Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Pokédex no Isekai
Chapter Thirty-four: Papermoon
The reborn trainers had made some decent progress in completing the Alola Pokédex, getting about halfway done with it before they decided to take a break. There were a few things that Dawn and the others wanted to handle while they were in the Alola region, one of which being to inform Sophocles of the truth behind the breakup between him and Misty. They weren't exactly sure how he was going to handle it, but they figured he deserved the truth.
As such, they made their way over to the Observatory where Sophocles's cousin Molayne works. Upon entering, the reborn trainers found Molayne talking to a few other men who, like Molayne, were kind of skinny and on the geeky looking side. Dawn led the reborn trainers up to Molayne and the other men to get their attention. "Excuse me Molayne," Dawn began, "But we came here because we were told Sophocles is here. Where can we find him?"
"Oh, you're looking for Sophocles?" Molayne replied, then added while pointing the way, "Sophocles is in that room over there with his girlfriend Selene. We just finished work on developing a new machine and we need to charge it. Luckily for us, Sophocles and Selene owns a Togedemaru and a Vikavolt each. Having four electric Pokémon to help charge things really speeds up the process."
"...Oh, Sophocles is with his girlfriend," Trip said, concern clear in his tone.
One of the reed thin, geeky looking men with Molayne looked suspiciously at Trip. "Did my daughter so something to mess up?" asked the man. There was a notable hint of Galarian accent in his tone.
"Your daughter?" Mina spoke up, she and the other reborn trainers surprised.
Gesturing to the three men, Molayne said, "Oh yeah, this is Selene's dad and the other two men are Selene's uncles. They've all proven to be brilliant men for work here."
Looking to Selene's dad, Trip said, "To answer your concerns, no Selene did not mess up. The older sisters of Sophocles's previous girlfriend are the ones who messed up."
Molayne's eyes narrowed a bit out of suspicion. "I hope that you'll forgive me if I show that I'm not exactly fond of hearing talk about that Misty girl in Kanto, not after she had not only so rudely broken Sophocles's heart, but she didn't even have the decency to do so herself. She just had one of her older sisters do it for her."
"That's why we're saying that Misty's sisters are the ones who messed up," Kenny said, "You guys... may wanna sit in on this talk." Molayne, along with Selene's dad and Selene's two uncles, all looked concerned as they nonetheless agreed to what Kenny was saying. They sensed that something was up, and they wanted to know exactly what it was.
A short while later, the reborn trainers plus Molayne, Selene's dad and two uncles, were sitting down with Sophocles and Selene as the reborn trainers explained everything about the scheme cooked up by Misty's older sister. "...You gotta be kidding me," Sophocles said, looking fit to start crying, "You mean to tell me that my first girlfriend who dumped me didn't actually dump me, it was a ruse set up by her older sisters who likewise were keeping her in the dark as well."
"We can call Misty on the video phone and have you verify if you want," Kenny said.
Gently shaking his head, Sophocles said, "...I can't believe it. I seriously can't believe it. Why would Misty's sisters go that far?"
"They didn't think you were worthy of Misty's time because you aren't attractive by conventional standards," Mina said, "But hoo boy, did they get an earful from, among other people, Misty herself."
"So what are you gonna do?" Trip asked.
Sophocles gently shook his head. "...I don't know. I've long since have been thinking things between me and Misty had ended. It's why I was okay with dating Selene. But after finding out about what all Misty's sisters had been up to..." Gently shaking his head, Sophocles said, "I... I need some time to sort things out." Sophocles, after recalling his Togedemaru and Vikavolt, took off to be by himself.
It was obvious to the reborn trainers that Selene, after Sophocles had left, was very much worried about Sophocles. "You're worried about him, aren't you Selene?" Trip asked.
"I bloody well am worried about him," Selene replied, "You... you gents wanna talk alone about it?"
...
