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-four: Royalty Rumble
To the concern of the reborn trainers and Nemona, Pyramid King Brandon ended up winning his battle against Iris. Their three on three affair saw Brandon's Regice alone defeat both Iris's Haxorus and Iris's Dragonite, followed by Brandon's Registeel defeating Iris's Excadrill despite taking a few hits from Dig. As a result of his win where none of his Pokémon went down in battle, Brandon rose to ninth place in the current season of the World Coronation Series. As such, he was now eligible to challenge the current lowest ranked member of the Masters Eight to an Entrance Battle.
Brandon boasts that not only will he defeat the number eight, who right now is Raihan the Hammerlocke gym leader in Galar, but after making his way into the Masters Eight he plans to challenge the current Monarch as soon as he can. In this case, it's Leon the Galar Champion; should Brandon defeat Leon, the Pyramid King will take his place as Monarch of the World Coronation Series. This worried the reborn trainers, as they've seen signs from Brandon that the Pharaoh of the Pyramid may not be in the best form (emotionally at least) to be the officially undisputed number one strongest trainer in the world.
Luckily for the reborn trainers, Brandon's inevitable Entrance Battle against Raihan can't be held for at least a week as things for that need to be prepared; that gave Dawn, who is already in the Masters Eight, time to prep to challenge Leon for the Monarch position herself. Dawn was confident she can take Leon's place as Monarch before Brandon can fight his way into the Masters Eight; Dawn sort of had to do so in order to prevent what she feared would be catastrophic damage being carried out by a man who clearly is trying to assuage his wounded ego.
Dawn had no idea of what Pokémon Leon will be packing, aside from Charizard and Dragapult. And Leon is no slouch as a trainer; Dawn was figuring that she would have to go all out against the Galar Champion if she wanted to win and take his place as Monarch of the World Coronation Series. Winning there meant that all that Dawn and the other reborn trainers had to do to meet with the Pyramid King was wait for him to come to them; Brandon was after the Monarch's seat, he had made that much at least very clear. There was just one thing that Brandon didn't take into account.
The chance that there may be a Monarch other than Leon waiting for him.
...
"Rillaboom, use High Horsepower!"
"Ruby, use Fusion Flare!"
Dawn had, after issuing the challenge to Leon, prepped by rotating in as many of her strongest Pokémon as possible into her party before working with them to get them all ready for what's bound to be one of the most important battles Dawn has had to date. Palkia, Yveltal, Groudon, Reshiram, Solgaleo, and Zacian were all in Dawn's on hand team when she went into the battle against Leon when she had challenged him to an official battle to try to take his place as Monarch of the current season of the World Coronation Series. It kind of stung Dawn to have to rotate out Chi-Chi, her named Infernape, as part of this plan.
Also, in order to have all of her strongest Pokémon in her party, Dawn had to take the risk of rotating Froot Loop, her named Mew, out of her party. Professor Oak was beyond shocked that Dawn owned Mew, but Dawn stressed it to Oak that he by no means was to let anyone period know about Froot Loop. He was especially barred from telling Ash's friend Goh, as well as everyone else involved with Project Mew, about Froot Loop as Dawn and the others still knew so little about them, and they cited feelings of uncertainty over a group that came out of the woodwork (from their point of view) with the proclaimed goal of finding Mew.
Oak, after he considered Dawn's words, understood and agreed. It wasn't until the reborn trainers pointed things out to him that Oak realized there might be something suspicious going on in the background, and it made the good professor himself suspicious of Project Mew. He swore himself to secrecy about Dawn having Mew as Dawn rotated Froot Loop out of her party in order to rotate in Ruby, her named Reshiram. And it was Ruby who Dawn was using as her first Pokémon in her challenge to Leon for his position as Monarch of the World Coronation Series.
Surprisingly, Leon's first Pokémon was a Rillaboom who tried to strike Ruby with High Horsepower, but the named Reshiram flew up to avoid it while conjuring a Fusion Flare attack. Ruby cast the powerful sphere of fire at Rillaboom, who was engulfed in the flames as they blew up around it. When the fires settled, everyone saw it as Leon's Rillaboom gave a pained, gasping cry before falling over onto its back, laying there on the pitch clearly out of it. "Rillaboom has been defeated," the Rotom Drone officiating the battle announced, "Reshiram wins!"
