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 fourteen: Artistic Anarchy
(FLASHBACK, UNKNOWN LENGTH OF TIME AGO)
Yoshitsugu Torrent was walking through the streets in the lower class neighborhood in Opelucid City that he lived in, followed closely by Ayana Ruiz, his loyal and dutiful younger cousin. Yoshitsugu, or Yoshi for short as he generally preferred to be called outside of situation were a certain level of formality was dictated, had jet black hair that reached the bottom of the back of his head, and his eyes held that black coloration as well. He was fair-skinned, and wore a baggy black t-shirt, black cargo pants held up with a black leather belt, and black shoes. Yoshi's body had a build that leaned more towards the lean end of the spectrum, but he didn't quite possess an unhealthy level of being slender.
Ayana, similar to her cousin, was fair skinned and had black hair, but her hair was styled in more of a short hime-esque cut that didn't have bangs framing her face. Her eyes were more a dark gray than her cousin's jet black gaze, and she wore a baggy gray cardigan, a skirt of dark blue that reached to end just above her knees, white socks, and brown slip on shoes. In a contrast to the lean build of Yoshi, Ayana was very notably plump, but did not yet qualify as obese. A look of curiosity appeared on Ayana's plump face as she turned her head slightly to focus on her cousin. "Yoshi," Anaya spoke up, "Where are we going again?"
"To collect a reward that was promised to me," Yoshi replied simply, "A daughter from the local wealthy elite family promised me a Dawn Stone and a Dusk Stone, which I need to evolve my Kirlia into Gallade and Doublade into Aegislash, after I had saved her from a particularly nasty run-in with some thugs."
Ayana nodded in understanding. "Yes. Didn't you also say that she vouched for you when some police suspected you of being a thug due to how you and I are from a lower class family, and tried to bring you in for questioning before the wealthy girl stood up for you?"
Yoshi nodded in confirmation. "Yes. She saved me from having my freedom trampled on." A look of somber contemplation appeared on his face. "She already acted to save my freedom, and now she's set to further reward me. She's part of a rare breed of upper crust who has both wealth AND morality." Yoshi proceeded to pick up the pace when he saw a corner he had to turn on up ahead, making his chubby cousin call to him to slow down for her.
...
Inside of a parlor room at a manor in Opelucid City, Yoshi and Ayana stood before a girl of comparable age to Yoshi, one Haruka Leigh. A slender and beautiful girl, Haruka had long light chestnut hair, and wore a long-sleeved white blouse with red highlights, a matching skirt that reached halfway down her shins, white stockings that disappeared up into her skirt, and white slip on shoes. Haruka's eyes, the same shade of chestnut as her hair, shone with appreciation as she regarded Yoshi whilst she handed over the promised Dawn Stone and Dusk Stone.
"Thanks again for saving me from that pinch that I was in," Haruka said as Yoshi pocketed the stones, "My parents would have been seriously steamed at me if those thugs were able to hold me to the point that the law would have to be called in."
Yoshi arched a wry eyebrow. "Your parents would have been steamed at you for getting held by thugs until they had to call the police?"
A hint of resigned sadness appeared in Haruka's eyes as she gently smiled. "Because through that, they would have found out that I had snuck out that night. They... don't exactly approve of me doing... well... pretty much anything without their say-so. I can't even so much as leave home without a careful escort supervising me the entire time."
Right away, Yoshi's mood soured a bit. "...Sounds stifling."
"Oh, you don't know the half of it," Haruka said with a hint of a sad, ironic laugh in her tone, "The entirety of my life had basically been controlled by my parents. I have to wear the clothing they tell me to wear, I have to attend the events they tell me to attend. They won't even let me make so much as one choice for myself, always making my choices for me, and almost always making the choices that I wouldn't make if I had the real say-so to do so." Looking regretful, Haruka added, "What's more is that they even arranged for me to marry someone I haven't even met yet, only saying when I asked about the matter that 'the marriage is to ensure our family's affluence will continually be assured', or words to that effect."
"You..." Yoshi said, his calm outward facade belying the raging storm of enraged fury within, "...You don't say."
Haruka gave a single, sad nod. "...I do say. In fact, my meeting with you to give you the Dawn Stone and Dusk Stone as thanks for saving me is not only the first act that I had made freely in as long as I can remember, it'll probably end up being my only free act. Now, I'm sorry for this rudeness but I must ask that you take off now." Sighing, Haruka went on, "I have to see my mother because she's taking me to see a wedding planner. Not, of course, will I have any say in how what is supposed to be my wedding will go."
...
As Yoshi and Ayana walked away from Haruka's family's manor, Ayana could tell that her cousin was steaming. "...You okay, cous?" the plump cousin asked the slender one.
