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-two: The Masters Eight tournament, part four
The World Coronation Series was winding down, as the finals of the Masters Eight tournament, the end of the season and the event that will determine who be ending things as the officially ranked strongest trainer in the world, had just been announced. Ash Ketchum, a trainer from Pallet Town, Kanto and the current Champion of Alola, and Ideku Badorigo, the roaming trainer from Johto and former Champion of Unova before the xenophobic ideals of Unovan natives got him booted from the seat.
The current season of the World Coronation Series is the most viewed to date, it has seen better and higher ratings than any past season. This is in no small part due to the folks running things doing what they could to up ratings as high as possible to make up for the previous season having such poor ratings comparatively. The efforts of the show runners have paid off in spades, given that they had highlighted certain trainers and pushed for certain things. As such, this season had broken several records.
A big Pokémon tournament it may be, it's still a televised event, and that means ratings will be valued greatly. But that's not here nor there. The reborn trainers, as they got ready to view the final battle of the Masters Eight tournament on the TV in the hospital room Dawn got because her old friend asthma decided to come back to her, were looking on as each of them wondered which one between Ash and Ideku will be taking home the title that Dawn's aforementioned friend had made her drop.
"Given that Ash had only used Pokémon he either brought with him from his previous journey to the current one or Pokémon he's caught during his current journey," Mina began, "That really limits what all options that he has. As for Ideku, he's been shown to use Pokémon that he's caught during all points in his journey as a trainer. He's even made generous use of both Enamorus and Zekrom. As far as I can tell, things are favoring Ideku."
Trip turned to look at Mina. "Are you saying that Ash is gonna lose?"
"I never said that Ash is gonna lose," Mina replied, "I'm just saying things are favoring Ideku from what all I can see. Ash still has a shot, the dude has proven that he's full of surprises."
Dawn, as she sat up in her hospital bed, nodded in agreement. "Mina's right. Ash is strong, but he is also facing some rather steep odds." Ash could have tried to mix things up by rotating in Pokémon from past regions he's journeyed through, but no; Dawn was able to confirm that Ash is only making use of a roster consisting of Pikachu, Melmetal, Naganadel, Dragonite, Gengar, Dracovish, Lucario, and Sirfetch'd. There's nothing wrong with such a lineup, and Dawn would agree that there are a few choice options there.
But a sharp minded trainer who caught on to Ash sticking to using only those eight can form a strategy to beat whatever mix from those eight that Ash decides to field. And Ideku has proven that he is a sharp minded trainer many times over. Ash is going to have to pull some, as Kenny puts it, dank shenanigans if he wants to have any sort of chance of overcoming the roaming trainer from Johto, especially as said roaming trainer not only has multiple legendary Pokémon but no reason to not use them.
The reborn trainers all looked to the TV, watching as the finals of the Masters Eight tournament were kicked off, and Ash and Ideku would battle one another to determine who between them will end the season as the strongest trainer in the world.
Over at Wyndon Stadium, the cheers in the crowd reached a fever pitch as Ash and Ideku took their places on the pitch, facing down one another. Ash looked ready for the ultimate challenge, while Ideku had a cool, calculating, borderline emotionless expression. Both of them were aiming to walk away a winner, but only one of them will get to do so. But who the victor will end up being can only be determined by the battle they were about to have.
"This final round battle in this Masters Eight tournament for the current season's World Coronation Series will see Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, Kanto face off against Ideku Badodigo of Cherrywood City, Johto!" the referee announced, "This will be a single style battle where each trainer may use their full party of Pokémon! Substitutions are allowed at any time, and the last trainer with any of their Pokémon still able to battle will be declared the winner! Additionally, each trainer may only use one of either Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, or Dynamax slash Gigantimax during this battle! Now then!"
The cheers reached volumes thought impossible by many, as the combined cheering is said to be heard from the far opposite end of Wyndon. In the hospital room where the reborn trainers were watching, Dawn actually turned the volume on the TV down, and Kenny said he could hear the real cheering from Wyndon Stadium, as the hospital Dawn was taken to was located in Wyndon.
