Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai
Chapter Eighty-eight: Blackthorn battles, part five
Dawn and Katsuku had Cyrus and Fearow fly in and around groups of Team Scorn's Pokémon, taking out many of them in the process. After the flying types were both out of the way, Kenny had Godzilla take out the remaining Pokémon under Team Scorn with Rock Slide. "Are we starting to make a dent in their numbers?" Kenny asked.
"...I think so," Dawn replied, "But we ought to wrap this up quickly. It's lucky for us that members of the Blackthorn City Academy staff are helping to fend off Team Scorn."
Indeed, Dawn and the boys saw various Blackthorn City Academy staff battling the members of Team Scorn that had flooded onto campus. Dawn even spotted Principal Yasuhiro and Board Member Kenta joining the fray, commanding a Raichu and a Machamp respectively. "Sirs!" Dawn called out when there was a lull in the fighting, letting her and the boys run up to Yasuhiro and Kenta to join up with them.
"Ah, Miss Berlitz," Yasuhiro said, "Am I glad that you're here!" Seeing the boys catch up, Yasuhiro went on, "And you even found Suwabe's student Katsuku!"
"Yeah, we were talking off campus in the time between Dawn's battle with Clair and mine," Kenny explained, "We were at a cafe where that Ayane girl works and-"
"You mean the same Young Ayane that Akeno saw to having expelled on the basis she 'challenged her authority'?" Kenta asked, looking curious and mildly concerned.
Katsuku nodded in the affirmative, a mildly somber look on his face. "...Yeah. She's getting on well enough now."
Yasuhiro let out a troubled sigh. "...I never saw any reason to permit her expulsion from Blackthorn City Academy. But Akeno was very much unamused with how Ayane stood up to her when she was berating Amanda in the middle of a class for no reason. And she has a lot of pull around here due to her grandfather's legacy."
Shrugging, Katsuku remarked, "Hey, Justin was looking fit to get up and go right up to Ms. Akeno to pop her in the face, so at least Ayane standing up to that woman first prevented a worse outcome."
Dawn looked curious. "Justin?"
"The dude with long spiky red hair," Katsuku explained, "And my best friend. He's actually Amanda's boyfriend." Dawn now knew who the first born Badorigo son was talking about, as she had seen the boy in question earlier as the students were leaving the lecture hall.
"You think that he'll be wanting to protect Amanda?" Kenny asked.
Giving Kenny a mildly curious 'are you serious' look, Katsuku said, "...Yeah."
"Miss Berlitz," Yasuhiro began, "Mr. Harris, can you take Katsuku with you to go find Suwabe and Matsuda? They should be with their respective homeroom classes, Lance, and Clair!"
The two reborn trainers nodded in the affirmative, then with Katsuku and their Pokémon they still had out, went into part of the main school building, hoping to find Lance and the others so that they could join up with them and help fight off Team Scorn and save (what was left of) Blackthorn City Academy.
Justin, Colleen, and eight other students got cut off and separated from the rest of the group when Team Scorn was able to launch a pincer attack on the group in an area of the halls where it branched off into for different paths. The separated students were forced to run when the Team Scorn grunts who had separated them from the group began trying to surround them. "How were they able to separate us?!" screamed the girl with the orange ponytail, "We were with Lance!"
"I guess even the Indigo League Champion can be overwhelmed with enough numbers," Colleen said bitterly, "He and the teachers weren't able to protect all of us from being separated from the group by Team Scorn."
Justin growled in annoyance. "Damn Team Scorn. When I get my hands on the jerks running this attack on us, I'm going to-"
"Oh! Hi Justin!" Justin and the other students in his group stopped short upon hearing Amanda call out. Looking over, the students all felt their hearts leap out of their chests when they saw Amanda, but she was with a group of six Team Scorn members, three of which were dressed differently from the simple rank and file. The one who was in the yellow and dark blue checker pattern haori was even carrying a katana, to the immediate alarm of the students.
Seeing that Amanda recognized one of the boys in the group, the Team Scorn member with the katana graciously allowed Amanda to run right over to the other students. "Don't worry, we had done no harm to Amanda here," the Team Scorn member with the katana said, "I wouldn't allow it."
Colleen, despite the situation, wore an 'oh really' kind of expression. "...Pretty generous, considering that the gesture is from criminals like you guys."
"Hey, that girl is actually pretty tight," the light cocoa skinned female Team Scorn grunt said, "She's a lot like Admin Brother's assistant, actually."