"...Someone has been denied freedom basically the whole of their lives," Yoshi growled, "Even though the person in question had not only helped to ensure the continuation of my own, but even gave me keys to raise how much power I can field. How do you think I feel?"
Ayana gulped a bit. "But what can we do about it? She and us live in two entirely different worlds."
Yoshi took out a pokéball and expanded it, but simply held it. "...No, Ayana, we all live in one world. A world where the possibilities are endless for those with both freedom and the power to maintain said freedom. Sceptile here is more than just one of my most treasured companions, he's also a symbol representing those endless possibilities. Same applies to Kirlia and Doublade, both of whom will evolve before today is done." Yoshi shrunk the pokéball containing his Sceptile back down and put it away before continuing his walk with his cousin.
"...There is nothing that a Pokémon trainer can't do."
(FLASHBACK OVER)
Yoshi stood leaning against a wall in a common room at a Team Scorn base whose exact location hasn't been disclosed, only that it was somewhere in Unova. Yoshi wore a unique Team Scorn outfit. It consisted of a dark blue v-neck shirt worn under a dark blue long coat with yellow highlights, dark blue pants with a yellow belt holding them up, dark blue boots (either work or military grade) with yellow laces, and a dark blue belt worn over his body; it went from his right shoulder to his left waist. The scabbard of a longsword was attached to the belt over Yoshi's back. The belt's buckle, which appeared over Yoshi's right pec, was covered with a belt buckle in the shape of the Team Scorn insignia, yellow shield with a dark blue 'S'.
Yoshi kept silent as he surveyed the common room, where members of Team Scorn, all of them rank and file members, were relaxing and generally being co-workers with one another, getting along well with one another. If it wasn't for their Team Scorn uniforms, then one seeing this scene would think it to be a normal environment at a work place break room. A few of the Team Scorn rank and file did shoot the occasional concerned look over to where Yoshi leaned against the wall, as if the uniquely dressed Team Scorn member were actually waiting for someone.
That someone did come, as the door leading into the break room opened, and in walked another uniquely dressed male Team Scorn member, followed by a female Team Scorn grunt who was very plump. The new uniquely dressed Team Scorn member was slender like Yoshi but taller than him by at least half a head (but not enough to be a full head taller), fair skinned with shaggy rust-red hair that was held up with a dark blue cloth headband that had two yellow stripes on it. He wore a yellow long-sleeved shirt under a dark blue leather armor that resembled a samurai's body armor, complete with shoulder-pads and the sides handing off from his yellow rope belt. Lastly, he wore yellow cloth pants that disappeared into his dark blue boots, actually the same make as the boots Yoshi wore.
This second uniquely dressed Team Scorn member, followed by the very plump female rank and file, walked up to where Yoshi leaned against the wall. He offered the visitors a smirk. "About time you got here..." Yoshi said to the other uniquely dressed Team Scorn member, "...First Captain Hiroaki."
"Glad to see you're not upset that I took a tad longer than I had expected to get here..." the now identified Hiroaki said, "...Admin Swordsman." Hiroaki shifted in his stance slightly, taking on something of a more relaxed hint. "I got it that despite Hidika's ultimate failure to secure the alpha Hisuian Pokémon from the incident at the museum in Nacrene City, that you aren't going to chew her out too badly."
Gesturing to Hiroaki, Yoshi, now identified as Admin Swordsman, head of Team Scorn's Longsword Sector, replied, "I got word that Sinnoh Champion Dawn Berlitz, plus her constant companion Kenny Harris and their new companion Trip Barley, was there in Nacrene City at the time. With that much opposition, I can't rightfully give Hidaka a full course chewing out. Luck simply wasn't on her side that day."
Hiroaki looked a bit concerned. "...So Team Scorn now has the name of the boy who succeeded where Boss's Assistant Ayane failed. Trip Barley."
"Things have gotten tougher on the Unovan front for Team Scorn," Swordsman remarked, "Not only are Dawn Berlitz and two similarly powerful trainers here in Unova, but we also have to fight against that Team Plasma lot. There are even troublemakers from Team Rocket here in Unova."
Gesturing to the very plump female rank and file next to him, Hiroaki said, "Maybe you think you'll wanna take Ayana here as your Admin's Assistant like a lot of the guys here in Longsword Sector would think you'd do? I mean she is your cousin, so the men thought you'd be interested in showing some level of favoritism to family."