While Molayne, Selene's dad, and Selene's uncles did work in the Observatory, the reborn trainers and Selene sat at an outdoor table and talked. "So yeah, I was born and raised in Galar," Selene said, "Me mum died in an accident when I was young, too young to clearly remember her. So me dad and his two brothers, who are me uncles, raised me."
"They seem at home working in places like the Observatory and other lab places with lots of tech," Dawn remarked.
Selene nodded once in the affirmative. "Oh yeah. They're smart blokes one and all. I had grown up knowing only them and other men similar to them. The kind of men who others would say are 'nerdy looking' or 'geeky looking' in appearance. But why do others say such things about guys like that as if it's a bad thing? I see such words as indicators that the guy in question is one handsome bloke!"
The reborn trainers were surprised to hear Selene admit to finding guys who are stereotypically nerdy and geeky looking to be physically attractive to her. Selene is to geeky looking guys what Paul is to geeky looking girls. But then again, Selene DID admit to growing up knowing only her dad, her uncles, and other boys and guys similarly as nerdy and geeky looking as them. Maybe growing up with only nerds around her had influenced what Selene finds attractive in guys.
"Anyway, growing up in Galar, I had a good enough time," Selene said, "Galar is where I caught me Tsareena, Araquanid, Vikavolt, Togedemaru, and Bewear. Although I didn't catch most of them in their current forms, some of them evolved to what they are today while I had them."
Dawn nodded once in understanding. "That's fair."
"Then I moved to Alola," Selene said, "The first day I was here, I came across Sophocles and his cousin Molayne stuck somewhere because a group of those Team Skull gits were having a scuffle with a group of those Team Heart wankers. I saved Sophocles and Molayne, even chased off those Skull and Heart blokes. I also tried flirting with Sophocles, but he told me at the time that he already had a girlfriend."
Kenny arched a wry eyebrow. "...But then he lost said girlfriend."
"He told me his now ex-girlfriend Misty not only dumped him over video phone, but had one of her older sisters do it for her," Selene said. Scoffing, Selene said, "What a daft bird. She does realize that Sophocles is prime goods as a gent, doesn't she?" Selene then relented a bit. "...But then we learned that Misty wasn't being a daft bird at all. It was all the doing of her older sisters."
"You're worried, aren't you?" Kenny asked.
"What if Sophocles leaves me to get back with Misty?" Selene asked, "She never actually dumped him, after all! And where will that leave me?"
"There's no way that Sophocles will act so rashly," Trip said, "He's a smart guy, he'll think things through very carefully."
"There's also no way that he'll not consider your feelings," Kenny went on, "Sophocles is lucky to have gotten such prime attention from girls, he's too smart to screw it up."
Selene couldn't help but look worried. "I certainly hope so. There's not too many blokes in Alola like Sophocles, I don't wanna lose him."
The reborn trainers were concerned for Selene. She truly did love Sophocles, but the revelation of what Misty's older sisters had done really threw a wrench into things. The reborn trainers did not know how exactly things were going to pan out here. They could only hope that things will settle in a calm and peaceful manner.
...Dawn was also worried it may get weird somehow, but she figured that she's probably just over thinking things.
After settling things at the Observatory, the reborn trainers went to see how Elio was doing. They found the Champion of Alola at an Alola League Commission building in Hau'oli City. He was taking a short lunch break to feed both himself and his team of Pokémon. "...Yeah, I moved around a lot when I was younger," Elio said, "Never stayed in one place for too long."
"Care to share?" Mina asked.
Shrugging, Elio said, "Well first off, I was born and raised in Kitakami. Spent the first few years of my life there."
"Oh, didn't know that about you," Kenny said.
Nodding once, Elio went on, "Well anyway, my father died in an accident when I was too little to remember much. I had been raised by my mom and her sisters, my aunts, ever since. One day a few years ago, I had started doing chores and odd jobs around Mossui Town. I even picked up a few random items that were valuable enough to sell."
"Why were you working like that?" Mina asked.
"I was doing all of that to earn money because I started some days before my mom's birthday," Elio explained.
