Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned anything related to Nintendo's Pokémon franchise.

Legend:

"A human or a Pokémon is talking."

'A human or a Pokémon is thinking.'

"A machine is being used."

Chapter 23:

(Saffron City—Police HQ)

Chief Jenny was sitting within her office, frowning as she looked down at the newspaper lying on her desk. She was frowning at one article, though, whose headline screamed across the top of the first page of the newspaper. The article was:

Murder within Police Interrogation Cell!

By: Sarah Williams

Early yesterday morning, Chief J. Jenny was interrogating a member of the illegal organization known as Team Rocket. Said suspect had been captured by the police for various robberies, muggings, and the attempted murder of Mrs. Suzanne Willows.

"I had just confronted the suspect with the evidence of his crimes when [it] happened," Chief J. Jenny had to say when asked what had happened before the murder took place in one of her interrogation rooms.

The "it" in question was the murder of the man, formerly known as Jacob E. Litch. A single Ditto emerged from underneath the table of the room and latched onto Jacob's face. Chief Jenny was reported to have tried to intervene but another Ditto emerged from underneath the table and attached itself to her legs.

When asked about it, Chief Jenny sighed and looked away before saying, "It was horrible. By the time I managed to get the Ditto off of my legs, [Mr. Litch] was already gone." Then, in response to another question, she said, "At the time, I didn't think of using my Pokémon."

The police have released a statement about the two Ditto responsible for the attack. Apparently, both Pokémon were found with two high-tech collars around their necks. While the collars were on them, the Pokémon were unresponsive and expressionless but, as soon as they were removed, they began to respond. Silph Co. technicians are examining the collars for an undisclosed reason.

I think that we know that reason.

The technicians are testing to see if those collars can control a Pokémon. Maybe even to the point of absolute obedience? One would think the very idea preposterous and absurd, but it could soon be a known reality. Poké Balls are known to stimulate a feeling of trust and friendliness within a captured Pokémon, alongside the desire to obey their Trainer's orders. So why wouldn't it be possible for someone to enhance or even amplify that desire?

"What a mess..." Chief Jenny said with a sigh.

This couldn't have come at a worse time. Several of her most trusted officers had started an investigation as to how those two Ditto got into the interrogation room. They had done a thorough screening of the dead grunt's body and there were no traces of Ditto DNA anywhere besides the man's face. The grunt had his Pokémon taken away from him before he had been taken into the room and had reacted in obvious surprise to the Ditto's presence.

That also brought into the equation of why the Ditto had appeared then. This one was relatively easier to answer. When the grunt had made to surrender some sort of information about Team Rocket's activities, the Ditto had appeared. So, knowing this, it wasn't too hard to figure out that the Ditto had to have been planted there to shut him up.

However, that also brought to Chief Jenny's attention the question of how. That interrogation room had been cleared before she had drug the man in there and handcuffed him to the table. And, as loathe as she was to admit it, she already had an idea that could answer it.

One of the officers in her police force had planted those Ditto, knowing she was bringing him into that room. In other words, they had been infiltrated by a Team Rocket spy or mole.

(Saffron City—Pokémon Center—Cafeteria)

Ash looked up from his breakfast when he heard his dad sigh, seeing him folding what looked like today's newspaper. Judging by the expression on his dad's face, whatever was in the news must've been something that upset him. "Are you okay, Dad?" He asked.

"... I'm fine, Ash." His dad said, attempting a reassuring grin that looked more like a grimace. His mom put a hand on his dad's shoulder and he sighed again, "Just some... unpleasant news today. Nothing to worry yourselves over. The police are handling it."

That last sentence piqued Ash's interest a little bit. Why were the police were involved? Had there been a break-in or attempted robbery, like Team Rocket's attack on Viridian City's Pokémon Center? He wanted to ask about it, but a look from his mom stopped him. He could practically hear his mom saying, "Not now", so he bit his tongue. He could find out later. After all, whatever happened was in the news, and newspapers were everywhere.

