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-five: Terasta-what?

After resting the night, waking up in the morning, freshening up, and having breakfast, the crew of The Jelly-Filled Donut got ready for the day's activities. This would see the reborn trainers aside from Mina challenge the Cortondo gym leader, Katy, one at a time. It was agreed that Kenny would get the first crack, then Trip, then Dawn. Once the setup had been agreed upon, the reborn trainers made their way into town to find Katy.

In addition to wanting to seek Katy to challenge her, the reborn trainers were also wanting to ask her if she remembers Rimu, their Paldean friend who they met a few times before over the course of their adventures. They got it that Rimu, in addition to seeking Katy out to challenge her, was also wanting to see her as she's something of a famous baker; Rimu's late older sister, Allison, wanted to learn culinary skills from famous names in the field such as Katy.

The reborn trainers, in addition to a group consisting of Rhyanna, Leona, Sho, and Omiyo who went along to watch the battles, asked about for Katy. A helpful old woman pointed them in the direction of Katy's bakery, located under a structure on top of which was a battlefield. With the directions, the group made their way over so that Kenny could issue a challenge and begin the long process of the reborn trainers battling Katy's gym.

When the group got there, however, they saw a cute and mildly plump young adult woman dressed as a baker being annoyed by a group consisting of three Naranja Academy students, two boys and a girl. All three of them gave off the air of being spoiled brat legacy children, as well as all coming from very wealthy families. Dawn recognized the baker woman as Katy, the person that she and her group was looking for, having been provided with photos of the Paldean gym leaders by Geeta.

Sensing trouble, Dawn led the rest of the group over to the confrontation, getting there just in time to hear the lone girl of the group say to Katy, "...could stand to lose a few pounds. Could it be that you're sampling your own goods more often than you should?"

"Now that is just not nice," scowled the lady identified as Katy more annoyed than upset.

"Umm, I'm sorry," Kenny spoke up, making Katy and the trio of troublesome students turn to face him and the rest of the group. Gesturing to the trio of troublesome students, Kenny asked, "Who the hell are you three, and why are you very clearly being rude to this delightful woman here?"

Pointing to Katy, the troublesome girl student said, "I was just telling the human Grumpig here that she ought to lose weight. I mean, you can clearly tell she's got more weight than she ought to have! There's no room in Paldea for fatties!"

Looking at Katy for a moment, Kenny then turned back to look at the troublesome girl student before saying, "I'd say that at most she's only very slightly overweight, and yet you're acting as if she is tipping the scales by a redonkulous degree."

"That's because she is," the troublesome girl student scowled evenly, "She needs to lose what extra weight she has if she wants to be attractive."

"I'll have you know that I've slept with most of the men here in Cortondo," Katy muttered under her breath too quietly for the troublesome students to make out; Kenny, Trip, and Sho were all able to make out what Katy said, however.

Turning to look at Katy, the troublesome girl student said, "Did you say something, porker?"

"I said that you and your friends here are being considerably rude to me," Katy said, speaking up clearly.

"Anyway, you spoiled brats ought to get going," Kenny said, "My posse here and I have business with Katy regarding her gym."

Looking curious, Katy said, "You know I'm the gym leader here in Cortondo?"

"We were provided details by Geeta," Dawn spoke up, then added while looking at the troublesome students, "And speaking of, wouldn't it be something if we informed Geeta, who's the chairwoman of the school board here in Paldea, that we caught a trio of Naranja Academy students harassing one of the gym leaders of Paldea?"

Smirking in amusement, the troublesome girl student sneered, "Like hell that even Geeta will lift a finger against me or either of my friends here. Our families, as well as the families of other wealthy students at Naranja Academy, are the REAL powers that run Paldea! Geeta wouldn't dare want to risk offending our families on pain of us pulling what funding we're providing! We would have to be risking an inter-regional incident before Geeta can shut us down!"

Folding her arms over her chest, Mina said, "Funny you mention how you would have to be risking an inter-regional incident before Geeta can shut you and your lackys here down. You see, my pals here and I are from outside of Paldea, and we're working at the behest of Princess Salvia. You three by keeping Katy's time occupied to be rude little turds to her are interfering with our business."

Scoffing incredulously, the troublesome girl student said, "Pfft, yeah right! Like you guys are really-" The troublesome girl student was cut off when Dawn tossed up a Master Ball, calling out Tsukune who flew overhead the entire gathering.

