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 seventy-four: King of the scorned in Sinnoh, part three

It was late afternoon in Canalave City when Roark, the leader of the gym over in Oreburgh City, came rushing into the local hospital. Not the Pokémon Center that's local in Canalave City, the hospital, the place for giving humans medical treatment. Earlier in the day, Roark got a call from the Canalave City Pokémon Center, where Dawn told him that there was grim happenings in Canalave City, and that he needed to come as soon as possible, especially as his mom will be needing him.

Fearing the worst, Roark was able to get a lift to Canalave City from former Sinnoh Champion Cynthia. The two of them rushed into the local hospital in Canalave City, which is where Dawn in her call to Roark told him to meet her. There, Roark and Cynthia found Dawn, as well as Kenny, Trip, and Mina, all waiting in the main waiting room on the hospital's ground floor, along with Roark's mom who looked like an older female version of him.

All of the reborn trainers had grim looks on their faces, whereas Roark's mom was crying her eyes out. Roark immediately turned to give Dawn his full attention. Bracing himself for the worst, Roark asked Dawn a simple question. Although it was a really simple question, only two words long to be honest, Roark never found himself dreading the answer to a question he had asked more than what he was dreading what Dawn was going to tell him.

"What happened?"

"Your father Byron was killed earlier today over on Iron Island," Dawn said, drawing shocked looks out of Roark and Cynthia, "Kenny was able to identify your father's killer as Admin Pirate, a member of Team Scorn."

"My... my father's dead," Roark said. He wasn't immediately crying or tearing up, but he sounded like something had been carved out of him, he sounded numb.

"Did Kenny get anything else?" Cynthia asked.

"I'm guessing you're the one who brought Roark to Canalave City," Kenny said, drawing an affirmative nod out of Cynthia, "And yeah, I was able to pick up a few details. For starters, a real name that can be tacked onto Admin Pirate is Dee. He either has or had an older brother named Ace who used to be the leader of the Veilstone City gym, but was removed from the position and condemned by a vote that Byron took part in."

Roark perked up. "Maylene told me about Ace." All eyes were on Roark as he explained, "According to what Maylene told me, Ace was the leader of the Veilstone City gym before she got the position. It was originally a fire type Pokémon gym under Ace's guidance, but Maylene when she took it over converted it into a fighting type Pokémon gym."

"Sort of like how," Dawn began, "When Mitchael took over the Veilstone City gym from Maylene, he converted it from a fighting type Pokémon gym to a dark type Pokémon gym."

"Maylene had told me she wanted to use fighting type Pokémon as a gym leader," Roark said, "But was originally unsure of if she should change what type of Pokémon the Veilstone City gym used. But her goals of using fighting type Pokémon as a gym leader were reaffirmed when she watched Ace win against a challenger while using his Infernape."

"Ace had an Infernape, ehh?" Dawn remarked, remembering the fact that she herself had her named Infernape Chi-Chi.

"According to Maylene, Ace's other Pokémon were a Talonflame and a Volcarona," Roark said, "Anyway, Ace was removed from his position as a gym leader after an investigation against him and a vote that officially removed him from the position. My father had taken part in that vote. I have no idea what became of Ace, but Maylene told me she heard that Ace has a younger brother who now has Ace's team of Infernape, Talonflame, and Volcarona."

Trip nodded once. "And Dee, also known as Admin Pirate, is Ace's younger brother, meaning that Admin Pirate's team consists of Talonflame, Volcarona, and an Infernape who is bound to kick the butt of Kenny's Tyranitar."

"GODZILLA WILL BREAK THE CURSE ONE DAY!" Kenny bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Kenny, this is a hospital," Mina reminded her boyfriend, "Keep it down." To Roark and Cynthia, Mina went on, "Anyway, Kenny got it that this Ace guy was removed as a gym leader and his life ruined because of it due to having been accused of cheating by a Commissioner for the Sinnoh Pokémon League. Kenny also got it that said Commissioner has a spoiled brat of a nephew who lost three times in a row to Ace, even though said nephew kept bringing grass and bug types to a gym that, at the time, used fire Pokémon."

