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 ninety-six: The Treasures Four
The crew of The Jelly-Filled Donut had just woken up for the day after the late night they had, landing just outside of Alfornada near its local Pokémon Center rather late the previous night. Dawn, her newly caught shiny Banette Roll walking along next to her, walked into the kitchen area of the ship, where Lance the Cook, aided by his Sneasel and Kantonian Mr. Mime, was making breakfast for the ship's crew.
That included Dawn herself as she's head of the flying ship. Dawn just got a mug of coffee, flavored it with Hazelnut creamer, then sat down at the island counter, Roll taking the seat immediately on her right. "You know, Dawn," Lance began, "I got it from Leona that Kenny has six shiny Pokémon. You'd figure that he'd be the one to have all of the shiny luck, but then you go and prove that you've got a touch of shiny luck yourself."
Dawn nodded once in conceding the point. "I won't argue that, given that I found three so far in Paldea, four overall. I think that there's something about Paldea that makes shiny Pokémon more likely to be found in the wild." Roll just laid her arms on the island counter and laid her head down, going back to sleep after yawning.
"So boss, who between you, Kenny, and Trip will be taking on the local gym leader first?" Lance asked as he got some waffles ready.
"Either Kenny or Trip," Dawn said, "Then I'll go either after the first boy to go, or after both of the boys." Pointing to Roll, Dawn went on, "I wanna get in at least some training with Roll here to see how she can do."
Lance nodded in understanding, and was about to speak up. But he was stopped before he could get a single word out when Mina, Leona, and Omiyo came barreling into the kitchen area practically, all of them having urgent looks on their faces.
"What's up with you girls?" Lance said, the rushing of the girls making Roll pop awake, "I know you're eager to get breakfast, but I only got so many of the waffles ready. And then Dawn, Kenny, and Trip have to discuss how to take on the local gym leader here in Alfornada-"
"Who showed up outside and is looking up right at our ship," Leona cut in, catching the attention of both Lance and Dawn, "She's also got two Naranja Academy teachers with her! When the girls here and I saw them standing on the ground outside of where the ship's parked, the lady who looks like a model called up to us and said she wanted to speak with us!"
Dawn's attention was further piqued by what Leona had just said. "We did get it that the Alfornada gym leader, Tulip, is a model. Did she say why she wanted to speak with us?"
"She said she didn't wanna have to shout it up at us," Mina replied, "Should we lower the drawbridge and let her and the two Naranja Academy teachers aboard?"
Sighing, Dawn said, "Given one of the ladies who came to see us is the gym leader," Dawn began, "It'd be best to indulge them and let them aboard so we can hear what they have to say." After Dawn downed her coffee, she hopped off of her stool after calling Roll back to her Pokéball, and together she and the girls left to go lower the drawbridge to let Tulip's party aboard.
A short while later, Dawn with a freshly awoken Kenny and Trip were sitting in the meeting room of The Jelly-Filled Donut with Tulip and her companions Dendra and Raifort. "Anyway, I believe that we first ought to make introductions," Tulip began, "I'm Tulip, model and make-up spokeswoman, also I'm the local gym leader here in Alfornada."
"I'm Dendra," said Dendra as she raised a hand, "P.E. teacher at Naranja Academy." Gesturing to Raifort who sat next to her, Dendra went on, "And this here is my co-worker Raifart, who teaches history at Naranja Academy."
"My name is pronounced Raifort," said Raifort as she corrected Dendra's pronunciation of her name.
Looking at the ladies, Dawn asked, "Well the boys here and I were eventually planning to seek out Tulip given she's the local gym leader here, but I get the feeling that there's something up causing you to seek us out here."
Nodding once, Dendra said, "Tulip had complained to me about a scary dream she had, involving four Pokémon that are supposedly of dark power. The way she described the four Pokémon struck me as familiar with something involving Raifart's personal research into the Treasures of Ruin."