Seeing that the troublesome students were stunned into silence, Dawn got their attention by saying, "I'm Dawn Berlitz, the Champion of Sinnoh. I have business with Katy. You three are in my way." The trio of troublesome students all turned tail and ran away, leaving Dawn's group and Katy be. After Dawn called back her named Palkia, she turned to look at Katy. "Sorry if I gave you a fright there," Dawn said, "But something had to be done with those brats."

Gently shaking her head, Katy said, "On the contrary. You gave those brats a scare that they have had coming for a long time."

"Is what they said about not even Geeta being willing to lift a finger to stop them true?" Trip asked, looking concerned.

Sighing, Katy said, "I'm afraid so. What they said about they're from wealthy families that basically run the region is true. Said families also provide a lot of Naranja Academy's funding, and they also have controlling interest in all of Paldea's major businesses."

"So not only are they untouchables, but they know that," Kenny said, "Well damn. We're dealing with a whole new breed of Celestial Dragons from the looks of it." To Katy, Kenny said, "But we can go over that later. For now, I wanna challenge you to try and earn the badge your gym gives out."

"Yes, that would be a lovely change of pace," Katy said, leading the group up to the battlefield over the nearby bakery.

...

After everyone saw situated, Kenny and Katy stood on opposite ends of the battlefield while Dawn and the others stood off to the side to watch. As a referee was about to officiate the battle, the voice of Geeta called out, "Hold on a moment!"

Everyone turned to see Geeta, followed by Nemona and Rimu surprisingly, come walking in. "Ah, Geeta," Kenny said, "The lads and I need to talk to you when you have a free moment."

"I can tell by your tone something troublesome had cropped up," Geeta said, "I'm all ears to what all concerns you have. But for now, there's something I forgot to do while you and your friends were in Mesagoza." At Geeta's cue, Nemona walked over and handed Kenny a device that looked like it was some model of Pokéball, but it was solid black and looked to have some manner of crystalline item within its form. Nemona then handed another one of said items to Dawn, then one to Trip.

Kenny, as he beheld his new item, said, "What manner of dank shenanigans be this?"

"It's called a Tera Orb," Rimu spoke up, "It's used to carry out a battle gimmick called Terastallization, unique here to Paldea."

"Terastallization?" Kenny asked.

"Oh my yes," Katy spoke up, "I can teach you during the battle."

"Learning on the job," Geeta commented, "Best way as any."

With all preamble out of the way, Geeta and the Paldea champion rank trainers moved off to the side to watch the battle as the referee officiated the battle. "This is an official gym battle between Katy, leader of the Cortondo gym, and the challenger, Kenny Harris from Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh! Each trainer can use up to three Pokémon, one each at a time, and the last one with any Pokémon still able to battle will be declared the winner! Also, only the challenger can swap Pokémon out at any time! Now then, BEGIN!"

"Go, Nymble!" Katy said as she sent out a small dark gray grasshopper Pokémon identified as Nymble.

"Okay, Hoodini!" Kenny said as he sent his named Noctowl out, "Let's make it cringe!" After both trainers had Pokémon out, Kenny said, "Hoodini, use Air Slash!"

"Nymble, use Struggle Bug!" Katy called out.

As Nymble tried to attack, Hoodini whipped up an Air Slash and cast it at Nymble, striking it and knocking it out. "Nymble is unable to battle," the referee said, "The winner is Noctowl!"

Katy called her fainted Nymble back before tossing up a Pokéball while calling out, "Go, Tarountula!" Coming out was a sleepy looking cutesy spider Pokémon whose body mostly looked like a ball of yarn, save for a yellow head sticking out and yellow legs with green ends. Gesturing forward, Katy called out, "Tarountula, use Bug Bite!"

"Hoodini, use Air Slash!" Kenny commanded.

The same song and dance from before was repeated, only instead of a Nymble being taken out, it was a Tarountula. "Tarountula is unable to battle," the referee called out, "The winner is Noctowl!"

Katy called her fainted Tarountula back before sending out her third and final Pokémon, which took the reborn trainers and their group by surprise. "Go, Teddiursa!" Katy said as she sent out, of all things, a Teddiursa. Just before Kenny could question why Katy's last Pokémon was the normal type Teddiursa despite Katy being a bug Pokémon user, Katy took out her own Tera Orb and held it, a gust of wind kicking up around her.

