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 eighty: The Masters Eight tournament, part two
The Masters Eight tournament for the current World Coronation Series season was already off to an exciting start, as the first match of round one saw Leon, the Champion of Galar, bested in battle by Nina, a preteen girl who like Leon is a Galar native. No-one was expecting Nina, despite how much she had proven herself over the course of the current World Coronation Series season, to actually defeat the near-undefeated Leon.
But she did. Using only two of the three Pokémon she was allocated for the battle, and neither of those two went down. What Leon said about the naysayers trying to keep Nina out of the Galar Gym Challenge because she's autistic is true; their reasoning behind trying to bar Nina from the Galar Gym Challenge was nothing but a load of bullocks. There was no doubting Nina's competency as a Pokémon trainer now, and already endorsement offers for her to enter the next Galar Gym Challenge were lining themselves up.
But that was going to have to wait until after the Masters Eight tournament. The grandest tournament in the world for Pokémon trainers to prove their strength and mettle in was still going strong, as the other three matches of round one, then the two matches of round two, then the lone match of the finals, still had to be done. And what better way to continue things than with the next match slated to go down in the first round?
Dawn and Ash as they and the rest of the Masters Eight watched things on a TV monitor in the locker room, as well as all of Dawn's and Ash's friends up in the VIP room, saw it as Ideku and Rimu took their places for their battle. The referee gave the same pre-battle announcements as he was officiating the battle, before signaling for the two trainers to have their showdown on the grandest of stages any Pokémon trainer could ever hope to compete on.
"Go, Meowscarada!" Rimu called out as he sent in his Meowscarada. The audience was excited to see such a Pokémon as Meowscarada, as the species normally doesn't make showings outside of Rimu's native region of Paldea.
Ideku tossed up an Ultra Ball as he called out, "Go, Cupidos!" Coming out into battle was Ideku's named Enamorus, one of the two legendary Pokémon that he owns.
Pointing forward, Rimu called out, "Meowscarada, use Thunder Punch!"
"Cupidos, use Moonblast!" Ideku ordered.
Given the distance between it and its opponent, Cupidos was able to conjure and cast its Moonblast attack, striking Meowscarada as it tried rushing the legendary Pokémon before it. Meowscarada's Thunder Punch fizzled out, and the fully evolved grass type starter Pokémon from Paldea dropped to the pitch and passed out, laying there in defeat.
"Meowscarada is unable to battle!" the referee announced, "The winner is Enamorus!"
The crowds cheered wildly as Ideku scored the first knock out, forcing Rimu to call back his fainted Meowscarada. As she and the rest of the Masters Eight watched things on the TV monitor in the locker room, Dawn figured that Ideku was at an advantage here. She recalled hearing that the Meowscarada species was dual grass dark, so the dark typing combined with a second type that doesn't mitigate fairy's sting meant that Meowscarada faced too tall odds.
From what Dawn remembered of Rimu's team and their types, half were weak to fairy. Only the dual fire ghost Skeledirge, the dual poison ground Clodsire, and the dual fairy steel Tinkaton were not weak to fairy, and the latter two resisted and were strong against fairy. They would be the best bets that Rimu had at overcoming Ideku's named Enamorus. Dawn could only hope for his sake that Rimu, reported to be the strongest Champion level trainer Paldea has to offer, would think to act well there.
Act well there Rimu did, as he tossed up another Pokéball with a cry of, "Go, Skeledirge!" Coming out to battle was Rimu's second of three allocated Pokémon for the battle, his Skeledirge. Pointing right at Cupidos, Rimu called out, "Skeledirge, use Flamethrower!"
"Cupidos," Ideku called out, "Use Earth Power!"
As Skeledirge moved to try and use Flamethrower, Cupidos made the ground underneath Skeledirge erupt with earthen power, blasting into Skeledirge's underside and throwing it up as it cried out in pain, right before Skeledirge dropped onto the pitch and laid there, clearly in no condition to try to get back up. "Skeledirge is unable to battle," the referee announced, "The winner is Enamorus!"
