Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Pokédex no Isekai
Chapter Fifty-two: Settling things, part one
The crew of The Big Beauty, now that the Team Heart Empire has been wholly taken down and for good, was now currently going about its latest quest, that being to bring about a discrimination free world without using the method that Team Heart had been using. It was going to be a long and hard effort, but Dawn, Kenny, Trip, and Mina were all confident that they would be able to get their point across to the people of the world.
"So which region are we going to be visiting first?" Trip asked as he and the other reborn trainers had a private meeting in the meeting room on board of Dawn's flying ship as the vessel was flying through the skies.
"We're planning to hit up Kanto first," Dawn began, "But only to pick up Ash, Brock, and Misty. Then we will head to the Alola region."
Mina arched a wry eyebrow. "We're bringing Ash, Brock, and Misty to Alola? Why?"
"Alola has actually gotten into quite a bit of trouble on the inter-regional scene," Dawn began to say to the others, "Now that the threat of Team Heart has been taken down, the individual regions of the world can go right on back to squabbling over their own personal issues."
"And this relates to bringing Ash, Brock, and Misty to Alola how?" Kenny asked.
Looking at the other three reborn trainers, Dawn said, "Alola's government has repeatedly and rather annoyingly tried to pester Serena into releasing the Tapus back into the wild. Alola is violating a lot of inter-regional laws with their harassing of Serena on this matter."
"Oh yeah, I remember that," Mina said. Looking to Dawn, Mina went on, "But surely it can't be all that bad, can it?"
Dawn had a dry, serious look on her face. "...A few other regions," Dawn began, "Including the Kalos region which is Serena's home region and the region she is Champion of, are threatening actions, up to and including military, against Alola if it doesn't stop trying to harass Serena into releasing the Tapus back into the wild."
The other three reborn trainers all had stunned looks on their faces. "...Umm, well okay then," Trip remarked, not exactly sure what to say.
"The world has just gotten through with dealing with a villainous empire that had used military force to rule over half of the world in an iron fisted tyrannical dictatorship," Dawn began, "The absolute LAST thing that the world needs right now while it's still recovering from all of that is another major conflict where multiple regions use military force against each other."
"Hang on a minute here," Mina began, "Aren't the Tapus, like, important to local religious customs and practices over in the Alola region? The other regions of the world, with how they're threatening actions against Alola if they won't stop harassing Serena, are basically saying they're going to bully Alola out of their deities. The other regions are spitting right in the face of the religious customs and beliefs of the Alolan people."
Sighing, Dawn said, "That's one way to look at it, I suppose. But the Tapus, regardless of how special they are to the Alolan people, are STILL Pokémon. Inter-regional law affords no Pokémon any special treatment, no matter how rare and unique, provided that the Pokémon in question wasn't protected by any government mandates prior to its capture. This covers things such as Pokémon kept in wildlife reserves."
"Wait, wouldn't Alola's government have such protections for the Tapus?" Trip asked.
"One would think that, but Alola's government actually doesn't have such protections for the Tapus," Dawn replied.
Shrugging, Kenny asked, "Well why not?"
"Because the Alolan people had apparently never thought that it'd be necessary," Dawn replied, "It never occurred to them that someone would ever consider trying to capture the Tapus, despite the fact that the Tapus, as previously stated, are still Pokémon no matter how special they are."
"So... what," Trip began, "Are we going to convince the Alolan people to give up trying to get Serena to release the Tapus back into the wild?"
Nodding once in the affirmative, Dawn said, "Yes, although unfortunately it's going to be a rather tricky and difficult deal to work with. We're basically going to have to ask the Alolan people to give up on a matter of great religious importance to them because otherwise some of the other regions of the world will take immediate firm and drastic actions against Alola."
Folding her arms over her chest, Mina said, "Mmm, still sounds like the other regions of the world are trying to bully Alola into submission on this matter."
"Hands are tied here," Dawn replied. It was indeed a rather grim dealing, but Serena, whether the people of Alola like it or not, is protected by inter-regional law on the matter of her having captured the Tapus. Inter-regional mandate sees Serena capturing the Tapus in Alola as being no different than Serena capturing a few common Pokémon in Alola like Yungoos and Grubbin.
