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

34. The Sabrina Arc: The Battle for Ash

Now for part 2

---

Slowpoke having been defeated, Ash found himself staring at a nearby window, knowing exactly what this situation called for.

"I've fallen out of worse, Roggenrola!" The Rock-type's knob glowed white as Rock Blast fired.

The rocks hit the window, shattering on impact as a shimmering veil covered the window.

"That window has Reflect on it." The Pokédex noted.

"Pika!" 'Well this isn't reflectable!' Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt at the window, which glowed yellow but otherwise did not suffer an effect.

"Light Screen is also in effect." The Pokédex didn't need to know what Pikachu had assumed to add the retort.

Ash walked up to the window and began pushing it up, only for it to shimmer and refuse to budge.

"Reflect also locks things?" Ash exclaimed in frustration as he swung his fist back around.

It caught the Abra that appeared in front of him seconds after it materialized, knocking it down and out even as a Thunderpunch attempted to spark into being on Abra's left arm.

"Rogg." 'Clearly Iris is being proven right.' She noted it in a complementary tone for both his reflexes and Iris's correct assumptions.

Ash nodded, but looked at the downed Abra sadly.

"That doesn't mean I particularly like punching Pokémon."

Sure they were attacking him, but it wasn't something he enjoyed doing.

"Pikapi." 'Stick to punching the Pokémon attacking us, and I think you'll be okay.'

Fairly good advice, even if he'd probably never fully take it to heart.

"So, any ideas for getting out of this place?" Ash asked Pikachu and Roggenrola, though they were not the ones to answer.

"I do have a plan which I am currently in the process of implementing to expedite our escape. However it will take some time to be fully realized, and longer still to extract us." The Pokédex chimed.

"You're going to call a Jenny SWAT team?"

"Negative. That would only open up job openings for young and upcoming Jenny. Plus that is more of an Unovan Jenny thing." The Pokédex's dire declaration of a Jenny based intervention was not followed upon, as a Starmie Teleported in front of them and used a Psychic attack to fling Pikachu down the hall.

Roggenrola charged for a Headbutt, but a Bubblebeam blasted Roggenrola into the wall.

Ash tapped the Great Ball at his belt even as he ran to get Roggenrola.

"Hrp!" The Starmie declared as it sparked, before being sliced by a glowing green tail.

Ash picked up Roggenrola and began channeling Heal Pulse through his only Rock-type as Servine eyed the defeated Starmie in confusion.

"Ser." 'I take it some odd hijinx is at hand.'

Pikachu darted back over and filled her in.

"Pika." 'We got kidnapped by an Abra and need to get out. The windows are locked and Psychic Pokémon keep jumping us.'

Servine eyed the defeated Starmie for a moment before raising a question.

"Vine?" 'Is this Pokémon wild, or is someone ordering it around?'

Ash put Roggenrola down before giving her the answer.

"I'm pretty sure the Gym Leader Sabrina is calling the shots."

"Servine." 'But do you know for sure? We'll all want to smack ourselves if we find out we could have gotten some information out of them by capture.'

He had no answer to Servine's point, and a motion with the Pokédex in hand only invoked an 'I am busy trying to save all of us, I don't have the resources to run that program' from it.

Thus Ash pulled out a Net Ball and tossed it at the Starmie.

A red glow formed around Starmie, but it petered out and the ball returned to him.

Okay, so now they knew.

As if summoned by his attempt to capture a Trainer's Pokémon, a ring of Abra Teleported around them. Each one had a sparking, burning, glowing, or chilly fist of some sort, and lunged at them, quite possibly to punish.

Or just randomly attack him like all the other Abra today, one of the two.

….

s the latest wave of Abra lied defeated, Ash considered his next course of action. He was fairly certain it wasn't going to work, but he probably should try anyway.

After all, it was possible that it was only the windows that were being enhanced, and that they could possibly get through the plain walls.

Plus, the amount of time he had been here was now over an hour. It was time to try something more than beating up Psychic Pokémon.

With that he felt the power to increase others strengths flow, and spread to all his Pokémon present.

Pikachu, Roggenrola, Servine, Muk, Tauros, and Squirtle.

They promptly charged at the wall at once, Wild Charge, Headbutt, Leaf Blade, Body Slam, Giga Impact, and Return striking the wall along with his own Power-up Punch.

The power increase, spread out among them all but still potent, struck the shimmering barrier of the Gym with enough force to shake the foundation of the building and everything within it.

The wall remained though.

Picking up Pikachu and healing the Wild Charge recoil, Ash looked at the wall with a thoughtful gaze.

"Think it might work better if we try and attack a single point at once?" Perhaps avoiding dispersing the blow might enhance the damage they were inflicting.

That sounded right enough, and while it might just leave them with a small hole they could work from there.

He noticed Squirtle look over the rest of the Pokémon present as he put a healed Pikachu back on the ground.

"Squirtle Squir." 'If you're looking for that precision, it would just be me and another Pokémon. That first Pokémon would be the one making the initial attack, and I'd match their attack on point. No one else here has that level of accuracy for a ranged attack.'

Servine gave him a pointed look for that remark, though Ash noted Muk, Tauros, and Roggenrola did not share her annoyance at the putdown.

"Tle." 'A bunch of leaves aren't the most accurate thing. Maybe if you knew Solarbeam.'

That would have the issue of sunlight to gather, but Ash was hesitant to bring that up right now. Maybe after they got out of here.

"Alright Pikachu use Thunderbolt! Squirtle, match it with Water Gun at max power!" Ash added the Max Power part as both attacks struck the wall.

Water Gun adding to the pressure Thunderbolt was placing, all the while striking at an angle to reduce electrifying the water stream.

The wall shimmered again, but this time Ash smiled as he started to see what he could only call a crack.

That would work…

"Ka!"

His joy was interrupted by a pair of Kadabra appearing at either side of him armed with glowing pink spoons extended out like lightsabers.

He barely avoided getting cut in half by the two Kadabra, who promptly used said energy spoons to fend off an Aerial Ace and Take Down from Servine and Tauros.

An Exeggutor appeared over Pikachu and Squirtle and landed with a thud, scattering the two and stopping their attacks before firing a wave of Barrage attacks.

Muk stood up to absorb the blow before it hit him as the Kadabra hopped back behind Exeggutor.

"Why does Sabrina have so many Pokémon? And since when does Kadabra have 'Laser Spoon' as an attack?" Ash asked two questions as the Kadabra fired Psybeams and Exeggutor shot volleys of Bullet Seed.

Roggenrola and Squirtle blocked the Psybeams with Rock Blast and Water Gun, while Muk's Sludge Bomb overpowered the Bullet Seeds and struck the Grass-type, knocking it down in defeat.

"She most likely has nothing better to do between murdering people than breeding and training them. As to the 'Laser Spoon', I actually have some data about such a technique being used by a Coordinator at a Saffron Pokémon Contest a few years back." The Pokédex offered up.

"So, she's plagiarizing?"

"Kidnapping, Murdering, and Plagiarizing, yes." The Pokédex agreed as the Kadabra charged forward with their stolen laser spoon techniques.

Only for Tauros and Servine to charge the Kadabra that had blocked them previously.

With the shimmering purple force of Giga Impact, Tauros shattered his opponent's Laser Spoon before sending the spoon's user right into the wall.

"Broo!" 'That is quite enough of that.'

Meanwhile Servine's Leaf Blade powered tail slashed into her Kadabra's Laser Spoon. It held up, but Servine used the force to push herself up into the air, and have Kadabra stumble forward.

She then slashed back down with Leaf Blade, also scoring a defeat of Kadabra.

"Ser!" 'You're done.'

And with that, the latest wave of Psychic Pokémon attacking them was over, though he suspected the Farfetch'd he caught would be very upset he was not here to battle psychic energy spoon users. However the Pokédex had already told him that he was too busy trying to set up their escape plan to use the H.O.P.E gloves, so there was nothing he could do to rectify things for the duck.

"Okay, now that we should have a few minutes to ourselves, let's get back to making ourselves a door. Pikachu, use Thu…."

Ash found his voice promptly muffled by a pale hand covering his mouth from an individual shorter than him.

Though given who that person was exactly, that wasn't much help in the 'do not freak out' category.

"That was clever, I'll give you that. You are the first person to think it might be easier to break my walls than my windows, and I can't forget your Squirtle's suggestion either. That was also quite smart. However, I am going to have to ask you to stop." Sabrina declared in a tone between her pre and post Haunter extremes.

At the sight of her all his Pokémon immediately lunged forward, but a Reflect barrier formed around her and knocked all of them back.

"You know, I probably should have told you the rules of my Gym Battle and how to win it first. Call it a mistake on my part for not mentioning it earlier. Of course, you probably should be aware that what is not a win condition this time is getting me to laugh. Even if Haunter decided to follow you again, he would not save you."

Ash felt all the blood in his body chill at the simple declaration Sabrina made, a chill that he saw mirrored in Pikachu and Squirtle. Not that all of his other Pokémon weren't surprised, but to them what was going on was 'someone knew about time who wasn't them'.

But for himself, Pikachu, and Squirtle, there was something else entirely going on.

Sabrina knew what had happened to time.

"Now…" She declared as all of them blinked out of existence for a moment before being deposited in very much the same Gym arena/throne room as before, before Sabrina removed her hand from his mouth and floated to the foot of her throne before smiling his way.

A smile that was creepier looking than the non-expression she had once worn.

"Let's talk." She said, still smiling as she lowered herself into the throne and crossed one leg over the other before steepling her fingers.

"I could make a joke about you not earning my badge the first time around, but I sense such jokes are meaningless. That such jabs are either friendly jokes from long held companions, or by the jealous and petty people without even a badge 'out of pity' to their own names. Plus I hardly see a lack of effort in the first time you obtained the Cascade and Rainbow Badges even without a definitive victory. If how a battle went was a factor, you'd think the Dynamo Badge would warrant your teasing." Sabrina observed as Ash and his Pokémon remained tense, ready to strike the moment she tried something.

