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 eleven: Kenny's kindness
The reborn trainers made great time getting to Accumula Town. According to a guide on the Unova region that Dawn picked up in the local Pokémon Center, the main attraction in Accumula Town was its local Battle Club, but Trip after asking around about it learned that the Battle Club was closed due to repairs. That being said, the reborn trainers had little reason to stick around in Accumula Town, so they decided that they'd take off as soon as they rested up a bit. Dawn also saw in the guide that she got that the local park in Accumula Town was also nice. Thusly, the reborn trainers decided to relax in the park.
This saw them get Loki the Snivy, Phoebe the Tepig, and Giyu the Oshawott used to their new comrades. Wanting to start things off slow, Dawn, Kenny, and Trip introduced just their respective fully evolved Sinnoh starters, their respective first Pokémon overall, to their Unova starters. This saw Phoebe walk up to Chi-Chi who sat cross-legged on the grass, arms folded over her chest, as she wore a curious expression as the rookie Tepig approached her. Phoebe cried out a happy sounding greeting to the experienced Chi-Chi, to which the named Infernape couldn't help but smirk back in sincere amusement.
As for Roshi and Myde interacting with Giyu and Loki respectively, they didn't click as instantly. It was especially so with Roshi and Giyu. "...Maybe it's because Myde's a water type and Roshi's a grass type, but Loki's a grass type and Giyu's a water type?" Trip suggested, "I mean, Chi-Chi and Phoebe are both fire types, so they had that in common to help bridge the gap."
"That," Kenny said, "Or maybe it's different personalities of the Pokémon that-"
"Loin!"
Kenny was cut off when he and the others heard a smug and challenging Pokémon cry out. Looking over, they all saw a Purrloin; it had one eye closed with a scratch mark going over it, it seemed very slightly taller than normal, and was clearly a fat cat. It gave off 'stray cat gang boss' vibes. The group watched as the Purrloin wandered over to where Kenny and Trip had the food dishes for Roshi, Myde, Giyu, and Loki set up, stole some food out of Myde's dish, then turned around and ran off as fast as a fat cat could go.
As the name Emploeon cried out in annoyed anger over the theft of its food, Trip said, "It's just a wild Purrloin, Myde. Let it-"
"Wott!" Giyu, clearly suspecting something, cried out, interrupting Trip in the process, before running off right after the fat cat Purrloin.
"Yo Giyu, wait up!" Kenny called out as he immediately ran after his Oshawott, recalling Roshi before running off after his Pokémon. This prompted Dawn and Trip to recall their Pokémon, with Dawn gathering up the rest of their stuff as Trip went running off after Kenny.
Kenny got onto Route 2 before he had closed the gap with Giyu. "Little dude, seriously!" Kenny said, "What's with WHAT THE?!"
Stopping short out of surprise, Kenny saw the fat cat Purrloin, along with a number of other Purrloin, all beating down on a cowering Purrloin who was crying out in clear distress. Looking down at his named Oshawott, Kenny saw that he had his scalchop out, ready to fight off the bad Purrloins in order to save the one that was being picked on. Kenny, eerily calm, cracked his neck a bit before saying, "...Giyu, I'm sending Cell in as your backup."
...
Over at where the mean Purrloin gang, led by their fat cat leader, were beating down on the innocent Purrloin, the mean Purrloins were all crying out clearly in sadistic amusement. The fat cat Purrloin, smirking in dark amusement, even moved to behind the innocent Purrloin, but wasn't able to continue its bullying from behind before it was struck away by Giyu, using his scalchop as a striking weapon. Hearing their apparent gang leader cry out in a mix of pain and surprise made the rest of the mean Purrloin gang look up, granting some measure of reprieve to the innocent bullied Purrloin.
Before any of the mean Purrloin gang members could act, one who had a snip in its right ear was struck away by Cell who used X-Scissor. Cell and Giyu cried out at the mean Purrloins, basically telling them all to get lost or else. Even the fat cat Purrloin obeyed, especially since all of the mean Purrloins were scared of Cell to the point that a somewhat slender mean Purrloin with a snip in its left ear even pissed itself out of fright before all of the mean Purrloins ran away. Only the innocent Purrloin who was being bullied remained behind, and Kenny ran over to scoop it up into his arms.
It was as Kenny held the innocent Purrloin that Trip came upon the scene. "...That Purrloin is different from the one who stole Myde's food," Trip remarked.