Dawn actually had to keep her eyes on the referee to see when to turn the volume back up as he would be giving the cue for the battle to begin. The cheering even got to the point that the audience had to be told to settle down and be quite so that the referee and the competing trainers would be able to hear what was going on. There was actually a short pause to give the audience time to zip it so the referee and the competing trainers could hear things.
Once things were quiet enough, the referee threw a hand into the air as he loudly declared, "BEGIN!"
"Dragonite, I choose you!" Ash called out as he sent in his Dragonite.
"Go, Axantor!" Ideku called out as he sent in his named Kleavor. Gesturing forward, Ideku ordered, "Axantor, use Stealth Rock!"
"Dragonite, use Dragon Dance!" Ash commanded. Both trainers spent their first attacks of the battle doing setup; Ash strengthening his Dragonite with Dragon Dance, whereas Ideku had his Kleavor set up an entry hazard move. Seeing this on TV, the reborn trainers were worried; the last time Ash and Ideku battled where Ideku had set up Stealth Rock (Dawn, Kenny, and Trip told Mina about it), it was that most potent of entry hazard moves that cost Ash the win. They could only hope for Ash's sake that he can avoid falling victim to it again.
After the setup was done, Ash called out, "Dragonite, use Dragon Claw!"
"Axantor return!" Ideku called out while swapping his Pokémon around, "Go, Cupidos!" Taking the place of the named Kleavor was the named Enamorus who, as a partial fairy type, was fully immune to dragon type attacks such as Dragonite's Dragon Claw. But although fairy Pokémon are immune to dragon attacks, dragon Pokémon are weak to fairy attacks. And it was obvious that Ideku intended to make full use of that unfair exchange.
Gesturing forward, Ideku called out, "Cupidos, use Moonblast!"
"Dragonite return!" Ash said as he called his Dragonite back, "Gengar, I choose you!" Coming out in place of Dragonite was Gengar who, in addition to taking Stealth Rock damage, also took Cupidos's Moonblast. But being part poison type whose other type doesn't mitigate poison's resistance to fairy allowed Gengar to tank the attack from its legendary foe. But that didn't change the fact that Enamorus IS a legendary Pokémon; even if it uses an attack that isn't very effective, it is STILL going to sting a little bit.
But Gengar was still strong, a testament to the skills, strength, and sheer faith of Ash who had made it to this highest of stages that any trainer could ever hope to reach. Gesturing forward, Ash called out, "Gengar, use Sludge Bomb!"
"Cupidos, use Extrasensory!" Ideku commanded.
Gengar, due to injuries from the damage it took thus far, wasn't able to outpace Cupidos on this occasion. The named Enamorus conjured its psychic assault on the partial poison type whose other type didn't make up for poison's weakness to psychic. The psychic assault wracked Gengar's head, shook its mind to its core, and caused Gengar to cry out in pain before it passed out, falling over onto the pitch and laying there in clear defeat.
"Gengar is unable to battle," the referee declared, "The winner is Enamorus!"
The crowds cheered as Ideku scored the first knock out, forcing Ash to call his fainted Gengar back before sending out his next Pokémon. "Melmetal, I choose you!" Ash said as he sent out the best answer he had for Enamorus, that being his Melmetal which was hurt a little by Stealth Rock. It was not all that much, but it WAS there.
"Cupidos return!" Ideku said as he swapped his Pokémon around, "Go, Hundemon!" Coming out in place of the named Enamorus was the named Houndoom, ready to face off against the mythical Pokémon standing before it as an opponent. But Ideku proceeded to Mega Evolve Hundemon into Mega Houndoom, so as to give it more oomph to help it stand up to so truly unique a foe. After the Mega Evolution was done, Ideku called out, "Hundemon, use Flamethrower!"
"Melmetal, use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
The two Pokémon cast their respective attacks which struck one another. Hundemon, although hurt, was able to avoid both the knock out and the paralysis. Melmetal was also able to avoid being knocked out, but it was burned by the Flamethrower. This was bad for Ash, as Melmetal was his main answer to Enamorus; with the burn, Melmetal's power was curbed. Gesturing forward, Ash called out, "Melmetal, use Thunderbolt!"
