Pokemon Reset Bloodlines

by Crossoverpairinglover

Going back to save the world is tough; it's tougher when the process ends up radically altering reality. When the new world Ash wakes up in differs from the old one in many ways, Ash will have to adapt his battle experience to a new world, and what are these mysterious Bloodlines that everyone fears? AshXHarem-multiship Anime world with some Adventures and Game canon. Mostly beta'd

31. Stuff in Between with Other People

Chapter 31, (Also known as, what was once part of Chapter 30 but I decided to split up), is here. A few fun facts while I am here, as well as review responses.

With the Holiday Special long up, we got to meet Ash's father in it, and I'll confirm this now. He was the guy in Johanna Gaiden, the very first one ever released. And why was he there…..well let's just say if anyone ever wants to write their own take on the Reset Idea, here's a very good way to distinguish the fic from my own, That can be the universe where he did seduce Johanna and Dawn got to be Ash's half- sister! I'd highly suggest not doing PearlShipping in such a scenario.

Also for clarification, in the Resetverse the Cosmog line are not Legendaries. Thought I'd say that now. Alolans call them that, but we also call Arcanine the Legendary Pokémon don't we? They are still powerful, but so are all Ultra Beasts.

While I am at it, there are currently no Ultra Beast Bloodliners. They can exist, but none currently do nor does anyone carry the genes for it. Necrozma is an exception, he is covered under the 'no legendary' clause. A Bloodliner for the Cosmog line can open Ultra Wormholes as part of their abilities.

Ash has no siblings in the Draconid People, or among Ultra Megalopians(?). The Draconids lineages are something Ash's father has no access to, though bloodliners can exist in their people. Ultra Megalopians (again ?) are still being figured out by me if they are genetically compatible with humans, and even if they are Ash's father has no way to go and sleep with one. Alternate Universes are a tad beyond his reach. Regardless of their genetic compatibility (given that no Ultra Beast can breed with a Pokémon of the main world one has to wonder), they probably do not have bloodliners due to a lack of the required circumstances.

Breeding, as mentioned before, isn't 1 for 1 with game mechanics. If Ash's Pikachu and the Shiny Chansey, for example, have eggs….there can be Pichu among them. Also with Shiny lineage comes more chance of being shiny, but it's considerably rare still.

Pokémon do age and can pass on in the Resetverse, and not always the same per species. So before anyone asks, yes Ash will probably long outlive a few of his mons, like Butterfree specifically, while there are Pokémon that Ash has that will probably outlive him by the time the fic ends. However I don't plan on writing on to that point, so Ash reflecting on death by old age in fic will not occur among Pokémon, nor Pokémon reflecting on Ash passing on.

The Moon ball is just that, a Moon Ball. Ash just has access to it now should he need to capture something.

As to not recognizing Karen, how likely is it that if Drasna was there making cookies for people, people would assume she's the same type of person as Bruno or Agatha?

If anyone is up to reading me write something a bit more dark than usual, check out a new oneshot of mine outside of the Resetverse called "Shudo cross Modern Ash, The Trainer who Questions Humanity."

Now let's begin!

---

Sometime later

"You know, I've decided." Ash declared to his gathered Pokémon suddenly.

Charizard let out an annoyed growl.

'That hippies suck no matter what?'

"No." Ash clarified, glad they were done dealing with that Snorlax hippie. Ash swore he was a better guy last time, and that the Snorlax was not the Hippie's mean to extort money out of people.

"I think we should see if we can pull off having more than four moves." Ash explained as all Pokémon present cheered.

Pikachu, Ambipom, Charizard, Servine, Pidgeot, and Butterfree specifically.

"Now….does anyone know how to do that?" Ash asked his Pokémon, who paused mid cheer.

The clearing was silent for a moment as they all tried to wrap their heads around the very serious question.

"Geot!" Pidgeot offered up to break the silence.

'We did so before, so I guess we just have to remember'.

Servine and Ambipom stared at the bird in confusion.

"Ser…." 'No, we did not do so before. I never had that.' Servine told the bird slowly.

Charizard gave a thoughtful growl.

'No, I definitely feel like I had that at one point, but then I stopped for some reason….'

"Pi." Same, though I can't remember why I'd ever forget how to do it. Electro Ball and Volt Tackle at the same time would have been fun. I feel like Snorlax still knew. I know he used more than four moves fighting Greta….'

"Ot?" 'Ash caught a Snorlax?'

"Free…." 'Let's blame this confusion on Cyrus. This is obviously his fault somehow….'

"You learn five moves by pushing your power with training, and then working on a move that does not overlap with what you possess. For example I'd highly suggest not having Charizard try to learn Fire Punch, lest you have Flame Charge morph into it." The Pokédex answered the question for them as Charizard looked at his hands wistfully.

Clearly the fact that learning to punch things and set them on fire would be difficult was a tough pill for him to swallow.

And so, as Charizard suffered under the sad truth of his lack of Fire Punches in the near future, training began.

And even after an hour it was….not going super well.

Pikachu was running around the clearing, half activating Thunderbolt to try and create an electrified running attack without using Quick Attack. The result? No Volt Tackle, but a few scorched patches of dirt and a brief grass fire.

Charizard flew into the air, ripping trees out of the ground and spinning them around in the air before throwing them to the ground. Each time Charizard would look at the wrecked tree, shake his head in self disappointment, and redo the process. Except that one time he reached for a tree and the Pokédex let out a loud beeping noise that was the unholy child of a fire alarm and chalkboard scratching, as he was about to grab a protected species.

The rock that Servine attempted to smash with a theoretical Iron Tail was undamaged. She was lying on the ground, grumbling in pain and indignation however.

Butterfree's attempt to manifest a Hyper Beam ended in a massive coughing fit.

Pidgeot was standing firm in the center of the clearing, the instant desire for shielding and protection racing through her mind as she tried to get a Protect to form around herself. Nothing formed as a result, except a single feather falling to the ground, knocked off her tail by an elm slammed into the earth by Charizard.

As for Ambipom….

"Ambipom has forgotten Astonish. Ambipom has learned Shadow Claw!" The Pokédex declared of the monkey Pokémon as she held up two shadow clad tails in embarrassment.

"Am..." 'I thought it was far enough away….' She admitted of her flub.

"We…may need more time on this." Ash admitted as Charizard slammed a birch tree into the ground, shook his head once more, and ripped out an oak tree and taking off back into the air.

"Ser…" 'We'll also need more trees.'

That too….though it was starting to look more like a proper Seismic Toss.

Meanwhile, in a city near Vermillion

"I can't believe it Sparky. Who enters a bug catching contest, and couldn't catch anything?"

"Pika."

Sitting on a bench, the Trainer and his partner commiserated on their mutual failure, half watching the battle that was ongoing in the nearby public battlefield.

Neither had seen that Paras when they had found the first Beedrill, Sparky had been off in dream land for too long, and the bell went off just as they found another Beedrill that was not close to the swarm.

Because of that, here they were with nothing gained but a chance to watch one of the winners of that tag tournament from earlier beat someone with his Persian, which was only useful if they met up in Indigo.

"And to think, after the Thunder Badge we got you and I felt like nothing could go wrong." Ritchie sighed as he felt a vibration in his pocket.

"Pi?" Sparky questioned as Ritchie pulled the PokéNav from his pocket and noted the message that was just received.

Hey Half-Pint,

Heard from an old rival of mine that you got spored. Tough break, mushrooms are the worst.

Ritchie rolled his eyes at that, but kept reading.

The worst luck ruins you sometimes, said old rival still insists he'd have beaten me that time if he hadn't sneezed. (For the record, the guy is wrong about that, very wrong.)

Still, he feels for ya loss. He has a place the next town over. He retired to do Poke-ringer and demolition work after a while, but he still has his Pokémon and they do what they do when they aren't fighting.

One of them is a Tyranitar. Ever heard of it?

Ritchie paused as he tried to remember, and he could feel his eyes widen as he remembered what a Tyranitar was like.

Sparky clattered his teeth audibly, also aware of what a Tyranitar was.

Well, it turns out it has an egg that would one day be a Tyranitar, and he doesn't want to have another one around. He says you're free to take the egg. Think of it as a consolation prize.

Plus no Raylight should be without something capable of leveling houses. Here's the address.

Ritchie and Sparky looked at one another for a moment, before taking a look at the address.

They immediately marked it on the PokéNav and began making their way there.

Back with our intrepid heroes

"Bellossom, use Sunny Day!"

The battlefield was covered in bright light, blinding Ash a bit.

Across from him Elwood and Aideen, who they had run into randomly, were looking rather excited.

They had wanted to even the score after he and Red beat them last time, and he was always interested in a good battle.

It was good training after all. Plus with Misty out at a nearby lake with his H.O.P.E glove checking in personally on all her Pokémon, and Iris having conscripted Anabel to go retrieve some fruit from atop a nearby hill, he had nothing else to do right now.

"Solarbeam!" Both shouted. At the call both Aideen's Bellossom and Elwood's Venusaur rapidly gathered light into their petals, before unleashing it in a massive beam.

"Servine use Leaf Storm!" Ash called. His Unovan serpent darted in front of Tauros and began forming the grass attack.

The Leaf Storm flew into the path of the two Solarbeams.

"Do you really think one attack can block two?" Aideen questioned. Ash could only grin back.

"Nope, but I do think it is good cover. Tauros!" Tauros darted off to the side of the two beams, charging forward with a glowing Take Down.

The same Take Down, from the same Tauros, who helped him win the Orange Islands and take down Anabel. It was good to have him back.

The Solarbeams broke through Leaf Storm, but Servine darted to the side to avoid them with the opening Leaf Storm formed. Meanwhile Take Down was about to land home on Bellossom.

"Stop it!" Elwood shouted to his starter, who obliged and sent a vine swinging at Tauros, ready to strike him in the head.

However unlike a Vine Whip, it was glowing pink. A Power Whip?

"Block with Aerial Ace!" Ash countered as Snivy darted at the Power Whip with a glowing blue tail.

Her slice struck it from an angle, sending the Power Whip flying away from Tauros, who successfully nailed Bellossom.

The Sun Stone evolution was knocked back, but it got back up.

"…..I can see why you won." Elwood commented as Venusaur retracted the Power Whip vine back into itself.

"That doesn't mean we haven't been practicing." Aideen added.

"Solarbeam again!" Both shouted as the rapid fire sun attack was once more fired, this time much closer in range. The same strategy would not work again.

Sidestepping at least. He had his suspicions the other part would work.

"Alright Tauros, attack once I clear this, Servine use Leaf Storm!"

Servine hopped onto the head of Tauros and used it as a springboard to fly right at the combined pair of beams.

"Wait, isn't this Pokémon the one with Contrary!" Aideen exclaimed, apparently having seen the finals video with Paul.

"This is going to suck." Elwood observed as the powered up Leaf Storm flew right into the beams path.

The two attacks cancelled each other, as Tauros burst through the lingering light and leaves, covered in a swirling purple light bordered by orange streaks.

Giga Impact. One of his moves at the moment, along with Take Down, Fissure, and Double Team.

The attack struck both Grass types at once.

Bellossom was sent flying, but Venusaur, with audible snarling, dug itself into the ground as it took the attack.

Elwood shouted something in the midst of the attack that started with S. Ash assumed it was probably cursing.

While Bellossom looked down for the count in Aideen's arms in the aftermath, Venusaur was still standing.

With Tauros right in front of it, unable to move due to Giga Impact.

"…Bash now!"

And with Elwood done giving a command, which turned out to not be cursing.

It was actually the move Skull Bash.

"Skull Bash is a move used to increase defense before attacking." The Pokédex observed as Venusar shimmered, before slamming its head right into Tauros.

The wild bull Pokémon was sent stammering back from the blow.

"Now let's even this us, Sludge Bomb!" Elwood shouted as the inside of Venusar's flower glowed a sickly purple.

Tauros was still immobile, he'd have to practice more in the future with non-flying Giga Impact users. In the meantime though….

"Servine!" His call was met by a speeding green grass-type, who charged at Venusaur.

"Saur!" Venusaur shouted as it was just about to fire, only for Servine to run past it.

With a glowing green tail, powered by the force of Leaf Blade.

Venusaur promptly collapsed.

"No." Elwood said quietly as the twins accepted defeat.

"Great job!" Ash shouted to his Pokémon, a call Pikachu echoed as Tauros mooed in content. Servine merely nodded.

He approached his opponents as they returned their Pokémon with consolations for doing well and held out his hand.

"You wouldn't have won if you didn't win that tournament." Aideen took his hand while making a playful jab. Not serious in a 'Georgia losing to a non-Dragon' way, but in a playful tone.

"I don't know, I do have a Charizard, and a Goodra, and a..."

"A what?" Elwood questioned as Aideen retracted her hand, wincing a bit before holding it up to Ash.

"Ouch. Were you playing in sand before this?" She complained.

"Huh?" Ash asked as she held her hand up. Indeed, little sand like crystals were embodied in it, much as one would get with a palm into the sand.

However it wasn't the color of sand. It was instead green.

"Sis, sand isn't green." Elwood noted.

"Green sand feels like regular sand." She retorted.

"Sorry….honestly I don't know where that came from. Though if I have to be honest, something like that actually did happen before." The twins looked at him oddly as he continued.

"Right after I battled Lilo, my hand was also covered in sand. It was brown though, more look dirt than sand."

"Interesting." Elwood noted, before his gaze turned pointedly to the Z-Ring.

"And both of those, had a Z-Ring involved."

"A ring that makes sand huh….how interesting. A man of mystery behind the veneer of a loveable fool." Aideen teased. "Still though, please check for sand before you give people handshakes or hugs next time, would ya? What if I had been Serena and you hugged her with that sandy hand?" Aideen said in complete seriousness.

"Well if it had been Serena, I am quite sure she would not have been as furious, and would probably sound more surprised and physically hurt." Elwood snarked, before he rose a curious eyebrow.

"Have you been working out?" He randomly asked Ash, as Aideen looked at Ash inquisitively.

"You do seem a bit more muscular….you've always been more than him but you seem more so…." She jabbed at her brother a bit with that as Ash smiled.

"It's a long story, but I've been training myself too. It's sort of a new thing."

"Somewhere in Kalos Serena smiles, and she knows not why." Aideen grinned.

Kalos

Despite the cliché that she would in fact be smiling, Serena was not.

No one smiled in line at a pharmacy after all.

Kanto again, sometime later

"Thanks again for the advice Professor." Ash finished his call with the Professor. Before him, the five Pokémon he had on hand waited patiently as Ash gave them a confident grin.

"Alright, now that Iris is done with having me climb trees, let's try getting to five moves again." Ash tried not to look behind him, where the tree she had him climb stood in the distance.

He liked climbing trees, but trees that were a hundred feet tall were a bit much even for him.

The view was amazing up there, but it was not worth the trip.

The five Pokémon, the same as his earlier attempt save for Charizard (who had pretty much figured it out and was currently back at the Professor's practicing on larger subjects. According to the Professor, Gary's Golem had probably given consent first), nodded as Ash threw up the sixth Pokéball he had on him today, releasing the Pokémon within for the following lesson.

"Now that I know better what to try and work with you guys on than whatever move we randomly want to try, I should be able to give better advice. In case I'm not enough, I have an expert with me today."

At Ash's compliment, Krabby bowed, before holding his pincers into the air.

From each flew a stream of bubbles. Bubblebeam.

Then Krabby held both claws forward as they glowed in a metallic sheen. Metal Claw.

Krabby struck the ground with them, sending Krabby into the air before crashing back down on the earth with glowing feet. Stomp.

With the landing stuck Krabby pointed each claw fully out, opening them wide as brown shots flew out of each. Mud Shot.

Finally both claws glowed blue with a water like aura around them. Crabammer.

