And finally back. Needed to take extra time to get this ready because of personal reasons, but now its finally done. And thus begins what will prove to be one of the most daunting challenges of the Kanto Region that Ash and Co. will face. Hope you all enjoy.

XXXX

"I am SO glad we got that compass," Misty sighed, as in the distance they could already see Saffron City, the large city that served as the capital of Kanto very much visible through the darkness of night with its bright lights.

"Yeah, knowing us, we'd probably have gotten lost again if we didn't use the compass," Brock sweat dropped, something they all did as well.

"Let's…just focus on getting into Saffron City," Ash sighed, Pikachu sighing in agreement. With that said, the group made their way towards the city. The three were on the proper road too as compared to the dirt roads that they'd usually take so as to be able to go through areas where Pokemon lived, so reaching the city wasn't nearly as difficult as it would have been had they taken a wrong turn. They soon reached the city limits, and were met with a few guard houses with police officers stationed there, though much to Brock's slight disappointment it seemed the local Officer Jenny was elsewhere. Either way, the group quickly went through an ID check and once everything checked out, they could get into the city without issue.

"Okay, now that we're here, what's the plan?" Misty asked as they walked through the city, making sure to keep to the pedestrian sections as cars and various other vehicles went through the roads, several coming in and out of the city through the highway accesses that were designed specifically for vehicles connecting the various larger towns and cities through the Region (painstakingly made in a way that wouldn't disrupt as many natural habitats as possible). "Pretty sure it's a bit late to try and challenge the Saffron Gym."

"Yeah, guess you're right. So on to the Pokemon Center then?" Ash said.

"Definitely our best option. The City and the Pokemon Gym won't be going anywhere after all," Brock chuckled, earning a laugh from the others. With that in agreement, the group quickly headed to the local Pokemon Center, which was unsurprisingly…a very big building.

XXXX

The night went by peacefully and before long it was morning, everyone leaving the Pokemon Center well rested and ready for the day. "Okay, so are you planning to challenge the Gym now, or try training around the area first?" Brock asked Ash. "Keep in mind, this is probably going to be one of if not the hardest Gyms you'll face for obvious reasons."

"I know that," Ash sighed. "This is a Psychic Pokemon Gym, and the only Pokemon I have that has an advantage right now is Beedrill, and even then he's not exactly going to be able to take too many hits from a Psychic Pokemon," he said with folded arms. "And nobody else on my team knows Moves that would give us the advantage over Psychic Pokemon…"

"Don't forget your own issues. Riolu don't exactly do well when forced to fight Psychics," Misty pointed out.

"Yeah…I'm quite aware of that," Ash groaned. "I'm just glad Psychics can't grab me as easily. I know because Red's tried before."

"Why's that?" Misty asked him curiously.

"I think I can take a guess." Brock said "Because Ash's mother is a dark type, while he hasn't inherited her natural immunity, he's gained some resistance to psychic energy. Sound about right?"

"Yep, that's exactly why," Ash nodded. "I'm still at a disadvantage against Psychic-types, but at least they don't hurt as much," he sighed. "Still…unless the plan is to feel out Sabrina's style…we're definitely gonna need some training if we want to have a chance to win here," he frowned.

"Well, how about you go over what your team can learn that could give you the advantage first," Brock suggested, earning a nod from Ash who took out his Pokedex and used it as a reference to double check the various Moves his current team could learn.

As he looked through the entries, Pikachu tapped his cheek, before pointing to his own entry with a 'Pi!' "Saw something in yours buddy?" he said, going down to Pikachu's entry in the dex "Hey yeah, that's good, you can learn Signal Beam!"

"That's definitely going to help," Misty agreed. "Anything else your team can learn to counter Psychic-types?"

Ash hummed as he went over the entries he had and found more. "Okay, Charmander can learn Shadow Claw, Squirtle can learn Bite, and Krabby can learn X-Scissor," he recited. "And of course Beedrill has his Bug-type moves, so we've got some good options."

"And they shouldn't be TOO hard to learn at that," Brock nodded. "So training it is then?"

