Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai

Chapter Three-hundred and one: Kitakami Conniption, part one

The crew of The Jelly-Filled Donut, after the reborn trainers have had time to work with and train all of their Paradox Pokémon, flew back to Naranja Academy at the request of Geeta, who is the top Champion of Paldea and head of the School Board in Paldea. Dawn, who was wanting to look into the threats posed by Team Scorn, wasn't exactly sure what it was that Geeta wanted, but if it was something that Dawn would rule as a pure luxury with no benefit, she'll be annoyed.

Dawn had the flying ship land in a clearing in the field behind the academy, where the academy's track field was located. After Dawn and the usual people who came off the ship with her got off, she had the drawbridge raised back up; she wanted to prevent the spoiled brats of the school from even being able to get aboard her vessel. They had tried many times before, and only once were they able to succeed but only due to special circumstances that required them to be hidden.

"I'll call for the drawbridge to be lowered when we're ready to come back aboard," Dawn said to Heath, Mitch, John, and Lance before she and the others who were on the ground went into the school. With Heath nodding once in understanding, Dawn's group took off into Naranja Academy.

...

Inside of Naranja Academy, Dawn and her group saw Geeta, some blonde lady they didn't know, and Jacq talk to a group of a dozen Naranja Academy students. Dawn noted that among the students were Rimu, Penny, Arven, and Nemona. Dawn also spotted several spoiled brat types who are not the kind of persons that she wants aboard The Jelly-Filled Donut. Turning to look at Geeta, Dawn asked, "What are with all of the students here?"

"This is the group of Naranja Academy students who had been chosen for going on the trip to Kitakami," said the blonde lady.

Gesturing to the blonde lady, Trip asked, "And who are you?"

Gesturing to herself, the blonde lady said, "My name is Briar, and I'm a teacher at Blueberry Academy."

"And what's Blueballs Academy like?" Kenny asked.

"Blueberry Academy," corrected the now identified Briar.

Shrugging, Kenny said, "Berries can be a kind of ball."

"Blueberry Academy is a sort of like Naranja Academy's sister school," Jacq began to explain, "It's located over in the Unova region."

"Isn't Unova still being roasted in inter-regional news?" Mina asked.

"Yes but that's besides the point," Briar replied, "Anyway, this trip to Kitakami is meant to help bring Naranja and Blueberry closer together. Coincidentally, some Blueberry Academy students are natives of Kitakami."

"Ms. Briar also said that we'll arrive in time for some manner of festival," Arven spoke up.

That piqued Dawn's interest, it only a little. "A festival, huh?"

Walking up to Dawn's group, Jacq said, "There's also some species of Pokémon native exclusively to Kitakami. I have some base info on them here, but nothing substantial. I was hoping your group would be willing to capture some of those exclusive species and bring them back for study." Jacq then handed Dawn a small packet of papers stapled together.

The chance to capture new species of Pokémon was appealing enough to Dawn for her to consider going to Kitakami after all. "There's also rumor that Team Scorn is having operations in Kitakami," Geeta said, "Given that Naranja Academy students are going there on what's an out of region trip, they'll need protection if Team Scorn is there in Kitakami. It's part of the reason why some of the strongest trainers among the Naranja Academy student body such as Nemona, Penny, and Arven were added to the students going."

Pointing at Rimu, Kenny asked, "What about my worthy adversary Rimu there? He's bound to be the strongest trainer among the Naranja Academy student body."

"He naturally won the raffle to go on the Kitakami trip," Jacq explained, "Although given that you are right about Rimu's strength and skill as a trainer, even if he didn't win the raffle he'd still go as part of the in-student protection detail."

"Do the students have their own way to get to Kitakami?" Sho spoke up, "Or did you think you can get away with promising them passage on Captain Dawn's flying ship? Because one I highly doubt Dawn would be willing to grant most students at Naranja Academy passage on her flying ship, and two even if she was willing I'm not sure twelve students can be managed easily."

"Make that twelve students and a teacher," Briar said, "I'm going as well."

Throwing his hands into the air, Sho said, "Thirteen people! Either way it's too much for the flying ship that Dawn let Kenny name!"