"You're about to see what Terastallization is like for the first time, Kenny!" Katy said as the threw the Tera Orb so that it was above her Teddiursa. It was surrounded by light that took the form of giant crystalline pillars, glowed fully white, then broke away, revealing Teddiursa in what looked like an olive green coating of crystal, with a crystalline crown resembling butterfly wings and a pair of bug antenna right on top of its head.

Kenny, as well as the others watching not familiar with the battle gimmick, were wide eyed with amazement. "What manner of sorcery be this?" Kenny asked.

"Terastallization," Katy said, "It's a phenomenon here in Paldea that allows a Pokémon to become a single type, depending on its Tera Type. A Pokémon that is Terastallized gets a bonus to the attacking moves it uses that match up with its Tera Type, which is boosted even further if its Tera Type actually matches one of its normal types."

"How does one tell what a Pokémon's Tera Type is?" Kenny asked.

"By seeing its crown when it's Terastallized," Katy said, "The crown you see on my Teddiursa is the one for the Bug Tera Type, meaning that right now, my Teddiursa is a pure bug type." Gesturing to Kenny, Katy said, "You have a Tera Orb, so you can do what I did. Give it a whirl."

Nodding once, Kenny took up his Tera Orb and did what Katie did, kicking up a gust of wind out of nowhere, before throwing the Tera Orb over Hoodini. The light crystals formed over and around the named Noctowl as well before breaking away, revealing a light blueish crystal coat over Hoodini and a crystal crown resembling a bunch of balloons on its head. "Ah, that is the crown for the Flying Tera Type," Katy said, "Meaning your Noctowl's flying attacks will be even stronger, even more so due to Noctowl naturally being part flying type."

"Booya!" Kenny cheered, "Let's kick it up a notch! Hoodini, use Air Slash!"

"Teddiursa, use Fury Swipes!" Katy called out.

Hoodini cried out as waves of power emanated from him, before he cast a stronger than normal looking Air Slash that flew at and struck Teddiursa, hitting it so hard its crystal coat and crown shattered as it fell over onto the battlefield and laid there, clearly defeated. "Teddiursa is unable to battle," the referee called out, "The winner is Noctowl! Victory of this battle goes to the challenger, Kenny Harris!"

Kenny's friends cheered as Kenny was announced the winner of the battle. Smiling gently, Katy walked up to Kenny and gave him a Bug Badge. After Katy had awarded the badge to Kenny, Dawn came walking up. "I don't suppose you could tell us about past challengers to your gym, could you?" Dawn asked.

"Oh sure, that would be lovely," Katy said, "And I can even give you all some samples of my baking down in the bakery." Geeta said that she had to excuse herself, and Rimu likewise took off. Only Nemona hung around, citing an interest in battling Kenny or someone else in his group. Dawn said that any battling would have to wait until AFTER the talk with Katy, as there was something that she wanted to ask Katy about.

Something that Dawn was sort of glad that Rimu wasn't around for.

"Oh, so you're interested in Rimu in particular."

Dawn nodded once in the affirmative to Katy's question while Dawn herself, the rest of her group, and Nemona all ate baked sweets. Dawn wanted Nemona to head off as she didn't want her to be present, but the moment Kenny mentioned asking Katy about Rimu's past, Nemona was very much insistant on sticking around to learn as well. Nemona was so stubborn that any way to deal with her short of something that'd waste time and energy wouldn't work, so the reborn trainers gave up and allowed Nemona to stay.

"The dude is basically our group's introduction to Paldea," Kenny said, "So we'd like to learn a bit more about him if possible. Maybe the path he took on the Paldea gym challenge could help us map out how to charter the course for ourselves."

"Well I did get it that I was the first gym leader he challenged," Katy said, "He beat me on his first try, too. Fairly common for trainers in Paldea trying for the Champion's Assessment to best me on their first try at my gym. I believe that Rimu challenged Brassius next. Brassius is a grass Pokémon user who lives in Artazon, and works as an artist specializing in sculptures. I got it from Brassius that Rimu beat him on his first try at him."

Nodding once, Dawn said, "I got it he picked Fuecoco as his first Pokémon. A fire type would do very well against both a bug gym and a grass gym." Dawn also took note of the town Artazon, deciding that it'd be the next city with a gym that The Jelly-Filled Donut would hit up.

With a curious look on her gave, Katy said, "After he beat me and got a Bug Badge from me, Rimu actually took out a copy of my best selling cookbook and asked if I could autograph it. He said that he was acting on behalf of someone he held dear to his heart, with said someone being unable to ask me to autograph the cookbook themselves."