"Raifort," corrected Raifort once more, "And yes. The way that Tulip had described the four Pokémon of dark power from her dream lines up with what all I know about Chien-Pao, Wo-Chein, Ting-Lu, and Chi-Yu, the quartet of legendary Pokémon that collectively are known as the Treasures of Ruin."
Looking to Tulip with a hint of suspicion in his expression, Kenny said, "I got it you're a psychic type Pokémon user, and you're describing a dream you had about four Pokémon coming out. A little bit of cheat psychic powers, maybe?"
"Kenny has met multiple psychic type Pokémon using gym leaders that have had psychic powers, and he tends to take issue with them as most trainers have no means of defending against or countering such psychic powers," Trip explained.
Gently shaking her head, Tulip said, "If I do have any psychic powers, they only manifest in the form of dreams that warn me of trouble, and the dreams don't occur regularly. I've never been able to do anything else."
Pointing at Tulip, Dendra said, "Yeah, Tulip here only ever gets vague warnings in her dreams. She can't actively foretell the future or read minds or anything, so if you're worried about her using psychic powers to cheat against you, then don't worry because she's more or less powerless in that particular regard."
As Kenny nodded in approval, Dawn asked, "So these four Pokémon, the Treasures of Ruin. Do any of you have any idea where they can be found? Because it sounds like they may cause trouble if left to their own devices."
"I actually have an idea," Raifort said as she raised a hand, "In my research into the legend of the Treasures of Ruin, I had learned about four large seals located all over Paldea. The common folk of the region who do know about those seals believes them to be nothing more than some naturally occurring wonders of nature. But those in the know such as myself can tell that each seal keeps a different great power locked away."
"So these seals are, at least for now, believed to be where the Treasures of Ruin are located," Trip began.
Raifort nodded in confirmation. "I in my researching of the subject have discovered where each of the four shrines is located, and I have them marked on a map of Paldea that I got. You'll be looking for a large circular metal lid with carvings on it at each location. I believe that all you'll have to do is place a hand upon the seal."
The heroes all nodded in agreement before they got out maps of Paldea and Raifort marked all of them with the locations of the shrines. After that, Tulip said that she was going to be busy for a while with a photo shoot, so she won't be able to accept challenges from any of them during that time. However, they should come back after they're done to show how well they did in dealing with the four Treasures of Ruin.
Although they won't be able to take on Tulip's gym for the time being, the reborn trainers still had a task to do, and it'd help lead to the goal given to them via Jacq. Once all preparations were made, Dawn and the boys took off, each with some company, to fly on the backs of legendary dragon Pokémon to the locations of the marked areas on their maps to locate the Treasures of Ruin and prevent them from getting down to foul business.
Dawn, with Leona and Omiyo in her company, went to North Province Area Two. There, they went into a cave located near some waterfalls, although they had to fly up to the cave on Tsukune and Fangfang. Once inside the cave, Dawn after recalling her legendary Pokémon led Leona and Omiyo into the cave further. In the back of the cave they found a giant metal circular seal. The remains of chains were on the ground before it.
Looking up at the seal, Dawn examined things and said, "The chains used to be up over the seal."
"They fell away somehow?" Leona asked.
Nodding in agreement with the theory, Dawn then walked up and put her hand on the seal. She and the others heard the seal rumble, so Dawn quickly ran back and got to a safe distance with Leona and Omiyo. The seal then fell away, making a loud thud on the ground that made all of them cover their ears, Omiyo especially so. When things settled down, Dawn and the others saw something in a space behind where the seal used to be before it fell to the ground.
Coming out of that space was the thing in question, which to Dawn's surprise was a goldfish that looked to be made of flames and lava, and it had curved beads for eyes. It was also rather small for what Dawn was assuming was a legendary Pokémon. But given it was locked up behind a seal that had been up for who knows how long, Dawn was not going to underestimate it.
"If what I got from the info Raifort shared before we all took off is true," Dawn said, "Then this one here is called Chi-Yu."