"Good morning." A familiar voice greeted quietly.

Ash and his parents, alongside their released Pokémon, looked up from their breakfasts just in time for Anabel to sit down on the end of the bench. Ash frowned. He hadn't seen Anabel since yesterday, when they had been fighting over the bathroom. He had been distracted by his parents' arrival—and crying, not that he would admit it to anyone—but he had stilled missed Anabel.

What really made him frown, though, was the state of Anabel's appearance. Her hair was unbrushed and now sticking up in every direction, her eyes looked sunken in, and there was a suspicious puffiness to them. She was also wearing the exact same clothes that she had been wearing yesterday. They looked a bit ruffled and crinkled, so she must've slept in them too.

As Ash slid over towards his friend, neither he nor Anabel noticed the concerned glances that his parents were giving each other. "Anabel..." His mom began in a concerned tone, "Are you okay, sweetie? You don't look so well..."

"I-I'm fine." Anabel whispered, staring at her food.

"Are you sure that you're not tired or feeling sick?" His mom asked.

'Why would Anabel be feeling sick?' Ash wondered in growing confusion. 'She was just fine, yesterday...'

Anabel was thinking, 'No, Mrs. Ketchum, I'm not. My dad y-yelled at me last night and made me feel really, really bad. And then I hid in a supply closet until my parents left before crawling back into their room and spent the night staring at the ceiling.' Out loud, she said, "... I guess that I'm beginning to feel the implications of what's going on with us."

"You shouldn't worry about that. Sabrina also said that she could train you to control your powers." Ash said before either of his parents could say anything, giving her a reassuring grin. "And then everything will be okay!"

Anabel looked at him for a moment and sighed internally, 'If only it was that simple, Ash...'

"If you're sure that you're feeling okay..." Jonathan trailed off when he received a faint nod from Anabel. "... Where are your parents, Anabel?" He then asked. "I wanted to ask them if it would be okay for Delia and I to take you and Ash out to get your minds off what's been happening."

"Uh..." Anabel really didn't know how to answer that question. Or a want to answer it either. She racked her brains for something to say that wouldn't raise their almost palpable suspicions. "... They, uh, left for their own hotel last night. I don't know which hotel either. Sorry..."

Jonathan and Delia exchanged a glance, "Do they have a PokéGear that we can contact them on?"

"I can't remember the number." Anabel lied. She knew the number by heart, but she wasn't about to tell them that. If she did, Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum would call her parents and discover what had really gone on last night. She didn't want them, or Ash, to stop treating her so nicely and start acting like her dad. They would, too, if her dad got a chance to talk to them about her and her 'problems'. "Besides... Dad only answers his PokéGear for clients."

"Oh." Delia said, surprised. "I'm sorry, dear."

Ash seemed to have decided that enough was enough and spoke up. "But..." He started as he looked at Anabel. "Your parents wouldn't mind if we went out, right?"

"Sweetie, I don't know—" Delia began to say.

"Yeah... I think it would be fine." Anabel said, lying again. Of course her parents wouldn't be 'okay' with it. She knew that her parents, her dad at least, seemed to despise Ash already. He certainly wouldn't, willingly, allow her to go anywhere with Ash's family unless they came too. Something that also needed to be avoided. "They're pretty... low-key?"

"Alright!" Ash cheered.

Anabel felt some of her earlier tension slid right off of her shoulders, smiling lightly at Ash's enthusiasm. There was nothing as comforting as seeing her friend so happy and because of something she did for him. Not some field that she had only really felt one time. It was all Ash.

XXXXXX

(Saffron City—Contest Hall)

After everyone had finished up their breakfasts, and Anabel had a chance to go freshen up, they left the Pokémon Center. They had wandered around the streets for a little while before noticing that a lot of people were heading in a certain direction. Asking a random passerby had provided them with the information that there was a Pokémon Contest scheduled to begin soon.

That bit of information had certainly given Delia the idea that they should go and see it. They hadn't really been doing much and, despite how girly they seemed, Pokémon Contests were actually quite interesting.