"I offered to give the badge back, but Wattson was…" Ash stopped his explanation of the Dynamo Badge incident when something occurred to him.

"How do you know that?" He had never seen Sabrina after he won her badge, not even when he returned to Saffron City for May's Contest.

Unless Iris or Cilan had run into Sabrina after they got on the Magnet Train, how could she know that detail?

Heck that wouldn't even explain it, he hadn't mentioned that incident to the two at any point.

"Oh, how do I know about your first and second battles with Wattson? How do I know of your two sumo tournament victories, your defeat at the hands of Montgomery's Throh and your triumph over Volt? It's quite simple really, I read your mind. I learn from the deepest depths of it, and reread when I feel the need to double check something."

She read his mind?!

"Yes, and I've been doing it for a while. I know everything." She paused for a moment before adding an addendum to her declaration. "Except how long you actually were traveling. By the best I was able to count you should have been about this age sometime before time broke, either in Unova or Kalos, and yet you were not. I swear it honestly looked like that May girl aged backwards at one point."

May aged backwards?

"But that is a minor quibble compared to the wealth of knowledge you give me. That includes your wealth of Gym Badge experience, so I think you can adapt to my challenge fairly well." She pointed up with a smirk. "If you want the Marsh Badge, you have to fight your way up to the top of my Gym and take one of my badges. They are sitting out on a table, untouched since I put them there. With what power you used to try and break my wall, I'm certain you'd be the first to ever take one. Of course so few people really do try for it, for after about a few minutes they start begging for their life, yet so few actually prove themselves worthy of it by that point. "

"Why would I even want one?" Ash told her bluntly.

"You took one from a crime boss, didn't you?" She reminded him.

"Technically I took it from Jessie and James."

"Are they not working for a crime boss?"

"Not for at least half the time I deal with them from my understanding." Ash quipped.

"And yet a pair of criminals and their Meowth are better than I am?" Sabrina questioned.

"You just admitted to murdering people!" He was pretty sure Team Rocket were too incompetent to kill anyone most of the time, and when they were competent they were sneaking around stealing things.

"It's more akin to weeding than murder, but if you are so insistent on some sort of standard, there is the prize in my basement." She pointed down to the ground as Ash offered his third option.

"I could just walk away and out the door." It was a statement, not a question.

"Where do you think most of the trash was cleaned up?" She replied matter of factly before pointing back down to her basement.

"Pika." 'Sorry lady, but if you want him in your bed there is a line, three people are waiting for that currently, and a very long list of people I'd much rather have him with before you of multiple genders and species.' Pikachu declared bluntly, even if Sabrina could not understand him.

Wait what? Huh? Wah? Ash almost gave himself whiplash as his head snapped round to stare at Pikachu.

"I have no need for your Trainer in such a regard. I have no interest in carnal pleasures nor a child."

Did she read that out of his mind? And what, did they really…

"Yes." Ash redirected his attention to his current problem and let Pikach's statement retreat to the back of his mind.

'Stay out of my head.' Also what question was she answering?

Sabrina responded to his thought with a shrug that communicated the essence of 'no', which also did not clarify what she was talking about.

"No, down there is your missing Pokémon, the one Paul blasted away."

The declaration made Ash take a step back in shock, as Pikachu mirrored his movement. Muk and the others watched Sabrina with renewed surprise instead of unease as she continued.

"Yes, Primeape. I happened upon him before he would have died by a chance of fate and I figured he could be of some use, and what better use than a motivator for you to come challenge my Gym. Make it to the basement and retrieve Primeape. He can be your prize if you refuse my badge. The challenge to get him will be the same, so it works perfectly well for me."

Ash stared at Sabrina for a long moment, a thought entering his mind about what her angle was. Why did she drag him here? What was her game?

However each thought was quickly swamped by a simple determination.

Primeape was here. He had a second chance to save him. He was going to take it.

He moved to turn his hat around to symbolize his resolve, even as he saw Pikachu prepare to make a beeline for the nearest place a staircase down could be. In the corner of his eyes he saw Servine acknowledge this with a nod, Tauros snorted in determination, Squirtle give him a thumbs up, Roggenrola hop in the air energetically, and Muk raise himself up into fullness for the battling that would be upon them soon.

All ready to take on the the next wave of Psychic-types that appeared as Sabrina left.

…(****)

As they left the way-too-many defeated Psychic-types behind them, Ash and his Pokémon ran to where Primeape was. This was their second chance to save a friend, and they could not waste it.

"Pika!" 'Don't worry Primeape, we're coming!'

As they ran through the halls though, Squirtle kept muttering to himself. He kept glancing at Ash and Pikachu before looking away, and this did not go unnoticed. Eventually, Ash had to ask. "Something wrong Squirtle?"

"Squir." 'There is a certain something I realized, and I'm not sure you want to hear it...'

"Pikachu." 'If it's important, just say it.'

Squirtle took a deep breath.

"Squirtle." 'What if we can't remind Primeape?'

The sheer shock of that question was enough to stop everyone running.

"How can you be sure of that?" Asked Ash, though he wasn't sure he'd like the answer.

"Squirtle." 'You couldn't remind Brock."

Ash cringed at that. He remembered how much that tore him up inside.

"Even if we can't remind him, he wouldn't be that different, right?" Ash really hoped they could end this on a positive note.

"Squirtle." 'I'm worried about him not being different enough. Don't forget, he was a problem Pokémon in the original timeline. He was our friend, yes, but only at the very end. We need to be prepared for the possibility that the Primeape we save is the mon he was before he changed, and if he can't be reminded, we wouldn't be able to skip straight to the part where we're friends.'

Ash and Pikachu could only stare at Squirtle as they slowly absorbed the unpleasant truth.

"What if he is different?" Asked Ash, still grasping at straws. Squirtle only gave him a look.

"Squirtle." 'I was a former gang leader in both timelines. I didn't change that much. Hell, if anything, I became worse. I was hell bent on rampaging before the memory restoration got me."

Ash didn't know what to say for that, but Pikachu spoke up for him.

"Pikachu." 'It's not going to be that bad, will it?"

"Squirtle." 'I only heard it second hand, but it hurt to hear Misty wasn't interested in Togepi's egg. Ash, Pikachu, you were both there. That must have really torn you up, all I'm saying is be prepared for something like that when we see Primeape again.'

Ash and Pikachu could only stand still as they remained silent. They didn't know what to say. How could they? Squirtle was right. If they couldn't remind Primeape, he could be the same yet different in all the worst ways.

They didn't know how long they were standing there, but it was probably long enough for Sabrina to run out of patience. They were snapped out of their stunned state when a dozen Drowzee Teleported over them and lunged at them with billowing purple gas and glowing fists.

As Ash's Pokémon defended their Trainer, Ash simply stood there. He remembered when he gazed into Primeape's eyes after saving him from his fall. Through his Pokémon's teary eyes, Ash saw all the shame, all the regret, Primeape had for his behaviour before then.

Ash clenched his fist and renewed his resolve. If Primeape couldn't be reminded, then so be it. They'd just redo their relationship all over again, and with the lessons of the original timeline, they won't make the same mistakes.

Ash's fists glowed and he joined the fray with renewed vigour.

…

The Drowzee attack had been repelled easily, Counter Shield was able to block out the Poison Gas with both Water Gun and Thunderbolt, knocking them back was not difficult.

Rock Blast and Sludge Bomb, Brine and Aerial Ace. The moves all took their share of victims, and he himself had defeated several.

The problem was that after the Drowzee fell, a flock of Natu popped and shot at them with Night Shade from their eyes.

And more Kadabra armed with Laser Spoon techniques with Psycho Cut.

And a troupe of Jynx blowing Lovely Kiss and Blizzard at them.

And more, and more, and more.

It was a numbers game, and they were by far the smaller one.

And they would only lose numbers over time.

The first of them fell after he Quick Attacked into an Exeggutor, pushing the protesting Grass-type away from Roggenrola.

The Mega Drain the Exeggutor was firing missed, and a Sludge Bomb from Muk knocked it out before it could do anything more.

However as the Exeggutor fell down, he only then saw the Natu shooting a bolt of yellow, sparking light.

A Thunder Wave, coming in too fast to avoid.

It would have hit him, had he not been shoved out of the way by a blue blur.

He could only stare in shock as Squirtle gave him a nod, before being struck by the Thunder Wave.

He clattered onto the ground, paralysis static clinging onto him as he struggled to get back up.

He reached for his old friend, his Z-Ring holding hand dripping purple sand for some reason as he did so, but a Natu flew at him with Aerial Ace and he barely blocked it.

The little bird was between his two hands, which he threw to the side as he again tried to run to get Squirtle again, but a Mr. Mime threw up a Barrier in his way before shoving it at him with a Psychic attack.

He was pushed back, though he continued to struggle to get back to Squirtle.

He kept failing to do so, as more of them fell.

Roggenrola headbutted the Mr. Mime's barrier to try and get to Squirtle, but the attack failed to shatter the barrier and Mr. Mime, fists clenched together, smashed Roggenrola with a Fighting-type attack of some sort and sent Roggenrola flying into the wall and falling to the ground face first in defeat.

A Leaf Storm was fired by Servine, the power of the attack powered to the max, right at the line of Jynx. They blew Blizzard to counter the plant growth with ice, but the ice was shattered and the attack moved unimpeded.

Then a trio of Slowpoke Teleported in a trio of Wobbuffet.

They saluted as they all glowed with the reflective power of Mirror Coat, even as the Slowpoke breathed a Heal Pulse on the triple set of blue punching bags.

The reflected power of Leaf Storm blew Servine into Muk, leaving both sludge monster and grass snake defeated on the ground.

It was down to himself, Pikachu, and Tauros now and it quickly became just him and Pikachu as a blue aura surrounded Tauros and sent him rolling back and crashing into a wall.

The perpetrator floated a few inches above the floor as her Pokémon parted around them, leaving an open area for himself, Pikachu, his defeated Pokémon, and Sabrina.

She was giving him a slow, but not mocking, clap.