This time, it was Cynthia who had a grim look on her face. "Yes, I remember the details there. The League Commissioner in question retired about halfway through Maylene's brief time as the leader of the Veilstone City gym. I have no idea what the former Commissioner, or his supposed nephew, is up to now."

"Well we have reason to believe that the former Commissioner is Admin Pirate's next target," Trip said, "Pirate apparently killed all of the people who voted to condemn that Ace guy, and now he's after others that can be reasonably assumed to be connected to the ruining of Ace's life, which can be reasonably assumed to include the Commissioner, maybe his bratty nephew as well."

"Also, Team Scorn had caught a bunch of wild Steelix that appeared over on Iron Island in a recent outbreak," Mina added, "We're not sure what exactly Team Scorn has planned for so many Steelix, but given that Team Scorn caught a LOT of Steelix, and the fact that Steelix are giant serpentine Pokémon larger than Gyarados and are metal plated, whatever it is Team Scorn has planned can NOT be good."

"We're going to have to do what we can to combat Team Scorn's efforts here," Cynthia said, "First off, we'll have to find the supposedly corrupt former Commissioner. Regardless on if he really has done bad, his life is still in peril. If we can get to him before Team Scorn does, then we can help to keep Team Scorn from at least fully succeeding."

The reborn trainers agreed and proceeded to go with Cynthia, while Roark remained behind to try and comfort his grieving mother. They did, after all, just lose Byron, and to Team Scorn violence no less. But Roark, as he held his mother while she sobbed, worried that Team Scorn may be acting with at least some justification here. Team Scorn does, after all, have a bit of a reputation for trying to actively avoiding killing unless they have (what they feel is) a good reason.

Roark just hoped that Team Scorn was simply blowing things out of proportion here.

Thanks to some connections that Cynthia has with the Sinnoh Pokémon League Commission, she and the reborn trainers were able to find the former Commissioner whose actions had ruined the life of former Sinnoh gym leader Ace. The former Commissioner, a man in the later half of middle-age named Reginald, was dressed well like a retired wealthy businessman.

He also oozed self-importance, haughtiness, greed, a firm belief that he is always in the right while everyone else is always in the wrong. Basically, a man who can't be argued with because he simply won't allow others to argue with him. Appearance wise, he was fair skinned, balding which he was able to cover up by brushing his hair to cover the balding, and a long pointed beard.

Cynthia came prepared, however; she had been able to gather enough irrefutable evidence about Reginald's abuse of his authority against Ace, and had even while working with Dawn started an investigation into the Commission for the Sinnoh Pokémon League so as to root out any and all corruption. The shocked look on Reginald's face made it clear that, for the first time in what is more or less forever, he wasn't going to get away from something scot-free.

"A deal has been offered, though," Cynthia said to the shocked and corrupt former Commissioner, "If you willingly cooperate with the investigations that are being done, both the one against the Sinnoh Pokémon League Commission to root out the corruption AND the ongoing one against Team Scorn activity in Sinnoh, it'll be taken into consideration to reduce the sentencing you'll eventually get."

Reginald scowled bitterly, infuriated to have been caught in such a manner that he won't be able to get away from. "So you decide to ruin the life of someone who is your better in every way, all in the name of what you claim is justice," Reginald spat bitterly.

"What makes you think you are better than any of us?" Kenny questioned, "You're a corrupt former Commissioner who abused his power and authority while he had it purely for nepotism, did a lot of cover ups according to the info Cynthia got, and ruined the careers and lives of many a person just because they didn't perfectly align with your selective sensibilities. You are by no means the better of anyone anywhere, you're nothing more than a spoiled brat who expects to be let off the hook for fuck all everything that he does."

Reginald scowled angrily at Kenny. "Were it not for my retirement and the investigation that's being led against me, I could have had you brought to heel with but naught a phone-call, boy. You wouldn't have been able to get away with such utter disrespect towards me otherwise."

"So you can dish it but can't take it," Kenny reasoned, "That's good to know."

To Reginald, Dawn said, "You claim that what's being done by the investigation that's been started against the Sinnoh Pokémon League Commission to root out corruption is merely what we claim is justice. The actions of Team Scorn's presence here in Sinnoh is what Team Scorn claims is justice, and if they are able to carry out said justice, then it'll end with your life being claimed by a criminal. Unless you want to die, then you will cooperate with us."

