Saffron City

The blond Trainer stood at the edge of the Saffron Gym, which seemed oddly empty and missing the usual flashy flairs.

A tad unsettled but none the less determined he pushed the door open.

What lay before him was a large, fancy looking staircase, and not much else.

"I didn't go to the wrong place did I?" the trainer asked out loud, despite being alone.

"Yo, I'm a highly advanced bit O' progress! Ya think I would take ya to the wrong address?" the Pokédex in his pocket snarked.

The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps echoed through the halls as the older teenager smiled.

"Hello Gym Leader? I'm Dan of Goldenrod City. I am here to challenge…."

A short fellow, probably a newish trainer 15 years or so old, crashed into him, his eyes streaming in tears.

"No no no! I was wrong, this was a terrible mistake! Why didn't I talk to people before I….ggu..gugg.."

The kid was now in the air, squirming as if something was strangling him.

Dan immediately reached for his Pokéballs.

"What is this, some sort of Ghost Pokémon!? Crobat, find it!"

With a quick throw a large purple bat with four wings materialized and began shrieking. While loud, it did release powerful supersonics that would reveal an invisible presence.

Crobat stopped shrieking and turned to Dan, shaking rapidly as the kid dropped like a ragdoll.

"That…..was not a ghost," Dan whispered to himself, "I know ghosts, I beat Morty. This, this is something else."

The door suddenly shut behind them, as a form began to float towards them from atop the stairs.

"So you noticed what was befalling the fool and decided to investigate it with a fairly high power presence detection method. Not bad, you at least have experience if nothing else."

The form landed mid-staircase, staring at him with blue ices. Her hair was dark and long, her body lithe.

"I am Sabrina, the Gym Leader. Tell me, are you worthy?"

The way the Gym Leader stated the question gave him, as the Alolans said, chicken skin.

"Of what?"

"Continuing to live," she simply stated as her eyes glowed. Moments after a lot of Pokémon teleported in around her.

Multiples of various species and counts: Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam, Hypno, Drowzee, Espeon, Natu, Xatu, Exeggcute, Exeggutor, Jynx, Smoochum, Girafarig, Wobbufett, and several other Psychic-types were all glaring him down.

"There are just too many people in the world if you ask me. Most of them have no reason to exist, they are just unremarkable. Average. Humans cannot grow, and thus there are simply two kinds of them: those who are remarkable, and those who are just wastes. There are far too many of the latter in the world, and one should do something about them. I at least think so."

Dan and Crobat backed away from the giant mob in immense unease.

"A serial killer Gym Leader, I thought this only happened in Unova."

She seemed annoyed at the comparison.

"Do not compare me to some lunatic with a knife. I am fair if nothing else. If you can prove that you are in fact a remarkable human, you may live."

"I could be Lance and I am not sure I could beat ten, twenty, thirty…"

"Are you not a League competition regular in the Silver Conference these last few years? You should have many Pokémon, even if you came here to expand and train your team further to try and see if you can get past the Top 16 in Kanto to break your rut. I have long stolen the technology to block the limiters, I insist on a proper measurement of potential."

"And yes, I am reading your thoughts," she told him simply as Dan's body shook in terror.

He had braved many dangers in Johto, he had nearly been eaten three times, crushed by rocks twice, and had fought Whitney. He had been bitten by an Arbok, breathed in Vileplume spores, and fought Whitney after mentioning he didn't like softball.

But this, this was the moment he felt his end.

Crobat fluttered in front of his face, so close one could make jokes about it. The fluttering was all he heard, and his body stopped shaking. He knew this was going to be difficult, if not impossible to get out of but he'd be damned if he didn't try. If this really was the end, then he'd go down swinging.

One arm went for his Pokéballs on his belt, the others his inactive ones in his bag.

The inactive ones did activate, and his active ones stayed active.

In several bursts many new Pokémon now joined him and Crobat.

Typhlosion, standing tall, strong and bellowing a challenge with flames raging around his neck.

Ampharos, a light of hope even as the pendant around her neck glimmered with the power he had hoped would have broken his rut last year.

Golem, solidly stoic.

Slowbro, more alert than usual.

Sandslash, digging at the air in eagerness for battle.

Arbok, no longer interested in biting him.

Jumpluff, now sitting on his head like a hat.

Poliwrath, flexing muscles for battle.

Bellossom, arm flexed like that Unovan poster.