"Hundemon, use Roar!" Ideku commanded. Being quicker, Hundemon was able to loose a howling, spine chilling roar that shook Melmetal before it could attack, making it swap itself out and drag a random one of Ash's Pokémon out in its place. To the concern of the reborn trainers from where they were watching things on TV from Dawn's hospital room, it was Ash's Dragonite who had been dragged out. As such, when it took Stealth Rock damage, it lost health equal to one-fourth of its max health due to having a times two weakness to rock.
After Dragonite recovered from the sting of Stealth Rock, Ash called out, "Dragonite, use Draco Meteor!"
"Hundemon return!" Ideku said as he called his named Houndoom back, "Go, Cupidos!" Coming out in place of the named Houndoom was the named Enamorus. Once more, Enamorus's immunity to dragon attacks allowed Ideku to avoid damage to his Pokémon. Gesturing forward, Ideku called out, "Cupidos, use Moonblast!"
"Dragonite, use Hurricane!" Ash commanded.
The two Pokémon fired their attacks at one another, and both were struck. Cupidos was able to take the Hurricane fairly well but was confused by it as a result. But Dragonite, taking a powerful super effective attack from a legendary Pokémon, who got STAB on using said attack, and Dragonite was hurt already by Stealth Rock, ended up dropping from the air and slamming into the pitch, where it laid there in defeat.
"Dragonite is unable to battle," the referee declared, "The winner is Enamorus!"
Ash, as he recalled his second Pokémon to go down in the battle, was in a bad spot as none of Ideku's Pokémon had gone down yet. But Ash wasn't about to let such a disadvantage curb his hope of winning. Cupidos was still swaying around due to being confused, and there was also the Stealth Rock that Ideku had set up to take into account. With all that in mind, Ash knew what Pokémon to send out next.
"Lucario, I choose you!" Ash called out as he sent in his Lucario, who due to its dual fighting steel typing took minimal damage from Stealth Rock.
"Cupidos return," Ideku said, "Go Hundemon!" Even as the named Mega Evolved Houndoom came back out, Ash was already Mega Evolving his Lucario, ending the process with him having a Mega Lucario to stare down at the named Mega Houndoom. Gesturing forward, Ideku said, "Hundemon, use Flamethrower!"
"Lucario, counter with Aura Sphere!" Ash called out.
The two attacks ended up colliding into one another, causing a huge bursting explosion that made a large dark gray cloud of smoke. Gesturing forward again, Ash called out, "Lucario, use Aura Sphere! Straight ahead!"
"Hundemon, move around the cloud and use Flamethrower!" Ideku ordered.
The named Mega Houndoom ran around the cloud a bit as the Mega Lucario conjured and cast its Aura Sphere straight into the cloud. Hundemon took aim and fired its Flamethrower right at its opponent, getting it off just in time before the Aura Sphere shot into the cloud of smoke flew out through the side and blasted right into Hundemon. Both Mega Evolved Pokémon were hurt hard by the attacks that they took, and worse yet for Ash his Lucario was burned.
But Hundemon was on its last legs, similar to Lucario. After Lucario was hurt by its burn, Ash said, "Lucario, use Aura Sphere!"
"Hundemon, use Flamethrower!" Ideku called out.
Both Mega Evolved Pokémon fired their attacks at one another. Both were hit hard. Both were knocked out of both their Mega Evolutions and the battle as a whole. "Both Lucario and Houndoom are unable to battle," the referee declared, "This is a double knock out!"
Both trainers called back their respective fainted Pokémon, with Ash feeling more confident now that he was able to knock out one of Ideku's Pokémon. But he has two fresh Pokémon and one partly hurt and burned Pokémon left while Ideku has five Pokémon left, with only one having taken any damage so far out of the others. Things were looking tight for Ash, but he was determined to make a turn around.
Looking to his Pikachu, Ash asked, "You ready for this, buddy?" Pikachu gave an affirmative cry before he ran out onto the pitch at Ash's cue.