"We couldn't afford tickets for Rimu, Nemona, Arven, and Penny," Geeta said while she gestured to Rimu's group. That left just eight students who all did look like said spoiled brat types. "I was hoping you'd be able to give these four students passage on your flying ship," Geeta went on, an apologetic look on her face.

"Okay," Leona said, "We know Rimu, Nemona, Penny, and Arven, and we know they aren't like the kinds of students here who think they're the top dog Pokémon around here."

"But me and those in my social class here at Naranja Academy ARE the top dog Pokémon around here," said one of the spoiled brat type girls.

Giving a dry look, Leona said in a likewise tone, "...My point exactly."

To the students that Geeta was asking her to give passage to, Dawn said, "I hope you guys are already packed. If so, we'll leave as soon as it's time to go." The students who were going along all gave happy cheers, aside from Rimu and Penny who remained calm and collected. Within short order, the students all shipped out to go on the trip to Kitakami.

After a long flight, the students arrived in Kitakami. The Jelly-Filled Donut arrived shortly before the students going by plane, so they landed and settled near a community center in the main town. After everyone got off of the flying ship, Dawn said it'd be prudent to feed their respective Pokémon as there wasn't much chance to do so during the flight. As such, the entire crew had a bit of a picnic lunch outside in front of the flying ship.

This saw that Dawn, Kenny, and Trip each had four each of their respective Paradox Pokémon on hand. Dawn in addition to Chi-Chi and Tsukune had Diablo who is her Iron Valiant, Yae her Slither Wing, Miyabi her Iron Moth, and Veldora her Koraidon. Trip in addition to Myde and Deelia had URL his Iron Jugulis, Donbot his Iron Hands, Robot Santa his Iron Bundle, and Villetta his Miraidon.

Kenny in addition to Roshi and Black had Mechazilla his Iron Thorns, Manny his Great Tusk, Hizashi his Scream Tail, and Azhdaha his Iron Boulder. "Yeah, I'm planning on doing special training for Mechazilla to help it avoid the pitfall that Godzilla normally falls right into," Kenny said as all of the various Paradox Pokémon were cared for.

"And what pitfall is that?" Trip asked, "Having its butt handed to it in battle by a fully evolved starter Pokémon belonging to a Team Scorn Admin?"

"...Yes..." Kenny said, his embarrassed tone denoting a hint of defeat.

It was as the crew of The Jelly-Filled Donut were feeding their Pokémon that they heard a female voice call out, "So you guys are part of the trip from Naranja Academy that I heard was coming here to Kitakami on a field trip!" The crew all turned to see that two people were approaching them; an older teen girl with long dark hair and she wore a blue school uniform, and a young teen boy who also had dark hair but his was roughly chin length, and his outfit was white.

Gesturing to herself, the girl said, "The name's Carmine, and I-"

"-Need to quit fucking bullying your younger brother Kieran and let him be his own person for fucking once," Rimu interrupted, the pissed off, snarling look on his face surprising everyone.

The now identified Carmine sputtered a bit due to being caught by surprise. "What do you even know about my family?!" Carmine snarled, "I'll have you know that-"

"-Your grandparents told me everything about how you treat and interact with Kieran over the times I spoke with them over the phone when I called Kieran," Rimu interrupted, his expression and tone still showing off a snarling look that made it clear he was unamused with Carmine, "You are an absolute monster of an older sister, and don't try denying it."

"Wait a minute Rimu," Dawn said, "You know the boy with that Carmine girl?"

Nodding once, Rimu said, "Yeah, that's Kieran. He's a friend of mine, I met him in the past. He told me about how his older sister is oppressive and what his grandparents told me further backs up the claim. Their sibling relationship is pretty much the opposite of what I had with Allison back when she was still alive."

Surprisingly, Rhyanna spoke up. "Is it true, Carmine? Are you oppressing your younger brother?" The hint in Rhyanna's tone and expression spoke of past follies of hers being brought back up and thrown into her face, reminding her of how she used to be.

Getting frustrated, Carmine said, "I don't oppress him or bully him or anything! It's not like I hit him, alright?!"

Rhyanna arched a wry eyebrow at Carmine. "You speak and act as if you expect a medal for that. There's more to being a nice older sister to your younger brother than simply refraining from hitting him. You've got to let him be his own person."