Pinsir, the reason Bellossom was Bellossom.

Granbull, growling.

Magmar, having made good progress at not burning wooden floorboards.

Octillery: ready to fire.

Gligar: hanging from the ceiling.

Bellsprout: caught on the walk here.

As he felt his pulse beginning to race, he noticed the grin forming on Sabrina's face. It was small, the corner of her lips tugging upwards as she read his thoughts, understood his fears. She drank them in with delight and amusement.

‘I won't give you the satisfaction’, he thought defiantly as he took a deep breath and straightened his body to steel himself. It was a facade at best, but it was the first step to fool himself into thinking he had a chance against her. Backing his thoughts with action, he said aloud, "I am going to live."

Her grin grew a fraction, as though further amused by his meager attempt at defiance. "If you manage to impress me, I'll guarantee it." Her hair shifted as her psychic powers manifested, wreathing her in a haunting shade of lavender light. She levitated in the air and looked down upon him. "All the same, if you can't live up to that bravado... well, I'll give you a sneak peek."

Visions danced in his head of what fate would be bestowed upon him in defeat.

It drove him to make sure it didn't become reality.

?

"Oi! You!"

Ash wasn't sure what was odder, the fact that Gary was whatever age he was before time broke, or the fact that he had the same hair, marks, skin color, and other little things as Ash. It was only his clothes, voice, and Garyness that made him distinct, and even then the Garyness was a bit out of date.

"Finally you're here, now we can finally tell it like it is," a lookalike of him dressed like Tobias grunted.

"You really need to stop. I mean really, just stop." Drew him pointed a rose at him like it was a ruler or something.

"You'll never win, you can't win, so just stop making us look bad," Cameron cosplaying as him declared.

"Me losing makes you look bad?" Ash questioned their logic as he looked at the little Cameron him.

"I mean, you beat me with five Pokémon to my six fair and square. I think that makes you look really good," Ash continued as Cameron-him broke a branch he did not have in hand microseconds before.

"Oh sure, how mature," Harley-him bawked.

"I thought I was being rather mature about it." This wasn't making any sense or following any logic. In fact Ash wasn't sure this was even operating under Harley logic.

"The only thing that will fix your incompetence is us taking your Pokémon, killing your mother, locking you in a prison guarded by soul sucking demons for a crime you didn't commit, and starting yearly Ash hunts!" Ash-Tobias declared with sadistic glee.

As the others nodded, they all suddenly stopped as they seemed to notice something was missing.

And it was not common sense. Only Ash seemed to be aware common sense was on an all expense page vacation.

"You should be crying and declaring us wrong before running off to a mountain for years at this point." Drew in an Ash paintjob pointed out as Ash shrugged.

"Ignoring the fact that you guys aren't making any sense at all, I don't really know many of you that well but Cameron and Gary. Besides them, none of us are close friends and it doesn't hurt that much when you guys…do whatever it is you are doing. I mean Tobias, I don't even know where you came from."

"Hmm, good point," the lookalike of him wearing Tobias garb stated as he poofed into a version of Ash in Bonnie's get up. The Drew-him turned into Dawn and the Harley him became his mother, while still looking like a version of himself wearing his mother's clothes.

Ash could already feel his eye twitching reflexively.

Before things got weird however, well weirder than they already were, a large rock in a top hat and a cane fell from the sky and crushed them all.

Then everything else was just... different.

….

Flying over a field that billowed smoke, Ash found himself on a blue Charizard.

Red was flying near him on a Charizard of the titular color, looking so red that Ash was pretty sure a hot rod somewhere was jealous.

"Yes brother, mother wasn't able to save me, but she was able to save you from our father. She managed to sneak you off to your uncle's farm in Pallet Town, while I was left to the tender mercy of our father in his castle. I suppose I can't blame you for it nor old man Oak for killing him, but I do have to deal with you. You will join me in overcoming the rebellion and bringing order to the land and restoring the Charizard riders!"

Before he could figure out what was going on there, Ash found himself sitting in a throne in a dark room, feeling rather unsettled.

He also had blond hair for some reason. Rather nice blond hair too.

The sound of a helmet hitting the ground caught his attention and stopped Ash from wondering if his hair was May, Dawn, or Serena quality care.

"Don't you recall? The two of us used to play chess together as boys. Of course, I would always win," a somewhat distorted voice stated somewhat mockingly.

