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-six: Arven's actions
The Jelly-Filled Donut flew above the area of Poco Path, landing near a lighthouse that Arven pointed out to the crew. "Yeah, that's the lab my parents maintained," Arven said, a grim look on his face, as the ship got closer. The reborn trainers, who stood with Arven, could tell that the lab didn't exactly hold fond memories for him, so they decided that they would only stick around for as long as need be before taking off.
After the ship landed, the reborn trainers and Arven got off, followed by Sho and Lance who'd help with carrying stuff if need be. "Hey guys," Dawn said, "I saw some sort of small chest on a ledge in that direction to the lighthouse's right if you're standing with your back to the lighthouse. Imma go check it out." The boys and Mina all nodded in understanding and let Dawn go check things out for a bit as they tried getting into the lighthouse lab.
Turning to look at Arven, Kenny asked, "Hey Arven my good chum, this may be a bit of a stretch but bare with me. I don't suppose you have the means of accessing the lab, do you? Because if not then we're gonna have to-"
"Luckily for us I have a key," Arven explained.
As Arven went to the front door of the lighthouse lab as he took a key out, Trip spoke up, "I just realized that one of us should have gone with Dawn to check out the thing she spotted."
"What makes you say that?" Mina asked.
"She recently had an asthma attack," Trip said, concern clear in his tone and expression, "What if she has another while alone?"
"Trip, you worry too much," Mina said, "Besides, I'm sure that Dawn can quickly think of a way to get help if she-"
"If I what?" Dawn remarked as she came up, calling out when she heard her friends were talking about her.
The other reborn trainers all turned to look at Dawn. "Oh, Trip here was worried your asthma may kick up while you were alone," Mina said, "I told him not to be such a worry wart."
Dawn had a good feeling why Trip would fret so much over her, given their experiences back in their previous lives. "Trip's my brother, Mina," Dawn pointed out, "And I recently did recover from a scare involving asthma which-"
"Got it!" Arven called out, cutting Dawn off as he opened the door to the lighthouse lab. Turning around to face the others, Arven spotted Dawn. "What were you checking out?"
In response, Dawn took out an Ultra Ball, expanded it, and tossed it up while saying, "Come on out, Money Bin!" Dawn ended up calling out a treasure chest that was open, and a gray little being was in the chest, seemingly swimming in a pool of gold coins. "The chest that I had spotted was actually a Gimmighoul," Dawn said, "So I caught it."
"Oh, that's one of the Pokémon we had to catch for the project assigned to us by the will of Jacq," Kenny said as Dawn recalled her named Gimmighoul. The reborn trainers, Sho, and Lance all went into the lighthouse lab after Arven, with Kenny saying, "I know it evolves, but how do we evolve it?"
...
Inside of the lighthouse lab, the party saw that it was part research lab and part living quarters. It also looked fairly dusty, like it hadn't been touched in years. "Search the lab for whatever you wish," Arven said, "There's nothing stopping me from-" Arven stopped short when he saw a framed photo on a desk that caught his eye. "Oh!" Arven said as he walked over, saw the photo more clearly and confirmed it was what he thought it was, took it up, and tucked it into his jacket vest.
Dawn assumed that the photo in the frame was significant to Arven, so she wasn't gonna push the subject. Instead, she and the rest of her group proceeded to try and look for what all in the lab may be of use to them when it came to dealing with the Paradox Pokémon, a subgroup of Pokémon that were mentioned in the notes provided by Jacq, but he only had their names and bits of info that had been obtained from dubious sources. The notes left by Arven's parents, hopefully, will be of greater help to the reborn trainers.
The party was able to find the info that they sought, separated into two separate piles. From the looks of it, the first pile was kept by Professor Sada while the second pile was kept by Professor Turo. The piles of notes also revealed that the Paradox Pokémon were separated into two different categories, called Past Paradox and Future Paradox. Sada's notes covered all of the Past Paradox Pokémon, while Turo's notes covered all of the Future Paradox Pokémon.
