Anabel had regained her mind, but she still had to lean against a tree to stay up.
Teleporting the way they had to was incredibly draining, and it seemed like each time she did it was even more so.
It took her longer to regain full faculties.
She took a deep breath.
Every Teleport they did would require more time on her end to be ready for her next one. Minutes adding up every time for her to be in full awareness again.
How many more of these did she have until she'd require an hour to be ready to go again?
"Sparky, Zippo, it's the egg! I think it's about to hatch!"
Looking down from yet another cliff she had landed on, she saw one of Ash's brothers again with his own Pikachu and Charmander, staring at a solid green egg with amazement in their eyes.
This was the second time she had seen him, his name was Ritchie she believed. A nice guy who even dressed a lot like Ash.
But he wasn't him, and every time they returned to where he was it would take even longer to find Ash.
The egg was fully covered in glowing light as it began to take a form, a Pokémon with a spike on its head, a conical tail, and a red scaled belly distinct from its overall green form. It looked up at Ash's brother in fresh confusion.
"Lar?"
"Welcome to life little guy. My name's Ritchie and these are my partners Sparky and Zippo,” both Pokémon greeted the newborn Pokémon, “what's yours?"
The Pokémon looked at him in confusion, and so Ritchie went into a bit of explanation about what names were and why he liked to give them to Pokémon.
She had known her Kadabra wasn't interested in one, she had asked about it a while ago.
She didn't overly follow his conversation, but focused on the recently hatched Pokémon.
So that was how Pokémon hatched from eggs. She wasn't sure if they broke out of them or evolved out of them, and she wondered how long it would be until the Togepi egg hatched.
Would Ash have the same look of joy and wonder that Ritchie had on his face when his new Pokémon hatched?
The thought reinforced her resolve, and she felt her body force back what remained of her exhaustion from the last Teleport.
She'd be feeling the after effects of it later, but that was, as she noted, later.
There was a need now, and she would find Ash.
They would find Ash.
"Alright, Cruise it is! Welcome to the team buddy!" She heard Ritchie declare happily to his new Pokémon as she walked uneasily to where Misty and Iris were, nibbling on some apples that she didn't have the stomach for at the moment.
----------------------------------------
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 behavior 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 vigor.
----------------------------------------
That had been a rather... wet landing. Literally, as they appeared above a pond, and they fell into it with a loud splash.
She didn't realize until a few seconds later, when she heard Misty yell "Quick, let's get outta here!" and felt all soaked. When she started regaining her other senses, she felt the water on her clothes and hair somehow drifted away from her, slowly but surely, and once she could see again, she saw Misty forming a water sphere in her hands, throwing it to a faraway tree in frustration.
"Great, I manage to do it when I don't need it. Well, at least now we're dry," she complained.
Iris sighed and glanced in her direction. "Are you feeling well?"
'I think so,' Anabel replied. 'But I'll need a bit more time to teleport us again.'
"Time… the only thing we don't have right now," said Misty.
Anabel wanted to say something, but she was too tired to even think. As she glanced at her surroundings, she realized they were in a city park, and fortunately there weren't many people around at the time. They had hidden in a tree grove while Misty used her powers to take the water off of them, and once she felt she could move on her own again, Anabel pointed at where she had managed to pinpoint the signal, and the three went to check it out.
"No, no, Growlithe, no, stop it, hahahaha!"
The hearty laughter came from a little boy, no older than ten or eleven. Save for the clothes he wore and being younger, he could almost pass for a mini-clone of Ash, happily rolling on the grass while a Growlithe jumped on him to lick his face. A girl around his same age was also laughing, grabbing the fire puppy to snuggle it and let the boy get back on his feet.
Anabel couldn't help but wonder if Ash looked that adorable when he was that age. She could easily imagine that boy growing into a fine young man like Ash in a few years.
"Arnold, Laila, it's time to eat!"
A woman carrying a picnic basket and accompanied by an Arcanine called out to them. Boy and girl quickly ran to her, and together they extended a picnic cloth over the grass to sit down and have their meal together. Anabel saw how the Growlithe tried to jump on her to snatch a couple of sandwiches she had pulled out for the children, so she had to keep it at bay until she could take a bag of Pokémon snacks to sate its appetite.