"Rimu asked you to autograph a copy of one of your cookbooks for him?" Nemona asked, her interest piqued.

"He also had a copy of Kofu's best selling cookbook and was planning to ask Kofu to autograph it," Katy confirmed, "Kofu actually mentored me somewhat in the culinary arts, you see. But that isn't the point here. Rimu also had a Quaxwell accompanying him at the time he asked me to autograph that copy of my best selling cookbook, although I got it that said Quaxwell has long since evolved into Quaquaval. Rimu said that it was very important that his then Quaxwell bore witness to it."

Dawn and the reborn trainers knew right away why Rimu wanted to get Katy to autograph a copy of one of her cookbooks, as well as why Rimu insisted on his then Quaxwell bearing witness to it. The autographing of the cookbook is something his late older sister Allison wanted, given her passion for the culinary arts. And Rimu's then Quaxwell, now Quaquaval, originally belonged to Allison, so he was standing in for his late original trainer. They bet the song and dance was repeated for Kofu.

Nemona looked curious. "Why his Quaxwell, though? Why not his Skeledirge which at the time should have been a Crocalor?" Nemona asked, "Rimu picked Fuecoco as his Pokémon given to him by Director Clavell."

"When I asked why he insisted his Quaxwell bore witness to me autographing the copy of my cookbook," Katy said, "Rimu explained that Quaxwell was standing in for the person that he was asking me to autograph the cookbook for. Quaxwell was there on said person's behalf. I agreed as I could tell it was important to Rimu, and I could also tell it was a sensitive issue for him so I didn't try to pry for details."

Taking a look at Nemona, Dawn got a feeling that the female Champion ranked trainer of Paldea would NOT be able to tell when to and when not to pry. "I can respect that," Dawn said, "And I think all of us here ought to leave the matter be and not bring it up with Rimu, as well as not try to dig any further. If it's a sensitive issue for him, then the best course of action is to leave the issue alone and not bother asking about it."

Holding a hand to her chin, Nemona said, "But it sounds like Rimu's doing secret undercover work for a private organization! He's like a spy doing dangerous and exciting missions! Aren't any of you the least bit curious?"

Face palming, Kenny said, "For the love of frig, don't dig into an issue of Rimu's that is very obviously supposed to be private for him!"

"Alright, alright," Nemona said, "I'll not ask anyone else about the matter. Geez, you don't have to be so forceful about it."

"If what I got on you from others is true, Champion Nemona," Katy said, "Then it was very much warranted of him to be so forceful."

Dawn and Kenny, after returning to The Jelly-Filled Donut, worked on training their new Pokémon they got thus far in the Paldea region. Trip flew back over to where Tarountula and Lechonk could be found to catch one each, coming back with a female Tarountula and male Lechonk. Trip named the Tarountula Lolth and the Lechonk Hawk.

The reborn trainers decided to explore the area around Cortondo to see what all magical wonders there were. And by that they mean new Pokémon to catch, due to a mix of the task charged to them by Jacq and their own natural desire to see new species of Pokémon. Trip found two more new (to him and the other reborn trainers) species of Pokémon, Tadbulb and Smoliv. Both were boys, and Trip named the Tadbulb Taishiro and the Smoliv Garden.

Dawn got three new Pokémon; a Tinkatink, a Maschiff, and a Nymble that to her surprise was a different color from the one Katy used against Kenny. Showing her Nymble to Katy, Dawn was able to confirm that she had found and caught a shiny Nymble, as it was yellow as opposed to dark gray. The Tinkatink and Maschiff were both girls (Tinkatink's line is all female), and the shiny Nymble was a boy. Dawn named her Tinkatink Souka, her Maschiff Freyja, and her shiny Nymble Kamen Rider.

Kenny found a Pokémon he wanted to catch, but it was a Hatenna that he named Noir. It wasn't a strictly necessary capture as Hatenna could be found outside of Paldea, but Kenny still felt that it was destiny for him to catch Noir and add her (female only species) to his cringe posse. Neither Dawn nor Trip were going to bust Kenny's chops over it, Dawn especially as she knew that Kenny always had a method to his madness.

The reborn trainers were able to cover a fair portion of the list provided to them now, partly due to how they'll be doing a lot of evolving. John was checking over the newly caught Pokémon that Dawn and the boys had between them, and both Leona and Omiyo fawned over Kamen Rider. Dawn and the boys would work on evolving a lot of their new Pokémon over the course of their time in Paldea, although they had other work to do.