"Training it is, yeah," Ash nodded, but before they could begin, Misty idly looked over Ash's shoulder. "Hey, what about this Move? It looks like Charmander, Diglett, and Nidorino can learn it," she said, pointing at one move in particular: Beat Up.

"Ah yes, Beat Up. Definitely useful, but unless you use a TM, it's not an easy Move to learn. It can't hurt to try though," Brock nodded.

"Alright then, looks like we've got our work cut out for us," Ash smirked as they soon went to look for a place to train.

Fortunately, this being Saffron, finding a place to train wasn't too hard. There were several facilities and gyms that catered to Trainers and Fighters aiming to challenge the Saffron Gym. Once they'd found a good training spot, the group put together a training regiment for the next week or so. The first order of business was to train up each Pokemon who could use Moves that countered Psychic-types to be able to use said moves, with Ash focusing on all of them, even if he didn't expect to need all of them in a single match. After all…you never know when you might need it.

Charmander and Squirtle were two of the easiest for the training, as while the physical motions were easy enough, they just needed to get the energy side of things down. The same could be said for Krabby, who while could fairly easily get the motions right after a few videos for reference, was still struggling with properly executing the Move.

At the same time, Pikachu was having some difficulties with Signal Beam at first, but he was determined to get it right, which benefited his training greatly, the same for Diglett and Nidorino who were focusing on learning Beat Up, with Charmander still focused on Shadow Claw first before he tried learning another Move on top of the first one.

Of course, they weren't the only ones training. The whole team, especially Beedrill were training to keep up with the others, and in Beedrill's case, to prepare for the match knowing that he was a definitely strong pick due to naturally learning a number of moves that could give him the advantage. Of course he also needed to work on evading since he wasn't gonna be able to take too many hits either.

Of course, having learned his lesson from his first Gym Battle, Ash wasn't just relying on teaching his Pokemon new Moves. He was also going over past recordings of Sabrina's Gym Battles, and trying to formulate a plan for them to counter. First things first, Psychics needed to concentrate to use their power, and as such, a viable tactic would be to keep up the pressure, so a fast paced attack plan might be needed. Of course, that came with its own dangers.

Based on the recordings he'd gotten to see, it seemed Sabrina used a simple but effective style. Using her psychic abilities to teleport her out of danger when needed, then targeting openings in her opponent's defenses. She also seemed to make full use of her psychic abilities to boost her strikes, and of course ragdoll her opponents. In short, it wasn't surprising that the Saffron City Gym was known as one of the hardest Pokemon Gyms in Kanto, next to the Viridian City Pokemon Gym. Still that did nothing to discourage him. If anything, it made him and his team more eager to prove themselves by defeating Sabrina. As such the training continued for the week that they'd set aside. During the time, everyone was able to learn their respective moves…though Beat Up was still something of a work in progress in that it wasn't quite consistent YET, but they'd get it in time. Aside from Moves, they'd formulated a strategy of how to fight Sabrina…albeit as always one they are treating with cautious optimism. They'd learned by now its best to save any celebrations for AFTER they actually win. Confidence was good, but overconfidence would ensure they lose.

Speaking of which, during the week, there was a small oddity, namely during the week Brock would almost regularly disappear somewhere here and there, though when they asked he said that he was taking care of some errands. Both Ash and Misty looked at him a little strangely, feeling like something was off with his reason…but neither of them decided to pursue the topic, especially now that they had a bigger thing to focus on. That was why the group was now standing in front of the Saffron City Pokemon Gym. The Gym was…strange to say the least, being a mainly circular building with an oddly designed roof that looked like it had layers. Even so, the emblem on the front made it clear that this was indeed the Pokemon Gym, and thus where they needed to be.

Going into the Gym, they were met with the typical receptionist desk, with Ash quickly registering himself for a match.

"Gym Leader Sabrina will be ready soon. In the meantime, please proceed to the challenge area," the receptionist said, before gesturing to one of the doors leading forward.

"Right," Ash nodded as he soon went through the doors, Brock and Misty staying behind as they would be spectators. As with the last times, Ash found the changing room first and quickly changed to his Battle Outfit. "Ready, Pikachu?" he checked, to which Pikachu nodded, cheeks sparking with determination.