"Ah," Kenny said in a tone of understanding, "You just wanted to get your mom a gift for her birthday. Umm, if you don't mind us asking, what were you aiming to get her?"
"A Ribombee," Elio replied, drawing some surprised looks out of the reborn trainers. "Ribombee is my mom's favorite Pokémon," Elio said, "She even has a few decorative items around the house that have a Ribombee theme to them. As such, I was doing those chores, odd jobs, and item finding and selling to earn money to buy Pokéballs so that I could go out and catch a Ribombee or, failing to find one, a Cutiefly because it evolves into Ribombee."
"How did you do, once you were able to get enough money to buy the balls you needed to go out and find a Ribombee or Cutiefly?" Mina asked.
"I ended up failing to find a wild Ribombee, but I did succeed in finding a pair of wild Cutieflys together," Elio replied, "But they weren't the first Pokémon I found and caught."
Gesturing to Elio, Dawn said, "Go on."
"Admittedly, the first Pokémon I found when I went searching for a Ribombee was a Jangmo-o," Elio said, "In addition to the money I earned, I also got some spare Pokéballs of varying types when the people I did work for learned I was aiming to go out and catch a Ribombee. I used a Dusk Ball to catch Jangmo-o, it worked because it was still dark out because I wanted to get an early start on the hunt for a Ribombee. I also didn't have to battle it, I tamed it with a sandwich I brought along because I figured I'd be out for a while so I brought some food with me."
"Yeah, dragons seem fond of sandwiches for some odd reason," Dawn said.
Continuing, Elio said, "Then Jangmo-o and I came across a group of Fomantis where three pink ones were bullying a green one. Jangmo-o and I chased off the pink Fomantis and tended to the green one. It ended up becoming attached to me, so I used a Luxury Ball I got as part of a pay I got for doing some yard work for an older man to catch it."
Dawn looked over to where Elio's Pokémon were eating, took note of his shiny Lurantis. "That's fair," Dawn remarked, also thinking it's fitting that a shiny Pokémon was caught in a Luxury Ball.
"Then Jangmo-o, Fomantis, and I saved a pair of Cutieflys from being harassed by a Weepingbell," Elio said, "The one Cutiefly looked like it wanted to continue fighting Weepingbell, but the other Cutiefly quickly hid behind me and my Pokémon when it saw we were coming in to drive off that Weepingbell. The Cutiefly who hid behind me became attached to me so I used a Heal Ball to catch it. It then helped me get the other Cutiefly to agree to let me catch it. I used a regular Pokéball to capture the other Cutiefly."
"You noted how you used different models of Pokéball to make all of your catches," Trip remarked.
Elio stood up, lifted the hem of his shirt to show that all six of the Pokéballs on his belt were a different model each. A regular Pokéball, a Dusk Ball, a Luxury Ball, a Heal Ball, a Quick Ball, and a Nest Ball. "It helps me to keep track of which Pokéball contains which Pokémon," Elio said as he lowered the hem of his shirt back down.
"I'm guessing you gave the Cutiefly in the regular Pokéball to your mom?" Mina asked.
Elio nodded in the affirmative. "I got back home just in time for the beginning of my mom's birthday party, I did all of that catching in Kitakami the day of my mom's birthday. My mom loved the Cutiefly I had caught for her, and my mom and aunts were also amazed with the Pokémon that I had ended up catching for myself. Things were peaceful until we had to move to Pladea because my mom and aunts were following work."
"Yeah, we heard you were in Paldea for a bit," Dawn said.
Nodding once, Elio said, "By the time my mom, aunts, and I moved to Paldea, both me and my mom's respective Cutieflys had evolved into Ribombees, additionally my Fomantis had evolved into Lurantis and my Jangmo-o had fully evolved into Kommo-o. Some lady in Mesagoza was amazed with how tall and big my Kommo-o is, she said it was record setting for its large size and gave it some award called a Jumbo Mark."