But convincing the Alolan people to leave Serena alone on the matter of her having caught the Tapus is NOT going to be easy, even more so when it's considered that, legally speaking, Alola more or less has no choice in the matter. This rather delicate situation was the last thing that the reborn trainers were wanting to be dealing with right now, especially given the fact that the world had just barely gotten off of dealing with the Team Heart Empire.
...But considering what the alternative was, Dawn and the other reborn trainers were really hoping that the Alolan people can see reason and agree to the conditions, no matter how painful it would be for them personally.
Later, The Big Beauty arrived in Alola, landing near Professor Kukui's home on Melemele Island. Kukui, along with Burnett and their infant son Lei, greeted the crew of The Big Beauty as they came off. Kukui and Burnett were happy to see Ash, and they also recognized both Brock and Misty who came off of the flying ship as well.
Kukui and Burnett were, however, caught old guard and wore curious looks on their faces when Jessie came down off from The Big Beauty with a rather battered (in an admittedly rather comical) face. "Umm..." Kukui began, not exactly sure how to go about approaching this one, "...What exactly had happened to this girl who I'm assuming is a new member of Dawn's ship's crew?"
"I did," Ash scowled, clearly unamused, "I still can't believe that Jessie got off the hook for what all she's done while she was a member of Team Heart."
"Technically she didn't get off the hook," Mina pointed out, "She's on a rather strict probation slash house arrest deal, and Dawn is serving as her parole officer."
"She should be in jail," Brock remarked, also still bitter towards Jessie.
"She did provide authorities with good info on Team Heart as part of a plea deal," Mina continued to point out, "Even though she is technically walking free, Jessie still hasn't been let off the hook."
"And we're getting off subject," Dawn said. Turning to look at Kukui and Burnett, Dawn said, "My crew and I came here to begin our efforts to try and bring about a discrimination free world without using the methods that Team Heart had been using. We're also here to help try to help address the issues that the Alolan people have with the fact that Kalos Champion Serena had caught and is currently keeping the Tapus."
"Yeah, a world without discrimination sounds like a nice place," Kukui admitted, "And you kids saying you want to bring it about without using Team Heart methods sounds pretty grand." Looking a bit troubled, Kukui went on, "But as for the issue of getting the Alolan people to settle down about how Serena had caught and is currently keeping the Tapus... that is going to be a very tough deal to sell to the people of Alola."
"You kids will have an easier time bringing about a discrimination free world," Burnett remarked, "At least here in Alola."
While the adults were talking, Lei was waving his arms at something he was looking at while he was laughing, sounding as if he was looking at something very funny. "What's the little guy laughing at?" Misty asked, looking curious.
Finding her infant son's line of sight and following it, Burnett said, "...Ah, he's waving and laughing at that girl with the comically battered face and long red hair."
"Ah, he's making fun of Jessie and how Ash rearranged her face!" Kenny exclaimed right before he began to laugh as well.
"Guys, we ought to try to cut Jessie some slack, alright?" Dawn insisted, "Her rehabilitation will not go all that smoothly if we keep giving her a rough time."
Scoffing just a little bit, Jessie said, "Hmph. ...Thanks twerp. I guess."
"So where will we set things up for the first rally we'll hold to try and preach the word of a world free from discrimination without using the Team Heart method?" Kenny asked.
Shrugging, Dawn said, "I figured that we can do it at the trainer school, provided that we get all of the right permissions to do so."
"Principal Oak will be thrilled to hold such an event at the trainer school," Kukui said.
Looking curious, Misty said, "Principal Oak?"
"Professor Oak's cousin who lives here in Alola," Ash explained. With little else stopping things from happening, Kukui, Burnett, the away team from The Big Beauty, and the guests brought to Alola all went on with making arrangements to hold things at the trainer school.
The following day at the trainer school on Melemele Island, the Alolan classmates were outside, helping Dawn and the others set up things for the rally. "You know, it sucked that those cheese eating surrender monkeys in Kalos gave Sophocles the boot right after Team Heart was taken down," Selene said, "Even though Sophocles had risked his neck to save their sorry hides."
"Why else do you think I kicked that one man right between his legs for badmouthing Sophocles?" Misty replied, drawing and agreeing nod out of Selene.
Brock, having heard multiple girls all gush over Sophocles, turned to look at him. "Seriously, how did you get multiple girls to all fawn over you?" Brock asked, clearly wanting to know whatever secret it was that Sophocles had so that Brock could use it for himself.
