Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai
Chapter One-hundred and ten: Onward! To Unova!
Dawn, Kenny, and Trip spent the rest of the night as Salvia's guests at the hotel in Oreburgh City, where their Pokémon were tended to by Salvia's various servants. The people of Salvia's country, including Salvia herself and her personal servant Freesia, were beyond humbled that the three Pokémon their country's primary religion worships, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, were all in the flesh in one place all at once. Salvia asked about the Adamant Orb, which had been stolen by Team Scorn, and Trip explained that he still had it. Deelia, Trip's Dialga, instantly perked up upon hearing that its personal treasure was close at hand. Knowing what it meant to the people of Salvia's country, Trip allowed Salvia to be the one to present the Adamant Orb to Deelia.
After a fun filled night, the three reborn trainers were up early the next morning. After they had freshened up and gotten a small breakfast, Dawn and the boys zoomed right on over to Twinleaf Town, where they went to Dawn's house because Johanna had to see them off. Well, see Dawn and Kenny off; she had yet to meet Trip, but the three reborn trainers had no doubt that she'll warm to Trip quickly. Dawn and the boys figured they'd get an answer for that when they approached Twinleaf Town on the backs of their respective legendary dragons. Some of the locals in Twinleaf Town actually weren't all that phased by seeing Palkia fly in, but they were concerned by the sight of Giratina in its Origin Form, and Dialga was entirely new.
The first local in Twinleaf Town to get any idea what was going on was Johanna, who was enjoying some coffee outside at a table with her friends Lila and Cookie. "Dawn!" Johanna said, getting up and running over to hug her daughter after Dawn had gotten off of Tsukune. Looking over at Kenny getting off of Black, Johanna said, "Umm Kenny, what happened to Giratina? ...Or at least I think that's Giratina."
"Oh yeah, this is still Black," Kenny explained, "It'd just assumed its ultimate form after getting its treasure back."
Johanna nodded in understanding before turning to look at Trip, who had just gotten off of and now stood next to Deelia. "And I assume you're a friend of Dawn's?"
Trip nodded in the affirmative. "The name's Trip Barley, ma'am. I'm traveling along with Dawn and Kenny now."
Johanna smiled in amusement. "Then I assume you're going to the Unova region wi-"
"Ash Ketchum is in Unova right now!" Trip interrupted, "And it's my home region! You bet I'm going to Unova!"
Gesturing to Trip, Dawn said, "Yeah mom, it turns out that the 'Unovan boy who started in Sinnoh' that Kenny and I heard about is Trip here. We verified it last night when we recounted some stories to him."
"He's also a fan of our bud Ash after seeing past league tournaments Ash participated in," Kenny added.
"Oh, I remember Ash Ketchum," Lila said, "He helped out a fair bit when Team Galactic was acting up."
Clapping her hands together, Johanna said, "Well, I hope you kids aren't going to leave for Unova just yet, because it's been a while since you and Kenny have relaxed home here in Sinnoh, Dawn."
Dawn nodded in agreement. "Our plane's scheduled to take off for five-fifteen tomorrow afternoon anyway. And I could still use some down time at home." As such, the three reborn trainers spent the rest of the day regaling Johanna, Lila, and Cookie with tales of Dawn's and Kenny's adventures in Hoenn. What caught Johanna's attention was the fact that Dawn had caught a shiny Makuhita that she evolved into a shiny Hariyama; Johanna figured that Kenny would be catching all of the shiny Pokémon that he and Dawn came across, given Kenny's track record.
Sometime in the last afternoon, the Berlitz residence was visited by Professor Rowan who was told Dawn and the boys had come to Twinleaf Town. He even recognized Trip as the 'Unovan boy who started in Sinnoh', further confirming that Trip had been adventuring around on his own before joining up with Dawn and Kenny. The reborn trainers then expressed to Professor Rowan that they were going to be heading off to Unova soon; to continue their Gym Challenge tour (which Trip who had eight badges each from Sinnoh, Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn already was going to join them on), also it'd be a homecoming for Trip who was a Unovan, and because their friend (and Trip's idol) Ash was in Unova right now.
Right away, Professor Rowan's expression became grim. "...Yes, the Unova region," Rowan said, "Where there's been reports of three different criminal organizations acting up there."
"Three?" Kenny said, looking confused.
