The following morning in Hearthome City, Ash, Brock, Holly, and Bebe woke up to the sounds of Dawn and Kenny working with their new Eevees in Bebe's backyard. It was Ash who got up and went out to see what was going on. "Well you guys are early risers," Ash remarked in amusem*nt, "I guess you both wanna get some early morning training in before the tag battle event continues today?"
"I'm just trying to decide on how I'm going to work with Shallot here," Kenny said, "See, as an Eevee, Shallot can evolve into one of several different Pokémon. I'm gunning for Shallot to evolve into Glaceon, who's mostly blue and I figure a mostly blue evolution would work for Shallot the best. I'd go for Vaporeon, but that's a water type and I already have Kermit."
Hearing the commotion, Brock, Holly, and Bebe came out to see what was going on. "What's up?" Holly asked, looking curious.
Gesturing to Kenny, Ash explained, "Kenny says that he's considering evolving his Eevee into a Pokémon called Glaceon." Ash then immediately took out his pokédex to see what it had to say on the Glaceon species.
After the dex was finished rambling on about Glaceon, Holly said, "Oh, Glaceon is a good choice! I hear it's popular among girls, but boys can make good use of Glaceon just as well." Turning to look at Kenny, Holly went on, "There's an icy rock located somewhere near Snowpoint City, and it's said that Eevee who train near that rock can evolve into Glaceon. Alternatively, you can also use an Ice Stone on Eevee and evolve it into Glaceon that way."
"Hey Dawn, what are you thinking for your Eevee?" Bebe asked.
Looking down at where her Eevee sat at her feet, Dawn remarked, "I actually looked up what sort of Pokémon Eevee can evolve into, and I'm liking Leafeon the best."
"Then in that case, you may wanna head over to Eterna Forest at some point," Holly remarked, "There's a moss covered rock there that it's said will cause Eevee to evolve into Leafeon if they train near it. Alternatively, you can also use a Leaf Stone on your Eevee to evolve it into Leafeon that way."
"Oh!" Dawn exclaimed suddenly. Rushing back into Bebe's house, Dawn soon came running back out into the backyard with her bag. "When I went into the grand underground with Roark a while ago to help him and some workers with mining," Dawn said, "I found a lot of evolutionary stones." Dawn sat a few of said stones out on the table in Bebe's backyard.
Dawn pulled a Leaf Stone and an Ice Stone from the pile. "These ought to do it."
"Sweetness!" Kenny cheered, pumping a fist into the air.
Dawn nodded in agreement as she handed the Ice Stone she pulled out to Kenny. "It I were you, though, I'd hold off on using it. At least for now." Looking down at her Eevee, Dawn said, "I'm wanting to do some work with Fena here while she's still an Eevee before I plan to evolve her."
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Ash remarked, "Get used to your new Pokémon before evolving it." Kenny agreed and put his Ice Stone away, saying he'll wait until he gets some more work in on all of his Pokémon before he considers evolving Shallot. Regardless, Dawn and Kenny, as well as Brock and Holly, have more work to get through as they were still in the tag battle event. Ash although he was eliminated was going to stick around and cheer his friends on, with Pikachu nodding in agreement.
Later that day, the second round of battles came and went, with the teams of Dawn and Kenny, and Brock and Holly, both making it to the semifinals. As the trainers who fought in the second round had their Pokémon rested at the Pokémon Center, Ash congratulated his friends for all making it past round two. "Man, I really wish that I was still in it," Ash remarked, "Getting to battle so many awesome trainers would have been a blast."
Nodding curtly, Kenny pointed out, "If you were still in it, then that pile of crud Paul would also still be in it." Ash promptly relented a bit, still remembering the fallout he had with Paul the previous day. Leaning back in his chair, Kenny said, "It's like I'm saying. That guy needs a-"
*CRASH*
"BHUHAHAHAHAHA!"
"GET BACK HERE, YOU THIEVES!"