The crowds went wild once more as Ideku was continuing to pull off a flawless sweep against the strongest Paldea Champion ranked trainer. As she and the others watched things on the TV monitor in the locker room, Dawn seeing Ideku have his named Enamorus use Earth Power made her see that Rimu's odds were even worse now, considering Enamorus alone could cover against all known Pokémon that Rimu had.
After recalling his fainted Skeledirge, Rimu sent out his last Pokémon with a cry of, "Go, Quaquaval!" The last Pokémon that Rimu decided to use in his battle against Ideku was his Quaquaval, which Dawn remembered once belonged to someone Rimu held dear to his heart before said person had passed and Quaquaval was passed down to Rimu himself. Dawn could only hope that Rimu, using the inherited Quaquaval, could at least do something in the battle against Ideku.
Pointing forward, Rimu called out, "Quaquaval, use Ice Spinner!"
"Cupidos," Ideku called out, "Use Extrasensory!"
Quaquaval raised one foot up and began to spin like a top at Cupidos, forming ice as it span in a spinning kick like what Dawn remembered seeing in Street Fighter games back in her previous life. But the named Enamorus conjured a psychic power that assaulted Quaquaval's head, wracking its mind and making it drop out of the Ice Spinner. Quaquaval held its hands to its head as it cried out in pain before dropping to its knees and passing out onto the battlefield.
"Quaquaval is unable to battle!" the referee announced, "The winner is Enamorus!" Gesturing to Ideku, the referee declared, "Victory of this battle goes to Ideku, who will move onto the semifinals of the Masters Eight tournament!"
The audience went wild with cheering as Ideku was declared the winner of the second match in the first round of the Masters Eight tournament. As for Dawn and her friends in the various locations they saw the battle at, although they all knew Ideku was strong, they also knew the same of Rimu, who is a Champion ranked trainer from Paldea. For what all strength and skill as a trainer that Ideku had, the reborn trainers did NOT expect him to score a clean sweep against Rimu.
But he did, and it apparently made his victory all the more impressive.
...
In between the second and third matches of round one, the reborn trainers decided to go looking for Rimu to see how he was taking the loss to Ideku. However, they came across Rimu with his girlfriend Penny being met up by Nemona, their fellow from Paldea. "That Ideku guy has GOT to be, like, crazy strong as a trainer!" Nemona said, looking and sounding like she was chomping at the bit to do something, "Do you think he'd accept a challenge from me?"
"I don't think he'd do so right now during the Masters Eight tournament, Nemona," Rimu replied, a noted hint of dry monotone unamusement in his tone.
Giving Nemona a wry look, Penny said, "Why doesn't it surprise me in the least that your first thought upon seeing a particularly strong trainer is to wonder if they'll agree to battle you? There's more to working with Pokémon than just being strong and having lots of battles."
"...Que?" Nemona replied, sounding very much like she was an aho girl.
The reborn trainers watched from a distance as Rimu and Penny were able to get Nemona to take off, then after that they approached the Paldean couple. "Oh, Dawn," Rimu said upon spotting the current Monarch, "What brings you by?"
Gesturing to Rimu, Dawn said, "Well, I just wanted to see how you're doing after having lost to Ideku in the Masters Eight tournament."
Shrugging indifferently, Rimu replied, "He was just very well prepped against me. His pink flying Pokémon alone had super effective moves for all of my on hand Pokémon, so no matter what I had sent out, Ideku would have scored super effective damage against me." Arching a wry eyebrow at Dawn, Rimu went on, "You ought to be more worried about yourself, Dawn."
"What do you mean?" Kenny asked.
"She's going to be battling Lance the Indigo League Champion in the third match of round one," Penny pointed out dryly, "She needs to be ready for what's bound to be a tough battle."
"There's no need to worry about me," Dawn said, the look on her face making it clear she was very much fully confident in herself, "I got an idea on how to handle Lance."