Pokémon Contests were competitions where Pokémon Coordinators—Trainers who focused on the beauty of their Pokémon—went to show off their Pokémon. The contests themselves usually involved two rounds: the appeal round and the battle round.

The appeal round was where Pokémon Coordinators would release their Pokémon onto the stage and showcase their beauty and talent. After the appeal round, three judges would go over every performance and eliminate those Coordinators that had been unable to woo them. The battle round was where the remaining Pokémon Coordinators battled one another. Still, even in the battle round, it was very important to continue showing off 'beautiful' moves.

"I can't wait!" Delia said from her seat next to Jonathan. "I haven't been able to personally go and see a Contest in ages!"

Ash turned and gave his mom a surprised look, "You like Contests, Mom?"

"Mm-hm." Delia nodded. "While I chose not to become a Coordinator myself, Contests have always interested me." She said, smiling. "There is just something about seeing how cute certain moves can look outside of battle and the combinations Coordinators use—" She sighed, dreamily. "—is just amazing."

"You would be surprised to see how many Trainers come to see a Contest, son." Jonathan said with a nod towards the curtained stage. "Besides being one of the ways that Coordinators earn their money, being entertainment for us, and bringing in extra revenue for hosting city... they are also a source of inspiration for Trainers."

"Really?"

Surprising, it was Anabel who answered instead of Jonathan. "Yeah... I've heard that Trainers come to contests to see how ordinary moves can be used differently." She smiled at Ash, "Like Beedrill's Poison Sting. It's different from how a Beedrill would usually use it."

"Oh. I get it." Ash said.

"Ooh~!" Delia cheered, stars in her eyes. "It's starting!"

Jonathan turned at his son and winked, "If you watch closely enough, you'll be amazed by what you see. And maybe you'll learn something, too."

"Ladies and Gentleman... please allow me the honor of introducing you all to the fabulous Pokémon Coordinators competing in today's Pokémon Contest!" Miranda Skipp, the blonde Master of Ceremonies, announced over the loudspeakers. From her position in the middle of the stage, she then turned around, towards the curtain as it was raised up. "And here they are~!"

Fifty well-dressed Pokémon Coordinators were then revealed. Eyes sparkling, they bowed as one towards their now-roaring audience. Miranda's voice, calling up the first Coordinator for the appeal round, was practically drowned out by the noise. That noise stopped, though, as soon as 'Jimmy Trys' stepped forward.

"Let's go, Goldeen!" Jimmy cried as he threw a covered Poké Ball into the air.

Instead of the usual flash of light, Jimmy's Pokémon came out within a storm of blue-tinted bubbles. The fish-like Pokémon twisted in mid-air and struck an impressive pose that, alongside the bubbles, made it seem as if it had gracefully jumped out of the ocean. Then, on Jimmy's command, the bubbles around his Pokémon were pulled inwards and formed into multiple rings that circled around it.

"Wow..."Ash said, leaning on the edge of his seat.

Jimmy, however, wasn't done yet and ordered his Goldeen to use Supersonic. Goldeen complied by releasing a multitude of transparent rings from her mouth. These rings caused the bubble rings to shudder until the bubbles began to explode one by one. So, instead of landing with the bubble rings around it, Goldeen landed amidst a shower of sparkles that highlighted the orange coloring on her fins.

"Wow! Jimmy Trys brings the heat with a dazzling combination of Aqua Ring and Supersonic." Miranda said, sounding awed. "Judges~?"

Mr. Contesta smiled as the audience turned towards where the judges' booth. Then, after clearing his throat, he began to speak into his microphone. "I think that was quite good. It is obvious that Jimmy has trained his Goldeen well. You have my vote."

"Goldeen put on a good performance, though Jimmy could have been more interactive." Ms. Yue said. The crowd 'boo-ed' at her, but she seemed unaffected or simply didn't care about it. "I say no."