Dawn and Trip were able to carry all of the notes themselves, with Dawn handling the notes on the Past Paradox Pokémon and Trip handling the notes on the Future Paradox Pokémon. Kenny, as well as Lance, expressed interest in taking the sofa that was inside of the lab, but Arven asked them to just leave the sofa be. Another good search of the lab revealed that there was nothing else left that was of any use to the reborn trainers, so the party's business at the lighthouse lab was done.
...
"I'm going to continue my search all across Paldea for the Herba Mysticas," Arven said, "Hopefully with luck I'll find the remaining four."
"I'm guessing that what you're aiming to find all five of the Herba Mystica for is private business," Dawn remarked, "That said, I'll respect your privacy on the matter."
Nodding once, Arven said, "It is private business I'd like to keep to myself. At least for now. Thanks for respecting my business and letting it be."
Gesturing to Arven, Trip said, "Your classmate Nemona. I get the feeling she's not exactly the kind to respect such privacy unless it's blatantly spelled out for her that she needs to do so."
Arven gave a single nod of agreement. "Yeah, Nemona has always been two picnics short of a sandwich. At least if you ask me. Don't get me wrong, there's no denying that she's brilliant as a trainer, and she is a rather competent student too. But Nemona... lacks a certain finesse when it comes to being social with others."
"She has trouble picking up on certain social cues, ehh?" Mina asked.
"...Pretty much," Arven replied, "Well anyway, I need to track down the next Herba Mystica. And who knows? Maybe I'll run into you guys again." Dawn understood that Arven was departing here, so she wished him the best of luck. As a gesture of goodwill, Dawn sent Arven off with a length of club sandwich that was part of the leftovers from a meal earlier, a gesture that Arven accepted. Arven watched it as The Jelly-Filled Donut flew off into the horizon in the direction of Artazon.
After the flying ship was out of sight, Arven had a knowing look of purpose in his eyes. "Speaking of sandwiches," Arven said as he turned around to head into the lighthouse lab, "I need to get cracking on using the Herba Mystica I got already to make a healing sandwich..."
Later, The Jelly-Filled Donut flew over Artazon and landed in a clearing just outside of the city. While in that area, the reborn trainers took note of and looked into finding and catching as many new species of Pokémon as they could. They only found three Pokémon, however. Trip found a Wattrel, a boy who he had named Zenitsu, and Dawn had found two Pokémon, a Tandemaus and a yellow Squawkabilly.
The Squawkabilly was male and Dawn had trouble identifying the gender of Tandemaus. Dawn had ended up naming the Squawkabilly as Deezy and the Tandemaus as Simpsons. With a few more Pokémon checked off the list, the reborn trainers got to training for the gym battles they were going to be having with the local gym leader, a grass type user named Brassius who was an artist of sorts.
"Hey, quick question," Kenny said as the reborn trainers took a break from training their Pokémon, "What kind of person is this Brassius dude like?"
"Why do you ask?" Dawn replied.
Shrugging, Kenny said, "Because grass type gym leaders have a habit of being friendly appearing and what not," Kenny explained, "Never a dour look on any of 'em."
"Kenny... does have a point," Trip remarked, "Grass type users as gym leaders tend to be welcoming and friendly unless sufficiently pushed by assholes being dicks." Turning to look at Dawn, Trip went on, "I bet this Brassius fellow will be warm and welcoming in the air he gives off." Dawn nodded in agreement, seeing the logic in what the boys were saying.
...
When the reborn trainers met Brassius later, they saw him to be a gloomy looking, dour faced man who reminded Dawn of a certain potions professor who tells his students to turn to page three-hundred and ninety four. Pointing right at Brassius, Mina said, "You don't look cheery and welcoming at all. You broke the mold that grass type users as gym leaders are supposed to follow."
"Yeah, Geeta thinks I need to take antidepressants," Brassius remarked casually, "She fails to realize that my looks stem mostly from me burning the midnight oil to keep working on art when the muse had stricken me."
"Ah, so it's mostly a lack of sleep that you suffer from," Dawn said, now having a far more easily acceptable explanation for Brassius's tired looking appearance. Dawn then explained to Brassius why she and her friends were there.
"Ah, so you all wish to challenge me at my gym," Brassius said, "Very well. I have no issue with it, especially as one of you is an artist like myself."
