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-nine: Triumph relieved

The heroes, after some extensive traveling where they trained along the way, made it back to Sunyshore City. Right away, Ash and Kenny both wanted to head right on over to the Sunyshore City gym, as Kenny wanted to pick right back up where he and Volkner had left off in their previous bout that was interrupted by Team Rocket. However, Brock pointed out to the excited boys that they ought to check into the local Pokémon Center first, to make sure everyone's Pokémon were all in tip top shape for the battles Ash and Kenny were going to have.

"So Ash, what Pokémon do you plan to use against Volkner?" Kenny asked as he and the others all sat around in the main area of the Pokémon Center lobby as their Pokémon were looked after.

The Kanto region native folded his arms over his chest, wore a look of deep contemplation on his face. "...Well I plan to use both Torterra and Swampert," Ash began, "Probably Gliscor as well. As for my fourth Pokémon, I'm thinking that I want to see how what training I did so far with Dusclops has come in."

Dawn looked mildly surprised at Ash's stated plan to use his shiny Dusclops, which he caught very shortly after the incident at Sendoff Spring. "...Are you sure you want to use Dusclops, Ash?" Dawn asked, "Given how recently you caught him and what little training you've done with him so far?"

"You know me, Dawn," Ash replied, "Go big or go home!"

"I like that," Kenny said.

Turning to look at her friend, Dawn asked, "Well what about you, Kenny? What Pokémon do you plan to bring against Volkner?"

"Well I'll be heading on in against Volkner with Roshi, Elay, Slick, and Black," Kenny said, "That line up has a solid mix of bulk, resistance, and immunity to what electric attacks Volkner's Pokémon can dish out."

Dawn gave Kenny a wry look. "So you're going to bring your legendary Pokémon against Volkner."

"As a last resort option if Roshi, Elay, and Slick all go down first," Kenny clarified. Dawn saw what Kenny was getting at; Kenny's Giratina, Black, is undoubtedly very much powerful, and could probably sweep Volkner's entire team single-handedly. But Dawn also gave props to Kenny for planning to use his legendary Pokémon only as a last resort option, not whip it out first thing. Dawn was working with a similar plan when she challenged Volkner, planning to use Tsukune only if her first three Pokémon all went down first.

As the trainers talked, they heard the front door of the Pokémon Center open, making them turn to see Volkner walk on in, followed by Flint and the Proprietor. "Oh, you guys already came back!" Volkner said, "I'm glad you heard my message! Oh man, I am really looking forward to seeing how Ash and Kenny will make me work to beat them!"

"You speak as if I'm going to lose to you," Kenny remarked, "You underestimate the power of cringe."

Flint chuckled in sincere amusement. "Well it looks like Volkner's not the only one who's excited! I haven't seen him this excited to battle for ages! Even when he went in to battle Dawn, he was mostly only humoring what Cynthia and I said, but now I can see his spark has been reignited!"

"I'll be ready for us to pick up where we left off as soon as I get my Pokémon from Nurse Joy," Kenny said, "But I think I still got some time for that."

Volkner nodded in understanding. "Oh yeah, no need to sweat it." A few minutes later, as the heroes were talking to Volkner, Flint, and the Proprietor, Nurse Joy came over to inform the heroes that their Pokémon were fully rested. With their Pokémon back, the heroes followed Volkner, Flint, and the Proprietor back to the Sunyshore City gym, where Kenny intended to win big and get the last badge that he needed in order to qualify for the Lily of the Valley Conference.

"This official Sunyshore City gym battle will be between the gym leader, Volkner, and the challenger, Kenny Harris from Twinleaf Town!" said the Proprietor, who was acting as referee as the robo-ref was still busted, "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!"

"Jolteon, I choose you!" Volkner said, sending out his Jolteon.

Tossing up a pokéball, Kenny said, "Okay, Slick! Let's make it cringe!" This time around, Kenny's first Pokémon was his Snorlax, who was wearing the sunglasses that Kenny wore back when he had been disguised as Sir Artemis the Cringey. Pointing forward, Kenny said, "Slick, use Body Slam!"

