Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai
Chapter Two-hundred and sixty-two: Rankings Shift
The day of Kenny's first battle in the Ultra Class of the current season of the World Coronation Series had come, and his first opponent was going to be Rimu, the Champion ranked trainer from the Paldea region. The two have had something of a rivalry going, having battled each other in the Normal and Great classes. Now they were going to be battling one another in the Ultra Class which, by virtue of being an Ultra Class battle, was going to be broadcast worldwide. The reborn trainer made their way to the gym in Nimbasa City, Unova, where Kenny and Rimu were to have their fated Ultra Class battle.
"There's not only Kenny's battle with Rimu here for us to look forward to," Trip pointed out, "Dawn is set to have a Promotion Battle against Flint of the Sinnoh elite four to see if she can bust her way into the Masters Eight."
"That's not for a few days," Dawn said, "And by the way we'll be heading to Hammerlocke for it, the battle will be held in Raihan's gym." Dawn also got it that she and Flint will each be allowed use of one of three gimmicks between Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, and Dynamax slash Gigantimax for the battle. To Dawn's knowledge, Flint's only Mega Evolution capable Pokémon were Steelix, Houndoom, and Lopunny; Flint here had never been shown to own a Houndoom, and the other two between Steelix and Lopunny aren't fire types.
Flint also has never been shown using Z-Moves in the anime in her previous life, but then again Dawn in her previous life died before the Journeys anime ended, so maybe Flint used a Z-Move there and Dawn simply didn't live long enough to see it. It could be possible as far as Dawn was aware. Dynamax slash Gigantimax seems to be the most likely option for Flint, as the battle will be held in a Galar gym stadium where Dynamax slash Gigantimax can be used; Flint may even be provided with his own Dynamax Band so he could use Dynamax slash Gigantimax.
But this fretting over the battle against Flint could be put off for the time being, at least until Kenny had his Ultra Class battle with Rimu. A culmination of their rivalry over the ranks of the current season of the World Coronation Series, Kenny and Rimu would be putting one another to the ultimate test today. Kenny, the cringe-seeking boy from Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh, versus Rimu, the Champion ranked trainer from the Paldea region, boasted to be the strongest Champion ranked trainer that the region the reborn trainers never visited before (in their previous lives or in their current one here), one who even Paldea's Top Champion is said to be unable to measure up to.
The Ultra Class battle between Kenny and Rimu was going to be wild.
The seats in the Nimbasa Gym stadium's arena were packed as people swarmed in to see the first Ultra Rank battle that one of Sinnoh Champion Dawn Berlitz's companions was having. Kenny, fresh into the Ultra Rank, looked across the battlefield where Rimu, who had a good bit of spots above him, stood in position for their inevitable conclusion to their rivalry that spanned the ranks. "It's kind of like we were destined to fight one another the moment you entered the Ultra Class, Kenny," Rimu called out to Kenny from across the battlefield, an amused smirk on his face.
"I hope you're ready for a storm of cringe and moxie coming your way, Rimu," Kenny called back, "Because this is where I prove on a stage the world will see that the powers of cringe and moxie cannot be bested easily if at all!" It was clear to Dawn where she as well as Trip and Mina sat in the audience (Rimu's girlfriend Penny sat a few spaced from them to their right) that Kenny couldn't have asked for a better opponent to battle as his first foe upon entering the Ultra Class in the current season of the World Coronation Series. The referee gave the usual spiel for such battles, and Kenny and Rimu sent out their respective first Pokémon for their Ultra Class battle.
"Go, Baxcalibur!"
"Okay, Elay! Let's make it cringe!"
The battle kicked off with seeing Kenny send out his named shiny Kantonian Sandslash, whereas Rimu sent out his Baxcalibur. The reborn trainers had seen the dragonic beast a few times before, so its appearance here was nothing new. But it's a partial ice type, so it had a type advantage against Elay. It seemed to be an advantage that Rimu wanted to capitalize upon, as he gestured forward while calling out, "Baxcalibur, use Ice Fang!"
"Elay, use Rock Tomb!" Kenny called out.