The crowds in Wyndon Stadium went wild with cheering as Dawn scored the first knockout in the battle. Dawn hadn't felt so nervous about battling someone since she challenged Cynthia for the Sinnoh Champion title. But using Ruby, Dawn had scored the first knockout against Leon. Recalling his fainted Rillaboom, Leon called out, "I have to say, Dawn! You certainly know how to have a Champion time!"
Dawn nodded once in understanding. "You don't say, Leon!"
Tossing up a Pokéball to send out his Dragapult, Leon went on, "It's time for me to turn things around here, I'm afraid! Dragapult, use Dragon Rush!"
"Ruby that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Pokémon around, "Alright, Sif! Let's get goin'!" Taking the place of Dawn's named Reshiram was Dawn's named Zacian, who emerged in its Crowned Sword form. Leon't Dragapult scored a direct hit with Dragon Rush, but Sif being part fairy type merely looked at the dual dragon ghost type with a look that said '...really?'. "Sif, use Crunch!" Dawn called out.
"Dragapult, use Thunderbolt!" Leon commanded.
Dragapult tried to conjure its Thunderbolt attack, but Sif was quicker on its feet and bit down hard on Dragapult despite its sword's hilt being in the way. Dragapult gave a pained cry as the named Zacian swung it around a bit before throwing it off to the side. Dragapult skidded along the pitch for a bit, kicking up a bit of a dust trail in the process, before it came to a stop. When the dust settled, everyone saw it that Dragapult had been defeated. "Dragapult has been defeated," the Rotom Drone called out as the crowds in Wyndon Stadium got even more excited, "Zacian wins!"
The crowds went wild with excited cheering once more as Leon's second Pokémon went down in battle. The Galar Champion, the Monarch of the World Coronation Series, gave an amused smirk that had a hint of nervousness in it. "I have to say, you don't know the meaning of sandbagging," Leon said, "I'd probably feel insulted if I got it you were holding back against me!"
"I'm not one to hold back typically," Dawn replied, "And I certainly can't afford to hold back now."
Leon nodded once in understanding. Before sending out his third and final Pokémon, he struck his signature pose, hyping the crowds up even more. Leon then tossed up the Pokéball that held his third and final Pokémon for the battle as he called out, "Go, Charizard!"
"Sif that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Pokémon around, "Alright, Tsukune! Let's get goin'!" Taking the place of Dawn's named Zacian was Tsukune, her named Palkia. Palkia, the first legendary Pokémon that Dawn had ever caught, the one that had won her many battles including the exhibition battle she had fought against Leon, a battled that now seemed so long ago. Dawn was banking on Tsukune to do a repeat of that battle in the hopes of besting Leon and taking his place as the Monarch of the World Coronation Series.
It was a position that Dawn didn't want for its own sake. A far cry from when she bested Cynthia in that long ago official title match to become Champion of Sinnoh, no accomplishment had tasted as sweet to Dawn. But earning the position of Monarch of the World Coronation Series off of Leon here, where she was aiming to earn it due to fearing it could fall into... not ideal... hands, no accomplishment will have ever tasted as bitter to Dawn. She was wanting to end the battle as quickly as possible, if only to be able to excuse herself as she feared she may vomit at this rate.
Luckily for Dawn, the match-up of Charizard versus Tsukune went pretty much exactly as it did the first time around; Charizard Gigantimaxed whereas Tsukune Dynamaxed, Tsukune used Max Rockfall and Charizard used Max Wyrmwind. The only difference here is that Tsukune's Max Rockfall clearly had scored a critical hit, as it had knocked Leon's Charizard right out of its Gigantimax with just the initial hit; the sandstorm that spawned due to use of Max Rockfall was not needed to beat down a small modicum of health that was left behind.
Energy and power exploded around Leon's Charizard as its Gigantimax was undone, ending with everyone seeing Charizard lay on the pitch, clearly out of it. "Charizard has been defeated," the Rotom Drone announced, "Palkia wins! Dawn is the winner of this battle!"
The cheering of the crowds reached a fever pitch as Dawn, in her challenge to Leon, had won. As such, it forced the two of them to swap places in the Masters Eight, seeing Leon go down to the number four spot whereas Dawn herself rose to the number one spot. Dawn had become the Monarch of the World Coronation Series, she's now officially cemented as the strongest trainer in the world. Even Leon, surprised to have lost an official battle now, got over it quickly enough and went on to be the first to congratulate Dawn for being the first person ever to beat him in an official battle.
The event ended with seeing Leon and Dawn shake hands, drawing even more excited cheering out of the crowds.
...
