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

Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai

Chapter forty-five: Lily of the Valley Conference, final round

"Swellow, I choose you!"

"Alright, Souji! Let's get goin'!"

The battle of the Lily of the Valley Conference's final round, which saw Dawn battle Ash, started off by seeing Ash send out his Swellow and Dawn send out her named Rampardos. Given that it was a pure rock type against a dual normal flying type, Dawn already had the advantage. However, she by no means expected that to give her an easy knock out against Swellow, mostly due to how Swellow is one of Ash's Pokémon.

As such, she's planning to play it safe. "Souji, use Rock Tomb!" Dawn commanded, gesturing forward.

"Swellow return!" Ash said, immediately swapping his Pokémon out, "Heracross, I choose you!" In a wise move on Ash's part, he swapped his Swellow out to send Heracross out. Even though it's partly bug type so it still took some damage from Rock Tomb along with the accompanying speed drop, being part fighting type allowed Heracross to tank the Rock Tomb from Souji a lot better than how Swellow would of taken it.

Seeing a fighting type Pokémon out, Dawn immediately moved to recall Souji. "Souji that's enough, fall back!" After recalling her Rampardos, Dawn tossed up a pokéball as she called out, "Alright, Coupins! Let's get goin'!" Coming out in Souji's place was Coupins, Dawn's named Mothim.

Pointing forward, Ash called out, "Heracross, use Horn Attack!"

"Coupins, use Air Slash!" Dawn ordered.

Due to the decreased speed, Heracross wasn't as fast as he should have been. While he tried rushing Coupins as fast as he could, Heracross just wasn't able to reach him soon enough as the bug flying Pokémon whipped up a slashing force of wind he launched at Heracross, scoring a solid direct hit that sent Heracross flying back until he hit the ground and skidded along, kicking up a trail of dust that, when it settled, showed that Heracross was knocked out.

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

As Ash recalled his defeated Heracross, Dawn was giving his Pokémon he's used so far some very serious consideration. "Swellow and Heracross," Dawn thought, "And I see he has Pikachu with him. I'd say that Ash is coming at me with the same party he used in the anime in my previous life where he fought Tobias, but it'd be foolish to make assumptions, especially considering what all has gone down here up to this point."

After Ash had recalled his Heracross, he tossed up a pokéball as he said, "Swellow, I choose you!"

"Coupins that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Pokémon, "Alright, Luna! Let's get goin'!" After the swap, Dawn's named Luxray came out into the battle. Pointing forward, Dawn called out, "Luna, use Ice Fang!"

"Swellow return!" Ash said, calling his Swellow back again, "Sceptile, I choose you!" For the second time in the battle so far, Ash called his Swellow back before it could take a super effective hit, and sent another Pokémon out in its place. However Dawn, anticipating that Ash would send in his Gible because he thought she'd call for Luna to use an electric attack, called instead for Luna to use her Ice Fang attack.

Instead and to Dawn's surprise, Ash sent in Sceptile, a fourth Pokémon that was common between Ash's battle against Tobias in the anime from Dawn's previous life and the battle Ash was having here against Dawn herself. Sceptile got bit on his left forearm by Luna's Ice Fang and, although the hit pained Sceptile greatly, by no means was he finished. "Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!" Ash called out.

Sceptile made the leaves on his arms grow long and glow green, slashing at Luna and dealing a solid hit that made Luna cry out in pain as she was pushed back. Pointing forward, Ash called out, "Sceptile, use Leaf Storm!"

"Luna that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Pokémon out, "Alright, Coupins! Let's get goin'!" After the swap, Dawn's Mothim came back out and, although he got hit by Sceptile's Leaf Storm, it was a grazing hit at best. Additionally, being dual bug flying gave Coupins a very amazing resistance to grass attacks. Pointing forward towards Sceptile, Dawn said, "Coupins, use Bug Buzz!"

"Sceptile return!" Ash said, swapping his Sceptile back out. Dawn considered herself wise because she knew better than to expect Ash to use the exact same party he had used against Tobias in the anime in her previous life despite how four of the Pokémon were shared, because Ash called out as he tossed up the pokéball he held, "Charizard, I choose you!"