With everything set, Ash and Pikachu soon entered the challenge room…and blinked. Instead of a field that had a challenge…all they saw was an empty room with nothing of note save an odd looking panel on the ground.

"Uh… is… this the right place?" Ash said in confusion.

Pikachu hopped off his shoulder, going around the room quickly, before coming back to him, looking equally confused "Chu?"

"This is… kinda weird… is the challenge here some kind of mental thing maybe?" Ash said, walking forward, going up to the weird tile on the floor, stepping on it curiously… and it started to glow. "Uh oh."

Pikachu let out a sigh, before grabbing onto his trainer's foot, somehow having an inkling of what was about to happen.

A flash of light occurred, and the next thing Ash and Pikachu knew, they were…somewhere else. "That was…weird," Ash blinked, looking around. "And it just got weirder…" he groaned, as while at first glance he was in what appeared to be a normal looking neighborhood…the fact that the 'people' were life sized dolls…yeah. Before he and Pikachu could start to figure out what exactly was going on, they suddenly felt and heard a rather loud 'thump!' sound, like something just hit the ground.

Both of them had a sense of dread as they gulped and turned to the source…and paled a bit. Somehow, standing at the other end of the street they were on was a GIANT Espurr Pokemorph with proportions that made them think of a young girl, because clearly the Espurr was female what with her long dark green hair, dressed in a frilly white dress and a white sun hat with a red bow and holes on the side to allow her ears to poke out.

"Welcome to the Saffron City Gym," the giant Espurr said, making it clear she was indeed a young girl…just somehow scaled up to a giant size. "I'm the Gym Leader, Sabrina," the girl introduced herself.

Ash almost stumbled at that. "Wait…you can't be Sabrina, Sabrina is a lot uh…older…than you," Ash blinked, as being a Gym Leader of course he'd been able to find images of Sabrina.

"Of course, that's Sabrina too," 'Sabrina' said, making Ash and Pikachu even MORE confused.

"But then…how…?" Ash was at a loss for words.

"I am Sabrina, and she is Sabrina too, we are the Gym Leader of this Gym," 'Sabrina' said. "And if you wish to challenge us to a Battle, then defeat this Gym Challenge first, reach the goal to escape my dollhouse," she said, and behind her a goal post appeared.

"That…doesn't seem so hard," Ash blinked…and had he been thinking straighter…he really wouldn't have worded it that way. Right on cue, the world seemed to shift around them, as parts of the road and the whole dollhouse broke apart, raising into the air, creating a series of aerial platforms…oh and the houses and the like were floating too, floating around 'Sabrina'.

Pikachu looked at his trainer with a deadpan expression at that. "Yeah, I know what you're thinking, and I fully agree," Ash deadpanned. Him and his big mouth.

"Well then, let's begin," 'Sabrina' said as the parts of the houses and stuff floated up…and were now flying towards Ash and Pikachu. Both of their eyes widened and immediately they were on the move. They jumped from platform to platform to evade the debris that was coming for them.

To make matters worse, the platforms started shifting as well, and several of them were moving actively too, so not only did they have to be fast, they had to time their jumps as well. "Grab on, Pikachu!" Ash ordered, and Pikachu was not gonna argue as he quickly got on Ash's back and held on as the Riolu leaped forward, just barely evading the next projectile 'Sabrina' threw at them, the little girl giggling here and there like this was a fun game for her. Of course, Ash didn't have time to think of it at all, more focused on just getting from platform to platform as fast as he could.

As they got closer towards the goal, 'Sabrina' seemed to up her pace as more bits came flying. Even so, Ash kept his focus, and leaped from platform to platform, even if there were a few close calls, such as mistiming a jump, and just barely managed to grab onto the platform, but quickly pulled himself up. He panted a bit, but he didn't have much time to catch his breath as more projectiles were coming his way, so he scrambled to get on to the platform and jumped on the next one.

The frantic pace continued for several more minutes but eventually Ash and Pikachu reached the platform that would lead to the goal post. The problem? 'Sabrina' was right in between them and the goal. Both of them gulped a bit, wondering if they'd have to fight a giant Espurr Pokemorph, a feeling that got stronger when 'Sabrina' seemed to giggle as more projectiles floated closer…before the Espurr moved aside, giving them a clear shot of the goal.