At this final display Krabby bowed once more, leading to Pikachu, Butterfree, Pidgeot, and Ambipom giving cheers to the River Crab Pokémon.

Servine merely rolled her eyes at the display, even as she couldn't help a grin form on her face.

And so an hour of work passed by once more, with more training with two instructors and one occasionally commenting Pokédex with the goal of breaking through the four move ceiling.

"Goooot!" Pidgeot yelled as one did when attacking, as two orbs of blue light gathered under her wing, before she flapped them intensely.

The blue air flew through the forest before her, shaking many leaves from trees, snapping branches, and sending a flock of Spearow flying away in the opposite direction.

"Awesome Pidgeot! That looked like Air Slash!" Ash told the flying type in amazement, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes it was. However my scans show that it had evolved from Gust. Her move set is still only four moves." The Pokédex declared from a stump. Pidgeot promptly slumped over in shame.

"It's still good work." Ash reassured her.

"Geot." 'It wasn't the work I wanted though…'

"Back at it again huh?"

Ash's attention was drawn away from Pidgeot's self-induced shame as Misty called his way. She, along with Iris and Anabel, had arrived.

Anabel was panting and Iris seemed slightly sweaty (compared to Anabel's very sweaty). If he'd have to guess, Iris had been having Anabel running.

Misty seemed to have simply wandered over without taking a lengthy detour at full gallop, so to speak.

"Yeah, I thought it would be a good idea to try it. It'll take a while before we can get to Cinnabar, and I'd like to be ready for it." Ash explained.

"Cinnabar is a Fire-Type Gym. Wouldn't it make sense to be working more with Squirtle or that Rocky Roll…."

"Roggenrola." Iris pronounced.

'It is probably…..likely that the Gym Leader…..knows how to counter….best to have…..other options…..' Anabel even sounded winded in her thoughts.

"Ash was working with them yesterday. You cannot train nonstop. There is a reason I do not have you all do too much at once, and never for too long."

Misty blushed in embarrassment for forgetting those things, though he swore there was also some hint of a terror induced paling going on with her.

Ash suspected that there was a 'wait, this is her going easy on us' sort of thing going on about it.

That was somewhat terrifying if he had to be honest. This wasn't her doing the equivalent of plowing a field with their hands while wearing one-hundred pound weights?

"You know, I must admit a quandary." The Pokédex spoke up as Anabel telekinetically pulled a water bottle from his bag and began chugging it.

"A what?" Iris demanded in confusion.

"I think it's a way of saying 'I have a question' while sounding smarter." Misty offered.

That did sound about right.

"It is a generally accepted fact that Pokémon under the direction and care of humans are more able to pass the four move limit than wild Pokémon. Outside of a Legendary Pokémon, you will rarely see such a Pokémon without human influence."

"My grandfather said something about that once." Iris concurred with the Pokédex's statement.

"…I'll pretend I understand the context of that statement. Regardless of context, what I am curious of is….what of those who are something in between?"

Ash exchanged curious looks with Misty, Anabel, and Iris, expecting an answer. He only got back confused looks in turn.

"Good question." Was all that Iris had to say on it.

...

"Ser…." Servine noted the conversation that was ongoing with some annoyance.

'Great, now we're going to be down an instructor as he tries to figure that out'.

She stepped to the side of Pikachu, whose continued attempt to electrify himself when attacking led to him tripping on his feet and dislodging several dozen grass stems.

Damn machine.

….

The good idea that had followed was not the result of the Pokédex having an idea again.

It was his own actually, trying to double up when possible. After all if one of them had a breakthrough, they could help the other.

After all, Lucario could do a lot of things beyond punching things.

'Now if I…if I had to guess, Psychic is basically a more powerful Conf…' Anabel was still exhausted, and cringed as she shifted in her exhaustion.

It was not helping her explain how to move things with your mind, which Ash had to admit would be neat.

Even if it wasn't the best help for her. Confusion would probably just be replaced by Psychic, not really the point of the lessons.

'You know what…..I feel too sweaty to focus…..' Anabel declared as Ash was about to tell her he could come back later after she breathed a bit.

What he wasn't expecting was for Anabel's shirt to glow blue, and the buttons to be undone. Said shirt fell off her body, the white being notably damp with sweat.

Now only clad on top in a purple bra, Anabel took a much more relaxed breath.

'Better….'

Her eye glanced over his way, where she noticed him blushing madly. A red hue came over her face as well, but not as much.

'What, you saw a lot more of Iris.' She told him simply.

"Yes, well, it's still…well a lot." He stammered as he tried not to look too much, though what he did see was still nice.

More traditionally female than Iris, but less curved than Misty. Pale, but in a nice way, nt in a 'let me out of this cave' way.

Still, she was breathing heavily the rise and fall of her chest didn't do anything to help Ash's concentration. Neither did the fact that she was still a bit winded in her thoughts. Just getting rid of a sweat logged shirt wasn't alone in what she needed.

She needed something more, like Chansey. Something to make her feel better, and re-energize her after a lot of running and being thrust right into more work.

Before he could even begin to think about getting Chansey in here, he felt a surge of warm energy cover his hands.

Ash stared down at his hands, which were now glowing green and radiating waves of energy off them.

Um….did he suddenly become radioactive? That couldn't be good.

Concerns about his ability to be undetected by Geiger counters were dashed as he heard Anabel's breath become less ragged.

'That….that feels nice. Real nice….' She told him in a relaxed voice as Ash looked at his hands in surprise.

"Hey Anabel, is there some sort of move that heals that isn't Softboiled?" He struggled to remember as she spoke up.

'It's Heal Pulse. A Psychic move actually…how are you doing it?'

"I…honestly don't know." Ash told her as the healing energy continued to radiate out of his hands.

'Well however you did it, it is really making me feel better. Come closer.' She asked as he stepped closer to her.

He was asked to do so a few more times before he was basically right next to her.

'Try it directly.' She told him. Nervously he slowly moved his hands forward, close to her bare shoulders.

He lightly pressed his hands against them, as Anabel began radiating a calm feeling. He was pretty sure his mom would call it a calm vibe, whatever that was.

Her breathing was basically back to normal at this point, as his glowing hands rested on her shoulders.

'You know, I can actually sort of feel how the energy flows with this. Keep it like this, and I think I'll get it.' She told him as the healing hands continued to do their thing on her.

Ash kept looking ahead, trying not to look down. He might only be able to see the top tufts of her hair, but looking down at Anabel would have him looking right down at…..

Only now did he realize the benefits of Iris's face being pretty much at his eye level. Even when showering.

'I can't believe I'm still getting this tired from working with Iris. None of you guys are like that at all.' She mused quietly after a moment of healing.

"Well, I'm not exactly skipping around after she makes me climb giant trees or run from one of my Tauros, even with Chansey on standby to make it so I can definitely walk afterwards," Ash told her kindly, "Plus, we've all been doing this a lot longer. Iris and Misty have been traveling for a lot longer than you and me, and I did sports in school"

'I mean, I told you already I really do like the feeling of being stronger. Feeling more fit….but having to play catch up is just…..' She stopped from completing her words as Ash tried to send the most warm possible thoughts her way. She seemed to picking them up at any case, as she inclined to look his way as he spoke.

"You might not be the strongest in body, but who else can help me prepare for battles? Iris and her Pokémon may be strong, but you've got a pretty good mind for battle strategies. If you weren't here, how'd I prepare for people with strategies that aren't' just 'attack'?"

'That didn't help you with Janine. She was steps ahead of us.' Anabel moped.

"Well if it wasn't for your ideas, she'd have been even more steps ahead of me." Ash told her confidently. It was true after all.

"Anabel, you could easily be a Trainer if you wanted to be. You could get any badge you wanted, and you'd give me some really great fights whenever we met up."

He could tell her that quite confidently, after all he did have a nice Ability Symbol that was proof of that.

At least before Cyrus.

'You say that so confidently'. Anabel mused, and again Ash was glad she didn't try to get to the center of his mind.

What was there would be somewhat confusing after all, and more and more….irrelevant.

For as many things were similar, even more were different. The Eevee brothers were more complicated, Iris didn't call him a kid, Team Rocket didn't call him a twerp, and he had siblings up the wazoo.

Whatever a wazoo was.

"Because I know it's true. All I know is that one day, Misty might decide that she can be as good a Gym Leader as her grandmother was, get the Cerulean Gym back from her sisters and take it back to its former glory. It may not be her primary dream, but it is something she wouldn't mind doing and I think she'd be really happy to do it one day. And if that happens, I'd want to win a real Cascade Badge. If I was to do that though, I'd need someone really good to practice with for that day, and I know that person already." He told her truthfully as Anabel gave him a massive smile.

'That does sound nice.' She stated as her own hands flared up with the glow of Heal Pulse.

Clearly when you couldn't explain how you did something, let a person feel what it was like and they'd figure it out themselves.

Anabel looked at her hand in amazement, before lightly touching her bare stomach with it.

She left it there for a curious second before removing it, before turning around to Ash and placing it on his chest.

The moment she did so, a feeling of distilled warmth swamped his entire being.

'Interesting, it doesn't work on ourselves, only on others.' Anabel observed as the mutual healing continued.

"Well good thing then, if both us are hurt together we'll both be fine, even without Chansey." Ash told Anabel who nodded in agreement.

"So what about it Anabel? You ever think about trying for a League? It wouldn't be that hard at all to teleport around to get the badges you need, and I'd love another rival. There is hardly any reason only I'm allowed to try for badges among us." Ash declared as Anabel shook her head.

'I'm not good enough at pretending I'm not telepathic for that. I could do hand signals, but I'm pretty sure I'd be found out and I'd rather not cause you trouble. Plus, I'm not sure I'd really do that well in a League. All the shifting Pokémon possibilities, all aiming to a single spot….I'd rather do something where everyone just goes as far as they can without stopping anyone else from continuing. Something they could go up on without having to wait for a year to do again, all because of a bad call or a slip up.'

"So what, like every battle you win puts you up higher and higher until you can't go farther, like some sort of climbing tower?" Ash tried to understand what Anabel meant as she nodded.

'Yeah, something like that. A Battle Tower with the only rules being to go as high as you can….I think it sounds fun.'

It probably would be.

….

In the background he could hear Pikachu curse over another grass fire, which Psyduck put out with some grumbling about it being the third time.

But that wasn't what he was really focusing on right now.

What he was focusing on….

Was his hand, which was throbbing with the feeling one would get when they backhanded a tree.

While the source of said throbbing was more of a karate chop to a tree than a backhand, Ash had a lot more history of accidental slapping of trees than attempting to slash them down like an action movie, so that was what he'd compare his pain to.

Iris, who was standing beside him as he held his hurt hand, frowned as she held up her own, which shimmered green.

She then slammed it into the tree, carving a deep cut into it that any lumberjack would look at in envy.

"I have to say….this is odd. You should be able to do it, the machine is many things but wrong is not normally one of them." She took his right hand into her hands as she looked at it closely.

The feeling of Iris holding his hand was…..interesting, Ash had to admit. He didn't have a catalogue of 'what my friend's hands feel like' in his mind, and the only one who probably remembered that in great detail was Brock, and with him it would be for the female gender only.

Brock would probably give a soliloquy about how the hand of a Nurse Joy in Kanto felt different from a Sinnoh living Joy, but if asked about how the hand of Crasher Wake compared to Roark he'd have nothing to say on the subject.

Iris's hands felt worn, calloused by countless little things in her life and made to better grasp onto the wilderness without slipping.

"You were doing it right." She noted as she looked him right in the eye.

"I know how to hit things." Ash simply said.

"I said this about Goomy a while ago, Dragon Types, and their moves, are powerful, but require a lot of it, and will, to push through. Will is not what you seem to be having issue with." She mused as Ash panicked a bit.

If it was power, did that meant crazier training? Harsher training?

Was he going to have to wrestle his Tauros next?

"Not sure what we can do about that now. It might work better if you have more practice with your abilities. I think you said before that you never really used yours until you left home, so time might give the power needed." Iris theorized as Ash felt an internal panic recede away.

Time, time he could do. No Tauros wrestling!

"You said something about leaving home to become a Pokémon Master, right?" Iris asked suddenly asked.

Behind them Pikachu was running about, Emolga clinging to his back and using Discharge as she did so. How that would recreate Volt Tackle was beyond Ash, but never mind that.

"I probably did at some point." Ash agreed.

"What will you do when you are one?" She asked with a bit of slyness to her tone, which was unusual for her.

"I'll figure that out when I'm one." Ash told her. At Iris's confused look he continued.

"Being a Pokémon Master isn't something solid. No one is ever is handed a diploma saying 'you are a Pokémon Master, you get to board planes early and get discounts at select restaurants'. Honestly from what I've been told you are a Pokémon Master when people not only call you one, but when you think you're one."

"So…..it is nothing?" Iris surmised as Ash shrugged.

"It is nothing, yet something. At least that is what Professor Oak would call it. I have no idea what I'd call it, because calling something nothing but something is kind of pretentious sounding."

"How can something be nothing and something at the same time?" Iris questioned.

"I'm sure science has a reason." Ash joked as Iris looked at him with a ponderous expression.

Oddly the same one she gave his muscles under the waterfall. It was still a bit unnerving but not as much as it had been the first time.

"So what you want to do with yourself in the future is flexible. Very flexible."

"I guess….." Ash wasn't sure what she was getting at.

Iris's smile was starting to worry him. For some reason, it wasn't giving him the impression she wanted him to be able to touch his toes?

Could he do that?

….

He could, he checked.

But ignoring that feat, he and Misty were trying to pull off an entirely different one. The creation of Water Pulse.

"Hrrahhhh!"

It was not going well, for either of them.

Ash dropped the stance he was trying, given it was looking more like he was trying for a hadoken than Water Pulse, as Misty looked at her hands in frustration.

"Why isn't it working?" She growled as she again tried to concentrate on forming the move both of them were able to use.

Nothing happened, as Misty held her hands out and glared at them. However for all her glaring, no water sphere followed.

For either of them really, Ash had followed all of Misty's advice when it came to gathering water, yet his hands didn't even feel wet for the effort.

Not even sweat. That was more on his head and armpits, and neither could generate Water Pulse without looking really weird.

The sound of crackling electricity behind the two drew their attention briefly to Pikachu, who was standing proudly, arms crossed, as an electrical aura surrounded him with rough sparks all around it.

Emolga stood beside him, looking on with admiring eyes.

It was a nice move, but Ash wasn't sure that was Volt Tackle. It seemed a bit off, the electricity was more wild and spiking around him, while Pikachu in the aura seemed off in color.

Volt Tackle had Pikachu in a black and white color, while this one felt more gold and white.

"Pikachu has successfully learned a fifth move. Pikachu has learned Wild Charge." The Pokédex declared. Pikachu had an odd look on his face at the declaration of learning the other electrical recoil move.

However his attention was drawn from his partner's reaction to relearning the wrong move to Misty, who was glaring at her hands in annoyance.

"What's going on? I should know how to do this….I make giant whirlpools and waves whenever I want. How's a throwing sphere any different?"

Ash wasn't sure how they might be beyond scale, but he'd try and come up with something.

"Well, how did you learn those moves? Maybe that would help you out." Ash suggested as Misty looked at her hands with a thoughtful, reminiscing look.

"Well, I needed to know them, so I figured it out."

"Got any more context?" Ash inquired as Misty frowned.

"Well I learned Waterfall because it was either that or hit the rocky bottom of one."

Ash looked at her, quite literally feeling concern change his facial features by the moment.

"I'm fine, obviously." Misty reassured him, a part of her was pleased to see the concern in his eyes.

"….Come to think of it, that's kind of how it works for me most of the time too." At Misty's confused and concerned look, he quickly added that he did not mean 'falling down waterfalls into rocky, painful death'.

"I seem to learn best either by accident or because I need to learn it. Getting attacked by Spearow, running on a treadmill too much, Anabel being really tired and needing some energy…I mean I can learn to do moves without it, but they definitely come easier."