Reginald gave Dawn a questioning look. "...Not the most gentle in your approach, are you?"

"We're dealing with members of an inter-regional criminal organization who not only have been confirmed to have killed others before, but they intend to kill again," Trip pointed out, "We can't really afford to be gentle."

Reginald let out an annoyed huff, one that made him sound like he found everything to be more tedious than troubling. "Very well. Now, you mentioned that a part of the investigation involves that cheater Ace who used to be the Veilstone City gym leader?"

"We confirmed that Ace the former Veilstone City gym leader had NEVER cheated," Cynthia pointed out firmly, "He always fought fair in accordance to the proper guidelines."

"That isn't what my nephew Barton said," Reginald remarked, "He tried and failed three times in a row to win against Ace to earn the badge his gym at the time awarded to victorious trainers."

"Yeah, but that's because your nephew had insisted on using grass and bug type Pokémon and defiantly refused to change," Mina pointed out, "Despite the fact that the Veilstone City gym when Ace was the leader used fire type Pokémon." Arching a wry eyebrow, Mina asked, "What, was Ace expected to more or less just roll over for your nephew and give him a gym badge?"

"Yes," Reginald replied simply, "I mean, Ace's actions against Barton were the same as actions against League Commissioners. Ace had acted against his bosses! Such disrespect should not by any means be tolerated."

The reborn trainers and Cynthia were getting nowhere fast with Reginald. The reborn trainers were also starting to see a lot of parallels between Reginald's nephew Barton and the late Paul the former jerk-wad. Both had basically ruined the lives of Veilstone City gym leaders due to not liking having lost to the gym leaders they had respectively fought. However, there were a number of differences that set Barton and Paul apart.

The main one is that Paul ultimately realized the error of his ways and sought to make up for what he had done and overall better himself as a person, spending what ended up being the rest of his life on his redemption arc. But that Barton guy, on the other hand, apparently refused to change his ways, and was able to get strings pulled to punish someone who wouldn't roll over when Barton had told them to roll over.

Worse yet, another difference is that Paul, at least in theory, had people who could could force him to own up, not that being forced was necessary for Paul as, again, he saw the error of his ways and willingly sought to make up for his jerkwadery. Barton, on the other hand, was well-connected to folks who were more than willingly to let him get a free pass from consequence and penalty, letting him go on to continue to be a spoiled brat.

It was Kenny who thought that Barton, whoever the spoiled brat is, could serve as a dark mirror to show what the late Paul could have been like as a person had Paul not realized he was a jerk-wad and strove to shed that factor of himself. Kenny was then about to speak up to ask where Barton could be found, but was cut off when the sound of a door being busted down resonated throughout the manor Reginald lived in.

That was followed by the shouting of random men, and all of a sudden the heroes saw that members of Team Scorn had swarmed into the manor. The heroes and Reginald were surrounded by the time they saw Admin Pirate and Admin's Assistant Kazuya appear at the top of the stairs that led down to the main reception area that the heroes were in. To the surprise of Dawn and the others, Pirate had a hostage, a somewhat ugly looking and very overweight young adult man who was well-dressed and looked every part a member of high society.

Pirate looked directly down at Reginald, utter contempt in his cold glare as he regarded the former Commissioner. "...Oi, asshole who saw to ruining my brother's life," Pirate scowled, "See the fat sack of shit I have here with me?"

"You cur!" Reginald barked up at Pirate, "Unhand my nephew Barton this instant!"

"Dude, that's your nephew?!" Kenny exclaimed, "Holy shit! I thought that he might be some bratty kid around the same age as me, Mina, Dawn, and Trip! But he's actually an adult?! That makes what all he had done even worse!"

"He's also ugly as all get out," Mina remarked, "Weird considering that to be honest, he's the first fat person the crew and I have met who I'd say is ugly. The others were actually kinda cute in a way, but the lard load up there is straight up gonk-level ugly."

As the now identified Barton struggled to get away, Pirate wrapped his hands and arms around Barton's head and neck in a manner making it clear he intended to twist Barton's head until his neck snapped. Which is what Pirate did, twisting Barton's head until his neck snapped, the spine-chilling sound resonating throughout the area as Pirate dropped the lifeless corpse, even kicking it when it laid at his feet to send it rolling down the stairs.