"So one of you is a higher up in Team Scorn," the orange ponytail girl said.
The guy with the katana nodded in confirmation. "I am Admin Brother, head of Team Scorn's Katana Sector." Gesturing to the one in the long sleeved yellow shirt, Brother went on, "And this is my sector's First Captain, Quaid." Looking to the students, Brother said, "We aren't aiming to kill anyone in our attack on Blackthorn City as a whole, if that's what you all are worried about. We just want to do enough damage, especially to this school here, to send a message to the world at large."
Colleen looked at Brother suspiciously. "...And that message would be..."
"That Team Scorn is to be allowed to carry out its will uncontested," Brother said simply, "And that not letting Team Scorn do so will result in examples such as what happened here today."
The girl with the orange ponytail growled in angered annoyance. "So the entire world is supposed to just roll over and let you guys do what you want, when you want it? How is that fair?!"
Glaring at the orange ponytail girl, Brother went on, "How is it fair that this school had permitted the hiring of that vile woman who Akari, Amanda, and I encountered over in the school library? If any of you had heard the poison that she was spitting, you would have long since already learned that the world at large is unfair!" Brother gripped the end of his katana's hilt, even turning to show his left side so that the students saw it. "...Luckily, I was able to convince that woman to... retire from her teaching position here."
The students aside from Amanda all felt shivers go down their spines, understanding full well what Admin Brother was implying he had done. Amanda herself, however, was oblivious to what Brother was really meaning. "Ms. Akeno is retiring from being a teacher here?" Amanda asked, "Oh thank goodness, she was really mean and scary! Oh, since Ms. Akeno is retiring now, does that mean that Ayane gets to come back to school?"
"...Amanda, babe," Justin said, "I think that Ms. Akeno is more than just simply retired..."
Colleen marched forward and tossed up a pokéball, sending out a Persian. The orange ponytail girl backed Colleen up by sending out a Hariyama. "As... as bad as Ms. Akeno was," Colleen said to the admin of Team Scorn's Katana Sector, "You had gone too far!"
"To hell with it!" the orange ponytail girl screamed, "We'll take you down here and now!"
The light cocoa skinned female Team Scorn grunt snickered in amusement. "Alright," she said as she proceeded to take out a pokéball, "About damn time I saw some act-"
"Tawny, stand down," Quaid ordered, then went on after sending out a Watchog, "I believe that Admin Brother will want me to help him handle this."
Brother merely nodded once in agreement, right before he sent out a Samurott. "...Yeah. We will have this handled quickly."
Now that he was a Tyranitar, Godzilla was making quick work of all of the Pokémon that Team Scorn sent out against Dawn, Kenny, and Katsuku, leaving only a scant few opposing Pokémon for Cyrus and Fearow to pick off. "FiGhT mEh!" Kenny called out challengingly as he, while now riding on Godzilla's back, was sweeping away Team Scorn grunt after Team Scorn grunt, laughing as if he were a madman.
At this point, Dawn and Katsuku, along with Cyrus and Fearow, were simply hanging back. "...Is..." Katsuku began while talking to Dawn as he pointed at Kenny, "...Is that normal?"
"By Kenny standards, yes," Dawn replied in a dry but casual tone, "And so long as he remembers to have his Tyranitar refrain from trying to cause collateral damage to the surrounding area, I say we let things run their course here. It'll get the job of beating back Team Scorn soon enough." Katsuku turned back to look as the remaining Team Scorn grunts in the area were all forced to flee, given that Kenny defeated all of them.
After calling out to Kenny to regroup, Katsuku said, "We ought to try to find the Team Scorn head honchos that are leading the attack on Blackthorn City as a whole. Beat their asses and take them both in. That ought to end the attack."
"If what I figure is correct," Dawn said, "Then we're looking for the top two officers in Team Scorn's Katana Sector, First Captain Quaid and Admin Brother. They are most likely accompanied by their respective Officer's Assistants as well."
Kenny pounded a fist into his hand, a gesture mirrored by Godzilla. "We'll have them grounded into a viscous red paste by the time Godzilla here and I are through with them!"
"...I hope that was a metaphor meaning you'll soundly defeat them in battle," Dawn said, "We got it down that Team Scorn actually doesn't want to kill anyone. Let's not give them a reason to go back on that word they gave."