Now all the attention fell upon the last of the three judges; Mr. Suzuki. "Well..." Everyone in the audience leaned on the edges of their seats, waiting for his decision. "I think that performance is good enough for you to move on. Your Goldeen's form was magnificent and her moves... spectacular!"

The audience roared in approval of Mr. Suzuki's vote while Jimmy smiled and bowed to the audience. Jimmy recalled his Goldeen and moved off the stage and through a nearby doorway, where he would wait until the battle rounds. When he was completely gone, Miranda called up the next Pokémon Coordinator; Tammy Heart.

By the time Tammy and her Ponyta finished their appeal, Ash and Anabel were hooked.

XXXXXX

(Two Hours Later)

"That was awesome!" Ash exclaimed as he, his parents, and Anabel walked out of the Contest Hall. "I mean, did you see the way that Misdreavus just passed through that Flamethrower and then created those orbs with Power Gem? Amazing!"

"I liked the Cosmic Power and Stone Edge combination that Lunarock used! It was really cool." Anabel added before she paused. "Not as cool as that Water Pulse and Psychic combination that one Train—I mean Coordinator—used, though."

Ash looked at her like she was crazy, "Are you kidding me? I'll admit that combination looked nice, but the Flamethrower and Gust combination was way better. The way Tammy used her Charmeleon's Flamethrower and her Pidgey's Gust to create it... and then what it did... how can you not say it wasn't good?"

"I never said that." Anabel said.

Behind the two, now-arguing, Pokémon Trainers, Jonathan and Delia exchanged small smiles. It seemed that their plan of distracting the kids was working. Not only had Ash and Anabel been stunned over what the Pokémon Coordinators had managed to do, they were excited too. And, judging by the growing ferocity between the two Trainers, they had really liked it.

"Jonathan..."

Before his wife could finish, Jonathan was walking. "So, you guys enjoyed the Contest?" Jonathan asked as he put one arm around each of the children's shoulders, thereby halting their argument. "Delia and I certainly did."

"Yeah... It was really cool!" Ash said.

Anabel smiled up at him, "Thanks for taking me with you guys, Mr. Ketchum. It was nice."

"No problem! Any friend of Ash's is welcome to come with us anytime." Jonathan said, waving it off. "Now... what do you guys say that we go out to eat? I'm sure that we—" He made a motion towards them, as a group, and then to the Poké Balls clipped onto his belt, "—are all very hungry."

"Now that you mention it, dad..." Ash began to say.

XXXXXX

(Later)

A Psychic is a term that referred to a person, male or female, that had possessed supernatural abilities that stemmed from their mind. No one was quite sure where a psychic's powers came from, as it didn't seem that it was hereditary or any other natural reasons, only that they existed. Furthermore, Psychics had existed for a very long time.

Despite the fact that Psychics had powers, some of them considered it a curse. The reason was very simple: a Psychic's power(s) could drive them insane if they didn't gain control over it. Most 'normal' people couldn't understand the reasoning behind it, though it was very simple.

Imagine being able to able to hear the thoughts of everyone around. A Psychic who has mastered their abilities can block out or mute the thoughts until they could be ignored. A Psychic who couldn't control their abilities would be unable to push the thoughts away from themselves and each thought would be demanding the Psychic's attention. If the Psychic didn't gain control, the thoughts would eat away at them until they killed themselves to get rid of 'the voices', sought help, or ran away.

That was one of the reasons that Sabrina Hearst was held in such high regards. After gaining control of her powers, with the help of a Psychic from another region, she had set out to help those like her. She had done everything within her power to find untrained Psychics and help them learn how to control their powers. Despite the impossibility of the situation, she had actually managed to do it.

So, walking into Saffron City's Pokémon Gym, it wouldn't be a surprise to see over a dozen Psychics training with their Pokémon. Like their Pokémon, they were out on the hardwood floors bending spoons with their minds, levitating objects, or staring at each other as they tried to block each other's mind-reading abilities.

It was, though, eerie when all of them turned their heads when Ash, Anabel, Delia, and Jonathan entered the Gym. The Psychics stared at the new arrivals with sharp, calculating gazes. In particular, they seemed to be gazing the two pre-teenager Pokémon Trainers.