"It's been a long time, big brother."

A figure then approached him, John Archer!?

"The eldest son of the late consort _ and 17th heir to the Imperial Throne, John Verbena Archer at your service." The dead possible brother took a mocking knee to him before looking up towards him in a manner that made Ash's hair stand on end.

"You thought that I was dead? You were wrong. I have returned, your highness, and I've come back to change everything."

…

"Wait ladies, wait!"

Ash was now walking down the road to Pallet Town, without blond locks, and found Gary on his knees, crying.

Ash immediately moved to try to reach the guy, but for some reason his legs weren't moving.

"Sorry Greg, but your harem is now Red's harem," Yellow's voice rang out as she and Red were now suddenly visible, with Gary's cheerleaders now hanging on Red.

Red was also grinning like Oshawott after he snuck a cake past everyone and ate the entire thing.

"Give it back! My precious, my precious!" Gary was sounding like he really needed a lozenge now.

"My name's not Greg!"

"Prepare for Trouble!"

Ash was suddenly turned away from Gary and Red, and found himself staring at the Team Rocket Trio, framed by psychedelic colors?

Well, at least this made some level of sense.

"And make it double!"

"Oh, I sure will!"

Suddenly the psychedelia was broken, James was that Domino chick, Meowth was Cassidy, and Aurora and Belladonna were behind them.

Goodbye sense. It was nice knowing you.

Belladonna flung Jessie and Cassidy over her shoulders like duffel bags, Aurora holding Domino under her shoulder as one would carry a bag.

"No way, triple! Score!" Belladonna and Aurora fist bumped with wicked giggles before skipping away with the Team Rocket girls to comical sound effects Ash wasn't sure how to articulate.

Before Ash could try and move in response he was turned around again, only to find himself...

...floating in the air in front of a really tall lifeguard’s chair, with a pixelated version of himself sitting in the chair.

"Oh my Ashy boy, you don't even need me to have crazy dreams." MissingNo chuckled before pointing down, "Time to see what's stranger today: my twisted wonder, or your confused mind."

With that Ash suddenly found himself on the ground, laying on the ground as he heard footsteps approaching him, and he briefly thought he saw some familiar legs approaching him.

...Only to wake up with Pikachu sitting on his chest and looking at him in concern. John Archer's Gardevoir was also out, looking at him with a frown.

At the edge of his hearing, he could swear he was hearing MissingNo shout in annoyance about him waking up before he could mess the dreams.

'You appear to have suffered a strong dream. Tell me, what happened.' Gardevoir inquired

"I...have no idea," Ash admitted.

Gardevoir tilted her head, and he elaborated.

"I think it came from what happened with Belladonna saying that we're... but I don't get why it gave me blond hair."

'Yes, Belladonna...I've been meaning to talk to you about that.' The Hoenn native Pokémon floated over to the other side of the Secret Base structure before turning to face him.

"Yeah, the girl who may or may not be my sister, has three girlfriends, murders people who anger her, what about it?" Ash questioned.

"I appreciate the exposition as I cannot pick up what the Psychic-Fairy type may or may not be saying. I will of course add all necessary information and observations," the Pokédex beeped.

"Joy."

'Very well, I will handle the parroting. Anyway, as things were I happened to be listening in on your conversation with her yesterday Ash. We all were.' When Ash translated that, he traded the words 'we all were' for 'the John Archer team all to hear it'.

"So it appears I was not alone in my wise decision of observation," the Pokédex quipped. Ash had a momentary urge to whack the technological bit for that one.

'Don't push it. Anyway, I feel that there is some truth to what she was saying.'

After translation the Pokédex, which was open, loaded a page which held a somewhat unpleasant looking woman's mugshot. She had a face that was sharp looking, much like Belladonna's.

"I did do some searches and I can confirm that she was at least telling the truth of her life in the Old Cesspit. At the very least, there was an eleven year old girl named Belladonna Tyrian in Gringy City's Old Cesspit whose mother was arrested for child abuse, child abandonment, and creating a public health hazard with her hoarding. She's currently serving time in a woman's low security prison and will be doing so until you're twenty, and has apparently been beaten five times on record to date by several other inmates who find her treatment of her daughter worthy of fists, feet, and various blunt objects to the face and torso. I was also able to find data matches that support the information given about Aurora's family and the bits that came up about the other two girls Vedia and Evanna. It is possible I may be inaccurate somewhere in my data analysis, but my algorithms leave a chance of error at below 1%."

