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 thirty-three: Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup, part one
The heroes, as well as some other trainers that they know, are in Lacunosa Town for the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup. With the exception of Dawn who sat in the audience with Meloetta, all of the heroes had entered. However, before the tournament was able to kick off, there was an exhibition battle between Cynthia and Caitlin; the former Sinnoh champion versus a member of Unova's elite four. Dawn remembered, from the anime in her previous life, that the battle between Cynthia and Caitlin actually ended in a draw but neither Pokémon used had gone down; Dawn doesn't recall all of the details exactly, but she thinks the battle ended in a draw due to time running out for the battle.
True enough, the exhibition battle ended up occurring here as well, with Cynthia using her Garchomp and Caitlin using a Gothitelle. Additionally, a time limit of ten minutes was set for the battle, and that ten minutes ended up being burnt up before either Garchomp or Gothitelle went down. Dawn saw looks of satisfaction in the faces of Cynthia and Garchomp alike; satisfaction that comes only from seeing that one was starting to see results in efforts spent trying to get back into form. Cynthia did state a desire to shake off the rust she had allowed to form.
After the exciting exhibition battle, the pairings for round one were listed off by Alder, the Champion of Unova, and Freddie O'Martian, who was helping to run things for the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup. Round one would see Ash fight someone named Geraldo, Bianca face someone named Cassie, Ideku go up against someone named Manning, Iris square off with Georgia, Trip tackle someone named Simeon, Cilan take on Burgundy, Kenny use the power of cringe on someone named Horatio, and lastly two unimportant people named Shepherd and Ramone butt heads.
The Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup, unlike the Clubsplosion, allowed the competing trainers to use different Pokémon throughout the different rounds. However, the round one battles didn't surprise Dawn all that much, given that all of the competing heroes and their friend Ideku all made it past round one. Ash and his recently caught Hydreigon defeated Geraldo and his Reuniclus, Bianca used her Emboar to defeat Cassie's Sawsbuck, Ideku used his named Quagsire Morlord to defeat Manning's Heatmor, Iris got a firm win against Georgia by using her newly caught Dragonite to defeat Beartic despite the (severe) type disadvantage, Trip defeated Simeon by siccing his named Electivire Fourze on Simeon's Zebstrika, Cilan defeated Burgundy by using Pansage to take out Dewott (angering Burgundy yet again), Kenny won against Horatio by having his named Machamp Zarbon defeat Horatio's Cincinno, and lastly Shepherd and his Galvantula won against Ramone and her Stoutland.
...
During an intermission where the Pokémon who had competed were resting (especially the ones belonging to advancing trainers), the heroes saw the match-ups for the second round; Ash versus Bianca, Ideku versus Iris, Trip versus Cilan, and Kenny versus Shepherd. "I'm fighting the NPC?" Kenny asked in a whisper to Dawn, "Yo dude, what do you make of my odds of winning?"
"...You'll be fine," Dawn replied dryly, not surprised to hear that Kenny was so indifferent about someone not within the circle of those they know closely.
Iris, with a determined look on her face, said, "Well alright! I'm paired to face that little kid tattletale! Oh ho ho, he is so going down!"
"Uhh, Iris," Trip began, a hint of caution in his tone, "Are you sure that you'll win? I mean, Ideku is a strong trainer."
"It doesn't matter what Pokémon he decides to use against me," Iris boasted, "My Dragonite will take it down!"
This time, Ash folded his arms over his chest. "...Are you sure that you want to use Dragonite, Iris? I mean, it seemed rather unruly when it battled Georgia's Beartic back in round one. Maybe you might wanna consider using a different Pokémon."
"Dragonite is going strong, Ash," Iris said, "So there's no need to worry."
Trip and Cilan then turned to look at one another. "May the best trainer win, Trip," Cilan said.
Nodding once in response, Trip replied, "I'm a different kind of game than Burgundy, so I hope you're ready."
"I intend to win here," Bianca said, "In order to grow stronger." Bianca clenched her hands at her sides into fists before releasing them. "...I have to grow stronger."