"At ease." Sabrina said as she walked into view. At her voice, the Psychics turned to face her and visibly relaxed. Sabrina looked gazes with the four standing by the entrance to the Gym, "If you would follow me, please."

Sabrina waited for the four people to reach her before she led them towards a nearby staircase. Ascending it, she explained that she wouldn't be training Anabel in the main room. When asked about it, Sabrina told them that the emotions of the other Psychics would be too much for Anabel to take while training to control her powers.

"How are you going to train Anabel?" Ash asked.

Honestly, Ash was worried for his friend. He knew that Sabrina was a Gym Leader, and a powerful Psychic to boot, but he was having some doubts. Would Sabrina really be able to help Anabel? How could Sabrina help her, if she wasn't an empath like Anabel was? And, would the training work?

"Ash—" Delia began.

"It's okay, Mrs. Ketchum." Sabrina said, interrupting the brown-haired woman, having read her mind. After a pause, she began to speak again, "Both Psychic and Empath abilities stem from the mind, so their training methods are very similar. A Psychic needs to learn to clear their mind and build 'walls' that help him or her block out or mute the thoughts he or she is constantly receiving from other people. And that is where we will begin training Anabel."

Ash's face scrunched up as he slowly digested what Sabrina was saying, "By having her build walls?"

"Yes. These walls will form the basis of a shield that Anabel will eventually develop to protect her mind from the emotions of others." Sabrina continued on. "Once she has completed that stage, she will need to master the mental power that her abilities stem from. By doing that, she will learn how to control her powers."

"Sounds simple enough." Jonathan said.

Sabrina sighed, "Despite how it sounds, it isn't that easy Mr. Ketchum. It will probably take Anabel a couple of weeks to get her mental walls to an acceptable level. Mind you, that is the easy part. The actual mastering of her powers will take as long as it needs to." She paused for a moment, thinking. "The earliest I would say that she could be done is one month and three weeks from today... if she works at it non-stop."

Ash and Anabel exchanged startled glances. Almost two months, at the earliest? They knew that it wasn't going to be easy for Anabel and that it would take some time, but neither had thought that it would take that long.

Furthermore, the Indigo League was beginning again in five months. Ash had wanted, and still wanted to, enter the Indigo League this year. He still could, if Anabel mastered her powers before the League began, but it would be very hard to gather the remaining Gym Badges within the remaining time they had.

Seeing the look on Ash's face, feeling his emotions, and partially sharing them made Anabel speak up. "Is there any way we could do it faster, Miss Sabrina?"

"There is no safe way to, Anabel." Sabrina said, empathizing the word 'safe'. "Others would suggest you use a Psychic-Type Pokémon to speed up the process, but that is a very dangerous method. The only time I would even consider doing that is if your life was in grave danger."

At the news, both Ash and Anabel wilted a little bit.

"I can tell that you are worrying about the Pokémon League. Don't." Sabrina said, surprising Ash and Anabel. "With Teleport Transport, you can teleport to any location in Kanto in the blink of an eye. So, even if this training takes longer than you expect, you can gather the remainder of the Gym Badges you need."

XXXXXX

(Pokémon Center—Ash & Anabel's Room)

Two hours after Sabrina had first began to teach Anabel found both the purple-haired girl and Ash back in their room. Anabel was lying down on her bed, groaning. Abra and Butterfree were doing what they could to relieve her headache. Even with their help, though, it felt like someone had taken her brain and scrubbed it with an abrasive sponge. It hurt, to say the least.

On the floor were Ash and his Pokémon. They were already sleeping. They would've been awake but Butterfree, having thought it would help if she was asleep, had used Sleep Powder. It hadn't worked as her headache kept her awake, feeling too bad to fall under the glimmering powder.

Anabel buried her head deeper into the pillow and mumbled, "I didn't think building those walls would be so painful..."