Rimu gave Dawn a wry look of amusement. "Well now, aren't you confident," Rimu said, "Hopefully that confidence will serve you well in helping you get through all of the rounds of the Masters Eight tournament here. Especially if you make it to the finals, and even more especially if you're in the finals and your opponent is Ideku. As you can probably guess, I can attest to Ideku being strong."
"Dawn has faced opponents like Cynthia when she was the Sinnoh Champion, and Leon who at the time was undefeated," Trip said, "And she still came out of both victorious. And she's only grown stronger as a trainer overtime."
"You better not say that stuff to Nemona," Penny warned dryly, "She'll be banging down Dawn's door to challenge her to a battle. She's like that one fictional race of alien warriors addicted to battles and getting stronger."
Gently shaking his head as if he didn't know what to do, Rimu remarked, "Nemona needs to chill a cycle, not to mention think critically about certain things. She'll bite it big time one day at the current rate she's going if she doesn't change." The couple from Paldea then turned around to take off, with Rimu muttering something about how someone named Geeta will react to Rimu himself having lost in the Masters Eight tournament.
After the Paldean couple was gone, Dawn said, "Rimu has a point about the fact I'm set to battle against Lance shortly. I ought to go get ready for the battle."
"You think that you can take on Lance and his dragon champ swagger?" Kenny asked, "I mean, the dude IS powerful enough to be the Champion of a League that covers two regions. He also made it to the finals of the previous Masters Eight tournament. There's no denying that he'll be a tough one to take on, especially if you go into the battle unprepared."
Nodding once, Dawn replied, "I'm certain that I can face off against Lance and come out of things the winner. And by no means am I going in unprepared." Another reason why Dawn has so many wins as a trainer here is because she always preps when possible. Lance although strong can also be a rather predictable trainer to face with all due respect to him.
And Dawn, who takes things such as the Masters Eight tournament with the seriousness that they are due, was prepared for whatever the Dragon Master of the Indigo League could be packing. When the two of them, Dawn and Lance, have their battle, Dawn was going to be striking hard and fast, doing as much damage as possible and as quickly and efficiently as possible so as to not reveal all of the cards she holds close to her chest.
Although this would be the first battle she ever had with Lance, Dawn already has some personal familiarity with him given he's helped multiple times with fending off Team Scorn efforts. Dawn as she was getting ready for the battle against Lance wondered if the extra action was going to help him be prepped for the battle by making him stronger.
A short while later, Dawn and Lance stood out on the pitch as they were in place to have their fated battle in the Masters Eight tournament. After the referee gave the usual pre-battle announcement as he was officiating the battle, things kicked off when Lance and Dawn sent out their respective first Pokémon for the battle. Lance had kicked things off by sending out his shiny Gyarados, drawing a lot of excited cheers from the audience.
...But Dawn's first Pokémon for the battle took everyone by surprise, as she had sent out Odin, her named Arceus. Odin was fairy type at the moment due to holding the Pixie Plate. Most folks in the audience had no idea what Pokémon Odin was, and many were making the assumption that it would go down to Lance's shiny Gyarados due to how the grand crimson red sea serpent was very much bigger than the white four legged being with the large gold ring around its body.
Even Lance looked uncertain as to what Odin was, but the look on his face made made it clear he wasn't dismissing the named Arceus as weak. On the contrary, Lance said, "Whatever Pokémon that is, it's bound to be an elite. You never fail to amaze, Dawn."
"Well the Masters Eight tournament is the pinnacle of the World Coronation Series," Dawn said, "The biggest draw of viewers and spectators out there. We not only need to go all out in battle, but also make sure those watching are blown away by a great show."
"Indeed," Lance said, "And I shall be the show master!" Gesturing forward, Lance called out, "Alright, Gyarados! Use Waterfall!"
"Odin," Dawn called out as she gestured forward, "Use Thunderbolt!"
The mighty Gyarados rushed at Odin while cloaked in harshly surging water. But the named Arceus conjured and cast a wicked bolt of electricity that flew at and struck the shiny sea serpent. Gyarados was wracked greatly by the Thunderbolt, falling out of its Waterfall as it struck the pitch with a mighty thud that shook the area a bit, kicking up dust and dirt in the process. When things had settled, everyone saw it that Gyarados had been defeated.