"...We're setting up camp here on Route 2 for the night," Kenny said, "We got this little one here to take care of."
After Dawn had caught up and the situation was explained to her, the reborn trainers set up camp on Unovan Route 2. It was getting late anyway and Dawn said that they'll try for Striaton City in the morning. As Trip helped Dawn set up the campsite, Dawn took a break to look over as Kenny tended to the Purrloin he had rescued from the gang of mean Purrloins. It had calmed down from its fearful crying and was now clearly clinging to Kenny, refusing to leave him. That was good for Kenny as he was busy treating Purrloin's injuries.
"...So that fat cat Purrloin was the leader of a gang of bully Purrloins that you caught picking on the Purrloin here," Dawn surrmised.
Kenny nodded in the affirmative. "As much as I kind of favor feline Pokémon, I won't be afraid to discipline them if I catch them misbehaving, like I did with that gang I had sent packing." Looking down at the Purrloin he saved, Kenny's expression softened. "...But good little kitties will be treated well." Kenny then proceeded to gently rub the Purrloin's head, prompting it to sit up and put its paws on the back of Kenny's wrist, as if wanting to keep Kenny's hand on its head. Kenny smiled gently at the innocent Purrloin's clear bid to keep his attention out of not wanting to be outside of company that cares for it.
Gesturing to the Purrloin, Dawn asked, "Will you consider catching the Purrloin, Kenny?"
"I already caught Lin here," Kenny answered, "Used a pokéball to catch her while you and Trip were setting up camp."
Dawn wasn't surprised that Kenny had caught the now dubbed Lin, especially considering how keen Kenny had been in wanting to catch a Skitty back in Hoenn. Speaking of, Dawn said, "Oh, you think that Lin here will engage in cute kitty shenanigans with Jibanyan?"
"If they do, I hope I'm there to film it," Kenny replied, right before finishing applying a potion to Lin. Holding up the named Purrloin, Kenny said to her, "There we go, now your boo-boos have been treated. We won't be having anyone pick on you, not while you're part of my cringe posse." Lin let out a small meow before Kenny held her close and gently stroked her head. Lin purred, sounding calm and feeling safe, as she nuzzled her head against the left side of Kenny's collar bone. Before long, the reborn trainers settled down for the night, with Lin cuddling up to Kenny in his sleeping bag.
Kenny zipped the flap of the tent he slept in close, sealing the world off and making the tent a safe space for Lin.
The following morning, the reborn trainers got up early, packed everything up, then took off for Striaton City, getting there sometime before eight AM. The first thing they did was hit up the local Pokémon Center, to have their Pokémon looked at while they freshened up. By the time that they were done, their Pokémon were all a-okay according to the Nurse Joy. This left Dawn and the boys free to go about their primary goal in Striaton City; check out the local gym so that they could each earn their respective first Unova gym badge.
"So how do we do this?" Kenny asked, "I mean, there's two gym leaders at the Striaton City gym from what I got, and three of us. Who goes first, and who challenges who?"
Gesturing to herself, Dawn explained, "I'll go first and challenge Cress, then Trip goes after me to challenge Chili. We'll figure out your deal after."
Kenny nodded in understanding. The three reborn trainers continued to make their way to the Striaton City gym, and soon reached it. They walked in, upon which Trip called out, "Hello? Are the gym leaders we heard about in?"
"Oh, challengers!" a male voice called out. Soon after that, Cress and Chili came out. Gesturing to himself, Cress said, "My brother Chili here and I are the available gym leaders. My name is Cress." It had been Cress who had called out before.
"Hang on," Chili said as he looked at the reborn trainers, "There's three of you and two of us."
Snapping his fingers, Cress said, "I got it! Did you three by any chance get either Snivy or Tepig or Oshawott?"
Dawn nodded in confirmation. "I got Tepig."
Holding up a hand, Kenny said, "I got Oshawott."
"I got Snivy," Trip said.
Gesturing to Dawn and the boys, Cress said, "Then we'll run it like this. I'll battle the girl who has Tepig, then after our battle Chili will battle the boy with Snivy. Later after my Pokémon has had sufficient time to rest, I'll battle the boy with Oshawott. We'd have our brother Cilan battle the boy with Oshawott, but Cilan left to travel with some new companions, a boy named Ash and a girl named Iris."