"I do let Kieran be his own person, you damn dirty foreigner!" Carmine snapped, "Isn't that right, Kieran?" The now identified Kieran opened his mouth, but before he was able to get one word out, Carmine cut him off and said, "Exactly! I'm right as always!"

"You just kept him from speaking his own words," Rhyanna went on, "And what's with the 'damn dirty foreigners' bit just now?"

Pointing an accusing finger at the crew of The Jelly-Filled Donut, Carmine said, "People from outside of Kitakami are trying to turn my homeland here into nothing more than a tourist attraction for their rich, spoiled upper class snobs to tread all over! I won't stand for it! Kitakami is my home, and I refuse to let it be ruined so!"

Rhyanna narrowed her gaze at Carmine. "...You remind me of... a more extreme version of what I used to be with my own younger brother Mitchell. Or a version of me that was never corrected. I'm warning you right now, if you keep up how your sibling relationship with your younger brother works right now, then nothing but disaster will await you in the future."

"I'd listen to this Rhyanna lady if I were you, Carmine," Rimu said, "Take it from a boy who actually had an always healthy sibling relationship with his own older sister. The way you're acting is not the best way to act as an older sister."

Growling with frustration, Carmine snapped, "Like hell I'll let a bunch of damn dirty foreigners tell me how to be a proper older sister to my brat of a little brother! I think the best way to put you in your place is by beating you in a Pokémon battle!"

Dawn was about to speak up, but stopped short when Rhyanna stepped up. "Sounds fair. I'll take you on." The rest of the crew wasn't sure what was going on here, but Dawn had a feeling that the reason that Rhyanna was accepting Carmine's challenge was due to how Carmine reminded her of how she had admittedly been keeping Mitchell down before Dawn and Kenny helped him break free and stand on his own.

Rhyanna was wanting to confront her past, confront what she could have become and overcome it to prove she's better now than what she used to be. Dawn was aware that Rhyanna had trained her team and expanded it a bit, so hopefully it'll be enough as the battle between two older sisters to show whose philosophy in working with younger brothers is the right one.

When everything was ready and everyone else called back their Pokémon, Rhyanna and Carmine had their battle in front of the rec center in the main town in Kitakami. "This'll be a three on three battle if you're okay with that," Carmine said, her expression telling that she was sure she was going to be winning this battle.

Nodding once, Rhyanna said, "That's fine."

Smirking in amusement, Carmine said, "I hope you're ready to eat dirt! Go, Poochyena!" Carmine's first Pokémon turned out to be a Poochyena.

Tossing up a Pokéball, Rhyanna said, "Go, Mismagius!" Coming out as Rhyanna's first Pokémon was her Mismagius, having evolved from her Midreavus. Dawn and Kenny recalled how Rhyanna had wanted to evolve Misdreavus into Mismagius for a specific reason in the past that wouldn't have fixed things at all with Mitchell, but now she had done so because she wanted to try to catch up to the level her little brother had gotten to.

Pointing forward, Carmine said, "This ought to be a snap since I got the type advantage here! Poochyena, use Crunch!"

"Mismagius, use Magical Leaf!" Rhyanna called out. As Poochyena ran at Mismagius to bite down hard on it, Mismagius conjured glowing leaves that flew at and pelted Poochyena hard, flinging it back and actually knocking it out. Looking at Carmine, Rhyanna said evenly, "I'd say that the first of your three Pokémon has gone down."

Growling in frustration, Carmine recalled her fainted Poochyena and sent out her next Pokémon, a Kantonian Vulpix. "Vulpix, use Flamethrower!" Carmine called out.

"Mismagius, use Power Gem!" Rhyanna ordered. Both Pokémon cast their attacks, but Mismagius was the quicker and its attack, despite not getting S.T.A.B unlike Vulpix's Flamethrower, pushed the Flamethrower back and went on to strike Vulpix, knocking it out with super effective damage.

Once more, Carmine called back her fainted Pokémon and sent out her third for the battle, her last for the battle. "Go, Poltchageist!" The heroes were surprised by Poltchageist, a species they had never seen before. It looked like a little jar for tea with a lid, it had green tea arms and held a little stick for tea, and it had a face on it resembling Sinistea and Polteageist.