"Gyarados is unable to battle," the referee announced, "The winner is... umm..." Turning to look at Dawn, the referee asked while pointing at Odin, "What Pokémon even is that?"
"Odin here is my Arceus," Dawn explained.
Nodding once in confirmation, the referee said, "Alright." Moving on with his announcements, the referee went on, "The winner is Arceus!"
The crowds roared with excitement as Dawn scored the first knock out of the battle. As Lance recalled his fainted shiny Gyarados, he gave Dawn an amused smirk. "So this is Arceus," Lance said as he beheld Odin, "I have some familiarity with its legend, but not much. I didn't even have what it looks like." Looking up at Odin, Lance added, "...Until now."
"It's... a bit of a story," Dawn said, "But let's just say that, when one gets right down to it, Odin here decided to join the fight against Team Scorn."
"Ah ha ha ha!" Lance laughed, his tone and expression conveying sincere amusement, "And what an ally to have against such villains! Let's see how much further things can go here!" Sending out his next Pokémon, Lance said, "Go, Dragonite!" After Lance's Dragonite came out into battle, Lance said, "Dragonite, use Wing Attack!"
Gesturing forward, Dawn called out, "Odin, use Ice Beam!"
Dragonite flew at the named Arceus with its wings glowing brightly. But Odin fired a beam of icy blue, icy cold energy that flew at and struck Dragonite directly, making the mighty dragon cry out in great pain before it dropped straight to the ground. It hit the pitch hard enough to kick up a cloud of dust and, when the dust settled, everyone saw it that Dragonite had been knocked out.
"Dragonite is unable to battle," the referee announced, "The winner is Arceus!"
Lance recalled his fainted Dragonite before sending out his last allocated Pokémon for the battle, calling out, "Go, Hydreigon!" When Lance's Hydreigon came out, Dawn was a bit surprised as she did not expect Lance to have one, as she never saw him use one in the games or anime in her previous life. But it did make sense, as Hydreigon is a dragon and Lance is a Dragon Master. But luckily for Dawn, Odin came prepared.
Lance after he sent out his Hydreigon proceeded to Dynamax it, making the named Arceus under Dawn's command look up at a gigantic dark dragon. Feeling confident now, Lance called out, "Okay, Hydreigon! It's time to turn the tables here! Use Max Flare!"
"Odin," Dawn called out, "Use Judgment!"
Under normal circumstances, a Dynamaxed or Gigantimaxed Pokémon facing off against a Pokémon who wasn't Dynamaxed or Gigantimaxed would be at a very distinct advantage. But in this particular case, all that Lance did by Dynamaxing his Hydreigon was make it a bigger and more easy to hit target. As Hydreigon charged up its Max Flare, Odin unleashed countless shots of light that flew up before raining down to strike the giant dark dragon like relentless hail.
Those shots of light, drawing power and the fairy typing from the Pixie Plate that Odin held, were a hellish rain that struck Hydreigon greatly, wracking it to its core as it was cut off in the middle of its Max Flare. The giant dark dragon gave a loud, bellowing pained roar of a cry before power and energy exploded around it as it shrank back down. When the process of Dynamax being undone had finished, everyone saw it as Lance's Hydreigon laid there on the pitch in defeat.
"Hydreigon is unable to battle," the referee announced, "The winner is Arceus!" Gesturing to Dawn, the referee went on, "Victory of this battle goes to Dawn, who will move onto the semifinals of the Masters Eight tournament!" The crowds went wild with excited cheers as Dawn showed part of why she's as powerful of a trainer as she is, as even Leon when he battled Lance in the finals of the last Masters Eight tournament had to put in some effort.
With the battle settled, Dawn and Lance left the pitch. There would be an intermission before the last battle of the Master Eight tournament's first round, where Ash would test his mettle against the Champion of Hoenn, Steven Stone. In that time, Dawn planned to explain to Lance how exactly she came to get Odin, as well as why she specified her plans to use it against Team Scorn.