Dawn could tell that Bianca was wanting to become stronger because she wanted to be strong enough to win when she encountered Admin Swordsman, the head of the Longsword Sector of Team Scorn. That high ranked member of the up and coming villainous team spread throughout multiple regions had killed Bianca's father during an encounter in Nimbasa City when Team Scorn raided the place in a bid to accomplish some goal they had. Although Dawn couldn't hold Bianca's desire for revenge against her, given that it was her dad who was killed despite the less than stellar way things were between them before his death, the reborn trainer hoped that Bianca wouldn't let her need for revenge lead her down a dark path, or at least not lead her down too dark a path.
But that would be another subject for another time. For the being, the second round of the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup was started up. Given that Ash and Bianca would fight one another in the first battle of round two, they had to go out into the arena to face one another. Bianca, in addition to having more Pokémon than what Dawn remembered her having in the anime in her previous life, also had some notable powerhouses. Bianca, despite what others would assume, would prove to be a serious threat if one were to let their guard down about her.
But the same could also be said of Ash, having many more Pokémon than what Bianca has. He also has some notably strong Pokémon, either evolved from ones Ash had in the anime but never evolved, or ones he flat out never had period. He was also known for pulling off unorthodox strategies that tended to pay off handsomely for him. How things would go in the first battle of round two would depend on which Pokémon were used by which trainers, as well as what calls were made. Dawn wanted to see where this battle would go.
"This battle in the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup's second round is between Ash and Bianca," Freddie O'Martian announced to the audience as he began to officiate the battle between Ash and Bianca, "Each trainer may only use one Pokémon, and the trainer with the last Pokémon standing wins! Also, they may use different Pokémon than the ones they had used in round one! Now then, BEGIN!"
"Haxorus, I choose you!" Bianca said as she sent out her shiny Haxorus.
"Steelix, I choose you!" Ash said as he sent out his shiny Steelix.
The audience went wild with excitement, given that both competing trainers were using shiny Pokémon against one another. From where she sat in the audience with Meloetta on her lap, Dawn could already see that Bianca was at a huge disadvantage against Ash. Bianca's shiny Haxorus, although it took a Jolly Mint and an Ability Capsule to fix the issue it had with a crap nature and shit ability, didn't have much in its movepool that would help against a Steelix. The shiny Haxorus knew the moves Dragon Claw, Slash, Crunch, and Poison Jab; two moves wouldn't be very effective, and one flat out wouldn't work period.
Bianca's only real option here would be to spam Crunch and hope like hell it dropped Ash's Steelix's defense enough to do more damage every time. It would be necessary, especially as Steelix is known for having a very respectable defense stat. Bianca decided to take the lead in the battle, and called out while pointing forward, "Haxorus, use Crunch!"
"Steelix, use Earthquake!" Ash commanded.
Haxorus ran in, as it needed to be within melee range to attack, and bit down on one of the links of Steelix's body. It must of had teeth of steel, as it didn't hurt itself from doing that in the slightest. However, being right there in front of Steelix put Haxorus within ground zero range of Earthquake, thus it got a strong and heavy hit from a strong and heavy Pokémon. But Haxorus who stumbled back from Steelix wouldn't go down to just one move.
Gesturing forward, Bianca said, "Haxorus, use Crunch again!"
"Steelix, use Iron Head!" Ash commanded.
The two shiny Pokémon rushed one another, and although Haxorus was able to land a hit again, it still didn't do much to Steelix due to its amazing defense. To make matters worse, Haxorus took the full brunt of an Iron Head from Ash's Steelix. Dawn, although worried about Bianca, was also amazed with Ash, especially since Steelix has some very good moves. Depending on what other tricks Ash's Steelix has up its shiny metaphorical sleeves, Ash may be able to accomplish what Georgia boasted she would do but failed, and bust a dragon.
Bianca could tell she was in trouble, so she tried to push things as much as possible in the hopes she would win. "Haxorus, use Crunch!"