"Jolteon, use Thunderbolt!" Volkner called out.

Jolteon conjured and cast its Thunderbolt attack at Slick, who charged forward and jumped up to fall right down onto Jolteon. Slick was zapped by Thunderbolt in the process, but his natural bulk allowed him to tank it like a champ as he slammed right down on top of Jolteon. Slick had to roll off to get back up off of Jolteon who, though not defeated, was stumbling around a bit as it tried to regain its barings.

Gesturing forward, Volkner ordered, "Quick, Jolteon! Use Thunderbolt again!"

"Slick, use Crunch!" Kenny commanded.

Jolteon was able to cast another Thunderbolt at Slick, but the named Snorlax tanked it again as he lunged his head forward towards Jolteon, large mouth agape, before biting down hard on Jolteon. After a hard, solid bite, Slick let Jolteon go, who proceeded to sway for a bit before falling over onto the battlefield, clearly knocked out.

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

Volkner, though not upset that Kenny got the lead, had a serious look on his face as he was contemplating his opponent. "That Snorlax had just tanked two Thunderbolts from Jolteon," Volkner muttered to himself, "A big bulky one like that is bound to be tough to take down." Smiling, Volkner muttered to himself again, "It ought to be fun to take down if it's that bulky!" Tossing up another pokéball, Volkner said, "Electivire, I choose you!"

"Slick, that's enough, come back!" Kenny said, swapping his Pokémon in and out, "Okay, Roshi! Let's make it cringe!" Kenny's second Pokémon in the battle was his Torterra. Pointing forward, Kenny called out, "Roshi, use Earthquake!"

"Electivire, use Ice Punch!" Volkner commanded.

Electivire charged at Roshi, its right fist pulled back and ready to fire a staggering punch emanating icy cold energy. Meanwhile, Roshi raised himself up on his hind feet before slamming back down with his front feet, triggering a massive quake that shook the battlefield and slammed Electivire with seismic waves, dealing great damage to Electivire. However, Electivire was able to pull through, and went on to slug Roshi in the face with a powerful icy cold punch, dealing great damage to the named Torterra.

"Roshi, you okay man?" Kenny called out. Roshi, though hurting bad from that Ice Punch, was still in it by a thread. "...Looks like this'll end up as a mutual kill showdown," Kenny muttered to himself. Gesturing forward, Kenny yelled, "Roshi, use Seed Bomb!"

"Electivire, use Ice Punch again!" Volkner called out. Electivire threw another icy cold punch right at Roshi, who conjured and threw a large explosive looking seed, roughly the size of a beach ball, right at Electivire. Roshi took the Ice Punch at the same time that the Seed Bomb blew up into Electivire, causing both Pokémon to go down in the process.

Holding up both hands, the Proprietor announced, "Both Electivire and Torterra are unable to battle! This is a double knock out!"

Volkner and Kenny recalled their respective Pokémon that had just gone down. "That can't be good," Brock remarked where he, the other heroes, and Flint were watching Kenny battle, "Torterra is a powerful ground Pokémon, so this is a big loss for Kenny, especially since he still needs to take down Volkner's remaining two Pokémon."

"He still has Slick," Dawn pointed out, "Not to mention his other two Pokémon, one of which is also a ground type."

"Oh! That shiny Sandslash!" Flint said, "Cynthia mentioned it to me, how it had been a hero on multiple occasions!"

Down on the battlefield, Volkner tossed up the pokéball that held his third Pokémon for the battle as he called out, "Raichu, I choose you!"

"Okay, Elay!" Kenny said as he sent his shiny Sandslash out, "Let's make it cringe!" Pointing forward, Kenny said, "Elay, use Earthquake!"

"Raichu, use Iron Tail!" Volkner called out. Raichu, his tail glowing and shining like polished metal, ran at Elay who raised his arms up. Elay triggered a massive quake at the same time Raichu slammed him on his left side with Iron Tail. Although Elay took a serious hit, so did Raichu, who was sent reeling back as he was slammed by the seismic waves triggered by Elay's Earthquake.

Raichu was still in it, but only barely just. "Raichu, use Iron Tail again!" Volkner ordered.

"Elay, charge into it with Rapid Spin!" Kenny commanded. The named shiny Sandslash spun around very quickly like a top, spinning right into Raichu's Iron Tail. The Rapid Spin deflected the Iron Tail to a degree, although it still smacked Elay a bit, right before Elay barreled into Raichu with a potent slam, sending Raichu stumbling backwards until it fell over backwards and laid on the battlefield, clearly having been knocked out.

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

Volkner, as he recalled his fainted Raichu, seemed a bit amused. "...I feel like this battle will be close," Volkner said, sounding excited at the prospect, "And that's why I'm going full force now!" He tossed up the pokéball that held his last Pokémon as he said, "Luxray, I choose you!"

"Elay, that's enough, come back," Kenny said as he swapped his Pokémon out, "Okay, Slick! Let's make it cringe!" After calling his shiny Sandslash back, Kenny sent out his Snorlax wearing the MLG shades like the gangster he is.

Seeing the tanky wall that is Kenny's named Snorlax come back out, Volkner's gaze narrowed. "Luxray, use Spark!"

"Slick, use Earthquake!" Kenny called out.

Luxray, cloaked in electricity, charged right at Slick, who actually jumped up really high to come slamming back down on the ground. Slick took the Spark from Luxray and was even paralyzed as a result, but he did hit Luxray with that Earthquake, slamming the electric Pokémon with seismic waves and dealing great damage to it. Although it took a lot of damage, Luxray didn't go down to the attack from Kenny's named Snorlax.

Volkner gave an amused smile. "All of your Pokémon you have used so far all know Earthquake," the electric Pokémon user said in mild amusement, "You came prepared."

Kenny smiled, held an expanded Ultra Ball in his hand. "My last Pokémon also knows Earthquake," Kenny remarked as he put the Ultra Ball away, "But you'll have to take down Slick and then Elay afterwards if you ever want to see who my last Pokémon is."

His eyes widened a bit at the implications of what Kenny had just said. "...So you also have a hidden trump card like Dawn does. You really know how to get me excited for a battle!" Gesturing forward, Volkner said, "Luxray, use Iron Tail!"

"Slick, use Crunch!" Kenny called out. Luxray, thanks to Slick being paralyzed, was able to deal a slamming strike with Iron Tail, and even Slick's thicc body was only able to absorb so much of the hit. Making things harder, Luxray got out of the way in time to avoid being grabbed and bitten by its very large opponent. "Slick, use Earthquake!" Kenny ordered.

"Luxray, use Thunder!" Volkner called out. Right as Slick was trying to power through the paralysis and come slamming down to use Earthquake, Luxray cried out and cast a powerful bolt of electricity at the paralyzed Snorlax, shocking him badly and damaging him enough to make him fall over onto the battlefield, defeated.

Holding up his other hand, the Proprietor announced, "Snorlax is unable to battle! The winner is Luxray!"

Kenny recalled his fainted Snorlax, then tossed up another pokéball as he said, "Alright, Elay! Let's make it cringe!" Kenny's shiny Sandslash came back out and, although he was hurt, he was still more than in it. As for Volkner's Luxray, Kenny could tell it'll go down to one more solid hit, and he knew just the attack to use. "Elay, use Earthquake!" Kenny called out.

"Luxray, use Iron Tail!" Volkner commanded.

Luxray ran in, its tail glowing and shining like polished metal, as Elay raised his arms up before pulling them back down, right when Luxray slammed him, rather hard, on his left side with Iron Tail. Elay took that hit right as Luxray was slammed by the seismic waves of Elay's Earthquake attack. Both Pokémon were thrown back, and after the battlefield stop shaking, both Luxray and Elay fell over onto the battlefield, having knocked each other out.

Raising up both hands, the Proprietor announced, "Both Luxray and Sandslash are unable to battle! This is a double knockout!" Gesturing to Kenny, the Proprietor went on, "However, since he still has one of his allocated Pokémon remaining, victory of this battle goes to the challenger, Kenny Harris!"

Kenny gave an understanding, relieved breath as he recalled his defeated Sandslash while Volkner recalled his fainted Luxray. "Impressive, Volkner," Kenny said, "You are the first person I know of to have overcome the power of the legendary Elay."

Volkner, giving Kenny a confused look, replied, "Sandslash isn't a legendary Pokémon."

"Not Elay's species, but Elay himself," Kenny clarified, "He has achieved enlightenment by learning about da wae. But I digress." Straightening up, Kenny said, "I believe that I won our battle."

Smiling in amusement, Volkner said, "Yes you did. And as such, I need to perform my duty as the gym leader here in Sunyshore City and present you with the Beacon Badge." Everyone saw it as Kenny got his eighth and final Sinnoh gym badge, thus qualifying Kenny for the Lily of the Valley Conference. Turning to look where Ash sat in the bleachers, Volkner said, "My Pokémon will need to be treated at the Pokémon Center, but after that I'll be ready to face you!"

Smiling, Ash nodded once in reply. "I'm looking forward to it!"

Later at the local Pokémon Center, the heroes were sitting around as Kenny's Pokémon were being treated. "The battle I had was close," Kenny said, "Too close. If Volkner's Luxray was able to win out against Elay, I would of had to send Black in." The reborn trainer arched an eyebrow. "My Pokémon, all of them but especially Roshi, Slick, and Elay, shall need to do some extensive training as we prep ourselves to take part in the Lily of the Valley Conference."

Dawn nodded in agreement. "I intend to do my own training to get ready. Far be it from me to head into something important unprepared."

"I haven't even qualified yet because I still need to get my final badge," Ash said, "But I can already tell that the Conference is going to be exciting, since I already know that there will be two powerful trainers taking part."

Dawn leaned back in her seat as she looked up to the ceiling. Now it was her and Kenny who had qualified for the Lily of the Valley Conference, and if things go as Dawn predicts, then Ash will join that count by tonight. After that, they'll head towards Lily of the Valley Island where, in roughly one month's time, the Lily of the Valley Conference will be held. The person who makes it all the way to the end will not only win the Conference, but earn the right to challenge the Sinnoh elite four and, beating them, get to challenge Cynthia and, beating her, become champion of Sinnoh.

Can any of them be blamed for getting so excited?

As the heroes sat and talked, the Nurse Joy came over to them. "Excuse me, but Kenny's Pokémon have all been treated," said Nurse Joy.

"Sweetness!" Kenny cheered as he pumped his fists into the air.

As Kenny collected his Pokémon from Nurse Joy, Nurse Joy turned to look at Ash. "Also, after I had returned Volkner's Pokémon to him following their full treatment, he asked me to let you know that he will see you at the Sunyshore City gym right away, Ash."

Ash nodded once in acknowledgement to Nurse Joy. "I'll be ready to head on over as soon as all of my friends here are ready to ship out."

"I think we were just waiting for Kenny's Pokémon to be treated," Dawn remarked as she got up from where she and the boys were sitting. As Brock was standing up from the table, he and the others all heard a phone go off.

"Oh, that's the Center's video phone," Nurse Joy said, turning around to go answer it. The heroes stood around for a moment, partly wondering what the video call was about, but mostly the others hyping Ash up for his upcoming gym battle against Volkner. Ash was certainly excited, so much so that he felt that nothing could possibly ruin the moment for-

"Oh, Dawn!" Nurse Joy called out from the video phone, then went on as she got up to walk over to the heroes, "You're Dawn Berlitz, right?"

Curious, Dawn said, "Yeah. Why?"

Nurse Joy looked greatly concerned. "That call was from the Pokémon Center in Veilstone City. It's the Nurse Joy over there with Maylene, the local gym leader. The Veilstone Joy handled most of the call due to how troubled Maylene is."

Right away, alarms went off in the reborn trainer's head. "...Boys, go on ahead to the Sunyshore gym," Dawn said, "I got a call to handle."

"...I hope that Maylene will be okay," Ash said as he left the Pokémon Center with Brock and Kenny to head on over to the Sunyshore gym so that Ash could have his battle against Volkner for the Beacon Badge. Meanwhile, Dawn stayed behind to talk to Maylene and the Veilstone Nurse Joy on the video phone. Dawn sincerely hoped that nothing had gone wrong, but she was having a feeling of dread that her hope was wishful thinking.

...

Ash ended up winning his battle against Volkner, thus rightfully earning the Beacon Badge and qualifying for the Lily of the Valley Conference. Ash ended up using Torterra, Swampert, Dusclops, and Gliscor as he had first intended, and it was those four who ended up bringing victory in Ash's final Sinnoh gym battle to him.

Similar to the battle between Volkner and Kenny, the battle between Volkner and Ash saw Torterra and Electivire go down to one another in a double knockout. Electivire's Ice Punch attacks were strong, but Torterra's Earthquake, which Ash had been having Torterra learn at Kenny's suggestion, was enough to let Torterra score a better result, even though his grasp on using Earthquake wasn't technically perfect yet. But a rudimentary level grasp was still a grasp.

The next part saw Volkner's Luxray versus Ash's Dusclops. Here, Volkner went right on in with using electric attacks, but Ash countered with Dusclops's Fire Punch, which inflicted a burn on Luxray. Ash then swapped Dusclops out to send in Gliscor, who did some heavy damage to Luxray with a mix of X-Scissor and Fire Fang. Luxray managed to hit Gliscor with Iron Tail, but not only was the damage dealt halved due to Luxray's burn, but said burn paining Luxray was why Luxray went down.

Volkner then sent in Raichu, to which Ash swapped Gliscor out and sent Swampert in. Raichu's only move that would work on Swampert is Iron Tail, and Swampert resisted it. Swampert was able to take Raichu out swiftly with Earthquake, then was kept in when Volkner sent his final Pokémon, his Jolteon, out to face Swampert. Jolteon did somewhat better against Swampert due to how it knows Shadow Ball, but Swampert still took Jolteon out with relative ease.

As such, Volkner gave Ash the Beacon Badge, which Ash rightfully earned, just as he wanted to. Now that Ash had earned his eighth and final Sinnoh gym badge, he was now qualified to enter the Lily of the Valley Conference in about a month's time. Ash, knowing that he was going in with two people he now counts as close friends, felt that the Lily of the Valley Conference was going to be the best league conference that he's been in to date.

...

When the boys walked into the Sunyshore City Pokémon Center at sunset, they were all in a high of excitement, now that all three of the trainers in their group who was competing in the Sinnoh league had qualified for it. "Wait until my main man Dawn hears that you've won against Volkner, Ash!" Kenny cheered, "She's going to be stoked! So don't let her casual calm attitude and whatever words she says to the effect of 'Oh, well Ash winning is to be expected' fool you, because Dawn is-"

"Going to have to leave quickly for Veilstone City!" Dawn said, cutting Kenny off as she rushed past him, Ash, and Brock, making her way out of the Pokémon Center. When the boys ran out to try catching up to her, they saw that Dawn was already flying off into the horizon on the back of her named Palkia. She rushed off too quickly for most to see what she was even riding on.

"What was that all about?" Ash asked, looking and sounding worried.

"...I'm going after Dawn," Kenny said, "You guys stay here in Sunyshore City." Kenny called out Black, hopped on, and took off quickly into the horizon, going in the same direction as Dawn, and hoping like hell that things weren't too bad.

By the time Kenny landed in Veilstone City in front of the local Pokémon Center, having attracted a bit of a crowd because he came in flying on Giratina, he already had a bad feeling that something bad had happened. Immediately recalling Black, Kenny ran into the Pokémon Center, where he saw Dawn trying to reassure Maylene. Kenny also saw that Dawn's Lucario and Maylene's Riolu were both out, looking right at the troubled Maylene.

"What's the sitch?" Kenny asked the moment he reached Dawn and Maylene.

Dawn turned to look at Kenny, gave him a serious and grim yet troubled expression. "...Maylene's Lucario's condition had taken a turn for the worse. He's already been sent into the ER here for emergency surgery, but the Nurse Joy said that Lucario's odds already are looking very slim. And that's being generous."

"Dude, are you serious?!" Kenny nearly exclaimed. Straightening himself out, Kenny asked, "What did Nurse Joy say about Lucario if he makes it?"

"Well obviously, he'll be retired permanently from battling," Maylene said, able to hold it in surprisingly well despite how her Lucario had just gone in for emergency surgery, "And I don't care how he feels about the decision. It's been too close of a call, and I don't want to take anymore chances with him."

Kenny turned to look in the direction of the doors leading into the Pokémon Center's ER. He wore a grim and angry expression on his face that had a bit of sadness mixed into it. "...This could be a very serious blow to Paul's redemption arc if the worse case scenario occurs."

Maylene scowled bitterly upon hearing what Kenny said about Paul. "Yes, Dawn had called me a while ago and told me about how that horrid Paul boy is trying to clean his act up and make amends for what all he's done. To be quite frank, I don't think that he deserves a second chance."

Dawn was a bit shocked to hear Maylene being so bitter and unforgiving, but given what she was going through right now, the reborn trainer supposed that Maylene couldn't be blamed for feeling the way that she did right now. "...All that we can do now is hope for the best."

"We should probably call Ash and Brock, let them know what's going on," Kenny said, "I told them to stay in Sunyshore City while I went after you. Hopefully they stayed at the Pokémon Center." Dawn nodded in agreement and proceeded to use the video phone in the Veilstone City Pokémon Center to call to the Pokémon Center in Sunyshore City to see if Ash and Brock did indeed stay there.

As it turned out they did, so after Dawn told them what happened and explained things to the boys, they agreed to wait in Sunyshore City for Dawn and Kenny to get back. After the call ended, Dawn put the phone up, got from from the stool in front of the video phone, and went over to where Kenny and Maylene were sitting, with Riolu and Leni looking right at them. Dawn sat down on Maylene's right, which put Maylene right in the middle, sandwiched between the reborn trainers.

...

Kenny was found sitting rather awkwardly in the lobby of the Veilstone City Pokémon Center at barely after five the following morning; somehow in his sleep, Kenny had turned so that he was now sitting upside down, with his feet sticking up here his head should be and his head hanging around where his feet ought to be. He was like that when Dawn, with a relieved look on her face, resisted the urge to kick Kenny in his head and instead opted to squat down to gently pat her friend on the side of his face to wake him up.

He fell to his right falling off of where he was more hanging than sitting, before getting up from the floor and dusting himself off. "So?" Kenny asked, "How is Maylene's Lucario doing?" Dawn, after looking at Kenny for a moment, gave a relieved sigh as she nodded her head in the affirmative before giving her friend a look that was equal parts relieved and glad.

"...Nurse Joy successfully completed the surgery a few hours ago. Maylene's Lucario is going to make it."

END, CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Author's notes;

And here we see Ash and Kenny earn their respective Beacon Badges, meaning all three of the heroes who are competing in the Sinnoh league now qualify for the Lily of the Valley Conference. Worryingly, however, Dawn and then Kenny had to fly off to Veilstone City when news of Maylene's Lucario taking a turn for the worse is given, but thankfully the Lucario was able to pull through. Anyway, the next chapter will see the heroes reach Lily of the Valley Island, where they discuss a few things before they set to spend the time between then and the start of the conference doing a little bit of training.

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), Slick (male Snorlax), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Shallot (male Glaceon), Elay (male Sandslash; shiny), Black (Giratina)

Ash's Pokémon: Pikachu (male), Swampert (female), Infernape (male), Torterra (male), Gliscor (male), Dusclops (male; shiny)