"Not bad, not bad at all. I think you've set yourself a record for holding out. The previous record holder being a group of Busters and unlike them you're not going to die today." She declared as Pikachu sparked at her.

"I'm getting Primeape back." Ash declared as she shrugged.

"You are certainly trying, and you've more than proven that you deserve to keep living. I had no doubt you would, but you've proven beyond expectations. I finally got to use that Heal Pulse-Wobbuffet trick, and I always assumed I'd only get to use that if I got someone really powerful at my door. Congratulations, you warranted something I was saving in case I had Agatha glaring at my door."

He'd accept the compliment, but that did not change anything. She was going to be blasted.

Seconds after he thought it, Pikachu had a Thunderbolt flying at Sabrina.

She blocked it with a glowing blue palm, sending two strands of electricity off into the walls with a loud boom and the sizzle of dust.

"Hmm…." She observed with a frown before continuing.

"You are willing to blast my walls with your full power, but not me or any of my Pokémon? Clearly determination and a goal in mind isn't enough for you. You need something else, perhaps anger."

She…wanted him to attack her with his Bloodline giving Pikachu the power to obliterate an asteroid? He hadn't pegged Sabrina as being that sure of herself, did she really think she could survive such a hit?

"Oh no, I certainly would die if you hit me with that power, and you could probably kill a few of my Pokémon doing that. I'd avoid the attack, not take it on at full power of course, I'm not suicidal." Sabrina answered his thought.

Could she stop doing that?! Again she shrugged with the epitome of 'no' behind her motions.

"It would seem I'm going to have to do something to get you angry, so angry that you stop limiting yourself. Now, how to do that?" Sabrina did an exaggerated thoughtful pose, which he suspected was meant to get him to think about thinking of what she might do.

It was effective, even as Pikachu shouted at him about not overthinking things.

Despite his best buddy's warnings, visions of Sabrina Teleporting in his mother, Misty, Iris, Anabel, or even Brock flashed in his mind.

"Oh Brock, I hadn't thought of using him like that." Sabrina quipped before clapping her hands.

"But no, I don't need him or any of your other friends and family. I can use the latter without them."

A shiver went down Ash's spine as he knew what was coming.

Sabrina was going to be his Aunt, wasn't she? Or his grandmother…

"I'm twenty-two. I'd need to share your knack for flinging yourself through time to be your grandmother." Sabrina told him bluntly before smirking. "Of course, by the time I'm done catching two Pokémon with one Pokéball, you'll wish that I was your Aunt."

His family tree had a polygamist terrorist, a regular polygamist, several people of various degrees of quirks from waitress to admirer of his achievements and a girl who hung out with that Hiker, and Red. In what sort of twisted way would he want Sabrina in it?

Pikachu muttered something he didn't catch, but one of the surrounding Kadabra did and told Sabrina, who shook her head.

"I checked, we aren't related even distantly. Sharing a Heart Bloodline with another lineage is rare but not unheard of. Of course, that isn't true of all Bloodlines. Dominion for example."

She smirked at him as she elaborated on her point.

"What you and your family all share is Power, specifically the Dominion of Power. Like all Dominion Bloodlines, it is the application of a concept as held dearest to the wielder's nature, forming itself as the person's personality forms. Why look at yourself and Red, to you Power is the ability to overcome immense odds with a sudden burst of power from within yourself, while to Red Power is the ability to know the best result in the most efficient manner. Then you even have Belladonna, who doesn't care for winning or power but wants a perfect relationship, which are built on being truthful. I'm sure some psychologist could comment on how your different environments and family status influenced you all, but that's all speculative work you can ask for in a few decades or so."

Ash glared at the woman, not really caring about her commentary. What was she getting at? It was hard to lie, even to oneself, that they weren't related to him by blood, and the trivia wasn't bad, but did she have a point? She seemed to be under the impression that this would get him angry or something.

"Now of course you got it from somewhere, didn't you? Given the three of you share a parent, I think you can agree your father is where you all got it from. The education system you experienced in this timeline is advanced enough that you are certainly aware of the basic rules of genetics to agree with me on that. Of course, I know a bit more than that. For you see, I've dealt with your father." Sabrina gave a pause that seemed to be her gathering the right words to say next before continuing.

"He's a monster." Sabrina said simply and bluntly as Ash glared right in the eye when he reminded her that she was no saint.

"You're one to talk."

"Oh believe me, we do have similarities. I'll admit that much. However there are many things he has and will do, that I have no interest in doing, nor any desire to perform. Patricide for one thing, you have no grandparents among the living for more than just the ravages of time."

Sabrina's father was still alive? Was he hanging around as a photographer somewhere?

"Of course your father possesses only one Bloodline, the same one shared by your siblings. However the abilities he gets from it aren't about strengthening others or enforcing virtues upon them. That isn't what power is to him. What he can do, is control others." Sabrina landed at his side, opposite of Pikachu, to continue her rambling right into his ear.

"Not so much like a Heart Bloodliner, nothing so up front and obvious that the person at the end of it all knows something happened. What he does is a bit more insidious, for he does not work with control from the front. He works from behind, messing with the thoughts behind your active ones. He doesn't make you do things; he makes those thoughts that ring in the back of your mind and subtly push you in directions and outcomes, and others of subtle manipulation and control, never direct control. In fact…I just checked the minds of Delia, Atropa, Anna, and Regina. I'd look at Shinku, but she's dead. Do you want to know what all four of them have in common?"

Ash had no idea who the other four mentioned with his mother were, but Sabrina leaned in for the next point even closer to his ear to a point he could feel her breath in his ear canal.

She Teleported out of his incoming Power-up Punch to get her away from his ear, but reappeared there moments later to continue, right where she had been originally.

"All four of the living who were impregnated by your father all had regular periods by that point. They knew what days they could and could not get pregnant. Their children, including yourself, were all conceived on safe days, all by freak irregular fluctuations in their cycles that made that night. Such things accelerated to the exact point he wanted them to. Good thing your father was quite good at keeping the momentum of daycaring going long enough for such things to be where he wanted them, or else you would not exist. Same with most of your siblings, bar the ones who just had sex at the right point in their periods that such effort was unnecessary. Midori for example, I just checked his mother's mind and she simply forgot it was a bad time to be enjoying male companionship."

Ash stared at Sabrina, a trembling going through his body and perhaps as what she said registered as she floated up in front of him.

And what she was implying began sinking in.

"What are you saying!?"

Sabrina shrugged, of all possible responses.

"Depends on what moral theorist you ask. I'm not qualified to say. Your mother didn't require mental tricks to get in bed with your father, a tall attractive man needs not a Bloodline to get many in bed with him, though he is not averse to throwing a few thoughts into the back of their minds to get things moving. However then he did make it so your mother would get pregnant when she normally wouldn't have, and did place thoughts in the back of her head to ensure that your mother wouldn't have you aborted….but he did that with all of them so it was hardly specifically aimed at you. If he hadn't done that, Belladonna certainly wouldn't exist at least. Your grandfather was for that happening by the way, your maternal one specifically, 'I care more about my daughter than the ball of cells some foreign punk left in you.' He said to your mother a bit into the post 'I'm pregnant' conversation after the traditional heartfelt 'I am not angry at you' words he truly meant. Also something about wanting her to live her life before settling down he meant just as much, but you get the point."

The comments about the grandfather he never met and his opinion on him would have registered more to Ash if not for everything else being thrown his way.

Sabrina was trying to get him angry, meaning that if he dwelled on that too long she'd win. He'd have to calm himself down. Perhaps with some rational thoughts, going backwards from the last comment.

His grandfather having preferred him to never have been born. Well his father here wasn't a Trainer, while when he left the first time he was. Thus his words had absolutely no bearing on him whatsoever!

Pikachu's look of 'Ash, thinking is the last thing you should be doing right now' came too late as he realized that his finally taking to heart the complaint many had of him not doing so in the past had came at the worst time.

Because there was a smirking woman trying to ensure he'd try and blast her in anger reading his every thought.

"Nice try, but I am not sure you quite get the full implications. The grandfather who was a Trainer who took more than three days to get to Viridian like his first successor yet unlike yourself, and the grandfather who had a stroke not that long after starting to come around to the idea that you were more than something ruining his only child's life, may in fact be very different people in behavior if not who they were…but the latter has more claim to you right now than the Trainer one does. I'm sorry to say this but I think it is warranted to point out.

"The Ash Ketchum who got Top Sixteen at Indigo because his Charizard disobeyed and obvious sabotage with clear hints of the involvement of a known yakuza gang in the area, the Ash Ketchum who was kissed by either a girl or a Latias, the Ash Ketchum who conquered the Battle Frontier and delivered Tobias the closest to a defeat he seemed to ever have….and you, are not as much as the same as you may prefer to think. Beyond the different flavors your Aura abilities and even my psychokinesis take in this iteration of reality, your body was built with different material. The father you had in the original timeline is no longer your father here. The height you possess and the rage that bubbles out of you is from your new father, not the original father who abandoned your mother."

Pikachu lunged at her, intent to shut her up with a Zap Cannon in his palm. Sabrina simply stopped him mid jump and put him back on his shoulder, before removing the Zap Cannon and having it detonate on the floor between them.

"I'm me. I'm not anyone else, so don't give me that crap. If you want to go declare that I'm not me, I'm going to shut you up before you even get to the not part."

Sabrina looked amused at his threat, which was not good because she wanted him to be angry. Realizing that made her win more, and it was starting to become a cycle.

"If you are worried that I am going to, I don't know, tell your dear mom that you never will be Ash Ketchum, that you aren't Ash Ketchum, and never was Ash Ketchum, you can relax. That would be an untruth. You may be walking about with a different body with a differently built set of tricks, but you are plenty more authentic than that and can avoid overthinking on it. After all, most of your mind and memories are the ones you started with, back when aging had multiple options to it.