Baxcalibur was able to rush in, even as Elay conjured boulders to hurl at the icy dragon. Both Elay and Baxcalibur took hits, and while Baxcalibur was hurt and its speed dropped, Elay was hurt slightly worse and it was frozen. Rimu wanted to capitalize on how the legendary *click* Elay was frozen and helpless like a sitting Psyduck. "Baxcalibur, use Dragon Claw!" Rimu called out.
"Elay return!" Kenny said as he swapped his Pokémon around, "Okay, Godzilla! Let's make it cringe!" Coming out in place of Elay was Godzilla, Kenny's named Tyranitar. Baxcalibur tried to claw at the opposing Tyranitar, but it was able to smack the attack aside. "Godzilla, use Iron Head!" Kenny called out, prompting Godzilla to make its head shine like polished metal before ramming its head into Baxcalibur, dealing a heavy hit.
When Baxcalibur was able to swing back around, Rimu said, "Baxcalibur, use Brick Break!"
"Godzilla, counter with your own Brick Break!" Kenny commanded.
The two pseudo-legendary Pokémon swung at one another, and it seemed to Dawn that both Godzilla and Baxcalibur were neck in neck, but she did see how Baxcalibur was wincing in pain slightly where it had scuffs along its legs from the Rock Tomb from Elay. Baxcalibur scored a grazing hit along Godzilla's left arm, but Godzilla struck Baxcalibur more directly on the front of its shoulder, and it looked to have scored a critical hit. The two mighty Pokémon stumbled back, but it was Baxcalibur who fell over and hit the ground, laying there defeated.
"Baxcalibur has been defeated," the Rotom Drone called out, "Tyranitar wins!"
The audience cheered as Kenny scored the first knock out, despite two of his three allocated Pokémon getting roughed up a bit in the process. After Rimu recalled his fainted Baxcalibur, he sent out his next Pokémon for the battle. "Go, Clodsire!" Rimu called out as he sent in his Clodsire, another Pokémon from Paldea that the reborn trainers have seen before. "Use Toxic!" Rimu called out.
"Godzilla, use Earthquake!" Kenny commanded.
Godzilla was slightly quicker, and its Earthquake which shook the battlefield hit Clodsire hard with seismic waves. But Clodsire wasn't downed by just one Earthquake, and its Toxic attack, aided in aim by Clodsire's poison typing, hit its mark, inflicting toxic poisoning upon Godzilla. The named Tyranitar took a hit from its toxic poisoning before swinging back around to continue the contest. "Godzilla, use Earthquake!" Kenny ordered.
"Clodsire, use Earthquake as well!" Rimu called out.
Both Pokémon triggered quakes that seemed to be rocking Nimbasa City gym itself with the deluge of seismic waves. But Godzilla's power, despite not getting S.T.A.B., was the greater of the two, eventually pushing through Clodsire's efforts and striking it hard with another Earthquake attack. After the shaking of the stadium came to a halt, everyone saw it as Clodsire passed out, falling over onto its side on the battlefield. "Clodsire has been defeated," the Rotom Drone called out, "Tyranitar wins!"
The audience went wild with cheers once again as Kenny took more of a lead. But Godzilla was hurting, and its toxic poisoning pained it again. Rimu looked to Kenny, gave him a considering look. "...Your Tyranitar is indeed strong," Rimu said to Kenny, "I suppose I have to pull out all the stops for this one." Rimu took out a standard Pokéball, gave it a look of somber nostalgia. Rimu looked to Kenny. "...This one here... I actually inherited him from someone who meant the world to me. When I fight my way into the Masters Eight as I plan to do, this one here will be by my side when it happens." Rimu tossed the Pokéball to send out his final Pokémon for the Ultra Class battle he was fighting against Kenny.
"Go, Quaquaval!"
Coming out into battle was the sixth Pokémon that the reborn trainers had ever seen out of Rimu, a creature called Quaquaval. A humanoid being resembling some manner of waterfowl, Quaquaval had dark blue plumage over most of its form, aside from the light blue on its shoulders and tail, and white on its head, neck, chest, and tail feathers. It had piercing blue eyes and a yellow beak, and atop its head was a crest that was dark blue in color and large, flowing, and slicked back. A front of long light blue and orange-red feathers separated the crest from the rest of Quaquaval's head.