...
In a separate locker room, Dawn who was met up by the other reborn trainers talked with Lance. As the first notable trainer to join efforts against Team Scorn, Dawn figured that Lance ought to be brought up to speed. They told him a general summary of events; the dream that charged Dawn, Trip, and Kenny with finding and catching all of Sinnoh's lore, the receiving of the Plates, how Dawn got the Azure Flute, everything that Dawn felt was relevant.
Lance, after he heard everything, said, "It makes sense that you would want to unleash such power on Team Scorn, maybe scare the lot of them into giving up their ways and turning themselves in. It is no wonder that they had tried to act to keep you and your company from catching all of the other Pokémon of Sinnoh lore, they wanted to keep you from meeting Arceus."
"Actually, we had no idea ourselves Arceus would crop up until we had all of the other Pokémon of Sinnoh lore aside from Regigigas," Dawn admitted, "So chances are that Team Scorn likewise had no way of predicting that Arceus was on the table. They probably just wanted to try and play a cruel game of keep away with us if they succeeded in capturing at least one Pokémon of Sinnoh lore."
"Well Team Scorn is bound to know now that you have Arceus," Lance said. He turned his head up, looked at the ceiling in the locker room and smiled. "Every time the heroes who fight against Team Scorn's villainy gains another edge, it brings a smile to my face and fresh warmth to my heart. And now we got Arceus on our side! Team Scorn is as good as finished now!" Looking to Dawn, Lance went on, "I always figured that you and your company would be leading figures in the efforts to take down Team Scorn, Dawn. But this? This just proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt."
"Just because my friends and I are very prominent in that regard doesn't mean we ought to be the only ones in that regard," Dawn said, "The more folks we have helping us, the better."
Lance nodded once in agreement. "Exactly. I'm certain that it goes without saying that every last person who's made it into the Masters Eight this year will be willing to pledge their efforts to fight against the threat that Team Scorn poses." Gesturing to Dawn, Lance went on, "But you, Dawn, will still be seen as a rallying point of sorts. And with what all that you have, I'm failing to see how Team Scorn will win out in the end. Hell, I'm failing to see how you won't remain the Monarch of the World Coronation Series by the time the Masters Eight tournament this year ends."
"I'm surprised that Team Scorn hasn't collectively soiled itself out of fright yet," Mina said, "I mean, look at what all that Kenny, Dawn, and Trip have between them. All of that, brought to bare against Team Scorn." Folding her arms over her chest, Mina went on, "If I was part of Team Scorn and I had to deal with all of that coming against me, I'd turn myself in after cleaning myself up due to having used my cargo shorts as a toilet."
Lance gave a good humored, sincerely amused laugh that was a bit on the booming side. "My cousin Claire had said words to that same effect to me shortly after the chaos that occurred over in Alola during their first Manalo Conference, only she used a more mature, vulgar tongue." Arching a wry eyebrow, Lance went on, "Speaking of the first Manalo Conference that Alola had, the winner of said competition is going to be fighting in the last match of round one of this tournament."
"Oh yeah!" Trip said, "Ash is going to be battling Steven Stone, the Champion of Hoenn."
To the reborn trainers, Lance asked, "Tell me your respective honest opinions. Who between Ash and Steven do you think has the best odds of winning?"
"It boils down to which Pokémon both of them respectively use," Dawn said, "But Ash ought to be aware that Steven specializes in steel type Pokémon, so he can plan for that."
"My main man Ash has had his region Champ swagger for a lesser amount of time than Steven had his," Kenny remarked, "But Ash is nothing if not unpredictable. Ever since I've started to know him, the number of people I've seen beat Ash in a battle can be listed with just the digits on your hands, and you'll have a good number left over."
Trip nodded in agreement. "Ash has proven he knows what he's doing. Both as a trainer and as the Champion of Alola. He's also shown he knows what he's doing as a weight loss coach, but that's beside the point. I have every confidence that Ash will win, and if he doesn't then it'll prove that it'll take nothing less than a region's Champion or a trainer of similar power and skill to best him. Either way, Ash doesn't go down easily."
