8 Chapter eight: One step closer

The morning following Ash's win against Gardenia for the Forest Badge, everyone was back at Gardenia's gym, this time to watch as Dawn battled the Eterna City gym lead

battle will be between Gardenia, the Eterna City gym leader, and the challenger, Dawn Berlitz," the referee said as Dawn and Gardenia stood at their respective ends of the

"Each trainer may use three Pokémon for this battle, and the last trainer who has any Pokémon remaining at the end will be declared the winner. Additionally, only Dawn m

Pokémon at any time."

Dawn looked to where Gardenia stood at the other end of the battlefield. Defeating Gardenia will bring the reborn trainer one step closer to her goal, and she was not abou

things lightly. "Now then," the referee announced, "Let this battle... BEGIN!"

"Cherubi, I choose you!" Gardenia called out as she sent in her first Pokémon, her Cherubi.

Tossing up a pokéball herself, Dawn said, "Alright, Chi-Chi! Let's get goin'!" Chi-Chi the Monferno appeared on the battlefield, ready to fight. Pointing right ahead, Dawn sa

use Flame Wheel!"

"Cherubi, use Magical Leaf!" Gardenia called out. Chi-Chi jumped up and began to roll around in a wheel of fire, rolling right at Cherubi who threw out its Magical Leaf atta

named Monferno just pile drove right through the attack, and went on to strike at Cherubi, sending it reeling back as it cried out in pain.

Seeing that she had an opening, Dawn yelled, "Quickly, Chi-Chi! Use Mach Punch!" Chi-Chi curled her right hand into a fist before rushing at Cherubi and slugging it across

hitting with enough force to knock Cherubi out as it laid on the battlefield.

Holding up a hand, the referee announced, "Cherubi is unable to battle! The winner is Monferno!"

Gardenia smiled, knowing that this was going to be tough. "Not bad, Dawn," Gardenia remarked, "I can see why you were able to play such a pivotal role in saving the Ada

Holding another pokéball, Gardenia said, "But I won't stop now! Turtwig, I choose you!"

"Chi-Chi that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Monferno out. Tossing up another pokéball, Dawn said, "Alright, Cyrus! Let's get goin'!" Coming out was

Pokémon for the gym battle, her named Staravia.

Gardenia looked concerned but determined at the sight of the bird Pokémon. "So Ash wasn't the only one packing a Staravia." Pointing right on ahead, Gardenia said, "Turt

"Cyrus, use Aerial Ace!" Dawn ordered. Cyrus flew in blindingly fast, striking at Turtwig and making it reel a bit before it got its focus back and went on to bite at Cyrus. Th

Staravia cried out a bit in pain, but by no means was it enough for him to go down. "Use Aerial Ace again, Cyrus!" Dawn called out.

"Turtwig, use Tackle!" Gardenia cried out. Once more, Cyrus flew in blindingly fast and struck at Turtwig, hitting it hard enough to send it tumbling back before it landed on

very clearly out of it.

Raising his right hand up, the referee announced, "Turtwig is unable to battle! The winner is Staravia!"

Gardenia sighed a bit as she recalled her fainted Turtwig. "I guess I got a bit too confident since Turtwig was able to take down Ash's Staravia yesterday. That was my bad

then held up the pokéball that contained her final Pokémon. "But this is where I make my stand! Roserade, I choose you!"

"Cyrus that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Pokémon again, "Alright, Coupins! Let's get goin'!" Coming out was Dawn's third allocated Pokémon for the

her Mothim.

Seeing a bug flying type made Gardenia a bit nervous, but she wasn't going to slow down. "Roserade, use Magical Leaf!" Gardenia ordered.

"Coupins, counter it with Bug Buzz!" Dawn called out. Roserade threw out its Magical Leaf attack that flew right at the named Mothim, who produced a violent buzzing sou

the Magical Leaf and went on to slam into Roserade a bit. "Coupins, use Air Slash!" Dawn ordered.

"Roserade, use Weather Ball!" Gardenia said. Roserade conjured its attack and cast it right at Coupins, who whipped up an Air Slash attack and threw it at the Weather Ba

through it and going on to strike Roserade. Coupins got hit by one of the Weather Ball halves, but it wasn't enough to deter the bug flying Pokémon. "Roserade, use Weath

Gardenia ordered.