Both of them blinked, but ultimately decided to take the leap, and jumped forward, reaching the goal without any issue. Not wasting time they dashed through, and right as they passed…they realized there was another panel which flashed as they were taken away. Their vision was covered in light for a moment, but when it cleared, they were in another room with a door ahead, which soon revealed to be the usual room before the Gym Leader room, one where they could rest up a bit before the Gym Match.

"Okay…I'm not fully sure what that even was," Ash frowned as he was using a healing pod to regain some of his strength.

Pikachu sweat dropped, sharing his Trainer's sentiment. Did all that ACTUALLY happen, or was it some kind of elaborate illusion? Yet it felt so real too.

Ultimately the two of them opted to NOT think about it too much. They had to focus on the fight ahead of them. Eventually Ash was done resting up and soon he and Pikachu continued to the next room, the Gym Leader's room. The room they emerged into was rather…odd to say the least. The massive arena on the floor was a given, but the pillars and decor, not to mention the two lit torches at the other end of the room on a raised section of the floor, framing what appeared to be a curtain or blinds obscuring something further in. In short, somehow this arena felt more like a temple. "Welcome to the Saffron City Gym," a voice said from behind the blinds as they slowly raised up, revealing a throne of sorts, and sitting on it was a female Meowstic Pokemorph in her late teens to early 20s with a rather piercing stare that was a bit unnerving. She was dressed in a red dress with a black skirt and black boots, and on her head was rather familiar long green hair…the familiar part being unsurprising as the little girl from earlier was present, now much smaller, giving the appearance of a girl of maybe 6 years of age or so, sitting on the older girl's lap. Of course, Ash knew who the older one was, because THIS was the Sabrina he'd seen in the recordings. "You did well in making it past our challenge," she said, as the little girl giggled.

"Yes, you played our game well and won, that means you can challenge us now," the little girl said.

"Shall we begin then?" Sabrina said, as her ears unfolded, revealing the eye-like psychic organs in them, which caused both her and the little girl to be covered in a blue aura as they both floated off the throne and soon landed on the opposite end of the field.

"So… what are the rules then?" Ash asked, even if he still looked rather confused.

"A three on three battle, followed by a trainer battle." the little girl told him. "Only the challenger may substitute during the Pokemon Battle."

Ash nodded in understanding, to which Sabrina made a Pokeball float out and into her hand. "Let's start off with this!" she said as she threw the Pokeball which popped open and released a Mr. Mime onto the arena.

Ash saw the choice and quickly pulled out his Pokedex to scan the new Pokemon. "Mr. Mime, the Barrier Pokemon. Mr. Mime is a Psychic/Fairy dual type Pokemon native to the Kanto Region. This Pokemon uses pantomimes to mold its psychic energy and create physical yet invisible constructs. However, these constructs are not particularly durable and will fade over time.

"Okay…this one might be a little tricky," Ash frowned, thinking who to send out. He'd already decided the three he'd likely use, but he had to think of which one. Eventually he made his choice. "Okay Pikachu, let's see what this one's got!" Ash ordered, Pikachu not hesitating to jump into the arena.

The fight was on as the two Pokemon faced off. "Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash ordered as Pikachu darted forward quickly.

"Reflect," Sabrina said curtly, to which Mr. Mime moved its hands rapidly, creating a wall in front of it.

Pikachu's eyes widened before he quickly reoriented himself and landed paws first on the wall, but the moment he did, the wall got sent flying away, forcing him to quickly 'get off' lest he get sent flying right out of the arena.

"Psybeam," Sabrina ordered, to which Mr. Mime gathered energy and shot the beam at Pikachu.

"Quick Attack to dodge!" Ash barked, Pikachu doing just that and managed to barely evade the attack, before changing course and going straight for Mr. Mime who didn't have the time to react and got hit in the face by the Quick Attack, causing it to stumble back.

"Now, Iron Tail!" Ash ordered, Pikachu following up with said attack, slapping Mr. Mime back and forth a bit, the attack dealing good damage due to Mr. Mime's weakness. However, as Pikachu kept up the assault…

"Confusion," Sabrina said firmly, and Pikachu was abruptly stopped mid-strike.