Katsuku nodded in agreement, right before he felt something vibrate in his pants pocket. Pulling out a phone, the first born Badorigo son saw that he got a text. "...It from Justin!" Katsuku said, "He said that he, Colleen, that orange ponytail girl from the other homeroom class, and a few others just found Amanda who wasn't with everyone else when the attack started!"
Dawn nodded once before saying, "Well that's good ne-"
"He also says that everyone's trying to fight those Quaid and Brother jerks right now," Katsuku went on, alarming the reborn trainers, "They're in the hallway with the Pokémon lore history classroom!" Since Katsuku knew the way, Dawn had him lead her and Kenny over there in order to help back up the students struggling against the leading officers of Team Scorn's Katana Sector, hoping that it won't be too late by the time they arrive.
...
Justin now stood alone, with his group huddled up behind him, as he faced off against Brother, who had Quaid and the others behind him. Justin had a Scizor out, a normal red one, while Brother still had his Samurott out. "...Considering how you're the only one in your number here," Brother began as he spoke to Justin, "Who still has Pokémon who can battle despite how you guys have superior numbers, it's rather impressive."
Justin, despite the tight situation he was in, couldn't help but smirk. "...Well you're the only Team Scorn guy here who has Pokémon who can still fight. But that probably makes sense since you're the top dog of your portion."
Brother's gaze narrowed just a tiny bit. "...I ought to wrap this up quickly." Pointing forward, Brother called out, "Samurott, use Razor Shell!"
Samurott drew out one of its seamitars and rushed at Justin's Scizor, the blade glowing blue as it left a trail of blue light in its path. Both Justin and his Scizor went wide eyed with alarm as they saw the fast attack rush towards the latter. Justin was about to call out for Scizor to get out of the way, but he stopped short when he heard someone call something out suddenly.
"Cyrus, intercept the Samurott's attack with Aerial Ace!"
A Staraptor then flew in suddenly and, with a quick slashing motion it made by flying in at an angle, it parried away Samurott's Razor Shell. The Staraptor then flew in place as it cawed at Samurott, right before a Fearow flew over to join it. The students then were forced to part as Dawn, Katsuku, Kenny, and Godzilla made their way through. "...Woah," Kenny said upon seeing Justin's Scizor, "I see my shiny Scizor Cell so often that seeing a normal one kind of throws me for a loop."
"Justin, you and your Scizor look like you both got the crap kicked out of you," Katsuku said, "Let me and the kids from Sinnoh handle this."
Seeing Justin and his Scizor back up as Staraotor, Fearow, and the Tyranitar move in to oppose his Samurott, Brother said, "...Ah, I see how it is." Brother then tossed up two more pokéballs, calling out, "Go, Ampharos and Primeape! Back up Samurott!"
After seeing Brother send out his Ampharos and Primeape, Dawn realized that, type wise, she and the boys are in big trouble. "Cyrus, use Aerial Ace on Primeape!" Dawn called out, figuring it was best to first free Tyranitar from trouble.
"Fearow, use Drill Peck on Samurott!" Katsuku ordered.
"Godzilla, use Rock Slide!" Kenny comanded.
"Samurott, use Razor Shell on Tyranitar!" Brother ordered, "Primeape, use Close Combat on Tyranitar! Ampharos, use Thunderbolt on Fearow!"
Kenny looked a bit panicked that two super effective attacks were coming Godzilla's way, especially as one was times four super effective. Thankfully, Cyrus struck the Primeape with Aerial Ace and knocked it out before it could hit Godzilla. Fearow was also able to get its hit in on Samurott, but the Samurott was able to push through and strike the named Tyranitar with Razor Shell, dealing a solid hit. Tyranitar was then able to get off Rock Slide, but while Apmharos was hit and also flinched, Samurott was able to avoid it.
Ampharos flinching due to Rock Slide was a boon to Dawn and the boys. Pointing at Ampharos, Dawn said, "Cyrus, use Close Combat on Ampharos!"
"Fearow, use Drill Run on Ampharos!" Katsuku called out.
"Godzilla, use Rock Slide!" Kenny commanded.
"Ampharos, use Thunderbolt on Fearow!" Brother ordered, "Samurott, use Sacred Sword on Tyranitar!"
Both flying Pokémon, despite the risk, flew in at Ampharos, with Cyrus blitzing it with Close Combat, then Fearow striking it in the gut with Drill Run. The combined assault from the Pokémon it would normally have an advantage against ended up overwhelming Brother's Ampharos, knocking it out and prompting Brother to recall it. However, that left Samurott free to rush Godzilla and strike it with Sacred Sword, making the might pseudo-legendary cry out in pain before he fell over with a heavy thud, clearly out of it.
