Hello PEEPS! Blue here and chapter nine is too: 'The Fall of a Winner'. I was half tempted to also call it: 'Now we know what the heck is going on.' Seriously this chapter explains a lot of the questions who had in the reviews. It was also the hardest chapter to write as well. But it doesn't explain all that is in the story
I had to do a lot, and I mean A LOT of modifying to make sure that I can at least make the characters script actually sound like them. Still I'm not sure about it but there is not much I can do now. With that said the characters now know what the internal conflict is in the story.
Speaking of which this Fanfiction does have both internal and external conflicts.

We also learn a bit about Anabel here. Another reason to make this story is not only for abilityshipping but to flesh out my most favorite character in the Pokémon series, Anabel. Seriously she had the potential to be a decent character.

Also let me get one thing clear about Ash in this story. This is Fanfiction! Ash will be a bit more different in here than he is in the series! I'm am trying to take a different turn on Ash, as he is a fourteen year old boy in the story who is currently going through puberty. His identity and ideals are being challenged; I believe most of the readers know what I am talking about when we go through our adolescence years. Okay?

On a side note I also wish to thank the reviews who write very encouraging stuff that keeps me motivated on this story.
I hope I fulfill your needs for a good Abilityshipping Fanfiction.

Thank you and enjoy chapter 9.

Disclaimer: The rights to Pokémon belong to Satoshi Tajiri, and obviously not me


'From One Side to Another'

By True-InTha-Blue

Chapter 9

Fall of a Winner

(Day 2 of the Initiation: Part II)

When we last left, our hero Ash Ketchum was currently in a heated battle against the powerful Salon Maiden Anabel. In the first round it was Ash's Buizel verses Anabel's Drifloon; initially an even match up. But, thanks to a foreign yet familiar visitor in Ash's head, the trainer's lack of confidence cost him the match. With two Pokémon left on his side and three left on the Frontier Brains side, how will this battle turn out?

"Buizel…" Ash stared at the Sea Weasel's Poke'Ball, after he called him back, with sadness. He let him down, all because of his incompetence. He should've paid more attention to Anabel's attack; instead he got Buizel hurt. Pikachu stayed silent, as this was not his partner's normal behavior.

Anabel stared worriedly at Ash. What happened to that brave trainer that took his lost in a stride when he first battled her? What happened to the trainer that would stare at awe at his opponent tactics and complimented them even when he was losing? Now it was like he was falling into a pit of despair. He was distracted by the thought of having his Pokémon harmed. Battles were now a chore for him, not an enjoyment or a way to express his excitement.
"Keep it together girl." She said to herself. "You need to make him realize this." She looked toward her Drifloon, still standing but panting hard due to the earlier damage done to it. Drifloon could defiantly hold its own for a few more hits but she didn't want to exhaust the poor thing, not after all the hard work he had done for the first round.
"Drifloon, return." She raised her Poke'Ball to call him back in a beam of red light. "Get a good rest my friend. If anything, you deserved it."
She clicked off another Poke'Ball from her belt and enlarged it but waited till Ash called out his first.

And Ash did that exactly, though he didn't look too pleased to call out another one of his friends. He also understood why Anabel called back Drifloon, he would've done the same if the battle was on his side. "I'll try my best." He said quietly to his Poke'Ball. He threw it and out came Infernape. But like always when Ash would try his best there was the voice to put him down.
'You always said that on the battles that you usually lose; doesn't make much of a difference when it's you who's saying it.'
Ash said nothing to retaliate back; he just didn't want to think about it. "So, what are you going to call on next?" He asked Anabel, noticing how quiet things were.

Anabel almost smiled, glad that he was at least talking to her. "A good friend of mine that Scott gave me not too long ago." She answered. Then she threw her capsule device out to the field. "Go my friend, do your best." In the flash of white light was the mighty Gleam-Eyes Pokémon, Luxray.

"LUUXRAAAY!" He roared revealing shining sharp fangs trying to intimidate his opponent. And though Infernape was a bit put off by this; the fire type roared back with its own ferocity.

"IN-INFERNAPE!" Both he and Ash realized that this could be similar to the battle they had with Volkner

This time Anabel made her move first. 'Luxray, jump behind it and use Thunder Fang.'
Luxray nodded, and with eagerness to battle and surprising agility, Luxray leaped high in the air with his teeth crackling with electricity.