Dawn took a look at Elio's Kommo-o; it really was rather alpha-sized (Dawn couldn't thing of a better way to put it) for its species. Turning back to look at Elio, Dawn said, "Go on."
"While I was in Paldea, I ended up taking part in some Champion Assessment thingy," Elio said, "I took on and battled the eight gym leaders of Paldea, beating them all on my first try per gym leader. Along the way, I caught my Mudsdale as a Mudbray with the Nest Ball, and my Salazzle as a Salandit with the Quick Ball. I later learned that I had really lucked out with Salandit being a girl."
"How did the rest of the Champion's Assessment go?" Dawn asked.
"I passed and became certified as a Champion ranked trainer of Paldea," Elio said, "But shortly after that I had to move with my mom and aunts again, this time to Alola. I was asked before leaving Paldea to hand over my Tera Orb, but I never got one." The reborn trainers were surprised to hear that Elio never got a Tera Orb in Paldea, especially as he beat every trainer he faced on his first try per trainer. That included the Paldean elite four and Geeta.
Gesturing to the reborn trainers, Elio went on, "My first day here in Alola, I helped some well fed girl chase off some idiots I later learned were members of Team Skull. Team Skull was bullying a wild Popplio, so I charged in with Kommo-o and Mudsdale while the well fed girl scooped up Popplio. I later introduced myself to the well fed girl and learned her name was Lana."
"Your soon to be girlfriend," Kenny remarked, a sly look of knowing amusement on his face.
Elio gave a single affirming nod. "The following morning, I along with some girl I later learned was named Selene were called to see Hala, the Kahuna of Melemele Island. He heard that we had both done some noble feats and wanted to reward us for helping out in Alola so much despite having literally just moved here. He gathered a Rowlet, a Litten, and a Popplio for us to choose from. I had picked the Popplio, as the one Lana and I saved had bonded to her."
Dawn looked over to where Elio's Primarina was eating lunch with Elio's other Pokémon. "Popplio is a traditional starter Pokémon," Dawn said, "But out of all of your Pokémon, it was the last one that you had obtained."
"Same applies to Selene and the Litten she had picked," Elio said, "Well anyway, things went on normally after that. Selene and I both took on the Island Challenge separately but at the same time, we both passed, then we... well, just settled into life in Alola. Things got exciting when Alola got its own Pokémon League, and there's also how Pokémon Contests were introduced. But I never got into the Contest scene."
"Some other friends of ours are," Mina remarked.
Elio scowled a bit. "Yeah, like that Serena girl I'm still annoyed with. So I beat the boy she has feelings for in the title match to determine the first Champion of Alola. How does that entitle her to try to humiliate me just after I won the Alola Champion title by trying to crush me in our exhibition match with an entire team of legendary Pokémon?"
"From what we heard, your Pokémon were able to fight toe to toe with Serena's team before a siege launched by Team Heart interrupted the exhibition match and ultimately had it be cancelled," Trip remarked, "When Team Heart struck, you and Serena were down three Pokémon each."
Shifting a bit, Elio said, "Yeah, my Pokémon are a lot stronger than what Serena was giving them credit for. She still had no right to try to humiliate me, though."
"Yeah, we confronted Serena on that too," Kenny said. The reborn trainers finished touching bases with Elio before taking off, citing how they had to organize their notes on the field research they were doing on the various species of Pokémon native to the Alola region. Alone with his thoughts, Elio turned to look at his Pokémon. The fact that his team could fight toe to toe with an entire team of legendary Pokémon meant that they truly were a Champion team.
...He still didn't like Serena's petty and vengeful attitude towards him, though.
The next day at the Trainer School on Melemele Island, it was actually a day off of classes but some events for younger kids were being held there anyway. The first event, ran by Selene, was a cooking class where she taught the kids how to bake scones. "...And voila," Selene said to the kids as she pulled a tray of freshly baked scones out of the oven, "The scones are baked. You just need to let them cool for a bit, but they'll still be ready in time for tea."