"Oh hell no!" Kenny said as he withdrew his fainted Tyranitar, "He knocked out Godzilla!" Kenny then sent Roshi out in Godzilla's place. "Let's see how you like this! Roshi, use Seed Bomb!"
"Fearow, use Drill Peck!" Katsuku called out.
"Cyrus, use Facade!" Dawn ordered.
"Samurott, use Night Slash on Fearow!" Brother commanded.
Still the fastest Pokémon in the battle, Cyrus rushed Samurott and struck it with a powerful Facade. The Samurott was able to push through by the skin of its teeth before going on to slash at Fearow with a stinging Night Slash that, due to scoring a critical hit, knocked Fearow out. But then Roshi's Seed Bomb flew in and blasted right into Samurott, throwing it back until it had hit the floor and slid along for a bit before coming to a stop, clearly out of it.
Seeing his last Pokémon knocked out, Brother recalled it before letting out a sigh. The students behind Katsuku and the reborn trainers all cheered, aside from Amanda who got a bit panicky due to the sudden loud noises as she moved to put on her noise cancelling headphones. "...Bravo," Brother congratulated dryly, "I suppose you lot think that you all have reason to celebrate."
"Damn straight we do!" Justin cheered, "Your sorry ass just got handed to you!"
Brother looked at the students and two reborn trainers dryly. "...You think that Team Scorn will be defeated, our efforts here foiled utterly, simply because the officers leading the mission here were both defeated in battle. But let me ask you this." Pointing at everyone, Brother asked, "Will my defeat here undo what damage had been caused to the school, to Blackthorn City as a whole? Will my defeat here mean that the world at large need not have to fear anything at all out of Team Scorn?"
The students, as well as Dawn and Kenny, watched as Brother gently shook his head. "...No, I don't think so. The ultimate goal that Team Scorn had here was to make a mark, to send a message to the world at large that Team Scorn isn't to be trifled with. Close to fifty percent of this school had been ravaged by our attack on it, and the rank and file spread throughout Blackthorn City as a whole ought to have done other damage as well. I think that the world will get the message."
The students all tensed up when Brother glared at all of them. "Don't mess with Team Scorn. Stay out of our way."
Dawn glared back at Brother. "...You guys in Team Scorn seem to underestimate how determined the rest of the world can be when it comes to fighting off and beating down on bad guys such as you sorry lot. All that this little terrorist attack of yours you guys had launched on Blackthorn City will accomplish in the long run is unite Johto and all of the other regions in the world against Team Scorn. We won't stand aside and let you Team Scorn lot do what you please, as you please, when you please. We will get up in your faces, we will fight back, and we will win."
"...Is that so," Brother said, "Fair enough." Turning around to leave, Brother said, "Quaid, Tawny, get the message out over the communication channel. Team Scorn is withdrawing from Blackthorn City. Hopefully we've done enough damage for our mission here to be considered a success."
"Oh hell no!" Katsuku snarled, "You guys think that you all can just waltz on into Blackthorn City, wreck up the place, then leave when you're feeling tired? Nuh uhh, we're going to-"
"That Ms. Akeno woman," Brother spoke up, catching the attention of the reborn trainers and the students especially given the knowing tone Brother spoke with, "As horrible of a person she is, is still suffering from a... rather terrible headache. She's over in the library, last I checked. You all might want to go check up on her." The students and reborn trainers were too terrified (students) and uncomfortable (Dawn and Kenny) to move as Brother led his Team Scorn fellows away, with Tawny asking in a half amused tone what Brother did.
After Brother and his group were gone, Dawn and the others let out a collective breath, the tension finally relieved. Dawn, Kenny, and Katsuku recalled the Pokémon that they had out before the reborn trainers and Katsuku turned to face the other students. "I think that the attack on Blackthorn City is about to come to a close," Dawn said to the others, "We'll be able to clean up damage, figure out what all Team Scorn has done."
"This is gonna make the news," Kenny said, "It'll make the news probably all over the world, mark my words. No way will this NOT make the news." Within an hour, it was confirmed that all of Team Scorn had withdrawn from Blackthorn City, leaving behind the scars of their attack as a macabre memento of their time visiting the hometown of the Indigo League Champion. After Team Scorn had left Blackthorn City, all that the citizenry could do was clean up and try to make sense of what all had gone down.