"Raaayyy!"

Luckily, Ash was able to spot this just in time. "Infernape use Mach Punch to get Luxray away from you!" He commanded the Flame Pokémon just when Luxray landed behind Infernape.

But Anabel was able to counter this counter. 'Luxray try to bite the arm. I know it might hurt you but it will also damage your opponent.' She called out as a silver glow of power covered Infernape's arm when it swung. Most Pokémon would never do something that dangerous, but Anabel's Luxray was a warrior at heart. Never faltering in his attack, Luxray took the brunt of the Mach Punch when it clamped on to the swinging attack, but like what Anabel ordered, the Thunder Fang was able to execute the attack before he was swung off Infernape's arm.

"Infernape are you alright?" Ash glanced at the arm that took the full force of the attack, Infernape was trying to move it but the movements were stiff and jagged.
'His arm was paralyzed by the Thunder Fang.' Ash observed through gritted teeth. Now the battle will be a lot harder for the both for them.
'Not that the results would be different with the injury.' The voice said making Ash's and Infernape's assurance in the battle falter.

Anabel glanced over her Luxray. The Gleam-Eyes Pokémon was shaking his head the null the pain. Right now the battle was doing decently; both parties had one attack on each other.
But now it was time to ramp it up more.
'Alright Luxray I want you to charge toward Infernape and wait for my command."

"Luxray! LUX!" The electric type began to charge toward the flame Pokémon, fangs bared.

"Use Flame Thrower Infernape!" Ash commanded trying to stop the attack before it could begin without harming Infernape's arm.

"In-Infernape!" he said about to release the torrent of fire firm his mouth.

Anabel frowned expecting it 'You know that you're too experienced to go for the direct attack Ash. Luxray, Jump and use Signal Beam in his face."

The lion-like Pokémon jumped high above again, dodging the stream of flame and put his paws in front of him to dive forward at Infernape.

"INFER?"

'NOW!'

"LUX-RAAYYYY!" A purple beam shot out of Luxray's mouth just when the Pokémon was about a meter away from Infernape's face. Initially, a bug type move would not have that much effect on a fighting type, but at point blank range, and with the fact that Luxray is a Frontier Brain's Pokémon, it wouldn't matter much.

Infernape clutched his face in pain from the attack backing away from Luxray. Ash stared in horror as he observed his losing battle. How could he have missed that? This was just like the time with Buizel and Ominous Wind.

'And other battles as well, don't forget. As soon as someone actually put's strategy in a battle, you fall apart. You're weak, Ketchum and always will be.'

Ash said nothing, too weary of arguing with the voice. He needed to focus more, Infernape's almost out of battle and—wait.

A fiery aura surrounded Infernape, and his irises shrunk into minuscule size.
"IIINNNFFEERRRAAPPPPPEEEE!" His crown of fire burst into a new level of fury.

Anabel stared at the spectacle in awe of Infernape's remarkable ability; she grinned hoping that this will help Ash get into spirit. Luxray sensed this, and barked mentally to her to take another look. Ash's face was that of desperate resolve, he was clinging on to this ability to at least do some damage but not to win. It was dangerous for anyone with that mindset. Ash could harm himself greatly if he kept that up.

Ash kept deciding what to do. 'When Infernape is like this, that means he can only take one more hit, but his attacks are boosted. I need to end this, I believe in Infernape, I need to depend on him and trust his skills.'

'Even though your skills are nothing short but useless.'

"Infernape use Flame Thrower on the ground." He ordered knowing what he had to do next. "I'm depending on you."

"Fer Fernape!" The Flame Pokemon released the fire on to the ground like Ash said and created a barrier of fire on the ground due to the sheer power of it.

"What is he up to?" Anabel muttered to herself; Luxray kept at bay from the barrier of fire while looking for any signs of an opening.

"Now use Dig with all you got!" Ash gave his last command. Infernape summoned all his power within his being as he dug in the ground.

Anabel looked warily at the ground beneath Luxray's feet. She was no fool when it came to the attack Dig, it would do major damage to Luxray, who had a low defense, adding on to the super affective attack.
Then a hole broke through the ground behind Luxray, causing the Gleam-Eyes Pokémon to look back in surprise.
"LUX?"