Mir. Mime panted a little from the onslaught, but soon returned in kind as Pikachu was levitated into the air…and was soon being ragdolled as Mr. Mime slammed him up and down, Pikachu unable to defend against the attack.

Ash growled at the sight, thinking quickly before Pikachu lost the fight. "Pikachu, Thundershock!" he ordered.

Pikachu grit his teeth and let loose the attack as fast as he could, which hit Mr. Mime, forcing him to let go of Pikachu.

"Pikachu, return!" Ash quickly shouted, Pikachu's ears perking up a bit, but he quickly obeyed, running back to him. With Pikachu off the field, Ash took out a different Pokeball. "Beedrill, I choose you!" he called out, releasing Beedrill into the field.

Sabrina frowned at the sight of the next Pokemon but maintained focus. "Psybeam," she ordered, to which Mr. Mime fired off the attack, but Ash was already prepared.

"Agility!" Ash ordered, Beedrill immediately speeding himself up and quickly evading the Psybeams as he closed the distance. "Now, Toxic!" Ash ordered.

Beedrill immediately generated a ball of poison energy between his needle arms, and when he was in good range, threw it at Mr. Mime who was too close to evade, taking the hit directly. Mr. Mime groaned as it felt the poison take effect, becoming wobbly on its legs.

"Now, use Toxic Spikes!" Ash ordered, as Beedrill once again generated poison energy and spread it across the field in the form of spikes that hit the ground and sank into it.

Sabrina's frown deepened when she saw the development, already seeing how this could be a problem. Even so, she had no intention of backing down. "Confusion," she commanded.

"I don't think so, Venoshock!" Ash shouted in response.

The two Pokemon responded to the orders, but Mr. Mime, dealing with the pain from the poison, was a tad slower, and was soon hit by the Venoshock as Beedrill fired purple shots from his arms, the damage doubling due to aggravating the poison.

Seeing that Mr. Mime was on its last legs, Ash decided now was the best time to end this round. "Finish it with X-Scissor!" he ordered. Beedrill crossed his arms which glowed with energy as he closed the distance and struck. Mr. Mime was in no condition to evade and took the attack head on, getting sent flying out of the arena, and now clearly unable to fight.

"Awww…he lost…" the little girl frowned a bit. "Oh well, you did great, Mr. Mime," she said as she made the Pokeball from before float and soon recalled Mr. Mime.

Sabrina's ears unfolded again as a second Pokeball floated into her grasp. "Come forth, Hypno!" she said, throwing the Pokeball, which opened up and released a Hypno to replace Mr. Mime.

Ash frowned as he scanned this Pokemon as well. "Hypno, the Hypnosis Pokemon. Hypno is a Psychic-type Pokemon native to the Kanto Region and is the evolved form of Drowzee. Hypno carries with it a pendulum that it uses to amplify its psychic abilities. Those who see the pendulum's swing and experience Hypno's psychic waves can be rendered asleep within 3 seconds."

"Okay, this could be a problem," Ash frowned, but even as he said that, he noticed that Hypno was already under the effects of the Toxic Spikes Beedrill had left. He weighed his options. Toxic Spikes wouldn't affect any of his Pokemon so substituting them now wouldn't be out of the question. On the other hand, Beedrill was still pretty fresh since Pikachu had softened up Mr. Mime a bit. Ultimately he decided to take a chance. "You still feeling up to keep going, Beedrill?" he asked, to which Beedrill raised an arm energetically, earning a nod from Ash.

"Future Sight," Sabrina ordered, to which Hypno raised its pendulum and let it swing to and fro as its eyes glowed, yet nothing seemed to happen.

Ash blinked, wondering what that was, but seeing as Hypno didn't seem to be doing anything, he decided to take full advantage. "Venoshock!" he ordered, to which Beedrill obeyed, hitting Hypno with the attack, causing the poison to be aggravated.

"Double Team," Sabrina said, Hypno regaining its wits and suddenly split into multiple after images.