On its forearms, it had three light blue tipped feathers each, and at the end of the forearms were three feathers each that seemed to work like fingers. There were additional light blue accents adorningits waist and legs, and its feet were yellow, with three bulbous segments resembling toes that had orange segnets at the ends. This new Pokémon also had a rather defined fanny, with an elaborate tail that had a circular base with three teardrop-shaped feathers decorating the top. Flowing from this were two chains, one along each side of Quaquaval, that were three segments each long.
Upon seeing that it was in battle, Rimu's Quaquaval emitted teardrop-shaped water feathers from its tail, with said feathers fanning out and staying in a decorative fan behind Quaquaval's back. Quaquaval was then seen beginning to dance in place. "So..." Kenny said, "This is a fully evolved Quaxly."
Rimu nodded once in the affirmative. "Aye, this is Quaquaval. Fully evolved from Quaxly, which is offered as a starter Pokémon to beginner trainers in Paldea."
"A fully evolved starter..." Kenny said, "...Time for Godzilla to break his curse! Godzilla, use Brick Break!"
"Quaquaval, use Low Sweep!" Rimu called out.
To Kenny's alarmed surprise, Quaquaval rushed in and swung its leg at Godzilla's feet, tripping it up ,ad striking it hard with a fighting type attack. Quaquaval's Low Sweep, combined with what all else Godzilla was hit with in that battle, resulted in knocking out the named Tyranitar. "Tyranitar has been defeated," the Rotom Drone announced, "Quaquaval wins!"
Sighing, Kenny said while recalling Godzilla, "I guess today wasn't the day that Godzilla broke the curse he's under." Tossing up a Pokéball, Kenny called out, "Okay, Elay! Let's make it cringe!" Coming back out was Kenny's named shiny Kantonian Sandslash, but it was still frozen. Obviously Kenny was planning to use Elay as a sac in order to buy time to come up with something to deal with Rimu's Quaquaval. Gesturing forward, Kenny called out, "Elay! Use the power of cringe to bust out of the ice, then hit Quaquaval with Earthquake!"
"Quaquaval, use Aqua Step!" Rimu called out. Quaquaval rushed the frozen Elay as its feet were claoked in surging water, then upon reaching Elay, Quaquaval strick it with a forceful watery kick, busting Elay out of the ice. However, Elay had been struck so hard by the Aqua Step attack that it flew through the air after being busted out of the ice that had entraped it. Elay then hit the battlefield where it laid defeated.
"Sandslash has been defeated," the Rotom Drone announced, "Quaquaval wins!"
The audinece was going wild with cheering as Rimu, using just his Quaquaval, had turned the tables so easily against Kenny. Now both were down to just one Pokémon left each. Although Kenny had a few options to win easily, he wanted to refrain out of respect to Rimu. "...I'm assuming that Quaquaval is the water type to Skeledirge's fire type and Meowscarada's grass type," Kenny said.
Rimu nodded once in the affirmative. "Yes. Quaquaval is dual water fighting type."
"That explains why it was so strong against Godzilla," Kenny mused, "Very well, my worthy and able opponent. In an effort to ends things here perfectly, you shall now face the power of the perfect being! Okay, Cell! Let's make it cringe!" To the surprise of the other reborn trainers, Kenny's last Pokémon for the Ultra Class battle against Rimu was Cell, his shiny Scizor. Furthermore, everyone saw it as Kenny decided to use his Mega Ring to resonate with the Scizorite that the named shiny Scizor held, Mega Evolving it into Mega Scizor.
"So this is the one allocated gimmick you chose," Rimu said as he looked at Kenny's Mega Evolved shiny Scizor." Gesturing forward, Rimu called out, "Quaquaval, use Low Sweep!"
"Cell, use Aerial Ace!" Kenny commanded.
The two Pokémon rushed one another, and Quaquaval was still faster. But Cell was able to close the gap, and both struck one another hard. Neither were down for the count, but whereas Quaquaval took a strike to the front of its left shoulder, Cell took the strike he received right to his abdomen, making him go bug-eyed with shocked, pained surprise as he held his larger than usual metal pincer claws in front of his struck holy land, gasping in pain as he writhed in a manner only those who like Cell are of the male persuasion can understand.
"Oh of all the times for Cell to get hit right in the shmeat!" Kenny exclaimed in a tone of complaint, "It just HAD to happen in this most final of battles with my worthy adversary from Paldea!"