"Go, Meganie!" Ideku said as he sent out his named Meganium. After Pikachu was struck by the Stealth Rock, Ideku said, "Meganie, use Light Screen!"
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash commanded. As Pikachu with its tail shining like polished metal ran in towards the named Meganium, said Meganium set up a barrier that would curb the sting of special attacks. It didn't hinder Iron Tail's damage on Meganie, but it still had enough bulk to tank the attack from Pikachu anyway.
Gesturing forward, Ideku called out, "Meganie, use Giga Drain!"
"Pikachu, get back here!" Ash said, making Pikachu run back to him. Tossing up a Beast Ball, Ash called out, "Naganadel, I choose you!" Coming out in place of Pikachu was Naganadel, Ash's Ultra Beast, who took the Stealth Rock damage before being struck by a Giga Drain that hardly did much to the dual dragon poison type. Gesturing forward, Ash called out, "Naganadel, use Sludge Wave!"
"Meganie return," Ideku said as he swapped his Pokémon around, "Go, Axantor!" Taking the place of the named Meganium was the named Kleavor. Axantor was hit by the Sludge Wave and, although it was curbed by the Light Screen, it still hurt a bit, and it also poisoned Axantor. Gesturing forward, Ideku called out, "Axantor, use Stone Axe!"
"Naganadel return!" Ash said as he swapped his Pokémon around again, "Melmetal, I choose you!" Taking the place of Naganadel was Melmetal who was still burned, and it took Stealth Rock damage upon switching in. But it took both the Stealth Rock damage and the Stone Axe attack like a champ. Gesturing forward, Ash called out, "Melmetal, use Double Iron Bash!"
"Axantor, use X-Scissor!" Ideku called out. Both Pokémon were roughly as fast, but Melmetal despite its burn struck hard with a super effective attack that hit twice, letting it knock the named Kleavor away after getting hit by X-Scissor which it was able to tank well enough. After getting hit by the Double Iron Bash, Axantor hit the pitch and skidded for a bit before it came to a stop and showed that it was out of commission.
"Kleavor is unable to battle," the referee declared, "The winner is Melmetal!"
The audience cheered wildly as Ash was catching up to Ideku. After recalling his fainted Kleavor, Ideku sent his next Pokémon out with a cry of, "Go, Morlord!" Coming out to battle was Ideku's named Quagsire who, with its ground typing and resistance to most of what Melmetal was able to do, made it a valid choice. Gesturing forward, Ideku called out, "Morlord, use Earthquake!"
"Melmetal, use Double Iron Bash!" Ash called out.
Melmetal was able to rush in and do a decent hunk of damage to the named Quagsire. But the burn plus Morlord being resistant meant that it didn't do all that much. As for Melmetal, the Earthquake from Morlord did just enough damage so that it, combined with one last flare of pain from its burn, ended up knocking Melmetal out. "Melmetal is unable to battle," the referee declared, "The winner is Quagsire!"
Ash was forced to recall his fainted Melmetal, his main answer to Ideku's Enamorus. But he still had options, and refused to back down. To Ideku's surprise, Ash sent his Pikachu back in, who took more damage from Stealth Rock. Although he could tell Morlord had an advantage in this situation, Ideku knew better than to rest assured. As such, he decided to try and knock Pikachu out as quickly as possible to avoid whatever manner of shenanigans that Ash had planned.
Gesturing forward, Ideku ordered, "Morlord, use Earthquake!"
Gesturing forward, Ash called out, "Pikachu, use Grass Knot!"
Ideku's eyes widened with surprise as he heard the move that Ash called for. As Morlord tried to get off its Earthquake, Pikachu was able to trip it up by conjuring blades of grass that tied together over one of its feet before pulling back. The grass type attack dealt a lot of damage to the named Quagsire, and even kept it from getting its Earthquake off, saving Pikachu a lot of pain. Morlord was not out of the running yet, but it was getting close to it.
"Pikachu, use Grass Knot again!" Ash ordered.
"Morlord, use Waterfall" Ideku commanded.