"What sort of Pokémon is that?" Rhyanna asked, "I've never seen one before!"

Smirking in amusement, Rhyanna said, "It's a dual dark ghost type with the Wonder Guard ability, so chances are you got nothing even capable of-"

"It's dual ghost grass with an ability that can heal allies in tag battles," Kieran called from the side, "My older sister is obviously trying to cheat and psyche you out due to being annoyed she's losing!"

Turning to face Kieran, Carmine scowled, "Quit tripping me up, you little brat!"

Rhyanna was getting even more displeased with Carmine as time went on. "Mismagius, use Shadow Ball!"

Turning quickly, Carmine said, "Poltchageist, use Shadow Ball as well!" Both ghosts conjured and cast their Shadow Balls, but Mismagius had greater power, its Shadow Ball plowed through that of Poltchageist and went on to strike Poltchageist itself, knocking it out and winning the battle for the older sister who's trying to be a better older sister.

As Carmine recalled her fainted Poltchageist, Rhyanna said to her, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Giving Rhyanna a mildly surprised look, Carmine said, "What? Annoyed I tried to psyche you out by taking advantage of stuff you didn't know?"

"That only mildly annoyed me at best," Rhyanna replied. Pointing to where Kieran stood, Rhyanna went on, "What really pisses me off is the way you're treating your little brother there! Your claim of not bullying him is contradicted by pretty much every interaction I've seen you have with him, not to mention you've called him a brat at least twice! Do your parents know how you're treating him?"

"No because they died in an accident when I was five," Kieran spoke up, catching everyone off guard, "Carmine and I have been raised by our grandparents ever since. They're aware to a degree how Carmine treats me, but she's careful to not let them see the really harsh stuff, like how Carmine had forced me to get rid of my Furret and forced me to tell our grandparents that I did so willingly and it was my own idea."

The eyes of the reborn trainers, as well as some of their crew, turned to look at Carmine. "You made your little brother get rid of one of his Pokémon?" Dawn scowled, "What in the name of Odin is wrong with you?!"

"Furrets are evil!" Carmine exclaimed, surprising the heroes by how she genuinely both looked and sounded freaked, "Especially the wild shiny Furret living in the wilds here in Kitakami! That thing is a pure monster! I was afraid Kieran would try pranking me with his Furret by tricking me into thinking it's the evil shiny one showing up!"

"There's a wild shiny Furret in Kitakami that is supposedly monstrous," Kenny said skeptically, "What, it is some sort of undead, or biologically alive but horrifically mutated?"

Gently shaking his head, Kieran said, "No, it's a perfectly normal living breathing Furret, the only notable thing about it being that it's a shiny."

"It eats jugulars!" Carmine exclaimed, still looking and sounding freaked out, "Me, Kieran, and some friends of mine from Blueberry Academy were in the forest in the north-eastern part of Kitakami, and we saw that monstrous shiny Furret maul a wild Grimmsnarl to death! We ran like hell to get the hell out of there after that!"

"Crispin saw that they were fighting over a pile of berries," Kieran pointed out, "My guess is that it was a wild battle over food that just turned incredibly violent."

"Did... did a wild Furret really kill a wild Grimmsnarl over food?" Dawn asked, sounding and looking skeptical that a Furret of all things supposedly did what Carmine was claiming.

Before Carmine could speak up, the voice of Briar called out, "Oi, Carmine and Kieran! I see you two met part of the field trip from Naranja Academy in the Paldea region!" The heroes and two Kitakami siblings turned to see Briar come on in with the rest of the field trip from Naranja Academy.

After reaching the group, Briar said to Carmine and Kieran while pointing at Rimu's group, "Yeah, those four are part of the field trip from Naranja Academy. They just got a lift here to Kitakami from the group working with Sinnoh Champion Dawn Berlitz due to Naranja Academy lacking the funds to cover the round trip for the whole group."

Kieran nodded once in understanding. "Yeah, Rimu told me about it before he and his friends arrived. He and I know each other from before."