"Umm... I'm certain that Quaquaval didn't mean for his Low Sweep to strike your Scizor where the sun don't shine," Rimu replied, wincing as if in pain similar to what Cell is enduring right now. Getting back on track, Rimu said, "But we can't stop now! Quaquaval, use Wing Attack!"
"Cell, fight through the pain and use Aerial Ace again!" Kenny called out.
Due to being stunned a little by his male pain, Cell took the Wing Attack from Quaquaval before being able to retaliate with Aerial Ace. Despite cringing in pain, Cell was still able to hit Quaquaval as hard as he did the first time, but he was noticing that Quaquaval was a little faster. Kenny noticed it as well. "Quaquaval had boosted its speed somehow," Kenny noted.
Rimu nodded once in the affirmative. "Aye. Quaquaval gets a speed boost from using Aqua Step."
"Then we gotta be able to endure on through to win this!" Kenny proclaimed, "Cell, use Aerial Ace!"
"Quaquaval, use Aqua Step!" Rimu ordered.
The two Pokémon rushed one another, and although Quaquaval struck hard with its Aqua Step, Cell was able to tough it out and strike back hard with Aerial Ace, throwing Quaquaval back. Both Pokémon stood still as they panted with exhaustion, at it seemed as if either one of them could go down at any moment due to all of the damage they had taken respectively. After what seemed like ages, it was Rimu's Quaquaval who gave a pained, gasping cry before falling over onto the battlefield before proceeding to just lay there, clearly out of it.
"Quaquaval has been defeated," the Rotom Drone announced, "Scizor wins! Kenny is the winner of this battle!"
The audience went wild with cheering as Kenny had emerged from his battle in the Ultra Class against Rimu as the winner. With Kenny's win, his and Rimu's ranks shifted; although Kenny went up and Rimu went down, Rimu was still a good couple of spots above Kenny. Rimu, smiling calmly as he accepted his defeat, recalled his Quaquaval as Cell, who came out of his Mega Evolution, collapsed onto the battlefield, his eyes now swirly symbols, his metal pincer claws covering his abdomen, and he was even foaming at the mouth.
It would seem that Godzilla isn't Kenny's only Pokémon with bad luck; Cell has a kind of bad luck of his own. It's just that whereas Godzilla's bad luck revolves around him constantly getting Worfed by fully evolved starters, Cell's bad luck manifests in the form of him getting struck in his shmeat at a rate that would make even the boldest and bravest of men think twice.
...
"You still have a ways to go if it's fighting your way into the Masters Eight that you're after," Rimu said to Kenny as Rimu and Penny saw off the reborn trainers, "Getting into the Masters Eight being something that I'm closer to than you, even with my lost to you today taken into consideration."
"Speaking of fighting one's way into the Masters Eight," Kenny said, "Dawn here is the ninth ranked trainer in the current season of the World Coronation Series. She's gonna duke it out with Flint of the Sinnoh elite four to see if she can take his place."
Rimu nodded once in the affirmative. "Yes, but whereas Flint is a Sinnoh elite four, Dawn is the Sinnoh Champion." Rimu then turned to look at Dawn. "You have even beaten Flint of the Sinnoh elite four once before, as part of your ultimately successful bid to become the Champion of Sinnoh. I have no doubt that you can replicate that feat a second time to take Flint's place in the Masters Eight."
Dawn nodded once in acknowledgement. "I intend to give it everything I got."
"I wish you luck," Rimu said before he and Penny turned to walk away.
Their walking was cut off when Trip called out, "Hey wait!" Rimu and Penny stopped, turned back to look at Trip. "...Kenny said something about how you had inherited your Quaquaval," Trip began, "What's the story behind that?"
A look of somber nostalgia appeared across Rimu's face. "...I'd rather not get into it." Rimu and Penny then turned back around and walk off, leaving the reborn trainers be.
"It must be a sensitive topic for him," Trip reasoned.
"That just tells me we ought to head on over to Galar so Dawn can have her dtae with destiny and fight Flint for the right to break into the Masters Eight," Mina said, drawing nods of agreement out of the others. After they rested the night, the reborn trainers the following morning got ready to fly on back to Galar, so that Dawn could prep for her Entrance Battle against Flint of the Sinnoh elite four. She had beaten him once before, and she fully intended to do so once again. She even had multiple plans on how to go about defeating Flint, depending on what Pokémon he brought with him to the table.