"Luxray use Swift in the hole!" Anabel called out loud.

"LUXRAY!" He jumped up above the hole seeing a the fiery aura of Infernape in it. He shifted his tail and sent the swirling stars of Swift down it. Luxray could see the mad fury of Infernape climbing up the hole when the attack hit him.

"Luxray?" He cried in surprise when Infernape just continued on the attack.

"Oh no, Luxray!" Anabel cried when she realized that Luxray was now in a defenseless position in air.
"INFERNAPE!" The fire type cried when he used the final stage of Dig.

"Luxraaaaaa!" Luxray cried out when he was hit, the electric type fell to the ground, fainted.

Maron looked back in forth between the two Pokémon. "All right, Luxray can no long continue to—"

"INFERNAPEEE….." Ash's best Sinnoh fighter fell to his knees, in exhaustion, finally feeling the attack Swift made on him now as he was no longer in a ballistic rage.
Ash silenced was not unexpected, he knew that Infernape couldn't last long and recalled him back without complaint.

Anabel and Maron gave startled looks at this; the referee soon just shrugged and called the match. "Well… I guess both Pokémon can no longer to continue the battle. It's a double knock out."

'This battle is pointless; the girl still has two Pokémon while you only have one more left. Do you honestly think you could win this even with your last one? Your resolve has crumbled, just like with Paul and Tobias. Nothing you can do will matter. You're pathetic '

"I'm sorry Infernape. I failed you." Ash said quietly to the Poke'Ball. Before calling out his Pokémon to battle he once again called out to Anabel, to settle it once and for all. "Can I ask you a question Anabel?"

"Pikachu?"

"Umm… Sure?" She didn't know where this was going.

"In the next match, your going to send out a powerhouse aren't you; one of your oldest Pokémon?"

"Yes… my Scizor, I got her as a Scyther during my journey in Kanto. Why are you asking?"

Ash sighed, his just suspicions confirmed. "Because… I have to resign from the battle."


"PIKACHU?"

"WHAT? Are you crazy?" Anabel could not believe the words that were coming out of Ash's mouth. It was unfathomable for a trainer to utter those words for no good reason. She left her post and headed to his place on the battle field "Why?"

Ash frowned. "There's really not much use now. I only have one Pokémon left, and it's almost certain that I'll lose… there's really no point, not with my skills."

Anabel's eyes narrowed at this nonsense."Maron, would you please leave us for the moment?" Maron nodded and walked out of the room leaving the two to themselves. Anabel then continued. "Is that it? The same thing happened last time we battled and you responded with vigor and enthusiasm, despite the fact that you lost. Now you fear the very thought of defeat. What happened to you in Sinnoh Ash that made you a former shell of yourself?"

"Nothing happened to me. I'm just not that good of a trainer." Ash turned his eyes away from her, but she kept questioning him.

"Was it because of Paul and his opinions or Hunter J brutal treatment of Pokémon*? Was it because of an organization that used Pokémon like tools?*" Ash said nothing so Anabel went for the kill. "Or, is it because of a foreign voice in your head that's convincing you you're not worth the effort?"

Ash's eyes widen, confirming her guess. He turned to her with shock and confusion plastered in his face. "How did… how?"

"I tell you about how I know later. First I need to collect my thoughts on the battle we had. Meet me at Cobalt Port east of here after you've rested your Pokémon. Ask for my name when you get there, the residents know me. …You better have good answers to why you resigned Ash." With that Anabel turned and left to Ash to his thoughts.


"Pikapi… Pikachu had been staring at his trainer from his arms for quite a while now after they left the Pokémon Center. Not even a peep has come from Ash's lips; the boy was in deep thought, deciphering what it could mean on Anabel knowing about his 'small' problem. Speaking of which, the voice had been silent, now that the battle was over. But it was to be expected, the voice usually only came out during battles.

"What's wrong?" He finally responded to Pikachu. The electric type gave him a hard look as he put his paws on his hips. "Oh… right. I'm one to talk."

"Pikapika Chu ka-Pika!" Pikachu almost yelled at his trainer. He wanted Ash to get out of this slump. Why was he back in it? Didn't Ash's mom talk him out of it? Well dear readers, she talked him out of it temporarily. Not every problem can be solved so quickly, and for Ash's case it will take time for him to break free of the clutches of the voice.