"Try and find the real one! Pin Missile!" Ash ordered, to which Beedrill's needle arms glowed and he fired forward the attack, which hit several of the Hypno after images, but failed to hit the real one. Moving quickly, Beedrill tried again, and again, but somehow he didn't get the real Hypno…right before the after images faded, and the real one revealed itself, looking a little winded, no doubt from having to evade some of the Pin Missiles.

However, before Beedrill could aim the next attack at Hypno, a sudden burst of psychic energy came from seemingly out of nowhere and hit Beedrill head on. The sudden damage and impact caused Beedrill to lose altitude immediately, just barely managing to avoid hitting the ground.

"What happened?!" Ash gasped, to which Dexter suddenly spoke up. "Future Sight is a Psychic type attack that while seemingly doing nothing on activation, will cause damage after a certain amount of time. This move is virtually unavoidable."

"How do we fight that then?!" Ash couldn't help but gasp, which proved to be a mistake as Sabrina took full advantage of this.

"Hypnosis," Sabrina ordered, to which Hypno's pendulum started to swing as it chanted its name, releasing sleep waves at Beedrill who wasn't able to evade and soon fell asleep, hitting the ground. "Dream Eater," she said simply.

Hypno's right hand glowed red, to which Beedrill glowed red as well before a beam of red energy connected them, Hypno taking energy from Beedrill for a moment, before it stopped and Beedrill woke up, but remained on the ground, swirls appearing on his eyes, making it clear he was out cold.

"Darn, she got us there," Ash frowned, recalling Beedrill, before taking out a new Pokeball. "Charmander, I choose you!" he called out as Charmander appeared on the field, looking eager to fight. "Don't give it a chance to make any moves! Shadow Claw!" Ash ordered.

Charmander wasted no time and surged forward, his right claw becoming covered in shadowy energy as he went straight for Hypno and struck, knocking his opponent back considerably as even with the energy Hypno had regained from using Dream Eater, the poison and the attack hit it hard.

Hypno was sent skidding back considerably from the attack, to which Charmander kept up the assault, Hypno doing its best to handle the attacks. However, Sabrina had other ideas. "Zen Headbutt," Sabrina ordered.

Hypno used its left arm to try and fend off another Shadow Claw, before its forehead glowed brightly with psychic energy, and proceeded to slam the attack right into Charmander, sending Charmander back, but the fire lizard managed to stabilize himself, and landed on his feet, skidding to a halt.

"You okay, Charmander?" Ash asked, earning a determined nod, to which he nodded in return. "Okay, hit them with a Fire Fang!" he said.

Charmander charged forward, flames igniting at his mouth and forming a set of powerful fangs and quickly closed the distance, clamping on to Hypno's arm, the Psychic-type grunting in pain as it tried to shake Charmander off, but Charmander held on firmly, the mix of poison and flames dealing damage to Hypno.

"Confusion," Sabrina said abruptly, causing Hypno to pause before its eyes glowed and Charmander found himself being removed from Hypno and was now floating in the air…before Hypno proceeded to ragdoll Charmander.

"Charmander!" Ash gasped in alarm as the Fire-type was slammed up and down, each strike no doubt weakening him bit by bit. "Hang in there!" he shouted, hoping Hypno wouldn't be able to hold for too long.

Charmander did his best to hold on, but no matter how you slice it, being rag dolled hurt. Likewise, Hypno was trying to maintain the hold, feeling the poison running through its body, which made keeping up the hold harder.

Hoping to end the fight soon, Hypno focused more energy and slammed Charmander into the ground, dealing quite a bit of damage, but it seemed not enough to end the fight. Charmander growled as he hit the ground, but this time it triggered something. As he pushed himself up with a determined look, he suddenly roared out before the flame of his tail erupted into practically a blazing inferno.

"Woah! What's that all about?!" Ash said, having to shade his eyes a bit from how bright Charmander's flame suddenly got.

"Blaze. The natural ability of Fire Type Starter Pokemon. It boosts their elemental attacks when in a pinch." Dexter spoke up, answering his question.

Ash blinked at that, before quickly registering what this meant. "Charmander, Flamethrower! Give it all you got!" he shouted, Charmander growling before firing a massive gout of fire at Hypno, the Psychic-type unable to fully react before being blasted by the intense flames.