A few days later over in Hammerlocke, the reborn trainers aside from Dawn were in the seats together in the Hammerlocke gym's stadium, while Dawn herself was down on the pitch, standing in place as she stood opposite of Flint of the Sinnoh elite four. Should Dawn win here, then she'll take Flint's place in the Masters Eight of the current season of the World Coronation Series. Flint, despite how he's facing a girl who had bested him in battle once before, was nothing but excited smiles for the very fierce battle he and Dawn were undoubtedly going to have.
"Well now, Dawn!" Flint called out, "I was figuring you and I would have another battle one day, but I imagined it to be one where I try to win the Sinnoh Champion title off of you!"
"I'll stop being the Sinnoh Champion either by retiring or dying," Dawn said flatly, her tone harboring no humor.
"A feisty one, I see!" Flint replied, not at all put off by how firm Dawn was being about retaining the Sinnoh Champion title, "Now I see part of why Cynthia lost the title to you in the first place!"
The Rotom Drone then announced the usual spiel for battles in the World Coronation Series, saying Dawn and Flint were allocated three Pokémon each and one at a time, swaps were allowed whenever, the last one between Dawn and Flint with any Pokémon still able to fight wins, and each of them were permitted one of the battle gimmicks among Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, and Dynamax slash Gigantimax. Once all of that was out of the way, the Promotion Battle between Dawn and Flint, to see if Dawn can take Flint's place in the Masters Eight, kicked off with a bang.
"Go, Rapidash!"
"Alright, Bonfire! Let's get goin'!"
Both Dawn and Flint sent out their respective first Pokémon for the battle at the exact same time, and both were fire types. But whereas Flint sent out his Rapidash, Dawn sent out her named Entei. "Whoa ho ho ho!" Flint remarked in amusement, "I had no idea that you caught Entei, Champion Dawn! This battle is really going to go off with a blazing bang! Rapidash, use Hypnosis!"
"Bonfire, use Bulldoze!" Dawn called out.
Bonfire was able to get off its Bulldoze attack, striking Flint's Rapidash hard and lowering its speed with the super effective hit of seismic waves. Only Rapidash's sheer strength, cultivated under the tutelage of a member of a region's elite four, allowed it to pull through. However, Rapidash's Hypnosis missed its mark. Even if it didn't miss, Bonfire was holding a Lum Berry that will be consumed upon the named Entei getting hit with a move that inflicted a status ailment, to ensure a physical attacker like Entei wasn't crippled by ailment.
Seeing that Rapidash was on the brink of going down, Dawn wanted to end this fast. "Bonfire, use Crunch!"
"Rapidash return!" Flint said as he swapped his Pokémon around, "Go Drifblim! Erk!" Flint made a surprised, somewhat strangled sounding cry of realizing he messed up; he anticipated Dawn to use Bulldoze again so he swapped out to his Drifblim who, as a partial flying type, would be immune. But Dawn's call for Crunch nixed that, even though Dawn honestly wasn't anticipating that Flint would swap his Pokémon around, and into Drifblim no less. As a result, Drifblim was hurt rather bad and barely hung in, due to its sheer health pool and the fact Enteididn't get S.T.A.B for using Crunch. Even so, Drifblim was on the verge of going down.
Gesturing forward, Dawn called out, "Bonfire, use Flame Wheel!"
"Drifblim, use Shadow Ball!" Flint called out.
The named Entei was the quicker of the two, and its Flame Wheel busted Drifblim's Shadow Ball into nothing before going on the slam hard into Drifblim itself, making it cry out in pain before it hit the pitch in Hammerlocke Stadium. When the dust settled, everyone saw it that Flint's Drifblim had gone down in battle to its legendary foe. "Drifblim has been defeated," the Rotom Drone announced, "Entei wins!"
The audience cheered loudly as Dawn scored the first knock out in the battle. Flint recalled his fainted Drifblim and sent his wounded and winded Rapidash back out, to which Dawn swapped Bonfire out to send in Tobias, her named Darkrai. "Rapidash, use Flamethrower!" Flint called out.
"Tobias, use Dark Pulse!" Dawn commanded.