Morlord was able to cloak itself in harshly surging water before charging at Pikachu, who tripped it up with another Grass Knot. Due to tumbling after the trip however, Morlord crashed into Pikachu with the Waterfall attack, scoring some moderate damage on Pikachu. It hit hard and, combined with the times it took damage from Stealth Rock, Pikachu was in danger of going down. But Ash's Pikachu, by virtue of being Ash's Pikachu, was able to tough it out.
As for the named Quagsire, however, it ended up getting knocked out. "Quagsire is unable to battle," the referee declared, "The winner is Pikachu!"
The audience cheered more as Ash, despite the odds building against him, was closing the gap between him and Ideku. The roaming trainer from Johto recalled his fainted Quagsire before tossing up a Pokéball while saying, "Go, Meganie!"
"Pikachu, get back here!" Ash said as he called for his Pikachu to come back. Ash then sent his next Pokémon out with a call of, "Naganadel, I choose you!" After Ideku's named Meganium and Ash's Ultra Beast both came back out, with Naganadel taking some Stealth Rock damage, Ash called out, "Naganadel, use Sludge Wave!"
"Meganie, use Light Screen!" Ideku commanded.
As Meganie conjured up the Light Screen, Naganadel fired a sweeping wave of sludge that waved out and slammed into Meganie, scoring a lot of damage and also poisoning it. Meganie was barely able to get the Light Screen up before it was pained by its poison and passed out, collapsing onto the pitch. "Meganium is unable to battle," the referee declared, "The winner is Naganadel!"
The audience roared with excitement as Ash and Ideku were now at two Pokémon left each. From where the reborn trainers were watching things on TV from Dawn's hospital room, they were also getting excited although Dawn kept outwardly calm. If Ash played his cards right from this point moving forward for the rest of the battle, then he might very well be able to snatch victory and end the current season of the World Coronation Series as the Monarch.
But the hopes of glory for Ash were curbed a bit when Ideku sent in his next Pokémon with a cry of, "Go, Schwarz!" Coming out to battle was the last Pokémon of Ideku's that before now hadn't been used in the battle yet, his named Zekrom. The legendary dragon roared challengingly at Naganadel who was getting worn out by this point. It would take some miracle work for Ash to overcome this and get to a point where he could stand as the winner in the end.
Gesturing forward, Ash called out, "Naganadel, use Dragon Pulse!"
"Schwarz, counter with Fusion Bolt!" Ideku commanded.
The named Zekrom cloaked itself in a sphere of electricity before rushing right at Naganadel. The Fusion Bolt acted as a shield, bolstered in that regard by Light Screen, to just bash through the Dragon Pulse before ramming into Naganadel. As the Ultra Beast was sent reeling, Ideku called out, "Schwarz, use Dragon Claw!"
Schwarz pulled its right hand back, its claws glowing fiercely with dragonic power, before it swiped forward at Naganadel in a clawing motion. The Ultra Beast cried out in great pain as it was struck by the Dragon Claw of Schwarz. It teetered in place a bit before, after giving a single pained gasping cry, it fell over and collapsed onto the pitch, laying there clearly out of it.
"Naganadel is unable to battle," the referee declared, "The winner is Zekrom!"
Things now were NOT looking good for Ash; his last Pokémon was his Pikachu, and all of the attacks it knew at the time were not very effective against the dual electric dragon type Zekrom. There was also the fact that Pikachu was already hurt and worn out while Zekrom was fresh. And even IF by some miracle Pikachu defeated Zekrom, there's Enamorus after it. Despite having a type disadvantage to Pikachu, Enamorus was STILL a legendary Pokémon, so it won't go down easy.
Looking on ahead, Ash knew that he lacked other options at this point. Looking to Pikachu, Ash said, "Well buddy, it's all up to you." Pikachu, exhausted and hurt, was still just as eager as Ash to continue the battle. With an affirmative cry where it gave off the impression it had more pep than it actually did, Pikachu at Ash's cue ran out onto the pitch to continue the battle, ready to do what all it could do not only defeat Zekrom but also Enamorus after that.