"However you are none the less not the same one who had that incident with the Zekrom and the Snivy either, your parts coming from a very different parent. And that father….as I said earlier, is a monster. Who sired you and a truly disturbing amount of others, neither out of love, nor of lust for your mother. She was one of hundreds of people he noted had the potential to have a Bloodliner child on her own, and he simply made that child happen with his genes making those dormant ones activate like someone had just recompleted an electric circuit. You and all your siblings are but parts to him, parts he can and will remove if he finds can't be of any use to him. Turns out that Archer kid he had axed was sterile, for example."

That was a reason to kill someone? Regardless the wanton murder revelation was not helping Sabrina not win.

He'd have to simply not be in the place to let her win. He'd ask Pikachu to disobey him if he told him to attack. It was simple really.

"Pikapi!" 'Shup up! I for one want you to be quiet! My partner does not need to listen to you babble things you can't possibly even know about. You know about the future and have read some science fiction, big deal! We don't have any proof that you have ever met Ash's so called father, be it a deadbeat or some sort of maniacal villain of the sort I'm sure you are well aware we are unnaturally good at running into. So let us go or I will see if I can burn you like Charizard would with ten thousand volts of electricity!'

Or not, it would seem. And so his anger spiked again, fueled in part by the frustration that telling Pikachu to not attack would not work.

He was starting to see red when Sabrina spoke again.

"My Pokémon say you'd like me to show my evidence? Then you shall have it."

And so Ash no longer found himself in a room with five of his Pokémon and friends defeated, himself and Pikachu barely avoiding frothing at the mouth, Sabrina looking pleased with herself, and an army of Psychic Pokémon standing around him in a clear message about the futility of running. No, he found himself in another room of the Gym, where another Trainer lay in defeat (the point about her hurting others flaring his anger even more), and a second Sabrina was talking with another who had walked in and tried to kick the other Trainer in the head.

Then the person who was only in this projected memory began talking with Sabrina, and the words that started coming out…

"A pity you don't, My Lord spent many years researching it. It is quite accurate."

"I've noticed. Those idiots up in Cerulean got hauled off by that brother of yours. Executioner I believe you call him. I can only imagine what he's done with them since."

"You can read minds, you don't need to imagine it."

"Yes in fact. Recently the King has grown to question if one of the possible candidates should be terminated. He was previously tested and seemed salvageable, but losing to not only another candidate, but then being outmaneuvered by that strange byproduct over in Gringy City...we request you test..."

"I'm not J, I have no desire for money and I have better things to do than your bidding.

"Then again, from what I see in your mind the King's pretty disappointed about the general lack of killing isn't he. How many like Ash and the 'byproduct' are willing to kill each other like in the King's bloodthirsty fantasies went so far? 4, 5, maybe 6? Not even one percent that. Even the more aggressive ones like that 'byproduct' don't aim their lethal intent where he wants it. Figuring out they are the same actually made Belladonna not want to kill him."

"My Lord has already changed the world."

…Were the final straw.

It went beyond it when the drawing from that MissingNo dream, featuring a man with eyes like Red and Belladonna clenching in his fist Serena's pink hat and May's bandanna flashed in his mind.

The memory faded away as Sabrina looked at him with what he could only describe as genuine selfless intent.

"I once killed a know-nothing college professor who bribed his way to a doctorate on foreign cultures who had a collection of dreamcatchers for things like that MissingNo. You can take one with my badge and Primeape after you stop limiting yourself."

The genuine offer was like a bucket of water added to a lake whose dam had just violently cracked.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" He shouted, and he could feel his eyes glowing as if they were on fire, his rage exploding like ten thousand bombs…

Pikachu jumped off his shoulder, electricity already sparking around him…only for a Water Gun to blast Pikachu onto the ground before the attack could be launched.

This was followed by a gelatinous form smothering him, and his cathartic fury, onto the ground as he saw only sludge.

Though he did see faint images of wobbling blue feet dart in front of them, along with a pair of stone and green feet from a gap in Muk's form.

He didn't see hooves, though he did hear Tauros give the response that was frankly warranted for all of them.

A confused and angry questioning of what they thought they were doing.

"Ser." Servine declared, if a bit muffled to his ears thanks to Muk. 'My idiot, any reason you felt like letting her win?'

He didn't get a chance to answer before Squirtle spoke up.

"Squirt." 'Look, I get it. Everything that you saw and heard would make anyone want to destroy her. However she already said that won't do anything, and all you'll be doing is having her win. It won't change the fact that your father is a horrible person who does horrible things to everyone around him. If you have to break her body, break it because of that kid she beat up like she did to us, and who knows who else!'

Muk's body vibrated, what Muk was saying outside not quite audible as 'Muk muk muk', but he got the gist of it. "Professor Oak always said something about 'You teach me, and I'll teach you' when it came to Trainers and their Pokémon. What you or the Professor teach us is obvious, but this is a moment we teach you something. Sometimes you need to not let rage control you. You taught that lesson to Infernape if I recall correctly, now you need to take that lesson to heart."

"A saccharine moral. You are teaching one of those, right when I was about to make a breakthrough on him?" Sabrina sounded incredulous.

He felt the same way…though surprisingly he felt less that every moment. Maybe it was just the purple sludge forcing his eyes shut to see black instead of red.

"Now I'm going to have to start all over again, and be much cruder. Tell me, have you ever seen a George Lucas film turtle?" Sabrina declared in a clear threat of commenting on Squirtle's lack of faith.

"I've pirated all of them." The Pokédex beeped in his pocket.

It was silent for hours, and now it finally spoke up?

"Of course, I could talk with the crazy woman beyond this sludge pile about the themes and failings of them, but I have my primary functions to consider. That includes your well-being. I will now be instigating my plan to ensure it." The Pokédex stated. "Tell me, he whose mad mumblings about time with his Pokémon are a bit more than a concerning psychological quirk, were you aware that your Bulbasaur has above average organizational and leadership qualities? Or that the Exeggutor you obtained can all use Teleport?"

He knew the first one, but what did the second one have to…

Muk got off of him as the ceiling above them shook and cracked, dust falling from the ceiling as Sabrina looked up in concern.

"Also, I had calculated the exact time that a Heart Bloodliner needs to notice and control a Pokémon thanks to your friends. The Exeggutor were in and out before the crazy woman could even notice them, more than enough for the necessary trips."

The ceiling finally shattered, sending pieces of foundation, wood, and steel flying down. Sabrina's Pokémon reflexively shoved the damage to the side before it could hit them.

What that did not allow them to do, however, was stop what was coming down with them.

And it wasn't the half dozen Marsh Badges that were falling, one of which Squirtle picked up and tucked into the same place he kept his shades.

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur, riding the back of Pidgeot with Ambipom, declared as the entire Pidgey and Pidgeotto flock Pidgeot championed followed, several of them carrying Spewpa. 'We're going to get you out of here everyone!'

Charizard roared an agreement to the side of them, where his flight was flanked by Yanma, Butterfree, Vivillion, and the Spearow. 'But first, we are going to have some fun with these kidnappers! This is revenge for the first time you creepy doll collector, this time I am going to smash every Kadabra here so hard they'll wish they hadn't ever woken up!'

Behind all of them was a giant solid water wave, one of his fourteen new Tauros using Surf to ride down from above.

Behind him were two of his old Tauros, using Ice Beam to freeze the wave into a solid mass upon which rode every one of his other Pokémon.

Even Raichu and Jigglypuff.

Every one of them landed around them, the space that Sabrina having left them nowhere near enough as the attacking began immediately.

Or in Chansey's case, the healing of the six of them that had begun this mad battle.

Sabrina stared in an odd mixture of surprise, shock, anger, and an odd look that he could only describe as being impressed, before Charizard shouted about using Fling despite not knowing the move and flinging Krabby right at her.

A Stomp struck Sabrina right in the stomach and knocked her through her own wall, leaving a Sabrina-sized hole in the wall.

...

After recovering from the damnable Krabby's attack, Sabrina Teleported back to the battle and watched the chaos that was now in play with an odd mixture of emotions bubbling inside her.

It was chaos really, what other word was there for a Farfetch'd with three leeks battling three Alakazam with their Psycho Spoons (and no she did not plagiarize the technique, she had earned the right to use them from their original creator fair and square. She was hungover for an entire week getting his permission), while a legion of Grimer smother her Wobbuffet with the uncounterable 'hug' attack.

But she was not paying attention to what was going on in front of her, but rather to the many emotions she was feeling.

Annoyance at how close she had been to getting Ash to shed that self-imposed limitation on himself, a sense of begrudging respect for the hours of silent planning Ash's Pokédex had been up to arrange this rescue plan for Ash, indignation from being kicked in the chest by that Krabby (had she been a regular human she'd probably have broken ribs, as it was they were probably bruised), and a sense she had to remind herself she could not take credit for this.

This wasn't like a regular test of hers. Ash had already proved he was worthy of his existence, and him proving it even more with the Pokémon he had trained and even his own abilities wasn't the point of this.

The primary goal was getting Ash to stop playing with his own restrictive rule set, which had not been achieved.

She had achieved a secondary objective, having Ash know that his father was the worst man on the planet, even if she had not directly noted him as his title of the Bloodline King.

Vague details were easier to let his emotions run wilder than the truth ever could. Also the more specific she had been about him, the more likely he'd have assumed she was messing with him.

After all, the two had met in the original timeline back when they were not tied by blood. He had been quite different there (no known ties to Orre for one, even if Ash didn't have the guy's full backstory), and Ash would have very likely assumed she had taken his name out of the proverbial hat.

Given what she had seen of Ash's history with crazy people with delusions of taking over the world, she figured that such knowledge would be a good way of getting rid of the bastard.

That would be easier, of course, if she could try and get Ash back on schedule for learning about the benefits of not handicapping himself.

But there was a problem with doing that now the hours she kept Ash there basically had him running on adrenaline fumes after a while, same with his Pokémon he had on hand.

Those six, now that they no longer were the only ones there, were now taking the opportunity to rest and realize that it was the afternoon already.

Rest, be held down by Butterfree String Shot on Bulbasaur's orders as leader and Chansey as healer, one of the two.