The two Pokémon fired their attacks at one another, with Dark Pulse blasting through Flamethrower and going on to blast right into Rapidash, making it cry out in pain before it swayed from side to side for a few moments. Then, Rapidash gave a pained, gasping cry before falling over onto its side on the pitch, clearly out of it. "Rapidash has been defeated," the Rotom Drone announced, "Darkrai wins!"
The audience once again went wild with cheers as Dawn was inching closer and closer to taking Flint's place in the Masters Eight, just like how she took Cynthia's place as the Champion of Sinnoh. "Wowee!" Flint said, "Your travels around the world certainly have netted you some awesome finds!" Holding up the Pokéball that held his last Pokémon for the battle, Flint said, "It looks like Imma have to kick the heat up a notch! Go, Infernape!"
"Tobias that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Pokémon around, "Alright, Lincoln! Let's get goin'!" Whereas Flint's last Pokémon for the battle was his Infernape, Dawn's last Pokémon for the battle was her named Latios. Taking a close look at Flint, Dawn saw he lacked both a Dynamax Band and a Z-Ring, and Dawn had it down as a fact that Infernape isn't capable of Mega Evolving. As such, Dawn was doubting that Flint was going to use any battle gimmick against her in their battle here. Regardless, Dawn wanted to end things quickly.
"Lincoln, use Psychic!" Dawn called out.
"Infernape, use Fire Punch!" Flint commanded.
Due to speed and distance working for him, Lincoln was able to get off his Psychic attack before Flint's Infernape even got close. Flint's Infernape went bug-eyed with shocked, pained surprise as it was blasted by the super effective attack from the named Latios, an attack further bolstered by both S.T.A.B and the fact that Lincoln was holding the Soul Dew. As such, Infernape was thrown back by Lincoln's Psychic attack, skidding along the pitch for a bit and kicking up a trail of dust in the process. When it came to a stop and laid face up, everyone saw it that Flint's Infernape had been knocked out.
"Infernape has been defeated," the Rotom Drone announced, "Latios wins! Dawn is the winner of this battle!"
The audience once more went wild with cheering, as Dawn's win here meant that she had just fought her way into the Masters Eight, signifying her as one of the top eight strongest trainers in the world. Flint, despite having been knocked out of the Masters Eight, simply laughed in amusement. "Yeah, that's about right!" Flint laughed, "Not even Cynthia could have beaten you, and I've never beaten Cynthia myself! I have to say, it'll take a miracle among miracles to see someone get past you in a tournament, Champion Dawn!"
...
Having been certified as a top eight trainer by the Pokémon Battle Commission, Dawn was swarmed by folks wanting to meet her. After all, she DID just break her way into the Masters Eight. Luckily for Dawn, Trip, Kenny, and Mina were able to get the swarms of fans wanting to see Dawn to allow her some breathing room. After things were given time to settle down and the crowds dispersed, Dawn turned to look at her friends. "Well now," Trip said to his sister, "How's it feel to be recognized as one of the top eight strongest trainers in the world now?"
Shrugging, Dawn replied, "It feels a bit surreal, now that I think about it."
Mina, who had her phone out, was looking something up. "...Oh! It says here that the current Masters Eight features Leon, Lance, Steven, Diantha, Alain surprisingly enough, Raihan, Iris, and Dawn in order from number one to number eight."
"Iris made it into the Masters Eight?" Kenny asked, sounding surprised, "What manner of sordid doggy brothel peepshow bullshit is that? How did Iris of all people make it in before Dawn, much less make it in period?"
"And isn't Alain supposed to be hiding from Team Scorn because he leaked intel on them to the authorities?" Trip asked, "What's he doing competing in a tournament that will see him compete on a world stage?"
Shrugging, Mina offered, "Maybe not even Team Scorn will try to get back at Alain given the entire world is watching. He's both exposed and protect." Turning to look at Dawn, Mina said, "Anyway Dawn, as number eight in the Masters Eight, folks aiming for Promotion Battles will be dealing with you."
Dawn sucked in a cringing breath. "That's right," Dawn said, "It might mess with my ability to travel as freely as I'd like."