...

Over the time spent training and working on their new Pokémon, Dawn and Trip both battled Katy, besting her on their respective first tries; Dawn had used Chi-Chi for the battle and swept Katy's team, and Trip did the same using Mr. Popo. As such, both of the Berlitz siblings netted a Bug Badge each. This put all three of the reborn trainers working to earn badges at one Paldean gym badge each; only another seven each to go.

They also got to work on evolving some of their new Paldean Pokémon; Kenny was able to evolve Panther into Floragato, and Trip evolved all of his Paldean catches so far, getting Launchpad to evolve into Quaxwell, Mike into Pawmo, Lolth into Spidops, Hawk into Oinkologne, and Garden into Dolliv. Using a Thunder Stone, Trip was able to evolve Taishiro into Bellibolt. Upon seeing the happy squishy bloby green thing, Trip as if on instinct threw his arms around Taishiro and hugged him.

"He's so squishy and huggable!" Trip remarked, practically exclaiming it, as he hugged his named Bellibolt who clearly enjoyed the affection, "I love it!"

"I heard that a lot of people, mainly Paldean natives, have the same opinion on the Bellibolt species," Sho remarked, "A gym leader here in Paldea who uses electric Pokémon has a Bellibolt and says the exact same thing."

Looking curious, Kenny turned to Sho and asked, "How in blazes do you know that?"

Giving Kenny a wry look, Sho replied, "I'm keen on electric Pokémon, remember?" The boys then turned back to look at Trip and Taishiro, seeing that Leona and Omiyo were now hugging the named Bellibolt. It's clearly a very huggable species of Pokémon.

Dawn had also evolved some of her Pokémon, getting Benimaru into Crocalor, Geld into Clodsire, Ranga into Dachsbun, and Kamen Rider into Lokix. Comparing the image of the normally dark gray Lokix in the packet provided by Jacq, to the yellow-greenish shiny Lokix that is Kamen Rider, Dawn saw the obvious difference. The reborn trainers saw that some of their new catches required a bit more work, but that could wait.

They had Artazon to get to.

The following morning, The Jelly-Filled Donut was flying over the area of South Province Area three when the ship landed so that the crew could have breakfast. While there, the reborn trainers made some new catches; Trip caught two new Pokémon called Nacli and Toedscool, the later strongly reminding the reborn trainers of Tentacool. Both of the Pokémon were male, so Trip named Nacli Salt Lick and Toedscool Shroomward.

As for Kenny, he actually caught two of the same new Pokémon, a species called Charcadet. "Yeah, I found the both of them fighting over a small pile of berries in the wild," Kenny explained as why he caught both of them. Dawn did note that, according to the notes from Jacq, Charcadet could evolve into either Armarouge or Ceruledge; the reborn trainers remembered that Admin's Assistant Kazuya of Team Scorn's Straw-hat Sector has a trio of Ceruledge, one of which is shiny. Kenny still thinks that the Ceruledge species has a very terrible shiny.

Kenny ended up naming one Charcadet Dante and the other Vergil, citing the nicknames will help him remember which one he wants to evolve into Armarouge and which one he wants to evolve into Ceruledge. With that business out of the way, the reborn trainers, along with the rest of the crew of The Jelly-Filled Donut, took a break for breakfast before they got back up and flew in the direction of Artazon, where Dawn, Kenny, and Trip would prepare to take on Brassius's gym.

...

"Oh, before we go in," Dawn said, "We're going to have to find a Pokémon called Klawf. Its species, according to Jacq's notes, can be found in this area. We need to catch one."

"What kind of Pokémon is this Klawf?" Mina asked.

"Big rocky crab," Dawn summed up as she took out Jacq's notes and flipped to an image of Klawf to show everyone.

Looking at the image, Kenny said, "Ah, so we just need to-"

"AHHHHH!"

*CRASH*

Kenny was cut off when he and the others having breakfast heard someone screaming in alarm, followed by the sound of rocks crashing into one another. Dawn then told the rest of the crew of The Jelly-Filled Donut to wait at the ship as she ran off to investigate. Trip insisted on coming along, citing how Dawn having recently had an asthma attack means she might need someone to keep an eye on her who can help if she has another attack.