Sophocles was about to speak up, but he stopped short when Lillie called out, "Oh! Gladion and his boyfriend had come over!" Everyone turned to look and saw it as Gladion walked on in with Hau following right alongside him. Lillie dashed up to her older brother and greeted him. "What brings you over, Gladion?" Lillie asked, "The rally won't be ready for a while."
"Kahuna Hala heard that Kalos Champion Serena's boyfriend was here in Alola," Gladion said, "He sent Hau, who's Hala's grandson, to ask about the possibility of getting Serena to release the Tapus back into the wild."
"According to Ash, that sacrilegious hussy that he's dating still has no intention of releasing the Tapus back into the wild where they belong," Kiawe spoke up as he came walking over, "And what's worse is that according to Dawn, Alola is going to just have to accept it."
"Legally speaking, Alola can't do anything against Serena," Dawn pointed out, "But we can discuss that messy business at a later time."
"Dawn's right," Kenny said, "We're beginning the Zero Discrimination Plan."
Mallow had a curious look on her face. "Zero Discrimination Plan?"
"That's Kenny's name for the goal that he, Trip, Mina, and myself all have," Dawn said, "To bring up the discrimination free world that Team Heart wanted, but WITHOUT using Team Heart's methods."
Lana had a rather troubled look on her face, as if she was recalling something of a rather troubling nature. "...It would have been nice of the Kalosian people to show at least a little gratitude towards me and Sophocles for what we did to help liberate their region," Lana said, "Rather than for all of them to immediately bully us out of the region after they were free, solely because Sophocles and I are both on the heavy side."
"Yeah, I heard from Clemont that he's seriously considering not returning to Kalos and staying here in Alola with Lilia," Mallow spoke up, "I mean, Alola's got no problem with bigger folks."
"That attitude that the Kalosian people have is just one of the things that Trip, Kenny, Mina, and I all intend to tackle in our efforts to end discrimination peacefully," Dawn remarked.
Ash was about to speak up, but stopped short when he heard a familiar voice call out. "Ash! It really is you!" Ash and the others turned around and saw it as Clemont and Bonnie came running on up to the scene. It had been Clemont who had called out.
"Clemont and Bonnie!" Ash said as the two siblings reached him, "How have you been?"
Clemont had a grim, mildly resigned look on his face. "Well there IS the good news that Team Heart has been wholly taken down," Clemont said, "But the good news is buried under the bad."
"Like how Kalos had immediately gone right on back to being fatphobic jerks the exact moment they were free from Team Heart rule?" Lillie asked.
Gently shaking his head, Clemont said, "No. No, I'm talking about how Alola's government won't stop it with harassing Serena over how she had caught the Island Guardians. It's really bad news."
...
Things were resumed in the classroom for the Alolan classmates, so as to give the friends more privacy to talk. "So like I was saying," Clemont began, "Alola's government just won't cut it out with bothering Serena. Regardless of how Alola and its people feel, Serena broke no laws. They have no right to make demands for Serena to release the Island Guardians."
"The people of Alola have every right to demand that the sacrilegious hussy who Ash is dating be made to release the Tapus back into the wild," Kiawe spoke up, his firm tone and expression not the least bit wavering.
Looking at Kiawe with a disapproving look, Bonnie said, "That's a really mean thing to call Serena."
Shrugging, Hau remarked, "My Grandpa Hala has called Kalos Champion Serena much worse things, trust me."
To everyone in the classroom, Clemont said, "Guys, this is serious. We have got to figure out a way to resolve things here!"
Nodding in agreement, Kiawe said, "He's right. We need to figure out a way to make Serena release the Tapus back into the wild."
"Actually, we need to figure out a way to convince Alola to give up trying to get Serena to release the Island Guardians back into the wild," Clemont said.
Kiawe looked very much unamused. Hau also looked mildly worried. "I'm sorry," Kiawe said, "But did you just say that the Alola region has to let that sacrilegious hussy keep Alola's deities?"
"Legally speaking, Alola has no choice," Clemont said, "The Island Guardians, regardless of how special they are, are STILL Pokémon. And they had no legal protections of any kind at the time that Serena caught all of them. Not only can Alola not do anything, but if it tries to push the envelope regardless, then a coalition of other regions will intervene and MAKE Alola give up."