Mina nodded once in agreement. "Ash is strong. 'Nuff said."
Lance nodded once in understanding. "So you all are betting that Ash will defeat Steven and move on to the semifinals. Fair enough." Arching a wry eyebrow, Lance went on, "If that does indeed end up happening, then it'll mean that you Dawn will have to face Ash in the semifinals, and the both of you will each be using full parties of six Pokémon." To the reborn trainers, Lance said, "Who in a match between Dawn here and Ash do you think will win?"
The reborn trainers said nothing, but Dawn when she saw Kenny, Trip, and Mina all point at her grew a bit sheepish. Seeing the realizing look of dawning embarrassment on Dawn's face, Lance couldn't help but laugh in good nature again. "Well now, Dawn!" Lance said, "It seems that your friends have a lot of faith in you! You ought to do well to prove that said faith is well placed!" Lance then excused himself to take off, leaving the reborn trainers be.
"We ought to go back to our seats," Mina said, "Ash's battle against Steven ought to be going down really soon. Don't wanna miss any of the action."
"I'll have to go catch back up with Lance," Dawn said, "We're still watching things from the TV monitor in the locker room everyone who is in the Masters Eight is using."
"Tell Ash if you see him that he's got us all in his corner rooting for him," Trip remarked. Dawn gave her brother an affirming nod before she took off to return to the Masters Eight locker room, as the other reborn trainers took off back for the VIP viewing room. The rest of the tournament here will be an amazing show, the reborn trainers have no doubt about that. The lot of them can't wait to see how everything will end up going.
Dawn especially, and for reasons that ought to be obvious.
Ash ended up winning his battle against Steven in the last match of round one of the Masters Eight tournament. As such, the Champion of Alola from Pallet Town, Kanto, will be moving onto the next round of the Masters Eight tournament. But Steven despite losing proved to be one hell of a test of what all strength, skill, and experience that Ash has up to this point cultivated as a trainer, pushing the Alola Champion to his limits.
The first portion of the battle saw Steven's Aggron versus Ash's Lucario. Due to Aggron being dual steel rock, and Lucario being part fighting which is times four super effective against such a type combo, the heroes predicted that Lucario would beat Aggron. Using a mix of Double Team to throw Aggron off its game and Force Palm which hit hard and scored paralysis, Lucario knocked Aggron out, although it did take some damage in the process.
After that Steven recalled Aggron to send out Skarmory. Lucario was able to keep up for a moment with the Double Team and Force Palm bit that took down Aggron, and was even able to paralyze Skarmory as well. But Skarmory is part flying type, and it carried Aerial Ace in its move set; Lucario soon went down to the steel bird, although it did soften Skarmory up for Ash's next Pokémon to take on in the battle as things continued.
To the surprise of the heroes, Ash's second Pokémon was his Naganadel, the Ultra Beast that here Ash kept. Steel resists dragon and is immune to poison, but the reborn trainers got their answer for why Ash chose to send Naganadel out when it used Thunderbolt, which took advantage of how Skarmory was weak to electric attacks. A quick Thunderbolt or two from Naganadel, and Skarmory soon went down, letting Ash keep the lead.
Then Steven, after recalling his fainted Skarmory, sent out his shiny Metagross and Mega Evolved it, giving him shiny Mega Metagross. In its Mega Evolved state, Metagross had a slightly higher BST than even some notable legendary Pokémon. Additionally, being part psychic gave it STAB that it could use to do some serious damage to Naganadel, who's part poison and its other type of dragon doesn't cushion psychic blows.
However, Ash proved to be perceptive, as well as taking a wise cue from how Dawn raised her Naganadel, Wyrmscale. Ash opened the contest against Steven's shiny Mega Metagross with his Naganadel using Flamethrower, which scored super effective damage and even burned Metagross, meaning that its physical damage output would be curbed. Metagross's Zen Headbutts still stung, but the burn cushioned the blow.