As the group sat to eat, Anabel felt a mix of disappointment and a warm feeling in her chest as some memories came to her mind. She never went on picnics with her parents, but she often did so with her uncle. Especially when she began discovering her telepathy and she had a hard time controlling it, hearing everyone's thoughts at once, it was almost deafening. Her uncle would always take her to a secluded place where they could eat and relax together, just the two of them. That would always help her feel at ease and forget about her worries and everyone else's for a while.
"Another dead end," said Misty. "How long is this gonna keep up?"
'We'll find him,' said Anabel. 'We can't give up; I know we can find him.'
"Anabel, do not push yourself so hard," said Iris. "You need to rest, this is clearly taking a toll on you."
'I'm fine,' the telepath assured. 'I promised we would find Ash, and no matter what happens, we will.'
Iris and Misty tried to protest again, but she silenced her complains to focus on what mattered at the time. Ash was still out there, and she had to find him. And she would do so no matter the cost. Once she got a lock on their next destination, and making sure nobody was close, she teleported them away again.
She prayed to Arceus that this time it would be Ash.
----------------------------------------
Iris had always considered herself very patient with things, but as the hours went by and their attempts to find Ash only ended in failure, she was finding it harder to keep calm. She knew she couldn't give in to panic, but her worry was growing by the moment.
They had teleported in front of a strange building by the edge of the sea: a high and thin tower. Misty called it a 'lighthouse', a construct whose purpose was to guide ships to the shore safely at night or in foggy days to prevent them from running aground. But that wasn't important right now.
While Anabel rested and Misty stayed watching over her out of sight, Iris went to scout their surroundings. The 'lighthouse' was closed so they couldn't enter to check if Ash was in there. So she walked across the cement floor, until she got to a beach shore…
"Pikapika!"
"That was…" There was no mistaking: that was a Pikachu. She quickly picked up the pace and ran, hopeful…
"Again buddy, send me your best Electro Ball!"
Only to suffer another let down. Yes, it was a Pikachu, and yes, the trainer in front of it looked a lot like Ash. But the obvious differences, like wearing a blue hat instead of red, and having shorter, light brown hair instead of black, instantly killed her hopes.
She saw the Pikachu charging an Electro Ball on his tail, and leaping to throw it to his trainer. Iris saw the boy radiating a yellow aura as he outstretched a hand, stopping the electric sphere in the air. He moved the hand behind his back, passing it to the other to throw it back at the Pikachu, who in turn sent it back with a tail slap.
The two continued the game for a while until the Electro Ball fizzled out, and then the mouse began throwing Thunderbolts at his trainer, which he easily redirected just by waving his hands around as he emitted the yellow aura. After a while, the Pikachu ran off and happily jumped to his trainer's arms, who laughed heartily. In her mind, Iris couldn't help but overlap Ash's image over that boy's.
As much as the scene touched her, and as much as it made her think of Ash, it didn't change anything: they had failed again. Not wanting to interrupt the boy's moment with his Pikachu friend, she left quietly in case they didn't want to be spotted.
Once she returned, Anabel was back on her feet, but didn't look good at all. Misty was so focused on helping her she took a while to notice Iris had returned, so she cleared her throat to get their attention.
"Iris… another dead end?"
"Sadly," the dark-skinned girl replied. Misty quickly took a disheartened expression, so Iris made an effort to keep strong. "But we might be getting closer. This time it was a boy with a Pikachu."
"He wouldn't be the only one we've seen today," Misty reminded her. "I wonder if it's another family trait, some of them seem to like the Pikachu line."
'That might… help… narrow it down… if I can…' Anabel tried to walk on her own, but almost fell again. 'I'm… so sorry… if I just…'
"Easy," Misty said. "Rest a little bit more. As much as we want to find Ash, we don't want you to kill yourself trying, right?"
"Of course." Iris nodded. She was worried about Ash, but she too cared for Anabel's wellbeing, and not just because she was their only means to find him.
As she glanced at the horizon over the sea, Iris clenched her fists. It wasn't just a feeling anymore: she knew Ash was in danger, and facing a very dangerous enemy. She hated that they had to wait, but until Anabel had rested enough, there was nothing else she could do.
Nothing but believe in Ash and his strength. She knew he could overcome any challenge. He would do it, he just had to.
----------------------------------------
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 head-butted 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 exactly what to do to achieve the best result in the most efficient way. 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 come 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."