It took fifteen minutes to reach Cobalt Port. He and Pikachu never heard of this town and they could see why. The town was minuscule, even smaller then Pallet Town. The majority of the buildings/houses were near the sea's edge where small boats carried cargo near the shore line. Majority of the architect was stone and wood with the tallest structure only being three stories high.
But it certainly was lively. People bustled about their business, from the workers lifting boxes from the docks to people working in their small gardens in the back of town. There were lots of Pokémon too. Flying types were carrying letters and small parcels back and forth from each house, grass types helping the plants stay healthy and fighting and ground types working with heavy construction. One could say this would be the ideal small town to grow up in. Ash marveled at the sight, almost wishing he lived here for his youth.

"Pikachu, Pikapi pika-chu Kachu Pika?" Pikachu tugged on his sleeved shacking him out of his thoughts.

"Right, we need to find Anabel." Ash saw someone walking by them and decided to ask him. "Excuse me sir." The man stopped and turned to them.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Do you know where I can find a girl named Anabel in this town?" To Ash and Pikachu's great surprise, the man's face broke into a massive grin.

"Well, of course! There isn't a person who wouldn't know the famous Salon Maiden!" He pointed to a white and brownish building of the left side on town. "She's right over there." Then the man looked slyly at Ash. "You wouldn't happen to be on a date with her are you?"

Ash became very confused at this. 'A… a date? Why would anyone think that?' "Uhm. No, I'm sorry."
"Pika…pi."

"Ah well… have a good time and I'm glad I could be of service." The man waved them off as he left.

All Ash could say was. "That was weird."

But the man spoke the truth as they saw Anabel sitting in the courtyard outside of the building. She was in a fine wooden chair with a small table between her and another chair; her green hat off to the side. Anabel saw them and smiled sadly but was still glad that Ash had the willingness to come. Just when Ash and Pikachu were about to sit down another man came from the building carrying a tray full of desserts.

"Ah. So your guest has arrived." The waiter said to Anabel "Here is your usual Miss Anabel, along with another for the young man, and my signature chocolate Poke'food for the adorable Pikachu." He set down two fancy chocolate cakes in front of them along with two cup of steamy hot tea, with cream and sugar, and two glasses of milk. Then he set a bowl of dark brown Poke'food in front of Pikachu

"Thank you, Mr. Von. What's the charge I owe you?" Anabel thanked him. Mr. Von as he was now called waved her offer off.
"On the house Miss Anabel, I have a feeling you and your guests both need this. Call me if you something comes up."

"Who's that?" Ash asked when Mr. Von left. Things today were just getting more and more confusing.

"That was Mr. Von, the owner of the bakery here. I'm kind of a regular customer here so he knows me well."

"Oh… I didn't know." Ash said watching Pikachu take a bite of the Poke'food.

"Pika!" Pikachu squealed in delight tasting the flavor of the delicious treat. "Pikachu Kachu pika! Pika pi pi!

"Why, you are welcome Pikachu. I'm glad you like it." Anabel smiled before turning to Ash who had just taken a bite of his cake, his eyes widening at the rich flavor.

"It's good is it not?" She asked him.

Ash had a small smile on his face. "Yeah, it really is."

"Take a sip of the tea, the two combined make a really delicious accent to each other." Anabel said taking a bite of her own cake. This was her favorite treat to get at this place; no matter what mood she was in, it always helped to lighten the day.
But even with this she had to go into a deeper topic.

"So, why do you think you are not a good trainer?" She asked when Ash was drinking his milk. Instantly he frowned and sighed.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, looking at her as she should know the answer.

"No. It's actually very confusing to me."

Ash scratched his head. "I lost."

"So I lose too but I know I'm still a good trainer." She frowned, he was avoiding the question. "Ash, tell me what is going on."

"About what?" He gave her an exasperated look, one that carried the tiredness he felt in battle.

"About what you were thinking during the battle; what is that voice telling you that makes you so hesitant in its midst, makes you lose your resolve, and that makes you fear to lose so much that you shied away from our final stage of it?" She stared at him with concern covering her face, so much that it made our hero shift uncomfortably in his seat.