Chi-Yu cried out at the girls, sounding more like a young cute kid blowing bubbles into the water at a kiddy pool. "...It doesn't sound all that scary," Omiyo remarked.
"But it's obviously still a legendary Pokémon," Leona said, "That said, we're gonna have to let Dawn handle this one here."
Dawn nodded once before she tossed up a ball while calling out, "Alright, Argent! Let's get goin'!" Coming out into battle was Dawn's named alpha Hisuian Arcanine. Pointing at Chi-Yu, Dawn called out, "Argent, use Wild Charge!"
Argent cloaked itself in harsh electricity before charging at Chi-Yu and ramming right into it with full force, hopping back after striking the small legendary. Thanks to having its hidden ability Rock Head, Argent took no recoil damage from using Wild Charge. Chi-Yu then tried to use Swagger, but it missed due to still reeling from the forceful strike it just received.
Wanting to keep pressure applied to Chi-Yu, Dawn commanded, "Argent, use Wild Charge again!" For a second time, the named alpha Hisuian Arcanine cloaked itself in harsh electricity before charging at Chi-Yu and ramming right into it with full force. After taking the second hit, Chi-Yu retaliated with Lava Plume, but it didn't do all that much damage to Argent as he is the dual fire rock type Hisuian variant of Arcanine.
Dawn then called for Argent to use Wild Charge for a third time. After Argent dealt his move to his legendary opponent, Chi-Yu used Bounce, going up too high into the air for Dawn to attack it until it comes back down to hit her Pokémon. Dawn then recalled Argent and sent out Tobias, her named Darkrai. After that, Chi-Yu came down to strike with Bounce, but it missed its mark completely.
"Tobias, use Sludge Bomb!" Dawn called out, prompting the named Darkrai to conjure and cast a blob of sludge that blasted right into Chi-Yu. It wasn't poisoned though, but Chi-Yu WAS starting to get worn out. Chi-Yu then used an attack that looked like it was unleashing all manner of potent and hateful ruin, but a shout from Dawn prompted Tobias to dodge the attack, whatever it was.
Gesturing forward, Dawn called out, "Tobias, use Sludge Bomb again!" The named Darkrai conjured and cast another blob of sludge that blasted right into Chi-Yu. This time it WAS poisoned, and when it was hurt by its poisoning it collapsed, having reached its limit after the combined assault from the special Arcanine and the mythical being it had to contend with after it had been able to escape from the seal it was locked behind.
Taking the opportunity, Dawn took out an Ultra Ball, expanded it, and threw it at Chi-Yu while going, "Go, Ultra Ball!" The Ultra Ball flew at Chi-Yu, bumped into it, took it inside, then fell to the ground, landing with a light clink. The Ultra Ball shook for a few moments, making Dawn and the other girls nervous about if the Ultra Ball would work. Dawn was figuring that, if it came right down to it, she'd just bust out one of her spare Mast-
*click*
Dawn's thought process was cut off when she heard the clicking noise that indicated that a model of Pokéball had successfully captured a Pokémon. Looking over, she saw that the Ultra Ball she used to try to catch Chi-Yu had succeeded in the task, netting Dawn the legendary Pokémon that she had confronted in battle. "Dawn had just caught that adorable little legendary Pokémon!" Omiyo cheered, throwing her arms into the air in celebration.
"So that was what battling a wild legendary Pokémon is like," Leona said as Dawn walked over to where the ball containing her newly caught Chi-Yu sat. Picking it up, she scanned the ball with her Pokédex. She got its general information, as well as learned that its attack that looked like it tried to unleash ruination untold upon Tobias was called Ruination and, if it landed, Tobias would have been damaged by an amount equal to half of its current health.
Relieved that her Pokémon avoided such a blow, Dawn looked at the ball containing Chi-Yu. "I'll think of a nickname for it later," Dawn said, "For now, we ought to go check sight number two."
"What's that?" Leona asked.