"I did," Swordsman replied, "By having her serve as your Captain's Assistant. Don't get me wrong, Ayana is my family and thus I do have familial love for her, but..." Getting up from leaning against the wall, Swordsman went on, "...I'm just not feeling that she'd make a decent Player Two for me." Gently shaking his head, Swordsman went on, "But that's another topic for another time. What's the word for the 'art heist' planned in Castelia City?"
"Third Captain Miyuki has a group of men with her," Hiroakl replied, "She says that she'll be ready as soon as you let her know she's got the okay to proceed."
"Get in contact with Miyuki," Swordsman said, "Let her know that she's got the okay now." Hiroaki nodded in understanding before he turned around and took off, the very plump female rank and file now identified as Swordsman's cousin Ayana who is Hiroaki's Captain's Assistant turning around to follow Hiroaki out of the room. As the two of them left, Swordsman noticed three random rank and file members, all of them male, staring directly at Ayana's notably large, round, soft fanny as it jiggled as Ayana left the room.
After the door was closed behind Hiroaki and Ayana, Swordsman cracked his neck as he decided to take off from the room himself. "...Well I'm glad to see that some of you guys enjoy looking at my cousin's ass," Swordsman said, his dry tone clearly sarcastic, as he left the room, making the voyeurs tense up out of worry, while the innocent members chuckled at the expense of the guilty ones as Swordsman left the room.
Over in Castelia City, Dawn, Kenny, and Trip were walking with Burgh as he led them to Studio Castelia, the art studio located in Castelia City. "So what aside from facing me at my gym brings you three here to Castelia City?" Burgh asked as he led the reborn trainers around the city.
Shrugging, Dawn replied, "Well to be honest, your gym was originally our only reason to stop here in Castelia City. Although we do have a secondary goal while here in Unova, that being for us to catch up to me and Kenny's friend Ash Ketchum. We got it he's still here in Unova."
"Ash Ketchum!" Burgh remarked, "Ohh, you pick your friends very well, Champion Dawn. Why, I don't think I've met any trainer more notable than Ash Ketchum prior to the arrival of you and your companions here."
Trip nodded in agreement. "Ash really is a great trainer. I haven't met him in person yet, but I have seen his performances in various League conferences. There's very few who can measure up to Ash."
Burgh returned the agreeing nod of Trip with one of his one. "Indeed. Why, he defeated me fairly easily, using a Pignite and an Infernape."
The first part caught the attention of Dawn and the boys. "...Ash has a Pignite?" Dawn asked.
"Oh yes," Burgh answered, "He said that it evolved from a Tepig he caught shortly before he and his friends Cilan and Iris arrived in Castelia City. Apparently, Ash's Pokémon have been getting a lot of practice battling due to how Ash and his friends have been fighting off Team Scorn a lot, not to mention occasional run-ins with this Team Rocket group." That would explain a lot; Dawn also realized that Ash, since he's gotten involved in fighting off Team Scorn as well, would be getting a lot more battle experience for his Pokémon, which would naturally result in some of his Pokémon evolving sooner than normal. Dawn wondered if any of Ash's other Unovan catches had evolved sooner than expected due to Team Scorn being a thing now.
As the group rounded a corner, Burgh quickly jumped back, pulling the reborn trainers with him. "...Those are some ladies who I know will rush me," Burgh said, "I'm actually rather popular with the ladies here in Castelia City, you see. They'll take up way too much time and make us late to Studio Castelia." The reborn trainers peeked around the corner and saw the ladies that Burgh was talking about.
"So an alternative route?" Kenny suggested.
Burgh nodded in confirmation. "We'll take a shortcut I'm familiar with, leading us right through a local park. Follow me." Doing as instructed by Burgh, Dawn and the boys proceeded to follow him along an alternative route in order to get to the art studio.
...
The group soon made their way to the local park that Burgh was talking about. Speaking of, the local park, despite being located in a city as populous as Castelia City, was looking rather deserted. Even counting Burgh and the reborn trainers, the park had barely a scant few people in it at the time. Dawn, curious about why there's a lack of people in such a park, made a note about it to Burgh. "People are already flocking to Studio Castelia," Burgh explained, "As it's going to premier my first work of art displayed outside of my gym. I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I do possess some degree of fame as an artist."
"Certain persons can draw a crowd simply by showing up," Trip remarked, "Or by having some of their efforts displayed somewhere."
Dawn nodded in agreement, then turned to face Kenny to get his two cents on the matter. However, he saw that he was distracted by an ice cream cart. Sure enough, he came walking back over with three Casteliacones, carefully holding two in one hand. "Sorry," Kenny apologized, "But I saw that cart selling these ice creams and figured that we ought to have a treat before heading over to look at art land pretending we're upper crust snobs."