Ash would offer to check his work, but Ash had the oddest feeling such math would kill him, or at least render him blind.

"Pik."'Tyrian huh, fitting name.' Pikachu gave a huff at Belladonna's possible surname.

After having it translated for it the Dex sounded appalled.

"Do you not know semi-advanced semantics? That name means imperial purple. Royal purple. It has nothing to do with tyranny, except when it's worn by a crazy person with an empire under him."

'Color facts and confirming that they were not making up their backstories is interesting, but I feel we are missing the, forest for the trees I believe humans say. At least some old man John and I once met liked to espouse that phrase. The fact is that in a short period of time I have encountered not one, but two people who resemble John, you and Belladonna.'

After translation the Pokédex flashed an image of Red.

'And we also have evidence of a third such person who resembles John strongly. If it is just four people across two regions, it would be a very unlikely coincidence, possibly a few quirks of chance and the fact that Belladonna probably would benefit from a therapist and quite possibly medication. However, I don't think this is just four people...I think there are more lookalikes to you and John Archer in the world.'

"So what are you suggesting, I use the internet to find people who look like me?"

"I would suggest you not do it. Algorithms suggest a 45% chance of a crime occurring from such an action, and common sense will dictate that I find a way to slap you mid-way through such an action," the Pokédex added.

'No, I am suggesting I go looking for them.'

At her declaration all present looked at Gardevoir in surprise.

'I am a teleporting magical creature, I am perfectly capable of looking through a wide area,' she defended her idea.

"Pika?" 'And you are also quite capable of running into Hunter J, or Team Rocket, or that Felgrand guy.'

Gardevoir had a dark look at mention of Felgrand, but continued.

'I have my teammates, we are quite capable of avoiding being captured when we are not locked in Pokéballs. Ash Ketchum; we do not know each other well. In fact this is the first time I have come out of my ball since we met, despite your attempts to get us out to be fed. However I know that someone has to look into this conundrum. If there are only two others who look like John and yourself, then I am worried over nothing. But if there are others, that must mean something. It's better that one of us figures it out, before it becomes an issue.'

After translation the Pokédex added.

"I am capable of tracking the unique magnetic properties of your Probopass via my navigational and map features. It's possible I can communicate with Probopass the same way."

The silence that followed had palpable gravity.

"...If that's what you really want, then I won't stop you. Just, promise me you'd be careful," Ash told Gardevoir after a moment. She nodded, before floating out of the Secret Base with a telepathic pull on her fellow five Pokémon.

"Don't leave until I learn to communicate with the Probopass via magnetic fields!" the Pokédex shouted after her, before humming to itself as if it was starting to try and speak with magnetics.

Ash promptly closed his eyes, not wanting to think of if you could communicate with magnetic fields, lest his dreams involve him attracting loose change and having coins stick to his legs.

A few hours later

'You know, I've never seen so many stars.'

"Yeah, I noticed that too. I think a lot of people notice it. I know I did."

The night was approaching its retirement age, though it was far from dead and light came only from the moon and stars above. Yet the little cluster of secret bases were not vacant, for two occupants found themselves lying on the ground.

Looking up into the stars, and pointing at them on occasion.

For when one woke up early and lacked a coffee maker or an internet link that wasn't the Pokédex, what else could you do but look at the stars.

"Sorry, but I don't know any of their names. People have books on them… then again people have devoted their lives to stranger things," Misty admitted.

'Makes you wonder, are we the only ones who gave them a name, or do you think there are aliens out there who give them their own names. Wonder what they call our star then?'

"Probably something more creative than 'The Sun', I hope."

The two laughed a bit at that, before Misty pinched her lips and pointed up.

"You know, now I think about it I think I see the Big Dipper. Or, maybe the little one?"

'Hmmmm, Big,' Anabel declared with finality, and that would be that.

At least until the Dex complained and pointed out that it was actually the Perpendicular Dipper. Somehow.

"Why are you looking up?"

Misty and Anabel's eyes rolled up to find a taller figure standing over them, looking confused.

"We're just looking at the stars," Misty explained.

"Why?"

'Because they look nice.'

"Really? They just look like glowing spots in the sky to me. Sure you can navigate with them, but just looking at then? Humans have those things called maps they use to navigate if I recall, do they look at them for fun?"