"It's the shrine located somewhere in the area of South Province Area One," Dawn began, "Kenny is taking the shrine in the area of West Province Area One, and Trip is taking the shrine in the area of the Socarrat Trail. We agreed that after we were done at our respective first stops, we'd go to the shrine in the area of South Province Area One."
"First one there between you, Kenny, and Trip gets the first go?" Leona suggested.
Shrugging, Dawn replied, "That's the idea, I suppose." The girls, after Dawn recalled Tobias, took off from the cave area they were in. Tsukune and Fangfang helped them down from the height they were at, then they flew off in the direction of the shrine located in South Province Area One.
Over in West Province Area One, Kenny and Mina landed on Black and Dragonite, getting off right in front of a large circular metal lid with carvings on it. Kenny spotted the remains of chains on the ground near the seal, making him suspect that the seal had been chained up previously. "There is an air of dark shenanigans about this area," Kenny said, his tone and expression conveying a grim tone of seriousness, "We must be cautious."
"You think that you can take whatever is behind the seal, Kenny?" Mina asked.
Kenny, as he approached the seal, replied, "Oh, you'd be very surprised with what all cringe that I can pull off, Mina." Kenny then placed a hand on the seal, making it rumble. "Get back get back get back!" Kenny said quickly as he ran away from the seal, prompting Mina to do the same. The seal fell away, revealing a little cubby area of sorts. Coming out of said cubby was a snow leopard kind of Pokémon with a long tail, and the two halves of a broken sword as saber teeth.
As the leopard like Pokémon roared at Kenny, he said, "Sweetness! It's a feline Pokémon! I got this one in the bag!"
"That looks like Chien-Pao according to the info we were given by that Raifart lady with Tulip and Dendra," Mina said as Kenny prepared to battle the now identified Chien-Pao.
Tossing up a Pokéball, Kenny called out, "Okay, Zarbon! Let's make it cringe!" Coming out into battle was Zarbon, Kenny's named Machamp who let out a quick moan of aroused, sensual pleasure as he entered the battle.
"Zarbon, huh?" Mina asked.
Shrugging, Kenny said, "Well Tulip saying that the Treasures of Ruin are Pokémon of dark power, right? That makes me think that they're at least part dark type." Jerking a thumb at Chien-Pao, Kenny went on, "Chien-Pao here don't look part ghost type, so Zarbon's fighting attacks ought to do a good bit in wearing it down for capture." Turning back around to face the battle, Kenny called out, "Alright, Zarbon! Use Cross Chop to give Chien-Pao's fanny a hard pounding!"
With a moaning cry of aroused, sensual pleasure, Zarbon jumped in with his arms crossed before going right at Chien-Pao and striking it with a crossing chopping strike, making Chien-Pao give off a roaring cry of pain as it was thrown back. It was clear to Kenny that Zarbon had struck a critical hit, but even he was surprised to see Chien-Pao barely hanging on after its fanny took a pounding from the rippling, muscled strength of Zarbon.
Seeing Chien-Pao struggle to get back up, Kenny tossed an expanded Ultra Ball at it. It went into the Ultra Ball which fell to the ground with a light clink, then the Ultra Ball shook for a bit before making a clicking noise indicating that Kenny successfully caught Chien-Pao. "...That's it?" Mina said as her boyfriend went to collect the ball containing his newly caught Chien-Pao, "One strike from Zarbon and the legendary Poké-"
"Ah, it's dual dark ice type!" Kenny called out as he scanned Chien-Pao's ball with his Pokédex, "That explains why Zarbon's Cross Chop did so much damage to it!" Taking a look at the ball that held his Chien-Pao, Kenny said, "Imma name you Diego." After the ball containing the newly dubbed Deigo was sent to Oak's lab, Kenny turned to face Mina. "Now it's off to the location in South Province Area One that's been marked for us."