Everyone's attention was called by the crashing noise, followed by the Nurse Joy calling out like that. With a dreading feeling, everyone got up and ran to see what was going on. When they got to the scene, they saw Team Rocket, in a giant tank mech, having blown a hole in the wall. A large dome shaped glass window in the base of the tank mech's body showed a bunch of Pokémon that Team Rocket had just kidnapped.
"Team Rocket!" Ash exclaimed, "Not you guys again!"
Laughing in an assured manner, Jessie sneered, "You're too late, twerps! These Pokémon now belong to us!"
"You fiends!" Nurse Joy shouted, "How dare you steal those Pokémon! Especially when their trainers aren't here to stop you!"
"That's part of why we acted now," James said, "There's as few trainers here as possible! It's pretty much only you and those twerps!"
"And it's not like they're enough to stop us!" Meowth declared triumphantly, "We'll get away with our haul here, and there's nothing that can-"
"Sandshrew shrew Sandshrew?"
Team Rocket all paused, as did the heroes, when they heard a Sandshrew speak up out of nowhere. Team Rocket in their tank mech turned to look with expressions of shocked horror, and standing right there on the floor next to the chair that Meowth sat in was the same shiny Sandshrew that had started following them around ever since they were over at Wayward Cave. "GAHHHHH!" Jessie exclaimed, "Not you again!"
"Why can't you leave us alone?!" James snapped.
While Team Rocket in their mech looked freaked, the heroes on the ground looked confused. "What's going on now?" Holly asked.
Pointing at the mech, Dawn said, "I think this has something to do with what we heard about a Sandshrew following Team Rocket around to harass them." Suddenly, a glass entry dome on the roof of the tank popped open, James stuck out while holding the shiny Sandshrew, then he threw it to the ground. Despite the hard landing, the shiny Sandshrew didn't look bothered at at.
"It IS a shiny Sandshrew!" Brock exclaimed.
Looking up at Team Rocket's mech, the shiny Sandshrew said, "Sand Sandshrew Sand Sandshrew, Sand Sand Sand, Sand Sand Sandshrew Sand Sand Sandshrew."
Looking at Meowth, Jessie said, "Well Meowth? What did that crazy thing say?"
"It said that we shouldn't have done that," Meowth said with trepidation clear in his tone, "Because apparently it has awoken to a new power."
"A new power?" James said, sounding just as concerned as Meowth, "What does it mean by-" James was cut off when the shiny Sandshrew suddenly began glowing. Its form changed shape and grew larger, wowing everyone who was there to see it happen. When the process was complete, the shiny Sandshrew had evolved into a Sandslash.
"SANDSLASH SLASH!" the shiny Sandslash cried out as loud as possible.
Everyone was shocked by this turn of events. "The shiny Sandshrew had just evolved into Sandslash!" Brock exclaimed.
Everyone truly was shocked, but none moreso than Kenny. Seeing those red spikes on the back of the shiny Sandslash, its paler than normal yellow body, the way it cried out like that just now. What really caught Kenny's attention, however, was when the shiny Sandslash made a tongue click sound while it was facing Team Rocket
"Could..." Kenny said, his tone barely above a whisper, "...Could it be...?"
Growling in annoyance, Jessie said, "Forget it! Let's just get out of here and-" Jessie was cut off when the tank suddenly flipped over, sending Team Rocket tumbling. To the surprise of the heroes, a Garchomp came out of the ground, having just burrowed its way up using Dig. As Team Rocket in their mech tried to fix things and get back upright, Cynthia came running over to the scene.
"Figures that this is what I'd come across when I heard there were Pokémon thieves at the local Center," Cynthia scowled as she looked right at Team Rocket, "Garchomp, bust that large window out with Brick Break!" Cynthia's Garchomp rushed forward and took out the window that gave a view of the kidnapped Pokémon, allowing said Pokémon to escape. With Team Rocket vulnerable, Ash was able so send them blasting off again, courtesy of Pikachu's Thunderbolt. After Team Rocket was gone, Cynthia turned to face everyone else that was on location.