*HURL*
Kenny, Trip, and Mina looked on in concern as they watched Dawn throw up into a trash can in a locker room located in the back of Wyndon Stadium. "Dude, were you so nervous to battle Leon in an official battle that it made you throw up?" Kenny asked, nothing but sincere concern in his tone, "Not even the title match that you had won against Cynthia to become Champion of Sinnoh made you this nervous!"
Catching her breath, Dawn's eyes watered a bit as the scent of throw up reached her nose, the lingering taste leaving a gross aftertaste in her mouth. "No... uhhg... it's not that Kenny," Dawn said, "I honestly couldn't care less about being Monarch of the World Coronation Series, I'm happy with just being the Sinnoh Champion. But if I did not act to earn the Monarch title, then it ran the risk of falling into the hands of someone who I don't think can be trusted with it."
Trip's eyes narrowed out of suspicion. "Ah yes. We've seen signs out of Pyramid King Brandon that he's acting more out of needing to assuage a wounded ego than anything else," Trip said, "No doubt he'd act to abuse the rank and privileges as much as he would be able to get away with."
Turning to look at Dawn, Mina said, "Well for better or for worse, you're now the Monarch of the World Coronation Series. How's it feel?"
"Did you not see me throw up a few moments ago?" Dawn replied dryly.
As Mina winced back out of embarrassed apology, Kenny said, "Oh Dawn, with you being the Monarch now, that means Brandon will come to you, rather than force us to try seeking him out. He made it clear he intends to challenge the Monarch as soon as he can after busting his way into the Masters Eight."
As Dawn straightened up, she said, "That's part of why I had to become the Monarch. We still need to get a hold of Brandon in order to negotiate with him to get Regigigas, if only temporarily, so we can get that 'ultimate key' in order to unlock the power needed to fight off region wrecking threats."
Looking things up on her phone, Mina said, "Well Brandon's battle with Raihan won't be for a few days. Oh, but here's an interesting tidbit." To the others, Mina said, "Ash is slated for an Ultra Class battle here in Galar, against Bea over in Stow-on-side."
"She fought her way back into the Great Class after her mandated rank drop due to her misbehavior," Trip said.
Mina nodded once in the affirmative. "She also fought her way into the Ultra Class, but is barely a few spots above Ash."
Dawn looked to Mina, asked, "How long before their battle?"
"Two days," Mina replied, "Still a few days before the Raihan versus Brandon battle."
Two days later, the reborn trainers were in Stow-on-side to see the Ash versus Bea battle. Similar to how Dawn remembered it from the anime in her previous life, Ash defeated Bea and as such rose a few spots. However, Ash here had a far easier time; he also used Dragonite, Naganadel, and Lucario who Mega Evolved, a different lineup with only Lucario being a constant. After the crowds dispersed, the reborn trainers found Ash and Goh talking to Bea, with both of them having mildly firm looks on their faces as they spoke with the girl who Ash beat two times out of two here.
"Is there a problem here?" Kenny spoke up, making Ash, Goh, and Bea turn to face him and the other reborn trainers who approached.
"Oh, Monarch Dawn," Bea said upon seeing Dawn, "Congratulations on defeating Leon in an official battle and earning the Monarch title in the World Coronation Series."
"I heard about that," Goh said, "And I thought that she was crazy strong before!"
To the boys and Bea, Dawn asked, "We were wondering why you two were confronting Bea this time."
Relenting a bit, Ash said, "We just wanted to see if she learned her lesson about talking down about other trainers."
"I have," Bea replied, her tone humbled and somber, "I especially didn't know about the strife forced upon that Maylene girl who gave up actively being a trainer." Bea turned to look away, as if in shame. "Makes... makes me remember when Nina used to live in Stow-on-side."
"You mean that Nina Bloomingwood girl," Goh said, "She lived in Stow-on-side, huh?"
"We got some details from Piers the Spikemuth gym leader," Mina said, "Nina was bullied bad when she was a kid living in Stow-on-side due to how she's got autism. Things only started turning up all nice and shiny for her after she and her mom moved to Spikemuth."
Goh nodded once in understanding. "Yeah, and now that Nina girl is in the Masters Eight, meaning she's officially ranked as one of the eight strongest trainers in the world right now."
Turning to look at Dawn, Ash said with an amused smirk, "But not even she can hold a candle to you, huh Dawn? You're the number one trainer in the world! I bet that everyone will line up to get a shot at battling you!"