Nodding once, Mina said, "I'm more happy to know why Zarbon had such an easy time giving Chien-Pao's fanny a hard pounding." Zarbon let out yet another moaning cry of aroused, sensual pleasure before he was recalled by Kenny. After that, Kenny and Mina called out Black and Dragonite, got onto their dragon Pokémon, and flew off to the shrine that's located down over in South Province Area One.
Over in an area on Socarrat Trail, Trip who had Sho with him landed Deelia in front of a giant metal circular seal with carvings on it. The two guys got off, Trip recalled Deelia, then he and Sho walked up to the seal. "Dawn actually shared with me the first time she and Kenny met you while they were traveling through the Sinnoh region," Trip said, "Dawn said you tried to pressure Ash Ketchum into trading his Pikachu to you."
"Well I was kind of jonesing for a Pikachu at the time," Sho said, "Although Dawn did resolve things by pointing me in the right direction to where I can find and catch a Pikachu of my own, which I did. I still feel kind of bad for how I had made a Mudbray of myself back then." Arching a wry eyebrow, Sho went on, "Dawn also mentioned to me that you see Ash as the gold standard when it comes to being a Pokémon trainer. Given the dude was able to end the latest season of the World Coronation Series as the officially ranked second strongest trainer in the world, I can't blame you."
"Were it not for Ideku Badorigo's use of Enamorus and Zekrom, Ash would have won," Trip argued.
"Unless Dawn didn't have that asthma attack," Sho countered, "Then she undoubtedly would have handed Ash his butt on a silver platter."
Nodding to concede the point to Sho, Trip replied, "I won't argue with that, although Ash still should never be underestimated." Trip then walked up to the seal and placed a hand on it. The seal made a loud rumbling sound, making Trip and Sho both run to take cover. After they got a safe distance away, the seal fell away, revealing a little cubby area of sorts.
Coming out of that space was a large bovine looking Pokémon that looked to be made of brown chunks of earthen material, also it had a large metal looking bowl with a crack on it on its head. "If the details we got from Tulip and Raifort are true," Trip began, "Then this one here is called Ting-Lu."
Sho gulped nervously. "That thing is looking to be at least part ground type. That being said, I'll only be dead weight if I tried helping you battle it since all of my Pokémon are electric types."
"Well it's a good thing that I got this," Trip said. He then tossed up a ball while calling out, "Alright, Loki! Let's rock it!" Coming out into battle was Trip's named Serperior. Pointing forward, Trip called out, "Loki, use Glare!" The named Serperior gave Ting-Lu a very unsettling glare that had ended up making Ting-Lu paralyzed. The status ailment ought to make capturing Ting-Lu far easier.
Ting-Lu tried to act, but paralysis kept it from being able to do anything. "Loki, use Leaf Storm!" Trip called out, prompting Loki to cast a violently powerful swirling storm of leaves at Ting-Lu, dealing a fair hit. After the attack was done, Sho saw Loki surge with power for some odd reason. "Doesn't Leaf Storm make the user's special attack drop harshly?" Sho asked, "And yet it seems to me that your Serperior's power was bolstered instead."
"Loki has the hidden ability of his species, which is Contrary," Trip said, "It reverses stat changes that the user takes, so changes that are normally boosts become drops, and changes that are normally drops become boosts."
"...So using Leaf Storm repeatedly will only make Serperior's special attack rise more and more," Sho said, "And Leaf Storm is a special move. It's gonna deal a lot of damage to Ting-Lu at this rate!" Back to the battle, Ting-Lu used Rock Slide, but it didn't do much to Loki as it was only hit by a few of the falling rocks.
Pointing forward, Trip said, "Loki, use Giga Drain!" Loki then drained health from Ting-Lu to heal up what damage it took from Rock Slide, and the plus two special attack boost really made it sting. Ting-Lu tried to attack again, but it was for a second time tripped up by the paralysis it had. Pointing forward, Trip called out, "Loki, use Leaf Storm!"