Nodding to the heroes, Cynthia said, "Sorry about storming in, but when I heard that there were thieves at the Pokémon Center trying to steal trainers' Pokémon, I felt compelled to run over to try to help out."
Holding his hands up at shoulder level, Brock said, "Oh, no need to worry about intruding. We're always happy to get help dealing with Team Rocket."
Cynthia nodded in thanks, before turning to look at the shiny Sandslash. "...So the hero Sandshrew who saved Paul's Pokémon from getting kidnapped that one time is a shiny. Although I didn't get to meet it until it had evolved into Sandslash. And now he's a hero again for buying time for others to come in to save the stolen Pokémon."
"Sandslash slash Sandslash?" the shiny Sandslash said as it looked up at Cynthia.
Cynthia, though she was still smiling, had a bit of a confused look in her face. "...I'm really sorry, Sandslash. But I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say to-"
"Do you know da wae?"
Everyone turned to look at Kenny, who was looking right at the shiny Sandslash. Likewise, the shiny Sandslash was looking right back at Kenny. Gesturing to the shiny Sandslash, Kenny asked, "Do you know da wae, my bruddah?" To everyone's surprise, the shiny Sandslash responded to what Kenny had said by making a quick series of tongue clicks. From all appearances, the shiny Sandslash was in a positive mood.
"...Well, Sandslash here seems to be reacting positively to you, young man," Cynthia said with a small smile.
As opposed to Cynthia finding mild amusem*nt here, Dawn gently face palmed. "...Oh, you have got to be kidding me..."
Taking out a pokéball, Kenny said to the shiny Sandslash, "I believe that you and I ought to travel together, Sandslash. As such, I shall battle and attempt to capture you. Are you okay with this?" The shiny Sandslash just sat there, its eyes going in opposite directions. After a few seconds of silence, the shiny Sandslash made a single tongue click, which Kenny took as his cue to begin the battle.
Tossing up the pokéball, Kenny called out, "Okay, Roshi! Let's make it cringe!" Roshi, Kenny's Grotle, came out onto the battle, ready to fight. Pointing right ahead, Kenny said, "Roshi, hit 'em with Razor Leaf!" Acting on cue, Roshi cast his Razor Leaf attack right at the shiny Sandslash, scoring a solid hit but the shiny Sandslash was still in it. In response, the shiny Sandslash ran in and struck Roshi with Fury Swipes, hitting him three times but it wasn't enough to take Roshi out.
"Use Bite!" Kenny called out. Roshi ran in and bit down on the shiny Sandslash's left hand, making it flinch a bit out of pain. Seeing that the shiny Sandslash was still flinching, Kenny seized the moment. Taking out a pokéball, he threw it at the shiny Sandslash while calling out, "Go pokéball!" The pokéball flew at the shiny Sandslash, taking it inside before falling to the ground and shaking around for a bit. After a few seconds, the pokéball made a ping sound, indicating capture.
As everyone applauded Kenny for the capture, he went over to collect the pokéball that held his new Pokémon. As he held the pokéball, Kenny had a look of contemplation on his face. "...Hmm..." Kenny muttered to himself under his breath, too quietly for the others around him to hear while he was deep in thought. Suddenly, Kenny exclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear, "I got it!" As the others looked on, Kenny said as he looked at the pokéball that held his new Pokémon, "I will name him Elay."
"You're a pretty lucky guy, Kenny," Ash remarked in amusem*nt, "Catching a Pokémon like that Sandslash. I bet he'll do well in the tag battle competition."
"Once I figure out what all he's capable of, I'm certain he'll be helpful in showing people da wae," Kenny replied in agreement as he had the pokéball holding his Munchlax Slick sent away; Kenny's party was full and he wanted to add Elay right away, so he sent one of the Pokémon he already had on hand off where he can get it back later when he wants.