"I heard that some members of Team Rocket have been trying to carry out schemes on Unovan soil," Rowan began to explain, "Showing that they're trying to extend their evil reach outside of Kanto and Johto. Then there's Team Plasma, who I got it is native to Unova and hasn't been known trying to spread outside of Unova." Rowan then let out a troubled sigh. "...Then there's been confirmation that Team Scorn is starting to take action there."
"Then that's all the more reason for us to go," Trip said, "We can't stand by and do nothing while Team Scorn is stinkin' up Unova."
Rowan let out a breath. "...There was an attack in Nimbasa City, Unova sometime yesterday. A bunch of members of Team Scorn were causing all sorts of ruckus, and I think their ultimate goal involved stealing something from the high end Pokémon Center in Nimbasa City. There was also a report of a uniquely dressed Team Scorn member using a longsword to..." Rowan paused, took a breath to steady himself. "...To kill a man." Everyone tensed up. "...Apparently impaled him through the chest," Rowan said, "Then yanked the longsword out and swung it at the man's neck to take his head clean off."
Dawn's expression became grim. "...A uniquely dressed member of Team Scorn carrying an actual weapon. It's gotta be an Admin."
"Professor Aurea Juniper actually told me some details that she got," Rowan said, "Although said details were limited to two points. That the murdered man had lost a one on one battle to your friend Ash Ketchum before Team Scorn attacked Nimbasa City, and that Ash Ketchum himself battled the Team Scorn member who had murdered that man."
"Ash battled a murderer?" Trip nearly exclaimed, instantly worried, "Is he alright?"
"I was able to find out that Ash and his friends he's made thus far in Unova are physically alright," Rowan said, "Although a teen girl with blonde hair is grieving. I also got it that Ash was close to defeating the murderous Team Scorn member, their battle not having an actual concluding because Ash suddenly knelt down due to a sudden headache that overpowered him. The murderous Team Scorn member took that opportunity to flee."
Dawn and the boys figured that Ash was close to beating the probable Team Scorn Admin when Team Scorn in Sinnoh attacked and got material from Azelf. Thankfully the probable Team Scorn Admin battling Ash fled when the battle ended inconclusively. "Did you possibly learn what Pokémon were used by who we're guessing will end up being an Admin of Team Scorn?" Kenny asked.
Rowan nodded in the affirmative. "The blonde girl, after Aurea was able to get her to calm down, confirmed that the murderous Team Scorn member had only three Pokémon. A Gallade, a Sceptile, and a Pokémon that the blonde girl said looked like a living sword with a shield. We've deduced from the description she gave that the third Pokémon is an Aegislash."
"This probable Team Scorn Admin carries a longsword," Dawn said, "And his Pokémon have some sword themes at least. Even Sceptile who can learn multiple slashing attacks, which is how a sword is used." Interesting how the probable Team Scorn Admin in the Unova region has a sword theme. Dawn also remembered that there were reports that the Unovan based Team Scorn Admin lacked an Admin's Assistant; that will have to be explored later. For the time being, the reborn trainers relaxed, and Rowan said that he will alert Professor Juniper (Kenny thought her first name Aurea was kind of weird but he didn't vocalize his thoughts) to their impending arrival in Numeva Town, Unova.
Dawn and the boys thanked Professor Rowan for what he'll be doing, Trip especially as Numeva Town is his hometown. With all of that business settled, the reborn trainers proceeded to spend the rest of the night relaxing. They needed their rest, given that the three of them were going to be heading to what will be the fifth region that they had traveled through. They had gym badges to earn, villains (from THREE DIFFERENT TEAMS no less) to fight off, and (for Dawn and Kenny at least) an old friend for them to reunite with. There was no underselling how Unova was shaping up to be the most exciting region any of them had journeyed through to date.
And they'll take what all the Unova region had to offer.
The following day, the reborn trainers got ready for the day ahead of them, as they were going to be flying off to the Unova region. Despite how the flight wouldn't take off until later in the day, Dawn and the boys got to the airport at a timely... well, time. Within quick order, they got their tickets and got onto the plane. The three of them sat together, with Dawn in a window seat, Trip next to her, and Kenny next to Trip in an aisle seat. Dawn had brought along her copy of the book 'Paranoia's Price' to read through to pass time, as she hadn't given it much thought.
Trip, curious about the book his brother-sister had pulled out from her bag, said, "Watchu got there, Dawn?"
"A book containing handwritten personal accounts from the Hisuian period," Dawn replied, "Hisui was a rather violent era in Sinnoh's history."