"Steelix," Ash commanded, "Use Ice Fang!"
Dawn's eyes instantly widened in surprise. "...Yeah, Bianca is in very deep doo-doo," Dawn muttered to herself.
Haxorus rushed in and landed another Crunch, but it wasn't able to pull away in time before Steelix reached down with fangs cloaked in icy cold energy and bit down hard on Haxorus. The black dragon let out a pained cry as it was bit hard by the large golden snake, and after Steelix opened its maw to release Haxorus, it stumbled back from Steelix a bit before falling over onto its back, clearly out of it. "Haxorus is unable to battle," Freddie O'Martian announced, "The winner is Steelix! Ash moves on to the semi-finals!"
Ash cheered as he was declared the winner, and although Bianca was clearly bummed to have lost, she still put on a brave face and congratulated Ash for winning, while wishing him luck in the semi-finals. Dawn had mixed feelings about the battle; a friend won but a friend lost. Still, Dawn was hoping that Bianca would take this loss she suffered as a lesson; although strong, Haxorus can still only do so much with its movepool, which was basically just moves it came knowing plus one coverage move to give fairies reason to second guess themselves.
That's part of why Dawn made sure Pina got solid moves to help her cover all manner of opponents.
...
The second battle of the second round for the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup was about to begin, seeing Iris face off against Ideku. The girl who tamed dragon Pokémon gave cocky, battle-eager smirk to her opponent who stood opposite of her on the battlefield. "Are you ready to lose, you tattletale?" Iris taunted.
"I see you're as mature as ever," Ideku replied dryly, finding no amusement in Iris's attempts to taunt him.
Iris growled in annoyance as she seemed eager to try kicking Ideku's butt in battle already. "This battle in the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup's second round is between Ideku and Iris," Freddie O'Martian announced to the audience as he began to officiate the battle between Ideku and Iris, "Each trainer may only use one Pokémon, and the trainer with the last Pokémon standing wins! Also, they may use different Pokémon than the ones they had used in round one! Now then, BEGIN!"
Tossing up a pokéball, Iris called out, "Dragonite, I choose you!" Once again, Iris was using her unruly Dragonite. Dawn was worried given that Dragonite had shown signs of disobedience towards Iris in the previous round, even though they still won. Dawn could only hope that Iris would be able to get her Dragonite under control, as she did not want to have to help deal with getting Dragonite to settle down if it could be avoided.
From where he stood, Ideku said, "So, you have one too, huh? Alright, let's make this interesting." Tossing up a pokéball himself, Ideku said, "Go, Dragoran!" Coming out to battle Iris's unruly Dragonite was Ideku's named Dragonite Dragoran; unlike Iris's Dragonite, Dragoran did not have a nasty look in its eyes, looking just as nice as what many would expect Dragonite to look. It did, however, look ready for battle, given how it eyed its aggressive looking counterpart.
"Ha, I know dragon Pokémon better than anyone here, so this will be a cinch!" Iris boasted, "Dragonite, use Ice Beam!"
"Dragoran, dodge it by using Dragon Dance!" Ideku called out.
Dragonite took aim at Dragoran and fired an Ice Beam, but the named Dragonite did a pirouette, spinning to the left to dodge the Ice Beam, while glowing with dragonic power. Dragonite was clearly annoyed that Dragoran had dodged its Ice Beam. Iris was likewise annoyed, so after the first exchange was done, she ordered, "Dragonite, use Dragon Rush!"
"Dragoran, use Dragon Dance to dodge again!" Ideku ordered
Dragonite cloaked itself in a harsh aura of dragonic power, with said aura even taking the form of a dragon's head with maw opened wide, before charging at Dragoran at its full speed. But the named Dragonite had boosted its speed as well as attack, and the speed boost helped it avoid Dragonite's Dragon Rush by once again doing a pirouette (to the right this time) while it was yet again glowing with dragonic power. Dawn was seeing that was going on here; Ideku was having Dragoran repeatedly dodge attacks while getting boosts off, then would proceed with moving in to strike. Dragoran was already at plus two to attack and speed, and Dawn wondered how much farther he would go.