"Ooh, that's something else that I was going to insist on," Burgh remarked to the reborn trainers as a whole as Kenny had Dawn and Trip take the two cones in his one hand, "That before you all left Castelia City, that you all try Casteliacones. They're a popular local treat, and many come from all over Unova just to-"
Burgh was cut off when he and the reborn trainers heard some rustling coming from some nearby bushes. The four humans all turned to face the direction said rustling came from, saw one of the bushes shaking as if something was about to come out of it. To their relief, however, it was just a wild Petilil, who gave a curious, "Lil?" as she hopped out of the bushes. She hopped on over to where Dawn and the boys stood with their ice cream, looking right up at them.
Dawn smiled in a relaxed manner upon her and the others seeing the wild Petilil. "...Oh, it's just a wild Petilil," Dawn said, "And for a second there, I was afraid that it might have been-"
Dawn was cut off when the Petilil, with an excited cry, hopped up really high while aiming at Kenny's ice cream (the closest of the three ice creams to Petilil), then took a bite out of the soft, sweet, cold treat. "'Ay!" Kenny said, "Petilil's eating my ice cream!"
"And yet you're not stopping her," Trip pointed out dryly as Petilil continued to hop up, taking a bite out of Kenny's ice cream every time.
Growling in frustration, Kenny toss up a ball while calling out, "Priestess, help me get the Petilil under control!" Coming out to assist her trainer was Priestess, the alpha Hisuian Liligant. Upon seeing Priestess coming out, Petilil stopped short. Forgetting about Kenny's ice cream, the Petilil could only look up in wonder at Priestess, as if she felt some manner of connection to the alpha form of her next step in evolution.
"...Petilil seems to be focusing on your magnificent Liligant, Kenny," Burgh remarked.
Kenny looked back to the scene and, sure enough, the Petilil was bowing to Priestess, as if in reverence. Seeing this gave Kenny an idea; he actually sat his now partly eaten Casteliacone down next to Petilil, inviting her to finish it off. Seeing the treat she desired offered to her freely now, Petilil hopped over to it and proceeded to finish it off while, unbeknownst to her, Kenny took a spare pokéball out. After she finished eating the treat, Petilil rolled over and laid on her back the grassy ground of the park face up. Kenny took that chance to throw the pokéball at her; she was taken into the pokéball which then landed on the grass and shook for a little bit before making a ping sound, indicating capture.
Dawn, Trip, and Burgh watched it as Kenny walked over to the pokéball that contained his newly caught Petilil. Picking it up, Kenny turned to look at Priestess and said to her, "Well Priestess, it looks like you now have a kouhai to mentor."
"Any plans on naming Petilil?" Dawn asked, "If it helps, Petilil are a female only species of Pokémon."
"...Yes," Kenny said, before turning to look back down at the pokéball that contained his newly caught Petilil, "I shall be naming her Lazuli."
"Well given that she's a Petilil living in the modern era," Burgh chimed in, "It's a darn shame that she won't achieve the elegant Hisuian form that your Liligant you have here has. When she evolves and if she does, your Petilil there will evolve into the bog standard form of Liligant." Letting out a sigh, Burgh remarked, "I've always wanted to make a painting depicting the majesty of a Pokémon from the Hisuian era of Sinnoh's history. But all of the photos that I was able to find for reference, photos of sketches theorizing what the Hisuian Pokémon may have looked like way back when, simply don't spark the fires of creative artistry within me that I need in order to put my paintbrush to the canvas."
Shrugging, Kenny replied, "Maybe when my friends and I can get to battling you so we can try to earn the badge from your gym, in between battles I can have Priestess pose for you so you can do up a painting." Similarly, Trip offered to have Todoroki, his alpha Hisuian Goodra, do the same, and Dawn similarly volunteered Argent, her alpha Hisuian Arcanine, to help stoke Burgh's creative artistic fires.
"Oh, that would be wonderful!" Burgh said, "The sheer majesty that Pokémon from the Hisuian period of Sinnoh's past exude! Surely it will inspire me to make a painting that will achieve recognition in the world of art!"
After Burgh settled down, as well as Kenny sending Lazuli to Professor Oak's lab ("I'll work on training her later," Kenny remarked), the group proceeded to make their way to Studio Castelia, but not without Kenny first buying himself another Casteliacone as Lazuli had eaten the first one he had bought for himself. The reborn trainers were particularly interested in heading on over, as they did want to see examples of fine art.
Within short order, the group made their way over to Studio Castelia. There was a crowd waiting outside to get in, but the guard saw Burgh coming, given that girls waiting to get in saw him and started to squee over his arrival. People in the crowd also saw the three reborn trainers with Burgh. and focus was mainly on Dawn given that she was recognized as the champion of the Sinnoh region. Burgh and his group were led right into the studio without much issue, aside from some of the waiting girls wanting to fangirl over Burgh and a few persons wanting to greet Dawn.