Dawn didn't want to say it, but she knew of at least one person who will be wanting to challenge her as soon as they are able to; that person is part of the reason why Dawn had to challenge and beat Leon for the title of Monarch of the World Coronation Series. "Well... let's just say that I can fight with the best of them."
"Boy, I'll say!" Ash said, "Makes me look forward to trying to get into the Masters Eight myself! So many powerful opponent to battle, why wouldn't I be excited?"
Smiling faintly, Dawn said to Ash, "If it's you who ends up besting me for the title of Monarch, then I can rest easy." The heroes shared a good natured laugh, one that even Bea got in on.
A couple of days later, the Promotion Battle that saw Raihan fighting Brandon occurred over in Hammerlocke Stadium. There, the whole world saw it (the battle was aired on TV) as Brandon, the Pyramid King of the Kanto Battle Frontier, bested Raihan and took his place in the Masters Eight of the World Coronation Series. Similar to how he bested Iris, Brandon took out Raihan's Flygon and Goodra using just Regice. However, he wisely chose to switch Regice out to send in Registeel when Raihan sent out his last Pokémon, that being Duraludon.
Duraludon was Gigantimaxed, and Brandon using a Dynamax Band that he got Dynamaxed his Registeel. Registeel resisted everything Duraludon threw at it, but a few Max Knuckles from Registeel quickly wore Duraludon down, knocking it out and securing the win for the Pyramid King. As was expected out of Brandon by the reborn trainers, as soon as he could he made moves to challenge the current Monarch in a bid to try to take their place and cement himself as the Monarch, place himself on the highest seat any trainer in the world could get.
Brandon... expressed more than a little surprise when he saw who the current Monarch was.
...
"What manner of farce is this?" Brandon asked when he was issuing a challenge to the Monarch of the World Coronation Series. He obviously was not paying attention to the news as of late, as he clearly did not expect Dawn to show up as the Monarch. "There is just no way that this young lady could have bested Leon!" Brandon went on, "She's barely more than a whelp!"
"Well this 'whelp', whether you like it or not, really is the Monarch of the World Coronation Series," Dawn said firmly as she glared up at Brandon, "And if you're aiming to battle the Monarch, that means you'll be challenging me."
Brandon scowled a bit before relenting. "Fine, I suppose it's my responsibility as the adult here to discipline unruly children and put them in their place."
Arching a wry eyebrow, Trip said, "Big talk coming from you, considering we had helped you with capturing Regieleki and Regidrago. Those two would have overwhelmed you if you went about things on your own."
Looking to Brandon, Dawn said, "So how do you want our battle to go down, Brandon? The standard three on three single style, or-"
"It will be a single style battle, yes," Brandon said firmly, cutting Dawn off mid-sentence, "But as you clearly lack the obedience and respect that you as a child are required to show to adults such as myself, the only fitting way to have that discipline beaten into you will be a full battle!"
Kenny snickered in amusement. "You... you seriously wanna have a single style six-on-six against Dawn?" Shrugging, Kenny went on, "Your funeral."
"And just what do you mean by that, boy?!" Brandon scowled loudly, his expression starting to get a bit red with anger.
Pointing at Dawn, Kenny said, "Dawn here has straight up NEVER lost a battle. She's beaten other trainers who likewise are undefeated, or at least they were undefeated before Dawn met them. She's beaten Leon twice, and that dude was boasted to be so strong that it was said he would never lose in his life." Gesturing to Brandon, Kenny went on, "You, on the other hand, have suffered losses before, even when fielding nothing but legendary Pokémon. And you've also proven that you essentially depend on using said legendary Pokémon to win, you tend to bite big time if forced to go without."
Scoffing, Brandon said, "I assure you boy, I am more than capable of putting that disrespectful young lady in her place. I'd like to see her try to best me, especially as I will be-"
"-Coming at me with an entire party of legendary Pokémon," Dawn interrupted, cutting Brandon off, "Yeah, I've faced an opponent who did the same before. I still won against that opponent." Arching a wry eyebrow at the Pyramid King, Dawn said, "You aren't so special, Brandon. Maybe after I beat you, some sense will finally be drilled into your head, you'll return to being the kind of man you were before you started experiencing something you weren't accustomed to."
Now it was Brandon's turn to arch a wry eyebrow, but he did so in confusion. "Starting to experience something I'm not used to?" Brandon said, "What do you mean by that, young lady?"
"Losing," Dawn said, surprising Brandon, "It's clear you aren't used to losing."