"I don't know why I listen to the voice, I just do; most in the time in Sinnoh I could ignore it but now... now it's over whelming." He said a bit harshly.

"Ash…"

"Pikapi…"

"Its…I… I just don't want my Pokémon to get hurt; that I only win through blunders and that I'm afraid that I would treat them like tools in the heat of the match."

Anabel nearly laughed at the irony of it all, she of most people could.* "So… that's the reason… Well Ash, I can understand where you are coming from, especially from someone who goes the extra mile like you often do. But you are missing something important Ash; something that most trainers don't realize but are always aware of."

"What's that?" Ash asked bewilder after he took another bite of his cake.

Instead of answering, Anabel took a Poke'Ball from her belt and released the Pokémon inside.

"Espe espe." Espeon called from the ground.

"Espeon, do you mind jumping on the table so we can see you better?"

The Sun Pokémon did hop up and greeted Pikachu. "Espeon."

"Pikaachu." He offered her some Poke'food which she gladly accepted.

"Now Ash, what do you see?" Anabel asked gesturing towards the Pokémon.

"Ummm… I see Pikachu and Espeon?" Ash asked densely. What else was he suppose to see?

Anabel smiled ruefully at his thickness. "No, there's something else Ash."

Oh, now he realized. "I see my starter, my best friend who I would do anything for. I see your best friend as well Anabel, and in some aspects who is my friend as much as Pikachu is yours."

"Good answer but not what I was looking for Ash." She petted Espeon who leaned to her touch. "Lately you have been seeing them as humans Ash and I must admit that is natural considering their remarkable emotions. But they're not, they are Pokémon Ash."

The young trainer looked at Anabel, befuddled at her words, yet accepting that he had been seeing them a bit like that. "So what does that mean?"

"With all their vast differences, Pokémon have one thing in common that Humans always have differences on. They love to battle. They crave a good fight, don't you guys?"

"Pikachu kachu!"

"Es Espeon!"

Ash's eyes widened realizing she spoke the truth. He couldn't remember a Pokémon who didn't love the taste of battle. Anabel continued on. "Pokémon, don't really care if they win or lose most of the time, though winning is great in all, but what they really want to do is to grow strong and show off their stuff. They accept that they will get hurt in battle but they really don't care whether or not it is their blunder or their trainer's. That is why they can love humans so much; humans can bring out that inner potential which they can never achieve in the wild. You understand don't you?"

Ash scratched his head again. "Yeah… I do, just that I never thought Pokémon to be like that, I guess. You know a lot about Pokémon Anabel, lot more than I do."

She could feel the ghost of a blush on her cheeks. "Not as much as I would like to Ash, but thank you anyway. Now to go on the next subject."

"Which is?"

"About you were winning through blunders." Ash cringed when he heard this.

"It's true." He said before taking a drink of milk. "Even with my battle with you last year, I only won through losing the lighting."

Anabel rolled her eyes. "Do you know that only a handful of trainers win by pure tactic and skill alone?" Ash shook his head. "Do you also remember how you won against the other Frontier Brains? It was with skill and tactic alone."

"Yeah but most of my battles I've won have been through blunders."

"Yeah, and a good trainer knows to use them their advantage Ash, just like you do. True strength is not shown by skill alone but by also using circumstance to your advantage. Most trainers I have fought never consider using them to help them with the battle. In fact I think you're the only one who did it in the past three years. The only other one was this guy I fought during my first year, but then again he lost to me three times before using a circumstance to his advantage on the fourth battle."

"Really?" Ash asked honestly surprised. He couldn't help but wondered if that previous trainer was Reggie.

"Yep. Now about using Pokémon as tools in battle and I have to say that probably the most ridiculous thing I ever heard someone like you say." She said making Ash sink his head down. "You know far better than that Ash. And so do your Pokémon, right Pikachu?"

"Pi Kachu Pi-chaaa!" Pikachu rubbed alongside his arm to prove his point. But Ash still wasn't really convinced.

"How do you know about the voice? Do you know what it is?" He asked.

Anabel rested her chin on her hand. "I'll tell you as soon as were finished, as for the other question… I have… theories."

"Theories?" Ash almost snorted but then agreed that they should finish their dessert. It was not every day that he and Pikachu could have chocolaty delights. In fact he couldn't remember the last time someone treated him to desert. "Hey Anabel?" He spoke when he finished his cake.