Once inside of the museum, Dawn and the boys followed Burgh around. "So when will your art that's being displayed here be unveiled?" Trip asked.
"The unveiling is scheduled at noon," Trip said, then looking at a watch he wore on his left wrist, Burgh added, "...So we got fifteen minutes until the unveiling."
Kenny looked around, saw all of the other people who were able to get into the art studio for the art unveiling. "...I'm seeing a lot of well dressed upper crust snob-types here," Kenny remarked.
"Well there IS going to be an art unveiling, Kenny," Dawn pointed out dryly, "Also, please don't openly refer to them as snobs while they're within potential earshot of you. It'll make you come off-"
*CRASH*
"GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!"
All of the upper crust snob-types in the art studio were thrown into a panic when the sound of a crashing window was heard, the shouts of men swarming in sounding off. As for Dawn, Kenny, Trip, and Burgh, they all tensed up and became serious, as if anticipating a fight. Sure enough, within moments of hearing the crashing window sound and the shouts of men swarming in, a lot of Team Scorn grunts filed into view, cutting off any and all escape. "Of all the times for Team Scorn to show up," Dawn swore under her breath, "They just HAD to show up now."
A somewhat older and well-dressed man stepped forward from the crowd and stood near Burgh and the reborn heroes while facing the surrounding Team Scorn grunts; he was balding, with salt and pepper hair lining around the back and sides of his head, had a graying bushy mustache, wore round glasses, and he had that certain level of plush wealthy older men had a tendency to have sometimes. "I'm the new curator for Studio Castelia," the older man said in a demanding tone, "And I demand to know what is the meaning of this atrocious act!"
Within a few seconds, some of the Team Scorn grunts parted to let through a uniquely dressed female Team Scorn member; she wore a yellow coat open in the front, with the tops of her sleeves and area of her shoulders on the coat a dark blue color, a dark blue top with yellow highlights worn under the coat, pants that matched the coat, dark blue combat boots with yellow laces, and a yellow scarf that had a single dark blue line going down the length in the middle. She had fair skin, light green0sh-blue eyes and hair of a similar shade, with bangs framing her face and each side of bangs held by a dark blue square metal clip each. An Ariados and a Seadra followed after this uniquely dressed Team Scorn girl, as did a female Team Scorn grunt with pink hair.
"...The name's Miyuki," said the uniquely dressed Team Scorn girl, giving her name as Miyuki, "Third Captain of Team Scorn's Longsword Sector. The girl behind me with the pink hair is my assistant Ayahi." Pointing right at the curator, Miyuki said, "Anyway, we're here to loot a certain something, so all of you play nice and let us collect what we came to gather, and no one will get hurt."
END, CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN
Author's notes;
This chapter opens up with a flashback scene to help flesh out Admin Swordsman, the admin in charge of the Unovan based sector of Team Scorn, the Longsword Sector. Swordsman, who prior to Team Scorn went by his real name Yoshitsugu, was shown not liking the fate that befell a girl who not only rewarded him with the keys that he needed to become stronger but also helped him out of a tight spot to help ensure he continued to be free. He didn't like it because she helped to grant him what she herself had clearly been denied all of her life. The flashback then ends and shows Swordsman talking to his sector's First Captain, Hiroaki, as well as Hiroaki's assistant Ayana who is Swordsman's well-fed cousin, as they discuss a mission that Third Captain Miyuki is set to carry out.
Then things cut to Castelia City, where Burgh has to lead the reborn trainers through the park in order to get to Studio Castelia while avoiding some ladies who would be bound to swarm Burgh. They get some ice cream, Kenny catches a kouhai for his alpha Hisuian Liligant, and then the group finally reaches Studio Castelia, which is soon afterwards invaded by a group of Team Scorn members led by Miyuki and her assistant Ayahi. Things will continue into the next chapter, where the reborn trainers will have to help fight off Team Scorn to prevent a heist from an art studio.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Zatch (male Hriyama; shiny), Argent (male Arcanine; Hisuian; alpha), Phoebe (female Tepig), Sluggo (male Snubbull), Tsukune (Palkia)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Zarbon (male Machamp), Priestess (female Liligant; Hisuian; alpha), Giyu (male Oshawott), Shinobu (female Swadloon), Kyo (female Zorua), Black (Giratina)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Empoleon), Loki (male Snivy), Fourze (male Electivire), Sinclair (male Blitzel), Deelia (Dialga), AkiBot 966 (Golett)