"Coupins, use Psychic!" Dawn ordered. As Roserade conjured another Weather Ball, Coupins's eyes glowed with psychic energy, which slammed into Roserade and throwing

wall behind Gardenia. When Roserade landed, it fell to the ground, clearly out of it.

Raising a hand, the referee made the necessary call. "Roserade is unable to battle! The winner is Mothim!" Gesturing to Dawn, the referee announced, "Victory of this batt

challenger, Dawn Berlitz!"

Dawn let out a breath that was more relieved than excited. Even so, she was elated to have just won her second gym battle. Gardenia, being a professional, approached D

that was a very excellent battle. Good use of type advantage, by the way. You clearly know your stuff." Gardenia then handed to Dawn her rightfully earned Forest Badge.

business done, Dawn and the others all left the Ete

Upon stepping out of the gym, the group was met up by Roark. Ash and Brock were surprised by this, but Dawn not so much, as she remembered from her previous life th

games, this is around the point where one gains access to the grand underground. "Oh, I finally found you, Dawn," Roark said, "There's something that I was hoping you 

with."

"Oh, do you need our help as well?" Ash asked politely.

Gently shaking his head, Roark said, "I appreciate the offer, but I really kind of only have room to bring one person with me, although if Dawn turns me down then I can tr

of you guys along."

"What do you need?" Dawn asked, getting Roark's attention.

Turning back to face Dawn, Roark explained, "Some of the guys and I need an extra pair of hands digging around in the grand underground. That's where you come in. If y

we need you to come on down and dig with us."

Giving Roark a curious look, Dawn asked, "Is there anything I ought to keep in mind?"

Roark nodded once in the affirmative. "Yes. Any fossils you find have to be turned over so they can be taken to the museum in Oreburgh City. Also, one of the men is looki

because he has a crafting project in mind, so it'd be nice if you saved any spheres you find for him. Aside from that, anything and everything you find is yours to keep."

Dawn considered the options, decided that she had nothing to lose. "I'd love to help, but I need to drop some Pokémon of mine off at the Pokémon Center first to rest if th

literally just won a battle with Gardenia and earned my second badge."

"We got a bit of time, no need to worry," Roark replied with an understanding smile. Dawn went to the Pokémon Center, dropped off Chi-Chi, Cyrus, and Coupins, then met

Roark, going into the grand underground with him.

Inside of the underground, Dawn looked around in amazement. "Not even in the remakes did it look this good," Dawn thought as she looked around.

Her attention was then called by Roark, who gave her a hammer and a pick axe. "Alright, Dawn," Roark said, "Find an area of wall that looks like it's bulging, and start digg

nodded in agreement, then began looking around for any bulges in the walls. Soon enough, Dawn spotted one such bulge, so she immediately got right to work.

...

After a few hours of working with Roark and the other workers in the grand underground, Dawn came across a number of items. She found a few valuable items like some

and a few Star Pieces, a small collection of shards with at least three of each color, an Odd Keystone which Dawn knew she was going to hold onto, and several Heart Scale

found a few spheres and one Armor Fossil, and as per the agreement she turned them over.

What really surprised Dawn was the number of evolutionary stones she found in her time in the underground. She found at least six of each, including the ones that didn't

appear in the underground in the games from her previous life. She knew full well that Dusk, Dawn, Shiny, and especially Ice Stones (those didn't exist until gen seven) w

the underground, so she was going to attribute their appearance here to anime logic.

After finding her sixth Ice Stone, Dawn held it as she contemplated upon it. "Again, something from past gen four appeared here," Dawn thought, "And since Ice Stones di

gen seven, I'm willing to bet everything between gens four and seven are also in effect, so I can expect to see the fairy type make an appearance at some point." After Da

latest find away, her attention was drawn when she heard some of the workers cry out in excitement.

Curious, Dawn went over to see what was going on. When she turned a corner, Dawn saw that the workers were dancing around a particularly large Pokémon fossil. Seeing

went over to Roark and asked him what was going on. "We found what could be the single greatest fossil find that I've been a part of since I first got into the business," Ro

clearly elated, "This is cause for celebration, Dawn!"

Dawn, although not quite understanding, still smiled. "Yeah, I'd like to see how so big of a fossil find will make the news." The workers and Dawn did a bit more digging ar

which Dawn found at least one more each of all of the evolutionary stones, three Star Pieces, another Armor Fossil which as per the agreement she turned over, and three

Scales. By the time Dawn found her last item (her seventh Dusk Stone), Roark called for everyone to leave the underground.