Curious, Trip asked, "Can I read it?"
"When I'm finished," Dawn answered, "And you could give your own two cents on what the book says, given your... unique... perspective you'll have on the matter." Dawn was implying that she meant how Trip, before Isekai-ing, got at least one-hundred hours of play into Legends: Arceus. He also saw some gen nine info reveal and Dawn was insanely jealous of it, but that wasn't the point.
It was as the reborn trainers relaxed in their seats on the plane that the plane eventually took off. Kenny had fallen asleep before take off, and they were flying for about thirty minutes before Dawn finished reading through 'Paranoia's Price' and handed it over to Trip so that he could read. He made a few comments on things that surprised him, such as how one prominent character he remembered from the game in his previous life ended up being killed during a siege on Jubilife Village, as well as how the character Beni had apparently gotten married to an ex-oiran with pink hair and eyes who was described as being 'a Snorlax of a woman'.
It was late at night when Trip finished reading 'Paranoia's Price' just moments before the plane touched down at Numeva Town Inter-regional Airport in Numeva Town, Unova. Handing the book back to Dawn, Trip said, "Wow. That stuff sounds like it'd make for some killer DLC in PLA."
"Just be lucky no one heard us talk," Dawn said, "Now wake Kenny up for me if you would. We just landed in the Unova region." Doing as Dawn asked, Trip shook Kenny awake. With all of them up, they got off the plane, collected their stuff, and left the airport, officially setting foot on Unovan soil. Given the late time, Kenny suggested that they get a hotel room, to which Trip countered that the three of them could simply crash at the home he lived at with his family in this world, which was basically just Trip's mom who looked like an adult lady Trip with glasses and longer hair. Trip slept in his room, while Kenny and Dawn took the two beds in a guest room.
They all fell asleep, resting their exhaustion from jetlag away the rest of the night.
The following morning, the reborn trainers got up, freshened themselves up, had a small breakfast, then headed off for Professor Juniper's lab. "So Aurea has some info for us on Team Scorn's activities here in Unova, hmm?" Kenny asked.
"Yes and please address her as Professor Juniper," Dawn said as Trip led their group right to Professor Juniper's lab. Trip, wanting to be polite, knocked on the front door, and the three reborn trainers waited a moment until the door opened from inside, whereupon Dawn and the boys saw Juniper herself.
Recognizing Trip, Juniper said, "Ah yes, I got a call from Rowan in Sinnoh about you. Welcome back home to Unova, Trip." Turning to look at Dawn and Kenny, Juniper went on, "And it's a pleasure to meet you, Champion Dawn. You as well, Kenny."
Gesturing to Juniper, Dawn said, "Rowan said you had some details on Team Scorn activity here in Unova. He gave us what you gave him, but we'd like to know if you could maybe fill in some blanks."
Juniper's expression became a bit somber. "...Yes, I suppose you need the finer details. I heard of how you helped to fight off Team Scorn in Johto and Hoenn, as well as their brief showing in Sinnoh. But before we get to that somber business, I'd like to cover a more pleasant surprise that I have lined up for you kids." Curious, Dawn and the boys went into Juniper's lab, with the boys wondering what the pleasant surprise was although Dawn had a fairly decent idea what it'll end up being.
...
Dawn's beliefs were justified when Juniper led her, Kenny, and Trip over to a table in one of the rooms in the Numeva Town lab. Sitting on said table were a wry and mischievous looking Snivy, a happy looking Tepig who bobbed gently from side to side, and a somewhat brooding looking Oshawott. "As a token of thanks and good faith to a foreign region's Champion helping Unova out with the Team Scorn pickle it's in," Juniper began to explain, "I've gotten one each of Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott, the Pokémon offered to beginner trainers starting out in Unova, lined up for you to pick from, Dawn."
Dawn gave a single nod of understanding. "Fair enough."
To the boys, Juniper added, "Kenny, Trip, you two may pick from the other two after Dawn picks the one she wants. I actually kind of want you Trip to pick one, as you're Unovan born. What kind of professor of Unova would I be if I didn't see a prominent Unovan trainer like you off with one of the three Pokémon here?"
"Thanks for the generosity, Professor Juniper," Trip replied.
Kenny, giving Professor Juniper a double thumbs up, said, "Top kek!"