The Pyramid King scowled once again. "We'll see who is and isn't used to losing when I beat you for the Monarch title in the World Coronation Series!"
Dawn merely gave a wry look to Brandon. "...The battle is set for a week from now at Wyndon Stadium." Brandon, clearly in a huff, turned around and stormed off, and it was clear it got under Brandon's skin how he failed to get under Dawn's skin. After Brandon was out of sight, the others all turned to look at Dawn.
"You think you can take him?" Kenny asked.
"I have my ideas," Dawn said, "I just need to-" Dawn was cut off when her phone when off, making her reach in to grab it. "...Cynthia?" Dawn said in a confused tone as she saw who it was that was calling her. Similarly, the other reborn trainers were confused; why would Cynthia of all people be calling Dawn? They soon got their answer when Dawn, a wide eyed look of excitement on her face, said thanks to the former Sinnoh Champion before ending the call. "Guys, we need to head to Twinleaf Town as soon as possible," Dawn said.
"We're going back home?" Trip asked, "But why?"
"Cynthia, as well as Professor Rowan, want to meet with us to discuss something involving how we've caught all of the legendary and mythical Pokémon of Sinnoh lore aside from Regigigas," Dawn explained, "Cynthia also has a number of items, an entire set save for one item being missing, that she believes may be of aid to us given how we've caught most of Sinnoh's lore."
Kenny, Trip, and Mina all looked curious and surprised by the fact that Cynthia, as well as Professor Rowan, want to meet with them. As such, they decided to make a quick trip back to the Sinnoh region so that they could drop in on. They had about a week before Dawn had to have her battle with Pyramid King Brandon he challenged her to, so they could make the trip back home, see Cynthia and Professor Rowan, get the goods, and then head on back to Wyndon in the Galar region so that Dawn can give Brandon the beating that he has coming for how he's honestly been more of a butt than even pre-redemption arc Paul.
After about a day of flying, the reborn trainers were back in Sinnoh, headed right for Twinleaf Town. To a lack of surprise on part of the reborn trainers, Cynthia and Rowan were there waiting for them at the Berlitz residence, sitting around the coffee table with Johanna. To the surprise of the reborn trainers, sitting on the coffee table was an assortment of colored stone tablets, each about the general size of a smart phone. Cynthia, dressed as she does now given she's a lore researcher, was the first to see the reborn trainers arrive.
Smiling warmly at Dawn and the others, Cynthia said, "Well I knew it that you were strong Dawn, given you had beaten me long ago and took the Sinnoh Champion title from me. But to think you're now the Monarch of the World Coronation Series, the undisputed strongest trainer in the world. You certainly are full of surprises."
Gesturing to what Cynthia had laying on the coffee table, Dawn replied, "I'd say that this is pretty surprising."
"Yes, these are the elemental Plates," Rowan said, "Cynthia, in her researching of Sinnoh's lore, came across these plates, gathered all of them save for one. Given that you kids have between the lot of you captured nearly all of the lore that Sinnoh has to offer, Cynthia figured that you kids may be able to make better use of these Plates than anyone else would be capable of."
"All but one plate, huh?" Trip asked.
Nodding once, Cynthia said, "Sadly yes. I failed to find the Toxic Plate which corresponds to the poison type, but I gathered the Plates that correspond to all of the other Pokémon types. I even found the Pixie Plate, which I expected to be the hardest to-"
"Hol' up a minute there, Imma be right back," Kenny interrupted before turning around and leaving the Berlitz residence. A few minutes later, Kenny came running back into the Berlitz residence, over to the coffee table where all of the Plates were laying, and put the Toxic Plate on top of a few of the other Plates. "Is this that Toxic Plate you were talking about?" Kenny asked.
Cynthia, her eyes wide with excited surprise, said, "Kenny, where did you find this?"
"I found it when Dawn and I went to the Great Marsh in Pastoria City for a Safari," Kenny explained, "Way back in the day when you Cynthia were still the Sinnoh Champ. I found it and thought it was cool so I decided to take it, but me taking it angered a lot of wild Quagsires who proceeded to chase me up a tree. All of the Safari Balls that I was provided with fell out and the Quagsires ate them." It was then that Dawn remembered that Kenny actually DID find the Toxic Plate way back then; the fact he still had it meant that Kenny saw value in it.