Then... Stealth Rock.
The entry hazard move that Ideku had set up at the very beginning of the battle triggered the moment Pikachu entered the battle again, sending rocks to fly into and jab Pikachu before it could even try to attack the named Zekrom standing before it. After the entry hazard finished triggering and settled down, Pikachu stood on all four paws, struggling to keep itself up and in the battle so as to not let down all of its teammates, to not let down Ash.
Time seemed to crawl to a standstill as everyone looked on, wondering what if anything was going to be happening next. Then, Pikachu gave a tired, gasping cry as it swayed from side to side before it fell over onto the pitch and laid there defeated, the last of its health struck down by the damage from getting hit by Stealth Rock. The final battle of the Masters Eight tournament had finally come to an end, but not in the way that the reborn trainers and their friends were hoping for.
"Pikachu is unable to battle," the referee declared, "The winner is Zekrom!" Gesturing to Ideku, the referee announced, "Victory of this battle goes to Ideku Badorigo!"
The crowds in Wyndon Stadium roared, their excited, celebratory cheers reaching both max volume and a fever pitch. The winner of the Masters Eight tournament, the person ending the current season of the World Coronation Series as the Monarch, the officially ranked number one strongest trainer in the world, had just been announced to them live, and to the rest of the world via TV, after a fierce and hard fought contest.
And it was Ideku Badorigo, the roaming trainer from Johto and former Champion of Unova, who was walking away with the Monarch title this time. Ideku had to take a breath to steady himself as he fought to settle his nerves. Ash, despite being runner up, despite having lost despite having come so far, was not upset with how things ended for him; on the contrary, Ash as he carried his fainted Pikachu walked up to Ideku.
Ideku perked up when he saw Ash walk up to him, stopping about a foot and a half from him. "If I can't end as the winner, then I'd at least like to be the first to congratulate the one who did end as the winner," Ash remarked, "That was an awesome battle, Ideku."
Ideku blinked quickly a few times, shook his head a bit. "...Sorry, it's just taking a bit for reality to catch up to me. I still can't believe that I won." Ash was understanding, knowing that having won the title of officially ranked number one strongest trainer in the world is a lot for most persons out there to take in. Ash, while holding Pikachu in his left arm, shook hands with Ideku using his right hand, making for a good moment to end the World Coronation Series on.
A few days after the World Coronation Series ended, the reborn trainers were all seen walking out of the hospital in Wyndon, Dawn looking at the asthma inhaler that she held in her hand. "Hello asthma my old friend," Dawn muttered under her breath to herself, "It sucks to have you back again."
"So anywho," Mina spoke up, "Did any of you get word of where Ash and or Ideku went to after the Masters Eight tournament came to an end?"
"Ash returned to the Alola region," Trip began to explain, "He's still going to work Serena hard to make her drop the bit of pudge she got because the malasada shop she's a spokesperson for had fed her a shade too much malasada. As for Ideku, I have no idea where he's staying, so there's no telling where he took the big ol' fancy trophy he got for winning off to."
Folding his arms over his chest, Kenny said, "No doubt his parents would wanna get their grimey hands all over the symbol of Ideku's hard work and efforts, aspects of his that they by no means had done anything to foster." To the other reborn trainers, Kenny asked, "Alright gentlemen! Where will our adventures take us off to next?"
Folding her arms over her chest, Dawn said, "Where else? First we have to go home to Twinleaf Town to check in with people there, mainly our families. Then after that, we're going to be setting our sights on the Paldea region." Dawn couldn't help but feel a shade of excitement over the idea of going to the Paldea region; it had been ages since Dawn traveled through a new region, as the ones she and the others have been through thus far in their current life have all been in the video games in her previous life.
And Paldea, obviously the region of the gen nine games that none of the reborn trainers lived to see and play in their previous lives, was looking to be rather promising. What sort of adventures waited for Dawn and the others in the land of Paldea? What sort of gyms or similar other challenge were in this new and unknown (to them) land? What sort of local villainous team was there contending with the native sector of Team Scorn? What sort of native sector of Team Scorn was there?