"So, you're saying this would come easier if we were in a moment we'd really need it? I guess it makes sense, but not sure how much that helps me out." Misty admitted.

"We can probably think of something. Maybe Iris had some ideas…."

"No." Misty cut him off before he could continue down that train of thought. "As much as I really would prefer not running miles up hills, the only thing that harms is my shoe soles. Do you want her trying to get us to really want water to throw? She's liable to start setting things on fire!"

Or get Charizard to set things on fire for the same purpose, but that….wasn't entirely impossible. Probably best to avoid any well intentioned forest fires.

Celadon Battle Club

Gary had a grin the entire time the room was alight with blue light.

The light faded as the Don George nodded, shortly before the massive tongue of Arcanine licked Gary's face.

"Well, that'll do it. My patented 50 Trainer Challenge, formerly because of Erika but now just being there' is complete. You were the first to pass it of all who have tried it, and you've been rewarded as such!" The Don declared as holograms sprung up all around Gary of all the other Pokémon bar his new Arcanine he had used to accomplish it.

Blastoise

Golem

Seadra

Fearow

Pidgeot

Alakazam

Tangrowth

Magneton

Qwilfish

Pinsir

Porygon

Dodou

Machoke

Venomoth

Above all of them was a bold font of 'Congradulations!'

Gary stared at the spelling for a moment, before turning to Don George.

"You misspelled it. It's congratulations" Gary emphasized as the Don George blushed.

"Oh….well that's embarrassing. Hey….promise you won't say anything and I'll pop you over to a new town. I've got an Abra, and my brother over in Gardenia runs a pretty good training run himself."

Gary nodded as Arcanine barked in agreement.

After all the thinking he did, Gary had come to a conclusion.

He needed to fix what was wrong with him, and the best way to do that was practice battling.

Battle more, battle harder, battle longer. With everyone.

If he wanted to feel good, to really win an eighth badge, he had to push himself and his team farther and harder.

He needed to be sharper, faster thinking just as they needed to hit harder, move faster, and take more hits.

That eighth badge would be properly won!

A teleport later found Gary staring at a battle in progress as his Don George greeted another Don George and engaged in the traditional Don George muscular handshake.

Said battle had four defeated Pokémon on one side and a fifth one struggling to hold on, and four returned Pokémon on the other and a fifth one dominating.

Said returned Pokémon being a Magikarp (as there was a pool in the center of the battlefield), a Magnemite, a Lickitung, and a Shellder, with a small red Pokémon breathing fire on the other side's Pidgeotto.

"Magby, a Baby Pokémon that evolves into Magmar. Magby drips magma from within itself when sick, which creates severe home damage. They are not good pets" Gary's Pokédex informed him as the Pidgeotto was knocked out.

The winner smirked as Gary's skin crawled and anger swept through Gary, particularly as he saw the total number of badges displayed for both.

Five versus one.

The moment the owner of the five badges walked out, Gary was on him.

"You must feel so proud of yourself, beating up on some noob. I'm frankly amazed the kid even had a Pidgeotto, I'd have sooner guessed a Pidgey." Gary snapped.

Paul rolled his eyes at his response before giving him a response that sounded like his gramps explaining something to Ash back in his denser period.

(Seriously, a nine year old Ash was not a smart Ash. He grew out of it but sheesh….)

"If I wanted to knock that kid around for my amusement, I'd have used Torterra. You see, that was me training newer Pokémon that aren't quite up to snuff right now. I'd figure the Magikarp I was using would be proof enough of that, I'm hardly a member of the B-Button League, that's more of Ketchum's thing."

That would explain why there had been no Thunderstone action on Ash's end, but Gary was fairly certain something else was up wih that.

"Of course, I haven't been slacking off with Torterra either." Paul stated simply.

"Well I haven't been slacking off either." Gary declared as Paul looked at his Arcanine.

"…..A waste of a stone." Was his comment as Arcanine snarled.

"This 'waste of a stone' helped me win a Rainbow Badge!" Gary declared as Paul's eye twitched.

"Well, good for you then. Now you have six badges and a 'you entered the building' badge. As for me, I plan to take that badge last. It'll be sweeter that way."

"Well as someone who does have the badge, allow me to show you what you'll need to win it. Right here, right now!" Gary declared as Paul eyed both him and Arcanine, who was stilling growling.

"You've both battled today, as have I. While I would beat you, it would give you the ability to write off your loss as being tired, and I'd hate to allow you to lie to yourself that easily. Tomorrow will work much better."

"You scared?"

"I'm smart, you're just well read. Bring your six best Pokémon at nine o clock, here." Paul turned before walking away, leaving Gary and Arcanine glaring at his retreating back.

"That just gives me more time to plan on how I'm going to beat you, jackass!"

It was perfect really. What better way to really tell himself 'Gary, you've gotten out of the rut and once Indigo runs around you can take on Ash and Red' than by wiping the floor with the jerk.

"So Arcanine, you up for wiping his clock?" Gary asked his newest evolved Pokémon. Arcanine answered with a lick to the face.

On the beaten path again

Ash threw the Moon Ball up.

He caught it.

He threw the ball back up.

He caught it again.

"So if I used it on a Nidoran, it would still be more effective even though it's their evolved forms that evolve with a Moon Stone?" He checked with the device, who was currently sitting on a nearby stump.

"Correct. That stone is functional with a small range of Pokémon, including Jigglypuff, Clefairy, and Munna. The Yellow Apricorn the ball is made from has a notable connection to moon originating X-rays, not to be confused with the X-rays used in medical facilities, which creates the effect. Despite this effect, I have managed duplication of the ball, so you will in theory have limitless ability to capture one of these Pokémon for my data collection."

Neat, but Ash wasn't sure that would happen. He didn't just throw balls at every random thing around him. Plus, he didn't run into those Pokémon as often as one would think.

Outside of May's Skitty, the only frequent Pokémon that he dealt with that used a Moon Stone to evolve was Jigglypuff, and they'd been free from Jigglypuff's insidious songs since Hoenn….

"Jiggly!"

The dreaded squeak caused Ash to flail in horror, arms flailing wildly as the round terror jumped onto a nearby stump, a marker already in hand.

No no no, no no no, no!

No!

They hadn't even been near Neon Town yet.

No!

Where had it gotten….

No!

Ash plugged his ears, closed his eyes, and tried to drown out any noise that could possibly occur with the deathening shouting of his mind.

If people had an inner eye, did they have an inner ear? If so he'd scream into it random thoughts to drown out Jigglypuff and be spared.

His dreams of being a Pokémon master!

The horror of Brock's parents being dead!

His mother's cooking!

The sight of Iris naked….not sure how he exactly shouted those things in his head, but he had to drown out Jigglypuff's song somehow.

After five minutes, he sighed in relief.

No slumber.

No face doodle.

He was alright!

"Pikapi…." 'Ash….' Pikachu broke through his sound deflection attempt, as if it wasn't even effective, sounding like he had just done something horrifying.

Ash slowly opened his eyes, wondering what he could have possibly done to get Pikachu to sound that worried.

Did thinking to hear the sound of visual things make reality explode again?

When his eyes did widen in full, he saw what Pikachu was worried about.

And gaped in horror for what stood before him.

A vanishing Moon Ball, and no Jigglypuff.

"In your surprisingly terrified reaction, you flung the Moon Ball. In doing so, you have captured a Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff, a Balloon Pokémon, is able to float above the ground and move about via large air sacs within its body. Jigglypuff songs differ from region to region in flavor….and interestingly this Jigglypuff is rather fascinating."

"How…." Ash weakly asked as the Pokédex continued.

"It suffers from a condition affecting its Sing attack, which does not form as a series of musical notes that knock out on contact, but carrying the effect in general soundwaves. Such Jigglypuff are considerably more dangerous than the rest of their kind to people in general, and have caused car pileups in the past."

Ash was pretty sure that many Pokémon sang without creating musical notes that contained the effects, though then a lot of them that did so that way popped up at about the same time….

Cyrus? Not sure why'd he change Sing of all things…was it just more logical?

"This Jigglypuff is female, and knows Sing, Doubleslap, Stockpile, and Disarming Voice. It is now at Professor Oak's laboratory, in case that was not obvious."

Jigglypuff was a girl? He was sure it was a boy….

Pikachu noted his confused face, and pieced it together quickly. His partner then looked at him strangely for assuming such a thing.

Meanwhile at Professor's Oak ranch…..

"Huh, a Jigglypuff? I must say, that was not what I was expecting to receive from Ash…..wait Bulbasaur why are you running?"

The Professor stared at Ash's grass type, which had suddenly darted away into the research fields and far away from him and Ash's new Pokémon.

"Well, that was rude of him….." Was the last word the Professor said as the pink balloon began to sing, and he knew only the embrace of dreams.

Meanwhile in every corner he could find fellow Pokémon of the two timeline club, Bulbasaur gave the dire warning.

A few questioned the legitimacy of it, but when two Tauros returned with marker eyepatches and sideburns they learned the wisdom to beware the song of Jigglypuff.

Later

"It was a bit of a walk to get there, but I think that cliff was good work for the both of us." Iris declared as Ash held his hands out, possibly trying to get back feeling in them.

It was nice to see that her efforts were paying off. Ash, already doing well for himself, was doing better for himself. Everyone was.

It was reassuring. Janine was enough of a wake up call, but if she had to be honest with herself, she had reason to do so earlier with them.

The Gringy City episode for one, and before that J.

Just….J.

Iris felt a snarl form on her face as she remembered that woman. When she ever would see that foul woman again, she would be dealt with.

"Iris, are you okay?" Ash asked in concern, Pikachu edging away from her. Clearly they could see her teeth and were concerned, unless she had started outright hissing.

"Just thinking." She stated simply.

Their walk, as Iris saw no reason to make it into a jog after scaling a cliff, passed by an open area where several other Trainers were gathering. Iris didn't pay them much thought, she had other things to think about.

"Believe me, I am trying to make this effective. That does not involve me trying to kill you." Iris told Misty a few days ago, a mound of acorns at her side.

"What is effective about throwing acorns at me!?" Misty demanded.

"I told you I was going to do it."

"That doesn't make it better! Look, I get that you got rattled by a ninja, but that doesn't mean you can…."

"The shadow girl." Iris simply said as Misty stopped complaining.

"It is not just Janine. We have run into threats before, and I expect to see more. You are my friend, I want you to live." Iris told Misty honestly as her annoyance at her dimmed.

It came back a bit as the acorns were thrown with the clear instruction to start deflecting them, at least until she remembered about Whirlpool.

Iris watched in confusion as Misty promptly began slapping herself in the head for some reason before picking another acorn from her pile and throwing it.

"Curses!" She heard someone shout in frustration, breaking Iris from her thoughts as Ash stopped.

He appeared to recognize the person shouting it. Was it the one in armor?

"Heh, you should know better than to use Bug Pokémon. A Bug Pokémon can never win anything after a while. How many badges did you say you have?" Another voice questioned, a tone of superiority and arrogance to it.

Iris did not like it.

"Three! I just won a third badge, where my Paras and Pinsir were invaluable…."

"Well I have four!"

Iris would have just walked away, having no need to deal with whoever was making that racket, when she caught sight of Ash.

She might have had the same surprised look on her face as Pikachu, as Ash had a look of anger on his face.

Perhaps fury.

It was not aimed at the armored bug user, and he began marching over to the Trainers like a unrelenting force.

Iris followed, unsure of what was going on.

What she did notice when they did arrive at the group, was something she had never seen before.

A Shiny Human!

At least, that was probably why the human seemed unusually pale, even among the lighter pigmented. The possibly Shiny Human looked at their arrival and had a nasty look on his face that was something between arrogance and anger.

"Well well well, if it isn't Ketchum. It's been a while."

"Joshua." Ash growled. Iris noted said growl with surprise, Ash didn't take that tone with most, honestly the last time she heard it was in dealing with Paul.

It couldn't just be the arrogance of Joshua the Shiny Human. Something else was at play…did Ash ever mention a Joshua before?

"So, you actually made it this far? I was sure after failing that old coots little playtime that you would have cried back home before you even got to Pewter. Or did you aim to go there, but just got lost. Can't say that's not a possibility too."

"This human placed second behind Gary Oak." The Pokédex beeped from Ash's jacket pocket, causing Joshua to stare dumbfounded.

"You? Second best, only losing to that twat?"

"Unlike some people, I can study even if it makes me want to stab my eyes out." Ash declared back in a cold tone.

It was starting to all come back to Iris, Ash mentioned a kid named Joshua in relation to how he got the Pokédex and something called a Summer Camp, which was also related to those twins he knew.

She was missing something though….

"Well, so you somehow did. Proof the old man was on something I'd say. Still…." His gaze turned towards her, and Iris felt an odd feeling of nausea as he looked her over for a moment.

Misty had said something about 'checking you out' at one point. She was rather sure Ash did that once or twice while showering, though he seemed to be trying not to. A complexity of some sort she suspected.

The idea of that, even if not by Ash, didn't bother her. It was something else in what this Joshua was doing as he looked her over that was bothering her. There was something in his eyes that made her instincts give out a low level of warning, not saying there was any real danger but there was definitely something to be aware of.

'So this is the new Serena? Bit hard to top Kalosian eye candy, and I doubt she'd mess up Rhyhorn as badly, but really, even you could do better. You reach a point where height becomes too much, and this girl has long passed it."

Insulting her because of her height? Iris did not follow, though now with that comment the missing piece of memory came up as to why Ash was so angry jogged her memory.

Serena, as she recalled, was a friend Ash had made at the Summer Camp. They had been very good friends, which for some reason bothered Misty (did she think Serena would want to be Ash's mate too?), then Joshua had been responsible for getting her kicked out when she lied to protect Ash.

That would explain why Ash was acting the way he was, as he had with Paul the first time she had seen him.

Ash was looking even angrier now, and now Pikachu was sparking as well.

"Now, do be a good twerp and tell me how many badges you have? Don't be shy, I'm sure even Serena would understand why wouldn't have any…."

Ash shut him up by ripping his jacket open, revealing his five badges pinned to the inside of said jacket, and also the muscles that Iris had been helping further develop.

The Shiny Human became even paler as he breathed five repeatedly, and he also seemed a tad perturbed by the musculature of Ash.

He muttered something about him 'not having that much before', which made Iris feel a bit prideful. After all, she was the one who'd been working with him to add more.

Not that she would say all the change since he met the Shiny one was her doing.

"…How on earth did you get five badges…and from Celadon of all places!? What, did you have to disguise yourself in drag and let her feel you up to that get one!?" Joshua demanded as Ash pointed a Pokéball right in his face.

"Why don't I show you how I got it?" Ash declared as the crowd of Trainers stepped back, which Iris took to doing as well.

Joshua, to his credit, did not try and get out of it, but took a Pokéball out himself.

"I'm going to expose you, right here and now! I'm going to go all out!"

"Defeat him for the honor of all Bug-Pokémon, and also myself!" The armored one cheered for Ash, before muttering something about it feeling odd to cheer for Ash.

Did he also have history with Ash?

He cheered even louder when Butterfree was sent out to face an Arbok, Joshua dropping a few Pokéballs that were locked at his feet. Perhaps they were the ones used earlier.

She was pretty sure all out meant 'six on six'.

As the battle started Iris noted that Ash, again, was suffering from the same level of anger that was present in his first battle with Paul.

Though unlike that battle, which had its anger fed by the loss of a Primeape, possibly to death, by Paul, this was fueled by something more dormant, and older.

The Serena incident, specifically. A simple act of fate that separated two friends, and all that could have led to.

Perhaps a possible companion, and one capable of the rare skill that Humans shared with few Pokémon species, the ability to cook. An admirable skill, and one that even Misty, for all her odd bother at the idea of Serena being around, admitted to wishing to have around.