Chansey was still healing the six, and whatever Pokémon of theirs needed it because one of her own got a strong hit in.

Given Ash, it was likely that he'd recover and be making a move on Primeape sooner than he should have, or before Bulbasaur would prefer.

It wasn't a lot of time, but perhaps she could earn herself some more.

With a thought, she summoned the Alakazam who was leading the protection of Primeape.

He looked at the chaos that was going on in disbelief.

"Yes, there were unexpected developments. I am however, able to adapt to them. Let's teach another lesson."

A lesson he might have been meant to learn before time ended, or might not. Regardless, she'd be ensuring he learned it.

With that her hands glowed with psychic powers to call up one bit of what she'd need for this, and Alakazam held up his right spoon.

Under which hung an Alakazite Mega Stone.

…

Ash hadn't realized how tired he was until Bulbasaur had him bound. Only then did he feel the exhaustion rush over him like a tidal wave.

Though just lying on the ground unable to see what was going on in the battle beyond what escaped Chansey's healing haze was driving him crazy.

He could hear explosions and strikes, burst of electricity and fire. He even heard the faint sound of Jiggylpuff singing, just after hearing Charizard shout about 'firing in the hole' and, as best he could tell, throwing Jiggylpuff at a group of enemy Pokémon in the next giant room over.

Ash could only hope that he and the others would be back up and running soon. He still had to rescue Primeape…

"Chansey!" Chansey cried out in alarm. He didn't know what she meant, but he got a fairly good guess of what she was going for when both of his arms stuck out above him with a psychic blue glow.

Before he could yell out for someone to make sure Sabrina couldn't drag him away, he was instead lifted up into the air and held in place by psychic powers by a single one of Sabrina's hands.

The other of which had something small fly into her fingers. A small stone of some sort.

Exactly like the Keystone in his white bracelet.

Sabrina held the stone in-between two of her fingers, out of which shot streams of golden light.

The battle mayhem ceased for a moment as all the Pokémon eyes drifted in the direction of the stream, to which his own eyes followed.

The streams led to Sabrina and an Alakazam with a stone like the Sceptilite dangling from one of its spoons, and as the light entered the Mega Stone the Alakazam began to glow orange.

Ash could only stare in horror as Alakazam began to change form.

Alakazam became thinner, with more black armor hanging upon the body loosely. Alakazam's mustache became a long bushy beard, and a gemstone formed upon its forehead. The two spoons multiplied to five and hung over its head.

The light burst away, revealing Alakazam in a new form floating next to an impressed looking Sabrina.

"Mega Evolution has occurred!" The Pokédex declared loudly from his pocket.

The chaos of the battle resumed in the aftermath of that event, though from his still held position it looked like Sabrina's Pokémon got some momentum back.

It would explain the two Tauros punched over to Chansey's healing circle anyway.

He felt a surge of warmth from his bag for a moment, which vanished immediately after the blue glow around him moved to Butterfree's String Shot and broke it, which led to him falling to the ground.

He stood back up, if uneasily, as he stared at Sabrina and the Mega Evolved Alakazam.

They were just standing there, looking right him.

At least before Sabrina motioned for him to 'bring it'.

Seriously?!

He gripped his palms tightly. She was still trying to teach some sort of lesson?!

Pikachu tried to get up, but collapsed back on his feet. He was still exhausted, so if Sabrina really wanted a fight, she wasn't going to get…

"Goo!"

A purple shape flew over his hand before landing in front him in a loud thump.

Goodra, who stared at the empowered Alakazam with a sense of some determination.

"Alright…" He told Goodra before pointing at Alakazam, if without the snap his dramatic points usually had.

"Dragonbreath!"

Goodra took a deep breath, before unleashing the attack Alakazam's way.

With a bend of the central of five spoons Dragonbreath turned around and flew back at them.

"Bide!" Ash ordered as Goodra glowed red and took the reflected attack on with crossed arms. A white sheen appeared next before Goodra shot a white energy blast back at Alakazam.

The mega-evolved Pokémon reflected Bide right back at them, though a blue shield formed in front of the attack and stopped it.

The two responsible for the defense, a Spewpa and the Pidgey that carried it, were blown back and landed in Chansey's healing area.

At his side Pikachu and Servine weakly stood up next to him as Vivillon and Butterfree fluttered over to him.

Perhaps he needed to try a less direct method.

"Servine, use Attract! Vivillon Stun Spore, and help blow it at the Mega Alakazam with Silver Wind Butterfree!" Ash shouted as Servine winked a storm of hearts towards the Alakazam, while Vivillon flapped a Stun Spore that accelerated past the hearts with a silver glow from Butterfree.

The farthest spoons of Alakazam glowed and moved towards the center, which preceeded a similar glow forming around the Silver Wind-Stun Spore combo. The storm of powders formed a spinning wheel in front of Alakazam, which shattered the Attract before it could get to him.

Ash did notice something though, it took two spoons to stop a combination of attacks. With enough attacks, perhaps they could get through.

With Pikachu, Servine, Vivillon, Goodra, and Butterfree he still needed…

"Sq…." Squirtle forced himself up with a groan, as did Muk.

Perhaps that could do it.

"Alright everyone, attack!" Ash ordered as the seven Pokémon around him charged up.

Pikachu fired Thunderbolt, Servine spun a Leaf Storm, Vivillon shot a green glowing Struggle Bug, Goodra unleashed Dragonbreath, Butterfree blew Silver Wind, Squirtle shot at Alakazam with Brine, and Muk spat Sludge Bomb.

The seven attacks flew at Alakazam, who had all five spoons glow with psychic force.

The Thunderbolt, Dragonbreath, Leaf Storm, Sludge Bomb, and Brine were stopped in their tracks, before they were redirected. The Leaf Storm crashed into the Silver Wind, while the Sludge Bombs were sent into Struggle Bug.

Thunderbolt, Dragonbreath, and Brine were sent flying back at them.

"Rol!" 'I got the Thunderbolt!'

Roggenrola called out as she spat a Sand Attack into the electric force, cancelling the Thunderbolt before it could hit them.

That just left the other two, would Ash need to punch one of them to protect them all?

"Goo!" Goodra declared as a Sludge Wave formed up in front of them, absorbing the attacks and precluding any need to punch energy attacks.

Still, that had not gone well. Were they going to need any more…

"Zam!" The Mega Evolved Psychic-type called out in pain as the sludge wall came down, letting Ash see exactly why it was shouting like that.

Best he could tell, Yanma, who was currently being held in a psychic grip by Sabrina. The speedy bug-type was thrown back his way by her, and he caught Yanma before he'd hit the ground.

The force did push him out of Chansey's healing bubble and had him skid along his ass right up to a Slowbro though, who stared down at him with a mouth that suddenly smelled of fire.

Still holding Yanma, he hopped out of the way of the inferno with Quick Attack, even as an electrical surge covered Slowbro and knocked the dopey Pokémon down.

Hopping over said Slowbro was Raichu, who was looking at him with nervous concern.

Her being here…he had to smile.

"Thanks." He told her with all the empathy he could make clear in his voice, as a sudden idea came to him.

A Natu nearly pecked him in the eye as he was getting the idea while also using Heal Pulse on Yanma with the hand not occupied with his plan, but Krabby blasted it away with Bubblebeam and he took his plan out of his bag and handed it to Raichu.

She stared in surprise at the Timer Ball he had given her.

"Sabrina has a Pokémon captive in the basement. His name is Primeape. I want you to get him for me." He asked her. She stared at him in surprise for a moment, an Abra popping overhead that he swatted away just as quickly as Yanma buzzed out of his arm to fly at a nearby Kadabra in renewed vigor.

She nodded after she gathered her nerves, before she punched the ground and dug through the floor.

With that done Ash turned to stare at where he had been blown from, where Sabrina and Mega Alakazam still stood.

Even once Raichu succeeded, they'd still need to do something about that Mega Alakazam. Yanma had found a hole; he'd just have to figure out how to exploit it again.

...(***)

After slipping from the battle, Raichu found the door to the basement and went down the stairs. At the bottom, she found a door, and several Natu guarding it. She was expecting more, but perhaps the heavy hitters were called to the battle upstairs? Nevertheless, it was in her favor as a quick Thunder wiped out all of the Natu.

Once that was handled, she opened the door. Well, break down after she learned it was locked really. The way things were going, Raichu was pretty sure that the only person who'd care was that crazy woman.

Inside, chained to the wall, was the Primeape Ash wanted to save. A very familiar Primeape.

"Rai." 'No way...'

Primeape looked up and his face was tinged with recognition as he scowled at her.

"Primeape!?" 'You!? What are you doing here!? Did you always work for that crazy woman!? Is that why you blasted me to near death!?'

Raichu flinched at the reminder of what she did while she was still with Paul. It looked like the good luck from the lack of security was averaging out.

"Chu." 'I… Um… I…"

"Primeape!" 'What do you want!? If you're here to finish the job, then go ahead and do it!'

Primeape shouted that, but right afterwards, he closed his eyes in resignation. Raichu saw tears fall down his face. She wasn't sure what was the best thing to say next, but she needed to say something.

"Raichu." 'What happened after you were blasted away?'

Primeape opened his eyes, and Raichu was shocked by what she saw. In his eyes, Raichu saw someone who was past the point of despair and had given up on hope. She saw that before. She saw that in her own eyes when Paul left her to fend for herself, without even letting her heal properly.

"Primeape." 'I almost died from the crash. An Arbok almost finished the job, but that was when that woman found me. She drove off the Arbok and took me here where she healed my wounds. I thought of her as a saviour, but…'

Primeape spat.

'The moment I was fully healed, she placed me in these chains! She told me I was useful bait for an 'Ash Ketchum' to come challenge her Gym! As if any random human would come save me!'

Was that why Ash was here right now? Was that why Sabrina kidnapped him? If so, then Raichu knew what to say next.

"Rai!" 'He's here! That boy is here!'

"Prime?" 'What?'

"Raichu!" 'Ash Ketchum is here! He told me to rescue you with this!' Raichu held out the Timer Ball. 'You enter this, we can escape!'

Primeape was silent for a long while. Raichu could tell he was hesitant to feel any hope.

"Primeape?" 'Why? Why would a random human brave this fortress to rescue me? Who is this Ash Ketchum and why would he do this?'

"Raichu." 'He is one of the kindest and most understanding humans I know. When my previous Trainer abandoned me without treating my injuries, Ash found me. He offered to catch me and heal me, and told me that he would never force me to fight if I didn't want to.'

"Primeape." 'Even so, to come rescue me was suicidal. Why would he do this?'

Raichu thought about that.

"Rai." 'He might have known you before. I overheard some of the others talking about it. That's why that crazy woman thought you were good bait for him. If you want proof, then here's how he reacted when he saw you blasted away. Ash Ketchum was shocked and angry that it happened at all. He was far more angry than might have been warranted for a wild Pokemon almost dying. I know you only have my word, but please, believe me!'

After Raichu finished, the room was silent for a long while. Primeape looked at her carefully, as if he was trying to find any hint of deceit. Eventually, though it was small, Raichu saw a glimmer of hope in Primeape's eyes.

"Primeape." 'I… I believe you.'

Raichu nodded, and tapped the Timer Ball on Primeape. After Primeape entered the Timer Ball, there was no struggle. The Timer Ball registered the capture immediately.

Raichu noted the Timer Ball teleport away to the Professor's lab and ran back up the stairs to Ash's side. After that talk, she couldn't let Primeape or Ash down.

...(**)

Servine was always eager to toss herself on a new fight, and her time with her idiot definitely provided her with plenty of action in both regions and timelines they had gone through. That said, even for her, a horde of powerful Psychic-types might've been too much to handle, even after her battle in Gringy City.

Keyword being might.

After charming two male Kadabra with Attract and blowing a female one through another room with a Contrary-boosted Leaf Storm, the Unovan starter fell back on the ground with grace, only to immediately be tossed into another skirmish as several Natu surrounded her and attempted to peck at full strength. She made short work of them with carefully-aimed Aerial Aces, and the birds were thus fried by a generous heaping of Flamethrower from above.

She traded a quick thumbs up with Charizard and ducked out of the way of an incoming horde of Exeggutor, just as her idiot's own herd of Tauros stampeded in to help. The Grass-type held a hand over her racing heart and rubbed away the sweat on her face before she gave a cursory glance of the battlefield. It was pure chaos: between that woman's horde of assorted Psychic-types and her idiot's veritable army of Pokémon old and new, every Pokémon was doing their best to gain the advantage, with Flamethrowers, Psychics, Water Guns, Rock Blasts, Zap Cannons, Swifts and all other manner of moves dotting every corner of the Gym.

Servine frowned and took a deep breath, observing her hands. She was strong, and her Contrary ability made her Leaf Storms even stronger, but even she had a limit. She could feel that her moves had gotten less powerful the more the fight went on, and she needed a way to recharge. Easier said than done, when she had to toss an Attract and a few Aerial Aces as some persistent Slowbro attempted to get to her, and a few Xatu had the same idea. The enemies were so numerous that the idea of giving up felt more and more tempting with each attack.

As the desperate fight went on, however, Servine felt even more galvanized instead of fatigued. She couldn't give up just there, not when everyone else was putting their lives at stake for her idiot. She had been loyal to him ever since she was a Snivy, and that wasn't gonna change no matter how many evolutions, regions or timelines they went through. And now, she needed a way to recover her energy while still kicking as much ass as she could.

That was when her eyes fell on one of her idiot's recent captures, that Farfetch'd with three leeks, currently engaged in a frantic duel with two of those weird spoonsaber-wielding Kadabra, twisting, jumping and parrying hits like he was having the time of his life as his opponents barely kept up with his leeksmanship. And then, Servine grinned as a spark of inspiration hit her.

She gave a quick look around, and found a few Kadabra with spoonsabers ready to strike coming her way. Servine beamed and rushed after them, tackling one of them on the ground and sending the psychic 'blade' flying. She quickly caught it and held it in her arms, rather glad to still have them, and swiftly sliced at a couple more. More spoons flew at her as her first one exhausted its psychic energy, and the Grass-type quickly grabbed those with a huge grin. Ahead of her, the Kadabra appeared much less confident of their plans as they backed down. Servine took her chance to leap at them instead.

"Ser!" 'Come on, show me what you've got!'

And thus, going from one psychic blade spoon to another, Servine joined the battle with renewed vigor, energy welling up within her as she recovered her strength little by little.

Though eventually, she did find herself back with Chansey again, just in time for her idiot to execute a new plan.

...(**)

Throughout her life, Roggenrola had wished to be a faster Pokémon more than anything else. And smack dab in the middle of an escalating war, that desire was being even more pressing than usual.

After narrowly dodging a beam clash between Butterfree's Psybeam and a Slowbro's Hydro Pump, the Rock-type took a few seconds to rest, only to be ambushed by a flock of Xatu that tried to use Psychic on her, before a few well-aimed Rock Blasts sent them all sprawling on the ground. She tried to rush somewhere else, only for quite a few Kadabra to try to blast her away with Psywave. She ducked under a hit, and then attempted to Iron Head her opponents before she rushed out of the way. The Xatu came back, as did the Kadabra, before she could leave to safety as they forced the sentient rock on the defensive.

They were too many, they were too fast for her, and everyone else was too busy fighting elsewhere to come to her aid. She was alone against everyone, and she had no time to mount an effective counteroffensive.

Faced with her opposition, however, Roggenrola didn't leave. She was outnumbered and slower, but she was clever and resourceful: she was the one who managed to solve the mystery of her friends' disappearence one timeline before, back when she first met Ash, after all. It didn't matter if those Psychic-types were more numerous or able to make complex calculations in three seconds flat: she would find a way to outsmart them. And as she surveyed the ground underneath her, an idea formed in her mind.

She dodged the latest barrage of hits, focused, and then blasted several Rock Blasts groundward. The floor proved sturdy and didn't break, but the knockback was strong enough to send her skyward, right above a narrow Psywave. The Rock-type would've grinned if she could've, and then started to fire several Rock Blasts at machine gun speed, until she was almost on the ceiling.

The Xatu tried to fly at her, but Roggenrola was already on the move: she twisted around herself and another barrage of Rock Blast ensued, every single piece of stone raining down her opposition: They tried to stop them with Psychic, only for the rocks to grow higher and higher, until they became too quick for them to keep up with, and they were all buried under Roggenrola's assault, falling down unconscious.

Roggenrola landed on the ground right after as the Rock Blast ended, wobbling on her feet before she steadied herself. Her head was spinning and there were still several more enemies to face, but she couldn't help but feel energized by what she managed to do. Who cared if she was slow? She just had to think quick and strike smart, and then there wouldn't be any problem.

And thus, she jumped back on the fray with far more energy than before, ready to help out. And where better to start than with Ash's new plan.

...

"Attack!" Ash ordered again as he took the old attack order from before with a bit more to it.

As before Pikachu fired Thunderbolt, Servine spun a Leaf Storm, Vivillon shot a green glowing Struggle Bug, Goodra unleashed Dragonbreath, Butterfree blew Silver Wind, Squirtle shot at Alakazam with Brine, and Muk spat Sludge Bomb.

In addition though, Pidgeot were flying overhead and fired a glowing Air Slash, while Krabby provided a Bubblebeam.

Mega Alakazam's five spoons glowed, and all the attacks clashed into each other and cancelled each other out.

Sabrina shook her head before holding her palm out opposite of Alakazam. It glowed, freezing the charging Ambipom, Yanma, and Bulbasaur (with Shadow Claw, Quick Attack, and Tackle respectively) in place.

Still holding them there, she looked at him with a 'really' look, as if expecting better out of him that that.

She promptly got to see his better when a flaming form charged into Mega Alakazam, arm around the Mega Evolved Pokémon in a lariat style.

Charizard slammed Mega Alakazam into the wall before flying back and glaring at it.

"Rrr…" 'You know, you feel lighter than the last two regular Alakazam I beat.' Charizard observed, before unleashing a torrential Flamethrower right into the Mega Evolved Pokémon.

However mid-stream the fire glowed purple and turned towards the three Pokémon that Sabrina held immobilized. She floated out of the way of the flames, while still holding them in place for the attack.

"Cover for them!" Ash shouted as Squirtle shot a Water Gun across the Flamethrower's redirected path, wiping it out and leaving only a hot steamy mist in its wake.

Charizard growled and held up a Metal Claw for the next attack, but he himself glowed and was pulled back into the overall battle melee (in which Ash could hear the insane cackling of Farfetch'd and many Tauros bellows).

A few Pidgey and Pidgeotto were blown into the healing circle, followed by Pidgeot flying back into the overall chaos as Sabrina raised an eyebrow before absently tossing Ambipom, Bulbasaur, and Yanma away.

"You need more Pokémon here to fight my Mega Alakazam, yet that would lead to the melee of Pokémon your Pokédex brought in faltering. Yet it would be so easy if you would just fight with everything you have instead of having some silly restriction upon yourself."

"If I do that, you win." Ash reminded her bluntly.

"And is that so bad? I win all the time, I win whenever challengers proves themselves worthy, and I win when they don't. Still, what do you hope to pull out for the win if you are so insistent on not using your paternal ability? Perhaps that Thunder Armor thing?"

Pikachu sparked his cheeks, looking ready to try it with the nearest Swellow-substitute.

Ash gripped his hands together tightly, feeling the same hand covered in a lot of dust and crystal shards as it had before. He gripped even tighter in response as he stared right at Sabrina.

"Maybe I'll do that, or maybe I'll find another way. If you claim to know everything, you should know that I have gotten out of tough battles before."

"Yes, I am aware of what you have accomplished with a combination of quick thinking and those old proverbs of 'Innate, Resolve, and Spirit' people love in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Though tell me, what do you plan on trying to achieve?"

"We'll all find out I suppose," Ash held out the fist he was gripping a handful of that odd sand out at Sabrina in a gesture of resolve, only for the hand to start glowing in a yellow-orange aura.

"And it would seem we have," Sabrina noted as the yellow-orange aura gained a purple hue, before sucking in purple aura from all over the battlefield. The purple aura began overwhelming the previous color, causing his hand to glow deeply in the color while his arm shook so violently he had to grip his arm with the other hand to have any control of what his arm was doing.

All Pokémon present stared at his hand in shock as the Pokédex had its own thing to say.

"You are generating odd energy readings from your hand! What exactly are you doing?!"

"If I knew, I'd tell you!"

Sabrina observed his still shaking hand in interest, though she made no move to attack him during the process. She was apparently curious as to what he was doing too.

A more light-based glow of bright pink began leaking out between his fingers as the aura flared up one more time before receding away. The light faded moments later, as did the sheer shaking of his hand. Something solid was now in his hand and he pulled his hand back and dropped whatever was in his hand now into his other palm.

What he found was a pink crystal, resting in the center of his palm as if he had not made it out of seemingly nothing.

As all of his Pokémon present stared at the crystal in surprise, the Pokédex spoke up.

"Ash, are you aware of what that is?"

"A violation of at least one law of physics I guess?" At least the remnant of his science classes was shouting that in the back of his mind.

"Possibly, but more than that. The readings of that crystal indicate that it's a Z-Crystal, much like the one that Lilo used. Best I can determine at this time, that crystal was created by some combination of the residual energies given off by Pokémon and the energy you naturally give off as a Bloodliner. Most likely with an additional third element as a catalyst, which I'll hypothesize to be the make-up of a Z-Ring given the seen incidents so far. That crystal itself is a Psychium-Z, used for the Psychic-Z move."

That point made Ash stare at the crystal in his hand.

That time against Lilo, and later against Elwood and Aideen, it wanted to lead to this?

"How interesting. I think I know all your surprises Ash, and you throw a new surprise at me."

Sabrina's observation put the focus back on her from the crystal as the woman continued.

"It is said in Alolan folklore that the first great king of Alola, Kahele, created all the Z-Crystals in a method only he himself knew. If he did so like you did just now, he has become much more interesting to me."

So his creation of a crystal in a manner he had no idea how to do again, was going to get her to watch a documentary?

"Read a book actually."

Oh yeah, the mindreading thing. She was still doing that.

Ash looked at the crystal in his palm for a moment, then at the Z-Ring. After a moment he placed the crystal in the top of the ring.

Step one, placing the crystal. Done.

Step two, activate it. That, he wasn't sure on how.

"As I mentioned before, Alolans manifest the power of Z-Moves..." The Pokédex glowed and was yanked into the melee before it could finish explaining by a Kadabra, who promptly Teleported out of the way of Farfetch'd who instead crashed into a Alakazam instead.

While he did need the reminder the Pokédex had mentioned it before, he could probably figure it out.

In fact he actually could remember seeing it performed in that weird vision thing that happened after he got the Z-Ring, and the Keystone too for some reason.

"If you are asking for why that happens, don't ask me. It actually happened with me too and I couldn't tell you why."

Ignoring Sabrina reading his mind again, he didn't need to look behind him to know that Butterfree had flapped over to him to see if this would all work.

"Okay, this will apparently do something because you know a Psychic-type move. Be prepared for anything Butterfree!" Ash declared as Butterfree gave a acknowledging nod.

The first thing was an arm cross, which he did as he felt the crystal and Z-Ring flash. That was probably a good sign.

"Protect." Sabrina simply said as Alakazam formed a glowing orb around himself. However he didn't stop.

After arm cross, he was supposed to poke his temples. He did so, and he felt a further spark of energy course through him as he did so.

It felt a bit weird though, as if some of what he was feeling had been held back.

Next was taking his right hand and holding it out, palm facing out. He did so, and he glowed the same initial color he had seen in the forming of the crystal.

Orange-yellow, which promptly flew at Butterfree and surrounded him, turning a pink color similar to that of the crystal seconds after impact that kept building and building up in higher intensity, moments away from release.

Sabrina simply stepped behind Alakazam. She was apparently quite fine with letting him get off the move, though she seemed quite sure that a Mega-evolved Protect would be sufficient in stopping it.

Perhaps it was, Ash wasn't really sure. However, she had missed something, something he had kept out of his mind as to not to remind her.

However Sabrina promptly was shown what she had missed when a glowing leek was thrown right at the Protect bubble even as the full power of the Z-Move was building up in Butterfree (who was currently buzzing so much he was half wondering if he'd turn into a Beedrill from the power).

Said glowing leek caused the Protect to fade away into nothing, before the Feint powered leek bounced right back into the jaw of the Pokémon who had used it.

"Far." Declared Farfetch'd bluntly as the name of the Z-move came to him from the memory of that vision.

"Shattered Psyche!" Ash shouted as Mega Alazakam was surrounded in the same sort of aura that was around Butterfree.

The Mega Pokémon was promptly sent flying across the battlefield, knocking over a Girafarig and Exeggutor before hitting an invisible wall. From said invisible wall Mega Alakazam ricocheted over a Slowking and a second wall that sent Mega Alakazam into the air, before the light exploded in a massive burst of power that illuminated the entire field.

On top of that impressive display, each time Mega Alakazam hit one of the walls Ash felt a massive wave of, something. He wasn't sure what it was, it did not feel like heat, wind, or some scent that was wafting through everything. He wasn't the only one feeling it either, given the odd looks Servine, Pikachu, and the others were giving each burst.

He had to catch Butterfree though, who seemed rather exhausted from using the Z-Move.

He did not miss the feeling of a Vine Whip from Bulbasaur slotting the Pokédex back in his jacket pocket while he was catching him however, which was glad to give some clarification.

"Your attack, which I must admit some respect for doing without my guidance, has created three waves of radiation. Before you ask, yes I have built in radiation detection software for all sorts of scenarios. However, I cannot tell you the exact reason for the radiation discharge, only that the radiation was not detected when Lilo used it, my scans detect no adverse harm to any of the Pokémon in this building or to the two Bloodliners present, and that the radiation wave from the final attack did go through part of the nearby city area, though if all present were unharmed I can safely assure you that you will be responsible for no ill effect bar some sync issues in certain electronics."

He did what!?

"Also, Raichu placed the Primeape in the Timer Ball while I was away from you. Congratulations, the ball is now at Professor Oak's with the Exeggutor."

Sabrina just stared at him in a weird mixture of shock, anger, and respect, which was highlighted when a telekinetic pull from another of her Pokémon dropped a defeated Mega Alakazam at her feet.

It flashed orange and returned to normal, even as Raichu popped out of a hole and let out a cry of self-satisfaction at a task well done.

All Pokémon around him other than Pikachu promptly glowed the same color as Sabrina's eyes, before being flung out of the area. Seconds later he found himself surrounded by Psychic Pokémon from Starmie and Exeggutor to Xatu and Alakazam.

"I would really prefer to not have to resort to such measures. However, for you I will make an exception. Stop limiting yourself, use your power liberally, or suffer the consequences."

Sabrina's tone sounded like it was borderline cracking with frustration as the Pokémon around him began charging what appeared to be Psyshock.

"Pikapi!" 'I got the ones of the left, you get the tree.'

Ash nodded and prepared to see how this would all go, when a second Teleport went off.

Ash would have said it spelled their further problem, before he saw who had popped in.

"Get away from him!" Misty's shout was followed seconds after by the Whirlpool that slammed into the Xatu and spun it away.

Iris pretty much snarled as she lunged at a Alakazam, knocking it away with sheer physical force. No Bloodline ability in action, just pure human strength and anger fueling her assault.

Anabel didn't say anything as she stood still and telekinetically swung the Starmie away as she looked for her next target.

"Step away from my brother."

Ash had to look a second time as Belladonna of all people struck the Exeggutor with Poison Jab, while Evanna punched the Hypno in the stomach with Power-up Punch.

Aurora froze the Mr. Mime's hands together while Vedia struck an Abra that had popped in behind him with a shadowy hand.

"…What?" Sabrina all but mouthed as a fresh wave of exhaustion, brought on by the addition question of why Belladonna of all people was here, caused him to drop to his knees. He quickly felt his body held by two pairs of arms, summoning whatever energy he could Ash looked up to see who the arms belonged to.

One pair belonged to Misty, the other were Belladonna's, and both looking at him in relief and concern, which quickly gained a hint of confusion as a fiery explosion that was probably Charizard's doing went off behind them.

"…What is even going on here?" Evanna asked of said loud boom, before absently punching away an Abra.

"You came in the midst of the second escape plan, which had been ongoing for some time before your arrival. I'll admit your arrival, while unexpected, is advantageous."

Belladonna stared at the pocket where the sound had come from in confusion.

"I was quiet when your lover froze him to a wall. I'm an artificial intelligence given to Ash Ketchum by an old man. You can call me the Pokédex, Dexter, Handy, or whatever you please. Regardless of what you wish to call me, there is no use dawdling. Can Vedia restrain someone?"

"I take it you mean the bitch over there?" Belladonna eyed Sabrina darkly.

"Of course. To ensure we can get everyone out, we simply need to ensure she can't try anything bothersome." The Pokédex declared, even as a shadow moved to strike her.

Sabrina simply glared, and Vedia was sent flying into Iris instead. However she didn't have long to enjoy the feat before a stream of icy energy struck her, causing a solid layer of ice to form around Sabrina.

Aurora, whose hands were steaming from the cold she had unleashed, looked different than when she had frozen him. She seemed a tad more enthusiastic about it, as if freezing Sabrina in a solid block of ice was more enjoyable to her than freezing him to a wall.

She quickly began blasting at it again as cracks began forming on it, a concerned look on her face that quickly lessened when a glowing aura formed around her ice and slowed the cracking. Anabel's psychic glow reinforcing the frozen bindings.

Barely a second after Sabrina was in the ice, ten Teleports were heard behind him, then ten Teleports out.