Needless to say, it went down as one of the darkest days in recorded Johto region history.
About half an hour after the last of Team Scorn was reported to have left Blackthorn City, Dawn, Kenny, and their portion of the students met up with Suwabe, Matsuda, the students who were with them, Lance, and Clair. They were then met up by Kenta and Yasuhiro, who were both tired but were able to get through the attack without being defeated in battle.
Dawn and Kenny then told the school staff, plus Lance and Clair, what Admin Brother had implied he did. Telling the students to stay in the safety of the school's stadium, the staff, as well as Lance, Clair, Dawn, and Kenny, all went over to the library. It was there that they saw that Akeno was indeed suffering from a particularly potent headache, one of a grim nature that they knew full well Akeno will never recover from.
Later, a dozen officers from the BCPD (Blackthorn City Police Department), including the local Officer Jenny, came by to get statements, as well as carry Akeno away in a body bag. The police, after being told that Amanda was present at the time Admin Brother gave Akeno a permanent headache, had to get a statement from the autistic girl. From what Amanda gave them, the police had determined that Admin Brother had decapitated Akeno with his katana because her cruel, vile words had stomped on some of Brother's personal buttons.
They also took note of what Amanda said about how Brother and his Admin's Assistant were unfailingly kind and considerate of her when she showed them around the library because the assistant wanted to see if there were some books she wanted, as well as how Brother's Admin's Assistant was actually his actual younger sister. Amanda didn't mention that said younger sister, same as her, is autistic as it never came up in the questioning. After getting what they felt were all of the details, the police allowed Amanda to go.
The following morning, after the reborn trainers and the students were well rested, they learned that the overnight damage assessment team was able to determine that forty-nine point forty-five percent of Blackthorn City Academy was ravaged by Team Scorn's attack. That, combined with all of the damage on other places in Blackthorn City as a whole, evened out Blackthorn City's overall damage rating at just a little bit over thirty-nine percent.
Lance and the reborn trainers were particularly interested to hear that Ideku Badorigo had gone around fighting off any and every Team Scorn member he came across in Team Scorn's attack on Blackthorn City as a whole, picking off all that he found outside of Blackthorn City Academy. He had even saved several stores from suffering any damage worse than a few smashed up tables and display stands. Items that can easily be replaced. However, the second born Badorigo son couldn't be found for a statement afterwards.
To a lack of surprise from the reborn trainers, every news station in Johto was playing news about Team Scorn's terrorist attack on Blackthorn City. Dawn called to where Johanna was in Unova; it was that call that told Dawn that news of Team Scorn's attack had already made inter-regional news, as Johanna had mentioned that she, Lila, and their friend Cookie had woken up to news of the attack while they were having breakfast together.
Speaking of Unova, Dawn knew that Team Scorn wasn't going to limit its activity to just Johto. They already had personnel in Hoenn and Unova, and who knows where else Team Scorn's hand has reached to? Dawn and Kenny both knew that they had more reason than ever to continue their journey through the other regions, because now they had more to do than just challenge the gyms in the other regions to earn badges.
They had to bring the fight to Team Scorn.
END, CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT
Author's notes;
This chapter sees the Team Scorn attack on Blackthorn City wrap up, with damage assessment and notification of next of kin being taken care of. Dawn and Kenny, despite wanting to rest back home in Sinnoh for a bit before they go after Hoenn to continue their gym challenge tour, knows now that they can't afford to rest for too long.
The looming spectre of Team Scorn is still out there, and given that they have not only shown a willingness to kill but actually have done so, the reborn trainers got it down that Team Scorn is more dangerous than any other villainous team. A threat that they will deal with in the chapters to come, starting with the next chapter where, after they finish up their business in Johto, Dawn and Kenny will return home to Sinnoh to rest for a bit before heading off to Hoenn, where the Kunai Sector of Team Scorn is reported to be active.
By the way, who here saw the Direct on 8-3-22? The new info on Scarlet and Violet has me excited for those games.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Leni (female Lucario), Argent (male Arcanine; Hisuian; alpha), Rapparatta (Porygon-Z), Cyrus (male Staraptor), Tsukune (Palkia)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Android 21 (female Sneasel; shiny), Godzilla (male Tyraniar), Shallot (male Glaceon), Roshi (male Torterra), Juan (male Pikachu; Libre), Black (Giratina)