Perhaps a possible additional mate, with all that could lead too. Would she handle it differently than Misty had?

Would she respond to her training better, or worse?

As Arbok was defeated and the battle became one of Pidgeot against Onix, which required a few steps back by all watchers and someone to drag the cheering armored one back as he called for the glory to the Bug Pokémon lest a large tail of stone strike them by mistake, Iris couldn't help but notice a difference between the two fights Ash had fueled by anger.

In that fight, Ash's anger had caused him to not be as effective in his commands and calls, and that had made the battle swing a bit in Paul's favor before Misty snapped him out of it.

Here….while she could tell that Ash wasn't at the top of his game, again due to anger, Joshua simply wasn't as innately skilled as Paul.

So while Ash would probably look back at the fight and wince at missed openings, or sloppy calls like the one that led Onix to headbutt Pidgeot after an Air Slash missed, the battle would still go Ash's way.

The Steel Wing knock out was proof of that.

As the battle became Raticate against Pikachu, following three bouts in between of a Tauros against Magnemite, Squirtle against Dugtrio, and Muk against Nidorino (all wins by Ash), Iris made a note of herself to add something else to Ash's training.

Ways to control these episodes of anger, or at least how to channel it better.

While infrequent, and always with a stressor or cause that was reasonable….it was something that had to be worked on.

From what Ash had said of his confrontation with Belladonna, as well as how his argument with Red had gone, Iris suspected it was a nature thing, not a nurture. That would be harder to work on, but it had to be done.

Because it wasn't going away, and it needed to be worked on before it came at a time where Misty could not talk him out of it, or when the cause of it was unable to be defeated as easily.

It was a problem that even Ash seemed unfamiliar with having, as if he didn't have such things to induce anger in him before his journey, and he needed help with it.

More than just because it was a problematic trait that was more her brother's than her own. More than just the idea that it would be a mark against him being a good mate.

(It was bad sure, but she was not looking for perfection)

It wasn't even out of some concern that it could turn against someone who did not earn it. It was simply for the benefit of Ash's health and wellbeing to help him deal with it himself when it came up.

She was still gathering what human and human culture valued in mates, but caring for the others well-being beyond the physical needs of food and such was a big part of what she had noticed. It wasn't something she could rest on her laurels about, just like the risk of Ash or any of her friends being harmed by some sneaky threat.

The Wild Charge from Pikachu took the battle, and Iris ran to Ash and gave him congratulations, which seemed to calm him down in combination with winning.

….Though come to think of it, she probably should have tried calming him down earlier. Was that the wrong call?

The Coastline

In retrospect, they had taken a wrong turn.

Yes, they were going to Cinnabar, but this was not the way to Cinnabar.

According to the Pokédex, this would be a better way to find himself going to Sinnoh's very eastern edge.

The very wrong direction for one going to Cinnabar.

Anabel was about to teleport them back onto the beaten path when Misty spotted something on the water.

"Is that an Onix in the water!?"

Ash looked down, wondering what was going on.

If it was an Onix drowning, he'd have to move fast. Either getting it out of the water, or possibly capture it to save its life.

That would be kind of neat, and he wouldn't have to trade a Tauros for one.

Or was it like the Crystal Onix that feared water not. It would be a bit out of place for it, but that wasn't unheard of was it.

Or could it be…an Alolan Onix!

But at closer inspection down at the water's edge, it was not a Onix in the water, just an Onix shaped boat coming ashore at a little seaside village that was mostly dock.

'That's an odd design.' Anabel noted.

"What kind of person makes a boat like that?" Misty, sounding a bit embarrassed for jumping the gun as to what it was, wondered aloud.

"They are Boat People," Iris explained, "My grandfather told me stories about humans whose home were ships. He had nothing but good to say of them, and said they were nomadic."

"They are the people driven from their homeland by a fiery devastation, brought upon by a mountain of fire. They traveled the world, living and dying on the very ships they escaped on, for years. Some were sent adrift to Hoenn, where their boats were stranded on a Corsola colony and so they stayed. The rest became nomads, adrift in the ocean with no fixed point, though a few remote places tend to have them often congregate, such as Poni Island in the Alola region. Their culture is a flexible one, with a famous story revolving around a temple called Samiya, though they do not share much of their language with outsiders. Their true name is unknown to the wider world, though they are often called the Seafolk. All that is known is that one of the groups that was an ancestor to the tribe are known as The People of the Water, though it is believed they have many ancestors mixed into their gene pool since then, including Sootopilian, Alolan, and Draconid." The Pokédex elaborated on Iris's point.

"Pikapi?" 'Ash, did we meet any People of the Water? I feel like we did at one point, or was it the People of the Vale? I swear, I can barely remember anything about that one….which dragon did you ride during it?'

Ash shrugged, unsure of the exacts, and followed his companions as they walked down to the ship in question.

…

Boat People, Seafolk, People of the Water, whatever they wanted to call themselves, set up shop fast.

It hadn't even taken them ten minutes to get down from the cliff, and only another five to get into the village, to find several sea wizened men and woman older than her parents had already set up several stands laden with random items.

Just from her end, she could see Corsola horn pieces, coral statues, and items that looked like they had been obtained from all over the world.

A sign at the bottom of each sign read clearly.

ACCEPT BOTH PHYSICAL CURRENCY AND PHYSICAL BARTER. WE BUY AND WE SELL

Misty winced at the physical part. Clearly they weren't going to get anything if that was the case.

Their cash was all digital. Harder to lose, absolutely useless here.

And the place had to have some sort of cooking apparatus going that Misty had no idea the identity of. Whatever it was cooking, it smelled good, and it would be ready soon.

And they would not be able to eat any of it…..

"Barter agreed!"

The declaration from the cook grabbed her attention, as Ash gave the old man doing the cooking a half-dozen Nest Balls.

The Pokédex apparently could duplicate those things in mass, and they were perfectly fine to use and give away apparently.

Not sell apparently, but bartering was perfectly acceptable.

Where it learned to duplicate Pokéballs she wasn't sure exactly, but whatever the case it took care of their lunch needs.

And that was always important.

"Servings for the party of Ash, Iris, Anabel, and Misty will be ready soon. I will call you when it is prepared." The man told Ash as Misty turned to browse at the stuff at offer.

She wasn't sure she really had anything to barter, but it couldn't hurt to look. And if something absolutely did jump out, she could probably get some duplicated spheres to trade for it.

And so she strolled slowly in front of wares, peering over locals who had come out to peer the wares in interest.

Or, as she noticed in the corner of her eyes, for the youth of the village to watch a pair of young Sea Folk dance and play music.

It was nice music, even if not quite the music of a shopping area. Though that would be a reason for the youth to care for it beyond the shirtless guys playing string instruments and the lithe dancing girls that accompanied them.

They really did fit a lot of people on a single boat. Then again, it was a fairly large boat.

The items were many she noted, Corsola horn molded into statues, regular coral carved into the shapes of Pokémon and places.

Whoever made a coral duplicate of Suicine was particularly fine at the craft she noted.

Things from lands beyond were also on display, flutes made of glass, little cars that looked like they were made for rather larger square shaped batteries to operate them, some sort of square purple Pokémon statue with large, unblinking eyes….

The eyes blinked, and Misty jumped back in fright as what she had thought to have been a statue hopped down from its perch, turning to the shore and walking away, cheek pouches inflating and deflating as it muttered Croa again and again.

Oddly in its wake was a pile of what looked like golden bottle caps.

"….That was weird." Misty declared. It almost was like that Pokémon left those gold caps as payment, as one would do a taxi.

But why would….whatever that was…Misty shook her head.

She probably did not need to know what that was all about.

Ignoring…whatever that was, she moved down the stalls looking at what they had with an idle eye.

She had to raise an eyebrow as a motherly looking woman walked away from a Seafolk stall with what looked like a very modern gaming system in the arms.

They stock those things?

So shocked was she at what she saw sold that she nearly walked past the Mega Stone that sat between a stone that looked like ice and a large chunk of amber.

Almost. Though had she been Psyduck, she'd have tripped due to her sudden stop.

"Ah, I see you noticed this little gem, though it is more of a stone." The old woman at the stall front grinned a toothy grin at her as Misty nodded.

"It's a Mega Stone, right?"

"That you are youngin', that you are. This stone hit my boat a while back, a fragment of a space stone. You know, it's an interesting story about these stones, my ma told me stories that these stones were the creation of Lord Rayquaza, who blessed meteorites as they fell to the earth. Scientist types say they are the result of a radiation from 3000 years ago. Makes you wonder if they can be both, radioactive meteorites perhaps?"

Whatever it was that made said stones, she didn't really much care. However it was still a rare find.

While she couldn't really see it too clearly, it didn't feel water-like, if that made any sense. It didn't make her go 'if I give this to Psyduck, Psyduck will become an juggernaut of power and might'.

Even if it wasn't water however, it was possible that it was something the others could use.

The image of Ash, standing victorious at a League holding the stone she got him, made her happy inside.

If she could get the stone, perhaps it would be something he could use.

If not….well if it was some sort of Arcanite or Nidokinite or something like that, it could become something that could help him in the future.

If it was Excadrite or something, that wasn't much less reason to get it really. Iris could use it just as well, even if she wouldn't get a trophy for her troubles.

"I see you are interested. Will you buy, or barter?" The old woman questioned as Misty reached into her bag.

"Given that the cash I have access to is all digital, I'm going to have to barter."

The woman gave a sigh at the decline of the physical medium, as Misty plopped down in front of her several little things that she had collected.

Three Red Shards that Staryu had found while training in the water some time ago.

A few Poison Barbs from the Tentacool army from Gringy City. She was told some people used them for things, and if anyone would see value in Tentacool barbs it had to be Seafolk, right?

A scale that had fallen off of Gyarados a while back that had slipped into her bag somehow. She had seen someone using the material on the dock, so the same idea as the barb, right?

It was her first attempt, and she tried to make it clear on her face to the woman this was not her max offer.

She seemed to pick that up as she eyed the items presented.

"That is hardly what anyone would call a suitable trade." She simply said.

"However, be free to obtain items you may wish to offer in addition, though if you want to get your friend with the Pikachu's help, do be warned that I have no need for Pokéballs and they will add no value to me." The old woman shot down that idea before Misty could even have it.

The idea of going to get Ash to help pay for the thing she wanted to give him….seemed odd for some reason. Off, like asking someone to plan their own party.

She'd have to manage on her own.

"I take berries." The old woman offered as Misty got the hint.

A toss of Wingull to go fetch some from the forest later, Misty was digging in her bag again for things to offer.

What she pulled out….

An Everstone, which she had been handed for free by someone from 'the B-Button League' while in Crimson City.

A towel from the S.S Anne. Why did she have that? It was quality material though, and so she offered it up.

And with Wingull returning with a branch of Oran berries, she added her barters to the pile.

"Better. If you wanted this Amber, you'd have it. If you wanted this Ice Stone, the berries alone would do. But for the Mega Stone….you must understand the value of it and why I must be difficult on it." The old woman declared as Wingull flew off for more berries, as she dug her hand into her bag for anything more.

She noted with unease that she wasn't finding much beyond her Pokéballs and clothes.

She grasped something more solid and pulled it out, revealing a slip of tough paper.

A Rydel Bike Voucher for one free Bike, in Mauville City.

….Why did she keep the thing? Her sisters nasty joke about her wanting a bike wasn't worth anything, and was just a nasty jab.

Perhaps it was meant to bartered, as so she put that down, along with a branch of Sitrus berries from Wingull, who circled around back to berry hunting.

Next she pulled out the Water Stone that Ash had gotten for her in Crimson City.

She paused as she looked at the stone.

Was it right to use a gift to pay for a gift to the gift giver? Would it be an insult?

Would she get another one if she needed it?

"…I have no need for Water Stones. I have more of those on my boat than I have wrinkles. If that was a Fire Stone we'd have a deal, but as it is…." The old woman declared as Misty returned the stone to her bag.

What was left?

Wingull returned with a branch of Pecha berries next, joining the pile as the old woman shook her head.

"You could pay me in berries, but that would take all day and you understand why that would be a bit much." The woman looked her over for a moment, before nodding.

"This stone is meant for someone important, isn't it?" Misty was taken aback by the old woman's observation as she continued.

"You know, I'm adapt at cloth modification, and I have a granddaughter about as tall as you. My daughter met this nice Unovan lad ages ago, but alas a Jellicent has him now. Still I have a granddaughter getting to be as tall as you, if only just as tall. Clothing is never in enough supply for her…."

"You want all my clothes?" Misty gasped as the old woman shook her head.

"No no, not the ones on your back. Your spares will do. Do that, and the Mega Stone is yours to give to that nice Pikachu lad. Plus I'm told it is a holiday for women's shopping soon in Kanto, you can certainly hold out until then to resupply yourself. We'll be gone by then, even assuming we could bare the big city enough to handle such a day."

….

It took Misty a bit to decide, but in the end she left the place with a much lighter bag and back to only a single set of clothes, just as their lunch was called and she could tell Ash the great news.

It would later turn out that the stone was something called Sceptilite, much to her dismay.

Not even Dugtrite? She had to look up what a Sceptile even was.

Once they finished their meal, the group went back to the beaten path. Ash had been staring at the green Mega Stone for quite a while. His first one, maybe one he couldn't use yet, but he knew it would be useful in the future. It was weird; back in the old timeline it was very rare for Misty to do something stuff like that for him. In fact, he hadn't forgotten that time she won those chocolates and deliberately left him out when she was splitting them (even after she spared some for Pikachu). Regardless of that, though, it had been a really nice gesture of her.

"Sorry I couldn't find you one for Pidgeot or Charizard," Misty apologized. "Really, I wanted to give you something useful, and I thought…"

"No, that's alright. You never know, I might find a compatible Pokémon sooner than we might expect. It won't hurt to be prepared." He put it back in his bag and smiled at her with gratitude. "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

Ash couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't stretching the truth a little, but given his encounters with Snivy, Aipom and Roggenrola, maybe it wasn't so farfetched to hope his old Treecko would show up in his path before Hoenn. Even if that wasn't the case, Ash was certain that he would appreciate that he had this little trinket for him once they reunited. In any case, Misty's smile made him leave those thoughts aside for a moment.

Funny; she had seen Misty smile many other times, in both timelines, but there was something… different about this one. He could see she was happy because he liked her gift, and that felt nice, but there was something else. Something Ash couldn't quite put his finger on, but definitely something he knew he'd like to see again.

"So, where are we going now?" asked Iris, interrupting his train of thought.

"Well, that old lady told me there's going to be some kind of shopping festival very soon, and I need to replace my old clothes," Misty recalled. "And, no offense, Ash, but I think you could use some new ones too."

"Funny, I was thinking the same," Ash chuckled, glancing at his outfit. If Iris was planning to take their training to the next level, spare clothes had become a must. He glanced at Anabel and Iris. "Any objections?"

'None here. And I wouldn't mind getting some new clothes for myself either,' said Anabel.

Iris for her part just shrugged. Ash figured she still had her issues about having to wear clothes all the time, but when she didn't say no, they all called it unanimous. Their next destination had been decided, and for some reason, Ash had the feeling that he wouldn't end up as a shopping mule this time around.

The way to extensive shopping options

Anabel began the morning with lavender bangs covering her face.

She stared at the ceiling of the Secret Power induced hole in the wall through the strands of her hair for a few seconds, wondering when her bangs had gotten long enough to cover her eyes.

Another thought came to her as she lay, just how long was her hair anyway?

With a blue glow her hair was flung out of her face, as Anabel darted out of the hole in the wall and past the other three secret base holes to the water's edge, where there would be a reflective surface.

What stared back at her was a nest of lavender hair that had grown well past where it normally stayed.

Her look for years had been a hair length only to the bottom of her ears. It was a nice look, low maintenance and it did its job.

It could occasionally cause others to mistake her for a boy, but she tried not to have that bother her.

The hair that stared back at her had climbed mid way down her neck, along with down along her face. There would be no mistaking her for a boy now that was for sure, the thought comforted her but she liked her normal hair style.

She needed a barber. Or something sharp. She could cut her hair herself, right?

Or maybe Misty or Ir…Misty could help her with it. Would that go better?

"Oh, good morning Anabel!"

Ash waved to her as he ran her way, Pikachu flanking him. A brown fabric case was in his hand, and he was in only a white sleeveless shirt and a pair of shorts. Sleepwear.

Anabel herself was in an oversized purple shirt, which she did idly touch to make sure it was on. No sense in creating an awkward moment between them…again, like when they'd learnt Heal Pulse.

Ash came to a full stop in front of her, a curious look on his face.

"I don't normally see you up this early." He noted.

'It happens sometimes….though why are you up? Not even Iris is awake yet.'

She had to resist looking over her shoulder to see if she was up and planning some new exercise for them.

"Nothing much. I was actually just shaving my face. I really don't like being all bushy and I like to keep on top of it." Ash informed her as Anabel recalled that she had never really seen him with stubble or unshaven looks.

She paled when a thought went through her, when was the last time she shaved?

Iris certainly didn't shave, and she had no idea if Misty had any and unlike Iris she didn't have a shower scene in Ash's head to clear up if she did or not.

"Uh, Anabel?" Ash asked, clearly noticing her paling.

'Oh, nothing nothing…..just a girl thing.' Anabel resisted the urge to check her legs and armpits right there and now.

Ash seemed well willing to avoid getting into a 'girl thing', and thus he looked like he was looking for something else to talk about.

"You know, I only just noticed it. You let your hair grow out."

Though that something else was still somewhat related.

She nodded.

'Well, let it grow out, can't really make it stop growing out, same thing. Sort of. You don't have anything that can cut in there, do you?'

Perhaps Ash's shaving kit, which she assumed was what he had on him, could solve this little problem, or at least provide the means to fix it.

Maybe Ash could do the hair snipping for her.

Ash for his part was already going through the bag, poking around and pulling a few things in and out of it. A deodorant stick, a pair of tweezers, a shaving cream bottle, a comb and brush, a packet of ear cleaners….

Ash eventually pulled out a razor.

"This is the best I've got, what do you need it for?" Ash asked her. In response she closed her eyes and telekinetically moved all the hair she found having grown in when she wasn't looking.

'Not really what a razor can help with, but maybe you have another idea in mind. Regardless, I'd like help removing all of this.'

"You want to cut your hair?" Ash questioned for confirmation. She nodded as she let the hair go, the bangs covering her eyes again.

'As you can see, it is getting to be a bit of a problem.' She blew the hair out of her face as Ash seemed thoughtful. Meanwhile in the background Pikachu's tail was glowing white.

Could Iron Tail cut her hair? Would that even be safe?

"I mean, your bangs are getting to be a bit long, even mine could use a trim. But the rest…." Ash paused on them before continuing. "I honestly think it looks good on you."

Anabel stared at him for a moment, the comment taking a while to set in.

When it did, she felt her face light up with red heat as Ash continued.

"You had a nice hair style already, but it looks pretty good long. Better than my hair would anyway."

At Ash's comment she turned to the water and stared at it, her reflection staring back.

The longer hair, really looked that good on her? It did make her look more feminine and framed her face nicely, looking at her reflection again she had to admit Ash did have a point, she did look good with longer then usual hair.

"I mean if I let it grow out, I'd probably look like a hippie, or maybe a barbarian. What's worse?" Ash babbled a bit as the mental image of both came into her mind.

The mental image of Hippie-Ash and Ash-the-Barbarian caused a wave of mental laughter to awash both of them, as both laughed at the image for a moment.

"It would probably depend on which bathed less." The Pokédex snarked from Ash's jacket pocket.

'So Ash, between saying my hair looks good growing out, and your little soak with Iris….do you have a thing for long hair perhaps?' Anabel couldn't stop a wicked smirk appear on her face as Ash began looking very nervous.

'Be free to say whatever you want, Misty's hair is probably long enough I doubt any response you'd give would hurt her feelings.'

Ash promptly began gaping like a Magikarp amidst Pikachu's laughter, a mixture of mortification and what honestly seemed to be him actively wondering if he did indeed have a thing for long hair.

Cerulean City

The moon was bright tonight.

The house on the edge of town currently without official owners had a nice porch swing, It creaked nicely as the moon shone in the sky, reflecting in the nearby river nicely.

Belladonna couldn't sleep tonight, and she wasn't sure why.

It wasn't a bad day weighing her down. They all had a lot of fun, more than she had expected.

Modern art was not her thing, but Vedia and Aurora had a wonderful time at that museum. Evanna had appreciated making exaggerated declarations of what the art 'meant', annoying the snobby art viewers.

It was all a good time.

Was it Aurora? Was she regretting wanting her father dead? She knew that was a trope that randomly happened in fiction sometimes, was it actually based in reality?

Fiction crossing into reality never ended well.

If so…..what could she do about it? Asking Aurora about it would not go well, she'd probably think the question was being asked less as 'Aurora, are you okay? You seem troubled, is it your father's death?' and more like 'Aurora, you feel pity for that piece of scum! What sort of weak livered dullard feels sympathy for their horrible father! Rage rage hate hate snarl snarl'.

Curse that man, even in death he was causing problems.

Footsteps rang against the wood, creaking nicely as she turned her gaze to the side.

Aurora, looking quite wonderful in a white sleeping gown they had found a while back. It was quite fetching, dressing her and Evanna up was always easier than her or Vedia. The best clothing was never made to their respective extremes.

"Oh, my dear Aurora, I hope I didn't wake you up. I couldn't get to sleep so I came out here." She gazed into Aurora's lovely eyes, clear and beautiful as fresh lake ice, and felt her mood rapidly reverse. "Who are you?" she growled.

Had the girl actually been Aurora, she would have squeaked. She would have been scared of her, and it would have been painful to witness.

But this girl was not Aurora, and thus did not do that. She merely put a ponderous finger to her chin.

"Huh, that's odd. It usually takes a lot longer for people to pick up that I'm not who they think they are. Is it a stain? I always miss stains."

"Your eyes are wrong." She declared with the finiteness of granite.

"No they're not, they are exact replicas of…..is this a subtle thing?"

"It's a love thing. I know the eyes of all of them perfectly, no one can replicate them to their exact perfections. Now. Who. Are. You?" She repeated as the false-Aurora sighed.

"As much as it would be fun to have you call me not-Aurora or something for this conversation, I think that would get a bit annoying. You might also try and remove my neck, which I would not like. I need my neck after all. You can call me Hilda."

"Alright, now drop the disguise and stop pretending you're someone else."

"Nah, I'll stay this way. You are 95.64% less likely to attack me if I do, both physically and with that little Truth take on your father's power. Unless I have miscalculated in my observations, in which case do in fact punch Aurora's face. Or slap it. Maybe throw something at it."

While said in her dear's voice, the tone was a tease bordering on a taunt. A tone she never used, with a 'I've got you' look on her face that Aurora also never used.

It was so wrong, it was very close that she could actually hit the fake wearing her dear's look.

And so Hilda the fake continued to give her that mocking look, and she continued to glare back, furious but unable to push so far as to hit her.

The fear that doing that would start a slope downwards held her back.

Belladonna was not unaware that something was wrong with herself. With a mother who never stopped collecting stuff, and a father who apparently never stopped fathering children, she should be careful not to get into a bad habit.

The worst of which being actually getting into the habit of hitting things that look like her loves. If that ever started rolling….

"Good, you can't attack me while I am like this. That makes my job a lot easier. So let's start shall we."

Hilda stepped off the porch and towards the water front, her feet crunching against the grass as she turned around to face her, still wearing the stolen face.

"As I'm said before, my name is Hilda. I work for a man you only need to know as the Bloodline Prince for the time being. Well work, spy for, report things with a different perspective than old Emissary does, sleep with, yada yada yada. I'm helping to continue to change the world." Belladonna didn't react. "I'll take your continued glaring as, do continue." Hilda quipped before continuing. "We have a particular interest in people like you, and the potential you can do to help move the world in the direction we want it to. Well at the moment we are following the Bloodline King…..but I'd like to think my Prince will one day kill him. He's…..highly unpleasant and best to be avoided. Sadly it is always dangerous to be near him, unless you don't like your thoughts being only your own."

Your thoughts not being your own?

"Dreams of a dead King and my Prince….well does he become the new Bloodline King at that point?" Hilda asked in some confusion. She'd find the bewilderment of Hilda amusing if she wasn't her, and took on a form that was killable for her. There were very few people she could look like that wouldn't be better than looking like Aurora.

"….Title questions aside, as much as I do feel sick saying it, the Bloodline King and Prince both want the same thing. A new world, a better world, building on what's been changed. Us at the top and humans….low. Lower than Pokémon if you want to be specific about it, though my Prince would elevate them as much as humans are put down. People like you and Ash Ketchum, or even little Arnold, are who we want on top of our new world. So how about it, the Bloodline Prince and I both want you for making the new world!" She finished her little ramble with a dramatic pose that reminded her of an Unovan wartime poster she saw once.

'I want you for the Unovan Army', by some colorful old guy.

"Hard pass."

Hilda seemed frozen in shock at her terse reply, and she stayed that way for what seemed like a minute.

Apparently she was trying to surmise why she rejected it, and so gave a revised version.

"I wasn't implying that your girlfriends would be any less important than you. I mean I'm just like them, one bloodline to my name. Zoroark Species if you want to know, call it a freebie. It's just that people like you, with two bloodlines, are special. The cream of the crop, a top percentile selectively bred…."

"I'd hate to see why anyone would select my mother 'to be bred'." Belladonna snarked before continuing. "My answer is still no."

"What, you don't think the world needs to be changed, that it isn't wrong?" Hilda asked tersely as Belladonna looked her right in her stolen eye color.

"I don't care about the world. There are very limited amount of things in it that I care about. Three of them are sleeping in this house, then there are the brothers I've found, the likely many other brothers and sisters I'm sure to find, and the ones who I'm sure will bring them all happiness as much as I've found it. Arnold has Laila and with time, he might find some more nice girls just as Ash and I have, but he's just a little kid, he has all the time to do so. Add in a few Pokémon or two, and that's as far as I care for. I'd get no enjoyment ruling over it."

Hilda stared at her like she was speaking gibberish.

"You don't want to indulge in anything?! You don't want to burn Azalea and everyone in it to the ground, tied up and made to suffer? You don't want a castle with human servants serving your every whim? You don't want more lovers? I mean sure unless you like incest you'd pretty much have to use a human for a few decades until diversity in the gene pool is a thing, but you'd have the pick of every other bloodliner your age and younger. After all, they all exist for you and Ash and all the rest of your family."

"The burning part I'd enjoy, but that's hardly justifying everything after, and I have no interest in men….what was the last thing?" Belladonna demanded clarification as a wicked smile cracked on an illusion of Aurora's face.

It was not a pleasant thing to see. A wrongness upon the world.

"Oh, you caught that, time for elaboration then. Ever wonder exactly why Bloodliners are much more common these days, and why so many are female? Here's the thing, it's because of you, and Ash, and all your other siblings. If you all had never been born, I'd be as boring a human as my sister, who runs some talent agency in Unova and now is tasked with making sure some League winner remembers to feed himself. But thanks to you, and your many hundreds of brothers and sisters found from Sinnoh's snowy tundra to Alola's tropical shores, I am more than human. Your little lovelies in there are more than human. Foongus Hair and the rest of my Prince's lovelies are more than human. Your line being born, perhaps not even as massively as they were but the range of how many were needed was utterly massive, met the conditions, and now we sit on a transitioning world. The world that you, Ash, and every one of your siblings who shares a unique take on what power means to them, from sea to shining sea, are all responsible for!"

If I wasn't born…..if Ash wasn't….if Arnold wasn't…..if none of them were….

A scene flashed in her mind, of her dear standing in the sun, right next to her father. They were smiling happily, not a care in the world.

The element that would make him a monster deserving death never existing, and the two being happy together. Aurora never needing to frown, or cry, a more whole her.

A world without her in it.

A better world for Aurora.

"Oh, I get it. Aurora actually got thrown out of her life of luxury and happiness because you and your siblings were conceived, and now you feel bad. Don't be, because of you Aurora is special. One day soon, even if you don't want to take part of making it happen, she'll be ruling the world with you….." The fact Hilda actually sounded like she was trying to make her feel better, as if she recognized the devastation that crossed her face was not what caught her attention, though it did make her feel worse.

It was the fact that a muscled hand had grasped itself atop Hilda's false head.

"You're done. Lecture time is over." Evanna declared darkly as Hilda shrugged.

"Oh dear, someone who has a 64.64% chance of causing me immense physical harm, growing to a much larger total if Belladonna looks away and plugs her ears. This is a problem." She said casually, as if she didn't' really consider what was about to happen dangerous.

The fact that moments after she said that a green haired girl about Ash's age in white appeared beside Hilda and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"A fun fact about my job, not only do I gather information for my Prince, I also find him lovely ladies of his own for him. This is Siri, a Gardevoir Bloodliner who can Teleport. I'd let go of my head now Evanna, unless you want to meet my Prince. I think this is around the time he bathes in his grand bath."

Evanna, who shared her lack of interest in men and picking up the threat to let go or be teleported away into a steaming body of water who knows where with a naked man, let go of Hilda's head. She vanished along with the newcomer moments later.

Leaving just the two of them in the night, alone. Herself, clad in a long t-shirt that was about all that could fit her as nightwear, and Evanna in only a pair of orange boys shorts.

There were no words exchanged for a few lengthy moments, before Evanna sighed.

"Look, that girl was a weirdo and a crazy person. Are you really going to put stock into what she said?"

"…..It's hard not to think about." Belladonna admitted quietly.

Evanna placed a hand on her shoulder before continuing.

"Okay, so let's run what she said through, at least as far as I understand it. Maybe Vedia would have gotten more of it, but Aurora's hugging her like a teddybear right now so let me give it a shake. The not-Aurora said that somehow, you and your apparently epidemic of half siblings somehow are why I'm the way I am, as well as Vedia and Aurora."

"Yes." She confirmed quietly as Evanna continued.

"If you didn't exist, Aurora's dad would have never decided that throwing your daughter out was a moral and right thing to do." Evanna continued.

"Yes." Belladonna declared solemnly.

"If you didn't exist, Vedia would have never been able to run away from home, and who knows what would have happened to her. Arranged marriage, suspicious death, stuck in a basement…." Evanna rolled off as Belladonna stared at her in surprise.

"There, that's fifty-fifty. My life would still suck as much as it did before meeting you regardless, so that's one person helped, another hurt, if we take the word of some shapechanging crazy person who wants to take over the world with some Prince and invited you, and thus us, to help them do it, as correct. I'd be fine if we did do that by the way, but that's not the point. The point is, if she's right, keep that in mind. If she's wrong, then she's basically one of those people who talk on the internet of that Oak guy apparently also making humans more complacent in a bid to have his grandson rule the world as the Oak Imperium."

"Sweetie." Belladonna smiled as she gave her a hug. She needed that. It was something to keep in mind.

It was bad, horrible, unforgivable, if she did make Aurora's life what it was, but it was good, very good, that she would also in turn have made Vedia's life better.

The hug turned into a heartfelt kiss that lasted just as long, their lips parting as the moon shone directly above them and bathing them in moonlight.

"So, if we are taking the word of the shapeshifting person for granted and you somehow make us who we all are….you plan on taking responsibility for anyone else?" Evanna teased as Belladonna could only stare at her in surprise.

Grampa Canyon

Ash wasn't sure this was right.

He was fairly certain that they should have hit a major city before they got to the place they found Togepi/where he was nearly eaten.

Emphasis on the 'slash where he was nearly eaten' bit, as that did not narrow down which incident he was talking about as much as he'd like. He really needed to be more careful this time round.

But, without teleporting except for cases of 'how did we end up on a sheer cliff', and 'how did we end up in the middle of a Beedrill nest', and a brief time in Dark City, they had found themselves in the dry as bone canyon.

Though it was a bit different than last time, given that while there was a giant pit with people digging inside it, he did not see Gary Oak doing his best Harrison Ford cosplay in it.

The people seemed more professionally unprofessional, if that was the best way of putting it. Also a pair of burly men were standing at the entrance to the canyon, glaring at the four of them to go away.

"What's their problem?" Misty wondered aloud.

"Their problem, is that we don't need Trainers stealing fossils, or worse trying to get them themselves. At least thieves don't break as much."

To all their credit, they had turned to the flannel wearing man before he was done pronouncing 'th'. Misty actually had a surprised look at how sharp her alert time had been, though Ash felt there was some pride in her surprised expression.

"Now, are you here to steal fossils?" He asked them bluntly.

Everyone from Pikachu to Iris shook their heads 'no' as he nodded.

"Good. I wouldn't try crossing through here until noon passes, so come with me to my trailer. I'm sure you'd rather learn about fossils than suffer heatstroke."

'…..I am not sure about that one. Can I go look for Togepi's egg instead?' Pikachu wondered to Ash directly.

'I have no idea where it is without Team Rocket blowing stuff up, and I am pretty sure you can get heatstroke too. He might have it on him and might be willing to give it to us.'

It wasn't unheard of for people to randomly give people Pokémon and Pokémon eggs after all. Plus what would a flannel wearing man even want with a Togepi egg?

…..

There was no egg in the man's office, just coolers and maps and trays filled with bones thinner than pencils.

He reached into a cooler with bottles of water in them (after skipping over a cooler that was filled to the brim with beer he accidentally opened), and tossed them bottles as he began with an apology.

"I am sorry about the concern, ever since people found the way to revive Fossil Pokémon, for all the good it does my fellow paleontologists who specialize in behavioral studies, it does have side effects. Among them is the tendency for people to try and grab fossils to get Pokémon for themselves. I have no problem with the use of poor quality fossil material for such endeavors, and especially not when someone puts their own effort into the process like the Gym Leaders Brock, Roark, and Byron. However I don't need the discoveries of the century stolen by a random Trainer trying to get type coverage."

"Is that a problem?" Ash would have asked how fossils tell you anything about behavior since he assumed there were people doing that before fossil revival, but he wasn't sure he could understand it.

Or that it could be explained in a timely manner, thus delaying what time Ash could use to try and figure out where Togepi's egg might be.

"Thievery? Of course it is with Team Rocket around. They love stealing fossils, it's why we don't work in Mount Moon anymore. They know better than to dig for them themselves, given that the average member can't tell a fossil from a geode and break them with shovels and drills. So like scavengers they have a bad habit of grabbing what we've already found."

The comment about people breaking fossils with a lack of knowing what a fossil was made Ash wonder, was the Great Fossil Rush a bust because it was a lie, or because people ended up breaking the fossils that they were after out of ignorance.

A question that he was sure one could ponder for many days, hopefully when he could get out of here without offending the guy.

Heatstroke risks noted of course.

Oddly enough though, it was Iris who had the next thing to say.

"Your maps are odd."

Her comment drew Ash's attention to the maps…..and he had to agree.

For one thing the maps of the world, which Ash would not try to figure out if it was different from what he was used to as to spare his mind from thinking about the implications too much, had the landmasses in wildly different places.

At some points the continents were all jumbled together, either as a solid landmass or several large groups that were not how he was pretty sure they normally were.

One map, labeled as 100 MYA, had Kalos much farther north than normal, even farther north than Sinnoh was. It was all but covered in white. He could only vaguely see what looked like Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, as they were all shallow ocean with islands that made him think of places where mountains were like Meteor Falls and Mount Moon. Sinnoh was much farther south, pretty close to the equator.

"Well today those maps are, but millions of years ago they were quite accurate." He noted Iris's confusion and so continued.

"Continents, ever since their formations, have always been moving. Slowly, but in the course of millions of years they can drastically change their location. Mountain ranges, some volcanos, and earthquakes are side effects of this phenomenal called Continental Drift."

That was how mountains were made? Ash always thought it had something to do with volcanos, though if they were also caused by continents slowly moving that made some sense.

Also some volcanos? There were volcanos that were formed other ways? How did that happen?

"Of course these ancient forms of continents and the seas had life on and in them, and not just plant life. Amidst the ancient conifers and ferns, before even grass and flowers and fruit evolved." Pine trees and ferns were ancient? Grass, flowers and fruit weren't that old?

You learn something new every day. He had never thought about asking what was older, a fern or an apple, but now he knew.

Perhaps he could win trivia night next time he was back home.

"Pokémon paleontology is not an old field, but we have identified a constantly growing number of ancient species. Most of them are clustered around two time periods that have a number of major fossil bearing formations, 300 million years ago, and 100 million years ago."

The paleontologist darted off to a shelf and grabbed a handful of figurines. They were of Pokémon, several that Ash knew to be fossil Pokémon, and a few that were still around today, like Relicanth, Shellder, and Sunkern.

And a lot Ash did not recognize at all. Apparently his dealings with (occasionally not having been dead) Aerodactyl, Kabuto, Kabutops, Omanyte, Omastar, Lileep, Cradily, Anorith, Armaldo, Cranidos, Rampardos, Shieldon, Bastiodon, Archen, Archeops, Tirtouga, and Carracosta did not even scratch the surface.

The figures were promptly plopped on the map, with Kabutops and a Pokémon that looked like a naked Genesect at 300 million years ago, while Omanyte, Omastar, Cranidos, Lileep, Cradily, Rampardos, Shieldon, Bastiodon, Archen, Archeops, Tirtouga, and Carracosta at 100 million years ago along with Shellder and Relicanth and several he didn't recognize among the two locations and several other maps.

He didn't see a Aerodactyl, Anorith, or Armaldo figurine, perhaps he didn't have any. Maybe they were rare and hard to find on the open market of figurines, if such a thing existed.

Though that did raise a few questions, if that was the case, why were there Kabutops hanging around with the Omanyte and Omastar originally?

Why was Togepi's egg around here, wherever it was. Were Togekiss and Togetic old Pokémon like Shellder were apparently?

"Why only bones from those time periods specifically?" Iris asked.

"We have other periods represented, but fossils aren't the easiest things to form. They require the bones to be deposited in the right conditions at the right time and be found quickly enough. It's why places like Alola do not have fossils, as they are too new land masses and mostly lack these factors. Anyone who finds a fossil in Alola found something someone dropped."

The last line was said bitterly, as if it was part of some old peeve. Ash decided it was best not to ask.

"Of course these figurines may not be the most accurate. They resemble a Pokémon revived from a fossil, but there is evidence that such revivals do affect a Pokémon's type and physiology. There have been some interesting studies involving Tyrunt fossils and revived specimens that explore this."

Then why were the Omanyte and other such Pokémon he met that were living fossils look the same as revived fossils? Or was that a time reboot thing?

The only way to check was to see if an Aerodactyl was still around to try and eat him, and was it worth going through that again? Probably not unless Togepi's egg was down there too, and Ash was pretty sure that cavern would be a place to check last if possible for it.

Wasn't the Pokédex going on about this idea itself during the last Gym battle, extant forms or something?

"So when do people come into the picture?" Misty brought up the question as the man shrugged.

"Not my field. I do know that humans are said to have originated in the region of…."

"Professor Cycad!" The trailer door was burst open before the question could be given an answer, revealing an intern that Ash half expected to run into around Pokémonopolis's ruins, but was instead another girl, thankfully nothing resembling him about her.

"Yes, what is it…oh I see. The thing in your arms." The professor observed as all eyes were drawn to what the girl was carrying.

Clutched in her arms was the egg that would hatch into Togepi.

The moment of silence that followed was the length of forever in Ash's mind. Was there any way he could steer this so they could get the egg without it being too strange a conversation…

"Well, that's an odd find, but that isn't a fossilized egg and none of us have time to care for such a thing. Would any of you like to have it?" Professor Cycad asked, solving all the issues that could result in an instant.

Pikachu let out a huge sigh of relief from his shoulder, nearly falling off as a result.

…..

That Night, at a camp area by a small pool

"Now that we are far enough to ensure the egg cannot be taken back, allow me to tell you all what Pokémon it will hatch into."

The declaration came after they finished eating for the night, causing all their eyes to move to the egg currently being held by Pikachu carefully in a little rocky nook soon to be Secret Powered by Psyduck.

Axew was currently looking at the egg in interest, which reminded Ash of how well Axew had gotten along with Scraggy. Would Axew do as well with a less outgoing Pokémon?

'You can tell?' Anabel questioned, which Ash relayed to the machine in part for his own confusion.

You could?

"Certainly. Eggs are always patterned after what Pokémon they are to hatch into. It's a handy thing to note if you find an egg and quite good for taking away the guessing game part of it."

But the guessing part was the fun part of it. Sure he knew what this egg would hatch into, but what if he found another egg?

It would be part of the excitement of it all to see what it would hatch into with Togepi.

"This egg will hatch into a rare Pokémon known as a Togepi." The Pokédex declared, confusion etching itself into Misty, Iris, and Anabel's faces as the name was given.

"Togepi?" Misty said in confusion, which Ash had to admit oddly stung coming from her.

"Togepi, the Spike Ball Pokémon." The Pokédex showed an image of Togepi on screen. Misty's face seemed to soften upon seeing Togepi, which Ash would count as a good thing.

"Togepi grow by absorbing emotional energy people and Pokémon generate to grow. They grow best with positive emotion, while their growth is stunted by negative emotion. If this emotion is evil in morality, they can turn wicked and cruel."

That explained that Togepi in Sinnoh, though an odd thought came to Ash.

Did Brock's post-Ivy depression cause Togepi to stay a Togepi for all of Johto, and only after Brock was farther away did Togepi move faster to evolving?

It was an odd thought. It could have just been inexperience with working with young Pokémon.

"Togepi evolves twice, it gains the Flying type upon evolving into Togetic, while exposure to the Shiny Stone evolves it further to Togekiss." The two evolutions were shown on screen next to Togepi.

"What type was it before evolving?" Iris caught the fact the Pokédex didn't say.

"Fairy."

Iris shivered like someone was walking on a shallow grave at that point.

"I have already taken to pre-registering Togepi to you. When it hatches your record will be fully updated." The Pokédex told him as Ash realized what had so radically changed.

"Isn't that a bit hasty? I mean, I may not be the only one who wants…."

"I am fine without Togepi." Iris said simply.

'I am doing a lot of work with Eevee already, I don't think I could take another Pokémon on right now.' Anabel honestly admitted.

Misty just shook her head, which stung. Utterly, utterly stung. To see her reject Togepi so easily really made the fact that this wasn't the Misty he'd known for years hit home like a ton of bricks. Maybe he could trick her into it, Togepi imprinted on her because she was the first to be seen after Togepi hatched. He could try and recreate the moment, without the mini-tournament with Team Rocket though, but that wouldn't be fair to any of them.

Ash had never tried to bring Psyduck's memories back, and he wasn't sure if the issue with humans would extend to Pokémon he did not have originally. He'd rather not make things tricky by doing so.

Right now though, Ash was seriously hoping he couldn't bring memories back. Because if Togepi saw that head shake…..

It would make Brock's dead parents look like a bump in the road when it came to rough emotions.

"Regardless of who Togepi is registered to, all of your emotional well beings will play into Togepi's hatching and growth, so you will all have involvement. The egg won't count to any party totals until then, so you can care for the nitty gritty then. Now, would you like to review your financial totals before mass spending?"

The Pokédex promptly displayed a set of numbers, which caused Misty and Anabel's mouths to drop open, Ash to stare at the Pokédex in shock, and Iris to…well she didn't react.

He was pretty sure she didn't really understand just how much the Pokédex was saying he had to his name.

"….You….didn't hack the banks, did you?" Ash asked the Pokédex.

"No, that would bore me. I'd sooner steal money from Team Rocket and other Yakuza-type criminal organizations for the challenge, and I'd do so from either should we require it. The money in question here however, is completely legal in origin."

Ash stared at the money, still uncertain about that part. He was pretty sure he had enough to buy the kind of car Gary had back in the day without car payments afterwards. He'd probably still have enough left over to hire some cheerleaders too. Not that he'd want to.

….

Ash had gotten the package of the item storage capsules Professor Oak had sent his way for testing the day before Princess Day. Said package contained fourty cubes colored the same as a regular Pokéball. They did indeed work, for Ash tested them on a large rock.

It had worked fine, the twelve foot hunk of sandstone had vanished into the cube which hadn't changed its weight at all for holding it inside, though testing releasing the thing did create a massive splash of sea water that drenched them all and did require Squirtle to go retrieve it from the sea bottom.

In Ash's defense, it was common to throw your Pokéballs, and they looked a lot like them. And it still worked afterwards, as demonstrated with his shoes.

After that, it was to the trenches. Also known as 'town with a lot of stores during a mass shopping day'.

Also called pain. They say 'war is hell' but that's nothing compared to this.

Not the same as Girls Day.

….

Their first stop had been relatively quiet. Stores that specialized in selling beds and couches weren't the hottest sellers on Princess Day, though the staff were happy to see them and offer significant discounts.

Ash really didn't understand beds at all, but three were still purchased that fit himself, Anabel, and Misty well.

Iris declined to get one.

Next stop a furniture store for something to store more clothes before they could begin the dangerous part of the day…

"Is that a 90% off sale on socks?"

Oh no.

Misty's stop and declaration on the store front caused Anabel and Iris to stop in their tracks, with Anabel subtly tugging him to a stop too.

"The socks you gave me do have a hole now." Iris looked down at her feet. "I am also fairly sure that '90%' is a good thing?"

'Oh yes, it is.' Anabel agreed.

It was spreading. The virus.

"With that price, we all could use some more socks. You know, I've never really used this day for much, but I'm really feeling it now." Misty said in a tone of growing giddiness as Ash knew it was definitely here, especially when Anabel and Iris nodded in agreement (Anabel more so than Iris).

The shopping virus. It had claimed more victims, it was uncontainable and turning into a pandemic.

"Come on!" And with that, and another subtle telepathic tug from Anabel, they were into the store.

The only consolation was that the horrible frenzy that ensued had several pairs of socks fitting him thrown his way.

"Pikapiiiii!". 'Ash, you probably could use some more of….HEY! No grabbing my tail, it is not a sock!"

And so Princess Day suffered its third clothing based electrical attack as he later would find out.

The virus was in brief remission after they got out and they managed to get four dressers for a total of seven used storage capsules and thankfully the electronic store did not engage responses from them….before the virus returned in full force upon the spotting of an accessory store.

The madness was back, his Z-Ring was nearly swiped three times in the span of ten minutes. Though, again to their credit, the fourth and fifth would be attempt was stopped by a glare from Iris and a loud 'that is not for sale' shout by Misty.

Said shout did not dissuade the sixth though, what was wrong with this holiday?!

….

Their target was shopping.

No, that wasn't the right way to put it.

Saying the target, Ash Ketchum, was shopping implied he was in the lead. It was not a day guys shopped.

It was a day they were carrying things for the shoppers, though Meowth had to give them credit as the stuff being bought did seem to go to him as much as the rest of them, and they were in fact feeding him.

It was more than some people were doing today, in any case.

Also that the non-talking girly had her Kadabra help out with bags when moving.

Still….

"….Those two bozos better get here soon. I am so putting in for overtime at this point." The cat complained.

Jessie and James were both off enjoying the festivities, and they had both darted off before he could complain, though both had reasons he did not push the issue.

Jessie had been in a bad mood after a Lickitung had eaten her breakfast, after kicking and punching it repeatedly she had caught it in a ball in a sheer blind rage, before hearing about some contest for some dolls and demanding James give her his Pokémon for it.

She was still mad, so he had given her them without issue, and she had stormed off in a fury after James asked her about where she'd even keep a bunch of breakable dolls.

It was the first Meowth had heard of her storage locker. An odd choice to use her pay increase on, but it was her money.

While Jessie had stormed off in a fury, James had a flier for a knick-knack sale fly right into his face and got a giddy laugh, the happiest Meowth had seen him since the incident with the butler and his fifty-shaded fiancé. When Meowth had told him that there was no way a guy named James could get that sale, he had made a creepy laugh and said he had a solution to that problem.

Meowth wasn't sure why James had fake, inflatable breasts on hand, and he probably would be better off knowing. He knew the skirt was Jessie's though.

The crossdressing that ensued did not bother Meowth as much as James's false pumpable bosom. That was a human thing to be bothered by.

So that left him doing their group job solo, with Jessie off winning dolls in a rage, and James crossdressing to buy cheap knick-knacks with the aid of a device that Meowth knew not the purpose of having, nor why James would own one.

"Deli!"

Meowth, not taking his eyes off their targets, held out the Pokéball that Jessie had dropped in her anger to the bird.

"Yeah, I'm going to ask ya to take this one back and put it in reserve in case we need it later. Maybe in a year Jessie won't try and stab the thing."

Delibird saluted affirmatively before taking the ball and flying away with it.

"Hopefully Jessie didn't only say she 'hated it and wanted it gone' in anger and actually would have wanted that on her person, or else I might be in trouble for that." Meowth mused to himself as the observation continued.

…..

Ash stood alone with a plethora of shopping bags. The ominous air that hung around him was obvious for anyone who had bags laying about on this day.

The madness had spread, and Ash felt like he was being watched by a school of Sharpedo.

This comparison was not helped by the mob of women and girls who seemed to be stalking around him, as if looking for an opening to strike. The training from Iris to give him the same sort of sixth sense to danger as her was working as he could hear his fight of flight instinct screaming at him to do something other then stand there.

Seriously, what was wrong with this holiday? Sure there was some cloth yanking last time, but it seemed to have evolved at some point into a contact sport.

All that was missing was Casey running around, shouting about the Electabuzz and hitting people with a baseball bat.

Still, just as the holiday had evolved into something tougher since the last time he had endured it (he didn't remember it in any other regions and May seemed to have avoid any contact with it, thus sparing him possibly worse pain and suffering), he had evolved as well.

And not just in his ability to grow hair on his face.

The same woman Ash was pretty sure grabbed something Misty and Jessie fought over slowly approached his bags from the side, stealthily as if she assumed she could not be seen if she did so.

As her hand moved towards a bag, the purple shadow under the bag shimmered, and out popped a friendly creature.

"Grime!" One of his Grimer greeted cheerfully, before grabbing her hand and shaking it.

The woman's resulting scream of horror caused Pikachu to wince, even as the shadows of the other bags rose up as three other Grimer and Muk and hugged the woman at once.

"Pika…." 'Did you really have to do that?' Pikachu complained.

"It worked didn't it." Ash said simply as the circling swarm rapidly let them be, not wanting to share the fate of their fellow virus victim and be hugged by friendly slime creatures.

Pikachu gave him a look that said 'you are only feeding the crazy'.

"There are rumors that mega corps use psychic types to stimulate shopping madness." The Pokédex observed as the woman managed to escape from the Grimer hugs.

"….And that is helpful to their bottom line?" Ash questioned the logic of it.

"It's only a rumor, somewhere in the feasible between the Oak Imperium and people being watched through their technology by corporations like Devon or Lysandre Labs." The Pokédex admitted.

The Oak what? What, did people think that Professor Oak wanted to rule the world or something?

"So it isn't true." Ash simply stated.

"Most likely, but it is an explanation for the madness. A bad explanation, but an explanation nonetheless."

Like Brock's Ivy angst delaying Togepi's growth perhaps.

As if summoned by the thoughts of Togepi Misty popped out of the nearby changing room, dressed in a red blouse held by thin straps and a pair of denim shorts slightly longer than her usual ones back in the days of suspenders with a pair of large red shoes to finish the look off.

"What do you think? "Misty inquired as Ash gave her an honest answer.

"I am not the person to ask about fashion."

"Well I'm not usually one to care, but there is something in the air that makes me really want to have fun with this." Misty shrugged while raising the idea that there were Pokémon or viruses at play spreading the madness.

"But you know, not sure I really look good in these shoes anyway. I'll try something else." And so Misty returned into the changing room, as Ash blinked.

That….was surprisingly easy.

Ash immediately slapped his face, for thinking that someone was going to run off with Togepi's egg, even past the Grimer and Muk defenses around it and the rest of their stuff.

He quickly glanced over to make sure it was still there. It was, thankfully.

Ash's eyes wandered down to his arm, which had gained something from the accessory shop other than bite marks and scratches.

A white metal ring, similar at a glance to the Z-ring in color and shape, but with differences that were noticeable upon closer observation, such as a few black etchings and a more rounded shape overall.

Slotted into said white ring, in a slot that once held a marble of some sort, was the Keystone. Snuggly fit without a psychic force clawing it out like the marble, the door to Mega Evolution was now at his wrist.

He would just have to figure out a bit more to it. The first thing on the list to figure out being the simple question of how to activate the process. Were specific gestures required the same way Z-moves seemed to need?

The changing room doors burst open again, with Anabel walking out in a white T-shirt, a pair of purple pants that left some leg skin exposed between them and a pair of white socks, and purple sneakers. A purple scarf fit around her neck, while a belt with purple circle completed the piece.

She, like Misty and himself, having gotten some hair trimmed but Anabel's longer hair was still present to the look.

'So Ash, what do you think?' Anabel asked as she adjusted the scarf a bit.

'The shoes are a definite, but I'm not sure about the pants. Are they shorts or pants?'

"Are they comfy and easy to wear?"

Anabel had a thoughtful pinch of her lips at the question Ash offered, before returning into the changing room.

"So, did we miss anything at the pharmacy?" Ash asked the Pokédex aloud. Even that had been a melee today.

"Deodorant, shaving products, shampoo, soap, floss, toothpaste, new toothbrushes….well I suppose you could have gotten the mouthwash but the fighting was fierce in that aisle." The Pokédex listed off as Ash felt the old question rise again.

"About the bank totals, you'll be good to pay for everything, right…."

"With the sales today you'd have to try a lot harder to empty your wallet." The Pokédex informed. "Plus I can easily hack the store register so the charge fits into what totals you need."

Ash would have asked the device to please not do it, when Anabel stepped out again, this time in a pair of lavender sweat pants and a white T-shirt.

'I think this will do better for the next time Iris wants us to run, wouldn't you say?' Ash nodded in agreement as Anabel smiled and returned into the changing room.

"Gri!"

As a Grimer scared off another looming stuff poacher, Iris stumbled out of the changing room, dressed in a very, very….

Very odd choice of dress, as if she was planning to go sneak into the Flower Garden Troupe's headquarters again.

Where Iris had found a fairy tale princess version of her normal outfit, a shiny princess crown, and a pair of pure white sandals Ash hadn't a clue.

He was equally unsure of why she'd even wear a thing.

Also since when did Iris's outfit have a plunging neck line? But that was besides the point.

"Why are you…." Ash asked as Iris blinked.

"I….. honestly am not sure. It was all a blur." She admitted in confusion. She waved her arms around, an unpleased look on her face.

"Ax." Axew popped out of her hair, looking discombulated. There was also a crown on his head that looked matching to Iris's.

"I will not be keeping this." Iris declared bluntly as the door opened again, and Anabel and Misty walked out as well.

Anabel was dressed in a black three piece suit with a white undershirt, an outfit that looked pretty good on her despite the fact that suits were more the sort of thing a guy would wear.

Misty had an expensive looking white dress with a single covered shoulder and a long skirt.

"You know, we probably should have found something better in the 'fancy' department." Misty admitted taking in Iris's appearance.

Ash would ask why they were in the fancy department, but that was probably the wrong question to ask. Also if Iris was any indication, the memory there may be blurry.

'She'd look good in something like this, but I think we said something about wanting to balance it out. Two suits, two dresses.' Anabel surmised.

"Two suits?" He wouldn't talk about spending frivolously, they had money to do so even if everything wasn't ridiculously on sale today, but even that seemed a tad odd a purchase.

"Yeah, yours. You've got your own backlog to try on when we're done." Misty spoke as if reminding him. Did he repress the memory?

"You do. You have a sizeable catalog to try on when they are done with their own selection." The Pokédex had a similar tone.

"I'm sure they fit…."

"There is fitting, and there is fitting." The Pokédex snarked. Ash's eyes flicked to his pocket as he wondered what the hell that meant.

"We'll find you something else when Ash is trying on his stuff. I'll watch our stuff." Misty told Iris as the girl looked eager to get out of the dress.

And they soon returned into the dressing room, as dread overcame Ash once more.

"How much more do they have?" How long did he have until the pain began?

"….Do you want the answer in total clothing, or total value of the clothing?" The Pokédex quipped.

….

Misty had to admit, there was something….good about Ash looking her over when in a swimsuit.

When she came out and asked Ash what he thought of her, be she in a blue bikini or a red one, and she could tell he liked what he saw.

That he was interested, even as he tried to not look her over like a piece of prime meat.

It was nice to feel pretty, nice to feel attractive. And to be frankly honest, it was a nice stepping stone.

Misty had no real idea how to try and go from what they had to something more, it wasn't something she knew how to do.

She wasn't sure Ash had any idea how to do it either.

It wasn't like she could simply do what her parents would do (…for various reason), and Ash's father was apparently too busy having other kids to give pointers.

Even then, his pointers would probably only be good for a single night, which was hardly what she wanted, nor what she was near sure that Ash wanted.

So, this was a way to work towards it, even if it would be trial and error. Though that didn't mean there weren't potential problems.

Iris, for as much as the girl was someone that Misty did see as a friend, was also interested in Ash. She knew that.

She also noted when Iris herself came out in a one piece swimsuit (after telling Iris that yes, you would need that), that Ash did like her appearance as well.

She was also not unaware that he had seen a lot more of her than a swimsuit. Iris had let it slip that she had showered with him a while ago.

(It was also somewhat tied to her having no idea how to work towards a relationship, as media portrayals of relationships would have her yell at Ash for being a pervert or a cheater despite the scenario being very clearly not of his choosing. Frankly that would only end in her acting like, and frankly being, an unlikable bitch.)

While Iris said it in a way that Misty had to agree that Iris did not do it as part of her mentioned interest in having Ash be her 'mate', what she did say clearly showed that Ash had noticed things, and liked them for as much as he tried not to overly focus on them.

The only hint of a good thing was that, if anything, Iris was probably less understanding of how to instigate a relationship as she and Ash were.

Then there was the fact that Iris would, as she admitted herself, not consider Ash and her being together as a sign not to try and seduce Ash. Or Iris and Ash being together a reason Ash should not be with her.

That was, if anything, something that made Misty more uneasy. Iris completely, without any hint of jealousy, considered that an option, and Ash, for as good and kind and decent as he was….was still a teenage male.

Such an arrangement would be something he'd struggle to say no to, and if it was Iris who he was with….well Misty had to acknowledge that she'd be hypocritically more okay with that scenario than the other way around.

When Anabel had stepped out in a lavender tankini and nervously asked if Ash thought it looked better than the similar colored one piece (to which Ash was as nervous in replying as he had been when she asked about two different bikinis), Misty was quite aware of the other possibility.

Anabel was starting to also, even if she did not say it as bluntly as Iris, show signs of being attracted to Ash. That had problems of its own to consider.

For example, if Iris went up to Anabel the same as she did her, how would Anabel react?

Misty had to admit, the possibility of Anabel agreeing with Iris made her very nervous.

'You can read his mind; he likes the both of us, so what is the problem?' She could practically hear Iris say such a thing.

That would lead into all the previously commented issues of hypocrisy on her end all over again.

"Can I wear a shirt?" Ash called out from the changing room, having been putting it off for a while now.

'We didn't wear shirts outside of that one jacket that went with it.' Anabel told him with a tease as the door creaked open and Ash stepped out in a pair of black and red swim trunks.

And only a pair of black and red swim trunks, revealing all the muscle that Iris had been working on increasing even as she had them run miles.

While Ash was already fairly muscular when they first met, Misty never had a chance to actually check him in detail, but now, she could notice things. First, he was broad-shouldered, and while it didn't seem that much at first, his arms looked now like they could conceivably stop the punch of a Kangaskhan like he had told them before. His legs also looked fairly well-toned; all that running in front of his Tauros had definitely paid off. His abs were also starting to show hints of a six-pack, and Misty had to wonder if Iris had been aiming for that from the beginning. She'd probably have to thank her for it later.

She had to stop her tongue from licking her lips, though there was one issue she did have with how Ash looked.

While Ash was hardly one of those men who were hairier than some Ursaring, she'd probably prefer if they could get Ash to shave more than his face.

They probably should have tried to get some shaving material that was for more than just a guy's face, but it was in high demand at the pharmacy today and they'd rather not lose a hand.

Ash could use with less hair, but it was far from worth a limb.

As Ash got confirmation from them all that he looked good, (and was told that no, they did not actually get the speedo that was also on sale), and returned to try on another swimsuit, Iris spoke up.

"Does human body hair have any way to make it grow more? I think Ash would look good with more of it on his chest."

Misty and Anabel stared at Iris in equal parts bafflement, unease, and 'how on earth is this conversation going to go'.

Two days later

They had escaped the madness with no loss of limb, and with everything they needed.

With a tap, one of those items, a three drawer storage place for clothes, was sucked away into the item capsule as Pikachu raised a sleepy head off the bed.

"Pikapi…." 'Five more minutes…'

"I already gave you half an hour even after I washed and shaved and all of that stuff." Ash told his buddy as said buddy grumpily hopped off the comfortable mass of blankets and mattress that was Ash's new bed away from home.

Ash quickly returned the item into its capsule as he paused to note the new clothes he was now defaulting to, given the damage to his previous outfit.

It was much the same, a new red and white hat with the design divided into two red thirds and a center white third, a black and blue short sleeved jacket with a white hoodie, and a pair of blue jeans and shoes. The two rings, one on each arm remained, a Z-Ring without any crystals, and a Key Stone whose powers he was unsure of how to unlock.

A pair of black fingerless gloves completed the set, along with the underwear and socks his mom thankfully felt the need to stop asking him about.

Pikachu, with a tired gait, climbed up him and onto his perch on his shoulder as Ash walked out of the tree hollow turned secret base into the sunlight beyond.

"So, I see sleeping beauty is done." Misty teased as Ash smiled.

"Well, unless he sleeps on my shoulder I guess."

Like him, everyone else had changed up their default outfits thanks to the shopping madness.

Misty's outfit was now mostly yellow and blue, with new yellow shoes and bracelets that worked with a pair of blue shorts, a blue tube top, and a yellow jacket unbuttoned over said tube top. Her hair was also held a bit longer than usual, with a single pierced ear holding her own keystone.

Iris had kept her old shoes, but she was now wearing a much shorter shirt of similar color and dimensions to her old one, with a pair of pink shorts showing off just as much leg as Misty now did. Around her wrists and neck were a pair of tooth themed accessories, with the necklace having her keystone set in the center. Her hair was now held in place a bit by a hair piece, though it still spilled out from her like a massive eruption.

Anabel was wearing her hair out longer, which was a nice look with her new purple sleeveless top and white pants. A pair of black boots and a brown belt with a purple symbol of Psychic types embedded in it was all the decoration she had going for her.