As Reginald looked aghast at what had happened, Pirate got his attention by saying, "Don't worry. You'll be sent to see your spoiled brat of a nephew before the day is out."

Dawn gave a grim look up at Pirate and Kazuya. "...So you guys still aren't done killing."

"You got some pretty strong nerves of steel for a girl your age," Kazuya remarked to Dawn, "Being cool as a cucumber despite literally just seeing someone being killed right before your eyes. It kind of reminds me of an old friend of mine who I knew in my childhood. She never lived to see her teen years sadly, she died in an accident where she fell down the stairs."

"And I suppose you use your childhood friend's death as an excuse to kill others," Trip said accusingly.

Shrugging, Kazuya said, "No, just to help Pirate go after the old generation members of the Sinnoh Pokémon League Commission. They're a corrupt and self-serving lot, also the daughter of one of the corrupt Commission members had pushed my childhood friend down the stairs and killed her out of pettiness over repeatedly losing to her in battles. The Commissioner's daughter got away with it too, despite how I saw her do it."

Cynthia scowled bitterly. "Were it not for what was uncovered so far in the recently started investigation, I'd accuse you of making stuff up. But with what was learned, with what Reginald here had essentially confessed..." Gently shaking her head, Cynthia went on, "...Things are a lot more corrupt in the Sinnoh Pokémon League Commission than I ever would have guessed."

Cracking his knuckles, Pirate said, "Now then, that bearded bastard with you guys is the last one on my list. Are you going to play nice and hand him over, or do we have to get rough?"

Looking around at all of the Team Scorn grunts, Dawn said to Cynthia, "Can you help us fight off Team Scorn here, Cynthia?"

"I still got a little bit of rust on my skills, but it shouldn't be enough to hinder me here," Cynthia said, "Especially if I partner up with one of you guys."

"Imma take on Pirate and his helper," Kenny declared as he cracked his knuckles, "You can help back me up against them. We also can't exactly afford to let the sorry sap behind us move around, lest he gets captured by Team Scorn and dragged to Pirate for some killer chiropracty."

"You all had better keep me from any harm," Reginald scowled, "I'm too valuable and important of a person to die. I'm worth more than the lot of you combined!"

Kenny strongly had to resist the urge to do Pirate's job for him as he sent out his first Pokémon to battle Pirate and Kazuya. "Okay, Godzilla!" Kenny called out as he sent in his named Tyranitar, "Let's make it cringe!"

"Go, Spiritomb!" Cynthia said as she sent out her Spiritomb.

"Go, Talonflame!" Pirate declared as he sent out his Talonflame. If what info Kenny and the others got is true, Pirate's Talonflame, same as the rest of Pirate's Pokémon, used to belong to Pirate's brother Ace, who the heroes still don't know the ultimate fate of, although at least Kenny suspects it isn't friendly by any means.

"Go, Ceruledge!" Kazuya called out as he sent out the mystery Pokémon Kenny saw block him off back on Iron Island after Pirate killed Byron; the mystery Pokémon with a slender humanoid build and wearing dark armor, with fiery sword blades for arms.

Kenny was surprised to see the now identified Ceruledge, as was Cynthia who never saw it before. "That's an interesting Pokémon," Cynthia remarked.

"Yeah, Ceruledge is normally not found outside of the Paldea region," Kazuya said, "But enough of that business, we have a battle to cover."

Nodding once, Kenny said, "I couldn't agree more! Godzilla, use Rock Slide!"

"Talonflame, use Acrobatics on Spiritomb!" Pirate called out.

"Ceruledge, use Swords Dance!" Kazuya ordered.

"Spiritomb, use Dark Pulse on Ceruledge!" Cynthia commanded.

Talonflame was the quickest, rushing Spiritomb and blitzing it with an acrobatic strike which hit Spiritomb hard due to Talonflame's lack of a held item. Ceruledge then performed a Swords Dance, the energy swords floating around it also blocking both rocks from Godzilla's Rock Slide and the Dark Pulse from Spiritomb.