"Ah, that helps," Briar said, "Well anyway, the first part of the field trip is to split into pairs and take a self guided tour of Kitakami while looking for the three signs that tell the story of the Loyal Three and their fight against the Ogre." Briar went into the community center nearby, allowing the students to do things on their own.

Turning to look at Rimu's group and the siblings from Kitakami, one of the spoiled brat siblings said, "Well I think that the self guided tour ought to include a tour of that flying shi-"

"Heath, Mitch, John, Lance," Dawn began, "Go back onto The Jelly-Filled Donut, and don't let anyone who I don't approve of on board. Anyone who I don't approve of that manages to get on anyway is to be removed by force." The four men, all much closer, managed to get onto the ship before any of the spoiled brat students from Naranja Academy even got halfway to the flying ship.

Pointing an accusing finger at Dawn, the first spoiled brat student said, "You're being stingy!"

"And you and your ilk keep trying to force your way into what is the home of me and my crew," Dawn countered, "Besides, that Briar lady said to go on a self guided tour of Kitakami. The Jelly-Filled Donut is NOT part of that self-guided tour." The spoiled brat students relented for the time being and paired up to go on the self guided tours.

As for Rimu's group, Nemona said, "So how will we split in pairs? I say that I go with Rimu, he's my rival and the strongest-"

"I was going to pick either Penny or Kieran," Rimu said, "Whichever one wants to go with me. I'd take both with me but Briar said pairs, so only two to a group."

Penny was about to speak up, but was interrupted by Carmine saying, "Actually, Kieran should go with Kenny Harris."

Kenny turned to look at Carmine, gave her a dry look. "...But I'm a chaperone at best, not an actual part of the field trip group."

"We do need to explore Kitakami so we can see what all Pokémon are native here," Trip said, "Catching ones we don't have yet."

"And how do you know Kenny?" Mina asked.

Pointing to Kenny, Carmine said, "Because he's the mind behind the Kenny Harris Studios movies. Me, my friends at Blueberry Academy, and Kieran all love those movies! We even saw the latest one where internet personality Iono had a bit role as a girl working at a restaurant in the Alola region!"

"Yeah, that movie in question is actually a 'based off of a true story' type movie," Kenny explained.

Hands on her hips, Carmine said, "What I'd like to know is how you got that Serena girl to go from super fat to fine and slender within the time of making that movie!"

Kenny was about to speak up, but Kieran cut in by saying, "Carmine, it's obvious that the production of Fighting for Fitness had Dawn wear a fat suit and a wig to play the role of Serena while she was fat, then switched in the real Serena near the end."

"Don't make up stories, Kieran!" Carmine snapped, giving her little brother an annoyed, frustrated look.

"Actually, Kieran is exactly right," Kenny said, "That is literally what we did." Turning to Kieran, Kenny said, "You just joined an exclusive club of persons who got it right the first time that a fat suit was used, most folks like your sister tend to believe that persons in my movies who use fat suits are actually fat for real."

Nodding once, Kieran who had a hint of appreciation in his expression said, "Thanks. Anyway, I would like to battle you anyway, if that's okay." Kenny agreed, and thus the two got to battling.

...

Kenny and Kieran stood facing off against one another, ready to battle. Kieran said he only had two Pokémon, so Kenny agreed to use only two of his. Tossing up a Pokéball, Kieran called out, "Go, Gligar!"

After Kieran's Gligar came out, Kenny tossed up a Pokéball while saying, "Okay, Mechazilla! Let's make it cringe!" Kenny's first Pokémon of choice for the battle was his named Iron Thorns. Pointing forward, Kenny said, "Mechazilla, use Ice Punch!"

"Gligar, use X-Scissor!" Kieran called out. The two Pokémon rushed one another, but Mechazilla was able to slug Gligar with a fist glowing with a sphere of icy cold energy, flinging it to the ground where it laid knocked out. Kieran called his Gligar back and sent out his last Pokémon, a Yanma.

Pointing forward, Kieran said, "Yanma, use Bug Buzz!"

"Mechazilla, use Rock Tomb!" Kenny ordered.

As Yanma buzzed loudly to send the sound waves forward, Mechazilla made large rocks fall down from the air upon Yanma, striking it down and knocking it out, winning the battle for Kenny. "Wowzers," Kieran said as he recalled his fainted Yanma, "You're not just great at making movies, you're also a strong trainer."