Looking confused, Mina said, "One of them is an artist?"
Gesturing to Kenny, Brassius explained to Mina, "Kenny here is an artist, given that the craft of films in the realm of cinema is itself a form of art."
"Oh, you mean how Kenny makes movies," Mina said.
Nodding once, Brassius said, "Indeed. Although I do confess a curiosity as to how Dawn is able to get really fat and really thin back and forth really quickly, given she's played fat and thin characters in multiple of Kenny's movies. What manner of dieting and exercise does she do?"
"None, she uses a fat suit," Trip replied.
A few seconds passed before Brassius's eyes widened a bit in realization. "Yes, of course. That's a far easier and more logical explanation. I can't believe I didn't think of that."
Kenny took out a small notepad and a pen and wrote something down as he said, "And Brassius joins the list."
"In his defense," Dawn said to Kenny, "He did admit a few seconds ago to usually being sleep deprived. The lack of rest must be sapping his ability to reason properly."
After Kenny put his notepad and pen away, Brassius asked who would be challenging him first. It was determined that Kenny would take the first whack at Brassius, followed by Trip, and then Dawn after him. Nodding in understanding, Brassius led the way for the reborn trainers, plus Leona and Omiyo who came along to watch the battles, to follow him to his gym.
Soon enough, the reborn trainers were going to begin the process of earning their respective second Paldean gym badges each.
Over at Brassius's gym, the reborn trainers aside from Kenny stood off to the side along the battlefield, standing by with Leona and Omiyo, to watch it as Kenny battled Brassius first out of him, Dawn, and Trip. "It is fortuitous that you, a fellow artist, has the first crack at my gym out of you and your fellows who are aiming to try to earn badges from me," Brassius remarked.
Nodding once in understanding, Kenny replied, "Well you and I both walk different paths, but both paths still lead to the same destination. There, at the very least, is some connection." Brassius gave a single nod of understanding, before the gym referee gave the usual pre gym battle speech that covered who can and can't do certain things during the battle. After that, the battle between Kenny and Brassius was kicked off.
"Go, Petilil!" Brassius said as he sent out his Petilil which was his first Pokémon for the battle.
Tossing up a Pokéball, Kenny called out, "Okay, Goofy! Let's make it cringe!" Coming out to battle was Kenny's named Houndoom. Pointing dramatically forward, Kenny called out, "Goofy, use Flamethrower!"
"Petilil, use Mega Drain!" Brassius commanded.
Petilil... didn't really stand a chance against Goofy, who just blasted it with Flamethrower and knocked it out in one hit before Petilil even had a chance to get its attack off. "Petilil is unable to battle," the referee announced, "The winner is Houndoom!"
Brassius recalled his fainted Petilil before sending out his next Pokémon. "Go, Smoliv!" Brassius said as he sent a Smoliv out, "Use Razor Leaf!"
"Goofy, use Flamethrower!" Kenny commanded.
Once again, the opponent that faced the named Houndoom was unable to get its attack off before said named Houndoom took it down in one hit with Flamethrower. "Smoliv is unable to battle," the referee announced, "The winner is Houndoom!"
Once again, Brassius recalled a fainted Pokémon, then sent out his third and final Pokémon for the battle. "Go, Sudowoodo!" Brassius said as he sent his Sudowoodo out. Brassius then took out his Tera Orb and used it to Terastalize his Sudowoodo, and when the process was done Sudowoodo had a green crystal coat covering it, and its crown resembled a bunch of flowers.
"Grass Tera Type," Kenny said, "Well now, let's see what Goofy's Tera Type is!" Kenny then used his Tera Orb to Terastalize Goofy, resulting in Goofy having a darkish crystal coat covering it, and his crown resembled a spiky action talk bubble with a smirking, devilish face in it. "What is this Tera Type?" Kenny asked.
"That's the Dark Tera Type," Brassius said.
"Dang, would have been neat if it was fire," Kenny said, "But I roll with the punches!" Pointing forward, Kenny called out, "Goofy, use Dark Pulse!"