It hadn't taken her that long to fall into a semi-meditative trance. To be honest, though, she had prior experience with that. Before she had convinced her parents to let her go on her journey, she had looked for ways to control her powers or counter her headaches. While she hadn't found anything concrete on the former, she had read a book on meditation helping to 'clear one's mind'.

Admittedly, she had only been able to 'fall' into the trance a couple of days before her journey had started. By 'falling' into it, she had been able to shove away most of the pain her headaches caused her. She was also able to calm herself down. She had done the latter more than she cared to admit, before she had met Ash.

There was only so much loneliness a ten year-old, staying away from contact with other people, could stand after all.

"Abra Ra Abra?" Abra asked, concerned.

"Free Butter-free?"

Teeth clenched, Anabel unearthed her head and breathed. She relaxed, somewhat, as the pain lessened from unbearable to slightly unbearable. "I was just thinking of before we met Ash. Nothing you two need to worry yourselves over..."

Anabel didn't mean to worry Abra or Butterfree. Or anyone, really. Still, it seemed that, despite her intentions, she always got into situations that made others worry about her. Like when she had gotten sick as a child, that time on Mt. Moon, and now. Despite how hard she tried, she always made the people around her worry about her because she was a burden.

"Ra Abra Ra-abra!" Abra protested, having read her thoughts. "Ra!"

Butterfree's antennae twitched in confusion, "Butterfree Free Bu-free... butterfree?"

Such fierce Pokémon she had. No matter how weak she was, or how much of a burden she was to them, they always stuck by her side. Especially Abra. When she stuck out on her journey, she hadn't had any Pokémon, only a PokéDex and six Poké Balls.

She was supposed to have gotten a Starter from a nearby Nurse Joy, but then Abra had appeared. She had lured him in with a part of her PB & J sandwich and tapped his nose with a Poké Ball while he was still eating it. One 'ding' latter and he was hers. Her very first Pokémon. Her first, Pokémon, friend.

Anabel and Abra had really bonded during the time between her capturing him and meeting Ash. Not only was Abra a Psychic-Type, he was a dutiful Pokémon that did his best to fulfill her every order. While she may have come up with the idea of charging up an attack, teleporting, and then releasing it towards an enemy, Abra did it. Abra made her idea reality through a lot of hard work and dutiful dedication.

Butterfree, though, had been an unexpected addition to her team. Anabel had caught the Bug-Type Pokémon during her and Ash's time in Cerulean City one day, when Ash had been out training. Like the other times Ash had been training, she had stayed close but given Ash some privacy. She had found a small grove of trees where she and Abra could train themselves. That was where she had met Butterfree.

At first, Butterfree had merely been an observer, watching her and Abra as they trained. One day, though, Butterfree had met them when they came into the grove. Anabel hadn't really understood what was happening at the time, but had guessed that Butterfree might want to train with them. Butterfree had nodded in agreement of her guess and was welcomed into their training sessions. Then, one day, instead of training, Butterfree had instigated a battle.

In the end, she and Abra had won, but not before discovering the shy Pokémon's motive; she wanted to be caught. Having grown close to the Bug-Type, Anabel had been happy to add Butterfree to her team. She had wanted to make it a team of Psychic-Type Pokémon, but Butterfree could learn Psychic-Type moves. So, technically, she was still building a Psychic-Type team.

"I'm sorry that I upset you." Anabel finally said to her beloved Pokémon, looking down. Abra put one hand on her shoulder while Butterfree snuggled in close to her, offering whatever comfort they could. She took a deep breath. "... I'll try not to do that again."

Abra patted her shoulder, "Abra Ab-ra Ra-abra Abra."

"Free..." Butterfree chattered as she rubbed her head against Anabel's side. "Butterfree Free Butterfree."

Anabel's eyes developed a shimmering film to them at her Pokémon's words, and their emotions, before she buried her head under Butterfree's wings. Abra joined in the hug while mentally sending her peaceful, calming images to calm her down. Combined with Butterfree's earlier Sleep Powder and the comfort she was drawing from her two Pokémon, these images lulled Anabel into a dreamless sleep.