Kenny recalled his named Iron Thorns, said to Kieran, "Thanks for the vote of confidence. And I think it'd be great to tour Kitakami with a native resident, they ought to know the place like the back of their hand." Kieran gave a single nod of acknowledgement, glad that Kenny was showing so much faith in him.

... Kieran can't say the same about his older sister.

Later, the reborn trainers and Kieran went to Loyalty Plaza. There, they found a sign that had writing on it plus some silhouettes of a few things chasing another thing. Dawn, Trip, and Mina were able to tag along as they and Kenny technically aren't actual members of the field trip. "So what's the story of the Loyal Three and the Ogre?" Dawn asked.

"A long time ago," Kieran began, "There was a fearsome Ogre in the land of Kitakami. It made its home in the mountain behind the village, frightening all who ventured there. One day, the Ogre came down from the mountain in a terrible rage, causing great fear in the village. By some stroke of luck, Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti all happened to be there as well."

Kieran walked up to the sign telling the story at Loyalty Plaza. "The three Pokémon laid down their lives to fend off the Ogre and send it back to the Mountain. In admiration, the people of the village bestowed upon this brave trio the title 'the Loyal Three'. Their remains were given a proper burial, and statues of the three were erected above the sight."

"So a trio of Pokémon fought off an Ogre to save the village from the Ogre's rampage, getting killed in the process," Trip said.

Kieran nodded in the affirmative, then turned his attention to an open area at Loyalty Plaza. "The monument for the Loyal Three is right over there." Turning to look at the reborn trainers, Kieran said, "But don't any of you guys think that the Ogre from the story is kind of... you know... cool?"

"Que?" Mina asked, sounding and looking mildly confused.

"I mean, it was all on its own," Kieran said, "In a three on one fight! But it still was able to hold its own! That's way cool!" Gently shaking his head, Kieran went on, "But I guess that most people would think that the Ogre is scary."

"Considering it came down from the mountain with a thorn in its coin purse," Kenny began with a dry look, "And it apparently killed three Pokémon who fought it off in defense of a village, I think it's safe to say that most folks would think it's scary, or at least a bona fide bad guy."

Kieran turned to look at the mountain near Loyalty Plaza. "When I was younger, I'd go up to the Mountain there," Kieran began, "All on my own, and never once met the Ogre. The only frightful thing about those trips were Carmine giving me an earful every time I got back. Then again she's always chomping at the bit for an excuse to bully me, so that's not surprising." Turning to look at the reborn trainers, Kieran said, "So anyway, we're supposed to take photos of when we visit these signs."

As the pair technically was supposed to be just Kenny and Kieran, it was just them with the sign between them, and the others stood outside of the photo which Dawn took. "The photo looks good," Kieran said, "Anyway, I think we can take a brief lunch break. I got some sandwiches, so-"

Kieran was cut off when both Veldora and Villetta came out of their balls on their own, surprising Dawn and Trip as the two Paradox dragons walked up to Kieran, surprising him although they only sniffed at him like curious creatures hoping for food. "...They heard you say sandwich," Kenny said, "I think they want some." Both the named Koraidon and named Miraidon cried out in agreement.

Kieran settled down. "...You and your friends sure are strong, Kenny. Anyway, after we eat, I say we go to Kitakami Hall. It's where the next sign is located." Agreeing, the group ate some food and took a bit of a rest at Loyalty Plaza before heading out. As the group ate, Dawn occasionally looked to the monument erected for the Loyal Three, the trio of Pokémon who were killed defending a village from the wrath of the Ogre.

She wondered what kind of Pokémon they were, exactly.

Later, the reborn trainers and Kieran made their way to Kitakami Hall. A number of stalls set up for a festival were there along the straight path that led to the little shrine. Kieran showed the reborn trainers past all of that and over to where the second sign detailing the story of the Loyal Three and the Ogre was located. "Well, here's the sign," Kieran said, "A bit tricky to find if you haven't been here to the shrine before, huh?"

"What is the tale this sign has to share, oh keeper of lore?" Kenny asked.

