-Blessed by Divinity: Eternity-

A New Face

"There it is the Poketch Company building. When did the professor say he'd meet us?"

Elaine looked up from her phone as we were walking the streets of Jubilife City, "At midday. That's half an hour." The light blonde returned her attention to her phone, looking through the news feed to find anything about Team Galactic.

We crossed the busy street, now only around the corner to the Poketch building. Jubilife had some resemblance to Lumiose, both cities were the biggest cities in their region. The streets were somewhat busy because of the midday rush hour. As we passed a park, I could see families and couples making the most of the sunshine's peak.

"Ah Aaron over here!"

I heard my name being called and as I looked up, I could see a tall, bushy white haired man. His facial hair covered his top lip and he wore a dark brown trench coat over his waistcoat, shirt and tie. He was stood at the entrance to the building, the large glass doors open behind him. We followed in after him, taking the elevator at the end of the ground floor lobby.

"I trust that you arrived safely?"

Elaine and I exchanged uncertain looks. The professor must not have known what happened to our flight. Of course, our departure to Sinnoh was to remain a secret meaning that Professor Rowan couldn't just collect us from the airport. But, that also meant we had to keep what happened to the flight a secret.

I quickly replied, saying that everything was alright, making sure not to mention anything unnecessary. As we arrived at the thirty-fourth floor, the professor lead the way.

There was no hallway, the elevator leading directly to an open plan floor. There were various machines of all shapes and sizes dotted around the room. In total, there were around seven scientists, each working around a different machine.

Professor Rowan walked straight ahead, toward his desk which was at the back of the room. He greeted each of the scientists as he walked past, picking up a notebook from one of them.

Sat to the right of the desk was a dark blue haired girl. She was wearing a white beanie with a pink pokeball stitched across the front . She was almost laying across the sofa, attention on her phone. When she saw us coming, she quickly looked up before looking back to her phone.

"Dawn, this is Aaron and Elaine." He turned to us, continuing, "this is my granddaughter, Dawn. You'll get to know each other. You're all the same age after all."

The blunette sat up on the sofa, her attention now on the professor as he pulled a whiteboard in front of his desk. Elaine and I were sat on the two cushioned chairs as Dawn moved herself so she could see the board. As Professor Rowan flipped it over, I could see that a map of Sinnoh was pinned to it. There were a few labels on the map indicating places of interest, although most of the space was left unlabeled.

"This is what I've called you here to talk about." Professor Rowan turned to the map, "Team Galactic have managed to take control over Oreburgh City. We haven't been able to get into the city as they closed the city's gates."

He quickly looked our way to check if we were following. I kept my gaze fixed on the map, thinking of ways to get into Oreburgh. There were two entrances on this side of the mountain, but that meant they were easier to control.

Professor Rowan turned back to the map, continuing, "Eterna City hasn't been affected just yet. Team Galactic doesn't seem to have any intentions on taking the city."

"This is where you guys are needed." He turned to Dawn and I. Unsurely, I looked over to the blunette who reacted in the same way. Professor Rowan turned to map once more, "The south port has reported a missing cargo ship. Sage Town is the nearest settlement although it will a lengthy journey."

As he turned to us, he straightened his jacket before picking up another notebook. "I trust you to arrange everything, you're all capable trainers. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend."

At that the professor left, leaving the three of us sat behind his desk. Elaine and I hadn't even spoken to the girl beside us and we were already given a mission. I thought for a moment before speaking up;

"I'll go directly to Oreburgh from here, Dawn-"

"Hold up a second there Aaron." I paused for a moment as the blunette turned on the sofa to face me. "I can get there quicker than you so I'll go directly to Oreburgh."

A half smile crossed her lips as she sat back. I could tell she expected me to leave it at that, but I wasn't going to back down. I turned to face her, narrowing my eyes for half a second.

"So we both want to go directly to Oreburgh. There's only one way we can settle this."

Slowly, the blunette moved forward in her seat. Instantly, I could tell that she was on the same wavelength as me, I didn't even need to read her aura. She stood up from her seat, leading Elaine and I to the elevator. As we stepped in, Dawn entered a combination on the number pad and soon enough we were moving up.

After a moment, we arrived at the top floor. When we stepped out, we could see that it opened into a battle arena. The white paint laid the outlines for the field in the dry muddied floor. Elaine, who hadn't spoken too much, moved to the side as Dawn and I prepared for our battle. I could tell she felt a little out of place when it came to battling. After all, the Kalos Queen wasn't known for her battling. Dawn was stood in front of me at the center of the field as we set out the rules for the battle.

"Two versus two."

"Mega evolving allowed."

"No switches."

"You're on."

As we were about to part ways and take our positions at the ends of the field. I felt a warm hand on my forearm and as I turned, I could see a steel determination in Dawn's deep blue eyes.

"Just so you know Aaron. I'm the real Sinnoh champion."

There was nothing more to say after that. I entertained multiple strategies in my mind, thinking about which two pokemon would work best as a pair. Dawn's parting words stuck in the back of my mind. I knew I still needed some practice before I was at my peak again, but I wasn't going to lose this battle.

Dawn released her first pokemon, a fairly tall fire type. A huge wave of flames emerged from around the back of pokemon's neck as it flexed its power. Now that I was seeing it with my own eyes, I instantly knew that Dawn was a truly strong trainer.

In response, I released my own fire type. Arcanine emerged from the pokeball, standing tall as he let out a proud roar, showing his strength. The two pokemon eyed each other intensely, both eager to begin the fight.

Elaine stepped up to referee the battle. She half looked at me before turning her attention to the two fierce pokemon before her.

"This is a two on two battle. The winner is decided when neither of the opponent's pokemon can continue." She looked over to Dawn before turning to me.

"Alright, let the battle begin!"