"Sudowoodo, use Trailblaze!" Brassius ordered.
Goofy, seemingly surging with power and energy, then conjured and cast a Dark Pulse that flew at and smacked right into Sudowoodo, making it flinch and barely able to endure the attack. From what Dawn figured, Sudowoodo's ability has to be Sturdy. But the flinch from Dark Pulse meant that Sudowoodo wasn't able to get its attack off.
It also meant that Sudowoodo wasn't able to do anything in the battle period, as Goofy knocked it out during the next turn with Flamethrower that knocked it out of Terastalization. "Sudowoodo is unable to battle," the referee announced, "The winner is Houndoom!" Gesturing to Kenny, the referee declared, "Victory of this battle goes to the challenger, Kenny!"
Kenny gave an excited cheer as he was declared the winner of the battle, and his group who was there watching also cheered for Kenny's victory. Brassius, acting in good faith, smiled and walked up to Kenny and awarded him a Grass Badge for winning. "My Pokémon shall require a period of rest to recuperate," Brassius said, "But after that I can take the next challenge."
"Speaking of resting," Dawn spoke up, "You ought to get some yourself. I mean, you yourself had admitted to being sleep deprived."
Brassius was about to speak up, but he was cut off from words when he uncontrollably gave off a tired yawn. "...Yes, you do raise an excellent point on how I myself also need rest," Brassius said, "I need to stop burning the midnight oil to work on my art."
"Wouldn't burning oil risk causing a fire?" Omiyo asked.
"The phrase 'burning the midnight oil' is a saying, not an actual declaration of intent to burn actual oil," Leona pointed out.
...
Later, after both Brassius's Pokémon were rested and Brassius himself got some rest, he was able to have his battle with Dawn, who simply swept his team with Chi-Chi. The following day, Trip was able to win against Brassius by using Mr. Popo. In the end, the reborn trainers all aiming to earn the gym badges of Paldea were up to two badges each.
"The next gym leader you all ought to consider seeking out is Iono," Brassius said, "She is the leader of the gym in Levincia. She is also a famous personality on the internet."
"Do you have any idea of what type of Pokémon she uses?" Trip asked.
Nodding once, Brassius said, "Yeah, she's a user of electric type Pokémon." Folding his arms over his chest, Brassius went on, "To give you fair warning, the Pokémon that Iono will Terastalize during gym battles against her will really test you as trainers. I can't say what it is, but let's just say trying to use the usual idea to deal with pure electric types may not work against Iono's ace."
Nodding once in understanding, Dawn said, "Thanks for the advice." As the time in Artazon was done, the heroes decided that it was time for The Jelly-Filled Donut to take off. The next destination that the reborn trainers had their eyes on was Levincia, where Iono the internet personality waited for them to get their respective third badges from.
Omiyo as the group walked back to the flying ship asked what the phrase 'burning the midnight oil' actually meant as it apparently didn't actually involve burning any oil.
Later, the reborn trainers were going over notes in the meeting room of The Jelly-Filled Donut as the flying ship was making its way towards Levincia. As Dawn was looking over something, she and the others heard a knock at the door. Dawn got up to answer it, and she was greeted by the sight of Leona and Omiyo. "Is there something going on that you need to tell us about?" Dawn asked as she saw the rattled looks on the faces of the girls.
"A super big Bombirdier has been spotted dropping boulders down a hill in West Province Area One," Leona said, "Reports say it's the size of a Wailord if not bigger!"
The other reborn trainers perked up at that news as they got up to join Dawn. "We haven't seen a super sized Pokémon since we helped Arven deal with that big ol' Klawf that shrank down after we beat it into submission," Kenny said.
"I think that I heard the term 'Titan Pokémon' be thrown around," Trip remarked.
"We're dealing with titans?" Mina said, "Sie sind das essen und wir sind die jager!"
As Trip smacked Mina in the back of the head, Dawn had Leona and Omiyo move to the side so she could leave the meeting room, then had the two girls follow her to the cockpit of The Jelly-Filled Donut. Inside, Heath was at the wheel, doing his job of flying the flying ship. "Helmsman, lay us a new course," Dawn said, drawing Heath's attention, "Take us to West Province Area One."