"Hmmm?"

"Thanks for the cake. Not many of my friends treat me to these sorts of things. Pikachu and I really enjoyed this."

Anabel grinned. "You're welcome Ash. I'm more than happy to do this for you; would you like to do this more often?"

For some reason hearing this, Ash felt the funny feeling again bubble up inside him at the thought of him, Pikachu and Anabel eating together like this again. "Of course. Right buddy?" he asked Pikachu.

"Pi Pika!"


When they left after thanking Mr. Von to the path back toward the Battle Tower, Ash had more questions to ask. "Okay, if I'm not a bad trainer like you said then how come I have been losing lately to people who are equal to my level of experience?"

"Well… that is a good question Ash and not many people would be able to give you the right answer. It is because of your lack of confidence in yourself."

Ash took on a confused look not understanding why that would matter in battle. "Can you explain a bit more?"

"You have faith in your Pokémon right?" Ash nodded. "But you don't have faith in yourself. I heard you during our battle. You kept taking all the blame for every little thing that went wrong Ash.
When a Pokémon becomes close to a trainer, a bond is formed between the two. Pokémon rely not only for the trainer to give the orders and to have faith in them but for the trainer to have faith in themselves. You need to have resolve in your actions; if you lack that then the Pokémon will start to lose their resolve too, you see? Just like what happened during Buizel and Infernape; you started off confident and proud, but as soon as you began to second guess yourself, your Pokémon weakened."

The Pikachu trainer marveled at the insight of these words. "Why is that? Why do Pokémon depend on a trainer's confidence in himself?"

Anabel smiled. "No one knows why exactly, but there has been a bond there for all time whether for good or for evil."

Our hero looked back to where Team Galactic had powerful Pokémon. Jupiter, Mars and other members were confident that they would win, that's why they were able to do very well in battle. "Can I ask you a question Ash?" Anabel spoke. 'Why are you afraid of losing so much?"

Ash hesitated before answering. "Because… I feel like it sets me back from my goals; that I won't be able to get stronger unless I can win." Unexpectedly Anabel burst out laughing. "Hey it's not funny." Ash cried out defiantly.

"Ah, it's not you; it's just that we are more similar that I thought." She let out a small chuckle. "So you're afraid of losing because you're afraid it will set you back? Ash let me tell you something that I had to learn the hard way. Losing is a sure part of Life, and it is a different cycle of growing. If you don't lose then you won't improve, if you don't lose then there is no excitement in life. Take it from the girl who never lost a battle when she was ten."

"Wow, who was that?" Ash eyes widen at the thought of someone never losing at such a young age.

"Me silly." Anabel answered bemused by him. "Due to my… stronger bond with Pokémon, I became a very talented young trainer when I went through the Kanto League."

"Wait, you went through Kanto four years ago?" Ash interrupted.

"Yes, and I never lost a battle. No trainer or Gym leader could defeat me. Because of this I attracted certain attention."

"What kind of attention?" He feared that Team Rocket came after young Anabel.

"Scott." Anabel smiled wistfully. "He came to me looking for talented trainers to enter a program to become a Frontier Brain. I became slightly interested at the thought of becoming like the elite. But once he told me that I had to go under guidance from an actual Frontier Brain, me being the stubborn little girl who never lost and had hardly any human contact said I didn't need anyone to teach me how to be good. Scott was determined to get me in but I had to learn to be humbled though. So he called in Brandon to battle me."

"You battled Brandon when you were ten?" Ash and Pikachu were in shock. The very thought of them battling Brandon when Ash was ten almost made them sick to their stomachs.

"Yeah, and unsurprisingly I lost. Badly. I was crushed by him like a Groudon stepping on a Caterpie."


Flashback

On an open field a girl with purple hair clutch her fainted Eevee in her arms. She had shorts, a white shirt and purple jacket on her, but that's not important. What was important were the tears streaming down her face as the man she was battling walked over to her. It was Brandon, only he was four years younger and had little less wrinkles on his face.
His eyes held no pity for the girl and her tears. Nor did they hold no pride for the overwhelming victory he just had over her. He just listened to the girl who kept apologizing to her Eevee about their lost. Finally he had enough of this and spoke up. "Child, are you really going to let this set you back, a small defeat?" The girl looked up at him with fierce and wet eyes. There was inner strength and defiance in them but also held a desperate grasping to everything he said. "Is defeat that hard on one such as you?" This time the girl spoke.