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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!" 'Shut 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 to see 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? Four, five, maybe six? 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.
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, Vivillon, 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.
...
Wind blew through Vulpix's fur as she held onto her father's mane for dear life, her eyes almost shut in fear. This was the first time she had ever been into a proper battle. She may have had practice battles with some of her father's friends and a few of the smaller Pokémon but never like this.
Her father's bellows gave her a small amount of strength, opening her eyelids just a little. She watched in awe as her father sent a Starmie flying with just a Headbutt, allowing the small plant leader to entangle it with his vines. Seeing her, the small creature gave a soft smile as if to tell her it was alright to be afraid before jumping to avoid a Psybeam.
Those two... they were almost unbeatable.
Her father and the Bulbasaur. They would surely have a weakness against the Psychic types, one due to how smart the mental users were said to be and the other due to typing. Yet right here and now, they were slowly dominating the field.
'I-if they can do it, if they can fight with no problems, with no hesitation... can I?'
Opening her eyes, she gave a small yip as flames grew in her mouth. With a cry, she released the small fireball towards an unsuspecting Drowzee. The Incinerate struck its side as it turned towards the small family. Its hands twitched as black energy formed in its hands.
"Vul!" 'Papa!' Vulpix called out, another Incinerate blazing to life in her mouth.
A snort was her answer as the Tauros bellowed, his own fireball flaring into existence between his horns. As if on the same wave length, the pair released their attacks, the twin Incinerates merging into one. The flame slammed into the still charging Shadow Ball causing it to discharge and explode, sending the Drowzee flying.
"Bruh!" 'That's my daughter!' Tauros bellowed, before charging off to help one of his herd. Vulpix beamed in pride at his words. She really could do this, couldn't she?
She would prove herself. Not just to her father and her new idol but to herself as well.
She was her father's daughter after all.
...
The Abra popped in front of him, charging a Thunder Punch.
Farfetch'd simply glared at it.
The Abra stopped mid-attack and Farfetch'd walked underneath the stunned Pokemon, idly noting a Pidgey fly into it with a Tackle.
No, he wasn't here to fight such a Pokemon.
He had been quite happy to see Spoonmons here, with a new technique he had never seen among them.
He would defeat them.
Spotting one, he lunged at a two-spoon Alakazam while making the Farfetch'd call of battle.
Or at least his call of battle, he wasn't entirely sure.
----------------------------------------
Johto
"So, I have siblings. I had always thought that little girl I had met in Len Town looked a bit like me. I had thought it was just coincidence, but apparently it wasn't."
It had been hours since they had begun their search, though it was the first time she had interacted with one of the Ash siblings they kept accidentally warping to instead of Ash.
Misty met an evil one, but that was about it. Mostly seeing them off in the distance battling or hatching Pokémon or doing any number of things, not saying anything to them.
But that was not a thing anymore, and now she found herself sitting in a Secret Base, a table across from the first sibling she'd be talking to.
Her name was Meliae.
Misty was nearby, helping Anabel get a drink of water. While Anabel had been showing signs of dehydration, Misty was making sure she wouldn't fall into Meliae's little lake.
Also something about giving water something called iodine first. She wasn't sure the exact reason for it, it was just something that Ash and everyone seemed to insist on doing.
Regardless of why they always did odd things with water, it was just her and Meliae here.
And she had just finished telling the story of Ash to his half-sister who Iris had to admit, did not look that much like him.
Unlike Red, Manna, and what she had seen of Belladonna via the Pokédex and Ash's own descriptions, she did not have black hair. Her hair instead was more the color of honey from a Combee nest.
Also unlike Ash she had red eyes, and did not have marks on her face. She did have similar looking ears, as well as height.
"So, you want to be with my brother?" Meliae asked for confirmation as Iris nodded.
She had mentioned that in the midst of passing the time until Anabel was able to Teleport them again.
"Do you understand what that means, exactly?"
She didn't understand Meliae's question. What could the confusion be about?
"To be Ash's mate? That means we would be frequently together, and possess a mutual emotional bond. We would reproduce with each other."
Meliae let out a sigh.
"That last one…I feel I have a sisterly duty to work on that one. I don't know if I'm being the concerned older sister or the concerned younger sister here, you didn't give me the day Ash was born."