Dawn was then led to the table and given the chance to pick one of the three Unova starter Pokémon. More or less, Dawn right away pointed at Tepig while saying to Juniper, "I'd like to take Tepig." The Tepig cheered happily upon being picked by a trainer. Dawn was then given Tepig's pokéball, which she scanned in order to learn that Tepig is a girl.
"Would you like to give Tepig a nickname?" Juniper asked.
"Yeah," Dawn replied, "I'll name her Phoebe."
Turning to look at the boys, Juniper said, "What about you two?"
Shrugging, Trip replied, "I'd be happy with either Snivy or Oshawott, so I'll let Kenny go first and pick the one that's left over."
"Excellent!" Kenny declared, then went on while pointing at Oshawott, "For I feel that Oshawott shall be joining the cringe posse!" Oshawott looked shocked and surprised in a 'hoo boy, here we go' kind of way as it was picked by its new trainer. Kenny then received Oshawott's pokéball, which he scanned to learn that Oshawott is a boy. "I shall be dubbing him as Giyu," Kenny declared, "For Giyu fits as a name for him." Giyu the Oshawott looked dryly at his new trainer.
Smirking a bit in amusement, Trip said, "I guess I'm getting Snivy, then." Upon recieving Snivy's pokéball, Trip scanned it and learned that Snivy is a boy. Looking at where Snivy sat, Trip said, "...I feel like I ought to name him Loki." Loki the Snivy chuckled a bit in an amused, mischievous tone, then he along with Phoebe and Giyu were recalled by their new trainers before said trainer went into a side room to talk to Juniper.
"It was Bianca's father who was murdered in Team Scorn's attack on Nimbasa City?"
After the reborn trainers sat down with Juniper, she proceeded to give finer details on the Team Scorn attack on Nimbasa City, including how the father of a girl named Bianca, the 'blonde girl' Rowan had spoken of but apparently didn't get the name of (probably why he identified her as 'the blonde girl'), was the person murdered in the Team Scorn attack on Nimbasa City. "Yes, Bianca's father was indeed killed," Juniper confirmed in a somber tone with a likewise nod, "Thanks to what I got from Bianca over the phone since she's now sticking with Ash and his friends Iris and Cilan, the person who murdered her father identified himself as Admin Swordsman, head of Team Scorn's Longsword Sector."
Dawn figured that it was an Admin who was the murderer here. She just never expected the murder victim to be Bianca's father. Gesturing to Juniper, Dawn asked, "Did you get why this Admin Swordsman fellow killed Bianca's father?"
Looking troubled, Juniper said, "That's... actually a bit of a story. You see, Bianca's father tracked her down to Nimbasa City, saying she had to come home with him as he didn't want her traveling as a trainer. She made some manner of deal that she'd be allowed to continue if she beat the Nimbasa City gym leader Elesa, but lost to her which Bianca's father tried collecting on to force Bianca home. Then that boy Ash Ketchum stepped in and directly challenged Bianca's father to let Bianca continue, with Bianca's father saying Ash had to go home if he lost to him."
"I... think I got it from Rowan that Ash won that battle?" Dawn spoke up. In the anime in Dawn and the boys' previous lives, Ash lost that battle to Bianca's father, but here they got it that Ash might have actually won it instead.
"Oh yeah, Ash beat Bianca's father by a landslide," Juniper confirmed, "Bianca's father's Darmanitan was hardly able to do anything to the Swampert Ash had used, having rotated it into his party to help with training a Palpitoad that Ash had caught previously according to the story Bianca told me."
Gesturing to Juniper, Trip said, "So I guess Bianca's father agreed to let Bianca continue her journey."
To the worry of the reborn trainers, Juniper shook her head. "Actually no. Bianca's father, to put it mildly, turned out to be something of a sore loser, only acting affable because he assumed that he would have beaten Ash. Losing to Ash instead made his temper short, and he basically barked at Bianca to come home with him right away, ultimately backing out of his end of the deal."
"What happened next?" Kenny asked.
"Team Scorn, that's what," Juniper said, "They attacked Nimbasa City, raiding places all over but a bit of focus was put on the local Pokémon Center because of rumors that a wild shiny Pokémon of some kind was brought in for treatment."
"A wild shiny Pokémon?" Dawn asked, her interest piqued. Going after a shiny Pokémon, which are incredibly rare despite what Kenny may say, sounds like something that would be right up the alley of a criminal organization like Team Scorn.