Turning to face the sign, Kieran read from it. "The Ogre possessed four mysterious, glimmering masks. It is said that depending on the mask the Ogre donned, the powers of its cudgel would change. When wearing the Teal Mask, it could bring life back into withered greenery around it. When wearing the Crimson Mask, it could turn a candle's flame into a raging inferno. When wearing the Blue Mask, it could stop the very flow of a river. When wearing the Ashen Gray Mask, it could easily break the hardest stone in two."

Nodding once as the reborn trainers listened on, Kieran continued, "Before the Loyal Three fell, they wrested away three of the Ogre's masks, greatly weakening it." Turning to look at the reborn trainers, Kieran went on, "The masks that the Loyal Three managed to steal from the Ogre are kept over at Kitakami Hall. I know that pretty much everyone in town is scared of the Ogre, with Carmine only being more scared of that shiny Furret that lives out in the wilds of Kitakami. For my part, I actually kind of like the Ogre."

"Hey, I need to you bare with me on this one," Mina began, "When the crew and I were in Paldea, getting ready to bring Rimu and his posse to Kitakami because Naranja Academy couldn't afford tickets for everyone, we were told that Team Scorn was showing signs of being active in Kitakami. What if they are, and they hear about the masks that the Loyal Three took from the Ogre? You think that they might be interested in stealing the masks?"

Kieran looked concerned for a moment, then shook his head as if to try to banish all doubt. "...If they are here and try that, I hope that the Ogre comes out to stop them," Kieran said, "I mean, the Ogre is strong... and cool... it didn't care that it was shunned by everyone..." Dawn was feeling that Kieran was liking the Ogre in the story because he felt a sort of admiration for it, sort of wishing he was like how he views the Ogre to be.

"I've always wanted to be like that, ever since I was a kid," Kieran said, "I wanted to be as cool as the Ogre. I still do. My sister always ends up doing everything for me, even at school, not giving me a chance to make my own choices. She wouldn't even allow me to-"

*CRASH*

Kieran was cut off when he and the others heard a crashing noise from the area of the stalls, making them all turn to look to see where the crashing noise came from. "That sounded like it had come from the direction of the balloon popping game Carmine claims to be tops in," Kieran said as he and the others all ran out to investigate.

When they arrived, the reborn trainers and Kieran saw, to their shock, that half a dozen Team Scorn grunts, led by Captain Jack and his Captain's Assistant Crow, were terrorizing the area. "Alright, boys!" Jack called out to the men under his authority, "Let's see if Kitakami would be a good testing ground for Team Scorn's plans for the future!"

Before the Team Scorn members could do much though, they were rushed by Diablo, Mechazilla, Villetta, and a shiny Jolteon. The named Miraidon made an Electric Terrain appear suddenly without actually using the move, and the Electric Terrain powered up all of the Pokémon charging at the members of Team Scorn; even Jolteon's Thunderbolt seemed stronger despite it not being one of the Future Paradox Pokémon.

The members of Team Scorn fought back, but the Pokémon that the heroes sent out against them were simply too much. Villetta in particular struck down both of Jack's Pokémon, albeit one at a time as he sent them out one at a time. Diablo seemed particularly keen on doing well as it was working under Dawn's orders.

Dawn had to admit that Diablo, despite it wanting to be her servant making her a bit put off as she valued her Pokémon above that, was simply amazing in battle. A phenomenal physical attack and speed stat, combined with a fighting fairy dual typing Dawn had never seen before and was eager to make use of, made the named Iron Valiant a Pokémon that Dawn was seeing is quite effective to use against her enemies.

Within due time, the members of Team Scorn were defeated and recalled the last of their Pokémon to be defeated in battle. "Damn it, we're going to have to fall back!" Jack swore, before recalling his Sharpedo so he and his men with him could all flee. They used smoke grenades to cover their fleeing from the area. When the smoke settled, the reborn trainers saw that they were all gone. With the exception of the game Kieran said Carmine was tops in, everything was relatively untouched by the wrath of Team Scorn.

As the heroes settled down, Kieran said, "W-Wowzers, you guys really are stro-"

*BAM*

"Grahhhhh!"