It was more or less exactly as Dawn had set up before they entered the gym so it all worked out. "Very well," Dawn said, "I'm ready to begin as soon as you are."
"Our gym's usual referee is out," Chili said, "So I'll serve as the referee for the battle between you and Cress." Everyone then proceeded to head into the stadium of the gym, to watch Dawn battle for her first Unova gym badge.
Inside of the stadium of the Striaton City gym, Dawn and Cress stood on opposite sides of the battlefield while Chili stood on the side to officiate the match. Meanwhile, Trip and Kenny, the latter having Lin out and sitting on his lap to watch the battle with him, sat in bleachers on the side. "This Striaton City gym battle will be between one of its gym leaders, Cress, and the challenger, Dawn! Each trainer may only use one Pokémon, and the trainer with the last Pokémon standing will be the winner."
Only one Pokémon? Well, in the anime in Dawn's previous life, each of the Striaton gym leader brothers used one Pokémon each against Ash when he tried for their gym's badge, so it makes sense. Throwing a hand up into the air, Chili called out, "BEGIN!"
Tossing up a pokéball, Cress said, "Go, Panpour!" Coming out into battle was Cress's Panpour.
Dawn's eyes narrowed a bit. "You're using Panpour, a water type, against me who got Tepig, who's a fire type."
"It's so that we're a decent challenge to trainers coming in seeking to earn a badge from us," Cress explained.
Figuring that was the case, Dawn tossed up a pokéball while calling out, "Alright, Chi-Chi! Let's get goin'!" Dawn then sent out her own monkey Pokémon, albeit it was her named Infernape, wearing the Expert Belt held item around her waist.
Cress, although surprised to see an Infernape, wasn't going to complain. "Interesting choice, challenger," Cress said, "But I won't back down! Panpour, use Water Gun!"
"Chi-Chi, use Thunder Punch!" Dawn ordered.
As Panpour took aim with its Water Gun attack, Chi-Chi rushed forward with an electrified fist, plowing right through Water Gun, before slugging Panpour right in its stupid looking closed-eyed smiling face that looks so stupid even I want to punch it. Panpour was sent flying, rushing right past Cilan before crashing into the wall behind him. Turning around to see, Cress saw it that his Panpour had been knocked out, actually stuck in a small crater in the wall for a bit.
Holding up a hand, Chili said in a mildly surprised tone, "P-Panpour is unable to battle. The... the winner is Infernape." Gesturing to Dawn, Chili went on, "Victory of this battle... goes to Dawn." Changing tone, Chili turned to look at Dawn and said, "I'm sorry, but are you friends with that Ash guy who Cilan left with?"
Dawn, as well as Kenny and Trip, were surprised by Chili's surprised and question attitude, but relaxed when the line of his questioning turned out to be focused on Ash. "Y-Yeah, I have to agree," Cress said, "We haven't had any really noteworthy challengers between you and Ash Ketchum. He really made an impression when he challenged our gym while he and his companion Iris were here in Striaton City. That's probably why Cilan decided to go with him."
After she had recalled Chi-Chi, Dawn said, "...Yeah, my friends and I know Ash Ketchum. We're hoping to catch up with him."
...
After Dawn was awarded a Trio Badge, she and the boys sat down with Chili and Cress. "So yeah, Ash when he challenged the Striaton City gym for a Trio Badge was set to battle the two of us plus Cilan in a row," Cress said, "My brothers and I would use one Pokémon each, and Ash would use only one Pokémon per battle he had with us. Best two out of three would determine if Ash got the badge or not." Letting out a bit of a bemused sigh, Cress said, "Ash won the first two battles in a row, beating Chili's Pansear with an Infernape of his own, and then beating my Panpour with a Gardevoir that looked like it had a very slight bit of a belly. Ash never had to have the battle with Cilan."
"Yeah, that Gardevoir was actually obese at the time Ash caught her," Dawn explained, "She made it clear as a Kirlia that she wanted to lose her extra weight, so Ash agreed to help. I even pitched in with Gardevoir's diet and exercise." Smiling in mildly amused pride, Dawn went on, "I'm glad to hear that Ash's Gardevoir from the sounds of it is close to the standard weight for her species." Ash's choice of Pokémon he used in his challenge to the Striaton City gym also reminded Dawn that Ash here brought Infernape and Gardevoir along with him in addition to Pikachu, unlike in the anime in Dawn's previous life where Ash brought only Pikachu with him to Unova.