After the scone baking lesson with Selene, the little kids had a mochi making lesson with Elio. "The technique I demonstrated is a traditional method used over in Kitakami," Elio said, "A lot more prep work is used, but all of the necessary prep work for you kids to make your own mochi had been done before the class. We'd be waiting too much time if we went in without any prep work having been taken care of ahead of time."
The younger kids were all excited to not only get lots of yummy food, but also learn about how said food is made in their places of origin. The lessons were done for the day, although the kids had to wait to be picked up. Among those waiting were Max and Bonnie, who waited around with Harper and Sarah. "Yeah, I can see May wanting to try some of these," Max said as he held two bags, one containing scones he made and the other containing mochi he made.
"Oh!" Bonnie said, "I can share mine with Clemont and Lilia!"
Harper and Sarah looked at the bags of scones and mochi they held. They each held one bag each of both scones and mochi, each kid got one bag of each that they made. "We're bringing home a lot of tasty snacks," Harper said.
"Mmm," Sarah remarked as she nodded in the affirmative.
As the kids hung out, Elio walked up to Max, Bonnie, and the blue haired twins. "Harper, Sarah, I just got a call from Lana," Elio said, "When the other kids are all picked up, I'm taking the two of you home. Your dad's busy with work and your sister has friends over." Both Harper and Sarah nodded obediently to Elio, respecting him as they respect Lana.
After that, Elio went to check on the other kids. While he and Selene were handling seeing the other kids off, Harper and Sarah turned back to look at Max and Bonnie. "Our big sister's boyfriend is very nice," Harper said.
"So is Lana," Sarah remarked, "Lana is the nicest big sister ever!"
"Well at least she doesn't get full of herself at Pokémon Contests," Max remarked.
As Max and the girls talked, a trio of snooty looking girls who looked like they came from upper class families came up. They were followed by a Purrloin, and Alolan Meowth, and a Maschiff. "Oh my, it's the lower class girls again," said the first spoiled girl as she looked at Bonnie and the blue haired twins.
"Why don't you girls leave us alone?" Harper said.
"What did we even do to you to make you wanna bother us in the first place?" Sarah asked.
Pointing to Bonnie and the blue haired twins, the second spoiled girl said, "You three aren't from wealthy families unlike our families. None of you three even have Pokémon!"
"I have Dedenne!" Bonnie said as Dedenne poked its head out from the little bag Bonnie wore.
Arching a wry eyebrow, the third spoiled girl said, "That's actually your older brother's Pokémon, not yours. I remember you saying so yourself."
As Bonnie backed down out of being caught off guard, the first spoiled girl said, "You girls are never going to get very far, so don't even bother trying to-"
"We'll battle you!" Harper said, "Tomorrow at school, during first recess!"
The three spoiled girls all laughed at Harper's bold and sudden claim. "With what Pokémon? You girls only have between you one Pokémon, and it belongs to the older brother of one of you!"
"We'll get some," Sarah said, "And we'll put you in your place tomorrow!"
"Fine, we could use some laughter while we're humiliating you lower class girls!" the second spoiled girl said as she and the other spoiled girls all laughed before turning around and walking away.
After the spoiled girls were gone, Max arched a wry eyebrow at the blue haired twins. "Where are you two going to get Pokémon from?" Max asked, "You don't expect to borrow from me, do you?"
"...We have a plan," Harper said.
The following morning at the house where Lana lives with her dad and little sisters, Lana and her little sisters were met up by Elio. "Ready to head to school?" Elio asked.
Lana nodded once in the affirmative. "Yeah, let's get go-" Lana stopped short when Harper and Sarah rushed forward and hugged Elio around the waist. "Girls, give Elio some space," Lana gently admonished, making her little sisters let go of Elio and turn to face her.
"But he's a super cool big brother type guy," Harper said.
"Mmm!" Sarah agreed, "He's really nice and stuff!"
"Well that's sweet of you girls," Elio said, "But a little bit of warning next time would be nice." The blue haired twins nodded in understanding, then followed along behind Lana and Elio as they made their way over to trainer school.