"We're almost halfway to Levincia," Heath said, "Is there a reason we're changing course?"
"Uncle Heath," Omiyo spoke up, "There's another super big Pokémon like the Klawf that bothered Arven a while ago. It's over in West Province Area One."
Heath's eyes widened a bit. "Yeah, Arven told us about the big Pokémon he dealt with while getting to the first Herba Mystica. You think this second super big Pokémon might be under Herba Mystica influence or something?"
"It wouldn't hurt to check," Dawn said, "And it's been reported causing trouble regardless. And if Arven hears of it and he likens it to the Klawf we dealt with like we have, he may try going after it on the basis it can lead him to the next Herba Mystica."
Heath had a grim look on his face as he nodded in agreement. The helmsman set the new course before spinning the steering wheel of The Jelly-Filled Donut, showing great skill in piloting a flying ship by making it turn on a dime to have it go from flying in the direction of Levincia to flying in the direction of West Province Area One.
...
After making great time, The Jelly-Filled Donut flew into the airspace above West Province Area One. The crew looked around, hoping to spot the Titan Bombirdier. It was Omiyo, being a lookout, who spotted a giant stork-like Pokémon dropping boulders to roll down a hill near a lighthouse. The reborn trainers and Leona joined Omiyo in looking at what was confirmed to be the Bombirdier that was super jumbo due to Herba Mystica mojo.
It was Leona who then spotted Arven running up the hill the boulders were being dropped down, running in a zigzaging way to avoid all of the boulders. "Is he crazy?!" Mina exclaimed as she and the others had what Arven was doing pointed out to them, "He's gonna get squashed like that if he keeps it up!"
"He must have a very driving reason behind his quest for the Herba Mysticas pushing him if he's taking such a risk," Dawn said grimly. As the youths were outside on the deck of The Jelly-Filled Donut, Dawn and the boys called out Tsukune, Black, and Deelia to hop on and fly on in. Dawn had Tsukune fly up to Arven to scoop him up and save him while Kenny and Trip confronted the Titan Bombirdier directly.
Arven was at first surprised and a bit alarmed when he was suddenly scooped up, but he relaxed when he saw that it was just Dawn. "Oh, Dawn!" Arven said, "I wasn't expecting you to be here! Does that mean the rest of your crew is here as well?"
"Yeah, and Kenny and Trip are confronting that giant Bombirdier right now," Dawn replied. As she and Arven surveyed the scene below, they noticed that the boulders stopped rolling down the hill as their being dropped had ceased. Looking over, Dawn and Arven saw that a battered Bombirdier giant was flying around to the side of the hill, making Kenny and Trip give chase.
"We need to go after them," Dawn said, urging Tsukune to fly on in to where Kenny and Trip were fighting the big Bombirdier. By the time Dawn and Arven arrived on Tsukune, they saw that Kenny and Trip had already beaten Titan Bombirdier round two, making the bird Pokémon shrink back down to a more acceptable size. Trip then took the opportunity to capture the now bested former Titan Bombirdier, knocking it off the list.
The three legendary dragons landed on the side of the cliff where a cave was made, but before any of them could say anything, Arven got off and ran into the cave, saying, "It's just like when the Titan Klawf made a cave by digging! There's bound to be a Herba Mystica in there!"
Dawn and the boys recalled their dragons before running inside of the cave after Arven, and by the time they had caught up, they saw Arven holding a Herba Mystica, one differently colored than the last one that he obtained. "Just three more to go after this!" Arven said, "I'll be able to fix all that ails my buddy in next to flat at this rate!"
"You're looking for the Herba Mystica to heal someone close to you?" Dawn spoke up, making Arven turn to look and see that Dawn, Kenny, and Trip had followed him into the cave.
Arven looked a bit embarrassed to have been caught. "...I have a very good reason for wanting to heal my buddy," Arven said firmly, his tone and expression unwavering.
Gesturing to Arven, Trip said, "Well let's hear it." Seeing that the reborn trainers were just as firm, Arven agreed after putting the second Herba Mystica away. He then followed them out of the cave and together they flew back to The Jelly-Filled Donut, this time with Arven joining Trip on Deelia as Kenny flew on Black and Dawn flew on Tsukune.
Given there were species of Pokémon that were new for Dawn and the others to catch, the crew decided to park in West Province Area One. There, Arven explained his reasoning, his drive, behind his quest for the five Herba Mysticas. Arven first began his explanation by calling out a Pokémon that the reborn trainers weren't aware until now that Arven owned, a Mabosstiff that just laid there, clearly in no condition to be getting up.
"I've tried everything," Arven said, a somber look of concerned worry etched well into his features, "Medicines, Pokémon Centers, berries, but nothing has worked to heal my buddy here." Looking to the crew of the Jelly-Filled Donut, Arven went on, "That's why I'm seeking the Herba Mystica. Their tale states they have all manner of amazing benefits for health. I figured making food using them as ingredients and feeding it to Mabosstif would work where everything else has failed."
Looking to Mabosstif for a moment, Trip with a sympathetic look on his face said, "I completely get where you're coming from, Arven." The way that Trip spoke, understanding and gentle yet firm and serious, told a tale that only Dawn was aware of; Arven and the rest of the crew of the Jelly-Filled Donut had no idea what laid regretfully in the mind of the male Berlitz sibling. Only Dawn knew due to info only she and Trip had from their previous life.
Gesturing to Mabosstiff, Dawn said to Arven in order to get things back on track, "How was it that your Mabosstiff even got into this condition?"
Arven had a bitter, angry scowl on his face as he said, "You can thank the mad obsession with what lies within Area Zero that my parents have for how my buddy got like this. He was struck badly by one of the Paradox Pokémon living within, saving me from said fate."
"You went into Area Zero?" Heath spoke up, "I have a vague familiarity with info on Area Zero, and I got it that it's typically off limits to everyone."
"Being Professors who research the Paradox Pokémon that live within Area Zero has its benefits," Arven said, "And being the son of said Professors gets such benefits as well. I went down there to bring them some food since it's been ages since I last saw them, and a Paradox Pokémon that has an uncanny resemblance to the Pokémon Donphan spotted me and grew aggressive. Mabosstif jumped in the way to save me."
"How did you escape?" Dawn asked.
Grimacing, Arven explained, "A swarm of smaller Pokémon ran by and got in the Paradox Donphan's way, from the looks of it I'd say they were playing around and ran in by sheer chance without paying attention. That distracted the Paradox Donphan, gave me time to recall Mabosstiff and get the hell out of there. The last thing I saw in Area Zero before I was able to call for a flying taxi to get away was the Paradox Donphan eating the food I brought for my parents, I dropped it in my haste to flee. It was acting triumphantly as it ate, so I'm guessing it attacked me because it knew I had food."
Looking to Arven's Mabosstif, Dawn said, "The Paradox Donphan must have been a very powerful Pokémon, if it is capable of doing such damage to your Mabosstiff that it's still out of commission like this."
"My parents don't seem to mind," Arven scowled bitterly, "They're always fawning over the Paradox Pokémon, even though to my knowledge they have yet to encounter one in person."
Gesturing to Arven, Trip remarked, "But you did. And it has, understandably, left a rather bitter taste in your mouth about the whole deal." Lowering his arm he was gesturing with, Trip went on, "Have you used the first Herba Mystica you got yet?"
Nodding once, Arven said, "Aye, that I did. My plan is to use them in one sandwich each, with the other ingredients being carefully chosen to get the max benefit of what health bonuses they offer. I've used the first Herba Mystica in a sandwich I had split with Mabosstiff, and I plan to do the same with the Herba Mystica that I just got, as well as all of the other Herba Mysticas when I find them. Not if I find them, when I find them."
"You truly are dedicated to doing what it takes to get your Mabosstiff back up to snuff," Kenny remarked, "It is very admirable."
"Where do you plan to go next?" Mina asked.
Gesturing to himself, Arven said, "I plan to continue my search for the remaining Herba Mystica. Between now and the next one, I plan to use the Herba Mystica that I just got as an ingredient to make a super health sandwich I'll split with Mabosstiff."