Hypno tried to resist, but the force was too much, as was the poison. As such all it could do was put all its power for one last swing, smashing Charmander into the ground again…right as Charmander let out one final burst of super hot flames. The exchange was over in an instant, but when the dust cleared. Both Pokemon were unable to fight.

"A tie it seems," Sabrina frowned. "Impressive, not many Challengers can manage this on their first try," she said.

"Thanks…I think," Ash frowned as he recalled Charmander, Pikachu already prepared to step in the moment Sabrina revealed her final Pokemon.

The little girl recalled Hypno to its Pokeball, while Sabrina drew her final Pokeball. "Let us finish this," Sabrina said, but right before she threw the Pokeball, the Battle was abruptly interrupted when something teleported into the arena. That something revealed to be two individuals. One of them was a Kirlia, and the other was an Oricorio Pokemorph in Sensu Style, dressed in robes and with a few prayer beads around their neck. However, most notable was the fact that both of them seemed to be quite injured. Not so bad that they needed a hospital ASAP, but it was clear they weren't in good shape.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sabrina said in surprise…and for the first time since the start of the Match, the seemingly emotionless expression was broken with clear confusion at the sudden interruption.

"I apologize for the sudden interruption," the Oricorio said, revealing to be female, before she looked straight at Sabrina. "Gym Leader Sabrina, there's an urgent matter we need help with!" she gasped. "Something serious is happening in the Pokemon Tower, and while we've managed to contain it for now, we need more help to deal with the situation," she said.

Sabrina looked at the Oricorio for a moment before speaking. "Show me," she said, as her ears unfolded and her eyes glowed, her mind linking with the other Pokemorph's.

"What's wrong? What happened?" the little girl asked, now looking worried. The whole time Ash and Pikachu were watching, looking utterly confused by what was happening.

The 'exchange' or what seemed to be one anyway, took a few moments, before Sabrina's eyes widened. Her ears folded again as the connection ended, to which she looked towards Ash. "My apologies, but our Battle will have to be cut short. There is an urgent matter I must attend to," she said, before looking at the little Espurr. "Alice, I must attend to matters in Lavender town. Please tell Mother and Father of where I am so they won't be worried," Sabrina said.

"O-okay. Be careful," the little girl, Alice, said with a bit of an unsure voice.

With that said, Sabrina smiled at her, before going over to the Oricorio and the Kirlia, and in a quick flash as Sabrina unfolded her ears again, the three suddenly vanished, having teleported away.

Ash continued to stare for a long moment "I am… completely lost right now." he said, earning a "Pika…" of agreement from his starter.

"That happens sometimes, yes," Alice sighed.

XXXX

An hour or so later, and Ash was back in his usual traveling clothes, no longer at the Saffron Gym. Where he was now though was…somewhat unexpected, seeing as he was in a modest family home in the residential area of Saffron City. Nothing strange in and of itself. What WAS strange was the part where Alice had asked him to follow her there after the interrupted Gym Battle, revealing it was her home, and apparently where Sabrina lived with the girl who was in fact her younger sister and their parents, a pair of middle aged Meowstics.

Oh and to top off the surprise cake was that Misty and Brock were inexplicably there when he arrived, Ash having wondered where they'd gone off to since unlike most Gyms the Saffron Gym wasn't really big on spectators. As for why they were there…

"Wait, say that again?" Ash blinked.

"Yeah…I was surprised too when I found that out," Misty agreed.

"Heh, I would have told you sooner, but I figured it'd be pretty funny to see your reactions AFTER you got hit with Sabrina's usual treatment. The creepy psychic image unnerves a LOT of challengers," Brock chuckled.

"Okay, I can kinda understand that, but I'm still kinda surprised about the part that you two are childhood friends," Ash couldn't help but say.

"Hey, it's not any stranger than you having a childhood friend who lives over in Kalos," Brock countered.

"...fair point," Ash conceded, before wanting to change the subject a bit. "So…what happened with Sabrina happens often?"

"Thankfully no," Misty sighed, as by now they'd gotten the gist of what happened. "But sometimes Gym Leaders get called to assist with situations that the local authorities aren't equipped to handle," she explained.