Cynthia, with a small and amused smile, said to the others, "Well I got business over in Celestic Town, so I'm afraid I'll be taking my leave here." The others all said goodbye to Cynthia, and after she was out of sight, they all went into the Pokémon Center, mainly so that Kenny could have Roshi and Elay treated by the Nurse Joy. They ended up relaxing there for the rest of the night, with Dawn, Kenny, Brock, and Holly all wondering what awaited them tomorrow.
The next day saw Dawn and Kenny clear their battle in the tag battle competition without issue, as their opponents used a Machop and a Makuhita against Coupins and Cell. Regardless of the loss they suffered, the opponents still congratulated Dawn and Kenny for the win, while also expressing some jealousy that Kenny owned a shiny Scyther. With this win, Dawn and Kenny made had it to the final round of the tag battle competition.
...Where Dawn was surprised to find that she and Kenny will be facing Brock and Holly, as they were able to beat Conway (who Dawn remembered from the anime in her and Kenny's previous life was the guy anime!Dawn was partnered with) and the random guy that Conway here was partnered up with here in the semifinals. Given how early the semifinals had wrapped up, it was decided that the final round would be held later that evening, after the finalists and their Pokémon had sufficient time to rest up.
...
"So what do you think, Dawn?" Kenny said while they were alone.
Shrugging, Dawn replied, "It could be a tough one, to be honest. It all depends on what Pokémon they send out."
Clapping his hands together, Kenny replied, "Well either way, I'm sure we can run them ragged."
Dawn relaxed, a bit reassured by Kenny's confidence. "...Yeah. We'll give it our best either way." The two reborn trainers then high fived each other, ready to give it their all.
That evening, everyone had gathered for the final battle in the tag battle competition. "This is the final battle in the Hearthome City tag battle competition!" the referee announced, "Each trainer may use one Pokémon each! The battle is over when all Pokémon on one side is unable to battle! Now then..." Throwing his hands up, the referee called out, "BEGIN!"
"Happiny, I choose you!" Brock called out as he sent Happiny in.
"Go, Wingull!" Holly said as she sent in her Wingull.
"Alright, Luna! Let's get goin'!" Dawn said as she sent out her Luxio.
"Okay, Elay! Let's make it cringe!" Kenny called out as he sent out his shiny Sandslash.
The crowds were excited for the final battle, and a notable number of persons were all cheering since one of the trainers in the battle was using a shiny Pokémon. Seeing what Pokémon that Brock and Holly were using, Dawn felt confident in her and Kenny's chances. "Luna, use Spark on Wingull!" Dawn ordered.
"Elay, use Rapid Spin on Happiny!" Kenny ordered.
"Wingull, use Aerial Ace on Sandslash!" Holly said.
"Happiny, use Pound on Luxio!" Brock called out.
Luna was the quickest to act, rushing in at Holly's Wingull while cloaked in electricity as Wingull flew in at Elay. Holly quickly called out for Wingull to try to dodge, but right at Wingull heard that order, it got hit by Luna's Spark, taking a solid hit that sent it reeling back until it fell to the ground defeated. Happiny meanwhile took the Rapid Spin from Elay but was able to tough it out and go on to land a good hit on Luna, making her stumble back but she was still in it.
Raising a hand as he saw Holly's defeated Wingull, the referee announced, "Wingull is unable to battle!"
Gesturing forward, Brock called out, "Happiny, use Pound on Sandslash!"
"Luna, use Bite on Happiny!" Dawn ordered.
"Elay, use Crush Claw on Happiny!" Kenny declared. This time, it was Elay who was first to strike, landing a solid, powerful blow on Happiny that sent her reeling back, skidding on the ground until she came to a stop with a clearly knocked out look on her face.
Raising a hand upon seeing this, the referee announced, "Happiny is unable to battle! The winners are Luxio and Sandslash!" Gesturing to Dawn and Kenny, the referee declared, "Victory goes to the team of Dawn and Kenny!"
Everyone cheered as they celebrated the end of the tag battle competition, as well as cheer for how Dawn and Kenny had won in the end. Even Brock and Holly congratulated the two of them, and were there with Ash as they watched Dawn and Kenny receive the prize of one Soothe Bell each. With the competition brought to a close, everyone was able to take their leave from the stadium.
The following morning at the Pokémon Center, as Dawn was feeding her Pokémon since Kenny had taken off, she was approached by Ash and Brock. "Hey Dawn," Ash said, getting her attention, "Since the gym here is closed for the time being, you ought to look into the gym over in Veilstone City."
Dawn, due to her previous life, already knew about that gym, but had to play along. "Veilstone City, huh?"
Ash nodded in confirmation. "I just learned about it myself, and I wanted to pass the info onto-"
"Hey, something is on the news about a discovery over in Celestic Town!" a random female voice called out, cutting Ash off and making all of them turn to see what was up. To Dawn's surprise, it was a news broadcast about how a relic called the Lustrous Orb was discovered in the ruins that were near Celestic Town.
That caught Dawn's attention, as the news broadcast about the Lustrous Orb should technically have occured sooner but otherwise was more or less the same as it was in the anime in her previous life. "That's the special held item for Palkia," Dawn thought as she continued to look up at the news broadcast. The broadcast went on to say that, due to recent events in which the Adamant Orb was almost stolen, special safety measures were being taken to ensure the safety of the newly discovered Lustrous Orb.
When the broadcast was over, Ash turned to look at Dawn and Brock. "I hope that they can keep those orbs safe. We wouldn't want someone like Team Rocket trying to make off with them."
"Oh, totally," Brock agreed. Dawn also nodded in agreement before she finished feeding her Pokémon so she could take off. Dawn waved the boys goodbye, and with the promise to see one another again, the two parties went their separate ways.
Later on Route 209, Dawn was traveling along, aiming to get to Solaceon Town with the hopes of arriving before nightfall. As she made her way, she felt something in her bag vibrate. Curious as well as a little freaked, Dawn reached into her bag and saw that it was the Odd Keystone she had found in the grand underground a while ago. Looking around, Dawn spotted the tower that, in the games in her previous life, one had to place an Odd Keystone into in order to encounter Spiritomb.
"...I had to talk to a bunch of others before Spiritomb appeared," Dawn thought as she approached the tower with some trepidation, "But I did talk to pretty much everyone in Roark's group from that day, and there were forty or so men there. This might be another case of anime logic taking precedence."
Reaching the tower, Dawn looked at it, walking around until she spotted a hole that looked like the Odd Keystone would fit into. Sliding the Odd Keystone in while she held a pokéball, Dawn jumped back as the Odd Keystone slid in perfectly. Soon afterwards, an energy of sorts glowed from the Odd Keystone, prompting it to pop out of the hole and land on the ground where it sat. In a burst of energy, a Spiritomb had awoken from the Odd Keystone.
Seeing the Spiritomb, Dawn tossed up the pokéball she held as she called out, "Alright, Luna! Let's get goin'!" After the named Luxio came out, Dawn pointed at the Spiritomb and said, "Luna, use Spark!" Luna, cloaked in electricity, rushed the Spiritomb and rammed into it, scoring a fairly solid hit that luckily scored paralysis on the Spiritomb. The wild Spiritomb tried conjuring a Shadow Ball attack to cast at Luna, but its paralysis kicked in and kept it from moving.
"Luna, use Bite!" Dawn called out. Luna ran in again and bit down on Spiritomb, scoring another fairly solid hit that, again luckily for Dawn, made Spiritomb flinch. "Spiritomb is a fairly tanky Pokémon from what I remember," Dawn thought, "Two hits from Luna and the paralysis won't be exactly enough to get it within fair catching range. I need to wear it down a bit more first." Gesturing forward, Dawn said, "Luna, use Bite again!"
For a second time, Luna rushed in and bit down on Spiritomb, scoring a third fairly solid hit. Spiritomb didn't flinch and was able to work through the paralysis to conjure and cast a Shadow Ball at Luna, hitting her but not doing enough to push her to the edge. Giving the Spiritomb a good bit of consideration, Dawn figured that one more Bite from Luna ought to do the trick. "Luna, use Bite one more time!" Dawn called out.
Luna rushed in and bit down on Spiritomb once more, scoring a flinch again while taking Spiritomb to the edge. Seeing the opening, Dawn took out a pokéball and threw it at the Spiritomb while calling out, "Go pokéball!" The pokéball flew into Spiritomb, took it inside, then fell to the ground before it proceeded to shake around for a bit. After a few tense moments, Dawn breathed a sigh of relief when the pokéball made a ping sound, showing she had caught the Spiritomb.
She was also surprised as she, in the games in her previous life, had to place the Odd Keystone first and THEN talk to a bunch of people before Spiritomb appeared for her to battle and catch, but here it turned out talking to a bunch of people first and THEN placing the Odd Keystone worked just as well. Dawn was going to attribute things working like that to anime logic.
Dawn walked up to the pokéball that held her new Spiritomb and picked it up before scanning it with her pokédex. It was male, had a bashful nature, and the Pressure ability. "I'll name you Marquess," Dawn said before she sent the pokéball containing Marquess to Rowan's lab. Given the time, Dawn wanted to get to Solaceon Town as soon as she could; she figured she'd crash there for the night before getting up and thinking about what to do next.
Luck and time were both on Dawn's side, as she was able to get to Solaceon Town roughly an hour and a half after she had caught Marquess; it was a good thing that she was able to save her bike from getting fried by Ash's Pikachu. After reaching the Pokémon Center, Dawn decided to take the time to have her Pokémon checked; her Pokémon just needed to rest for the night, and additionally Luna needed a few medicinal items but nothing too serious.
After she let the Nurse Joy look at her Pokémon, Dawn went over to a nearby table to sit down and relax. By chance, she picked up a magazine that was left lying on the padded bench she sat on; the magazine had caught her attention because the Adamant Orb was pictured on the cover. Picking the magazine up, Dawn flipped it open and found the article that was connected to the Adamant Orb that was on the cover.
"Oh, it's about when Ash, Brock, Kenny and I stopped Team Rocket from stealing the Adamant Orb," Dawn remarked aloud but to herself as she read the article. It even showed a photo of a news crew member interviewing Dawn, who had her Mothim Coupins out, over how she made the initial effort that snatched the Adamant Orb away from Team Rocket; in the background of that same photo, Dawn saw Croagunk dragging Brock away, probably after having caught him trying to flirt with some random pretty girl.
Letting out a sigh, Dawn closed the magazine and sat it on the table in front of her. The Adamant Orb event was rather exciting, and now the Lustrous Orb had recently been discovered. Dawn could tell that things were going to be getting exciting, and not just because she remembered the anime from her previous life. The reborn trainer looked up at the ceiling in the Pokémon Center, letting out another sigh as she wondered how things were going to go.
It was as Dawn was thinking that she was called by the Nurse Joy, who told her that her Pokémon had been all taken care of and that all that was needed now was to rest for the night. Dawn was even given the okay to crash at the Pokémon Center, as they had some spare rooms there. Taking the Nurse Joy up on the offer, Dawn said thanks before finding a decent room that was as out of the way as possible (from Dawn's perspective), changing into sleep wear, crawling into a bottom bunk in one of the bunk beds, and proceeded to settle down to go to sleep.
From what Dawn was feeling, she'd cross through Routes 210 and 215 before reaching Veilstone City. In addition to being the location of Maylene's gym, there was also a likely chance that Dawn could get more evidence to use in building the case against Paul; Dawn remembered from the anime in her previous life that Paul was rather harsh towards Maylene after he had beaten her in their gym battle. Assuming that would happen here as well, it would go a long way to bringing Paul to answer for his cruelty.
With that in mind, Dawn quickly fell asleep.
--------------------------CHAPTER TEN END------------------------
