Huh..."
Ash stopped short when he, as well as the others, heard one of the younger children behind them speak up. The heroes, as well as the shiny Dusclops, turned and saw that one of the children was slowly coming out of her enthrallment. As she was coming to, more of the children were starting to slowly snap out of it. The heroes looked around to try and figure out what was causing the children to come to now of all times.
As the heroes looked, it was Brock who pointed out how Giratina, as it started rampaging around, had knocked out many of the Bibarels and many of the Dusclops minions. Brock then saw that both the Dusknoir and the large Bibarel had been knocked out as well. "The Dusknoir that had enthralled the children!" Brock said, "It's been knocked out! I guess that Giratina knocking Dusknoir out must have started undoing the enthrallment!"
"But now of all times?!" Dawn said, "It'll give us having to deal with Giratina while also protecting younger children who are bound to panic! And with Dusknoir and the large Bibarel both knocked out, their respective armies might get unruly, and that'll add a whole new level of difficulty that there was no need to add to the mix!"
The shiny Dusclops, seeing that the children were in danger, moved to stand in front of the children, keeping itself between the children and the threats. "...I think Dusclops here is volunteering to help protect the children," Ash remarked, sounding mildly impressed. Moving to stand next to the shiny Dusclops, Ash went on, "I'll help protect the children too." Seeing Ash do this, hearing what he was declaring, caught the attention of the shiny Dusclops.
Looking towards the two armies of wild Pokémon, Brock said, "...Sudowoodo and Croagunk know Hammer Arm and Brick Break respectively. They can pick off the Bibarels one by one until they're all taken out."
"I'm guessing that Kenny will be tasked with handling getting the Dusclops army to chill, then," Dawn said as she took out the ball she kept Tsukune in, "Given that I have the only Pokémon here that can go toe to toe with-"
"Giratina is mine to take on!" Kenny exclaimed, having not heard Dawn at all, as he ran right at the rampaging Renegade Pokémon in a beeline, "BWHUHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Kenny!" Dawn exclaimed, only to let out a reisgned sigh. "...Figures he'd do this." Turning to look at the shiny Dusclops, Dawn said, "It looks like I'll have to knock the heads of your friends to get them all to chill. Are you okay with this?" After looking like it was contemplating what Dawn said for a few moments, the shiny Dusclops gave a single nod in the affirmative. "Good," Dawn replied, "Well now, we know what our jobs are, boys! Let's get to it!"
The heroes, each taking on a separate role, proceeded to resolve the chaos at Sendoff Spring.
END, CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Author's notes;
The title of this chapter has multiple meanings to it; it symbolizes the interrupted battle between Kenny and Volkner, and it also symbolizes how the battle between Dusknoir's army and the large Bibarel's army was interrupted due to Giratina emerging out of Turnback Cave due to one too many attacks being sent off course and flying right into its cave. The battle for Sendoff Spring will see its continuation in the next chapter, so don't turn that dial.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Cyrus (male Staraptor), Akiza (female Roserade), Leni (female Lucario), Germany (male Garchomp), Tsukune (Palkia)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Zarbon (male Machamp), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Wigglytuff (male Wigglytuff), Slick (male Snorlax), Elay (male Sandslash; shiny)
Ash's Pokémon: Pikachu (male), Staraptor (male), Swampert (female), Infernape (male), Torterra (male), Gliscor (male)