What sort of native, new (for them) to discover species of Pokémon were there?
The reborn trainers had no idea what all to expect when they went to Paldea, and that's part of why they're as excited as they were to get going back home to Sinnoh, to rest up for a bit before they took Paldea by the horns. Pretty much everything they know about Paldea comes from what all they gleaned from their interactions with Rimu, so Dawn and the others were eager to see as much as they could, learn as much as they could, catch as many new species of Pokémon as they could.
Paldea was the reborn trainers' oyster, and they intended to crack it open to get at what all good stuff was laying within for them to get at. As such, it was with renewed vigor in their step that Dawn and the others took off for the hotel to gather their things and go home; they also had to pick up Dawn's and Trip's mom Johanna, they would all go back home together, to Twinleaf Town over in the Sinnoh region.
Dawn, even though she was excited to see what all Paldea had to offer, still felt that Sinnoh was her home. She was eager to return there once more, even if it'd only be briefly.
(UNKNOWN LOCATION)
The heads of the various sectors of Team Scorn were meeting once again with Boss's Assistant Ayane and Boss Pariah. "Excellent work, Admins Slime and Scorbunny," Pariah said to the Admins responsible for the sectors respectively in Galar and Paldea, "Thanks to your efforts in helping to set up Team Scorn's unknowing pawn, the goal that Team Scorn holds is now that much closer to being made a reality."
Rimu, otherwise known as Admin Slime, head of the Mask Sector which is the Team Scorn sector native to the Paldea region, said, "I'm surprised that Admin Scorbunny and I were both instructed to throw our respective matches against that fool Badorigo. Although a fool he may be, Badorigo has got strength and skill that are the real deal."
Gesturing to Rimu, Pariah said, "We can never be too sure or too cautious, Admin Slime. Now, what is this I got from you about Dawn Berlitz and her companions making plans to go to Paldea?"
"Penny and I, in our public personas," Rimu began, "Had talked with Dawn and her company. They all said how they were planning to come to my home region to check everything out once the Masters Eight tournament was over and the World Coronation Series as a whole was drawn to a close."
Looking to Rimu, Ayane asked, "Do you think it's possible they'll interfere with the efforts your sector will be getting up to?"
"If they stumble upon anything," Rimu replied, "It sounds to me like they wanna see what gyms are in Paldea, see species of Pokémon they haven't seen before. I bet my sector can avoid a lot of trouble if we can keep the main chunks of our effort on the hush-hush."
Gesturing to Rimu, Ayane said, "Maybe you and your Admin's Assistant, in your public personas, can send Dawn and her company in the right direction. And by right direction I mean away from areas where your sector are doing primary jobs." Rimu nodded in understanding, knowing what was being asked of him.
Pariah nodded once to the Admin in charge of the Team Scorn sector native to the Paldea region. "It is of vital importance that Dawn and her company are kept from foiling Team Scorn's plans for the Paldea region. The plans must go off without a hitch, as finding success there is very much vital for the ultimate goal that Team Scorn holds." Without much else to cover, the meeting was adjourned. Team Scorn had successfully achieved a major step towards their ultimate goal.
The Admins were all very much excited that taking the world was not only a doable thing, but it was actually within their grasp.
...
After the meeting with the admins was done, Ayane followed Pariah off to a private area, a room that no-one save for Pariah and Ayane themselves knew about. Soundproofed and protected from all other manners of espionage, one could truly be in that room and do anything, say anything, show anything, and no-one outside of those who were around in person to witness it would ever have any idea of what all had ever gone down there. A place where one can truly be alone.
"So our plans for the World Coronation Series went off without a hitch," Ayane said.
"Indeed, Ayane," Pariah said, his back to Ayane, as he took off his sunglasses.
Ayane smirked in amusement. "With things set up the way that they are now, your true plans are bound to succeed. Not even that bimbo Dawn Berlitz and her idiot companions will be able to stop us. They won't even know where to start."