Juniper nodded in confirmation. "The rumors turned out to be false because the supposed shiny Pokémon, a Lillipup, turned out to not be shiny. But that's not the point." Letting out a breath, Juniper explained, "During the Team Scorn attack on Nimbasa City, Admin Swordsman confronted Bianca's father, decried him as the worst kind of human being given that he somehow saw what all Bianca's dad tried doing to force Bianca to come home, then thrust his longsword through Bianca's father's chest before pulling it back out and swinging it at the man's neck, taking his head."
"Admin Swordsman..." Dawn began, her tone sounding mildly surprised, "...Was acting on Bianca's behalf to let her continue on her journey?"
"Admin Swordsman apparently places great stock in people having freedom," Juniper explained, "According to what Cilan told me after he took over for Bianca when she broke down crying. Swordsman saw what Bianca's father was trying to do as a revoking of Bianca's freedom, a grave insult especially considering that Bianca is a Pokémon trainer, who Cilan said Swordsman says is the ultimate form of what it means to have freedom." Juniper folded her arms over her chest. "From what I figure, as far as Swordsman is concerned, people, especially Pokémon trainers, are entitled to have freedom, and trying to take one's freedom away is an unforgivable sin."
The reborn trainers were getting a decent idea of what Team Scorn in Unova was going to be like; they apparently had a pending goal of finding a wild shiny Pokémon, in addition to what Ideku back in Sinnoh suggested about Team Scorn chasing down the rumors of Zekrom being spotted. And this Admin Swordsman fellow sounded like an extreme version of a classic hero who fought for freedom. After a few more topics of business were covered, Dawn and the boys took off from Juniper's lab, and taking off from Numeva Town as a whole. Their first destination would be Accumula Town, located past the northern end of Unova Route 1.
...Still, they had a lot on their minds as they traveled out of Numeva Town and onto Unova Route 1, thus officially beginning their trek through the Unova region.
"I still can't believe that Bianca's father was murdered by a Team Scorn Admin," Kenny said, his tone mildly dejected, "And out of said Admin's warped sense of wanting people to have freedom."
Folding his arms over his chest, Trip said, "I mean, Bianca's dad was bad for being a sore loser after Ash beat him, don't get me wrong on that. But straight up killing the guy over trying to go back on his word? That's a shade too out of line, don't you think?"
Dawn nodded once in agreement. "From what Professor Juniper said, Bianca is currently traveling with Ash, Cilan, and Iris. We can get more details from them later when we catch up to them." Letting out a breath, Dawn said, "Anyway, Accumula Town awaits us at the end of Route 1 here. Then after handling whatever business may pop up there, we go up through Route 2 in order to get to Striaton City, where we'll find the first gym here in the Unova region that we can challenge."
"Doesn't that gym throw a different leader at you depending on your starter you picked?" Kenny asked. He sounded oddly serious for some odd reason, as if he wanted to be sure of something before heading in to tango with it.
Dawn, after thinking about it, replied, "Oh yeah, it does. The gym leader who faces you uses the Unovan elemental monkey whose type has an advantage against the starter you pick, at least in the games. If that pattern holds here, then I can expect to face Cress and his Panpour, given that I started off with Tepig."
"Wait, we got starters from different regions," Kenny said, "So which type applies to who?"
Rolling her eyes, Dawn said, "I always picked the fire type starter, so I'll probably get slated to battle Cress regardless. As for you and Trip, you've both picked water and grass type starters, so you two will get Chili as he uses fire and you two have at least one grass type starter."
"Oh, you guys got starters from regions outside of Sinnoh and Unova too?" Trip said as he and the others continued to walk towards Accumula Town.
END, CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND TEN
Author's notes;
Here, we see Dawn, Kenny, and Trip make their way to Unova finally, thus setting them up on the path to catch up with Ash (or meet him in Trip's case). But they're given troubling news of Team Scorn activity in Unova by Rowan before leaving Sinnoh, and the news gets worse when Juniper fills in some blanks. The reborn trainers have a lot on their plates, especially considering that they technically have to deal with three separate criminal teams. But they'll roll with the punches.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Phoebe (female Tepig), Akiza (female Roserade), Leni (female Lucario), Germany (male Garchomp), Tsukune (Palkia)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Giyu (male Oshawott), Kermit (male Politoed), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Shallot (male Glaceon), Black (Giratina)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Empoleon), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Loki (male Snivy), Fourze (male Electivire), Todoroki (male Goodra; Hisuian; alpha), Deelia (Dialga)