The named Serperior whipped up another Leaf Storm attack and cast it at Ting-Lu, dealing a very serious blow that drove Ting-Lu to kneeling as it panted with pain and exhaustion. Seeing the chance for what it was, Trip took out an Ultra Ball, expanded it, and lobbed it at Ting-Lu while crying out, "Go, Ultra Ball!"
Ting-Lu was taken into the Ultra Ball, which fell to the ground with a light clink and shook a few times before making a ping sound, indicating that Trip had successfully captured Ting-Lu. As Trip went to collect the ball containing his newly caught Ting-Lu, Sho said, "Wow, you actually captured... that thing." Sho paled a bit out of surprise as, although he's seen captured legendary Pokémon before, he's never seen a legendary Pokémon be caught. It was clear to Sho that Trip and those like him were in a league of their own.
Trip scanned the ball containing Ting-Lu, got an idea of its stats and what not. "Imma name you Wagyu," Trip said to the ball containing Ting-Lu before it was sent to Oak's lab. After that was done and taken care of, Trip turned to look at Sho. "Well we need to get going to the next meet up spot down in South Province Area One. That's were another one of the Treasures of Ruin shrines is at according to that Raifort lady."
Nodding once, Sho replied, "Right." Trip called out Deelia again, hopped on with Sho, and together the two of them flew off for their next destination.
Over in South Province Area One, Dawn with Leona and Omiyo landed on Tsukune and Fangfang. The girls got off, Dawn recalled her legendary Pokémon, and the girls walked up to the large metal circular seal with carvings on it. "Did Raifort ever say which of the Treasures of Ruin is supposedly hidden behind the seal here?" Leona asked.
"We can identify it after we see it," Dawn replied before she walked up to the seal and placed a hand on it. The seal rumbled, making Dawn and the others run to take cover. After a few moments, the seal fell away, revealing a little cubby area of sorts. Emerging from that cubby was a giant snail like Pokémon with its body looking to be made of foliage, and its shell made of tablets of wood about the same size as loose leaf sheets of paper.
"...This one, if what Raifort said is true," Dawn began, "Looks like the Treasure of Ruin that's called Wo-Chein."
The now identified Wo-Chein cried out at the girls, sounding like grumpy sounding sucking noises like what a slug would make as it slid on the ground. Tossing up a Pokéball, Dawn called out, "Alright, Argent! Let's get goin'!" Coming out to battle was Dawn's named alpha Hisuian Arcanine, who had battled Chi-Yu already but still had plenty of steam in the tank. Pointing forward, Dawn said, "Argent, use Flare Blitz!"
Argent cloaked itself in harsh flames before charging right at Wo-Chein, ramming right into it and causing it to cry out in great pain. Thanks to Argent's Rock Head ability, Argent took no recoil damage from having used Flare Blitz. Wo-Chein then tried to use the attack that resembled the move Ruination, but it missed completely.
From what Dawn saw, Argent's Flare Blitz did a lot of damage to Wo-Chein, and Wo-Chein did look to be at least part grass type. She figured that a few more Flare Blitzs from Argent would be enough to weaken Wo-Chein enough for capture. As such, she intended to strike while the iron was still hot. With another gesture forward, Dawn called out, "Argent, use Flare Blitz again!"
Once more, the named alpha Hisuian Arcanine cloaked itself in harsh flames before charging right at Wo-Chein, ramming right into it and not only causing a lot of damage again but also inflicting a burn on Wo-Chein as well. Once more, Argent having the Rock Head ability protected it from taking any recoil damage from using Flare Blitz.
Wo-Chein then tried to lash out at Argent with Power Whip and was able to land a hit. But Argent being part fire type, combined with the fact that Wo-Chein's burn curbed the damage output of the physical move Power Whip, meant that Wo-Chein wasn't actually doing all that much to the named alpha Hisuian Arcanine. Wo-Chein then flinched in pain as it was hurt by its burn.