Putting her hands on her waist, Dawn remarked, "Then I get a feeling we'll run into you again, Arven. We met twice while you were dealing with Titan-sized Pokémon, and after they're bested the final time whatever makes them big wears off and they return to acceptable sized for their species. That was the case for the Klawf and Bombirdier that Trip caught."
"You plan to capture the Titan Pokémon," Arven spoke up, looking like he was catching onto something.
Dawn nodded once in confirmation. "It would help us with our goals here in Paldea."
"Well, you and your friends fighting the Titan Pokémon does have the benefit of keeping them off of my back," Arven said, "And I can tell full well that you guys are leagues above me when it comes to being a strong trainer."
Gesturing to Arven, Dawn said, "You yourself are also strong, Arven. Maybe not the way you think us to be strong, but you're strong all the same." Arven was a bit touched, nodded once in appreciation for Dawn's kind words.
"Quick question," Omiyo spoke up, getting everyone's attention, "Do you have any remains of the first Herba Mystica?"
Looking curious, Arven said, "Actually yeah, I do have a small stem and two petals from the first Herba Mystica. I have them saved in a small orange pill bottle. I plan to do the same with the other Herba Mysticas so that a lab can study them to see if scientists can use their scientific mumbo-jumbo to maybe genetically engineer up more."
Nodding once, Omiyo said, "I was going to suggest the exact same thing. The Herba Mysticas are special plants, but they're still plants. It should stand to reason that a sufficiently advanced staff of scientists should be able to genetically clone highly rare plants to bring their numbers back up."
Smacking himself in the forehead, Kenny said, "Doi! Why didn't I think of that?! It's brilliant!"
After Arven took off, the crew of The Jelly-Filled Donut set up camp for a bit while the reborn trainers looked around for new species of Pokémon to catch. Trip, in addition to catching the titan Bombirdier which he named Hedwig (it's a girl), found a Wiglett and a Capsakid, both boys. He named the Wiglett Wiglight and the Capsakid Poppers.
As for Dawn, she found a Flittle and a Cyclizar, both girls. Dawn named the Flittle Shion and the Cyclizar Nava. As the reborn trainers were training their new Paldean Pokémon, Kenny stopped short as he said, "I hope that Arven will be fine."
"We'll run into him again, Kenny," Trip said, "No need to-"
Gently shaking his head, Kenny began, "That's not what I meant. I mean, take a look at the life that the dude has. His parents are both constantly absent in his life to the point it wouldn't be much of a stretch to label it as child neglect, and his closest friend is roughed up to the point most common methods of recovery failed to do a damn thing. Now Arven's going above and beyond for a last ditch effort to try and heal said closest friend." Gently shaking his head, Kenny went on, "And I'm not sure if Arven's ultimate efforts here have any guarantee of being successful."
Dawn looked down and over to where her named Maschiff Freyja was eating next to Dawn's named Cyclizar Nava. Dawn, thanks to the notes that Jacq was able to provide on the species of Pokémon native to Paldea, had it that Maschiff evolves into Mabosstiff. Dawn figured that Arven has had his Mabosstiff since it was a Maschiff. Granted, there's no way of knowing that for sure right now, Dawn figures she'll ask next time she sees Arven if she remembers to ask.
Even if it IS true, there's still the factor of how long Arven has had his Mabosstiff. The pain of seeing a Pokémon go through all of that stings regardless of how long one has had said Pokémon, but the sting does get more intense when it involves Pokémon that the owner has had for a longer time. To the others, Dawn said, "If we run into Arven again because he's chasing after a Titan Pokémon due to thinking it'll lead him to a Herba Mystica, we're gonna help him."
"Well that's a no brainer," Mina spoke up, "I fail to see how-"
"Hey Dawn!" Heath's voice called out as he came off of The Jelly-Filled Donut, making everyone turn to see him, "A video phone call is coming in for you from Geeta!"
The reborn trainers all turned to look at Heath as he came running up. "Geeta's calling me?" Dawn asked, looking mildly surprised.
...