Iris, annoyed that Ideku's Dragonite was being so hard to hit, decided to change tactics. "Dragonite," Iris called out, "Use Thunder Punch!"
Iris's Dragonite, showing a surprising amount of obedience despite prior behavior, rushed in towards Dragoran with Thunder Punch. However, Ideku when Dragonite was getting close called out, "Dragoran, dodge with Dragon Dance again!" For a third time, Dragoran glowed with dragonic power as it spun in a pirouette to dodge an enemy attack. Dawn, sitting in the audience with Meloetta, saw that the named Dragonite was now at plus three to attack and speed, and began to wonder if that was going to be enough for the roaming trainer from Johto.
Apparently it was, given that Ideku called out, "Dragoran, use Dragon Claw!"
Dragoran rushed in, its speed blinding, and clawed at Iris's Dragonite with claws glowing fiercely with dragonic power. It hit Dragonite way harder than it was expecting, eliciting a great pained cry. But even the Dragon Claw from Dragoran, boosted by three Dragon Dances, wouldn't be enough to down the unruly Dragonite, who looked utterly pissed to have taken a heavy hit it wasn't expecting to be so heavy.
"Dragonite, use Flamethrower!" Iris called out.
"Dragoran, dodge and use Dragon Claw again!" Ideku called out.
All that the named Dragonite had to do to dodge was sidestep quickly, moving with swift and fluid smoothness, before rushing forward to claw at Iris's Dragonite with claws glowing fiercely with dragonic power. Once more, Iris's Dragonite cried out in great pain, not expecting so heavy a hit. It stung even more than the last Dragon Claw that the enemy Dragonite had used, and it greatly angered the unruly Dragonite, its brows furrowing as its expression scrunched up into a visage of pissed off fury the likes of which was never seen on a Dragonite's face before.
Gesturing forward, Iris called out, "Dragonite, use-"
"DRAAAAAAAAA!"
Iris was cut off when her Dragonite exploded with fury, very clearly having lost its temper. It then proceeded to fire off Ice Beams and Flamethrowers in every which way along the battlefield, with some of those attacks even coming very dangerously close to hitting people in the audience, eliciting panicked cries of fright from those who came this close to getting hit by a stray attack. One of Dragonite's Flamethrowers even came close to clipping Ideku on his left side, but luckily it was off by a foot.
"Iris, what is wrong with your Dragonite?!" Ideku barked out, "Get it under control!"
Iris, to her credit, was clearly alarmed to see her Dragonite rampaging out of control. "Dragonite, calm down!" Iris called out, "There's no need to-"
"GAAHH!"
A rogue Ice Beam from Iris's Dragonite actually hit the wall under the bleachers exactly right below where Georgia and Burgundy sat, startling the two of them and even clipping Burgundy on the back of one of her hands with a small bit of ice that was just pointy enough to draw blood. Seeing that an audience member had just been injured by one of the attacks Iris's Dragonite threw out in its rampage, Dawn yelled, "Screw it, it needs to be subdued now!" With Meloetta following her, Dawn put her hand on the railing of the wall holding the bleachers back, used momentum to jump up over the wall and land in the arena, then ran forward a bit before tossing up an expanded Master Ball. "Tsukune! Go subdue Iris's Dragonite!"
Coming forth from the tossed up Master Ball was Dawn's named Palkia, who cried out as it flew right at Iris's Dragonite. The unruly Dragonite only saw the named Palkia for a second before the legendary Pokémon slammed it into the ground, pushing its head down and covering the rest of its body with its own larger body. Tsukune even roared demandingly at Iris's Dragonite, making it quite clear that its little temper tantrum was being put to an end immediately. Given that Iris's Dragonite had just been subdued safely, Dawn turned to look at Freddie O'Martian.
"I'm sorry for leaping in like that suddenly," Dawn began, "But that Dragonite had clearly lost control of itself when it went on that rampage. One of its attacks it threw out even injured an audience member, although luckily it was technically barely a scratch."
"There's no need to apologize," Freddie O'Martian said, "On the contrary, your act had saved loads of untold damage, and prevented anyone else from getting hurt." Turning to announce to the audience as a whole, Freddie O'Martian announced, "And on that note, Iris has been disqualified from this battle! Ideku will move onto the semifinals!"
The audience cheered out of a mix of elation and relief, although there were mixed in some boos aimed at Iris. Iris's Dragonite, hearing the boos, struggled to get up, clearly pissed with the jeering. "Tsukune, nail Dragonite in the head with Power Gem and don't let up until Dragonite settles down," Dawn ordered, making Tsukune aim its free hand at Dragonite's head and fired a Power Gem attack into the side of Dragonite's head, although just the one attack was enough to knock Dragonite out at that point, given it did take a lot of damage from Ideku's named Dragonite beforehand. Seeing that Dragonite was out of it, Tsukune backed off.
Iris, ashamed as well as somewhat horrified over what had happened, recalled her unruly Dragonite before everyone was led out of the arena.
"What in the name of all that is holy is wrong with your Dragonite?!"
An intermission had been called due to how the Dragonite mirror match between Iris and Ideku had gone down. In a back locker room, the heroes had all gathered, as well as Ideku who stood off to the side while leaning against a wall, as Dawn berated Iris who sat on a bench as the reborn trainer accosted her. Gesturing in the direction of the arena, Dawn said, "Your Dragonite lost its temper and went on a rampage, throwing attacks every which way! Some came very close to hitting people, and one actually did hit Burgundy although luckily little damage was done given the distance between her and Dragonite when it fired that particular Ice Beam."
Folding his arms over his chest, Trip said, "I figured that Dragonite needed to have work done on its attitude before it could have been used reliably in battle. The look its got in its eyes is not the kind of look members of its species typically have, and that look is a clear sign that Dragonite's got a chip on its shoulder."
"I... I didn't mean for that to happen," Iris said, clearly upset with what had happened, "I didn't want Dragonite to rampage like that. I just wanted to beat Ideku-"
"Because I unlike you expect authority figures to be held accountable and behave properly as expected of people in their positions," Ideku finished, cutting Iris off and making everyone turn to face him. The roaming trainer from Johto gave Iris a very displeased look. "...The girl that I had fallen in love with ultimately ended up joining Team Scorn," Ideku said, "Because an authority figure at her school she went to had her expelled in a blatant act of abuse of authority. Granted, what Skyla was doing was nowhere near as bad as what that Miss Akeno lady had done, but it was still an abuse of authority."
Turning to more properly face Iris, Ideku said, "I... really don't like it when a person in a position of authority abuses the power that said position grants them. Those who have authority, I believe, have a moral obligation to show that they are worthy of having said authority. They need to be a good person, to be someone that others can place confidence in without need for worry. I cannot willingly follow a person of authority if they constantly show that they by no means are worthy of what all said authority grants them."
"A reasonable thing to ask for, Ideku," the familiar voice of Cynthia called out, making everyone turn to see Cynthia walk in. "The crowd has settled down for the most part," Cynthia said, "And have switched from jeering at Iris because her Dragonite lost control, to applauding Dawn because of how she acted to subdue a threat. Made all the more impressive since she had used Palkia to save the day."
Iris looked at Cynthia, a sad look on her face. "...I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
The former Sinnoh champ let out a troubled sigh. "...You've been barred from competing in official events like this for a year," Cynthia said, "That would have included Unova's league conference that's coming up as well, but I got it from Dawn earlier that you weren't going to enter anyway."
Holding up a hand, Kenny asked, "Uhh, question. Is it possible that someone may try to take legal action against Iris because her Dragonite went berserk-o freak-o?"
"...Actually, yes that would have been possible," Cynthia said, striking some fear in Iris's heart, "But luckily only that Burgundy girl would have had any legal standing to do so as she was the only one who was hurt, and she was convinced to not press charges."
Giving Iris a wry look, Dawn said, "Burgundy's apparently writing a book on the art of being a Pokémon connoisseur, and she figures it'll sell way better if she's able to include a bit that's basically an interview with me, also said bit with me will include Tsukune and how close of a bond that I have with it." Folding her arms over her chest, Dawn added, "Burgundy also wants to include a mention of you and your Dragonite in order to make a comparison, and it'll help you avoid having charges pressed if you agree to consent to the idea."
Iris, still looking ashamed and embarrassed over what had happened, said, "...Okay."
Trip let out a troubled breath. "Wow, this crazy chaos really took some wind from our sails I'd say. Gonna have to perk myself up before my battle with Cilan." Turning to look at Cilan, Trip asked, "What say you?"
"I'm actually interested in the fact that Burgundy is going to be putting out a book on being a Pokémon connoisseur," Cilan said, "Maybe I'll buy a copy when it hits shelves in bookstores everywhere."
Stretching his arms into the air, Kenny said, "And I got some dude to square off against. He has made a foolish decision to face me, for I shall be bringing the pain with the power of cringe!"
Cynthia smiled in sincere amusement to see that the mood was picking up. "Well I'm glad to see that the mood is lightening some." At that point, an announcement was made to signal the start of the next battle in round two. "...Well now, that sounds like Trip's and Cilan's cue."
"I hope you're ready to dance," Trip said to Cilan, "Because I'm going to be bringing it."
Cilan, with an amused look in his eyes, replied, "Oh, we'll see who emerges victorious here."
Although there was still a heavy hint in the air, things were clearly lightening up. Dawn, as she went to sit back in the audience with Meloetta, figured that Iris's Dragonite was going to be needing some serious work if it was going to be a reliable partner to use in battle. Dawn remembered, from the anime in her previous life, that Iris's Dragonite did eventually come around, but saw that some work here with the right intent and method of execution could help speed things along. But that's an idea that would have to wait for later, as the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup was still ongoing, and Trip and Cilan had to go out for their dance now. Dawn had an interest in seeing how the Trip versus Cilan showdown would go.
END, CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE
Author's notes;
This chapter sees the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup kick off, and although the first round battles are skimmed over, the second round battles are covered. After Ash wins against Bianca, Iris has a showdown with Ideku. Although aiming to win because she felt he went too far, Iris gets played with before Ideku switches to giving her Dragonite a smack-down with his own Dragonite. Iris's Dragonite eventually loses its temper due to being toyed with and then started losing the battle, going on a rampage that ends only when Dawn leapt in and had Tsukune subdue Iris's Dragonite. Ideku's given the win because Iris was disqualified over her Dragonite's actions.
Back in a locker room, Iris is given a dressing down of sorts before Ideku explains his distaste for persons in positions of authority who make it clear through their actions that they probably shouldn't be in said positions in the first place. Cynthia then comes in, reveals that Iris will be getting off incredibly lightly, and that things for the most part will be settling down. The heroes are then reinvigorated when the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup is continued, with the battle between Trip and Cilan being called for. How that battle will go down will be seen in the next chapter as this second tournament arc is continued, so don't adjust your set.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian), Zatch (male Hariyama; shiny), Zancrow (male Volcarona), Leni (female Lucario), Tsukune (Palkia)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Godzilla (male Tyranitar), Giyu (male Samurott; Hisuian), Goofy (male Houndoom), Black (Giratina; Origin Form), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Shallot (male Glaceon)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Byron (male Bastiodon), HedonismBot (Magnezone), Myde (male Empoleon), Veda (female Abomasnow), Deelia (Dialga), Fourze (male Electivire)
Ash's Pokémon: (on hand) Pikachu (male), Krokorok (male; Sunglasses), Scrafty (male), Gigalith (male), Hydreigon (female), Steelix (male; shiny)