Godzilla's Rock Slide, though it failed to hit Ceruledge, was able to hit Talonflame and knock it out, no doubt due to being a times four super effective hit that got STAB. Pirate recalled his fainted Talonflame and sent out his next Pokémon with a cry of, "Go, Volcarona!" Gesturing forward, Pirate called out, "Volcarona, use Flamethrower on Tyranitar!"

"Godzilla, use Rock Slide again!" Kenny ordered.

"Ceruledge, use Shadow Claw on Spiritomb!" Kazuya commanded.

"Spiritomb, use Dark Pulse on Ceruledge!" Cynthia cried out.

Volcarona was the fastest, blasting the named Tyranitar with a Flamethrower that, although Godzilla was able to tank it fairly well, still burned it. Ceruledge was able to go next, striking Spiritomb with a critical hit Shadow Claw that knocked the already hurt Spiritomb out before it was able to lash out with Dark Pulse. As Cynthia called back her fainted Spiritomb, Godzilla's Rock Slide struck both of the opposing Pokémon.

Although Ceruledge just barely tanked the hit, Volcarona went down to it, no doubt due to being another Pokémon with a times four weakness to rock. Pirate called back his second Pokémon to go down before he sent his next Pokémon out at the same time Cynthia sent her next Pokémon out.

"Go, Infernape!" Pirate called out as he sent in his Infernape.

"Go, Milotic!" Cynthia called out as she sent out her Milotic. Gesturing forward, Cynthia said, "Milotic, use Hydro Pump on Ceruledge!"

"Godzilla, use Brick Break on Infernape!" Kenny ordered.

"Infernape, use Brick Break on Tyranitar!" Pirate commanded.

"Ceruledge, use Shadow Claw on Milotic!" Kazuya called out.

Infernape was the quickest, rushing the named Tyranitar and striking it with a Brick Break right on Godzilla's burn mark, scoring a critical hit that knocked Godzilla out. Ceruledge was able to strike Cynthia's Milotic with Shadow Claw, scoring a very solid hit before getting hit by Hydro Pump, letting out a pained cry before going down in battle. "Aha, so it's weak to water," Cynthia said as she saw Kazuya call back his fainted Ceruledge.

"And Godzilla went down to a fully evolved starter AGAIN!" Kenny exclaimed in angered annoyance, "The curse continues yet! But I swear in the name of Artemis, I shall-"

"Ah! Help me!"

Kenny stopped short when he and Cynthia heard Reginald cry out in panicked distress; looking over, Kenny and Cynthia saw that Pirate's Infernape, when it struck at Godzilla with Brick Break, had also made a grab at the corrupt former Commissioner. Yanking him back by the front of his shirt, Pirate's Infernape leapt back while bringing Reginald with it, landing next to Pirate. Wasting no time, Pirate immediately put his hands and arms around Reginald's neck and head before giving it a quick and hard twist.

Kenny and Cynthia went wide-eyed with shock as they heard the resonating, spine chilling cracking snap sound out all over the area they were in before Pirate dropped Reginald's corpse to the ground without ceremony. "...There, my revenge is complete," Pirate said, "But I doubt you'll let me and my men just waltz on out of here, even though we're done here."

"Like hell we will give up!" Kenny said as he sent out another Pokémon, "Okay, Hoodini! Let's make it cringe!" Coming out to battle was Kenny's named Noctowl. "Hoodini, use Air Slash on Infernape!"

"Infernape, use Thunder Punch on Milotic!" Pirate ordered.

"Go, Ceruledge!" Kazuya said as he sent out a second Ceruledge, "Use Shadow Claw on Milotic!"

"Milotic, use Hydro Pump on Ceruledge!" Cynthia commanded.

Infernape was fastest again, and its Thunder Punch struck Milotic in the face while it took aim at the second Ceruledge, getting knocked out before it could hit Ceruledge. Hoodini was able to hit Infernape with Air Slash, and although it was super effective it didn't knock Infernape out. As for Ceruledge, its target went down and the other available target was immune to ghost attacks due to its partial normal typing, so Shadow Claw floundered out.

As Cynthia recalled her fainted Milotic, Kenny said to Kazuya, "Hey, wasn't that armored Pokémon knocked out already?"

"I own more than one Ceruledge, would-be hero," Kazuya replied.

"It's a strong Pokémon," Cynthia remarked, equally grim that such strength is in villainous hands and impressed by said strength in general. As she tossed up a Pokéball, Cynthia said, "Let's see how far its strength goes! Go, Garchomp!" Pointing forward towards the second Ceruledge that Kazuya had sent out, Cynthia called out, "Garchomp, use Dragon Rush on Ceruledge!"

"Hoodini, use Air Slash on Infernape!" Kenny ordered.

"Infernape, use Brick Break on Garchomp!" Pirate commanded.

"Ceruledge, use Shadow Claw on Garchomp!" Kazuya called out.

Infernape was the quickest once more, its Brick Break landing a solid blow on Garchomp. As for the mighty dragon, its Dragon Rush ended up missing its mark due to partially sapped focus due to being hit. This saved Ceruledge who struck Garchomp with Shadow Claw, landing a critical hit that took a chunk out of Garchomp's health. As for Hoodini, the named Noctowl got a free hit in on the enemy Infernape, and damage was starting to stack on it.

Pointing forward, Cynthia called out, "Garchomp, use Brick Break on Ceruledge!"

"Hoodini, use Air Slash on Infernape!" Kenny ordered.

Pirate, with an amused smirk, said, "Infernape, use Thunder Punch on Noctowl!"

"Ceruledge, use Shadow Claw on Garchomp!" Kazuya commanded.

Infernape was first to strike, its Thunder Punch slugging Hoodini in the gut. The named Noctowl was just barely able to hang in and blast Infernape in the torso with Air Slash, bringing it down low and pushing it back. Garchomp rushed Ceruledge and struck true with Brick Break. But it was then that Kenny learned why he saw Pirate smirk in amusement; Garchomp's Brick Break had zero effect on Ceruledge, meaning it was in no danger as its Shadow Claw struck Garchomp, pushing back the mighty dragon.

"That Ceruledge Pokémon must be part ghost type," Cynthia scowled, "Ooh, if only I had some more familiarity with the Pokémon of Paldea!" Gesturing forward, Cynthia called out, "Garchomp, use Dragon Rush on Ceruledge!"

"Hoodini, use Air Slash on Infernape!" Kenny ordered.

"Infernape, use Thunder Punch on Noctowl!" Pirate commanded.

"Ceruledge, use Shadow Claw on Garchomp!" Kazuya called out.

Infernape was first to strike once more, its Thunder Punch slugging Hoodini in the gut before it could get its Air Slash off, also Hoodini went down in the process. As for the battle of Garchomp versus Ceruledge, Garchomp's Dragon Rush missed again whereas Ceruledge's Shadow Claw struck true and scored a solid enough critical hit to knock Garchomp out. Both Kenny and Cynthia had to call back their fainted Pokémon.

"Screw it, I'm going nuclear!" Kenny bellowed, "Okay, Black! Let's make it cringe!" To the surprise of the villains, Kenny sent out his named Giratina.

"Go, Togekiss!" Cynthia said as she sent out her Togekiss, "Use Air Slash on Infernape!"

"Infernape, use Thunder Punch on Togekiss!" Pirate ordered.

"Ceruledge, use Psycho Cut on Togekiss!" Kazuya commanded.

"Black, use Earthquake!" Kenny bellowed.

Infernape was able to rush in and strike Togekiss with Thunder Punch, even managing to paralyze it. But then the named Giratina triggered a massive quake that shook the whole battlefield with seismic waves, striking both Infernape and Ceruledge, knocking both out in the process. Togekiss was kept from attacking due to paralysis, but its flying typing saved it from being hit by Earthquake.

As Pirate and Kazuya called their fainted Pokémon back, Cynthia noted, "Ceruledge seemed to be weak to ground attacks, and I figured it's at least part ghost type."

"It's dual fire ghost type, if you really have to know," Kazuya said as he sent out his next Pokémon; Pirate was out of Pokémon as his Infernape went down. "Go, Ceruledge!" Kazuya said as he sent out a THIRD Ceruledge. To the surprise of Kenny and Cynthia, Kazuya's third Ceruledge sparkled with the stars of a shiny Pokémon coming out to battle, yet the third Ceruledge was the same apparent color as the first two.

Gesturing to the third Ceruledge, Kenny said, "Your third Ceruledge is a shiny?"

"Yeah, it's a shiny," Kazuya confirmed, "Also, I had inherited it from my aforementioned friend who died due to being shoved down the stairs."

Gesturing to the third Ceruledge again, Kenny said, "It looks exactly the same as the first two! What's the difference?"

"It's fiery eyes are a different color from the fiery eyes of normally colored Ceruledge," Kazuya said.

Leaning forward as she squinted her eyes, Cynthia said, "...Oh yeah, now I see how it-"

"THAT'S IT?!" Kenny bellowed, a mask of infuriated anger on his face, "THAT'S THE ONLY CHANGE IN CERULEDGE BETWEEN ITS NORMAL COLORATION AND ITS SHINY COLORATION?! THE DAMN FIERY EYES?! THAT'S THE WEAKEST SHINY I'VE EVER SEEN!" Pointing forward, Kenny bellowed, "BLACK, USE EARTHQUAKE!"

The named Giratina, looking similarly as pissed as its trainer over how Ceruledge apparently has a rather weak shiny, triggered another quake that shook the whole battlefield with seismic waves, knocking out Kazuya's third Ceruledge. It was his last as well, as after he called it back he didn't send out any more Pokémon period.

"First Godzilla gets knocked out by a fully evolved starter yet again," Kenny began, "And then some newly shown species of Pokémon from Paldea has an awful shiny! How could this get any worse?!"

"There... is the fact that a criminal had just murdered the former Commissioner," Cynthia pointed out.

"Speaking of," Pirate said, "Although Kazuya and I had ultimately lost the battle we had against you, we were STILL able to accomplish our goal of seeing to the killing of the last two people that I had on my list." Pirate then sounded a call, signaling for all Team Scorn members to pull out. Loads of smoke grenades were used to cover escapes, and by the time the smoke settled, Team Scorn had made their escape.

About an hour later, the heroes and Cynthia were still at Reginald's manor when authorities and at least once ambulance came over. Kenny with an annoyed and angry look on his face was wrestling with Trip in the background, and from the looks of it Kenny was trying to shove Trip's face into his (Kenny's) butt, as Dawn, Mina, and Cynthia talked to a police officer.

"Yeah, more and more is coming to light about former Sinnoh gym leader Ace," the police officer said, "He's being exonerated more and more with each breaking news report coming out about the corruption of former Sinnoh League Commission members such as the late Reginald. There's even a few Commission members still active who have been found guilty." Shaking his head, the police officer went on, "A damn shame Ace committed suicide shortly after he was shamed publicly and stripped of his gym leader position."

"That would explain why Pirate was so firm on getting revenge for his brother," Dawn said grimly, "One of the reasons was that his brother had committed suicide."

As Cynthia was about to speak up, she was cut off by Trip crying out loudly, "Ah, damn it Kenny! You farted in my face!"

"Well then maybe you'll think next time before rubbing it in my face that Godzilla hasn't broken the curse he's under yet!" Kenny scowled back.

As Dawn and Mina shrugged off the boys being boys, the paramedics hauling away the body bags holding the remains of Reginald and his nephew stopped when the gureny that Reginald's body bag was on was bumped and the body bag fell off. However, the body bag was caught by, to the surprise of the reborn trainers, a shiny Nidoqueen.

They and Cynthia got their answer when Ash came walking up, followed by Reggie the older brother of the late Paul the former jerk-wad. "Ash!" Dawn said, "What are you doing here?"

"I actually came looking for you, Dawn," Ash said, a hint of suspicion in his expression and tone which did not escape Dawn's notice, "Reggie here gave me a lift, along with giving me a Nidoqueen that he said was Paul's but Paul wanted me to take her in. I'm... I'm still shocked to hear that Paul actually died. I was not expecting that to happen."

"Paul's dead?" Cynthia said, looking shocked, "I do remember him, a rough around the edges boy but I did hear he was trying to better himself as a person."