After the reborn trainers recalled all of their Pokémon and everyone got back aboard The Jelly-Filled Donut, the reborn trainers and Heath ran into the meeting room, where the large monitor screen showed Geeta talking to them live in a video phone call as everyone sat at the meeting table in the room. "What's the stitch, Zordon?" Kenny asked.
"I heard rumor that your ship is in West Province Area One," Geeta asked, "Is that true?"
Nodding once, Dawn replied, "It is. We were investigating something involving the Treasure Hunt of one of Naranja Academy's students. Why ask if we're in West Province Area One?"
"The now defunct Team Star has five bases scattered throughout Paldea, all of them now long abandoned," Geeta said, "One of said bases is located in West Province Area One. Since you and your group are over there, we'll begin the Team Star cleanup efforts there. I'll send the coordinates of the abandoned base to you now."
A map of Paldea then appeared on screen, with one bit of area in West Province Area One glowing red. "The red glowing area is where the Team Star base is located," Geeta's voice said, "Think you guys can find your way there?"
"...It doesn't look to be too far from where we're at right now," Dawn said, "How soon do you need us to get there?"
"More or less immediately," Geeta replied, "The sooner we can clean up the mess left behind by Team Star, the better."
Nodding once, Dawn replied, "That's fair."
After the coordinates were noted, the map of Paldea disappeared and Geeta showed back up. "It is of the utmost importance to clear away the foul taint left behind by Team Star," Geeta said, her tone and expression brokering no quarter, "Their influence must be removed in full."
"Hey yo," Mina began, "I got a-" Mina was cut off when Geeta suddenly ended the call, clearly expecting the heroes to just follow what she was asking. "...Well fuck you too, Geeta," Mina said in a casual tone under her breath.
Dawn, getting up from the meeting table, said, "I wanna check out the abandoned Team Star bases myself. There's something about the Team Star situation that has me wanting to learn more about them." The others, Mina in particular, all agreed. As such, when things were ready, The Jelly-Filled Donut took up into the air and headed in the direction of the abandoned Team Star base that they'd just been sent the coordinates of.
Mina clearly was suspicious of the circumstances surrounding Team Star. Dawn too was on the suspicious side of things, but she decided playing along for now was the best choice. Until she and the others had more info, it'd be reckless to just rush in to try to fix everything.
END, CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SIX
Author's notes;
This chapter sees the heroes get valuable info on the Paradox Pokémon thanks to Arven, who makes use of being the son of the Professors researching them. Then the heroes go to Artazon where Dawn, Kenny, and Trip each earn badges from Brassius. They would have next gone to where the third gym is located over in Levincia, but word of another Titan Pokémon acting up ends up having them lay a new course to deal with it.
When confronting the Titan Bombirdier, the heroes encounter Arven again, saving him and helping him get the second Herba Mystica. Then they learn of Arven's reasons behind what he's doing; he's trying to heal his Mabosstiff. Arven also gives some background on his parents' obsession with the Paradox Pokémon, and how Mabosstiff has essentially been all that Arven had over time. Arven then takes off, but the heroes feel they'll see him again.
After Dawn and Trip catch a few new Pokémon and do some training on them, Heath comes over and lets them know that Geeta's calling them. Geeta heard that they're in West Province Area One where one of the bases of the now defunct Team Star is located, and asks the heroes to head over to prepare to help with clean up efforts. Mina and Dawn think there's more under the surface, but it'll have to wait until a later tike for them to look into.
Anyway, the next chapter will see the heroes' first foray into the story of Team Star, and how the way it was handled here has lasting consequences that extend far beyond what those who handled all of that business could have anticipated. Until then, take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Tsukune (Palkia), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian), Benimaru (male Crocalor), Souka (female Tinkatink), Nava (female Cyclizar)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Goofy (male Houndoom), Hoodini (male Noctowl), Black (Giratina; Origin Forme), Panther (female Floragato), King Julian (male Shroodle)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Empoleon), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Alfred (male Marowak; Alolan; Totem), Deelia (Dialga), Launchpad (male Quaxly), Mike (male Pawmo)
Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Dragonite (male), Gardevoir (male), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny), Flareon (male; shiny)