Shrugging, Chili said, "Admittedly, I'm glad there's a tough as nails trainer like Ash Ketchum in Unova right now. Given the reports of Team Scorn activity that came out from here, Unova will need all of the tough trainers it can get to drive Team Scorn out." Turning to look at Dawn and the boys, Chili said, "Can Cress and I count on you three to help fight off Team Scorn here in Unova?"
"Lemme at 'em, I'll mess 'em up good!" Kenny declared. Lin gave a meow before nuzzling her head against Kenny's chest.
Cress gave a bit of an amused hum of a laugh. "Yeah, Unova will be able to fight off Team Scorn no problem." After a bit more time to chat, things moved along so that Trip could have his battle with Chili. Despite finally going on a journey through the region he had been reborn into, Trip nonetheless came in with the experience (as well as power) that having four other regions traveled through under his belt. Needless to say, Trip's one-on-one against Chili in his own bid to earn a Trio Badge wrapped up about as quickly as it had started, as Myde's Surf swamped Pansear completely.
Things repeated more or less much later that afternoon during Kenny's match against Cress to try to earn the Trio Badge; Roshi took Panpour out quickly with Seed Bomb. All three of the reborn trainers now had their respective first Unova gym badges. Given the time, Dawn and the boys figured that it'd be best to just turn in for the night, finding lodging at the local Pokémon Center. They didn't even need to have their Pokémon who battled rested; Chi-Chi, Myde, and Roshi all got back to perfectly topped off by being fed a Leppa Berry each.
Dawn, as she and the boys settled down for bed, once again saw Lin cuddle up close to Kenny, clearly seeking comfort and protection from him. Kenny was all too happy to make sure that the named Purrloin felt safe. Dawn felt that Kenny's kindness and gentle way of handling Lin showed off a side of Kenny not often seen. Dawn also felt a nagging voice in the back of her head that there was more to Kenny's behavior here than what met the eye. Still, Dawn felt it wasn't her place to say or ask anything, so she decided to just go to sleep.
The following day, the reborn trainers got an early start on their day; freshening up, getting a small breakfast. As they ate, Dawn and Trip observed how Kenny had Lin on his lap and gently feeding her. "...You really do care well for your Pokémon, Kenny," Dawn remarked.
"Well my Pokémon need to know that they're safe while they chill as members of the cringe posse," Kenny replied. Stroking Lin's head, Kenny said to her, "Isn't that right, Lin?" The named Purrloin let out a happy meow of a cry as the reborn trainers, sensing someone approaching them, turned to see that Cress and Chili were both walking up to where they were sitting.
Looking at the brothers, Dawn asked, "What's up?"
"You all are going to be going through Route 3 to get to Nacrene City, right?" Cress said, "Would you three be willing to do us a favor?"
"What's the favor?" Trip asked.
Gesturing to the reborn trainers, Chili said, "The staff of the preschool located along Route 3 is planning to take the kids on a field trip to the museum in Nacrene City. There's going to be an exhibit on Sinnoh's Hisuian period, and the preschool staff wants to take the preschoolers there. They asked Cress and I to help chaperone the kids of their preschool, but we're already chaperoning the kids from the trainer school located here in Striaton City. Both groups are set to meet up in Nacrene City at the local Pokémon Center there before heading to the museum together."
Right away, Dawn was worried; the last two times there was a Hisuian exhibit at a museum, there was always at least one set of alpha Hisuian Pokémon skeletal remains that were one of the displays, and a fossil revival team always brought those remains back to life into a living alpha Hisuian Pokémon. If that pattern ended up holding up, then it would be worse because school kids, some of them being preschool age, will be at risk. Especially so if Team Scorn was involved in that case like they were in the case that led to Trip capturing his alpha Hisuian Goodra.
...But agreeing would constitute swift travel to Nacrene City, and if Team Scorn was somehow going to pop up in some fashion, then it was best for the reborn trainers to be there as soon as possible. "When do the boys and I have to be at the preschool to go with them?" Dawn asked.
"If you guys leave now for the preschool, you should get there by around seven," Chili said, "Cress and I will meet up with you with the field trip from the trainer school there." The reborn trainers all nodded in agreement, then after wrapping things up, they collected their things and took off for the preschool located along Route 3.
...