Patting the large fossil that was found earlier, Roark said, "We gotta get this bad boy straight to the museum in Oreburgh City. I'll also have to find some security for it."

"Security?" one of the workers said.

"Thieves tried making off with some fossils Chon found a while ago," Roark said, "And I recently heard about how thieves also tried making off with the Adamant Orb which

at the museum in Eterna City. It would seem that criminally inclined persons are getting uppity, so we've got to be ready to deal with them.

Dawn nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I was actually present for both incidents. I know what you're talking about." Roark looked at Dawn, surprised to hear that she was pres

incident that the Adamant Orb was involved in. Either way, the work in the underground was done, so everyone took off to get back to the surface world.

Later, Roark and Dawn caught up a bit over some coffees (Dawn actually had a hot chocolate, but got it at the same coffee shop Roark got his coffee at) after Dawn picked

Cyrus, and Coupins up from the Pokémon Center, their treatment complete. "You're kidding me," Roark said in an amazed tone of disbelief, "Those Team Rocket jokers trie

with the Adamant Orb?"

Dawn nodded in confirmation. "Yes, but I had Coupins snatch it away from them with Psychic. They never touched the Adamant Orb again after that."

Roark laughed a bit. "With trainers like you here in Sinnoh, I feel that much better about things being protected." After taking a sip from his coffee, Roark sighed, a look of

his face.

This didn't escape Dawn. "...What's up, Roark?"

"My Rampardos is still hurting after that Paul fellow came back for a rematch against me," Roark admitted, "He's still being looked over at the Pokémon Center in Oreburgh

out a mildly sad chuckle, Roark said, "I guess that Paul's Torterra had really wanted to help its trainer avenge the loss he suffered from me, huh?"

Although Dawn knew, thanks to the anime in her previous life, that Paul owned a Torterra, no one (aside from possibly Kenny who had also isekai'd into this new world) kn

knew, so she had to play dumb. "Woah, woah, woah," Dawn said, "Paul owns a Torterra?!"

Roark nodded in confirmation. "It took out my entire team single handedly. I was barely able to do anything to it." Letting out a breath, Roark went on, "Although the talk

after he beat me in our rematch wasn't exactly the best in the world..."

(FLASHBACK)

Roark, looking a bit down due to how terribly he had been beaten, nonetheless did his gym leader duty and gave Paul the Coal Badge. Accepting the badge from Roark, Pa

unamused hmph of annoyance. "I can't believe that I had lost to so weak of a gym leader," Paul said, "It was obviously a fluke, which is probably how you get all of your w

yourself a favor and pick between either being a gym leader or being a miner, because trying to be both at once makes you terrible at both!"

Roark tried speaking up, but he felt too crushed to do anything, allowing Paul to leave unhindered. Roark continued to stand there for a few moments before he slowly turn

walk into his gym.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

"Paul had acted similarly in the anime after he defeated Maylene," Dawn thought worriedly, "The fact he went out of his way to try breaking Roark emotionally like that me

is even more of a sore loser than I had first thought." Speaking up, Dawn asked, "Why not report Paul to the Pokémon League? He's obviously got some issues that call his

question."

Gently shaking his head, Roark said with a sad smile, "But he does kind of have a point. Trainers tend to have an easy time against me, and I get lost in thought while I'm

not sure what to do."

After thinking about it for a bit, Dawn said, "Well first, you can give me your number."

Roark looked surprised and confused at Dawn. "...Huh?"

Giving Roark a serious look, Dawn asked him to keep what she was about to tell him to himself. After Roark agreed, Dawn explained to him that she was currently working

evidence to build a case against Paul, believing that Paul was a cruel, abusive person who had no right to be a Pokémon trainer. Dawn expressed interest in the story Roark

about how Paul beat him and then talked down to him as evidence in that case.

The leader of the Oreburgh City gym looked serious at Dawn. "...If what you say is true, then Paul really ought to be reported."

"But the case needs more evidence first," Dawn said, "Adding your potential testimony, that's two things of evidence. We'll need some more before we have enough to brin

answer for all of his cruelty."

Roark thought about it, and ultimately nodded in agreement. "...Alright. I'll trust your judgement on this matter. I hope you can build up a solid case that won't let Paul esc

trainers then finished their drinks, and then Roark took off to return to Oreburgh City. As for Dawn, she got onto her bike (thankful she was quick to think and keep Pikach

it), then went straight down to Cycling Road over Route 206.