Ash had mentioned that at some point, but it was escaping her right now.
"Frankly from what you mentioned of yourself the fact that you do see the emotional connection aspect of a permanent relationship surprises me. However, first you do know that humans do not lay eggs, correct?"
"I was told about that a while ago, along with the basics of how reproduction works."
"Well, glad I don't have to give that talk," Meliae sounded relieved about not doing that, "However I suspect you have issues grasping things beyond that."
What was there to grasp? Reproduction was reproduction.
"First off, you are aware that humans, and some Pokémon for that matter, have sex for more than just having kids. If every time I had sex I wanted kids, this place would be filled with them." Meliae told her.
"And no, before you say anything about Bloodliners and humans…" Meliae held up a finger before she could comment, and in fact pinched the finger with two from her other hand.
"Humans and Bloodliners are hardly different when it gets down to it. Look at this finger, it is the same as a regular person's finger on the outside and in the inside. The same blood vessels flow through it, the same skin protects it; the same bones bend in the same way. All that is different about it is that if I scratch this finger and put it in the sun, it patches itself up. Our minds and bodies behave exactly the same, so what applies to one applies to the other."
Meliae sounded a bit forceful on the point for some reason, so Iris would not challenge her on it. However the first statement still warranted a question.
"Why would someone…"
"Because it feels good. I can't say what Pokémon feel when they do it, but at least with humans having sex is very physically pleasing and enjoyable. Not just physically, but also emotionally. I actually recall reading somewhere once that, at least with humans, sex is as pleasurable as it is to encourage more breeding as human females, and thus us as well, do not send off 'I'm fertile right now, please get me pregnant' signals like most Pokémon species."
"But everything can sense …"
"Can you tell when you're fertile?" Meliae cut her off bluntly.
Iris opened her mouth to say yes, but closed it as she thought about it.
She…really couldn't.
"So let's make sure we haven't lost track of anything. Forgive me if I sound patronizing here, I'm basing this on my mom's lectures from her fertility clinic back in Cherrygrove with people who don't have your life story to justify their lack of understanding of human sexuality, and so this may not be the best tone to use. You want to engage in a long term, emotionally significant relationship with my half-brother, whose exact age relative to mine is yet undetermined. You do not care for strict exclusiveness in the relationship, though you yourself do not particularly have any interest in participating in non-monogamy. The main hole you have to figure out is the sexual end of the relationship, not from any lack of understanding of how part A goes into slot B, but the function of it beyond strict reproductive use."
Iris nodded, it was pretty much true.
Meliae looked in the direction of where Misty and Anabel were, her eyes flashing the color Ash or Red's eyes did when their paternal derived Bloodline was activated before turning back her way.
"Your Teleporting friend is pushing her body hard; she'll need at least forty-five minutes before she's at a point she can Teleport again," She had mentioned that her other Bloodline let her look over a person or Pokémon's health at a glance. Handy for spotting something called an STD, she had mentioned. "So, we have some time to kill before then. So, I'll give you a basic rundown on how human sexuality works from initiation to completion, even if you'd probably need a lot more time to get the full set of details. I'll start with the 'time and place' portion of the talk first."
"Is that really so important?" Iris asked as Meliae gave her an amused smile.
"Given you just asked me that, it would seem so. Now, let's start with…"
What followed was a surprisingly informative, yet not lacking in personal experience and opinion, explanation of a topic Iris had once thought immensely simple. Though she did have a few questions she asked during the explanation.
"Why is that considered appealing?"
“Because it's pleasurable.”
"So showering with him is sexually stimulating?"
“Yes, though it is quite possible to do so platonically or logically as you did.”
"How much time is too little time?"
“It depends, try and gauge it yourself. Seeing how Ash reacts is probably the best thing I can suggest in that regard.”
Among others. As Meliae continued to answer her questions, the image of her Dragonite big brother appeared in Iris' mind. While she used to think he had never found himself a permanent mate because he could really be a jerk at times, she recalled that the dragon females did find him appealing on the physical department, and sometimes they would engage in it because 'they felt like it', and not just for the purpose of siring offspring. In fact, her big brother seemed to have a preference for strong females, only those capable of keeping up with him, if not best him in a fight. Iris asked her if human men liked strong women, to what Meliae replied that where she came from, that was usually not the case, but exceptions to the rule always existed and she could not say about anywhere else.
"So… have you ever thought of finding yourself a permanent mate?"
Meliae chuckled. "It's not in my plans. I'm not the type to commit to that kind of compromise, neither would I drag someone else into it. I like being a free agent, and I've seen too many people try to kid themselves that monogamy functions. There is an unhealthy connection people have tried to slap between emotional exclusivity and physical exclusivity that I want nothing to do with."
A free agent? Iris wondered if that was the real reason her big brother never seemed interested in finding himself a permanent mate.
While there were many things that Meliae would have wanted to talk about that they didn't have time to go into, what she did get to say Iris greatly appreciated.
----------------------------------------
Sabrina watched the chaos that was now in play with an odd mixture of emotions bubbling inside of 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 had a hangover for an entire week getting his permission), while a legion of Grimer smother her Wobbuffet with the un-Counterable '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 Jigglypuff singing, just after hearing Charizard shout about 'firing in the hole' and, as best he could tell, throwing Jigglypuff 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, though a quick glance at said bracelet confirmed he still had it.
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.
"Dragon Breath!"
Goodra took a deep breath, before unleashing the attack Alakazam's way.
With a bend of the central of five spoons Dragon Breath 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 preceded 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 Dragon Breath, 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, Dragon Breath, 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, Dragon Breath, 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.
----------------------------------------
Returning to where they had been blasted off from, James had only one thing to say.
"So, do we just wait here and hope they come back, or do we go figuring out where they all have gotten off to?"
Jessie and Meowth gave the former upper crust an irate look.
"In case you happened to forget sometime over Stone Town, one of them can teleport."
"Well, then what do you suppose we do: wait until they possibly come back?"
"Well I suppose I could teach you two how to play Skat if we need to pass the time."
Jessie and Meowth stared at their blue haired partner at his suggestion.
It took James a few moments to figure out what they thought he said.
"It's a card game, not an act of Coprophilia!"
"What does being attracted to Officer Jenny have to do with anything?"
----------------------------------------
Anabel Teleported them over a table.
Misty could not tell what sort of table it was, be it age, intended function, or what type of wood it was.
She could say it was hard, and given that all three of them landed on top of it without it breaking it was probably well made.
It also hurt a lot, sending a wave of pain through her like a ripple in a lake from the impact on her butt. She also got a second thump from Anabel's head landing on her lap, which was probably better than her head hitting the table.
Behind her she heard Iris hitting the carpet, and a thought occurred to her.
They probably landed in front of someone, and that someone was probably looking at them in surprise, shock, and probably near ready to throw something.
That thought quickly died when she realized just who they had landed in front of, and she suddenly wished she had landed in front of some person who'd attack them.
For the table was in front of a couch, upon which Misty suspected drinks and magazines were meant to go and not the three of them.
Upon that couch sat three people, with a fourth being held in the arms of the tallest of the three most likely due to the couch not having another space for a fourth.
Said short person was someone that Misty was unfortunately familiar with personally, only knowing the others from Iris, Ash, and the Pokédex's descriptions.
"…This is unexpected." Vedia, Shadow Sneak Bloodliner and attacker of Power Plants, observed from Belladonna's lap, looking more like a child than usual with Belladonna's arm around her like safety straps in a car or roller coaster.
Iris raised her head off the carpet, where she seemed to lock gazes with the girl she had fought before Evanna, who sent her back a grin that Misty was pretty sure meant a combination of 'hello', and 'I want to punch you more' in some fictional species. Misty had no idea what species though, Klangions or something like that.
Iris's look invoked less something that could be called a friendly greeting with mutual desire to punch in a science fiction series, and more one that someone would give to something dangerous. Axew popped out for a moment, but retreated at the first sight of Evanna.
"Succotash," Anabel mumbled mindlessly from Misty's lap.
"Is she…okay?" the girl Misty was sure was Aurora asked in what sounded like genuine concern.
"Nobody asked you," Misty retorted, which seconds later had Vedia be released from Belladonna and stand to the side.
The purpose of this was so Belladonna stand over her and glare at her.
"My Dear asked you a question, no need to be rude," Belladonna told her in a low tone.
Belladonna's eyes bore into her, a red intensity that bore into her like drills. Misty only realized now just how tall Belladonna was.