Kieran was cut off when Mechazilla was attacked along its side by a Shadow Ball, surprising the heroes. "Aha! You damn dirty foreigners really ARE up to no good!" Carmine said as she and her Poltchageist came running up, "You're raising a ruckus here at the festival!"

"Carmine, they just fought off Team Scorn who were the real ones causing trouble!" Kieran pointed out.

"Don't make up stories to cover the sorry rears of these damn dirty foreigners, Kieran!" Carmine snapped, shaking her fists in frustration.

"Actually young lady, the lad is right!" said a person running a shaved ice stall, "Team Scorn really WAS here raising a ruckus! These foreign kids fought them off just now!" A number of other persons running stalls at the festival were with the shaved ice guy and all backed up his word.

Carmine, looking caught off guard, was about to say something, but stopped short when Mechazilla struck her Poltchageist down with Ice Punch. "Hey! What was that for?!" Carmine snapped.

"It attacked Mechazilla for no good reason!" Kenny snapped, "What, did you think that you could get away scot free with unjustly attacking one of my Pokémon?"

"Yes," Carmine answered bluntly. The reborn trainers and Kieran sighed in resigned annoyance, able to tell things were going to be complicated even WITHOUT Team Scorn being involved. But that group of dangerous inter-regional criminals getting involved added a layer of crazy that upped how complicated things were going to be. Dawn worried that something else was going to crop up to make things even more of a mess in Kitakami than they already stood to be.

...

Out in the wilds of Kitakami, in the grassy area in the southeastern area of the Kitakami landmass, a pair of Ariadoses were taking from a pile of berries as they ate. As the two spider Pokémon ate, they heard a rustling sound coming from a nearby bush. They both turned their attention to see what was making the noise, see who was interrupting their meal. Chances are it wasn't even a threat and it was just a random wild Pokémon trying to move through the bushes as a shortcut of sorts.

Then a Pokémon did come out of the rustling bushes, and it was a wild shiny Furret. Aside from being shiny, this Furret looked and seemed like any other Furret. Happy, innocent looking, and its cute expression was like that of any other Furret. "Furret," said the wild shiny Furret, as if it were just saying hello.

The two Ariadoses, however, both suddenly looked like they were shaken, frightened to their cores. They both only desired at the time to not just flee but to do so as fast as possible. There was something about the shiny Furret that... that just unsettled them. As such, they both turned around and ran straight north, in the direction of the Timeless Woods, leaving their pile of berries alone. The both of them felt it was necessary if they were to continue to stay alive.

The shiny Furret, its cute expression unchanging, simply said, "Furret." It then bounded over to the abandoned pile of berries and began to dig in.

END, CHAPTER THREE-HUNDRED AND ONE

Author's notes;

This chapter kicks off the adapting of the Teal Mask shenanigans, with a few things changed to adjust for additional characters as well as what's in store for the future of this story. Additionally, the sibling dynamic between Carmine and Kieran will be the same more or less, but more intense due to Carmine being a bit harsher here due to a combination of factors, such as her and Kieran's parents confirmed to be dead and the fact Paldea's wealthy elite are essentially proving Carmine's worries about what foreigners are going to do to Kitakami valid (you'll see more of that later).

Carmine is also going to help show off character development for Rhyanna, who had a similar (but not as harsh) sibling relationship with Mitchell before Dawn and her friends in Sinnoh fixed things. As such, Carmine battles in the Teal Mask shenanigans will be handled by Rhyanna here while it will be Kenny doing the Kieran battles. But in addition to doing the Teal Mask story stuff, the heroes will also have to deal with Team Scorn showing up, saying that Kitakami would be used as a 'testing ground' of sorts. There's also the shiny Furret that has Carmine pissing herself in fright over.

Things will continue in the next chapter from where the reborn trainers left off here. Until then, take care.

Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Tsukune (Palkia), Diablo (Iron Valiant), Yae (Slither Wing), Miyabi (Iron Moth), Veldora (Koraidon)

Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Black (Giratina), Mechazilla (Iron Thorns), Manny (Great Tusk), Hizashi (Scream Tail), Azhdaha (Iron Boulder)

Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Empoleon), Deelia (Dialga), URL (Iron Jugulis), Donbot (Iron Hands), Robot Santa (Iron Bundle), Villetta (Miraidon)

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)