Somewhere on Route 206 was Wayward Cave, where Dawn wanted to go to as it's the location in the games from her previous life where one can find a certain Pokémon t

wanted to catch. It was a very important catch that Dawn wanted to make, and she intended to do so.

After going down Cycling Road, Dawn made her way up on the ground to Wayward Cave. She went inside, climbed over some boulders to go to a lower level because HMs

don't matter here (they weren't even that big, just roughly the size of standard washing machines), and began looking around. "...I know you're supposed to be found aro

somewhere," Dawn muttered to herself, "Where the he-" Dawn stopped short in her muttering as she heard a noise from over a ways.

Turning to look, Dawn spotted the source of the noise, which was also what she came to Wayward Cave to find; a wild Gible. There was a notch on the fin coming out of its

indicated that it was a male Gible. Smirking in amusement, Dawn called out her Misdreavus, Lucy. "Lucy, use Astonish on that Gible!" Dawn ordered.

Lucy rushed in and spooked the Gible, making him jump up and then cower a bit, a clear sign he had flinched. "Use Astonish again!" Dawn ordered. Lucy rushed in and spo

Gible again, but he got over his fright from the first Astonish, then to Dawn's shock his head shined like polished metal before he rammed his head into Lucy, sending her r

"That was Iron Head," Dawn remarked to herself. Dawn recalled Lucy and sent Chi-Chi out. "Use Mach Punch!" Dawn called out.

Chi-Chi rushed the Gible and punched him hard in the gut, but then he retaliated by slashing at the named Monferno with greenish glowing claws. "It also knows Dragon C

thought aloud, "This will be a lot to-" Dawn stopped short when the Gible fell to his hands and knees as he panted out of exhaustion. Not wanting to take a chance, Dawn t

spare pokéball and threw it at the wild Gible while shouting, "Go pokéball!"

The pokéball flew at Gible, took him inside, then fell to the ground before shaking a bit. After a few tense moments, the pokéball made a ping sound, indicating capture. B

of relief, Dawn went over to retrieve the pokéball that held her new Gible; in Dawn's previous life, a lot of her major wins in the games occured while she had a Garchomp

She felt that getting one here would go a long way to help her adjust to life in this new world she found herself in.

Taking a look at her Gible's info by scanning the pokéball with her pokédex, Dawn saw it was male, had a jolly nature, and the Sand Veil ability. "...Just like my previous lif

thought. Looking at the pokéball that held Gible, Dawn said, "I'm naming you Germany." Since her party was full, Dawn sent Boss to Rowan's lab in order to make room fo

With her reason to be in Wayward Cave done, Dawn took off, eager to get started on working with her new Gible. But first a trip to the Pokémon Center was in order.

Eventually, Dawn had reached Hearthome City, swinging by Amity Square first. While there, she had Chi-Chi out following her, figuring that getting some relaxation time in

good for her Pokémon. "We're going to have to do a lot of work on Germany, Chi-Chi," Dawn said, "He's going to be playing a key role in helping me-"

"Hmm, what to get, what to get."

Dawn was cut off when she heard a woman's voice over a ways away. Looking over, Dawn spotted Cynthia, who she knew full well was the champion of Sinnoh. Cynthia wa

front of an Ice Cream van manned by Team Rocket. Going over, Dawn got in line behind Cynthia. As the Sinnoh champion continued to ponder, Dawn spoke up. "Excuse m

said, getting Cynthia's attention. When the champion turned to face her, Dawn said, "If you're having trouble deciding, then might I recommend cookies n' cream if they h

flavor?"

Cynthia seemed amused by Dawn's suggestion, so she nodded in agreement. Turning back to look, Cynthia saw that they did indeed have cookies n' cream flavored ice cre

got a triple cone of it. After Cynthia paid for her ice cream and took off, Dawn walked up to who she could tell full well was Team Rocket. "...I'll also have a cookies n' cream

please," Dawn said, her look and tone she was giving off making it clear to Team Rocket that she was in no mood for any of their funny business.

Team Rocket, scared of potentially having their cover blown, did their ice cream van job and served Dawn her ice cream. After she paid for her treat, Dawn thanked them a

around to walk away, as she continued talking to Chi-Chi about how they needed to show Germany the ropes. After Dawn was gone, Team Rocket breathed a collective sig

"That twerp girl is smarter than the other twerps we've dealt with," Jessie said, "She could see right through our disguises."

"Thank goodness she left us be," James said, "If she blew our cover, then worst case scenario Cynthia would hear it and come over to help take us out! That lady is the cha

Sinnoh! We'd be crushed if she got involved!"

Jessie and Meowth nodded in agreement. "Totally," Meowth said, "So for now let's just lay low, continue doing our ice cream van job here, and-"

"*Click*"

Meowth stopped short when he, Jessie, and James heard a tongue clicking sound. Turning around, they saw the shiny Sandshrew they had first encountered outside of Wa

Right away, Team Rocket pushed the shiny Sandshrew out of their ice cream van. "Sorry, but you'll have to go harass someone else!" Jessie insisted, "Even though you're a

Pokémon, there's no way that we want you around!"

"Sandshrew shrew Sandshrew?"

"No, we do not know the way," Meowth scowled, "Now leave us alone!" With the shiny Sandshrew out of their van, Team Rocket closed it up and drove off, leaving the shin

sitting there. After a few moments, the shiny Sandshrew wandered off.

A short while later, Dawn eventually made her way over to some ruins that featured Dialga and Palkia. Dawn, with Chi-Chi by her side, focused more on the image of Palkia

easy for her, as Cynthia was already at the ruins examining it and was blocking Dawn's view of the image of Dialga. As more people gathered around because Cynthia was

attention was grabbed when she heard Ash call out to her.

Turning around, Dawn and Chi-Chi saw Ash and Brock come up to them. "Oh, what's up, boys?" Dawn asked before eating more of her cookies n' cream triple cone.

"We heard that the Sinnoh champion Cynthia was here," Ash said, "So we came here to meet her."

"Oh, there's Cynthia right over there!" Brock said as he pointed to Cynthia, "Ash and I saw her appear in a televised special earlier about how she recently defended her tit

against a member of Sinnoh's elite four."

Dawn turned back to look at where Cynthia stood. "Oh, so that's Cynthia," Dawn remarked, "Yeah, I actually encountered her earlier at an ice cream van. She was indecisi

get, so I gave her a suggestion and she took it."

As the people who gathered to see Cynthia continue to stare in awe of the Sinnoh champion, Dawn heard a familiar voice call out, "Hey, Cynthia." Dawn, as well as Ash, Br

others, all turned to see Paul walk forward. Dawn's mood towards Paul was already low, but after the recent sit down she had with Roark, Dawn wanted nothing more than

get thrown around like he was a discarded rag doll.

...Given what she had a feeling was going to occur, Dawn was more than content to sit back and enjoy the show.

Cynthia, curious, turned around and saw Paul face her. "Can I help you?" Cynthia asked.

"I wish to challenge you to a full battle," Paul said, surprising many of the persons who had come to see Cynthia in person.

"Is that guy serious?" one girl in the crowd said.

"He just straight up challenged Cynthia, the champion of Sinnoh," said one guy, "He's going down, mark my words!"

"I doubt that Cynthia will even accept," said a second guy, "She's clearly got better things to do with her time than to-"

Everyone went silent suddenly when Cynthia said, "Alright, I accept."

One could hear a pin drop in the silence as everyone just stared on. Even Ash and Brock looked on as they saw Cynthia seriously take Paul's challenge. As for Dawn, she ju

Kneeling down to be closer to Chi-Chi's level, Dawn whispered to the named Monferno, "Chi-Chi, I want you to watch this battle. We're about to see that sorry excuse for a

put in his place."

As more people gathered to watch the upcoming battle, Team Rocket came by in their ice cream van. "That serious twerp is challenging Cynthia," Jessie whispered to Jame

"We can set up shop here and make a mint since people will want something to eat while watching a show."

Rubbing his paws together, Meowth said, "I can already taste that sweet, sweet-"

"*Click*"

Team Rocket turned and saw that the shiny Sandshrew had come back and had gotten into their ice cream van again, having alerted them to its presence with a tongue cl

literally picked the Sandshrew up, took it out of the van, ran into some nearby wooded area, sat the Sandshrew down, then ran back to the van and closed it, going far too

the Sandshrew to possibly hope to keep up with.

"I swear, that Sandshrew will be the death of me," James said as he caught his breath.

"Ehh, we can deal with it later," Jessie said, "Right now, we got a potential cash cow to milk!" Thusly, Team Rocket began advertising their ice cream van, even getting a fe

notice and come over to get ice cream.