"Your one to talk, you could defeat anyone with the power you have." Brandon just rolled his eyes at the girl's ignorance.

"Do you think that I was always this strong? Then you are naïve girl! NO! I learned through many battles from both losing and winning. If you do not learn to handle a lost then you shall never know true strength girl! You will never truly know any joys in life; you will never be able to improve your mistakes. And I've seen the look in your eyes; you desire to be strong enough to look after others." The girl avoided his eye now, telling him he was right. "The Battle Frontier does not have time for a person who crumbles at the thought of defeat. Come back when you can conquer it. We're leaving Scott; this was a waste of my time." Brandon called to a slightly thinner Scott who had been watching the scene quietly to leave.

But as soon as they had their back turned the purple haired girl stood up with her Eevee still in arms. "Then teach me how to accept losing!" She called at Brandon. "If I'm really that naïve then teach me not to be." This halted the two in their tracks.

"So you really want to learn? Why?" The Pyramid King asked her over his shoulder.

The small child rubbed the tears off of her cheeks. "It's like you said. I want to be able to look after others."

Brandon gave the girl a stern look. "Then can you humble yourself to learn?"

The child cringed from the older man's stare but continued. "I can… humble myself. What I mean is… that I can already do it, as you can see with my strong bond to my Pokémon and all… I just need to learn really is to humble myself to … people."

Brandon huffed. "If you can admit that then maybe the Battle Frontier can actually teach you something."

Scott came up from behind him with a large grin on his face. "Glad you accept her Brandon. So Anabel I'll ask again, do you wish to promote the art of Pokémon battles and become a Frontier Brain?" He offered her his hand.

I do not need to tell you Anabel's answer.

End Flashback.


"Pikaaaa. Chu Pipika!" Pikachu exclaimed after Anabel was done telling her tale.

"Wow… So that's how you came to become a Frontier Brain?" Ash asked wanting to hear more.

"Yeah, but I still had to choose which Frontier Brain I had to spend three months with. Of course I chose Brandon to teach me. Even as a Frontier Brain myself, I have a lot to learn before I'm ready to fight my old teacher again." Anabel answered.

"So is he the reason why you know about the …Voice?"

Anabel thought about it before finally answered his question. "Brandon told me after you received your seventh Frontier symbol. He said to me that your battle style was different from what I dealt with."

"It was?" he asked.

"Only just a little but enough to get someone experienced as Brandon to notice. Then when you battled Paul at Lake Acuity, Brandon asked Paul's brother to report how the battle went for you. From what his brother did tell him, you lost a lot of your fire by then, mostly you relied only on your Pokémon's strength and not with your own. Obviously something changed in you before you went to Sinnoh but after you battled me and it only has gotten worse than after."

"So what does this mean?" Ash asked, now really worried that the voice had changed him so much. "Why do I have this voice in my head?"

"Brandon thinks… he thinks that it is because of having the King of Poke'lantis posses you."

Our hero's jaw dropped hearing this. "How is that so? Didn't Brandon, I dunno, seal that thing up after he defeated him?"

"Yes, he did. But do you honestly think someone can go through being possessed by a being of evil and not be affected by it?"

Ash was about to say yes but then realized that he had been affected by the incident greatly whether he was aware of it or not. "No. Not really."

"The voice you have Ash, is a psychological rebound from the incident. All the negativity you felt for yourself and the very, very different views of Paul and Hunter J accumulated to what you now know as the voice. Tell me, how long has it been in your head?"

She watched him narrowed his eyes thinking back to when it first happened. "I didn't start hearing an actual voice until after my first battle with Paul during when Hunter J first attacked. But I remember a …depressing feeling inside if me when I battled Brandon for the second time. I never thought it would have affective me like this." He placed a hand over his heart and turned away. "I never really thought about it like that, nor did I ever thought something was wrong with me, it just grew on to me to the point that I thought it was natural. Heh, I guess that's why I never told anyone this. Not even Pikachu."

"Pikaa ka pi Pikapi!"

"Hmmm, sorry buddy."

"Hey," Anabel place a hand on his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up. You've already done enough of that today."

Ash nodded. "By the way, why did Brandon tell you about all of this? Did he tell any of the other Frontier Brains?"

Anabel denied this much to his relief. "No only me. I can sense human emotions to a degree, though I'm not good doing it compared to sensing a Pokémon emotions*. He wanted to give me a heads up if I ever met you again, to see how much it really is affecting you. Plus, Brandon trusts me with these sorts of things."

"Well, I'm glad Brandon is looking out for me. But can I have one more question?" Ash asked when they continued walking.

"Yes?" She noticed his eyes had a downtrodden look about them.

"After today, I don't think I will be able to battle like I use too. I mean that I want to battle like I did when I met you but this voice… its killing me, it always degrades any confidence I receive from anyone. I can't be like I use to until it leaves my head. How do you guy plan on making me a Frontier Brain when I can't even complete a simple battle?"

Anabel placed a figure on her chin. "Well, this is mostly a psychological problem with mythical properties which means that it can't be cured by any modern medicine. One way we can cure it, is to go through months of long and agonizing therapy." Ash couldn't help but cringe, Gary used to tell him scary stories of therapy treatments when they were young. "However that would take too long and would be boring for both you and me. So we will have to go with plan B."

"What's plan B?" Ash asked still a bit worried about it.

Anabel broke into the grin she used when she was about to go into the heat of battle. "Plan B is to be short and be able to be done in less than three months."

"So what is it?"

"We, beat it out of you."

Ash blinked, not sure he heard right. "Excuse me?"

"Pi?"

Anabel smirked. "You heard me. I'll teach you a method that will be sure to cancel out anything that voice has to say, while making you stronger in battle and bonding with your Pokémon."

"Wait! What did you mean by beating it out of me? That doesn't sound too good." This really wasn't sounding too good.

Anabel just laughed at his behavior though. "Don't worry Ash, nothing bad will happen to you alright?" This seemed to make him calm down though he took on a concerned look on his face.

"Do you really think this will work? I mean this is kind of ridiculous once you think about it." Ash said.

Anabel scoffed and hit him lightly on the arm. "It will only work if you believe in yourself, and your Pokémon." She took his hand and held it up. "Ash. I don't know if it means anything to you, but I will be here for you and Pikachu the entire time alright?"

It was a simple oath, but it held deep meaning. Ash took one look in Anabel's purple eyes, then something clicked in his mind. She was no longer just his friend; she was his equal. Not a rival, an enemy, an elder or a good friend, but someone who would watch his back at all times because she can. With the best grin he felt on his face all day, knowing Pikachu would support his actions and with a promise to improve, Ash clenched Anabel's hand in a firm grip and said. "This means a lot. Anabel, thank you."

End of Chapter 9


Whew. This was a long chapter. Now to answer the stars

*1 Anabel knows about hunter J and Paul because Brandon told her

*2 Anabel only guessed about Team Galactic

*3 This is an insight to Anabel's past

*4 Pokémon emotions are simpler than Human emotions; Anabel can only scrap the top of basic emotions when it comes to humans

NOW WE GET TO SEE ASH GET HIS BUTT HUMORLY KICKED AND FOR HIM TO START KICKING BUTT!

Fun Fact: KaChu Pika is Pikachu talk for Anabel's name. Which sounds a bit like her Japanese name: Lila.

But I really hoped you guys enjoyed it and I know I was bordering on Emo Ash but think about it. How would you feel if your very resolve was breaking down in front of your eyes. My original draft for this chapter was a lot sappier, but I threw it away after feeling like I just read Twilight.

I hope the battle scene went well, let me tell you I got depressed writing it with Ash being berated by the voice. But next chapter we are going to crush it. And there will soon to be more battles coming up.

Oh and the Poll on the Author's page is closed.
The point of the poll was to see what stories would be the best to write, but what I didn't tell you were all the elements that tied into making a story.
So in terms of time, knowledge, flexibility and which archive needs it more,
the winner is : Renegade of Keyblades.

I will be writing on it soon as well as chapter 10.

Please Review after the chapter and tell me what you think, plus thanks for voting.

Remember kids, Constructive Criticism is cool, Flaming is not

P.s. Luxray is beast.