Upon seeing Ash send his Charizard of all things out against her, Dawn immediately recalled her named Mothim after his attack hit Charizard and barely did anything to him at all. "Coupins that's enough, fall back! Alright, Lynn! Let's get goin'!" Taking the place of Dawn's Mothim was her Floatzel, who cried out as she came into battle. Pointing forward, Dawn said, "Lynn, use Waterfall!"

"Charizard return!" Ash said as he called his Pokémon back, "Sceptile, I choose you!" Ash sent his Sceptile back out to body the Waterfall attack, taking it a lot better than he took the Ice Fang attack from Luna previously. "Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!"

"Lynn, use Ice Punch while you're up close to Sceptile!" Dawn called out. Lynn, her right fist glowing with an icy cold energy, slugged Sceptile in the left side of his ribcage, dealing him another solid blow. However, Sceptile was also able to land a solid blow on Lynn, throwing her back as she cried out greatly in pain from the super effective Leaf Blade.

As the named Floatzel struggled to get back up after she was thrown to the ground, Ash called out, "Sceptile, use Leaf Storm!" Sceptile conjured his violent storming attack and casted it at Lynn, hitting her and making the ground around Lynn kick up a cloud of dust as Lynn cried out in great pain again. When the dust had settled, everyone could see it that Lynn had been knocked out.

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

As Dawn recalled her defeated Floatzel, she thought, "This is actually the first time any of my Pokémon have gone down in a battle." Looking to where Ash stood, Dawn thought, "And of all the people to have been the first to defeat one of my Pokémon, it's Ash. That just goes to prove that Ash is really one of the greats." Tossing up another pokéball, Dawn said, "Alright, Chi-Chi! Let's get goin'!" Dawn's named Infernape, who was wearing an Expert Belt held item, was the answer she had to Ash's Sceptile this time. "Use Fire Punch!"

"Sceptile return!" Ash said as he called his Sceptile back, "Swampert, I choose you!" Taking the place of Ash's Sceptile was his Swampert, the very Pokémon that Dawn herself had prompted Ash back in Canalave City to capture after his then Grotle had knocked it out during the Wailmer in the sewers fiasco. Chi-Chi rushed in and slugged Swampert on the top of its head with Fire Punch, but it didn't do all that much to it.

Pointing forward, Ash called out, "Swampert, use Earthquake!"

"Chi-Chi that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she quickly recalled her Infernape, "Alright, Coupins! Let's get goin'!" Taking Chi-Chi's place was Coupins who, due to being part flying type, was easily able to avoid Swampert's Earthquake entirely. "Coupins, use Giga Drain!"

"Swampert return!" Ash said as he swapped his Pokémon out again, "Charizard, I choose you!" After the swap, Ash had his Charizard back out, who got hit by the Giga Drain but it barely even popped up on Charizard's radar. Pointing forward, Ash commanded, "Charizard, use Flamethrower!"

"Coupins that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Pokémon yet again, "Alright, Souji! Let's get goin'!" Dawn's named Rampardos came back out into the battle and, while he took the Flamethrower from Charizard, he did it pretty well. "Souji, use Rock Tomb!" Dawn called out.

"Charizard, use Dragon Tail!" Ash called out. Both Pokémon used their attacks, with Souji hitting Charizard and doing significant damage to him, but given that Charizard is (arguably) Ash's strongest Pokémon he's got at this point, it wouldn't go down to just one rock type attack. Also, as Souji was hit by Dragon Tail, he got forced out and Luna was forced into the battle.

Looking at how hurt Charizard was, Dawn figured that one solid Spark from Luna would take him down. But figuring that Ash might anticipate that and call Charizard back and send Swampert back out, Dawn decided against the gamble. "Luna, use Crunch!" Dawn ordered.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Ash called out, surprising Dawn as he was apparently keeping his Charizard in the battle. Luna rushed at Ash's Charizard, her open maw bared, as Charizard spewed a powerful, forceful blast of fire right at her. Luna took a grazing hit on her side where Sceptile had previously hit her with Leaf Blade, making her snarl in pain as she continued to rush forward and jumped up, going right down on Charizard and biting right down on his left shoulder.