Ash had commented on it, but it was only now that Misty really got a feel for it.
She hadn't grown much recently, and was pretty sure she'd be sticking at 5'10 for the rest of her days, bar shrinking.
Ash had been about that tall for a while, but had passed that and was starting to approach how tall Iris was. Iris had given her height during the Princess Festival, which the Pokédex had translated to 6'2, so saying Ash was either 6' or 6'1 now was about right. (Anabel was about 5'3 and not the biggest fan of the fact).
Belladonna outstripped Iris by at least a few inches. Ash's murderous terrorist half-sister was either 6'4 or 6'5, and more to the point she just felt bigger than Iris.
Iris's body was fairly thin and lithe, little to it but muscle. Belladonna's body had more on it than Iris's did, which didn't go anywhere near the intimidation loss that a stouter frame could give. It was like comparing a Ninetales to an Arcanine in body shape, while both were dangerous, the latter had the additional danger factor of being larger in pretty much every way than Ninetales.
And said person was glaring at her with intensity she had rarely seen from Iris at any point (even when Iris was trying to slash her), simply for not answering Aurora's question.
"Also...what are you three even doing here, and without my brother for that matter? Where is Ash?" she questioned in a tone that, while less 'that was a mistake', was forceful just the same.
Before she could manifest an answer, Iris beat her to it and explained what was going on.
That Ash had been taken by an Abra and that since then they had been trying to find him with random Teleporting, which seemed to focus on Ash's siblings by mistake (along with the occasional house and Mew, the house might have been his mother's but the Mew was still a mystery).
During the explanation Belladonna had stopped glaring at her, but she remained unreadable. Aurora gave Anabel a look of concern for her, while Evanna looked ready for the explanation to end.
Vedia used a shadow tendril to pull over a notepad and was taking notes every time Iris mentioned one of the siblings they had encountered.
When Iris had finished her explanation Anabel had recovered a bit, though she was in no shape to get them out of there in a pinch.
A fight could still break out, and it would be difficult. She still had Ash's Togepi egg after all, and protecting both Anabel and the egg would not be easy.
"Well, I guess the rumors must be true then."
Evanna's blunt statement drew both her and Iris's attention. What rumors?
"Sweetie," Belladonna muttered in a tone that almost sounded reproachful.
"Hey, it's not like we had any evidence they were. Now, you two don't seem to have any idea of what I'm talking about, so let me spell it out for you. Ever heard the rumors of the Saffron Gym Leader?"
Misty nodded, having heard the tale of a crazy person who used Psychic-type Pokémon to harm innocent people. Iris remained confused though.
"Well the rumors say that she's more than just a homicidal maniac. Some people say that she's actually a Bloodliner who can control Psychic Pokémon who wants to find worthy opponents for her power, who she makes battle her with all their Pokémon." Misty made her eyes not move towards Anabel's still recovering form.
"If she did abduct Ash, and the day's nearly half over…" Aurora spoke in horror.
"From what I've seen and been told of the guy, we probably still have a chance before he stops entertaining the crazy lady. He has a lot of Pokémon from what I understand who are all pretty tough, and if he's Belladonna's little brother he should still have some stamina, but time is still wasting."
At her comment about stamina Aurora looked away from Evanna in a 'why did you say that' manner, Belladonna sighed in exasperation, and Vedia just shook her head. Misty wasn't entirely sure what she had meant by that, and Iris seemed just as confused.
"Ehm…well ignoring that irrelevant information, we do still have time to get my brother back. We'll have to leave your friend here, but with My Dear's Shellder, we can get to Saffron Gym quickly."
Ash did mention something about a Teleporter... but that was secondary as Misty went pale. Did she just say 'we'!?'
"We probably can get her all back to normal with some of those Revival Herbs we have!" Aurora shot up and declared, surprising her fellow Power Plant attackers.
The look on her face suggested she had even surprised herself with what she had offered, but she quickly reaffirmed herself.
"They helped the time Evanna burned herself out, and if we also use some of the Mental Herbs the mental exhaustion should be fixed too."
"…That will take a while to get them ready. I'm not against the idea, but I'm a little hesitant to wait half an hour." Belladonna spoke to Aurora in a conflicted tone, but Aurora gave a confident nod back.