'Some do,' Anabel stated honestly.

And Iris's confusion on the concept was perhaps even greater than the resulting laughter.

A few hours later

There were side effects of waking up early, and they were well known.

A sense of tiredness, lower energy later in the day, etc. One could counter this with certain beverages, but one would have to then deal with the consequences of giving someone coffee.

Misty was quite aware of this. Anabel was quite aware of this. Iris was quite aware of it, though she had no idea that coffee would help.

The fact that Ash, when he emerged, looked similarly tired as they did was thus a surprise. Pikachu looked a bit tired as well, but nowhere near as much.

"Were you looking at stars instead of sleeping too?" Iris quickly asked him. Ash blinked at her in confusion for that one.

"No? I… had some odd dreams," Ash admitted.

'You aren't kidding,' Anabel noted, before blushing. 'Sorry, they just were really, really at the front of your mind, it's hard to ignore it. Sort of like a really bright light….family trouble right?'

"Family trouble? Did you dream your mother was trying to kill you?" Misty inquired in a manner that suggested she could emphasize with such a dream.

"Er….no. It's sort of a long story…." With a loud series of rumbles the stomachs of Misty, Iris, and Anabel all growled at once. Ash's followed a few moments later.

"…Let's see what we have to eat, I'll talk while we have breakfast."

"Pikapi." 'You do that. I've heard this story enough today, I'm just going to blast trees with Thunderbolt to make sure Team Rocket aren't hiding in them.'

…

Thus amidst fruits and other staples of breakfast the four were capable of making on their own (unchanged since Anabel had not implied to possess nor be skilled with portable skillets), Ash explained what he was too tired to explain the day before.

"…I have no idea if she is or isn't related to me, but she sounded pretty convinced about it, it was sort of weird. She just accepted it as fact as soon as her girlfriend said we looked similar, who does that?" he finished as his three companions had a variety of different expressions.

Anabel looked contemplative.

Misty still looked a bit stunned after he explained that all four of the girls were in a relationship with one another.

Iris, who had Axew out on her lap munching on an apple, had her face flicker into that of comprehension, and seemed to have something to say on the matter.

"It sounds like she really wants to have a family of her own."

At that observation Iris had all the gazes of the present on her.

In the distance the sound of a Thunderbolt going off, followed by a cry about it happening again, was faintly heard. No one went off to investigate it, for they were too busy looking at Iris in surprise.

"You said she had a bad childhood, right? Maybe she is so desperate to have what she never had she is being seeing things that are not really there."

"The way you say it, she sounds like that musician guy who moonwalked? His name's on the tip of my tongue, but I know he had some childhood issues and ended up trying to regain his youth as an adult…"

"The tip of your tongue?" Iris wasn't sure what Ash meant by that phrase.

'It means you have the name of something in mind, but you can't quite remember what it is,' Anabel offered.

"It still does not make any sense, and what do you mean by moonwalking now that I think about…."

"Hellb, what thee hell are oyu kids doing hsere!"

A loud, slurred voice rang through the air, even as Pikachu darted out and sparked his cheeks in a threatening way.

A large man, muscular and garbed in white, stumbled in front of them, shaking his fist and stumbling a bit. His eyes were visibly red.

Iris sniffed the air and gagged.

"That man smells weird."

"He's drunk," Misty declared. No one argued with her.

"Iths vis private prjoperty obf hte bareatie restaurtna, noat some pubulically owned htsi-parbk!"

"What?" Ash did not speak drunk.

"I ma going to tehrash you ahll and edarg yours asess tqo the bluke lady wsohe namde, agh scrwe it get 'em ljal jmy pokemoin!"

The only part of that conversation any of them got was him flinging Pokéballs at them, sloppily. Several just fell at his feet and sprung from there.

Iki Town, Alola

"Mala Mala Mala Mala Mala Mala Mala, MALASADA!"

An old brown skinned man, somewhat chubby and garbed in blue and yellow, chuckled as his phone went off.

His grandson certainly had a good ear for ringtones.

Reaching for the corded device, he pulled it up to his ear and plopped down on his couch.

"Alola, Hala speaking," he stated kindly.

"Alola!"

Hala smiled as he recognized the voice.

"Lilo, it's been too long. Tell me, is that old Gogoat Kaiser..."