"He was and he did," Kenny said as he and Trip came over while the police officer went to go see his fellows about some emergency situation, "So Ash, what brings you to these parts, aside from the fact you inherited Paul's Nidoqueen?"

Gesturing to Dawn, Ash explained, "I'm here to see Dawn to ask her something." Turning to look right at Dawn, Ash then asked her a question that she not only was NOT expecting, but she immediately became suspicious of where Ash even learned the info needed to ask said question, especially due to how Dawn had asked the only person outside of the reborn trainers who knows to not let anyone else know such sensitive info.

"When were you going to mention it that you caught Mew?"

Dawn's eyes widened a bit before her expression immediately relaxed into a mask of suspicion. "What I would like to know is how you found out," Dawn replied.

"My mom told me about it on video phone the last time I spoke with her," Ash explained, "She even showed me a photo she took of it while she was visiting Professor Oak's lab to bring him a batch of cookies she made."

"So Professor Oak did NOT tell her, she discovered it on her own," Dawn replied, her tone and level of suspicion never lowering.

Gently shaking his head, Ash replied, "No, I don't think Professor Oak told anyone about your Mew. Which is weird considering the fact that he was the one who had told Goh about Project Mew in the first place."

"Project Mew is the very reason why I had taken great measures to ensure that me owning Froot Loop was kept a secret," Dawn explained firmly, "At least until I was sure they could be trusted."

Cynthia had a grim look of suspicion on her face. "I heard about Project Mew. I got it that the leadership of Project Mew has yet to reveal exact detail on what the organization is really going to be getting up to."

To Ash, Dawn said, "Goh doesn't know about Froot Loop, does he?"

"Goh was sitting next to me when I had the video phone call with my mom when she told me about how she learned you owned Mew," Ash said, "He immediately phoned the people running Project Mew to tell them the news."

"Well this is just great," Dawn scowled, "The very people I don't trust got the info that I don't trust them with. I have no idea how this could get any-"

Dawn was cut off when the police officer who was talking to her, Mina, and Cynthia a moment ago came rushing back over. "Umm... yeah," the officer said, "I just got a video call from a Team Scorn member over in the Kanto region, the call is still active as he wants to speak with Sinnoh Champion Dawn. The Team Scorn member and his men took Professor Oak, someone named Mr. Fuji, and some housewife lady named Delia hostage up over at Professor Oak's lab."

END, CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR

Author's notes;

This chapter sees the reborn trainers and Cynthia meet with Reginald, a former Commissioner for the Sinnoh Pokémon League. Reginald had ruined the life of a former Sinnoh gym leader, a guy who was named Ace, who had run the Veilstone City gym as a fire type gym before Maylene took it over and made it into a fighting type gym. Reginald acted as he did solely due to how Ace, despite how he was essentially expected to, didn't just give a badge to Reginald's nephew and beat said nephew three times in a row.

In enters Ace's brother Dee, now known as Admin Pirate of Team Scorn's Straw-hat Sector. Pirate kills both Reginald and Reginald's nephew as revenge for their actions in ruining Ace's life and pushing him to kill himself. Granted, Pirate and Kazuya are forced to pull back after they lose to Kenny and Cynthia, but Pirate STILL succeeds in getting the revenge he sought in full. Also, I kind of have to agree with Kenny on how Ceruledge's shiny is with all due respect rather weak. What, both Ceruledge and Armarouge couldn't swap their normal colors with each other to get their shinies?

There's also how Ash and Reggie came to see the reborn trainers, with Ash revealing he learned of Dawn owning Froot Loop, who is Dawn's Mew. Ash also confirmed that Goh knows, and also that he (Goh) told Project Mew about it. Just as Dawn was about to scowl more about the info leak that she didn't want getting out, a police officer came over to inform them a Team Scorn member who took Oak, Delia, and Mr. Fuji hostage over at Oak's lab in Kanto wants to talk to Dawn on video phone. The adventure continues in the next chapter, so until then take care.

Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Tsukune (Palkia), Odin (Arceus), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian), Germany (male Garchomp), Leni (female Lucario)

Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Cell (male Siczor; shiny), Godzilla (male Tyranitar), Hoodini (male Noctowl), Android 21 (female Weavile; shiny), 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), Flareon (male; shiny)