"Argent, use Flare Blitz!" Dawn called out, prompting Argent to, for a third time, cloak itself in harsh flames before charging right at Wo-Chein and ramming right into it, dealing a lot of damage in a move that scored a critical hit due to landing on Wo-Chein's burn mark. The legendary Treasure of Ruin cried out in great pain as it received the heavy blow from Argent.
Wo-Chein swayed from side to side before it fell over into what passed for a kneeling position for a giant snail. It panted hard in exhaustion, stunned by the onslaught of heavy duty Flare Blitzes from its Hisuian opponent. Dawn saw that Wo-Chein was at its limit, and took the opportunity to capture it while it was still reeling.
Dawn took out an Ultra Ball, expanded it, and then lobbed it at Wo-Chein. It went into the Ultra Ball which fell to the ground with a light clink, then it shook around for a few tense moments. After the third shake or so, the Ultra Ball made a clicking noise, indicating that Dawn had successfully caught the legendary Pokémon Wo-Chein.
As Dawn went to collect the ball containing her newly caught Wo-Chein, Omiyo said, "Is that all of the scary Pokémon or no?"
"There's the one that Kenny is hitting up first and the one Trip is hitting up first," Dawn said as she picked up Wo-Chein's ball to scan with her Pokédex, "The reason I caught Wo-Chein after catching Chi-Yu is because I got here first before Kenny or Trip." After deciding on nicknaming Wo-Chein at a later time, Dawn saw the ball containing Wo-Chein be sent to Oak's lab.
Right after that, the girls heard voices call out to them. Looking up, they saw Trip and Sho fly in on Deelia coming from one direction, and Kenny and Mina flying in on Black and Dragonite flying from another direction. "I take it you guys were successful in finding the Treasures of Ruin at the shrines you respectively first went to?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah, I caught what I think is Ting-Lu," Trip said as he and the others landed.
"I caught the one that I think is called Chien-Pao," Kenny replied.
Nodding once, Dawn said, "Well I caught the other two. That being said, we need to get going back to Alfornada and report back to Tulip and her companions that the Treasures of Ruin have all been dealt with."
As everyone got onto last legendary Pokémon to fly back to Alfornada, Kenny said, "Ah yes, Tulip and her companions who are teachers at Naranja Academy, Dendra and Raifart." Without another word, the company flew back to Alfornada, their mission a success.
Later in Alfornada, Dawn and her companions who went about hunting down the Treasures of Ruin reported their success to Tulip. After the four Treasures of Ruin had time to rest and be treated, they were even shown to the psychic Pokémon gym leader as proof that the reborn trainers had all found success in their travels all over Paldea. To say that Tulip was taken aback by surprise would be a bit of an understatement.
"M-My goodness!" Tulip exclaimed, "You kids actually caught the Treasures of Ruin! This is beyond phenomenal!"
Raifort, a hint of jealous envy in her eyes, remarked, "Yes, you kids are quite the remarkable trainers indeed." Only Dawn was able to pick up the shifts in Raifort's tone, in her expression. A nugget that she decided to tuck away for later, just to be safe.
Folding his arms over his chest, Kenny went on, "Well this is just part of the package on how tough the lads and I are." The Treasures of Ruin were all called back, before Kenny went on, "Now, when will Tulip be available to start accepting challenges from the lads and I so we can try earning the gym badge that her gym hands out to victorious trainers?"
Gently shaking her head, Tulip said, "I won't be available for quite some time yet. In addition to other modeling shoots I have to do, as well as film a commercial for a new make-up product that my line produced, I have to deal with various social gatherings that I was invited to by members of Paldea's wealthy elite. They tend to not take it very well if given 'no' for an answer, even if there's a perfectly legitimate excuse for it."
Rolling his eyes, Trip said in a tone of dry sarcasm, "Lovely."
"However," Tulip continued, "As you had done a major feat of heroism to save the Paldea region from falling into chaos at the hands of the Treasures of Ruin, I believe that awarding you all Psychic Badges for that will be sufficient." As such, Tulip gave Dawn, Kenny, and Trip a Psychic Badge each.
