Aaaaaaaand WHAT'S UP EVERYONE! I'm InstaGimp, and this is my first fanfiction. Constructive criticism is welcome, but flamers should expect one of two things:

1. Have their comment deleted.

2. Be utterly humiliated in the next chapter.

This is a Pokemon fanfic that will focus on Anabel's one-sided (canonically) relationship to Ash and its psychological effects on both trainers involved. Needless to say, this story features AbilityShipping. AbilityShipping has always made the most sense to me because, if one watches old Pokemon episodes, the only remotely romantic moments with Ash are those that include Anabel. Well, excluding Brock's…efforts…anyway. At least he has Lucy. Also, Anabel has by far the least character development out of Ash's ship partners, which kinda sucks because to me Anabel is also by far the most interesting one. I mean, seriously, who doesn't think that a Frontier Brain that talks to Pokemon and senses emotions is cool? (Privacy could definitely become an issue though…)

The plot skeleton is highly generic: Ash decides to take up Scott's offer of becoming a Frontier Brain and trains under Anabel, when they form a mutual bond of friendship and something more…ok I'm getting too romantic here. What I mean is, if you decide to judge this story, don't do it because of the plot, but because of the content. Canonically, this takes place before the XY saga because I honestly don't want to meander through the complications of Mega Evolution when it comes to battling. Nor do I want to explain how, say, a Whimsicott can tank a Draco Meteor. Well, this intro is too long already. "More matter with less art," as they say. Thank you and enjoy Chapter One.

This chapter could be considered M for "adult themes"...I guess.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. If I did, Ash would actually win a league (not including Orange Islands). I'm too lazy to write a disclaimer for every chapter, so let's just make this one count for all of them.

Chapter I

Wings

Tohjo Falls. The gateway between Kanto and Johto, they were a truly awe-inspiring spectacle and widely known tourist attraction. Lush forests and foliage dotted the rugged hills. For the intrepid, vast caverns served as their playground. And, of course, the waterfalls themselves were a sight to behold. The sheer power of the water's flowing and gushing could be felt even by tourists who were merely taking pictures at a safe distance. Wild Pokemon found in the area were reported to lead happy, healthy lives.

All in all, Tohjo Falls was the ideal place to live.

However, for one individual, it was also the ideal place to die.

Salon Maiden Anabel, the Frontier Brain in charge of the Battle Tower, was a symbol of success to those who knew her both personally and professionally. After all, she held the third most important position in the Battle Frontier (only below Brandon and Scott), she had a good paycheck, and her job involved her favorite activity—battling. On top of that, her ability to communicate and empathize with her own Pokemon as well as wild ones made them love her as much as she loved them.

It was natural, then, to assume she was happy.

However, this was not so. Though she did indeed live a happy life once, the day came when Scott informed her of a certain challenger for the Ability Symbol. Considering he had already defeated all five previous Brains, she prepared herself for the inevitable confrontation. But nothing could have possibly prepared her for the challenger himself.

Standing at the top of the falls, Anabel sighed. She had lost an unacceptable number of battles ever since he left. At this point, though, not even victory could fill the hole left in her heart.

She briefly questioned what she was about to do, but quickly crushed all opposition within her mind. Without happiness, she reasoned, life was not worth living, and without him, there would be no happiness. While he was here, he brought her joy, hope, adventure, and so much more than she could have hoped to imagine, and when he left, her mood, her record—her everything—sunk back into the depths of her normal, ordinary, pastepudding, dull, boring life. Sure, he was incredibly unaware of others' emotions. Sure, he was absolutely horrible at actually planning what he was going to do in a battle. Sure, he couldn't cook for his life. Sure, his IQ was probably lower than the depths of the Giant Chasm. But his resourcefulness, his cheerfulness, and his incredible knack for making friends (human and Pokemon) made him the object of Anabel's affections.

And as she thought about him, she faintly smiled.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!"

"Hm?"

Anabel, taking a morning stroll, did not expect a teenager in a cap to accidentally provoke a Beedrill and run away screaming. Pitying the boy, she decided to intervene.

"Hold on, Beedrill!"

"Bee?"

"Please, calm down!"

By now, the other trainer and the Mouse Pokemon had become completely silent, probably due to either shock or admiration. Or maybe Ash was staring at—nah he's Ash.

"You're so angry I can't understand what you're saying! I wanna help you, that's all! Now, just relax and take a nice deep breath. Let's start from the beginning. Tell me what happened."

"zBee! Bee! zzBee!"

"They were too close to your nest, and you were just trying to chase them away. I see!"

"Hold on!" the boy finally managed to say. "Am I crazy or are those two actually talking?"

Afterwards, the two got to know each other, though Team Rocket's plans did waste some of their time.

"Alakazam, Psybeam!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

I'm pretty sure I don't need to elaborate.

"We're blasting off agaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain!"

And then came the revelation of the century…

"Well, if the truth be told, I happen to be a girl."

"HUH!?"

The look on his face said it all.

Finally, the day after he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Anabel, he rechallenged her and won.

"I GOT AN ABILITY SYMBOL!"

"Pika pi kaChu!"

Anabel only smiled.

Outside, as he pondered his upcoming battle at the Battle Pyramid, Anabel, keeping her emotions hidden, only spoke a simple sentence.

"Hey, Ash? That Frontier Brain is strong, so good luck. I'll be rooting for you!"

"Anabel, thanks!"

As Ash and his friends left, Anabel's mind suddenly realized one thing.

"He shook my hand…"

And then she blushed, suddenly feeling very warm inside.

Tears sprang to Anabel's eyes, but she strengthened her resolve. Ash would never return, she knew. Maybe he's found someone else by now.

Anabel thus decided upon her current course of action. If he would not stay for her, then she would wait for him, amongst the stars.

Taking a moment to admire the scenery—after all, that's what people do, right?—she was almost awed by the beauty despite having lived in the area for so long.

The forest. She remembered sharing her troubles with the Pokemon there after long, exhausting days, which recently seemed to be virtually every day.

The hills. Before she became the famous Salon Maiden, her family used to take her on camping trips there. She became fascinated with the wild Pokemon, and discovered her empathic abilities.

Before she became the Salon Maiden…

As Anabel saw a familiar building not too far away, she felt the faintest bit of suppressed rage. It did not explode like an inferno, but rather trickled like lava.

The Battle Tower. Her pride, her sanctuary, her responsibility, and now…her burden and prison.

Anabel waited no longer; she walked to the very edge of the Tohjo Falls.

She spread her wings for the last time, and she jumped…

And on THAT uplifting note, Chapter One is finished!

Will Anabel die? Or will something (or someone) save her? (It's pretty obvious which one…I want to write an actual story after all!)

So, I guess this is bye for now! Don't forget to leave a review!