Because of that, all of the elemental Plates were now together. With all of the elemental Plates in one place, Cynthia took out a book she brought with her. "Yes... yes..." Cynthia said as she fipped through the pages, "...All of its Plates are gathered... all but one of all other members of Sinnoh's lore are between a shared group... but its Flute is still missing."
"What is 'it', Cynthia?" Mina asked, looking genuinely confused. Looking right at the reborn trainers, Cynthia said a single word, one that made all of them realize just what the 'power' hidden behind the 'ultimate key' may actually be.
"Arceus."
Rowan leaned back in his seat quickly, as if a force had blown against him suddenly. "Arceus?!" Rowan practically proclaimed, "You mean the fabled creator of our universe?"
As Cynthia nodded in the affirmative while she and Johanna tried to get Rowan to settle down, the reborn trainers thought about it for a moment; it made sense that Arceus would be the power that the 'ultimate key' would be needed to access. They were also betting on it that the 'ultimate key' would wind up being the Azure Flute; Cynthia having mentioned 'its Flute' was a strong indication of that. The gathering of all of Sinnoh's legendary and mythical Pokémon was ultimately a task designed to see if they could handle the Alpha Pokémon.
After Rowan had settled down, Cynthia turned to look to Dawn and the others. "You kids are so close... you're just missing the legendary Pokémon Regigigas, and you have a shot at meeting Arceus...!"
Johanna, a curious and mildly confused look on her face, regarded Cynthia with a look of wonder. "Regigigas? I believe I saw on TV that Pyramid King Brandon of Kanto's Battle Frontier had captured Regigigas."
"Then we're going to have to bargain with him to allow Dawn and her friends to take ownership of Regigigas," Rowan said, "The chance to meet Arceus... surely not even Brandon would be impossible to bargain with if a goal such as that is available!"
"We... were planning to ask Brandon about his Regigigas anyway," Dawn explained. She, as well as Kenny and Trip, then proceeded to explain the shared dream they had where a large stone table that looked like a smart phone in an Arceus themed case charged them with the task of catching all of Sinnoh's legendary and mythical Pokémon, so as to unlock an 'ultimate key' that can be used to access a power great enough to help stop even region wrecking threats. They had to stop when they got to the point that only Regigigas remained uncaught by any of them.
Cynthia held a hand to her chin, wore a look of consideration. "Perhaps Brandon will be willing to hear us out if Dawn beats him when he tries to challenge her for the title of Monarch in the World Coronation Series. The fact you thought ahead to win the title off of Leon because you figured it'd make Brandon seek you out was wise, now you can ask him without having to try tracking him down."
"I have a week to prep and train for the battle," Dawn said, "A battle that I intend to give my all to, no matter what."
Rowan nodded in approval. "If it means a chance to meet Arceus, the you must beat Brandon and make him reasonable enough to be bargained with. There might be too much at stake if things are left as is." The reborn trainers all nodded in agreement, and immediately Dawn went about coming up with a game plan to deal with the Pyramid King when the time for their battle came. Rowan had a point; given that a region wrecking threat was foreseen, getting the help of Arceus would undoubtedly go a very long way to help save the day.
END, CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR
Author's notes;
This chapter sees Pyramid King Brandon defeat Iris, thus becoming eligible for a Promotion Battle. Knowing that Brandon intended to challenge Leon for the title of Monarch of the World Coronation Series as soon as he was able to, Dawn decided to skip ahead in line as it were and beat Leon in an official match, claiming the title of Monarch for herself. Dawn and the other are then able to confront Brandon, and things go about as well as one may expect.
After Brandon leaves, the reborn trainers are summoned back to Sinnoh, where Cynthia who heard they were catching all of Sinnoh's lore was able to bring to them all of the elemental Plates save for the Toxic Plate, which Kenny found all the way back in chapter twelve of this story (a little over two-hundred and fifty chapters ago!) and brought over to put with the rest of the elemental Plates. This then prompts Cynthia to mention the last Pokémon of Sinnoh lore, Arceus.
The reborn trainers then realized that it was Arceus the whole time, it is the power that the 'ultimate key' is needed to unlock, and they figure the 'ultimate key' is the Azure Flute. Although they have all of the elemental Plates now, they are still missing Regigigas before they have all other legendary and mythical Pokémon of Sinnoh in their collective ownership. It's a point that will come up in the next chapter when Dawn battles Brandon. Until then, take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Tsukune (Palkia), Kurumu (Groudon), Fangfanf (Yveltal), Ruby (Reshiram), Zyuoh (Solgaleo), Sif (Zacian)
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)