"You're saying that if Alola doesn't leave Serena alone," Selene said, "Then other regions will step in on her behalf and MAKE Alola leave her alone?"
Sighing in a resigned tone, Dawn said, "Unfortunately, yes. Clemont is right. The other regions taking action against Alola like that is the LAST thing that the world needs right now, given that the various lands had just gotten through with bringing down the Team Heart Empire. That said, we need a plan that will resolve the issue the best way possible."
"I'll tell you what the best way possible is," Kiawe spoke up.
"...Besides having Serena release the Tapus back into the wild," Dawn pointed out, dryly rolling her eye at Kiawe's predictable remark.
Getting frustrated, Kiawe said, "So what, huh? Is Alola just supposed to be happy with the fact that our deities have been captured?! Why can't Serena be made to release the Tapus back into the wild where they belong?"
"For starters, it could set a rather dangerous precedent."
Everyone turned to look at Elio, who stood up from where he sat next to Lana who was now eating from a bag of mini chocolate donuts. "Say Alola IS successful in making Serena release the Tapus back into the wild," Elio said, "What will then stop someone from making Ash release his Pikachu into the wild, or making me release my Kommo-o into the wild?"
Moving to stand at the front of the classroom, Elio went on, "If Alola is successful in its goals of making Serena release the Tapus back into the wild, it will give people the idea that they can bully anyone into releasing their Pokémon into the wild and get away with it. Do any of you have any idea of how big of a mess that could turn the world into?"
Glaring at Elio, Kiawe said, "Elio, you're the Champion of Alola. You ought to be acting with the best interest of the region in mind."
"I am," Elio said, drawing a confused and mildly curious look out of Kiawe, "Which is why I am taking everything into account. I need to think about Alola's overall well being, not just the here and now but also what's to come. Clemont's right, Alola WILL see other regions take actions against it if if won't stop harassing Serena, and Alola CAN'T deal with all of that pressure."
Straightening up, Elio went on, "As harsh as it may be given that it's a big blow to its region's culture and heritage, the best thing for Alola will be to just let this one go."
"Alola can't just let this go!" Kiawe argued, "The Island Guardians are too important to the region!"
"So then you WANT a number of other regions to all jump onto and dogpile on Alola and make it leave Serena alone," Dawn snapped, making everyone turn to face her. "Alola has to face it," Dawn went on, "It's got no choice but to let this one go. If it doesn't, then the other regions of the world are all going to dogpile onto Alola and MAKE IT let this one go."
Kiawe looked as if he just realized that his stance was impossible to defend. "...But how will Alola be able to carry on its traditions with such a blow dealt to it?" Kiawe asked.
"Change them," Kenny said, "Or make new ones entirely. Remember, tradition is basically just peer pressure from dead people."
Shrugging, Trip said, "Originally, Kahunas need the approval of the Tapus before actually becoming Kahunas, right? Well instead of that, maybe being Kahuna can be a heredity thing, where the child or ward of the previous Kahuna becomes the new one."
"Some of the islands of Alola actually do that," Lillie spoke up, "But the new Kahunas still seek out the approval of their respective Island Guardian first."
Shrugging again, Trip said, "Skip the part involving the Tapus. Make it a sort of monarchy type of deal where just bloodline or whatever decides things automatically."
Kiawe had a grim, serious scowl on his face. "...The people of Alola will NOT like being made to make such a change to tradition."
"Like I said, Alola unfortunately has no choice," Dawn remarked, "This will be something that will have to be brought up with Alolan government officials. I'm certain that they'll act with the region's best interests in mind if informed of all of the facts."
Dawn could tell that things were going to be tricky here. She was anticipating a ninety-one point six percent chance that the government officials of Alola won't like being told that the region has to leave Serena alone on the matter of her having caught the Tapus, and that if the region doesn't do so willingly then a lot of the other regions of the world will all gang up on Alola and MAKE IT leave Serena alone.
And if Kiawe (and Hala, if what Hau says is true) is any indication, then the citizenry of Alola, at least on average, will be outright hostile to being told to suck it up and change things. Selling the idea to the Alolan people as a whole that they have to change slash modify their region's traditions in order to accommodate the fact that Serena caught the Tapus and legally has no obligation to release any of them will be harder than selling to the Alolan people the idea of a discrimination free world that doesn't involve using Team Heart's methods to make it happen.
...But never let it be said that the reborn trainers weren't up for the challenge.
A short while later, Dawn and the other reborn trainers met up with Alolan government officials in order to discuss the matter of Alola having to leave Serena alone. Dawn had to explain to them all of the facts involved in the entire situation, as well as make it clear to them that Alola WILL face a bit of trouble at least if it doesn't stop stubbornly pestering Serena.
Alola's governor had a grim look of serious consideration on his face. "...I know full well that Alola's got no choice but to leave Kalos Champion Serena alone on this matter," began Alola's governor, "But the people of Alola, with the vast majority of them far too invested in the region's tradition, just can't see the bigger picture. It's nearly impossible to change the minds of people who are so heavily invested into tradition like that."
"There's also the fact that the governor needs the approval of the people of the region if he's to win re-election," said an advisor who was standing next to the governor, "There's no way the governor's going to have a chance of winning re-election if he tells the people of Alola that they're gonna have to compromise on their much beloved traditions. They'll vote him out of office and vote in whatever person who says they'll uphold the region's traditions sounds the best."
Shrugging, Kenny said, "Can't you just tell the Alolan people that if they don't leave Serena alone then the other regions will step in and MAKE them leave her alone?"
"Do you know how much resentment and panic that will generate?" the advisor replied, "No, no we can't tell the people that an ultimatum is going to be forced onto them on this matter."
Trip pinched the bridge of his nose, let out a mildly exasperated sigh. "...Okay," Trip began, "So you wanna win re-election. This will be your... how many terms will it make if you win re-election?"
"It'll be my second term," said Alola's governor.
"And how many terms can an Alolan governor serve?" Trip asked.
"Alolan governors can serve up to two four-year terms," replied Alola's governor.
"How far away is the election?" Kenny asked.
"A few days," replied Alola's governor.
Shrugging, Kenny said, "So just lie about getting Serena to cough up the Tapus until after all of that election crap is taken care of, then you can just double back and tell the Alolan people words to the effect of tough shit, they ain't getting their guardian deities back."
Alola's governor looked mildly concerned. "I don't think lying to the people like that is all that good of an idea, young man."
"Pfft, dude you're a politician," Kenny said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Lying is your bread and butter."
"Actually, I'm pretty sure that lying in this case ain't exactly a good idea," Dawn said, "Aside from how the people will be upset with being lied to on the matter of Serena not releasing the Tapus back into the wild, the inter-regional community will NOT take kindly to Alola's governor saying he'll support the will of the Alolan people by looking to get Serena to release the Tapus."
Shrugging, Mina asked, "Well can't Alola hold out at least until after the election?"
"I don't know," said Alola's governor, "Especially considering how my opponent in the election is saying that he'll get Kalos Champion Serena to release the Island Guardians of Alola back into the wild where they belong. He's gotten a LOT of support from the Alolan people with just that claim."
"So he made a promise he's not going to be able to keep," Kenny remarked, "That makes him sound like he'll be one hell of a politician."
Sighing, Trip said, "All of this back and forth is telling me is that there's no easy answer, so what we ought to do is make Alola take its lumps that it has coming."
"But the panic and outrage among the Alolan people that will cause!" remarked the advisor.
Turning to look at the advisor, Trip said, "Yes or no, can the Alolan people ever be convinced to drop their issues against Serena and leave her alone without her being made to release the Tapus?"
"No, of course not," replied the advisor, "The traditions of the Alola region are too entwined, they're too important to the Alolan people."
"Well the Alolan people are going to have to swallow their damn pride," Trip said, "Because whether they like it or not, they don't have a choice but to leave Serena alone, and if they persist in trying to harass Serena for the Tapus anyway, the other regions of the world will come in and bully Alola into submission to MAKE Alola leave Serena alone."
"But we can't say that to the Alolan people!" the advisor exclaimed.
"There's no choice!" Trip replied, "The Alolan people are gonna have to take an 'L' on this one here!"
Scowling, Dawn said, "Damn it, this whole mess is gonna make trying to sell the idea of a world free from discrimination but without using Team Heart's methods a hell of a lot harder to sell to the Alola region than how it would have been otherwise. Why did there have to be so many dedicated diehard traditionalists in the Alola region?"
"Wait, I have an idea that can at least buy time until the election," Kenny spoke up.
Arching a wry eyebrow, Alola's governor replied, "Go on."
"Has your opponent in the election said anything along the lines of being in discussions with Serena to discuss a deal to get her to release the Tapus?" Kenny asked.
Looking curious, Alola's governor replied, "No, he just said he's gonna make her do it. He never said anything about being in discuss-"
"That's where you come in," Kenny cut in, "You just have to claim that you've started discussions with Serena to strike a deal with her in which she'll release the Tapus. The people of Alola will see it as progress that's being made towards the goal that they want, they'll be happy, you'll see a rather sharp increase in approval ratings, and you'll do much better in the election."
The advisor looked like Kenny's idea might actually be worth something. "...Hey, that could actually work," the advisor remarked.
"But that's also lying," Alola's governor pointed out, "And the heat I'll catch on the inter-regional scene for continuing the harassment of Kalos Champion Serena won't be good for me."
"I'm sure you can keep it up until after the elections at least," Kenny said in a dismissive tone, "And besides, if you win re-election then you can tell the Alolan people the bad news that they ain't gonna get their guardian deities back anyway."
"And if I lose re-election?" asked Alola's governor.
Shrugging, Kenny said, "It'll be the new guy's mess to deal with. We'll see how long he lasts in office when inter-regional law enforcement comes in and forces the Alolan people to leave Serena alone. Assuming of course that the Alolan people haven't started doing that already by the time things roll around there."
Sighing, Dawn face palmed as she realized that getting the Alolan people on board with a worldwide effort to bring about a discrimination free world without the use of Team Heart methods will be a rather considerable task. After all, they aren't gonna budge on anything period until Serena releases the Tapus back into the wild, and that's seemingly never going to happen.
This was going to be a hell of a lot more difficult than Dawn was expecting, and she was already expecting things to be difficult here.
The next few days were spent by the cabinet of Alola's governor in trying to drum up support to get re-elected. Meanwhile, Dawn and her crew were trying to subtly influence the people of Alola to get used to the idea of not getting the Tapus released back into the wild. And there was also how Dawn and the reborn trainers were preaching the idea of a discrimination free world being brought about without the use of Team Heart style methods.
If there was any silver lining, it was that the idea of a discrimination free world without the use of Team Heart style methods was actually starting to catch on with the Alolan people. The efforts of Dawn and the other reborn trainers were being supplemented by the Alolan classmates, with Lana and Sophocles liking the idea of eventually being able to go back to Kalos without the people there harshing on them over how they're both big boned.
Alola's current governor used Kenny's idea and simply just claimed that he was currently discussing with Serena a deal where she'd release the Island Guardians of Alola back into the wild. He was, of course, lying out of his ass, but the Alolan people at large didn't know that. They took his claims at face value and cheered excitedly, relieved to finally be hearing news about them getting their much beloved Island Guardians back from the Kalos region.
Eventually, the election came and went, and the current governor won re-election. With his second term now secured, he was planning to drop the lie of being in discussions with Serena as soon as he was able to. However, by the time he saw that the first opportunity to do so, he saw that there is already some support for the idea of changing things for Alolan traditions to be able to make due without getting the Island Guardians back.
That was because Dawn and her crew from The Big Beauty were subtly influencing things in Alola to get the people to accept the idea of carrying on and adjusting to compensate for the Tapus not being released back into the wild. Dawn and the other reborn trainers started with the younger folks of Alola, who weren't as bound to the old ways and traditions as the older people of Alola. Younger folks tended to be less stuck on old ways and traditions than older folks.
Slowly, Dawn as well as the other reborn trainers wove hints of that idea into their overall preaching of the word of a discrimination free world without using Team Heart methods. The preaching, with the hints of changing things to adjust traditions, helped to slowly ween the Alolan people off of the idea that getting the Tapus back was an absolute necessity in order to properly carry out things for the various traditions of the Alola region.
"The hostility that the Alolan people have towards Serena is dying down," Mina remarked, "There's no longer as pressing of a bother against Serena as there used to be."
"We're going to have to wait on telling the Alolan people at large that they straight up aren't gonna get the Tapus back," Trip said, "Especially as there's still some diehard traditionalists who still have not yet been sold on the idea."
Nodding a few times as he folded his arms across his chest, Kenny said, "But it looks like in time that we'll be able to effectively end the hostilities from Alola against Serena as a whole."
"That means we can focus on trying to peacefully bring about a discrimination free world," Dawn remarked, "We sparked that fire here in Alola. But we're gonna have to spark it in other regions as well, Alola is but one stop on the road."
Turning to look at Dawn, Mina asked, "So Captain, where will the road take us next?"
Dawn folded her arms across her chest, wore a look of serious consideration on her face for a few moments. Then, looking like she's suddenly been stricken by inspiration, Dawn said, "How about we head on over to the Unova region next?"
Looking surprised, the other reborn trainers said in unison, "The Unova region?"
Nodding once, Dawn said, "It was the seat of the Team Heart Empire back when the Empire was still a thing. Additionally, there's a few people in Unova who I wanna see, mainly Bianca."
"Oh yeah," Kenny remarked, "Not once while we were dealing with Team Heart shenanigans did we ever come face to face with Bianca. Hell, we've directly dealt with Yvonne, and she was the actual Boss of Team Heart! We've never dealt with Bianca, who was the Boss's Assistant, directly while the Empire was still a thing!"
"There's also the fact that we're working on bringing about a discrimination free world without the use of Team Heart methods," Trip said, "I wonder how Bianca will react to it when we tell her that."
Shrugging, Mina said, "Chances are that she'll say something along the lines of how we're chasing an impossible dream, that a discrimination free world isn't possible without there being a power in charge of the entire world making it so."
"I'd still like to see Bianca's reaction," Dawn remarked, "Aside from here, there's a few people over in Unova who I also wanna see. Nate, Kieran and his bitchy older sister, Wolfgang if possible. There's a lot we ought to touch base on over in the Unova region."
"...Hey yeah," Kenny said, "We need to touch base with our good friend Kieran! And also smack around his bitchy older sister Carmine if she's being a bitch which she will be! Hoo boy, I can't wait to see how Kieran's doing!"
And so it was decided that the next destination that the reborn trainers would be going to for their quest to bring about a discrimination free world without the use of Team Heart style methods would be what was the heart of the Team Heart Empire back when said Empire was still a thing. Dawn and the other reborn trainers had no idea how this would go, but never let it be said that they were not ones to be able to roll with the punches.
END, CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Author's notes;
This chapter kicks off the final arc by seeing the reborn trainers begin the quest to bring about a discrimination free world without the use of Team Heart style methods. They swing by Kanto first to pick up Ash, Brock, and Misty before they head on over to Alola which is the first actual stop on the latest journey that the crew of The Big Beauty is making.
However, the plan to preach the word of a discrimination free world without using Team Heart's methods hits a wall because the Alolan people are focused pretty much exclusively on figuring out how to get Serena to release the Tapus back into the wild, given how important and integrated into the culture and traditions of Alola they are.
To make matters worse, the reborn trainers have it that if Alola won't stop it with harassing Serena for the Tapus, then the other regions of the world will step in and MAKE Alola leave Serena alone on the matter. There's also how the current governor of Alola doesn't wanna upset the Alolan people as election day is coming up and he wants to be re-elected.
So the reborn trainers, while preaching the word of a discrimination free world without using Team Heart methods and getting people on board with that idea, slip in ideas to ween the Alolan people off of needing the Tapus, giving them the idea to change things so they can function without having the Tapus available to grant favor to do literally anything.
Things are slow going, but the reborn trainers are able to get the ball rolling, and just in time for both the governor of Alola to win re-election AND to avoid the inter-regional hammer to come slamming on down upon Alola. Things were a lot tougher for the reborn trainers in Alola than what Dawn had been anticipating, and it wasn't due to resistance to the ideas she wants to push.
Anyway, with things in Alola settled, the reborn trainers wonder where to go next. Dawn says that Unova is the next goal, as she wants to check up on things in Unova, mainly with Bianca, as well as Kieran and Carmine. Dawn also wants to see Wolfgang's status. The destination is set for the next chapter, so until then, take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Cyrus (male Staraptor), Akiza (female Roserade), Leni (female Lucario), Germany (male Garchomp), Tsukune (Palkia)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Kermit (male Politoed), Shallot (male Glaceon), Zarbon (male Machamp), Black (Giratina)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Emploeon), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Veda (female Abomasnow), Fourze (male Electivire), Gypsy Danger (female Togekiss), Deelia (Dialga)
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)