Dawn, a bit annoyed at being reminded she has asthma again, nonetheless saw her brother's logic and consented to let him come. She was betting he was alarmed because, in their previous lives, she died from an asthma attack and left him behind. As such, the two Berlitz siblings ran right in the direction of where the noises were coming from, prepared to deal with what was going on. But both of them were going to be in for quite the surprise.

...Quite the big surprise.

...

When Dawn and Trip reached the area they heard the noise come from, they saw the tall male student from Naranja Academy who was identified by Rimu as being called Arven, who was facing off alone against a Klawf. Nothing weird about that. However, what WAS weird, as well as a bit on the alarming side of things, was the fact that the wild Klawf that Arven was staring down was, to be quite honest, redonkulously big.

"What in the name of Odin is a Klawf doing being that big?!" Dawn exclaimed, pointing at the very big wild Klawf.

Arven perked up, turned to see it that Dawn and Trip were there. "You're Sinnoh Champion Dawn Berlitz and her brother Trip," Arven said, "Boy, am I glad a pair of powerful trainers are here to help me out!"

Pointing at the giant Klawf, Trip yelled, "Why is this big-ass Klawf here?! How did it even get so big?! What's going on?!"

Looking to the giant Klawf, Arven scowled and said, "It must have been beefed up by the Herba Mystica rumored to be around here."

"Herba Mystica?" Dawn spoke up, sounding an even mix of confused and curious.

Arven nodded once in confirmation. "Five types of herbs, rumored to have amazing health benefits if used as ingredients in cooking. I made it my goal in the Treasure Hunt to find all five." Looking up at the giant Klawf, Arven went on, "But then this one showed up. I have... two Pokémon, a Skwovet and a Shellder, but I highly doubt that even combined they can stand up to this beast, even if it's taken into account the fact that Shellder has a type advantage."

Looking at the giant Klawf, Dawn said, "...Let me and Trip handle this." Tossing up a Master Ball, Dawn called out, "Alright, Tsukune! Let's get goin'!"

"Alright, Deelia!" Trip said as he sent out his named Dialga, "Let's rock it!" Pointing at the giant Klawf, Trip called out, "Deelia, use Roar of Time!"

"Tsukune, use Spacial Rend!" Dawn commanded. The two legendary dragon Pokémon both cast their signature moves, striking the titanic Klawf and besting it pretty much instantly. Arven was in total shock; even the monstrously huge Klawf was no match for trainers the likes of Dawn Berlitz and her companions. After the giant Klawf was defeated, Arven let out a tired sigh, resonating with the relief washing over him.

"Whew!" Arven said, "That was a close on-" Arven was cut off when the giant Klawf suddenly perked back up, hopped onto the sheer rock face behind it, and crawled around to the other side. "After it!" Arven cried out, "We can't let it get away!"

"Just what in the hell is going on with a random Klawf being so damn big?" Dawn muttered under her breath as she, Trip, and Arven ran around to catch back up to the giant Klawf, with the legendary dragons still out and flying over the trainers. Dawn, to prevent her asthma from getting aggravated, hopped onto Tsukune's back and rode it over.

When the group caught up, they saw the giant Klawf smash the side of a sheer rock face away, exposing a little cave. The giant Klawf reached in, took out a small bit of sparkling herb, and ate it, becoming re-energized before turning around to face Dawn, Trip, and Arven. "That must be the Herba Mystica!" Arven said. Leaning to his side, Arven looked into the cave behind the giant Klawf. "There's still some in there! But with the big boy in front of us in the way-"

Arven was cut off when Dawn and Trip had Tsukune and Deelia attack the giant Klawf again, besting it again and knocking it out this time. Additionally, a colored energy aura flew from the giant Klawf as it began shrinking down. Eventually it stopped shrinking, and when it did it was a far more normal size for a Klawf according to Arven. But Arven was determined to get the Herba Mystica, so he got into the cave found some of the Herba Mystica inside, took it, and walked back out.

When he got outside, he saw that Dawn and Trip were still there but the formerly titanic Klawf was nowhere to be seen. "Where did the former Titan Klawf go?" Arven asked.

"I caught it," Trip explained, "My group and I are working on getting each Paldea unique species of Pokémon registered as obtained as per the request of Jacq."

Arven nodded once in understanding. "Ah, my biology teacher at Naranja Academy. He's been wanting to have more research done on the Pokémon living here in Paldea, but his teaching job and lack of free time, as well as certain other restrictions, kept his hands tied."