"Huh, this is pretty neat," Kenny said as he and the others marveled at their new Psychic Badges.
Tulip nodded once and turned to leave with Dendra and Raifort, but while Dendra turned to leave with Tulip, Raifort lingered (like a Raifart) long enough for Tulip and Dendra to notice it and turn to see what Raifort was doing. "I'm still doing some research on the Treasures of Ruin," Raifort said, "So if you kids get any new details, be sure to send some my way, alright?"
Nodding once, Kenny replied, "We'll send you copies when we can, Raifart."
"It's pronounced 'Raifort'," corrected Raifort before she turned around and left with Tulip and Dendra. After the ladies were gone, Dawn led the group back to The Jelly-Filled Donut. Dawn still couldn't help but feel that Raifort was up to something about the Treasures of Ruin, and she intended to, at an absolute minimum, keep an eye on the history teacher from Naranja Academy.
...
Later on board of The Jelly-Filled Donut, Dawn put her Psychic Badge where she kept her other Paldean gym badges that she got. Dawn was wondering how she'd frame the badges she got while in Paldea, especially considering the fact that she's also finding badges at the Team Star bases, as well as getting badges from Arven for helping to bring down the Titan Pokémon and collect all of the Herba Mysticas.
It was as Dawn laid on her bed in her private room, staring straight up at the ceiling, that she heard a knock on the door. Getting up, Dawn went over to the door and answered it, seeing that her brother Trip was there. "What's up, Trip?" Dawn asked.
"Our next destination is a little tucked out of the way area in the Glaseado Mountain," Trip began, "The reason why we're going there is because it's the location of the last Paldean gym that we need to take on and beat before you, me, and Kenny have eight Paldean gym badges each."
Dawn nodded in understanding, having gotten it ahead of time from Geeta that the gym leader in the Glaseado Mountains, a guy named Grusha, is an ice type Pokémon user, as well as reportedly being the strongest gym leader in Paldea. But it was nothing that Dawn, Kenny, and Trip can't handle in their respective first goes at Grusha's gym.
Looking to Trip, Dawn said, "We're flying there now, right?"
"Yeah but Heath warned us that the climate is gonna be chilly, so we ought to dress warmly if we're outside," Trip warned, "And considering the fact that the gym battles will take place outside, we had better bundle up."
Sighing, Dawn replied, "Well it's a good thing that everyone on the ship has Winter ware outfits."
END, CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND NINETY-SIX
Author's notes;
This chapter sees the heroes ready to take on Tulip's gym, but the four Treasures of Ruin popping up diverts efforts. This does see the benefit of the reborn trainers knocking a few names off the list of Paldea Pokémon they have to obtain, but they lose out on a gym battle. There's also hints that Dawn is suspicious of Raifort, but ultimately nothing will come of this as it's just a reference to how she's a bit shady in the games when it comes to dealing with the Treasures of Ruin.
Anyway, the next chapter will see The Jelly-Filled Donut arrive at Grusha's gym in the Glaseado Mountains. There, Dawn, Kenny, and Trip will take turns in dealing with the last gym leader that the Pladea region has to offer. But just because Grusha is the last gym leader in Paldea for the reborn trainers to deal with doesn't mean that he's the last thing before anything considered 'post game' is brought about. You'll see next time, but until then take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Benimaru (male Skeledirge), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian), Roll (female Banette; shiny), Fangfang (Yveltal), Tsukune (Palkia)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Elay (male Sandslash; Kantonian; shiny), Delirious (male Mimikyu; totem), Black (Giratina), Panther (female Meowscarada), Zarbon (male Machamp)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Empoleon), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Kululu (male Greninja), Deelia (Dialga), Launchpad (male Quaquaval), Shippo (male Greavard)
Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Dragonite (male), Lucario (female), Umbreon (male; shiny), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny)