Is Pokémon Movie 20, I Choose You a canonical 'Ash does his adventure again more competently' fic? If so, well you agree with me, and all writers who want do those fics should see the film. Subbed or dubbed, your call.
Honestly for the movies flaws (Team Rocket did not need to be there, more than usual for a movie, and issues that movie adaptions have in general over episodic ones) it does Kanto a lot better than the original series did, and with M21 being set in the same verse, I can only it isn't the only expansion to the universe.
(Assuming no really odd spin offs, I have seen what stuff came out of Mech Series that has absolutely nothing to do with mechs. I have no interest in seeming the I choose you/ICU version of Morrison be a detective).
Honestly the O.G has some good moments to it, but between the conflicting ideals of Shudo and the franchise at large and early installment weirdness it is a very odd ride that doesn't have a lot of what I like (good battles). Of course it had a bit more heart into most of its filler, with the post Silver League filler episodes often missing something that you do see every so often when you have evil Togepi's and Serena crossdressing as Ash and inspiring more fanart than some entire franchise eras.
Of course if Shudo had been allowed to run free with his endings, Hideki Anno would have a brother with the Evangelion endings.
Then again opinions do vary, Viroro personally is immensely disappointed with the SM anime, while I am more forgiving to it. While I would like more battles and the pacing can be sort of weird at times it does a number of things right, and I do think it has some of the better inter episode continuity (especially among filler) in the series. Honestly it's a better attempt at doing a modern take of the OG series than BW was, but that might just involve picking up what people liked in the original series better.
I.E 'Filler that does interesting things and connects better', and hopefully the series post SM takes note of what SM did well and incorporates it. Then again, who knows what the next series would even be.
Anyway, review and commentary reply time
Arousal was not a factor in Ash learning Heal Pulse. It was him wanting to help Anabel more than anything.
The little Chapter 32 takes place during the events of Chapter 31, specifically around the time Ash was fighting Joshua. I saw some claims it was during the League, that is not the case.
Also a thing while I am here, I have been getting into feuds and arguments with people, among them Viroro and occasional artistic aide VinylShadow, about length. While I do get surprised by how long chapters get, I do myself prefer longer chapters, for three reasons. First is I feel that it is a sign of more thought and effort put into it, second is that it helps absorb issues of mine such as scene jumping and author note length that I struggle to avoid doing, and third is that it lets me get through potentially long parts of the story that may be considered slogs in one go. I've noticed more issues with characters like Sabrina, Red, and MissingNo recently, and I suspect that you'd rather have all of their bits in a few long chapters than many smaller ones. Also given suggestions I've been given of better lengths, the Tag Tournament would have probably taken anywhere from six to eleven chapters to get through, which I doubt would have been any better than the two I did. Anyway, as mentioned recently I will try to endeavor to split chapters up when I see a good cut off point.
Speaking of length, what would have been a massive chapter of two distinct stories will be released as their own chapters covering each story. This chapter will get the opening author note, the next chapter the end author note, which will explain a few parts of the chapter up to and including (**), (***), and (****).
Until then though,the first part of the story begins now!
The Crime Scene
She could only stare in shock at the spot Ash had just been as Misty and Iris shared her action, before they immediately exploded, if in different ways.
Neither of which involved chemical reactions.
Misty broke out into fearful, panicked tones interlaced with swear words and frantic looks in every direction, while Iris jumped over to where Ash had been, looking around for anything that seemed like it may hint to where he had been taken.
Footprints, scent trails, a stray hair, even as Iris was probably all to well aware there wasn't anything she could find. Just sheer instinctual want to find anything, anyway, to track him.
The Abra hadn't been there quick enough to really get a read on what it wanted, she hadn't caught it in time. She felt a lead weight of guilt hold her down at the thought, though she tried to keep thinking instead of dwelling on her error.
She had to figure out what she could do to track the Abra.
That was the problem though, she had no clue on how to do it, a state of confusion that was shared by the denizens of a nearby oak tree as well as Iris and Misty.
Before she could decide what to do with the three in the tree, Axew had noticed as well.
"Ax!"
And with a searing Dragon Rage into the tree, it exploded and flung out the white clad criminal trio at their feet, dirtied and bruised.
"Hey, what was that for!"
The complaint of the male one, James, was not followed up as the three found themselves the center of attention. Iris' and Misty's specifically, who were glaring at them with a furious look in their eyes tinted by a sense of successful deduction. They thought they had the guilty party at their feet.
"What the hell did you do to Ash!?" Misty demanded of them, the fury of the worst sea storm in her tone. Her demand backed up by the threat of violence as she cracked the knuckles of one fist into the palm of her other hand.
Iris, while not giving them a verbal snarl like Misty, was giving them a particularly nasty look with fury glimmering in her eyes. The fury of untapped nature ripping into something with savagery not seen in the age of modern civilization. Energy crackled around her hands as Dragon Claw tried to flare into life in response to her anger and fear.
"What? Why on earth are you blaming us? Does James look like the kind of guy who'd have an Abra?" Jessie demanded.
"Actually, I wouldn't mind…"
"None of us have an Abra, we're just as shocked as you all."
The fact that the trio were pleading not guilty meant nothing to Iris, the man she cared for greatly had vanished randomly, and the self titled criminals and thieves were present where it happened. Those who openly said they stalked him, it was hard not to see why her ire was now on them with an unforgiving, furious focus.
There was a distinct possibility that Iris would not let them walk away. If they were guilty of the crime their lives would last only long enough to tell her what, why, and where.
Anabel wanted to find Ash too, but she was trying to not let anger and confusion overpower her and forget things. Things like the fact Ash would not want them chewing into people who were not in fact guilty.
'They're not the ones. They're innocent,' Anabel clarified to Misty and Iris before Iris did something she'd regret later. Mostly in how she'd be hurt by Ash's reaction to her deeds.
"Yeah, listen to the telepath. Our job is to watch everything he does for the boss for some reason; it is not our job to go from stalking to stealing him," Meowth clarified as Misty leveled a new glare at them.
"You know that doesn't make you three any less disturbing." Misty spat.
The implications of the three watching everything Ash did wasn't the funniest thing to imagine.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" James demanded indignantly. He was quite truthful in his disbelief that he was being non-verbally accused of lechery on Ash, though Misty did not notice this and continued to give him a glare. James would've tried to defend himself, but Misty really didn't seem in the mood for talking.
That was when Jessie cleared her throat, and everyone turned back to her and her creepy grin.
"Oh yes, I've watched him, and oh how I watched him! Who wouldn't enjoy some abs like these? And those shoulders! And well, everything else, really! Truly one if the best bodies I've ever seen, you're lucky to hang with him so closely every day. Good job on improving on what's already good, wild girl! You have my approval!" Jessie quipped in a manner that Anabel found quite unpleasant to listen to, even if she did pick up that she was making up quite a bit of it to get Misty off James's back.
Misty seemed to agree with her on the idea of Jessie watching Ash while he showered to be highly unwelcome (Iris didn't seem to care about that point at all, while James and Meowth were staring at Jessie in confusion), made up or not, which led Jessie to quickly add. "But if you want to go and think that's just me suggesting I really did kidnap him and have him locked in my basement for my own personal use, you can rest your little heads that I'm hardly interested in doing that. Definitely not after Jessibelle. Your boy isn't really my type, and it's too friggin soon to do that after that little incident."
Anabel got the memory of what 'Jessibelle' was, and felt sympathy for James, and fought the blush of what the intent of said Jessibelle was. Those weren't fictional inventions of a bad book?
Misty and Iris had no idea what Jessibelle was, and didn't seem to care.
"Then who is responsible? Where did that Abra take him?" Misty demanded of the trio.
"Like I said, we're completely clueless on both questions. Just like you three."
Anabel gave a level look at the cat for the remark, before all three glowed with her psychic powers. Moments later, they were flung into the air.
"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off only for being insensitive!"
"Hey, I was just speakin' the truth! I do that from time ta time!"
She could only just overhear Meowth complain over Jessie and James's statement as they vanished over the horizon.
She'd have not done that if she was not aware they survived these things. Also it was probably best they be removed before they raise tempers further.
After all with the trio gone, Misty and Iris were no longer being aggressive in their panic. They instead had begun grasping at straws.
"We can use those other devices…."
"They were in Ash's backpack which was on Ash!"
"Oh, well perhaps we can contact Professor Oak and have him….."
"He called Ash and said he was going to be out all day today."
"We could just…."
"As in he'll be unconscious for a minor surgery."
Anabel remembered that call, nothing life threatening, but the best mind in Kanto would be unavailable for most of the day. By the time he'd be back in the lucid world and sharp enough to help; it would be well into the night.
There were interns sure, but none of them knew them and who knows how much time it would take to convince them to help.
A necessary caution perhaps, but one that would not really help them today.
Anabel closed her eyes, extending her senses as far out as she normally could.
Her thoughts quickly washed through Misty and Iris's minds, feeling immense layers of concern and worry as she passed through, before sweeping through the forest.
She eventually felt her reach strain like a rubber band pulled to the maximum, and nothing. Not that it was too much of a surprise.
She couldn't exactly push her mind that far and an Abra could Teleport much farther than she could feel with all her senses.
Though, what with only some of them?
Perhaps if she wasn't trying to look for everything, she could look farther. Though she had never tried it, she hadn't even tried the idea of working with Kadabra to sense things farther away yet by combining their minds.
It required a union of both their minds to a central will; otherwise it would just be two minds looking over the same area, or perhaps her looking one way and Kadabra the other.
She'd probably have better work narrowing her search herself than trying to combine minds with Kadabra. Though she doubted the idea would work.
After all, how far could she see if her thoughts weren't trying to reach for every sense?
'Sometimes to win you've got to go with your gut feeling, even if your brain thinks it doesn't make sense,' She remembered Ash saying once.
It seemed an appropriate time to try that approach. After all, even if she had to question how well this would work, they needed some solution.
So, Anabel extended her thoughts again in a sweeping web, this time without trying to feel the sensation of touch with her thoughts.
Her thoughts swept out again, though this time when they went through Misty and Iris she did not feel a definitive 'you are entering her mind', or 'you are leaving her mind', sense, as her thoughts raced to where she had been overextended before….and kept going.
She kept going and going, though eventually she again reached a mental limit. Still no Ash to be found, even with a wider search area that could still be made wider.
She tried again, this time also removing taste. It only pushed her a bit farther.
Next was without smell, and the resulting mind search felt oddly empty as her thoughts raced out, and out, and out.
Her mental search was pushing even farther than ever before, though she was starting to notice that the people whose mind she briefly ran over were barely registering.
She barely noted a thing about who they were or where they were. Only that they were there, and a brief snippet of mental thought. Though when she felt her mind waft over Fuchsia, she noted that a mind did stand out as somewhat more familiar than the mass of minds across the city.
Janine.
It was shortly after she again found herself at her limit, and so she resolved to even farther.
She'd drop hearing this time, and so she pushed ahead….
Only to find herself in utter nothingness, blacker than night and without light.
Her mind was there, yet she couldn't say anything about it. Where, when, what...who...she knew who she was, but she could say little else.
What was there even to find? Why did she stretch so far? What was there to find in nothingness?
Ash.
Ash Ketchum.
A traveling companion.
A nice Trainer.
A nice person.
A nice man.
A good looking man she enjoyed being with.
A person she did not want to lose.
A person she wanted to find.
That was who she was looking for. In that nothingness, that was the only thing she needed to find.
And so blue light burned like flame in the nothingness. Flames scattered around, many but uncountable despite Anabel being sure she could in fact count them.
Where they were, what was one and what was another of them, if they were alive or a place she couldn't tell. They all felt like Ash, be it place or person.
But which one was actually….
She was shaken out by a concerned looking Misty moments later, her senses flooding back to her in full in a mass rush, along with her fuller mental faculties.
It made her feel dizzy.
"Ax," Axew called in concern as Iris gave her a look of concern.
"Are you well?" Iris asked in concern as Anabel gave a reply to let them know she was in fact well.
'Buttermilk waffles'.
Misty and Iris seemed more concerned after she garbled that out, so she quickly tried again.
'Sorry...mind was a bit scattered. I think I may have an idea though.'
And so she explained what she'd been doing, what she had found, and what was the obvious plan.
She'd Teleport them to those blue lights, and one of them should've been Ash. Eventually….
Iris and Misty still looked at her in concerned though.
"Anabel, you might not know what you look like when you do that...it's not encouraging." Misty struggled with her word choice, she could tell without looking into her thoughts.
"You want to jump in the dark at things you cannot tell the nature of, or if you have already done so. That is not safe." Iris added.
'It's the only lead we have, and we don't have any better options. The only other we have is waiting here if Ash can get back, and that isn't likely. Plus maybe with practice, I can narrow it down.'
Misty and Iris still did not look convinced, even if Iris did reluctantly tell Axew to get ready to move while Misty picked up the egg that Ash had gotten from Grandpa Canyon, before each took a hand in preparation for Teleporting.
She didn't feel the sensation of their touch for a moment before she Teleported them all, all of them landing inside a room of green crystal, with a center crystal within.
Within it floated a Pokémon she had never seen before, which stared at her curiously.
"Mew?" 'You seem lost, I don't think you meant to come here?' It asked in a very cute voice, though one that also sounded oddly old at the same time.
Anabel responded to something along the lines of cumquats, followed by a questioning of if the Pokémon had seen Ash.
First attempt, no Ash. Though the Pokémon, a Mew, did seem to know who Ash was even if he wasn't in fact wherever they were.
Oddly Misty and Iris were just as surprised as to why that was. Was there a story to this?
….(**)
The next Teleport took them away from the crystal tree and Mew, a Pokémon she was sure the Pokédex would probably wail about not recording when they found Ash.
Instead the next Teleport put them on a hill, though with a landing that made Misty nearly drop the Togepi egg.
She managed to regain her holding, protecting the egg from falling. The amount of relief she felt when she regained her grip on it was more than she expected to feel.
Like the idea that the egg would be damaged bothered her deeply, deeper than she can could imagine. Or even could explain.
She could hear tumbling in the grass behind her, apparently Iris and Anabel hadn't had as smooth a landing as she had. Given Anabel was muttering something about crepes they'd be here for a bit, at least until Anabel recovered.
"Well, this is a surprise, a girl popping out from nowhere."
The declaration made a shiver coarse through Misty as she felt her legs prepare to run even as her power stirred to defend Anabel if this got ugly and she wasn't in a state to get away, when she saw the source of the call.
She didn't need to look for long to add who she was seeing to Ash's growing list of family members, the young man at the base of the hill looked like Ash with Red's skin tone and eyes. He was dressed in a red tracksuit with a white line running down the center zipper and belt area, and had a Pichu on his shoulder.
He grinned as he walked up the hill towards her, appearing quite friendly as he waved and looked at her.
"And not just a girl, but a pretty one at that," he declared, his red eyes sparkling like rubies.
Misty flushed at the praise. He instead looked at the egg she held with interest.
"A Togepi egg? That's rare, you must be really fortunate to have found one. They may be more common now than forty years ago, but they're still rare."
Yes, she was really fortunate to find it. The pride swelled in her, even as she also felt confusion.
Why was she so sure she had been the one to find it? That felt faintly incorrect.
"I've heard that the Togepi line can sense happiness and hatch faster with happy company, and this Egg seems quite close to hatching." The boy gave a smile full of mirth as he inched closer, grabbing Misty's hands as his grin grew warmer by the second. "You must be a really nice girl, I can tell. Would you like to talk for a bit? I've been alone for a while, and I could use some company."
The enthusiasm was so infectious Misty had to smile.
"Tell me, I could've sworn I saw some others come in with you. One of them must have had an Abra or something I didn't see, maybe a Natu. Are they also nice girls?"
"Oh yes, they are. Iris is a bit rough around the edges, but she really does care and she is toned beyond anything you could imagine. Anabel might not be able to talk, but she's really smart and nice, I'm sure you two would get along." This guy was so nice; there was no harm in telling him. She was sure Anabel wouldn't mind.
"Excellent. I can't wait to see them." He clapped, his smile sparkling with diamonds with the beauty to melt anyone's heart.
It vanished when Psyduck punched him in the stomach with a glowing fist that was probably Mega Punch.
"Psyduck, how dare you strike him like that!" Misty snapped as he was sent rolling down the hill, Pichu letting out pained squeaks as it was thrown off the boy's shoulder.
She felt her anger at Psyduck halve, if not more, though as he found himself splayed at the very bottom of the hill, which was further emphasized when Iris and Anabel finally made it up the hill.
"Psyduck hit who?" Iris questioned.
"Psy!" 'Someone who can affect your emotions and make you do as he wants, and he sounds like the kind of guy who'd invite you for dinner and then chop you off to serve you on the table. Get out of here before she ends up under his control again, and probably you two as well.'
End up under his... what!?
While Anabel and Iris did not know what Psyduck said, they picked up his meaning and grabbed him and Misty as Anabel Teleported them off somewhere else.
The last thing she heard was the same voice that she had thought to be so friendly and nice, swear things about Psyduck that sent chills down her spine.
….
They had taken a few more minutes when their Teleport had popped them on top of a roof in a small farm town.
While Anabel had not needed it any more than usual, Misty needed a few minutes to process what had happened in the last Teleport.
Iris had not seen what had happened, but Misty had needed some time to thank Psyduck and wonder what was wrong with the person he had struck.
Iris didn't need time to think about it, there was a simple explanation.
The person was evil.
After Psyduck had been thanked enough and returned, they Teleported away again even as a Mr. Mime came out of the home with a broom to sweep the front, and found themselves atop a cliff.
They landed fairly well, though Anabel had to lean on Misty and was muttering something about lard.
Whatever that was.
She had an odd look in her eyes and didn't really seem to know where they were even in as broad of a sense as 'atop a cliff'.
Finding Ash really did have an additional urgency to it beyond Ash's own well being, pushing herself as she was could not be good for Anabel.
"I see you have conquered the challenge of the Pewter Gym. Tell me, how many badges does that make for you?"
A somewhat familiar voice shouted from the bottom of the cliff, and so Iris poked her head over the side.
What she found below was a strangely dressed young man with a Marowak (oddly wearing one of those tie things that had been part of that shopping madness with a Keystone affixed to it) staring down a female Ash with an Ivysaur at her side.
Iris did not think she was exaggerating, the girl did not have the same body shape as that waitress or what they had been described of Belladonna, having one closer to her own or Anabel's, and with the right clothing she could probably fool people into thinking she was Ash at a distance.
She would probably have to cut her hair down from shoulder level, and while the white dominant and blue jacket and black undershirt were quite Ash-like (though the collar being red and yellow looked kind of weird), the girl would probably be a better Ash impersonator if she was wearing jeans instead of a jean skirt.
"Five." She declared with a confident tone.
"Ax!" Her brother chirped out. 'I think that guy's one of the people Misty fought at that tournament with the evil Clefairy.'
Huh, that would explain why the guy seemed sort of familiar.
"Five huh, you have the same amount as I. However, I seek my sixth badge and you will be an excellent test to see if I am ready."
"Fine with me, but don't think I'm going to be easy. The name's Manna by the way." The now named girl's Ivysaur stepped forward, determination flashing in both their eyes.
"And mine is Otoshi." With that statement Marowak stepped forward with its bone held for battle.
A strange scent wafted up from both of them, Manna and her Ivysaur smelled like odd pollens she had only smelled once in her life. Her grandfather had mentioned something about a ritual of evolution that some Bulbasaur and Ivysaur underwent that involved unique pollens he had observed once, and came back with the scent of the pollen upon him.
Both of them smelled like that. Had they been a part of such a ritual recently?
Otoshi and his Marowak smelled much more like lightning, both where it was brewing and the area struck by it. Had they been chasing storms?
"Alright Ivysaur, let's start with Rock Smash!" Manna declared as Ivysaur sent two vines at Marowak, the tips glowing red.
"Deflect Marowak, and let's go all out!" Otoshi declared as the Marowak deflected both red tipped vines with its bone, before forming a Thunderpunch and punching itself right in the midst of the Keystone holding tie.
The canyon seemed to darken for a moment, even as a golden light spread from the punch site to cover Marowak's upper chest and arms in a sparking golden light. Said light crept half way up the bone as well before stopping.
What was that?
Manna seemed to share her surprise, as she demanded exactly what it was that Otoshi had just done.
"This, when mastered, is how we are going to win the Pokémon League. Now Marowak, Bone Club!"
Marowak charged at the Ivysaur, who glared defiantly at the Marowak colored gold.
As the battle promptly began to move hard in Otoshi's favor, Iris could not help but note that Ash would have loved to see this for the thrill of it.
The Pokédex would want the data.
Though, she had to wonder why they had come there by the Teleport. What was Anabel honing in on?
The house and the Mew didn't have anything in common, but this was the second time a result of Ash's father's successful gene spreading was at the end of a Teleport.
Could that be it, and if so why the house and the crystals and Mew?
Did those have some connection to Ash? It was possible that the house was the one his mother lived in, but what of the crystal home of that Mew…
"Saur!"
Her full attention was taken back to the battle at hand. Marowak had just slashed at Ivysaur with a green glowing bone that was probably Fury Cutter.
Still as gold as before, Marowak had charged again, only to be stopped as the Ivysaur glowed with a massive green aura.
Said green aura causing the cliff walls it touched to spring to life with moss, and had Ivysaur glaring at the Marowak with glowing green eyes.
Overgrow, but more powerful than she had ever seen. She had heard of such things before though.
Rare strains of the ability that had much more power behind them, but at the cost of control. Those inflicted had unimaginable potential and strength when using it, but at the risk of destroying everything around them in mindless rampages.
"Oh no…" She heard Manna whisper in a mixture of dread and worry before the Ivysaur fired a Solarbeam uncommanded.
"Block it!" Otoshi ordered as Marowak flipped the bone it was holding so the golden half would make the impact, before charging at the attack with the intent to have the golden armor that seemed to enhance it match the powered up Solarbeam.
A hand tapped her shoulder and Teleported her and Axew away before she could see the results of such a clash.
…
After the latest Teleport, Anabel had regained her mind, but she still had to lean against a tree to stay up.
Teleporting the way they had to was incredibly draining, and it seemed like each time she did it was even more so.
It took her longer to regain full faculties.
She took a deep breath.
Every Teleport they did would require more time on her end to be ready for her next one. Minutes adding up every time for her to be in full awareness again.
How many more of these did she have until she'd require an hour to be ready to go again? What number were they even on at this point, it had been hours.
"Sparky, Zippo, it's the egg! I think it's about to hatch!"
Looking down from yet another cliff she had landed on, she saw one of Ash's brothers again with his own Pikachu and Charmander, staring at a solid green egg with amazement in their eyes.
This was the second time she had seen him, his name was Ritchie she believed. A nice guy who even dressed a lot like Ash.
But he wasn't him, and every time they returned to where he was it would take even longer to find Ash.
The egg was fully covered in glowing light as it began to take a form, a Pokémon with a spike on its head, a conical tail, and a red scaled belly distinct from its overall green form. It looked up at Ash's brother in fresh confusion.
"Lar?"
"Welcome to life little guy. My name's Ritchie and these are my partners Sparky and Zippo (Both Pokémon greeted the newborn Pokémon), what's yours?"
The Pokémon looked at him in confusion, and so Ritchie went into a bit of explanation about what names were and why he liked to give them to Pokémon.
She had known her Kadabra wasn't interested in one, she had asked about it a while ago.
She didn't overly follow his conversation, but focused on the recently hatched Pokémon.
So that was how Pokémon hatched from eggs. She wasn't sure if they broke out of them or evolved out of them, and she wondered how long it would be until the Togepi egg hatched.
Would Ash have the same look of joy and wonder that Ritchie had on his face when his new Pokémon hatched?
The thought reinforced her resolve, and she felt her body force back what remained of her exhaustion from the last Teleport.
She'd be feeling the after effects of it later, but that was, as she noted, later.
There was a need now, and she would find Ash.
They would find Ash.
"Alright, Cruise it is! Welcome to the team buddy!" She heard Ritchie declare happily to his new Pokémon as she walked uneasily to where Misty and Iris were, nibbling on some apples that she didn't have the stomach for at the moment.
...(***)
That had been a rather... wet landing. Literally, as they appeared above a pond, and they fell into it with a loud splash.
She didn't realize until a few seconds later, when she heard Misty yell "Quick, let's get outta here!" and felt all soaked. When she started regaining her other senses, she felt the water on her clothes and hair somehow drifted away from her, slowly but surely, and once she could see again, she saw Misty forming a water sphere in her hands, throwing it to a faraway tree in frustration.
"Great, I manage to do it when I don't need it. Well, at least now we're dry," she complained.
Iris sighed and glanced in her direction. "Are you feeling well?"
'I think so,' Anabel replied. 'But I'll need a bit more time to teleport us again.'
"Time… the only thing we don't have right now," said Misty.
Anabel wanted to say something, but she was too tired to even think. As she glanced at her surroundings, she realized they were in a city park, and fortunately there weren't many people around at the time. They had hidden in a tree grove while Misty used her powers to take the water off of them, and once she felt she could move on her own again, Anabel pointed at where she had managed to pinpoint the signal, and the three went to check it out.
"No, no, Growlithe, no, stop it, hahahaha!"
The hearty laughter came from a little boy, no older than ten or eleven. Save for the clothes he wore and being younger, he could almost pass for a mini-clone of Ash, happily rolling on the grass while a Growlithe jumped on him to lick his face. A girl around his same age was also laughing, grabbing the fire puppy to snuggle it and let the boy get back on his feet.
Anabel couldn't help but wonder if Ash looked that adorable when he was that age. She could easily imagine that boy growing into a fine young man like Ash in a few years.
"Arnold, Laila, it's time to eat!"
A woman carrying a picnic basket and accompanied by an Arcanine called out to them. Boy and girl quickly ran to her, and together they extended a picnic cloth over the grass to sit down and have their meal together. Anabel saw how the Growlithe tried to jump on her to snatch a couple of sandwiches she had pulled out for the children, so she had to keep it at bay until she could take a bag of Pokémon snacks to sate its appetite.
As the group sat to eat, Anabel felt a mix of disappointment and a warm feeling in her chest as some memories came to her mind. She never went on picnics with her parents, but she often did so with her uncle. Especlally when she began discovering her telepathy and she had a hard time controlling it, hearing everyone's thoughts at once, it was almost deafening. Her uncle would always take her to a secluded place where they could eat and relax together, just the two of them. That would always help her feel at ease and forget about her worries and everyone else's for a while.
"Another dead end," said Misty. "How long is this gonna keep up?"
'We'll find him,' said Anabel. 'We can't give up; I know we can find him.'
"Anabel, do not push yourself so hard," said Iris. "You need to rest, this is clearly taking a toll on you."
'I'm fine,' the telepath assured. 'I promised we would find Ash, and no matter what happens, we will.'
Iris and Misty tried to protest again, but she silenced her complains to focus on what mattered at the time. Ash was still out there, and she had to find him. And she would do so no matter the cost. Once she got a lock on their next destination, and making sure nobody was close, she teleported them away again.
She prayed to Arceus that this time it would be Ash.
...
Iris had always considered herself very patient with things, but as the hours went by and their attempts to find Ash only ended in failure, she was finding it harder to keep calm. She knew she couldn't give in to panic, but her worry was growing by the moment.
They had teleported in front of a strange building by the edge of the sea: a high and thin tower. Misty called it a 'lighthouse', a construct whose purpose was to guide ships to the shore safely at night or in foggy days to prevent them from running aground. But that wasn't important right now.
While Anabel rested and Misty stayed watching over her out of sight, Iris went to scout their surroundings. The 'lighthouse' was closed so they couldn't enter to check if Ash was in there. So she walked across the cement floor, until she got to a beach shore…
"Pikapika!"
"That was…" There was no mistaking: that was a Pikachu. She quickly picked up the pace and ran, hopeful…
"Again buddy, send me your best Electro Ball!"
Only to suffer another let down. Yes, it was a Pikachu, and yes, the trainer in front of it looked a lot like Ash. But the obvious diferences, like wearing a blue hat instead of red, and having shorter, light brown hair instead of black, instantly killed her hopes.
She saw the Pikachu charging an Electro Ball on his tail, and leaping to throw it to his trainer. Iris saw the boy radiating a yellow aura as he outstretched a hand, stopping the electric sphere in the air. He moved the hand behind his back, passing it to the other to throw it back at the Pikachu, who in turn sent it back with a tail slap.
The two continued the game for a while until the Electro Ball fizzled out, and then the mouse began throwing Thunderbolts at his trainer, which he easily redirected just by waving his hands around as he emitted the yellow aura. After a while, the Pikachu ran off and happily jumped to his trainer's arms, who laughed heartily. In her mind, Iris couldn't help but overlap Ash's image over that boy's.
As much as the scene touched her, and as much as it made her think of Ash, it didn't change anything: they had failed again. Not wanting to interrup the boy's moment with his Pikachu friend, she left quietly in case they didn't want to be spotted.
Once she returned, Anabel was back on her feet, but didn't look good at all. Misty was so focused on helping her she took a while to notice Iris had returned, so she cleared her throat to get their attention.
"Iris… another dead end?"
"Sadly," the dark-skinned girl replied. Misty quickly took a disheartened expression, so Iris made an effort to keep strong. "But we might be getting closer. This time it was a boy with a Pikachu."
"He wouldn't be the only one we've seen today," Misty reminded her. "I wonder if it's another family trait, some of them seem to like the Pikachu line."
'That might… help… narrow it down… if I can…' Anabel tried to walk on her own, but almost fell again. 'I'm… so sorry… if I just…'
"Easy," Misty said. "Rest a little bit more. As much as we want to find Ash, we don't want you to kill yourself trying, right?"
"Of course." Iris nodded. She was worried about Ash, but she too cared for Anabel's wellbeing, and not just because she was their only means to find him.
As she glanced at the horizon over the sea, Iris clenched her fists. It wasn't just a feeling anymore: she knew Ash was in danger, and facing a very dangerous enemy. She hated that they had to wait, but until Anabel had rested enough, there was nothing else she could do.
Nothing but believe in Ash and his strength. She knew he could overcome any challenge. He would do it, he just had to.
...
It had been hours since they had begun their search, though it was the first time she had interacted with one of the Ash siblings they kept accidentally warping to instead of Ash.
"So, I have siblings. I had always thought that little girl I had met in Len Town looked a bit like me. I had thought it was just coincidence, but apparently it wasn't."
Misty met an evil one, but that was about it. Mostly seeing them off in the distance battling or hatching Pokémon or doing any number of things, not saying anything to them.
But that was not a thing anymore, and now she found herself sitting in a Secret Base, a table across from the first sibling she'd be talking to.
Her name was Meliae.
Misty was nearby, helping Anabel get a drink of water. While Anabel had been showing signs of dehydration, Misty was making sure she wouldn't fall into Meliae's little lake.
Also something about giving water something called iodine first. She wasn't sure the exact reason for it, it was just something that Ash and everyone seemed to insist on doing.
Regardless of why they always did odd things with water, it was just her and Meliae here.
And she had just finished telling the story of Ash to his half-sister who Iris had to admit, did not look that much like him.
Unlike Red, Manna, and what she had seen of Belladonna via the Pokédex and Ash's own descriptions, she did not have black hair. Her hair instead was more the color of honey from a Combee nest.
Also unlike Ash she had red eyes, and did not have marks on her face. She did have similar looking ears, as well as height.
"So, you want to be with my brother?" Meliae asked for confirmation as Iris nodded.
She had mentioned that in the midst of passing the time until Anabel was able to Teleport them again.
"Do you understand what that means, exactly?"
She didn't understand Meliae's question. What could the confusion be about?
"To be Ash's mate? That means we would be frequently together, and possess a mutual emotional bond. We would reproduce with each other."
Meliae let out a sigh.
"That last one…I feel I have a sisterly duty to work on that one. I don't know if I'm being the concerned older sister or the concerned younger sister here, you didn't give me the day Ash was born."
Ash had mentioned that at some point, but it was escaping her right now.
"Frankly from what you mentioned of yourself the fact that you do see the emotional connection aspect of a permanent relationship surprises me. However, first you do know that humans do not lay eggs, correct?"
"I was told about that a while ago, along with the basics of how reproduction works."
"Well, glad I don't have to give that talk," Meliae sounded relieved about not doing that, "However I suspect you have issues grasping things beyond that."
What was there to grasp? Reproduction was reproduction.
"First off, you are aware that humans, and some Pokémon for that matter, have sex for more than just having kids. If every time I had sex I wanted kids, this place would be filled with them." Meliae told her.
"And no, before you say anything about Bloodliners and humans…" Meliae held up a finger before she could comment, and in fact pinched the finger with two from her other hand.
"Humans and Bloodliners are hardly different when it gets down to it. Look at this finger, it is the same as a regular person's finger on the outside and in the inside. The same blood vessels flow through it, the same skin protects it; the same bones bend in the same way. All that is different about it is that if I scratch this finger and put it in the sun, it patches itself up. Our minds and bodies behave exactly the same, so what applies to one applies to the other."
Meliae sounded a bit forceful on the point for some reason, so Iris would not challenge her on it. However the first statement still warranted a question.
"Why would someone…"
"Because it feels good. I can't say what Pokémon feel when they do it, but at least with humans having sex is very physically pleasing and enjoyable. Not just physically, but also emotionally. I actually recall reading somewhere once that, at least with humans, sex is as pleasurable as it is to encourage more breeding as human females, and thus us as well, do not send off 'I'm fertile right now, please get me pregnant' signals like most Pokémon species."
"But everything can sense …"
"Can you tell when you're fertile?" Meliae cut her off bluntly.
Iris opened her mouth to say yes, but closed it as she thought about it.
She…really couldn't.
"So let's make sure we haven't lost track of anything. Forgive me if I sound patronizing here, I'm basing this on my mom's lectures from her fertility clinic back in Cherrygrove with people who don't have your life story to justify their lack of understanding of human sexuality, and so this may not be the best tone to use. You want to engage in a long term, emotionally significant relationship with my half-brother, whose exact age relative to mine is yet undetermined. You do not care for strict exclusiveness in the relationship, though you yourself do not particularly have any interest in participating in non-monogamy. The main hole you have to figure out is the sexual end of the relationship, not from any lack of understanding of how part A goes into slot B, but the function of it beyond strict reproductive use."
Iris nodded, it was pretty much true.
Meliae looked in the direction of where Misty and Anabel were, her eyes flashing the color Ash or Red's eyes did when their paternal derived Bloodline was activated before turning back her way.
"Your Teleporting friend is pushing her body hard; she'll need at least forty-five minutes before she's at a point she can Teleport again," She had mentioned that her other Bloodline let her look over a person or Pokémon's health at a glance. Handy for spotting something called an STD, she had mentioned. "So, we have some time to kill before then. So, I'll give you a basic rundown on how human sexuality works from initiation to completion, even if you'd probably need a lot more time to get the full set of details. I'll start with the 'time and place' portion of the talk first."
"Is that really so important?" Iris asked as Meliae gave her an amused smile.
"Given you just asked me that, it would seem so. Now, let's start with…"
What followed was a surprisingly informative, yet not lacking in personal experience and opinion, explanation of a topic Iris had once thought immensely simple. Though she did have a few questions she asked during the explanation.
"Why is that considered appealing?" (Because it's pleasurable).
"So showering with him is sexually stimulating?" (Yes, though it is quite possible to do so platonically or logically as you did).
"How much time is too little time?" (It depends, try and gauge it yourself. Seeing how Ash reacts is probably the best thing I can suggest in that regard).
Among others. As Meliae continued to answer her questions, the image of her Dragonite big brother appeared in Iris' mind. While she used to think he had never found himself a permanent mate because he could really be a jerk at times, she recalled that the dragon females did find him appealing on the physical department, and sometimes they would engage in it because 'they felt like it', and not just for the purpose of siring offspring. In fact, her big brother seemed to have a preference for strong females, only those capable of keeping up with him, if not best him in a fight. Iris asked her if human men liked strong women, to what Meliae replied that where she came from, that was usually not the case, but exceptions to the rule always existed and she could not say about anywhere else.
"So… have you ever thought of finding yourself a permanent mate?"
Meliae chuckled. "It's not in my plans. I'm not the type to commit to that kind of compromise, neither would I drag someone else into it. I like being a free agent, and I've seen too many people try to kid themselves that monogamy functions. There is an unhealthy connection people have tried to slap between emotional exclusivity and physical exclusivity that I want nothing to do with."
A free agent? Iris wondered if that was the real reason her big brother never seemed interested in finding himself a permanent mate.
While there were many things that Meliae would have wanted to talk about that they didn't have time to go into, what she did get to say Iris greatly appreciated.
…
Anabel's last Teleport put them over a table.
Misty could not tell what sort of table it was, be it age, intended function, or what type of wood it was.
She could say it was hard, and given that all three of them landed on top of it without it breaking, it was probably well made.
It also hurt a lot, sending a wave of pain through her like a ripple in a lake from the impact on her butt. She also got a second thump from Anabel's head landing on her lap, which was probably better than her head hitting the table.
Behind her she heard Iris hitting the carpet, and a thought occurred to her.
They probably landed in front of someone, and that someone was probably looking at them in surprise, shock, and probably near ready to throw something.
That thought quickly died when she realized just who they had landed in front of, and she suddenly wished she had landed in front of some person who'd attack them.
For the table was in front of a couch, upon which Misty suspected drinks and magazines were meant to go and not the three of them.
Upon that couch sat three people, with a fourth being held in the arms of the tallest of the three most likely due to the couch not having another space for a fourth.
Said short person was someone that Misty was unfortunately familiar with personally, only knowing the others from Iris, Ash, and the Pokédex's descriptions.
"…This is unexpected." Vedia, Shadow Sneak Bloodliner and attacker of Power Plants, observed from Belladonna's lap, looking more like a child than usual with Belladonna's arm around her like safety straps in a car or roller coaster.
Iris raised her head off the carpet, where she seemed to lock gazes with the girl she had fought before Evanna, who sent her back a grin that Misty was pretty sure meant a combination of 'hello', and 'I want to punch you more' in some fictional species. Misty had no idea what species though, Klangions or something like that.
Iris's look invoked less something that could be called a friendly greeting with mutual desire to punch in a science fiction series, and more one that someone would give to something dangerous. Axew popped out for a moment, but retreated at the first sight of Evanna.
"Succotash." Anabel mumbled mindlessly from Misty's lap.
"Is she…okay?" The girl Misty was sure was Aurora asked in what sounded like genuine concern.
"Nobody asked you." Misty retorted, which seconds later had Vedia be released from Belladonna and stand to the side.
The purpose of this was so Belladonna stand over her and glare at her.
"My Dear asked you a question, no need to be rude." Belladonna told her in a low tone.
Belladonna's eyes bore into her, a red intensity that bore into her like drills. Misty only realized now just how tall Belladonna was.
Ash had commented on it, but it was only now that Misty really got a feel for it.
She hadn't grown much recently, and was pretty sure she'd be sticking at 5'10 for the rest of her days, bar shrinking.
Ash had been about that tall for a while, but had passed that and was starting to approach how tall Iris was. Iris had given her height during the Princess Festival, which the Pokédex had translated to 6'2, so saying Ash was either 6' or 6'1 now was about right. (Anabel was about 5'3 and not the biggest fan of the fact).
Belladonna outstripped Iris by at least a few inches. Ash's murderous terrorist half-sister was either 6'4 or 6'5, and more to the point she just felt bigger than Iris.
Iris's body was fairly thin and lithe, little to it but muscle. Belladonna's body had more on it than Iris's did, which didn't go anywhere near the intimidation loss that a stouter frame could give. It was like comparing a Ninetales to an Arcanine in body shape, while both were dangerous, the latter had the additional danger factor of being larger in pretty much everyway than Ninetales.
And said person was glaring at her with intensity she had rarely seen from Iris at any point (even when Iris was trying to slash her), simply for not answering Aurora's question.
"Also...what are you three even doing here, and without my brother for that matter. Where is Ash?" She questioned in a tone that, while less 'that was a mistake', was forceful just the same.
Before she could manifest an answer, Iris beat her to it and explained what was going on.
That Ash had been taken by an Abra and that since then they had been trying to find him with random Teleporting, which seemed to focus on Ash's siblings by mistake (along with the occasional house and Mew, the house might have been his mother's but the Mew was still a mystery).
During the explanation Belladonna had stopped glaring at her, but she remained unreadable. Aurora gave Anabel a look of concern for her, while Evanna looked ready for the explanation to end.
Vedia used a shadow tendril to pull over a notepad and was taking notes every time Iris mentioned one of the siblings they had encountered.
When Iris had finished her explanation Anabel had recovered a bit, though she was in no shape to get them out of there in a pinch.
A fight could still break out, and it would be difficult. She still had Ash's Togepi egg after all, and protecting both Anabel and the egg would not be easy.
"Well, I guess the rumors must be true then."
Evanna's blunt statement drew both her and Iris's attention.
What rumors?
"Sweetie." Belladonna muttered in a tone that almost sounded reproachful.
"Hey, it's not like we had any evidence they were. Now, you two don't seem to have any idea of what I'm talking about, so let me spell it out for you. Ever heard the rumors of the Saffron Gym Leader?"
Misty nodded, having heard the tale of a crazy person who used Psychic-type Pokémon to harm innocent people. Iris remained confused though.
"Well the rumors say that she's more than just a homicidal maniac. Some people say that she's actually a Bloodliner who can control Psychic Pokémon who wants to find worthy opponents for her power, who she makes battle her with all their Pokémon." Misty made her eyes not move towards Anabel's still recovering form.
"If she did abduct Ash, and the day's nearly half over…" Aurora spoke in horror.
"From what I've seen and been told of the guy, we probably still have a chance before he stops entertaining the crazy lady. He has a lot of Pokémon from what I understand who are all pretty tough, and if he's Belladonna's little brother he should still have some stamina, but time is still wasting."
At her comment about stamina Aurora looked away from Evanna in a 'why did you say that' manner, Belladonna sighed in exasperation, and Vedia just shook her head. Misty wasn't entirely sure what she had meant by that, and Iris seemed just as confused.
"Ehm…well ignoring that irrelevant information, we do still have time to get my brother back. We'll have to leave your friend here, but with My Dear's Shellder, we can get to Saffron Gym quickly."
Ash did mention something about a Teleporter... but that was secondary as Misty went pale. Did she just say 'we!?'
"We probably can get her all back to normal with some of those Revival Herbs we have!" Aurora shot up and declared, surprising her fellow Power Plant attackers.
The look on her face suggested she had even surprised herself with what she had offered, but she quickly reaffirmed herself.
"They helped the time Evanna burned herself out, and if we also use some of the Mental Herbs the mental exhaustion should be fixed too."
"…That will take a while to get them ready. I'm not against the idea, but I'm a little hesitant to wait half an hour." Belladonna spoke to Aurora in a conflicted tone, but Aurora gave a confident nod back.
"But if we do then it'll be the seven of us plus the Pokémon, and seven are better than six to get your brother back."
Prepare them how, exactly?! And still that we thing…
Aurora darted off somewhere as Vedia answered her first question.
"While Bloodlines are similar to Pokémon, some natural remedies that they can use need a bit more preparation to have an effect of us. This is a combination of being either too potent or under-performing in their natural states."
"That doesn't explain why we wouldn't just leave the moment those herbs heals Anabel in whatever way they do." Misty countered.
"Because seven have a better chance than three in rescuing him." Vedia declared simply.
"You forget that four of those seven attacked a power plant just because you wanted one man in a hospital dead. That's not exactly who you want for a rescue party." Misty told the three present bluntly.
"Calling that thing a man is a tad too much." Belladonna declared with utter disdain pointed squarely at the target of her actions.
"If we wanted someone like you helping us, I'd have asked Team Rocket." Misty retorted.
"You know, I actually met some Team Rocket members right before Gringy. It was weird, one of them was a talking Meo…"
"That would be the same Team Rocket we are talking about." Iris quipped at Evanna's reminiscence.
"Really?"
Misty decided to swerve the conversation back in the old direction before it got off topic.
"That doesn't explain why we should let you all come with us any more than those three."
"I'm his sister." Belladonna said simply.
"There is more to being a sibling than being related." Misty declared, being quite aware that full relation did not mean anything if you didn't act like it.
Just being related to someone didn't mean anything. Her family meant nothing to her beyond a Gym she'd like to have to herself one day. Iris didn't have any reason to care for her blood relatives. Ash's father and the seemingly unending deluge of siblings meant nothing unless he wanted to make something with the latter, and Belladonna was not high on the list he'd be doing that with.
Anabel's relations with her family were bizarrely normal despite them being dead.
"Exactly, and what is the behavior of a sibling other than agreeing to put herself at risk to save them from danger?" Vedia poised.
"That is part of the job." Iris admitted reluctantly.
'Iris, don't encourage them! That would only make avoiding them harder.'
'Belladonna does…. mean it'. She heard Anabel weakly commented in her mind.
'She can mean whatever she wants, that doesn't mean I want to take her along with us.' Misty thought, seeing as speaking aloud wasn't going to get her anything but more glaring by Belladonna.
'This might not really…be a case of what we'd want. While I can get….to Saffron without needing time to….breath, they aren't wrong. Seven is better than three.'
'And of those seven, one froze Ash to a wall, another spent her time holding me to the ground, a third actually seems to have enjoyed the experience of Iris trying to slash her, and then you have Belladonna...'
'I try to be positive, and I like to think I succeed when Iris isn't chasing me while waving a stick. They were hardly the good guys that day, but now they want to be. I think encouraging that can only be a good thing. Plus do you want to have something go wrong and slap yourself for not taking them up on it.'
"Are you two telepathically communicating?" Vedia inquired, interrupting the mental conversation.
"No." Misty lied as Belladonna gave her a look.
"Don't lie, you aren't good at it and frankly should not look to become good at it. I hardly think Ash would appreciate it, lies are among the worst things in relationships."
Misty stared at the giant woman in stunned amazement.
She'd be the first to admit she probably could use a bit of advice on how relationships would function, but was a person Ash had described as 'questionably stable' really the one who thought she had the right to do so?
"In fact, it will probably take at least ten or fifteen more minutes before we can leave, so let us give you some advice on how relationships work in case you have any other bad habits. In fact My Sweet…"
A shadow tendril pulled a notepad and pen into Veida's hand, who held the writing set at the ready.
Belladonna beamed a smile at how quick the little thing was to matching her want, before doing that faux cough people would do before speaking.
"Okay, now the first thing you all should know…"
What followed was a quarter hour of Ash's murderous half-sister giving them a crash course on relationships, their do's and don'ts, what were common issues that came up, how to handle jealousy flare ups, and many other such things while Vedia kept taking notes that she'd presumably make them take with them.
Cursive notes it seemed, damn her.
Though Misty had to feel sympathy for poor Iris. This was the second lecture she got from one of Ash's sisters today, and that had to get tiring.
…
It was actually rather useful information. Meliae had said most of her advice should probably happen after the non-sexual parts of it, and that was good advice.
The short girl's writing was weird though, hopefully someone could read it clearly.
In a few days time, Ash's part of the story.