Not enough to save Naganadel as Metagross was able to knock it out despite the burn, but the burn did buy Nagandel time in weakening Metagross, as well as also help with said weakening. After Ash recalled his Naganadel, he sent out his Pikachu who, using the Z-Move 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt, was able to knock out Metagross and secure Ash's victory over the Hoenn Champion, letting him go on to the semifinals of the Masters Eight tournament.
With the Masters Eight tournament over for the day, everyone retired to the hotel they were all staying at in Wyndon. "Oh, it says here that Ash is getting props for winning the closest match in the first round of the Masters Eight tournament," Mina said as she saw a news article on her phone.
"Well yeah," Trip said, "His is the only match where both trainers saw Pokémon of theirs go down in the battle. The other three saw one trainer each win without any of their Pokémon going down." Dawn nodded in agreement, as the other battles had been curb stomps. Even Dawn herself was guilty of dealing a curb stomp, although with the idea that Team Scorn if they saw it would get the right idea and just turn themselves all in.
The less that the heroes have to deal with Team Scorn, the better.
...
"What in blazes is that?!"
In an undisclosed location in Wyndon, Ayane, the Boss's Assistant of Team Scorn, was pointing to an image on a monitor that was paused; said image showed Dawn commanding her named Arceus Odin in battle against Lance during the first round of the Masters Eight tournament. In the room with Ayane were several Team Scorn grunt level members wearing plain clothes disguises; Ayane wore a blonde wig and a pair of glasses to disguise herself.
Also in the room with Ayane and her plain clothes disguised security were Rimu, Penny, Nina, and Marnie. Looking at Odin as its image was on the monitor, Rimu said, "If I recall correctly from the lore class one of me and Penny's teachers at Naranja Academy in Paldea had run, that's the mythical Pokémon Arceus, described in Sinnoh lore as the being who created our universe."
"I know that," Ayane said, "What I meant is what is Dawn Berlitz doing with Arceus of all things under her command! How come this wasn't known to us until today?!"
"Admin Kyubi had submitted a report with full details of when he got Dawn and her companions to help the Pocketwatch Sector take down Project Mew," Marnie said, "In it, he detailed how Dawn had commanded a large white quadruped Pokémon with a large golden ring around its body but Kyubi couldn't identify the Pokémon at the time as he had no idea what it was."
Scowling, Ayane said, "That's right, I did get that report from Kyubi and read it. I thought that he was either making things up or exaggerating. Guess I owe him an apology." Letting out an exaggerated, exasperated sigh, Ayane went on, "Great. This is just great. Dawn Berlitz and her companions have the fabled creator of our universe on their side. As if things weren't difficult enough for us as it was, now THIS has to crop up! This could spell disaster for Team Scorn's plans concerning the Masters Eight tournament!"
Gesturing to herself, Marnie said, "Which is why the plan to knock Dawn out of the running ought to be carried out. I have the water bottles ready to distribute, including one set aside specifically for Dawn. It's already laced with a drug that'll make Dawn sick enough that she'll have to be dropped from the Masters Eight tournament."
Nodding once, Ayane said, "Good. You can't distribute them now, it's too late in the day. Do it in the morning, preferably before the second round of the Masters Eight tournament starts." Marnie gave a single affirmative nod to the Boss's Assistant of Team Scorn. Ayane was able to settle back down a little bit, but she was still feeling a bit worked up. After all, it had just been made known and clear to Ayane that Dawn now has Arceus at her command.
Arceus! The mythical Pokémon described in Sinnoh region lore as the fabled creator of the universe in which everyone lived! Of all of the Pokémon that are out there, Dawn and her companions just HAD to get Arceus of all things! This was worse than worse; no doubt that Pariah was going to want to go over this as soon as he was free to discuss the matter. Marnie's efforts to sabotage Dawn to get her dropped from the Masters Eight tournament simply HAD to work.
If not, then there's nothing stopping Dawn from winning all the way, remaining the Monarch of the World Coronation Series when all is said and done. Ayane couldn't see anything else cropping up to keep Dawn from advancing through the Masters Eight tournament.