"Yeah, happened a few times back in Pewter. Nothing TOO serious thankfully, but a bit more than the police could chew," Brock nodded.

"Glad to hear it wasn't too bad," Ash nodded, idly remembering now that Professor Oak HAD explained it to him, how Gym Leaders were more than just examiners for potential League entrants. They actually had authority in their respective regions. They weren't exactly leading their City or Town, but their say definitely had some pull around the Region. That was just how big the League was, big enough that major members essentially had varying degrees of political power, even if the typical League member usually opted to stay out of the direct political field. Of course that was also why it was imperative that Gym Leaders and the like were properly screened. The League took itself VERY seriously like that.

Of course, that still left a new issue. "So…I guess we'll just wait till she gets back?" Ash asked.

"If you want the Marsh Badge? Yep," Misty snorted.

They were all silent for a moment after that… until Brock spoke up "You're not gonna wait are you?"

"Nope!" Ash said as he quickly jumped to his feet "Gonna go help her!"

Misty and Brock sweat dropped at that one. "Well…that's definitely one way to speed things up," Misty chuckled awkwardly.

"And it's not a bad idea," Brock mused. "I think it can't hurt to help Sabrina," he smiled.

"I'd be careful about that idea if I were you," came a male voice, the group turning to see a middle aged male Meowstic, Sabrina's father. "Alice told me the gist of what happened. If Sabrina was called that urgently to Lavender, then odds are something is going on at the Pokemon Tower," he frowned.

"Pokemon Tower?" Ash blinked, thinking where he'd heard that name before, before his eyes widened. "Wait…you mean THAT Pokemon Tower?" he asked.

"Indeed, the Pokemon Tower of Lavender Town, a grave tower built long ago which is still used as a burial place in Lavender…and a home to many of the Ghost Pokemon that live in Kanto," he said with a frown.

"That…might complicate things," Brock gulped.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Sabrina is a powerful Psychic, and from there well…let's just say she's one of the Psychics who are able to…pacify…the deceased," Brock said.

There was a small loading screen over Ash and Misty's heads before they made the connection. "Wait…she's THAT kind of Psychic too?" Ash blinked.

Brock nodded. "Yeah, she can somewhat talk to ghosts, and I don't mean Ghost Pokemon. She's not the 'call them from beyond the grave' type, but she's been able to help the ones that can't find peace move on."

"So like those TV shows, except for real." Misty said.

Brock sweat dropped at that one. "Yes," he sighed.

"So…she's going to try and pacify some ghosts?" Ash blinked.

"Most likely, but if her help was urgently needed…I am uncertain how much help you will be if you were to go to Lavender Town, but if you wish to then I won't stop you," Mr. Natsume sighed. "Just be careful out there."

"We will, Mr. Natsume," Brock frowned, while Ash and Misty nodded as well…even if now there was a notable feeling of heaviness in the air as they began preparing to head for Lavender Town.

XXXX

And done. Bet nobody was expecting this, right?

The story of Saffron City and Lavender Town are going to be QUITE different from the anime here. Hope you all enjoy how it will unfold. But first, another entry in the Retold Files.

File No. 10: Routes and Roads

Traveling through various regions can be done through various ways, but for the average Pokemon Trainer/Fighter, travel is often done on foot or by use of light vehicles like bicycles. Of course naturally not everyone who is going from town to town is looking for the scenic route, and as such the pathways through regions are divided into Routes and Roads.

Routes are the paths that usually go through Pokemon Habitats and the like, usually recommended for Trainers and Fighters looking to encounter new Pokemon, get some experience, and generally make the most of their journeys. However, due to this Routes are often more rugged and thus slower to traverse as they often go through forests, caves, etc etc.

On the other hand, for people who simply want to get from town to town usually with vehicles such as cars, and/or for those who are transporting heavier things between towns and cities, Roads have been built connecting them all, with the express purpose of making it from settlement to settlement faster. As such they are more built up, and designed to handle loads of vehicles. On the flip side they are often built to go around and generally avoid the habitats of Wild Pokemon as much as possible, making them a little more roundabout, but the use of vehicles more than makes up for the extra time.