"But if we do then it'll be the seven of us plus the Pokémon, and seven are better than six to get your brother back."
Prepare them how, exactly?! And still that we thing…
Aurora darted off somewhere as Vedia answered her first question.
"While Bloodlines are similar to Pokémon, some natural remedies that they can use need a bit more preparation to have an effect of us. This is a combination of being either too potent or under-performing in their natural states."
"That doesn't explain why we wouldn't just leave the moment those herbs heals Anabel in whatever way they do," Misty countered.
"Because seven have a better chance than three in rescuing him," Vedia declared simply.
"You forget that four of those seven attacked a power plant just because you wanted one man in a hospital dead. That's not exactly who you want for a rescue party," Misty told the three present bluntly.
"Calling that thing a man is a tad too much," Belladonna declared with utter disdain pointed squarely at the target of her actions.
"If we wanted someone like you helping us, I'd have asked Team Rocket," Misty retorted.
"You know, I actually met some Team Rocket members right before Gringy. It was weird, one of them was a talking Meo…"
"That would be the same Team Rocket we are talking about," Iris quipped at Evanna's reminiscence.
"Really?"
Misty decided to swerve the conversation back in the old direction before it got off topic.
"That doesn't explain why we should let you all come with us any more than those three."
"I'm his sister," Belladonna said simply.
"There is more to being a sibling than being related," Misty declared, being quite aware that full relation did not mean anything if you didn't act like it.
Just being related to someone didn't mean anything. Her family meant nothing to her beyond a Gym she'd like to have to herself one day. Iris didn't have any reason to care for her blood relatives. Ash's father and the seemingly unending deluge of siblings meant nothing unless he wanted to make something with the latter, and Belladonna was not high on the list he'd be doing that with.
Anabel's relations with her family were bizarrely normal despite them being dead.
"Exactly, and what is the behavior of a sibling other than agreeing to put herself at risk to save them from danger?" Vedia poised.
"That is part of the job," Iris admitted reluctantly.
'Iris, don't encourage them! That would only make avoiding them harder.'
'Belladonna does…. mean it', she heard Anabel weakly commented in her mind.
'She can mean whatever she wants, that doesn't mean I want to take her along with us.' Misty thought, seeing as speaking aloud wasn't going to get her anything but more glaring by Belladonna.
'This might not really…be a case of what we'd want. While I can get….to Saffron without needing time to….breath, they aren't wrong. Seven is better than three.'
'And of those seven, one froze Ash to a wall, another spent her time holding me to the ground, a third actually seems to have enjoyed the experience of Iris trying to slash her, and then you have Belladonna..'
'I try to be positive, and I like to think I succeed when Iris isn't chasing me while waving a stick. They were hardly the good guys that day, but now they want to be. I think encouraging that can only be a good thing. Plus do you want to have something go wrong and slap yourself for not taking them up on it.'
"Are you two telepathically communicating?" Vedia inquired, interrupting the mental conversation.
"No," Misty lied as Belladonna gave her a look.
"Don't lie, you aren't good at it and frankly should not look to become good at it. I hardly think Ash would appreciate it, lies are among the worst things in relationships."
Misty stared at the giant woman in stunned amazement.
She'd be the first to admit she probably could use a bit of advice on how relationships would function, but was a person Ash had described as 'questionably stable' really the one who thought she had the right to do so?
"In fact, it will probably take at least ten or fifteen more minutes before we can leave, so let us give you some advice on how relationships work in case you have any other bad habits. In fact my sweet…"
A shadow tendril pulled a notepad and pen into Vedia's hand, who held the writing set at the ready.
Belladonna beamed a smile at how quick the little thing was to matching her want, before doing that faux cough people would do before speaking.
"Okay, now the first thing you all should know…"
What followed was a quarter hour of Ash's murderous half-sister giving them a crash course on relationships, their do's and don'ts, what were common issues that came up, how to handle jealousy flare ups, and many other such things while Vedia kept taking notes that she'd presumably make them take with them.
Cursive notes it seemed, damn her.
Though Misty had to feel sympathy for poor Iris. This was the second lecture she got from one of Ash's sisters today, and that had to get tiring.
…
It was actually rather useful information. Meliae had said most of her advice should probably happen after the non-sexual parts of it, and that was good advice.
The short girl's writing was weird though, hopefully someone could read it clearly.