This repeated quickly, in and out rapidly. A Teleport popped in front of him, obscuring his view of Sabrina's icy cube she tried to escape from with the form of an Exeggutor.

The Exeggutor seemed to stare at Sabrina, an emotion wafting off it in a manner Ash could only describe as hatred.

"Tor." Exeggutor seemed to practically spat before Teleporting away.

A thought occurred to Ash, these Exeggutor's original owner was killed, as the Pokédex had theorized. Did Sabrina have something to do with their released status?

The thought was quickly snuffed out by exhaustion though, so when the Pokédex declared everyone (every Pidgey, every Grimer, the Jiggypluff and the crazy Farfetch'd, etc), was at Oak's ranch, even Servine, Muk, Tauros, Squirtle, and Roggenrola, everyone huddled around him and with Anabel as the final touch, they Teleported away.

Just as Sabrina finally broke out of the ice, looking a combination of so many emotions Ash would struggle even at full awakeness to tell if she was furious, utterly impressed, or just wanted to go to bed at this point.

…

They had Teleported back to where this long, long, very long day had begun, and Ash knew just what to do.

With the day finally over, Ash walked right into the very Secret Base after a token nod and a clear, non-verbal recognition from everyone that he was dead exhausted and to talk to him in the morning about it.

He threw the Item Capsule for his bed seconds before he collapsed on it, just wanting to go to bed and be done with today.

Pikachu didn't even get that far, and settled for a corner of the base instead. Given he had dropped his jacket earlier; Pikachu had claimed it for a nest tonight.

He'd find a laundromat for it tomorrow if he needed to after that. He had also dropped his backpack at the foot of the bed, but Pikachu did not claim it for a place to sleep.

Perhaps another Pokémon would sleep in his backpack someday, but today was not the day that would happen.

Right now, he just wanted to sleep.

He turned rapidly as he felt a Teleport pop in about five minutes into trying to fall asleep and not managing, though he didn't actually strike the one coming in.

Anabel was not an enemy after all, he could tell that even when dead exhausted.

Anabel, having used the five or so minutes since he got out of that crazy place to change into her sleep clothes unlike himself, lay next to him with a concerned look on her face.

'I don't want to wake up tomorrow and find you've been Teleported away again.' Anabel told him, her tone leaking with concern.

"I don't think…." Ash tried to reassure her that Sabrina would probably not grab him again, before another body thumped behind him.

"This is not a thinking thing." Iris told him from behind him. He heard Axew off somewhere in the base, probably taking up his own corner. She moved closer to him, and he could feel her body heat. If she went any closer he could probably start feeling her body against his.

Then would he ever get to sleep?

'It's a worry thing. Let us be sure this Sabrina thing is over, at least for tonight.'

Pikachu's comments from earlier rang up in his mind briefly. That wasn't what was happening, right?

Footsteps at the front of the secret base rang out, as he looked up to find Misty looking at them.

He wasn't sure the exact emotion she was displaying right now, it was a look that was both 'really', and 'how nice', and 'why didn't I do that already'.

Those feelings and the rest of the composition of Misty's odd look (that didn't seem aimed at him specifically, at the very least), were replaced by surprise as she was shoved in by a grinning Belladonna.

"Oh stop overthinking. That bed can totally hold you as well. Go make sure my little brother is alright tonight, the more the merrier! Not expecting you to do anything crazy, but do the thirteenth thing. We'll have pancakes tomorrow if you manage it."

Belladonna's tone was giddy, and she left with a wink his way, followed by a thumbs up also meant for him.

Misty stumbled from the push Belladonna had given her, but didn't fall and looked ready to yell at Belladonna with a blush heavy face.

"My Dear can freeze you in there with a wall of ice if you'd prefer," Belladonna both teased and warned her. Misty promptly no longer looked ready to yell at her, though she did mutter something about needing something better to sleep in.

Ash quickly offered her one of his spare shirts in his unclaimed bag, and Anabel dropped a slender arm on his face for Misty's privacy.

"Is that really necessary?" Iris questioned Anabel, his blocked sight not hiding the sounds of Misty's clothes hitting the floor with a plop.

….(***)

Even knowing Ash wasn't staring at her, Misty felt pretty odd at changing clothes in front of him. Not exactly uncomfortable, and since he had already seen her wearing bikinis it wasn't like she had that much left to his imagination. However, that wasn't important right now.

Once she was well covered, Anabel removed her arm from Ash's eyes, and Misty glanced at them.

"Ash, I …"

She stopped there, unsure as to how to follow. It was like the night they left Cerulean; she wanted to apologize for snapping at him and not properly thanking him for saving her life. Then again, that time it was easier, given it had been just the two of them.

As much as she'd love a private moment with Ash, she didn't have the heart to tell Iris and Anabel to leave. She wasn't the only one in there who cared fo Ash, neither the only one who was frightened when he vanished. Anabel and Iris exchanged glances, and without further words they rolled over a bit to make more room for her on the bed, though Iris went back into her earlier place when Misty put herself in front of Ash in Anabel's old spot.

'It's okay. We all feel the same way after today. You don't need to feel embarrassed.'

Misty sighed. Was she making it that obvious? "Alright," She finally said as she sat on the bed and laid next to Ash. Close, but not that close. Though she still had a bit more contact with the others than she was used to.

"Look, you guys don't really have to do this, I…"

"Shhh…" Misty placed a finger on his mouth. "Even if we don't, after today, I want to be close in case something happens. I just… I don't want to lose you."

She had to struggle to let the last five words out. She had been keeping them to herself for a long time, probably since that time she felt jealous of Iris. Admittedly, her fear of losing Ash still lingered, but it wasn't so much as losing him to Iris, or Anabel, at least not in that sense, let alone after the effort they made to find him, and showing they cared for him as much as she did.

No, what she feared was that someone would want to hurt him. She had already gone through that when Hunter J kidnapped him, and after this... she didn't want to take any more chances. Iris was right. She had to become stronger, stronger to protect him. And she couldn't do that alone.

So at least for that night, she wouldn't mind sharing him with the others. They would all keep him safe, together.

CHAPTER END!

FUN FACT! The abilities Ash's father have were inspired by descriptions from a MLP fanfic, a fun and wholesome number called The Conversion Bureau, the Other side of the Spectrum's sidestory called 'Calm Before the Storm'.

Cross-series idea pollination, it creates the most interesting ideas doesn't it?

Manna is the character from the Fox written Omake last chapter, and her design is basically those M21 Ash edits with longer hair (I like the collar thing, it's Iris who doesn't) Manna, whose name was suggested by Fox, also incorporates an older idea I had for Ash getting into the Celadon Gym, which would involve helping calm down a Hyper-Overgrow Ivysaur (AKA an Ivysaur with Ash's Chimchar syndrome), and so hers has the ability.

May 'aging backwards' is a reference to the fact May's Sinnoh design has hera lot less busty than she was generally shown as in the Advanced era. I hadn't planned that point but I came up with it while trying to figure out how Sabrina would note the 'Ash's age is impossible to tell' joke and it was too funny to not have around.

The 'Squirtle about Primeape' scene went through a lot of edits. You see…I had originally planned on having Squirtle express a dislike of Primeape (to be shared by Pidgeot and Bulbasur), up to calling him a jackass worse than 'Charizard in his I do not care phase', and suggesting he would probably attack Togepi or Axew. This was fought back ferociously by the other writers (bar Fox), and so the new scene exists. I still fail to see the problem they had, and several of their ideas for fixing the scene seemed worse to me (among them having Squirtle suggest dropping Primeape off somewhere when they got him back), but in the interest of keeping the peace I let the edit go forward. Just for fun, that entire scene is probably the most controversial scene in the Resetverse as it stands right now.

On Sabrina's 'moral theorist' question….frankly I am not qualified to answer that quest. If the sex is consensual, but one party makes the other's body become receptive to fertilization without the other knowing….what is that? At the very least I'll say that different siblings would place differently on 'would X's conception be considered rape' scale than others, depending on the exact situation.

As to a bit more of the commentary about how Ash and his siblings were conceived, one can imagine Ash's father possessing that talent all harem fanfic protagonists have. That wonderful ability to have sex for a lot longer than most humans can, though in context used less for the fantasy of power and more for 'I need to keep this going long enough to fast forward her body to the right point'. Nothing so unsettling as the question of what a villain could do with a protagonist power, am I right?

The side bodies of the Pokédex being on Ash when he was grabbed were a shameless way of removing them from the plot! Same with Professor Oak's doctor visit.

Jessie does not have feeling for Ash. She can appreciate his looks, but that ship is not in effect in the story. Let me make that clear, Jessie x Ash is not a thing in this story. At all. Do not ask me for it. Do not tell me the ship sucks. The ship will not happen, no reviews about it at all please.

Meliae's comments about commitments, for the curious, will be a bit more defined here. Basically she's saying she isn't against an exclusive romantic relationship, though she had little interest in an exclusive physical relationship.

Originally Sabrina was going to telekinetically use Ash's hand and his Keystone to Mega Evolve Alakazam. The other writers had issue with the idea, and we've got what we have here as a result. I suppose she could have yanked the ring off Ash's hand to do it, but I figured ensuring Ash got it back at the end would be something I could easily slip up on.

** Viroro has a few ideas on his plate, among them being bringing in an Evil Ash Sibling for a project he's working on. As I was gathering ideas, I decided to use him here for one of Misty and co's jumping bits. I wrote an original one, and Viroro edited it to be more what he was looking for. Everyone also offered a few extra scenes to the mix

*** Fox again contributed. This scene was actually created by accident, if you'd believe it. Still Fox really does a good Pokeshipping scene, doesn't he?

**** Partner edited scene, see the comments on 'most controversial scene'.

Ash's Z-Crystal creation is based on Vrains Storm Access.

Next time, we get on to Cinnabar Island, either in full or in part. I am not sure. Also Togepi probably hatches.

And since I'm here, let me say this now.

SMASH! GLORIOUS SMASH! THAT DEBUT TRAILER MADE BE TREMBLE! SMASH…..