Kenny and Trip were making their way back to the hotel room they got while staying at the hotel where the members of the Masters Eight were all being put up while the Masters Eight tournament went on. The perks of being part of Dawn's party. "Oh, I got a call from Kiawe over in Alola," Trip said, "Apparently Ash's win against Steven had inspired Serena more, and she's now doing exercises to continue her diet and weight loss regimen."
Nodding once in understanding, Kenny said, "You don't say."
"I even saw Serena on the video phone," Trip said, "It's obvious she's sticking to her efforts. I bet that Ash will get a kick out of hearing how his success has further inspired Serena." Kenny was betting that Ash will be surprised to hear it that his success had inspired Serena to go even further beyond, although Trip did say that Serena had to be told to settle down a bit. Regardless, Kenny could tell it was clear Serena wasn't giving up. Not while Ash was in her corner.
The two boys felt as light as air; Dawn and Ash had both made it past round one although they were now set to battle one another in round two, and Serena was tackling her regimen as if it owed her money. They felt that nothing could go wrong. However, that bubble was burst, and rather jarringly at that, when they rounded a corner and saw a number of people gathered outside of a hotel room, where two medics were taking a stretcher out.
Dawn was laying on the stretcher, looking like she was struggling to breathe.
Immediately panicking, Trip with Kenny chasing after him found Mina. "What the hell happened to Dawn?!" Trip demanded, "Why is my sister being taken away on a stretcher?!"
"I don't know!" Mina exclaimed, looking similarly as panicked, "She suddenly grasped at her throat while wheezing, and was looking around as if she expected to find something!"
A look of realization crossed Trip's face. "...Wait right here." Trip then ran to catch up with the medics taking Dawn away, was able to talk to them by pointing out he's Dawn's brother. A few tense moments later, Kenny and Mina were met back up by Trip. "The medics still technically have no idea what's happening with Dawn," Trip said, a grim look on his face, "But I told them my suspicions, and they looked like they could see what I was getting at."
Kenny looked to Trip. "You have an idea on what may be wrong with Dawn."
Trip gave a grim nod in confirmation. "I think that Dawn is having an asthma attack."
END, CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND EIGHTY
Author's notes;
This chapter sees the rest of the first round of the Masters Eight tournament go down, although two battles are curb-stomps, one providing ample reason as to why Arceus wasn't in Sword and Shield, and one was glossed over. The second round of the Masters Eight tournament will see Ideku versus Nina and Dawn versus Ash. ...Or rather that's how it would have gone in normal circumstances, because at the end of the chapter, Dawn's old friend asthma, from her previous life as Don, came back inexplicably and at the worst possible time.
Before any of you complains, it had actually been planned to happen for a VERY long time now; it's not going to killer Dawn, don't worry, but she does need something that can restrict her. Additionally, it's actually important for the plot that Dawn DOESN'T win the Masters Eight tournament; someone else has to in order to accomplish a very important plot point for the story, and this was the best that I was able to figure to make sure that the person who I want to have win can actually win. I'm sorry if this pisses some of you off, but Dawn not winning had to happen somehow.
This will be explored in the next chapter, but expect there to be some degree of worrying from Dawn's friends and loved ones. There's also how Team Scorn, who had multiple players entered in the Masters Eight tournament, seeing Dawn command Arceus against Lance, making them freak as they have no way to deal with it. They had even come up with a plan to deal with Dawn to get her dropped from the tournament, but they'll soon learn it won't be needed. Things will continue from here in the next chapter, so until then take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Tsukune (Palkia), Odin (Arceus), Germany (male Garchomp), Leni (female Lucario), Khan (Mewtwo)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Kermit (male Politoed), Zarbon (male Machamp), Shallot (male Glaceon), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Black (Giratina; Origin Forme)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Empoleon), Veda (female Abomasnow), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Fourze (male Electivire), Todoroki (male Goodra; alpha; Hisuian), Deelia (Dialga)
Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Dragonite (male), Gardevoir (male), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny), Flareon (male; shiny)