Whispering to Sarah, Harper while holding a Dusk Ball said, "I got Ribombee. Did you get Lurantis?"
Holding a Nest Ball, Sarah whispered back, "Mmm. We along with Bonnie will show up those mean spoiled girls!" Lana and Elio were none the wiser to what Harper and Sarah were up to, they were in the middle of their own conversation.
...
Later that day at the trainer school, in the area where the younger kids had recess, Bonnie and the blue haired twins met up with the three spoiled girls. "Huh, so you girls actually have more than just one Pokémon," said the first spoiled girl when she saw that, in addition to Dedenne that Bonnie had, Harper and Sarah each had a Pokéball.
Nodding in confirmation, Harper said, "We're totally gonna beat you girls!"
"Oh, we'll see about that!" said the first spoiled girl as she and the others sent out Purrloin, Alolan Meowth, and Maschiff.
"Go, Dedenne!" Bonnie said as she had Dedenne go out into battle.
Harper and Sarah were about to send out the Pokémon they 'borrowed' from Elio, but they were cut off when a bunch of screams sounded out. Looking over, the kids saw that members of Team Heart were invading the school grounds. Among the Team Heart members was a uniquely dressed male who was fair skinned, medium long hair with the left side white and the right side black, and he wore a pink suit top over black dress shirt, black pants, pink shoes, and he had a black Team Heart 'H' on his suit over the left pectoral.
With him was a female Team Heart grunt who was fair skinned, had long brunette hair with bangs framing her face and some bangs curling up, and she wore the standard female Team Heart grunt outfit. "Alright, kids! Listen up!" said the uniquely dressed Team Heart member, "I'm Mamoru, Second Captain of the Alola Sector of Team Heart! The lady with me is my Assistant Emeri! You all will be cooperating with us because we're picking some of you up from school here!"
"Ah! Team Heart came to kidnap us!" screamed one of the spoiled girls.
"HEY EVERYONE!" Bonnie yelled out, "IF YOU HAVE ANY POKÉMON, FIGHT BACK! AT LEAST DO ENOUGH TO BUY TIME FOR OTHERS TO COME IN AND SAVE US!"
Because of Bonnie's rallying cry, a bunch of little kids began fighting back against the Team Heart members. Mamoru and Emiri zeroed in on where Bonnie stood with Max, the blue haired twins, and the spoiled girls. "You're a troublesome little brat," Mamoru snarled, more annoyed than anything, as he stared down at Bonnie.
"And we're troublesome too!" Harper said as she tossed up the Dusk Ball she held, "Go, Ribombee!"
"Go, Lurantis!" Sarah said as she tossed up the Nest Ball she held.
Tossing up a Pokéball, Mamoru said, "Go, Kingdra!"
"Go, Meowstic!" Emiri said as she tossed up a Pokéball as well. Coming out to battle at the command of the Team Heart members were a Kingdra and a male Meowstic. However, despite what Harper and Sarah had called out, Ribombee and Lurantis did NOT come out to battle at the command of the blue haired twins.
Instead, coming out to battle at the command of Harper and Sarah were Kommo-o and Mudsdale, both of which looked confused as they looked around. "Uhh... I think we got the wrong Pokéballs from Lana's boyfriend," Harper whispered to Sarah.
Nodding in agreement, Sarah replied, "Mmm hmm." Kommo-o and Mudsdale both turned to look at Harper and Sarah, and were both able to tell that the young children had absolutely no idea what they were doing. As such, the two big Pokémon turned to look back at the battle before them, and there was battle before them, whether they liked the confusing setup or not.
"Those kids obviously have no idea how to battle," Emiri said to her Captain.
Nodding in agreement, Mamoru said, "Indeed! This shall be an easy-"
Mamoru was cut off when Kommo-o and Mudsdale both cried out and charged forward to attack. Kommo-o struck Kingdra with Dragon Claw and knocked it out, whereas Mudsdale slammed down into Meowstic with Heavy Slam, knocking it out as well. The two mighty Pokémon backed up and stood protectively in front of the little kids behind them.
"Those Pokémon are a lot smarter than what we were expecting," Mamoru said as he and Emiri called back their respective fainted Pokémon.
"Yeah," Emiri said as she sent out a Gourgeist that's Super Sized, whereas Mamoru sent out a Drapion. But Kommo-o and Mudsdale, knowing that Harper and Sarah don't know how to properly command them, took the initiative, seeing Mudsdale take out Drapion with Low Sweep whereas Kommo-o took out Gourgeist with Ice Punch.
Mamoru and Emiri called back their respective fainted Pokémon again, a bit worried about how things were going for them. They sent out their next Pokémon, Mismagius for Emiri and Fearow for Mamoru. But Mismagius was taken out by Mudsdale's Heavy Slam while Fearow fell to another Ice Punch from Kommo-o.
After Mamoru and Emiri called back their respective fainted Pokémon yet again, Mamoru snarled, "Well this isn't going according to pla-"
"Hey! There's Team Heart!"
Mamoru turned and saw a bunch of stronger trainers come running up, including two he recognized as Sinnoh Champion Dawn Berlitz and Alola Champion Elio. A call from Mamoru made some Team Heart grunts give him and Emiri cover to flee, and although the big names were able to get away in the end, more than a few rank and file were captured due to how badly things went down.
None of the little kids were hurt or missing, and no Pokémon were stolen. Unless one counts how Harper and Sarah stole Mudsdale and Kommo-o from Elio, which by the way the twins got an earful over that from Lana and Elio, the latter of which recovered the Dusk and Nest Balls his Pokémon that the twins took from him were kept in.
From the captured grunts, the heroes were able to learn that Team Heart was planning to take some of the little kids and use them as hostages to demand the release of their fellows in Alolan police custody, as well as the return of all Pokémon confiscated from Team Heart. Things failed for Team Heart mainly due to how they very clearly were not expecting any of the little kids to be able to fight back against them, at least effectively.
Elio also got it from Harper and Sarah that the reason they took Mudsdale and Kommo-o from him was because they wanted to put some girls in their class who were bothering them in their place with a Pokémon battle, also they thought that they took Ribombee and Lurantis instead. Harper and Sarah have no idea which Pokémon of Elio's were kept in what kind of balls.
As for all of the little kids, they were all awestruck to see Elio there, given that he's the Champion of Alola. The spoiled girls, realizing that Bonnie, Harper, and Sarah all had an in with Elio, quickly said they were sorry for antagonizing them. While the little ones were all safe, Elio and the other older trainers weren't as at ease as the little ones.
"There's a good chance that an attack like this may happen again," Elio remarked, "We're going to have to tell Principal Oak that there needs to be increased security measures while students are outside on school grounds."
Dawn nodded in agreement. "We're also gonna have to do general security buffs as a whole. We're damn lucky no-one was taken and no-one was seriously hurt, but there's a chance that Team Heart may try to pull a stunt like this again."
Elio nodded once to Dawn before turning around, saying he had to go see Principal Oak about this right away. After Elio took off, Dawn turned around as she heard Trip, Kenny, and Mina come up to her. Dawn was about to say something to the other reborn trainers, but stopped short upon hearing Selene cry out in a tone of clear relief.
The reborn trainers all turned to look and saw Selene, her arms around Sophocles's shoulders, had her face in one of Sophocles's shoulders as she cried into it. As for Sophocles, he looked as if he still isn't sure about a few things, but was letting Selene get a few things off anyway. Sophocles had a lot on his mind right now, but he's still a good person.
Dawn and the other reborn trainers had no idea why Misty's sisters here in the Team Heart timeline didn't like Sophocles dating Misty.