"You can, if you want," Mina began pointing out, "Challenge others in the Masters Eight to a battle, taking their place if you beat them. I'd say you challenge Leon, beat him like he owes you mo-"
"...Actually," Dawn said, "I won't aim for the number one spot. At least right away. I think I'll take things a bit slow and go after Diantha instead."
"So you will aim for the number four spot instead of the number one spot," Kenny said, "Fair enough. If anything, winning means you can avoid having to fight an endless stream of Promotion Batt-"
Kenny was cut off when Trip's phone went off. "...Oh, I just got an alert for my first battle in the Ultra Class," Trip said, "Let's see here... a week from getting the alert just now... Lily of the Valley conference stadium... Oh! My opponent is going to be Paul!"
"Let us see how Paul's redemption arc is coming along," Kenny said, ushering everyone off to go get ready to head out to Sinnoh.
A week later, Trip and Paul had their ultra Class. Trip ended up winning rather handily, his named dialga Deelia taking out Paul's Torterra (Deelia used Ice Beam) and Electivire (Deelia used Earth Power) before Trip had to swap Deelia out because Paul sent in his Blissey; depsite the vast power it had as a major legendary, Dialga was a special attacker, and Blissey can sponge up special hits for days. But a well placed physical move would tear through Blissey as if Blissey were made of wet tissue, even more so if the physical move was a fighting type attack as Blissey, being a pure normal type, was weak to fighting type attacks.
Hence Trip sent out Space Kitta, his named Celesteela, and one-shot Paul's Blissey with Heavy Slam. With Trip having won against Paul, his rank in the current season of the World Coronation Series went up whereas Paul's rank went down. Granted, Paul was still a good few spots ahead of Trip, but that didn't change the fact that Trip had a lot going for him. Similarly, the same applied to Kenny. A small part of Dawn worried about the possibility of Trip and Kenny being slated to battle one another during the World Coronation Series; they battled at a destructive, legendary level during the Manalo Conference, and Dawn by no means was in any mood to see a repeat of all of that destructive danger.
This was especially so as Dawn was planning for her challenge to Diantha, the Kalos region Champion, to take her place in the Masters Eight. Dawn was planning to take on Diantha to beat her mainly to avoid fighting an endless stream of Promotion Battles against a bunch of number nine ranked trainers. Dawn had to plan her challenge against Diantha carefully, as Diantha IS another region's Champion. Dawn could not afford to rest on any of her laurels, and Kenny when he was told why Dawn's going to be careful in challenging Diantha asked what the fuck a laurel is. Kenny, in his own way, had helped to ease Dawn's nerves, and without even knowing it.
An update on the case involving PhoenixRebel, aka the plagarizing thief over on Webnovel; in addition to having plagiarized the first twelve chapters of this story, they had actually contacted me in a PM on this site to ask me for the okay to continue. I respectfully told them to stop what they were doing, as well as admit to their readers over on Webnovel what they've been doing (re-posting this story without my consent). I am willing to work something out with them (assuming that the person who PM'd me is the same one who's been stealing my story), but for now I will wait. Again, PhoenixRebel isn't me, they're re-posting my story without my consent, and they lied about having asked me first.
END, CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND SIXTY-TWO
Author's notes;
This chapter sees Kenny win his Ultra Class battle against Rimu, although Rimu's Quaquaval made things really close. After that, Dawn defeats Flint of Sinnoh's elite four in a Promotion Battle, thus fighting her way into the Masters Eight of the current World Coronation Series season. Trip then fights an Ultra Class battle against Paul and wins, while Dawn makes plans to challenge Diantha the Kalos Champion to a match to try and take her spot in the Masters Eight so as to avoid having to fight a bunch of Promotion Battles. Dawn's destined duel against Diantha will be in the next chapter. Until then, take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Tsukune (Palkia), Froot Loop (Mew), Lincoln (male Latios), Tambourine (female Kommo-o' totem), Kurumu (Groudon)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Cell (male Siczor; shiny), Venoct (Suicune), Zarbon (male Machamp), Delerious (male Mimikyu; totem), Black (Giratina; Origin Forme)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Emploeon), Deelia (Dialga), Natalya (female Copperajah), Akibot 966 (Golurk), Alfred (male Marowak; Alolan; totem), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar)
Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Dragonite (male), Gardevoir (male), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny), Sylveon (male; shiny)