Jerking a thumb over her shoulder, Dawn said, "You ought to come with us to where we got my flying ship parked. We're having breakfast before setting sail for Artazon."

"You can also regale us with tales of the Herba Mystica," Trip added, his tone lightly implying that Arven was going to be expected to cough up an explanation.

Although Dawn picked up on the implication in her brother's tone, it flew over Arven's head completely. "I'm actually curious about your flying ship, actually. I saw it back at Naranja Academy, but I never got to go on board and see what all it has. I'd especially love to see what kind of a mess hall or kitchen it has."

Seeing that Arven was going to be a willing player here, Dawn nodded once as she and Trip called back Tsukune and Deelia respectively before leading Arven back to where The Jelly-Filled Donut was currently parked so the crew could have breakfast before Artazon.

...

The crew of The Jelly-Filled Donut ate breakfast with Arven on the main deck outside, technically making Arven the first Naranja Academy student to be on board of Dawn's flying ship. As the crew ate, Arven regaled them with the tale of the Herba Mystica, how there were five, and each one had various health benefits to offer when used as ingredients. "I only have enough of the Herba Mystica that I found with help from Dawn and Trip earlier to use for my goals," Arven said, "I... can't exactly share what little I have."

"That's fair," Lance the Cook said, "Some ingredients are very precious."

Looking to the reborn trainers, Arven said, "So, you all are trying to get one of each species of Pokémon found in Paldea registered as caught, ehh?" After eating a bite of the breakfast serving made for him, Arven asked with an annoyed scowl, "Does that include the Paradox Pokémon?"

Mina perked up out of curiosity. "Paradox Pokémon?"

Taking out the notes provided by Jacq, Dawn flipped through them. "...There's a section in here about a sub-group of Pokémon called Paradox Pokémon," Dawn said, "But Jacq only has their names which he in the notes wrote he got from various dubious sources. He highly doubts they're real, but if they are then we ought to look for them anyway."

Arven scowled bitterly. "Aye, they're real alright. My parents, Sara and Turo, both of them are Professors that study Pokémon. They're obsessed with the Paradox Pokémon, which luckily are only found in Area Zero. I haven't even seen either of them in years, not since..." Looking resigned, Arven went on, "...Well my real reason for searching for the Herba Mystica stems from a screw-up on part of my professor parents. I need to fix damage they caused."

"I don't suppose you have any info from your parents that could help us with even searching for the Paradox Pokémon, do you?" Dawn asked.

"Not on hand," Arven replied, "But I do know where you can get all of the details you'd want. The light house where my parents had set up their lab, along Poco Path. I can show you were it is."

"And... you have no issue with letting us just help ourselves?" Kenny asked.

Shrugging, Arven replied, "You'll be doing me a favor by taking the bastard research my parents had done. I also left some gear I wanna keep at the lab, so I'd appreciate a lift."

Dawn wore a look of consideration on her face before saying, "We're gonna have to make a detour to get those research notes. They're sounding to be too good to pass up when it comes to working with the Paradox Pokémon." After it was agreed to change course for a bit, the crew and Arven finished breakfast before packing up to take off. The Jelly-Filled Donut took up into the air, but it didn't sail towards Artazon.

Rather, it sailed for Poco Path, where clues to help with a certain sub-group of Pokémon were ripe for the taking.

END, CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIVE

Author's notes;

This chapter covers the Cortondo gym battles and the stony cliff titan, while introducing the reborn trainers to Arven, whose Herba Mystica quest will play a part in this story. Arven also brings up the subject of the Paradox Pokémon, a subject he's clearly bitter about and for more than one reason. He freely offers what notes his parents have at their old lab in the lighthouse along Poco Path, and as such a detour is made to collect some potentially helpful info.

Anyway, the next chapter will see a brief stop at the Poco Path lighthouse, followed by the Artazon gym battles and maybe the open sky titan. But how that all will go down is a story in and of itself. It is going to be an interesting ride, so until then take care.

Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Tsukune (Palkia), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian), Benimaru (male Crocalor), Souka (female Tinkatink), Kamen Rider (male Lokix; shiny)

Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Goofy (male Houndoom), Hoodini (male Noctowl), Black (Giratina; Origin Forme), Panther (female Floragato), King Julian (male Shroodle)

Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Empoleon), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Alfred (male Marowak; Alolan; Totem), Deelia (Dialga), Launchpad (male Quaxly), Mike (male Pawmo)

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)