(Opelucid City, Unova region)
Bianca, the Boss's Assistant of Team Heart and the public face ruler of the Team Heart Empire, was sitting at her desk in her office in her mansion home in the wealthy neighborhood in Opelucid City. She was going over some reports when a knock at her office door alerted her. "Enter," Bianca called out, and a few seconds later the usual maid came walking in.
"How are things going, Lady Bianca?" asked the maid.
Sighing, Bianca replied, "I'm going over a report on the progress that's being made on trying to take the now weakened Kalos region," Bianca replied, "In addition to the native Sector of Team Heart in the Kalos region, Admin Hochu of the Paldea Sector is sending help from Paldea. They're using the flying ships from Princess Salvia's nation which we took over in order to get over the mountainous border between Paldea and Kalos."
"So Team Heart has truly begun efforts to invade and take over the Kalos region," said the maid, "How is it going so far, Lady Bianca?"
Letting out another sigh, Bianca replied, "Not as well as I'd like. Even with Kalosian defenses having been weakened in recent events, plus the troops from Paldea, Kalos has been able to keep even with Team Heart efforts. But then again, Kalos Champion Serena is back in her home region, and her power is being put to terrible effect against Team Heart by the Kalosian government."
Shrugging, the maid asked, "Why not go for a two pronged attack?"
Bianca arched a wry eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Galar, which is across a bit of sea from Kalos, is also part of the Team Heart Empire," the maid explained, "Troops can be sent from Galar to Kalos to help the Paldean troops. Not even a trainer like Kalos Champion Serena can stand up to that much pressure from Team Heart."
Bianca gave a darkly amused smirk as she regarded her maid. "...It's amazing that I didn't think of that," Bianca said, "Very well. I'll call Admin Sue of the Galar Sector first, ask her if she has any manpower to spare to help with the current ongoing conquest of Kalos. If she does, then Kalos will have to look out for invading forced from two different ends." The Boss's Assistant of Team Heart gave a darkly amused chuckle.
"...Team Heart may finally be able to take Kalos after all."
END, CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Author's notes;
This chapter focuses on more backstory for Elio and Selene, although Elio does admittedly get more focus. There's also the reborn trainers telling Sophocles about the scheming of Misty's older sisters and how Misty never actually dumped him. Sophocles will be needing a bit of time to figure out what exactly he's going to do.
But then Team Heart acts up when they try to take some little kids from the trainer school. But Harper and Sarah, who took Pokémon from Elio to make mean girls at school shut up, confront the leading members of the attack by sending out Kommo-o and Mudsdale despite how they originally aimed to take Ribombee and Lurantis instead.
Team Heart is defeated, things are settled, Elio gets his Pokémon back, and all is right with Alola for now. But there's still the looming threat of the rest of the Alola Sector of Team Heart, and Sophocles still has to figure out what he's gonna do. The reborn trainers can tell that things in Alola are not yet quite over for them by a long shot.
Meanwhile in Unova, Bianca discusses with a maid on how Team Heart is now actively invading Kalos in a bid to conquer it. Even with Kalos having been weakened and with loads of Team Heart forces coming in from Paldea, Kalos forces are able to keep up with the pressure, in large part due to Serena being back in Kalos.
That's when the usual maid brings up how Galar, which is off the coast from Kalos, is also part of the Team Heart Empire. That gives Bianca the idea to have Galarian Team Heart forces invade Kalos as well in a bid to help speed up slash make easier the conquering of the Kalos region, the region that the Boss most wants.
The next chapter will show the heroes and their peers discussing the ongoing Team Heart invasion of Kalos, as well as see native Alolan views on Serena. Until then, take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Tsukune (Palkia), Leni (female Lucario), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian), Lincoln (male Latios), Cupidos (female Enamorus)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Black (Giratina), Shallot (male Glaceon), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Roshi (male Torterra), Zarbon (male Machamp), Kermit (male Politoed)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Deelia (Dialga), Lisa (female Latias), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Veda (female Abomasnow), Myde (male Empoleon), Villetta (Miraidon)
Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Gardevoir (male), Lucario (female), Umbreon (male; shiny), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny)