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 forty-three: The Vertress Conference, part one
The Vertress conference over in Vertress City soon got into full swing, to the obvious delight of the audience roaring with wild cheers. Dawn, Cilan, and Iris were all rooting for the heroes who had entered the conference, those being Ash, Kenny, Trip, and Bianca. They also cheered for friends who they've met that have also entered the Vertress Conference; Cameron and Stephan, as well as Ideku although Iris was still a bit unamused with the roaming trainer from Johto. There was even Virgil, who Dawn remembered from the anime in her previous life as an Eevee-loution user who ended up winning the Vertress Conference.
...In the anime in Dawn's previous life. Things here are way different, so there's no telling who will collect all the chips in the end.
After an opening ceremony where Freddy O'Martian from the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup jumped down from a helicopter and Officer Jenny helped to light the Pokémon League torch, the Preliminary Round battles were underway. Due to the total of one-hundred and twenty-eight competitors, the Preliminary Round matches saw each trainer use only one Pokémon each. To the relief of Dawn, Cilan, and Iris, all of the heroes who had entered the Vertress Conference, along with most of their friends, had made it past their respective Preliminary Round battles, putting all of them in the Qualifying Rounds.
Things must have gone down differently here due to the nature of isekai, given that Virgil was actually eliminated in the Preliminary Round by Trip; Virgil sent out his Glaceon to which Trip answered by sending out his named Empoleon Myde; dual water steel which heavily resists ice, plus Myde can use Flash Cannon. Cameron also got eliminated in the Preliminary Round, and by Kenny; Cameron sent out his Samurott to which Kenny answered by sending out his named Torterra Roshi. Things when it came to type match-ups favored Kenny that round it would seem. Cameron is the only friend of the heroes to not make it into the next round.
Other trainers were eliminated in the Preliminary Round battles as well; Dino, Ramone, Russet, Antonio, Katharine, Manning, Kenton, Flora, Geraldo, Emmanuel, Kendrick, Ultimo, Mikael, and Radley were among the many to be eliminated in the Preliminary Round battles. But such is the nature of how the Vertress Conference, which started with one-hundred and twenty-eight competitors, is run. Now, with only sixty-four, things can be a bit more manageable. Things also looked good for Ash, Kenny, Trip, Bianca, Stephan, and Ideku. Dawn had a strong feeling that one of them was going to win the Vertress Conference.
After everyone had rested after day one, things got heated back up for the second overall round of the Vertress Conference, the first round of the Qualifying Rounds. This would see all of the remaining competitors use two Pokémon each. To the surprise of Dawn, Cilan, Iris, and Cameron who joined them in the audience to watch the rest of the Vertress Conference, the first part of the Qualifying Rounds ended up seeing Kenny and Trip battle each other. Furthermore, due to how the tournament table was structured, whoever between Kenny and Trip won would battle Ash in the second round of the Qualifying Rounds given that Ash won his first Qualifying Round battle.
"This battle will be between Kenny and Trip!" the referee declared, "Each trainer may use up to two Pokémon, substitutions are allowed whenever, and the last trainer with any Pokémon left still able to battle will move on to the second round of the Qualifying Rounds!" Throwing his hands up into the air, the referee shouted, "BEGIN!"
Tossing up a pokéball, Kenny called out, "Okay, Roshi! Let's make it cringe!"
Trip tossed up a pokéball as well, shouting, "Alright, Myde! Let's rock it!"
The first part of the battle between Kenny and Trip in their Qualifying Round battle would see them match Kenny's Torterra against Trip's Empoleon. Up in the audience, Cameron said, "Oh man, Trip's in a lot of trouble."
"What makes you say that?" Dawn asked, turning her head to face Cameron.
"Trip's got his Empoleon up against Kenny's Torterra," Cameron said, "Grass trumps water and ground trumps steel. Torterra is dual grass ground and Empoleon is dual water steel, so Torterra's got Empoleon, like, double trumped."
Dawn turned her head to look back down into the arena to continue watching the battle between Kenny and Trip. "...Sure, on paper it would seem that Kenny's got the edge on Trip. But type advantage isn't everything." Indeed, Trip was at least as good as Kenny; both of them were powerful trainers, and had all sorts of tricks up their sleeves. Also, Myde wasn't as screwed against Roshi as Cameron thinks; Myde was slightly faster that Roshi, meaning the named Empoloen will hit the named Torterra before the vice-versa of that exchange occurs.
Furthermore, Myde knows how to use Ice Beam, which is an ice type move which are times four super effective against dual grass ground types like Torterra. Also helping is that Myde's got a rather respectable special attack, backed further by Trip confirming that Myde has a modest nature. Roshi has a naughty nature, which has the effect of inhibiting special defense growth. It won't do the named Torterra any favors, especially since Ice Beam is a special move, meaning it will be hitting against Roshi's inhibited special defense with times four super effective damage.
Dawn was calling it; one, maybe two Ice Beams tops, and Trip will score the first win against Kenny. Looking down into the arena, Dawn saw it as the boys began their battle. "Roshi, use Earthquake!" Kenny called out.
"Myde, use Ice Beam!" Trip commanded.
Both Pokémon fired off their attacks, with Roshi making the ground quake and slam Myde with seismic waves, and Myde conjuring and firing an icy cold beam of energy from his beak to blast Roshi directly. Both Pokémon where hit hard, and Dawn was surprised to see that the both of them had toughed it out. Dawn was especially surprised to see Roshi tank the Ice Beam like that, but then she heard Kenny cry out, "Ah ha ha! Yache Berry for the win!" That helped to explain Roshi surviving the Ice Beam; he held a Yache Berry which he consumed upon getting hit by a super effective ice attack.
There's also how Roshi set off his Earthquake attack from a distance, letting him damage Myde with some distance between them. But both Pokémon had taken heavy damage, Roshi especially so. The next attack or two that are called could determine who maintains a lead in the battle of Kenny versus Trip. Sure enough, the two boys called for a repeat performance of the first exchange of attacks.
"Roshi, use Earthquake!"
"Myde, use Ice Beam!"
Both named Pokémon, respectively the first Pokémon of the two reborn trainers, got their attacks off, with Roshi's Earthquake slamming Myde with seismic waves, and Myde blasting Roshi with an icy cold beam of energy. After both fully evolved starter Pokémon took those hits, they swayed from side to side, stumbled around a little bit. Then, to the surprise of everyone, both Roshi and Myde fell over onto the ground, laying there defeated. "Both Torterra and Empoleon are unable to battle!" called out the referee, "This is a double knockout!"
The audience went wild with excitement at the spectacular exchange of blows that saw Kenny and Trip each lose a Pokémon at the same time. Now both had only one Pokémon left each. Kenny smirked as he looked over where Trip stood. "...What say you to making the last portion of our battle..." Holding up an expanded Ultra Ball, Kenny went on, "...Legendary?"
"I was thinking the same thing," Trip replied, holding up an expanded Master Ball. Tossing that Master Ball up, Trip called out, "Alright, Deelia! Let's rock it!"
"Okay, Black!" Kenny said as he tossed up the Ultra Ball that he held, "Let's make it cringe!"
The cheering that the audience gave reached a fever pitch as Trip and Kenny sent out Dialga and Giratina respectively. And why wouldn't the audience be so excited? Two large and powerful legendary dragon Pokémon stood facing one another in battle. It was bound to be one of the premiere highlights of the Vertress Conference for this time around. Even the announcers commentated on the use of Dialga and Giratina, the later in its Origin Forme, in the battle. "Amazing, folks!" one of the announcers exclaimed, "Those are the legendary Pokémon Dialga and Giratina! I think it'd be safe to say that whoever between Kenny and Trip wins will be the one most favored to win the tournament!"
Pointing forward, Kenny called out, "Black, use Earthquake!"
"Deelia, use Flash Cannon!" Trip commanded.
Deelia, being faster, conjured and fired off its Flash Cannon, not only blasting Black directly but also looking to have scored a special defense drop, which is bound to come in handy later in the battle. But in return, Deelia took a powerful Earthquake from Black; even Roshi who would have gotten a same type attack bonus for using Earthquake wouldn't have hit Deelia as hard with Earthquake as Black did. The sheer difference in power between Pokémon thought to exist only in lore and ones who were more commonly available than that can be truly staggering.