Pariah, lowering his hood, remarked, "There's always the chance that they'll stumble upon things by sheer chance. Hence why Admin Slime and his Admin's Assistant will have to work at it to make sure that Dawn and her company are sent in the right direction, the direction away from the primary jobs that the Mask Sector will be doing in Paldea as the prep the region for Team Scorn's next major move towards my true goal."
Ayane folded her arms over her chest, sported a wry look on her face. "I'm surprised that Admin Slime is so willing to lead the efforts that Team Scorn has planned for Paldea. I mean, it's the land where he was born and raised. And yet if Team Scorn's plans for Paldea are successfully pulled off, then there won't be a Paldea region left by the time all is said and done."
Pariah grabbed the hair on the top of his head and pulled at it, pulling away all of his jet black locks to reveal he actually wore a wig, his true hair color actually brown. "Although he was born and raised in Paldea," Pariah began, "Admin Slime holds no love for the region. He holds Paldea, how it became corrupted by incompetent idiots, accountable for the death of someone he held dear to his heart, his late older sister. I can sympathize with him, I lost my older brother due to an incompetent idiot."
Arching a wry eyebrow, Ayane asked, "Admin Slime would so willingly doom the Paldea region, would be glad to watch it burn, because he holds it and its people accountable for the death of his older sister."
"From what Admin Slime figures," Pariah said as he lifted the area of his gaiter mask around his neck up to fiddle with something underneath it, "If his older sister isn't able to enjoy Paldea and all that it has to offer, then no-one can." Pariah then took something off from around his neck, something that was hidden under the part of the gaiter mask that was over his neck. It turned out to be a leather choker with a voice modifying dial affixed to it.
Ayane continued to sport a wry look as Pariah lowered the gaiter mask down fully around his neck. "So he's still struggling to come to terms with the death of his older sister," Ayane said.
"Can you blame him, Ayane?" Pariah spoke, his voice sounding much different... and familiar... now that the choker with the voice modifying dial was removed. He didn't sound like a mature man in his early thirties. Rather, Pariah sounded like he was a youth that was currently in his mid to late teens, similar to how old Ayane herself is. But then again, it would be pretty reasonable for Pariah to sound like he was in his mid to late teens.
Because Pariah, the overall Boss of Team Scorn, is in truth Ideku Badorigo, a person who actually is in his mid teens. "Family..." Ideku said, a wry and knowing look of amusement on his face, "...can be a very powerful motivational force which can drive a person."
END, CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-TWO
Author's notes;
This chapter sees the conclusion of the Masters Eight tournament, and the World Coronation Series as a whole, bringing the Galar saga of this story to a close. Things see Ideku walk away as the Monarch of the World Coronation Series, the officially ranked number one strongest trainer in the world, and the reborn trainers make plans to head off to the Paldea region, which unbeknownst to them is in danger by the scheming of Team Scorn's Boss Pariah.
...Whose true identity is revealed at the end of this chapter, confirming that he is actually Ideku, using a mix of a pair of sunglasses, a gaiter mask, a black wig, and a leather choker with a voice modifying dial affixed to it in order to disguise himself and pass himself off as being twice as old as he really is. But that begs a question; Pariah had told the rest of Team Scorn's command structure that Ideku is an unknowing pawn for their goals.
But it turns out that Pariah IS Ideku. So what is it that Ideku is truly after? What is it that Ideku wants that he'd willingly start up a multi-regional criminal organization that threatens the world for? Who even is Ideku really? That will have to be waited for to see. That won't be revealed in the Galar saga of this story, as this is the last chapter of that saga. But there IS the Paldea saga of this story, which will be starting up in the next chapter. Until then, take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Tsukune (Palkia), Odin (Arceus), Germany (male Garchomp), Leni (female Lucario), Khan (Mewtwo)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Kermit (male Politoed), Zarbon (male Machamp), Shallot (male Glaceon), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Black (Giratina; Origin Forme)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Empoleon), Veda (female Abomasnow), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Fourze (male Electivire), Todoroki (male Goodra; alpha; Hisuian), Deelia (Dialga)
Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Dragonite (male), Gardevoir (male), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny), Flareon (male; shiny)