Dawn saw that she had landed a solid hit, but saw to her concern that it didn't do too much because Charizard's Flamethrower had managed to inflict a burn on Luna. As the named Luxray flinched in pain from her burn, Ash called out, "Charizard, use Slash!" Charizard slashed at Luna with his claws having grown long, striking her and making her fall back until she hit the ground, clearly out of it.

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

Up in the audience, Kenny who sat with Brock said, "Holy geez, Ash has so far taken out two of Dawn's Pokémon so far while having only lost one! Ash is giving Dawn the business is what he's doing right now!"

"...True, but Ash has shown Dawn all of his on hand Pokémon," Brock pointed out, "Given that it's clear he's got Pikachu with him. As for Dawn, she's only shown five of her six on hand Pokémon, so her last one is a mystery." As Dawn recalled her defeated Luxray, Brock went on, "Ash may not be at as much of an advantage as you may give him credit for, despite how he's got five Pokémon left to the four Dawn has left."

Down on the battlefield, Dawn tossed up a pokéball as she said, "Alright, Souji! Let's get goin'!" After Dawn's named Rampardos came back out, Dawn pointed forward and commanded, "Souji, use Rock Tomb!"

"Charizard return!" Ash said as he called his Charizard back, "Sceptile, I choose you!" After Sceptile came back out and got grazed by the Rock Tomb, Ash yelled, "Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!"

"Souji that's enough, fall back!" Dawn called out as she swapped her Pokémon out again, "Alright, Coupins! Let's get goin'!" After her named Mothim came back out and took the Leaf Blade which hardly did much, Dawn ordered, "Coupins, use Air Slash!" Coupins whipped up a slashing force of wind again that he this time cast at Sceptile, striking him directly and making him cry out in great pain as he was thrown back and hit the ground, skidding for a bit until coming to a stop, which at that point everyone saw Sceptile had been defeated.

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

As Ash recalled his defeated Sceptile, Dawn gave him a look of serious consideration. "Aside from Charizard and Swampert taking the place of Torkoal and Gible," Dawn thought, "Ash is using the same party he used in the anime in my previous life when he fought against Tobias in the Lily of the Valley Conference. The changes to Ash's party here actually makes him a far greater challenge to face off in a battle against, if I do say so myself."

After the Kanto region native recalled his defeated Sceptile, Kenny up in the audience remarked to Brock, "Now Dawn's evened the score. If she can hold onto it, she has a good shot at winning."

"But this is Ash that Dawn's battling against," Brock pointed out, "Ash is no slouch when it comes to being a Pokémon trainer. The fact that he, same as Dawn, made it to the final round here in the Lily of the Valley Conference is a testament to that." Looking down where Ash faced off against Dawn down on the battlefield, Brock went on, "If Dawn wants to win against Ash, then she can't just rest on her laurels."

Kenny nodded in agreement. "Well it's a good thing that my main man always tries to be prepared for whatever."

Down on the battlefield, Ash tossed up a pokéball as he called out, "Swellow, I choose you!"

"Coupins that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she called her Mothim back, "Alright, Chi-Chi! Let's get goin'!" Taking the place of Dawn's Mothim was her Infernape, who cried out challengingly at the Swellow that Ash had sent out.

Ash seemed a bit confused by the fact that Dawn was sending in a fighting type Pokémon against his Swellow. However, he knew better than to underestimate Dawn, especially since her Infernape had been able to, all on her own, defeat Tobias's Darkrai, no easy feat even though Infernape held a type advantage against the legendary Pokémon. Ash decided to play it safe and have Swellow try to blitz Infernape quickly.

Pointing forward, Ash called out, "Swellow, use Aerial Ace!"

"Chi-Chi, use Thunder Punch!" Dawn called out, making Ash go a bit wide eyed in surprise.

Swellow flew in quickly at Chi-Chi, who had her right fist electrified and ready to swing up right into the flying Pokémon's gut. Sure enough, when Swellow was within one foot of striking Chi-Chi, the named Infernape swung her electrified fist right up into Swellow's gut, stopping its own attack cold and making Swellow cough up some spittle as it was thrown back by the force of Chi-Chi's potent Thunder Punch attack, boosted by Iron Fist and the Expert Belt held item that Chi-Chi wore.

When Swellow hit the ground a few feet away from Chi-Chi, everyone could see that it had been knocked out. Holding up a hand, the referee announced, "Swellow is unable to battle! The winner is Infernape!"

As Ash recalled his defeated Swellow, Dawn thought, "Now he's only got Swampert and Charizard, plus Pikachu who's riding on his shoulder right now. If I'm careful with what I got left, I could actually net a win here."

Ash tossed up another pokéball as he called out, "Swampert, I choose you!" Taking the place of Ash's defeated Swellow was his Swampert, who cried out challengingly as it entered battle. Pointing forward, Ash called out, "Swampert, use Earthquake!"

"Chi-Chi that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Pokémon, "Alright, Coupins! Let's get goin'!" Mothim came fluttering back out after taking Infernape's place, safely avoiding the mighty Earthquake that shook the battlefield violently. Pointing forward, Dawn called out, "Coupins, use Giga Drain!"

"Swampert, use Waterfall!" Ash commanded. As Swampert rushed at Coupins while cloaked in violently surging water, the named Mothim cast red beams of energy at Swampert, painfully draining health from the powerful water ground type Pokémon. But Swampert wasn't down for the count, as it then rushed right into Coupins and struck him hard, making him reel back. Both of the Pokémon looked about to go down for the count. "Swampert, use Ice Punch!" Ash called out.

"Coupins, use Air Slash!" Dawn ordered. Both Pokémon threw their attacks at one another, with Swampert bodying the painful Air Slash as it was barely able to slug Coupins right in the gut with that Ice Punch attack. Both Pokémon fell away from one another, kicking up clouds of dust when they hit the ground. When the dust had all settled, everyone saw that both Swampert and Coupins had taken each other out.

Holding up both hands, the referee announced, "Both Swampert and Mothim are unable to battle! This is a double knockout!"

Dawn and Ash recalled their respective Pokémon that had just gone down. As he and Brock were watching up in the audience, Kenny remarked, "Wow. Dawn's Mothim is a beast. He's responsible for knocking out half of Ash's party here, although he had to take Swampert down with him."

Brock nodded in agreement. Looking up at the monitor that was showing what Ash and Dawn respectively had left, Brock said, "Now Ash only has his Charizard and Pikachu left. Meanwhile Dawn has Infernape and Rampardos, plus a third mystery Pokémon." Brock wore a serious, grim look of consideration on his face. "...This battle is going to be determined by the next few attacks that are called."

Down on the battlefield, Ash called out while tossing up a pokéball, "Charizard, I choose you!"

"Alright, Souji!" Dawn said as she sent her Rampardos back out, "Let's get goin'!"

Both trainers sent their next Pokémon out, Charizard for Ash and Rampardos for Dawn. The reborn trainer saw that she had an advantage; all Ash had left was his Charizard, a dual fire flying type Pokémon that had already taken great damage, and his Pikachu who is far and away from being the most durable Pokémon in the world. Even if Ash called Charizard back to try to avoid facing a type disadvantage, Souji would still deal great damage thanks to his absurdly high physical attack.

The Rock Tomb that Dawn was going to call for Souji to use will deal great damage regardless of if it hit Charizard or Pikachu, and if it hit Pikachu it would lower his speed which will give Souji a better shot of out running Pikachu to take him out with Earthquake. Dawn had greater confidence now that she could actually win here against Ash, but she still wanted to play it safe. She gestured right towards Ash's Charizard, made the call to see how Ash would react.

"Souji, use Rock Tomb!" Dawn ordered.

"Charizard, use Dragon Tail!" Ash commanded.

The two Pokémon used their attacks, hitting one another and doing a lot to one another. Charizard getting hit by Rock Tomb actually took him out, but Souji was able to endure the Dragon Tail but was forced out of battle, with Chi-Chi taking his place after she had been dragged out. Holding up a hand, the referee announced, "Charizard is unable to battle! The winner is Infernape!"

"Technically it was Souji who knocked Charizard out," Dawn thought, "But I'm guessing the win was given to Chi-Chi since she's the one I had out when Charizard was declared unable to battle."

Over where Ash stood, he looked to Pikachu who was sitting perched on his shoulder. "...You ready for this, Pikachu?" Pikachu gave an affirmative cry as Ash sent him out into battle against Dawn's named Infernape. After Pikachu was sent out, Ash gave Dawn a challenging look. "I hope that you're ready, because this is where I make my stand!" Pointing forward towards Dawn's Infernape, Ash called out, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Chi-Chi, block it with Thunder Punch!" Dawn ordered.

Pikachu loosed his Thunderbolt at Chi-Chi who, with her electrified right fist, swung up from her left to catch the Thunderbolt with her fist. "Now use Earthquake!" Dawn called out. Still swinging with the movement of catching Pikachu's Thunderbolt with her Thunder Punch, Chi-Chi swung around and punched the ground with her fist still crackling with electricity. The use of Earthquake shook the entire battlefield, slamming Pikachu with seismic waves that damaged him greatly.

Despite how game logic would say this would be more than sufficient to defeat Pikachu, Dawn knew better since this was Ash's Pikachu. Sure enough, he struggled himself back up on all fours, although he clearly was hanging in by the skin of his teeth. "Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Ash ordered.

"Chi-Chi, use Fire Punch!" Dawn commanded.

Both Pokémon rushed at one another, with Chi-Chi having both of her fists engulfed in flames and pulled back as Pikachu came rushing at her while he was cloaked in a violently surging shroud of electricity. The two Pokémon reached one another, with Chi-Chi swinging both fiery fists forward to push back against Pikachu who was trying to push her back in the process. The two Pokémon, both the first Pokémon respectively ever obtained by Dawn and Ash, refused to let up.

So much power was kicked up by the clash of Volt Tackle and the double Fire Punch that a cloud of dust was kicked up when the power blew up, sending both Chi-Chi and Pikachi reeling back. Chi-Chi and Pikachu were able to land on their feet, but both were clearly worn out. The two Pokémon both breathed hard out of exhaustion for a few tense moments, with everyone on the edge of their seats as they all wondered who would end up going down here after so epic of a clash.

Eventually, the tension broke when Pikachu, giving out a pained and tired cry, fell over onto his left side and passed out on the ground, clearly out of it. Seeing this, the referee announced while raising a hand, "Pikachu is unable to battle! The winner is Infernape!" Gesturing to Dawn, the referee then declared, "Victory of this battle goes to Dawn!"

Dawn sighed in relief, glad that the battle was finally over. Ash, although disappointed that he had lost after coming so far, still smiled as he collected his Pikachu. Carrying him, Ash walked over to where Dawn stood, offering her a warm smile as Chi-Chi moved to stand next to her trainer. "That was an awesome battle, Dawn," Ash said, "Congratulations on winning."

"I'm actually more glad that it's just over than the fact that I actually won," Dawn admitted, "The battle was just that intense." The audience cheered in celebration over a well fought battle, as well as cheer in celebration when Dawn was announced as the winner of that year's Lily of the Valley Conference. This meant that, in addition to being awarded the trophy for winning first place, Dawn also earned the right to challenge the Sinnoh elite four and, provided she defeats them, challenge Cynthia for her title and, provided she wins there, become Sinnoh's new champion.

Although the battle for first and second place in the Lily of the Valley Conference was already taken care of, there was still the battle to determine third and fourth, because the award podium had a spot for third place as well. As such, everyone gathered back when the battle between Kenny and Tobias was announced. Everyone was still excited for the battle, given that one of the guys taking part had an all legendary team.

And to everyone's surprise, said guy with the all legendary team actually lost; Kenny, taking a few cues from Dawn's book, sent in Zarbon holding a berry that'd wake him up because of course Tobias first sent out Darkrai and attempted Dark Void. Old habits die hard, Dawn supposed as she and the others watched Kenny's battle against Tobias. Due to Zarbon's No Guard ability, Dark Void was unable to miss him, thus he ended up falling asleep.

But the Lum Berry he held woke him right back up and he went on to strike Darkrai with a painfully potent Cross Chop that scored a critical hit and knocked Darkrai out in one hit. Legendary/mythical or not, Darkrai is still a moderately frail Pokémon, and Zarbon in addition to having a type advantage not only used an attack that got a STAB, but it was a strong physical attack backed by Zarbon's very big physical attack stat.

Tobias then sent Latios out, to which Kenny answered by sending in Black after calling Zarbon back. Seeing Kenny send out the legendary Pokémon Giratina got the entire audience excited as they were seeing two legends clash again in the Lily of the Valley Conference. Black disappeared when Kenny called for it to use Shadow Force, avoiding Latios's Luster Purge and going on to slam hard right down onto Latios after reappearing, scoring a crit that knocked Latios out.

The next contest saw Tobias send his shiny Articuno out, to which Kenny answered by swapping Zarbon back in. The two Pokémon exchanged attacks that laid one another low, Zarbon taking a Blizzard that took advantage of his decreased special defense growth, and Articuno taking a Stone Edge that in addition to being times four super effective also scored a crit. Tobias seemed a little relieved that he had actually been able to defeat one of Kenny's Pokémon.

But the next contest saw Tobias send his shiny Cresselia out while Kenny called Black back out into battle. After Kenny called for Black to use Shadow Force, Tobias called Cresselia back and sent his shiny Raikou out. Tobias called for Raikou to use Protect and thought that Raikou would be safe, but to his surprise Shadow Force actually hit through Protect and hit Raikou hard. Kenny then called for Black to use Earthquake, slamming Raikou with seismic waves that knocked it out.

Tobias then sent his shiny Entei out, to which Kenny called Black back and sent Kermit out to face the shiny legendary Pokémon. Entei was able to land an Eruption before getting hit by Kermit's Surf, taking a good chunk of damage but not enough to lay the legendary beast low by a long shot. The two exchanged attacks again, Kermit sticking to Surf while Entei used Lava Plume this time; the attack despite not being very effective brought Kermit to the brink and burned him, and it was the pain from his burn that defeated Kermit.

Kenny called Kermit back and sent Black back out and, with a Slash that resulted in a critical, Black defeated the weakened Entei. Tobias was then forced to send his shiny Cresselia back out, but after taking a Shadow Force and a Dragon Claw while only being able to land a Psychic and a Psycho Cut, Cresselia was defeated by Kenny's named Giratina, resulting in Kenny getting third place in the Lily of the Valley Conference.

...

That evening amidst the fireworks show to celebrate and conclude the Lily of the Valley Conference, Dawn stood on the award podium as Mr. Goodshow and Cynthia presented her with the trophy for winning the Lily of the Valley Conference. Everyone cheered for Dawn as she was celebrated for her impressive accomplishment, as well as the fact that she was now entitled to challenge the Sinnoh elite four to see if she could challenge Cynthia for her title of champion of Sinnoh.

To Dawn, the choice of what to do was obvious.

END, CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Author's notes;

And here we see the conclusion of the Lily of the Valley Conference, with Dawn netting a victory over Ash but not without having fought her toughest battle yet. There was then the battle between Kenny and Tobias to determine third and fourth, with Kenny winning with only two of his Pokémon going down in the process. Now, having won the Lily of the Valley Conference, Dawn could now challenge the Sinnoh elite four and, provided she wins, challenge Cynthia for the title of champion of the Sinnoh region. Things are going to be intense, so don't turn that dial.

Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Coupins (male Mothim), Souji (male Rampardos), Lynn (female Floatzel) Luna (female Luxray), Tsukune (Palkia)

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

Ash's Pokémon: Pikachu (male), Swellow (male), Heracross (male), Swampert (female), Sceptile (male), Charizard (male)