'So, what sort of surprises do you think today will hold?' Anabel asked them as Iris smirked.

"Whatever they are, they are nothing we cannot handle."

As if summoned by Iris's declaration, Ash felt something pop up behind him.

"Abra, the P.S.I Pok…." The Pokédex began reading off as Ash felt something tug on his hoodie, and immediately he was no longer on the path to Cinnabar.

The path to Cinnabar was not a nice looking, if somewhat ominous looking, mansion hallway after all.

"…émon, and we appear to have rapidly shifted geographical location." The Pokédex interrupted giving the entry as the Abra floated a few strides away from him.

"You took me here, why? Do you need something?" Ash asked the Psychic Pokémon, wondering if this was related to a dispute with some Ghost Pokémon in an abandoned mining town.

The Abra slowly turned to face him, before setting its own fist on fire and flying at them.

Pikachu hopped to counter it with Iron Tail, colliding with the Fire Punch.

Not interested in seeing how this clash would go, Ash sped forward with Quick Attack and knocked the Abra away with a rapid punch.

As the white streaks dissipated from around him Pikachu was wide awake and sparking in anger.

"Pika." 'What was that about? First it takes us here, and then it attacked us?'

"Where is here anyway?" Ash wondered aloud as the sound of rolling came from down the same direction as the defeated Abra.

"The here is Saffron City. The address….the Saffron City Gym." The Pokédex declared with audible concern as the rolling revealed itself to be from a group of approaching Exeggcute.

All of them seeping a fog of Stun Spore as they approached.

Ash turned the other way and ran, Pikachu in his arms as the rolling clouds of spores came right after him.

….

All of this was being observed from the top most room of the Gym, where a computer blazed with information.

A glowing duo of blue dots were running on the second floor, those being Ash Ketchum and Pikachu. A single purple dot, the Exeggcute up there, was in hot pursuit.

On the edges of the screen were seven large data boxes. The topmost showing Ash and the top right Pikachu.

Ash Ketchum, One KOs, Zero Assists

Pikachu, Zero KOs, One Assists.

Sabrina smirked, a telekinetic pull reaching for a nearby Sitrus Berry and tossing it to the Abra who was the source of the two's performance grade so far.

She rarely needed it, but she had the thing anyway, and sometimes she really did need raw data to say if a person really did deserve to live or not. Sometimes her gut wouldn't tive her an answer.

As the teleporter ate the berry slowly she smirked.

"Well, I do believe this is a nice little callback for you, or do you remember? It was that doll of mine that brought you to me last time, or are you too panicked to notice? Regardless, your test has only just begun. I am sure you will prove yourself worthy of living, but can you break yourself of your self-restraints? Particularly for what you will not give up on so easily?"

On the uppermost and lowermost levels of the map were two golden dots. The top one was situated where she kept her Marsh Badges, the lower where Primeape was.

Both heavily guarded second only to the door out, and with all the windows fortified those were the only three destinations he could go for.

But seeing as she was a good sport, she'd make sure he knew where each were if it looked like Ash and Pikachu was about to leave early.

No point in losing something forever so recklessly after all.

….

Meanwhile the two were approaching a spiraling staircase, going both higher and lower.

"Down means open door." The Pokédex pointed out.

"And things roll down the stairs, not up them. Won't the powder fall down after us too!" Ash yelled back.

As he declared this Pikachu blasted a thunderbolt at the Exeggcute, who had a yellow Light Screen flare up to block the attack.

Ash scurried up the stairs the moment his foot got in range, darting up the creaking steps even as the Exeggcute, no longer powder spewing, rolled down the stairs.

Ash saw a flash of yellow at the top of the stairs, and reacted immediately.

"Roggenrola!" Ash threw the Safari Ball up the stairs, and the sound of a thump suggested that Headbutt was used.

Ash met said Rock Pokémon at the next stair landing, the Mantle Pokémon standing next to a defeated Drowzee.

Before them down the floor stood a Slowpoke, who yawned and unleashed a torrential fire stream at them.

Roggenrola spat out a Sand Attack that met the fire and doused it, as the Pokédex surmised it all with a scream that sounded like a swear in the tone of dial up.

Ash suspected he'd hear many more swears in dial up before they got out of here.

---

END CHAPTER! TUNE IN NEXT TIME FOR 'ASH VERSUS SABRINA!'

Now for the Author comments at the end of the chapter, plus extras.

The twins (Who are the ones from Chapter 2 mentioned, though like 20 Gyarados I'd say the ownership of them when it comes to last chapter's public domain allowance is Fox for actually naming and characterizing them) popped up only because I had meant to do another scene involving Ash and Z-Ring induced 'sand' in Chapter 29, but forgot. So they got to help me make up for it.

*** is a bit Fox fit in for me. Thanks, that block could have taken a while to get through.

Iris's comment about the albino Joshua being a 'Shiny Human' is not a reference to the comic featuring that joke. It was made before I even saw that joke.

The bit implying that Ash has a thing for long haired on girls is not meant as a dab at Advanced or Blue Angel shippers. May does have long hair when she doesn't have her headbands done up, and it was simply too good of a quip to not have in the story. Plus of the SM girls Blue Angel Shipping is probably my second favorite and it is probably the most useful ship as a Mutli writer as I feel it is easier to write Lana wanting, say, BleuAmourShipping (What I'd call a Lana x Ash x Serena pairing), or PokabluShipping (Lana x Ash x Misty pairing) thanks to her (at least original SM) verse perverted teases than such pairing with the other SM girls, though I have the oddest feeling AlohaAureliashipping (Mallow x Ash x Lillie shipping) could probably stumble into itself unusually easily for some reason….

Evanna's little tease about taking responsibility for others is referencing the W.M.G about Belladonna getting more girlfriends in the story as it goes forward. Not saying that will happen, but it's a little nod to it.

The placement of several of the episodes post Porygon are wonky, so I just put them in the order that worked out for the story. Also I had a bit of fun with the bit on paleontology and Pokémon…I apologize for the length of it. I needed to do something for the episode while also respecting my knowledge of how paleontology works. Consider Ash (and the readers) getting a lesson about prehistory as the cost to get Togepi's egg this time around.

Sabrina's high body count in 29 was simple really, she was getting to her confrontation with Ash so she needed to be shown to be very dangerous even in a short period of time. Don't forget this was supposed to be part of chapter 30, so the confrontation was meant to be more immediate.

Next chapter, Ash vs Sabrina! (Not sure if it will be in parts). I'll see how it writes up, but I wasn't expecting to divide one chapter into 30 and 31….

But while I am here….something mostly because I felt like doing it and it really didn't fit in the part flow. Also a potential new Resetverse writer group is in the testing phase and while we work on what he can do on their own, I asked them to spruce up this Omake with their own style. Feedback on it is encouraged to see a new face in the Resetverse, Ron the True Fan and crew.

OMAKE

CANON

SIBLING EMPATHY

Next stop a furniture store for something to store more clothes…

"Is that a 90% off sale on socks?"

Oh no.

Misty's stop and declaration on the store front caused Anabel and Iris to stop in their tracks, with Anabel subtly tugging him to a stop too.

"The socks you gave me do have a hole now." Iris looked down at her feet. "I am also fairly sure that '90%' is a good thing?"

'Oh yes, it is.' Anabel agreed.

It was spreading. The virus.

"With that price, we all could use some more socks. You know, I've never really used this day for much, but I'm really feeling it now." Misty said in a tone of growing giddiness as Ash's knew it was definitely here.

The shopping virus.

"Come on!" And with that, and another subtle telepathic tug from Anabel, they went into the store.

The only consolation was that the horrible frenzy that ensued had a pair of socks fitted to him thrown his way.

Though Ash's mind, at least in a desperate attempt to be anywhere but here, briefly went back to the (probably) half brother and friends he saw in Stone Town.

Midori.

What sort of hell was he in for today? After all, he had four female friends with him, not three.

….

Midori had been having it good recently.

Really, it was great, just before leaving, had gotten to meet an amazing Trainer and got all sorts of good advice from him.

He and his best friends finally got to leave Stone Town, and had never felt more free. The world was theirs, and it felt like bliss.

No more naysayers about how friendships and bonds couldn't last after you left home. No more people saying there was no way they could win anything.

He and Rana couldn't make it to the Leagues. Kusa and Hoshi the Grand Festivals. Monet's sketches never making it big.

They'd never hear that again. It was great!

They'd even been making great progress, too, He captured his first Pokémon in Vulpix, and Kusa a Magnemite. Their moves and techniques were looking good, Monet found his Vulpix inspirational for her artistic muse, and there would be a Pokémon Contest in Fuchsia soon.

They could all get what they needed there, badges, ribbons, and Monet would have a lot of interesting architecture to draw.

She had already talked of making one with all of them dressed as ninjas.

Though before they got there, he had taken the wrong turn and found himself in pain and terror.

First mistake of the day. Most likely would not be the last.

"Give it here, boy!"

"I don't care what your little girlfriends are paying you, I'll pay you more!"

"Those shoes will be on my feet, mark my words boy!"

Princess shopping, and the mob of women were on him.

Make that DEFINITELY would not be the last mistake of the day.

Machop had already fallen to them giving him time to run away (Why did one of the women have a Rhyperior on hand, and who'd pay for the damaged lighting fixtures?!), hopefully Nurse Joy wasn't lost to the madness.

He doubted it, seeing what was before him, but one could hope, yes?

Order had broken down completely, the store wasn't able to stop the stampede.

Battles of physical conflict, shouting, and Pokémon were everywhere, another cashier screamed in frustration up at the front before running out of the store. Barely heard over the angered cacophony, it was just part of the madness at this point.

The buildings of man were simply not designed to deal with this kind of insanity. He swore he heard something groaning and it wasn't Machop. He was inside his Pokéball.

He ran past a series of changing rooms as the door cracked open. He felt a flash of fear at more pursuers, before a green whip of energy shot out of it and wrapped around his waist.

He barely held onto the packages he was asked to hold onto as he was dragged inside as the mob turned, ready to break down the door.

Even as Rana locked it and held it back with her own body as Hoshi, Kusa, and Monet looked his way in concern and relief.

"That….was not one of our better ideas," Monet admitted as the energy whip slung back into Kusa's hand, vanished as if it was never there in the first place, "Sorry about that Midori, we thought they'd ignore you because you're a guy."

That was probably the worst mistake of the day.

He nodded in agreement before he turned to Kusa with a worried look.

"Kusa…." He breathed in concern as she shrugged at the sound of carnage behind the door.

She waved off his concerns with a smile. "Believe me, I'm not the only one producing vine whips today. I saw at least three Bellsprout helping their Trainers over the last new set of cooking knives, I don't think they could tell. Plus, they aren't exactly thinking right now."

The changing room door shuddered with renewed blows as he heard curse words he had never heard before. That pretty much proved her point.

If it weren't for the lack of moans over 'braaaaaaaaaaains...', Midori would think they were a ravenous horde of zombies.

"Well, it looks like we're stuck here for a while." Hoshi observed as Kusa moved to the door next to Rana. Rana slumped over in relief as Kusa took on the mob's blows.

Midori shot her a deadpan look, as if to say 'gee, no kidding, what was your first clue?' before he wondered what they should do while they waited for the crowds to die down.

"Any ideas?"

And bad got worse, at least as far as Midori was concerned.

Monet shrugged as a smile formed on her face. A very specific sort of smile.

The sort of smile that involved things such as bikinis, lacy unmentionables, and other things that usually didn't get seen.

The sort that always seemed to end with him blushing.

He had to open his mouth...

"Well, we do have the loot we managed to not have ripped out of our hands, and the stuff our brave hero managed to save from a group of monsters. And seeing as we're in a unusually large changing room I say…"

The smile was soon accompanied by a glint in her eyes, and Midori knew things were going to get even worse.

She walked over to the door that Kusa was holding back, Mime Jr. hot on her heels. She tapped the door with her index finger as it shimmer with a Reflect.

The hammering of the mob lessened both in noise and stress to the door, as she turned to Mime Jr.

"Now, Mime Jr. will keep an eye on the door and make sure it stays enhanced until they go away. Given our gallant knight protected the last pair of this year's hottest shoes, that won't happen for a while so until then let's make sure they all look good on us, with a fashion show!"

Her tone went higher for the last bit as all the girls beamed and he blushed, a blush that drew redder when Rana held up a pair of jeans that were not fitted for girls.

Oh, sweet Arceus, NO.

"You too of course." She grinned as Midori briefly considered if he was safer back in the open. Between the teasing and the possibility he'd have to tell them 'no, that did not look good on you'….

The sound of what he could only assume was a katana being unsheathed quickly made him forget any ideas that being stuck here would be any more dangerous that out there. Especially when a second one got unsheathed and the sound of clashing metal was heard.

Seriously, what sort of horrible virus engulfed people on days like this? And who carried a sword while shopping?

Or was that a Princess Festival only thing?

If so, he hoped he would NEVER see it again. Which wasn't at all likely.

So, yeah, he was doomed.

….

Similarly, the way the story flow went I didn't have a good place to have Ash comment on swimsuits, and luckily Fox was able to do a bit of a follow up on it.

OMAKE

CANON

SWIMSUIT SEASON

"Why is this happening to me?"

The reason why Misty would want to buy more swimsuits for herself (the ones she bought a while back had been spared from being sacrificed for the Sceptilite) was beyond Ash's understanding. But the fact she wanted to convince the others to join her… it was a repeat of the S.S. Anne, but now threefold.

"I still do not understand," said Iris. "Do humans have to wear clothes even for bathing?"

"There are places, like pools or beaches, where it is a rule to wear them if you're going for a swim," Misty explained.

"Well, it is weird. I once visited a beach in Kalos where no one seemed to care about that," the wild girl said, as she examined a dark purple one-piece that matched her hair.

Ash and the others exchanged glances, but decided not to press any further. The Trainer didn't get to explore enough of Kalos in the old timeline to know if that was the norm for beaches or something, and he would never have asked Serena about that.

'I'm not sure about this,' said Anabel. 'It's been a while since I last went to the beach, so...'

"We might as well be ready." Misty then turned towards Ash. "For now, you just wait here."

And so, the three girls disappeared behind the dressers, and the swimsuit fashion show began. Misty seemed the boldest of the trio, showing off her curves in a bikini with a yellow strapless top and a blue bottom. Iris complained about her cream one-piece being too skin-tight, but Ash had to admit it went well with her more athletic figure, plus how the light color contrasted with her dark skin. Anabel, who seemed a bit awkward at being stared at, appeared with a black one-piece with white frills on the chest and hips, which also went nice with her petite shape and, like Iris, contrasted well with her skin tone.

As the show continued, over and over again with new swimsuits, Ash wasn't sure how to phrase it with words, but the fact was he did find them all... attractive, beautiful, even sexy, perhaps? He really didn't want to play favorites, but one thing was for sure, he liked what he saw in each of them.

'Brock would probably feel in heaven if he was in my stead,' he thought, thankfully being out of Anabel's passive telepathy range at the moment.

Meanwhile, at the Pewter City Gym…

"AAACHOOO!"

That sneeze costed Brock a couple of valuable seconds, giving his challenger's Ivysaur the opening to finish charging its Solar Beam and fire it at his Onix. Taking the blast in the face, the rock snake shook the ground after slumping, unable to continue.

"Onix is unable to battle, Ivysaur wins!" Forrest declared as he raised a flag.

"Alright, just one more and that badge is good as ours!" The challenger, who sort of reminded him of a female version of Ash Ketchum (a female cousin?), cheered to her nodding Pokémon.

As Brock returned his fallen Onix and grabbed his next Pokéball, he couldn't help but wonder where that sneeze came from. Also, why did all of a sudden felt like asking Lucy if she wanted to go to the indoor pool?