Given the early time they all left, Dawn and the boys actually got to the preschool shortly before it opened for the day; indeed, as they arrived they saw some parents drop their young children off. Trip saw something in some tall grass nearby so he went to check it out, and after he got back to the preschool a few minutes later, he saw Dawn and Kenny talking to an older woman who worked at the Pokémon Day Care located near the preschool.
Walking up to Dawn and Kenny, Trip said, "Yo guys, what did I mi-" Trip stopped short upon seeing that Dawn and Kenny were both holding Pokémon eggs. "Where did the eggs come from?"
"Oh, the Day Care employee here gave Kenny and I each a Pokémon egg since we're helping to chaperone the preschool's field trip to the museum in Nacrene City," Dawn explained, "She said that she has one for you too since you're also helping."
Kenny arched a wry eyebrow at Trip. "Where did you run off to for a few moments anyway?"
Smirking in amusement, Trip took out and tossed up a pokéball, calling out a Blitzle in the process. "I saw this little guy in the tall grass and wanted to catch him," Trip said in amusement, "Say hello to Sinclair." The named Blitzle gave a happy cry as he looked up at Dawn and Kenny, but he was spooked a bit by some preschoolers suddenly crying out in excitement and running over to him, making him back up a bit out of some mild degree of alarm. "Hey hey, Kids," Trip scolded, "You're spooking my Blitzle by being loud and rushing him! You gotta be quite and approach gently."
"Yeah, the only preschooler who didn't spook Lin was this timid little boy who was gentle and quiet in approaching her," Kenny remarked. After Trip recalled Sinclair, he was given a Pokémon egg by the Day Care employee; it was bluish in color as if made from some old clay, and it had yellow lines. Compared to the pink egg with blue polka-dots that Dawn got, and the black egg with dark gray base and a red stripe near the top that Kenny got.
As Dawn saw the group from Striaton City approach the daycare and preschool, she looked over at Kenny, who was kneeling down and showing Lin the Pokémon egg that he got. "See this egg, Lin?" Kenny said, "It's going to hatch into your kouhai." The named Purrloin gave a friendly but mildly curious meowing noise before she sniffed at Kenny's Pokémon egg. The scene was comparable to a young child being shown their pregnant mom and being told that they're going to be a big brother or big sister soon. Dawn thought that the scene was cute, and it did seem to help Lin feel more at ease, help her feel better now that she was safe from that gang of bully Purrloins that had attacked her previously.
As Kenny was acting more like a dad than a trainer, the group from the Striaton City trainer school had fully caught up. Clapping her hands together to get everyone's attention, a teacher at the preschool, Daniela, said, "Alright, everyone! We're about to head onto the busses that will take us straight to Nacrene City. We'll group back up at the local Pokémon Center before we head over to the museum."
"Also, please stick with the chaperones on this field trip!" Cress called out from where he stood with Chili, "That means the teachers, myself, and Chili, as well as the three trainers that are each holding Pokémon eggs!"
As soon as all of the kids, trainer school and preschool alike, were made to agree, everyone got aboard the busses, with Dawn and the boys all going onto the bus with the preschooler party, before they all drove off for Nacrene City. In addition to making great time in getting to the location of where they can have their respective next gym battles in Unova, the reborn trainers also want to head to the local museum in Nacrene City, given that they got it that a Hisuian period exhibit was going to be at the museum. They hoped history wasn't going to repeat itself.
END, CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND ELEVEN
Author's notes;
This was probably a fairly face-paced chapter, but there wasn't enough substance to stretch things out. There were also two captures and three obtained eggs for the reborn trainers, who each got their first Unova gym badge, and are now heading straight to where they can get their second Unova gym badge each. But it won't be all gym badge earning before catching up to Ash and traveling more or less at his pace; there will be some chapters dedicated to some stuff aside from battling the gyms, especially the next chapter where the reborn trainers go to a museum. ...That has a Hisuian period exhibit on display right now. ...And there's a field trip heading along as well from two different schools.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Phoebe (female Tepig), Leni (female Lucario), Germany (male Garchomp), Tsukune (Palkia), Pokémon egg
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Giyu (male Oshawott), Lin (female Purrloin), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Black (Giratina), Pokémon egg
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Empoleon), Loki (male Snivy), Fourze (male Electivire), Sinclair (male Blitzel), Deelia (Dialga), Pokémon egg