XXXXXX

(Saffron City—Team Rocket HQ)

"Mission accomplished, ma'am."

Domino looked up from her magazine to see one of the advanced two-man teams standing in front of her. From what she remembered, the two of them were responsible for infiltrating Saffron City's police force. From what she knew of them, they were actually pretty good.

The duo was well-known within the organization for their use of Ditto. They would wear Ditto before having the Ditto transform them into whomever they wanted to become. By doing this, they were able to infiltrate most areas without anyone being the wiser. And they were the best at it.

Still... "What do you mean that 'the mission is complete'?" Domino demanded.

"We mean to say that our mission, 'infiltrate Saffron City's police force', is complete." The seemingly brown-haired, brown-eyed male in typical grunt clothing answered. "We have replaced one of Chief Jenny's oldest officers and one of the technicians."

The seemingly black-haired, brown-eyed woman spoke next. "We have already dealt with a leak that could've threatened Team Rocket. We have also been asked to help oversee the investigation into the death of the future leak."

"Have you?" Domino asked with a faint grin. She had been amused when she had read the paper this morning and had laughed a couple of times. All of the clues were there but no one seemed willing to piece it together. She should've known that these two were responsible. Her grin morphed into a smirk, "My, my... You two certainly have been naughty~..."

Ash's Pokémon Team:

Eevee (Female): Level 20.

Attacks: Tackle (Normal), Sand Attack (Normal), Scratch (Normal), Tail-Whip (Normal), Helping Hand (Normal), Growl (Normal), Bite (Dark), and Quick Attack (Normal).

Pidgeotto (Male): Level 17.

Attacks: Sand Attack (Ground), Tackle (Normal), Gust (Flying), Peck (Flying), and Whirlwind (Flying).

Rattata (Male): Level 19.

Attacks: Bite (Dark), Tackle (Normal), Quick Attack (Normal), Hyper Fang (Normal), Scratch (Normal), Pursuit (Dark), and Quick Swim (Normal).

Beedrill (Male): Level 18.

Attacks: String-Shot (Bug), Poison-Sting (Poison), Bug-Bite (Bug), Fury Attack (Normal), and Twineedle (Bug).

Clefairy (Female): Level 14.

Attacks: Sing (Normal), Pound (Normal), Metronome (Normal), DoubleSlap (Normal), and Defense Curl (Normal).

Paras (Male): Level 17.

Attacks: PoisonPowder (Poison), Stun Spore (Grass), Sleep Powder (Grass), Spore (Grass), Leech Life (Bug), and Fury Cutter (Bug).

Anabel's Pokémon Team:

Abra (Male): Level 22.

Attacks: Teleport (Psychic), Psyshock (Psychic), Confusion (Psychic), and Psychic (Psychic).

Butterfree (Female): Level 17.

Attacks: Confusion (Psychic), Poisonpowder (Poison), Stun Spore (Grass), Harden (Bug), Sleep Powder (Grass), and String Shot (Bug).

A/N: Author's Note: Well, that's the end of this chapter. We got to see Chief Jenny beginning an investigation into the death of that grunt, see Jonathan and Delia getting Ash and Anabel's minds off what's been going on, were briefly introduced to Pokémon Contests, now know that Anabel is training to control her powers and how... a lot of stuff happened.

Still... I think that training is unearthing some issues and self-doubts about herself that Anabel wishes to remain buried. Or was it the arrival of her father? What is her father doing now? Where did he and Anabel's mom go? What do Jonathan and Delia suspect? What can they do about it? Can they do anything about it?

Wait... why am I asking you guys these questions? Oh, yeah. It makes me glad to get your opinions on this stuff and take them into account. So, review! It helps motivate my high-functioning autistic self to write faster~!

Shout outs to: Hironada (for beta-ing this chapter), Sharkteeth (for being a second beta and helping when hironada was away), fantasy12 on yourfanfiction (for doing one of my challenges), and everyone else that has reviewed. I love you guys~!