But Deelia wasn't done quite just yet. Gesturing forward, Trip called out, "Deelia, use Ice Beam!"
"Black, use Shadow Force!" Kenny called out. Black faded into the shadows near instantly; it was just near instantly enough for Black to barely avoid getting hit by an Ice Beam that would have been more hurtful than normal.
Trip knew that Deelia's next attack would most likely miss, but he had to make a move regardless, if only to bait Giratina back out. "Deelia, use Earth Power!"
The named Dialga made earthen energy erupt from the ground; while it did this, Black flew out from the shadows and slammed into Deelia before landing back and avoided getting hit by the erupting bursts of earthen power. Black, due to being in its Origin Forme, had the Levitate ability thus it was immune to Earth Power, but Deelia had to use an attack anyway if only to bait Black to come back out. Damage was starting to pile up on both legendary dragons, and Dawn knew that one or two more solid hits from them will end this battle. But who got hit and by what will determine who wins the battle.
Gesturing forward, Trip called out, "Deelia, use Ice Beam again!"
"Black, counter it with Iron Head!" Kenny ordered.
The named Giratina's head shined like polished metal as it flew in to headbutt into the named Dialga, who was charging up another beam of icy cold energy to fire off. Soon, Deelia fired its Ice Beam, and although it struck Black on the head, the Iron Head deflected most of it. Black then went on to ram its Iron Head attack right into Deelia, sending it reeling back although the hit didn't do too much to Deelia. "Well alright!" Kenny cheered, "We got 'em on the ropes now! Black, follow things up here with Dragon Claw!"
"Deelia, use Flash Cannon!" Trip commanded.
Black clawed at Deelia with claws glowing fiercely with dragonic power, doing more to make Deelia feel the sting than the Iron Head did. But the Flash Cannon struck Black on its underside, not only throwing it off balance but also hurting its lowered special defense again. Not helping Black was how its Origin Forme had lower defenses than its Altered Forme. Seeing that Black was swaying in place due to trying to regain a hold of its senses, Trip saw it as an opportunity to try to take Black out and thus eliminate Kenny from the tournament.
"Deelia," Trip exclaimed, "Use Roar of Time!"
Deelia charged up its Roar of Time attack, the gem in the crest over its chest glowing, the metal fin on its back looking like it was growing, as a swirling sphere of temporal dragonic energy formed in front of Deelia's wide-opened maw. Then, right before Black was able to shake off the last of its stun, Deelia fired Roar of Time right at it, scoring a direct hit that made the named Giratina roar out in pain. After firing the Roar of Time, Deelia slumped forward somewhat, resting on its front right leg, as it panted hard a bit while it shook with being stunned.
But the named Dialga wasn't the only one looking to be on its last legs; Black was also looking to be on the edge, having taken a number of hits including one particularly powerful one. The stadium actually fell silent as all eyes were on Dialga and Giratina, wondering who between those two legendary Pokémon will be the first to fall in battle. Time even seemed to stand still, despite how Deelia clearly looked to have no direct hand in that sensation, looking to be far too hurt and winded to try to focus on anything else at the moment.
...But Dialga was able to endure, right when Giratina gave a pained cry before falling over onto the ground, passed out. The audience roared with excitement as the epic clash between two mighty legendary Pokémon had finally come to a close. "Giratina is unable to battle!" the referee declared, "The winner is Dialga! Trip will move onto the next round of the Qualifying Rounds!" Trip and Kenny were too exhausted to feel anything other than relief that the battle was at last over. The epic clash between their respective legendary dragons had really taken a lot out of them. They even needed to be escorted out of the arena, although they did not turn down the help.
...
"Ah ha ha! Once more I was able to score a win against Kenny and thus move on to the following round to face Ash!"
"Oh you can just go suck a big one!"
Dawn had met up with Kenny and Trip in a private locker room to see how they were doing; at the very least, they had caught enough of their breath to act normally once again. ...Well, normally for them. Folding her arms over her chest, Dawn said, "Well either way boys, you all had made what is bound to be the biggest show that the Vertress Conference will be seeing." Turning to look at Trip, Dawn went on, "You especially so, Trip. You're now being regarded as the competitor who's most favored to win the whole Conference, as there's virtually no Pokémon among the remaining trainers who can even hope to stand up to Dialga."
Trip looked up at Dawn from the bench he and Kenny sat on. "...I wouldn't be too sure about that, Dawn. Keep in mind that I'm going to be facing Ash in the second round of the Qualifying Rounds, and I have no plans to use Deelia against him. It wouldn't be fair."
"You beat Ash both times the two of you faced off against one another thus far," Kenny pointed out, "Taking from me my chance to get a crack at Ash in the process."
Gently shaking his head, Trip went on, "Both those time, we were allowed only one Pokémon each. This time around we're allowed two. There's no predicting Ash, even more so when it comes to him having multiple options in a battle." Looking at Dawn again, Trip asked, "So how are the rest of our friends still in the Vertress Conference doing right now?"
"The last I heard, Ideku defeated Stephan," Dawn said, "Also, Bianca won her battle and due to how the tournament table's structured, Bianca will face Ideku in the second round of the Qualifying Rounds. Whoever between Ideku and Bianca will face whoever between you and Ash wins the battle you two will have."
Kenny leaned back a bit, looked up at the ceiling. "And the winners of the Ash versus Trip battle and the Ideku versus Bianca battle will have a three on three showdown. That's bound to be exciting. Makes me wish that I was still in the tournament. I would of loved to have gotten a piece of that pie."
Dawn shrugged her shoulders. "Well you can't always get what you want, I suppose." Seeing that the boys had recovered well enough, Dawn collected them and brought them along to see the rest of what the Vertress Conference had that day. The battles involving the rest of their group and their other friends had all wrapped up, so they couldn't honestly care all that much about the remainder of the first round of the Qualifying Rounds. Still, they had to go out and watch them anyway, if only to keep the rest of the heroes' group from wondering where they had gone off to.
The rest of the second day came and went, and the heroes rested the night until the next morning dawned on them. Today, the main highlights that the heroes who were watching the Vertress Conference were looking forward to was Ash versus Trip and Ideku versus Bianca after that, then in the next round after that, they would see the battle between who won the Ash versus Trip and Ideku versus Bianca battles. Of course, that was just the heroes' group in particular; all eyes in the audience at large were mainly on Trip due to him advancing with Dialga in his corner.
It was, then, fortuitous for the audience that Trip's battle with Ash happened so early in the third overall round of the Vertress Conference, the second round of the Qualifying Rounds. They wouldn't have to wait to see the trainer most favored to win the Vertress Conference as a whole take to the battlefield once again. "This battle will be between Ash and Trip!" the referee announced, "Both trainers may use two Pokémon each, substitutions are allowed whenever, and the last trainer with any Pokémon left still able to battle will move on to the third round of the Qualifying Rounds!" Throwing his hands up into the air, the referee shouted, "BEGIN!"
"Unfezant, I choose you!" Ash called out, sending in his Unfezant.
"Alright, Tsunade!" Trip said as he sent in his east sea Gastrodon, "Let's rock it!"
After both Pokémon were out, the battle began in earnest. "Unfezant, use Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered.
"Tsunade, use Ice Beam!" Trip commanded.
Unfezant flew around to avoid the beam of icy cold energy being fired at her, but she ended up getting clipped on her left wing. However, she was still able to fly in and strike Tsunade hard with Aerial Ace. When she landed on the ground, Unfezant stood there, shivering due to the cold ice on her left wing. "Unfezant, use Air Cutter!" Ash called out.
"Tsunade, turn around and use Ice Beam again!" Trip exclaimed.
Tsunade turned around while charging up another Ice Beam and was able to fire it at Unfezant just as Unfezant had whipped up and fired off her Air Cutter attack. Both Pokémon were hit hard by the attacks aimed at them respectively, and Tsunade even looked to have taken a critical hit. But the named Gastrodon endured, and it ended up being Unfezant who was knocked out, having swayed from side to side before falling over onto the ground, clearly out of it. "Unfezant is unable to battle!" the referee announced, "The winner is Gastrodon!"
Ash recalled his Unfezant, muttering an apology to her, before looking out on ahead. Turning to look at Pikachu who stood on his left, Ash asked, "You ready for this, Pikachu?"
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out in excited determination before running out onto the battlefield at Ash's direction.
Seeing this got Trip's attention. "Your Pikachu, huh? Normally I'd question sending a pure electric type out against Tsunade who's part ground." Giving Ash an amused look, Trip went on, "But this is your Pikachu that we're talking about here, Ash. It'd be foolishness of the highest order to sell him short." Gesturing forward, Trip went on, "That being said, I better wrap this up quickly! Tsunade, use Earth Power!"
"Pikachu, use Grass Knot!" Ash called out.
Tsunade reared up to slam forward in order to make bursts of earthen power erupt under Pikachu, but Pikachu, having since perfected Grass Knot, used the move to trip up the named Gastrodon, keeping her from getting Earth Power off. That, combined with Tsunade being dual water ground and taking a grass move that did more damage to the target the more that the target outweighed the user, as well as how Tsunade had taken some degree of heavy damage already, resulted in Tsunade going down in battle against Ash's Pikachu.
Holding up a hand, the referee called out, "Gastrodon is unable to battle! The winner is Pikachu!"
As Trip recalled the fainted Tsunade, Dawn realized that Ash was able to pull off the win there mainly because he got the idea from Ideku and Kenny to have Pikachu learn Grass Knot. If Ash's Pikachu didn't know that move, then he'd have a far more difficult time against Tsunade. Ash's faith in his Pikachu's abilities in battle, although occasionally coming off as him being reckless, also was a source of strength that fueled many surprising and upset wins. That boy from Pallet Town, Kanto really was one of the greatest trainers out there.
If given time, then Ash could potentially become the top trainer in the world.
Trip, rather than be upset that he lost a Pokémon to Ash, looked amused if anything. "...I think this is the first time you've used Pikachu in a battle against me," Trip said, "He's your first Pokémon, right?"
"Yeah, Pikachu and I have been together since the very beginning!" Ash declared.
Smirking in amusement, Trip said, "Then I should answer your first with mine! Alright, Myde! Let's rock it!" To the surprise of Dawn, Trip sent his Empoleon out to face off against Ash's Pikachu.
Ash gave an amused smirk of his own. "...I remember when I fought Dawn in the Lily of the Valley Conference back in Sinnoh, and her Infernape battled Pikachu. You using your Empoleon here against Pikachu like this feels similar to that."
"Well Myde's a cut above the rest!" Trip declared, "Just as I'm about to show you! Myde, use Surf!"
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called out.
Myde and Pikachu conjured up and cast their respective attacks, with Myde sending a large wave of water at Pikachu while Pikachu loosed a bolt of electricity right at where Myde was riding the wave. Myde was struck hard but he endured, and Pikachu was also struck hard but endured as well. Gesturing forward, Trip called out, "Myde, use Ice Beam!"
"Pikachu, deflect it with Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.
Myde fired off a beam of icy cold energy that flew right at Pikachu, but he deflected it by smacking the attack aside with his tail that shined like polished metal. "Pikachu, use Grass Knot!" Ash ordered.
"Myde, use Flash Cannon!" Trip called out.
Pikachu cunjured up his Grass Knot attack over Myde's left foot to pull it back to trip the named Empoleon over, but when he fell over Myde loosed his Flash Cannon which went on to hit Pikachu anyway. While Myde was struggling to get back up onto his feet, Ash called out, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Myde, counter with Ice Beam!" Trip commanded.
Pikachu, crackling with electricity, ran up before jumping up into the air above Myde, who raised his head and took aim while charging up to fire another icy cold energy beam. Myde fired off the Ice Beam right at Pikachu, striking his left foot mostly, but Pikachu was able to blast Myde with Thunderbolt in return. Both Pokémon took some heavy damage from one another, and Pikachu landed hard on the ground but was able to prop himself back up. His left foot was encased in a small chunk of ice, but he was able to break it off by zapping it with some electricity.
Over at where Myde laid on the ground, he tried pushing himself back up as small arcs of electricity danced all over his person. But he wasn't able to push through, slipping and falling back over onto the ground where he passed out, laying there clearly out of it. "Empoleon is unable to battle!" the referee announced, "The winner is Pikachu! Ash moves on to the last round of the Qualifying Rounds!"
The crowds cheered over the end of the battle, and many expressed surprise that Trip ended up losing. A select few people even wondered why Trip didn't use Dialga, as it would have guaranteed Trip's victory over Ash. But Dawn and the others with her watching knew, and they gently applauded as Ash and Trip shook hands after Trip had recalled Myde. Trip even held a hand out to Pikachu and looked to be asking him directly if he was alright. Pikachu gave a happy, but mildly winded, cry before he gave a gentle lick on Trip's outheld hand, drawing a chuckle from Ash and ending that battle on a positive note.
...
The battle between Ideku and Bianca ended favorably for Ideku. Bianca used both Escavalier and Klinklang, whereas Ideku used his Meganium Meganie and his alpha Hisuian Typhlosion Tornupto; Meganie had set up Light Screen and Reflect, and Tornupto took out both Escavalier and Klinklang. Ideku, with neither of the Pokémon that he used against Bianca going down in the process, advanced to the final round of the Qualifying Rounds, meaning that the roaming trainer from Johto will be having yet another fated clash against Ash in a tournament setting.
"The last round of the Qualifying Rounds will have each trainer use three Pokémon," Dawn said to Ash after that round of the Vertress Conference was done for the day, "You think that you can take Ideku in a three on three like you've done in the one on one battles you guys have had previously?"
Nodding once, Ash said, "I said it before and I'll say it again. I'm in it to win it!"
"Then I suppose I had better bring my A-game in our battle tomorrow."
The heroes, plus the rest of their friends who were there for the Vertress Conference, all heard Ideku speak up, then turned to see Ideku himself come walking on over. "I should probably bring my A-plus-game, though," Ideku went on, "Given that you won the last two times we've battled."
Ash gave an amused smile. "That's a base minimum requirement since you're going to be facing me, and I won't go down easy."
"Indeed," Ideku replied, "Well I wish you luck tomorrow. You'll be needing it." Ideku then turned around and took off.
After Ideku was gone, Iris turned to look at Ash. "You had better beat him, Ash! Ideku still needs to be properly punished for how he screwed over Skyla by tattling on her like the kid that he is!"
"Oh for the love of Odin," Dawn swore, "Drop it already, Iris! You're more of a kid than what you're saying Ideku is by constantly harping on him for doing something that, although admittedly a tad harsh, was still well within his rights to do!"
Seeing that literally everyone else in the group, even Cameron and Stephan who were hanging with the heroes to watch the rest of the Vertress Conference, were all giving her firm looks, Iris relented. "Oh alright, fine," Iris said, "I'll stop harshing on Ideku for being a little kid."
"He's older than you and had acted responsibly," Trip pointed out dryly.
END, CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE
Author's notes;
This chapter sees the Vertress Conference shenanigans kicked off. The preliminary round battles are mostly skimmed over but do show that the heroes who entered and most of their friends made it into the next round. Then, Trip and Kenny have another heated clash where the one between them will get to go on to face Ash, and once more it's Trip who wins. However, Trip then loses to Ash in the round after that, meaning Ash will go on to face Ideku in the last round of the Qualifying Rounds, where they will have a three on three rather than a one on one. How Ash and Ideku's third battle will play out will need to be seen to be believed. But until then, see you later.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian), Germany (male Garchomp), Zancrow (male Volcarona), Leni (female Lucario), Tsukune (Palkia)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Godzilla (male Tyranitar), Roshi (male Torterra), Android 21 (female Weavile; shiny), Black (Giratina; Origin Form), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Shallot (male Glaceon)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), HedonismBot (Magnezone), Myde (male Empoleon), Tsunade (female Gastrodon), Deelia (Dialga), Fourze (male Electivire)
Ash's Pokémon: (on hand) Pikachu (male), Krookodile (male; Sunglasses), Unfezant (female), Hydreigon (female), Scrafty (male), Emboar (male)