"Yes." Hala couldn't help but laugh at the blunt answer.

After his laughter trailed off, the room was filled with political commentary for a few minutes. Had the aforementioned grandson been here, he'd probably be confused of how Mudbray reintroduction, farming rights, dirty energy taxes, and differing ship standards were connected.

He would share this sentiment with many people much older than him.

"...And I thought traditionalists were a pain to deal with back home. Some of these rural conservative types seem to think the moment a Mudsdale is wild in Kanto again it will be the rhubarb apocalypse. Really, I am going to enjoy taking a break in the tournament a few days from now, the only time I've had any bit of fun here was fighting this kid."

"Oh?" Hala was curious about the last part. He would prefer if he could to not talk about politics longer than he had too, he was still tired from dealing with Team Skull Mass Banana Protest.

A Kahuna's job was to get people's Meowth out of trees, rescue drowning tourists, and fill in as Santa Claus that year Greg had that bypass surgery. Defending the right of rapping punk girls to consume bananas was not in the job description, nor was dealing with the type of person who believed females should never eat bananas.

"His name was Red. Good battler, though he didn't talk much. He seemed to be pretty sharp. I think he's also entering the tournament...I can't help but want to resolve our little tie." She sounded eager to battle him again.

"Red?" Hala questioned.

"I didn't ask if it was short for Redford. Anyway, I think the politicians are appeased and Kaiser no longer carries one of those airport metal detector wand things around me all the time, so I think I might be done in time to see the next Kahuna Battle Royal."

"Only if someone can get Acerola to pester Nanu enough to show up." Hala laughed as the phone call ended with mutual laughter and the distant sounds of a cranky Kaiser.

"Kokoooo!"

Just as Hala hung the phone back up however, a familiar call rang through his house, even as the loud sound of displaced air suggested something was here.

Hala sighed. It was Tapu Koko again.

Tapu Koko. Island Deity. Protector of the innocent, when it so chooses.

Tapu Koko was powerful, and generally did actually do its job. Tapu Koko saved many innocent lives during times of crisis. He had seen the creature punch a tidal wave in half and quell a typhoon with great force with his own two eyes.

However Tapu Koko also liked to mess with people. The Guardian was not above appearing in people's houses, shouting its name loudly, and flying away as people screamed in shock. More recently Tapu Koko had discovered his own root beer cellar, and that it liked root beer. So raids were sadly common.

Regardless of what lock he put on it. Or heavy object.

It had even taken Z-Rings and given them to people it decided were interesting. Among them was a master thief who stole from rich tourists and gave to the middle class, an archaeologist with a lisp and a missing thumb, and twins at Professor Kukui's Pokémon School named Velvet and Frax Lono.

Nice kids those two, the Lono twins. Their mother was a store clerk named Jasmine, absent father who Hala had no idea the name of, dark hair, red eyes, and marks on their cheeks that Hala had no idea the origin of. They were actually near ready to begin their trials.

"Kokoooo!" and with that Hala knew the Guardian was gone.

Oddly enough without enough time to raid the cellar for imported root beer.

One Drunken Battle Later, back in Kanto

The drunken man lay on the ground, having been knocked unconscious by the shock of defeat with six Pokémon lying on the ground around him (Machoke, Golduck, Poliwrath, Kingler, Raticate, and Magikarp). Pikachu, Emolga, Wingull, and Anabel's Kadabra didn't look even winded from the brawl.

"…Well it is true what they say: sailors from across Azure Bay really are the worst drunks. Really sorry about that, he had to fill in as a waiter at last night's political dinner and he's still recovering from the exposure to so much concentrated hypocrisy." A female voice, quite a bit less drunk, rang out as a waitress appeared behind the drunken man, looking rather annoyed at what had just happened.

The waitress turned to them, revealing her face in full. The waitress was dressed in a waiter style that Ash had noticed was more common in Kalos than here (given that he had noticed, with experience, that a common waitress garb around here would be a maid outfit that was oddly roomy to wear), being that of a white shirt and black pants and skirt. Her face however….

Well, in the old timeline Misty had somehow, for some horrible reason, obtained photos of the first time he cross-dressed as Ashley. The images had made the Princess Festival (or festivals, he wasn't sure) a drain on his wallet.

This waitress looked like an older version of said Ashley cosplay, if he had continued to have a face that could pass as feminine instead of gaining the ability to grow facial hair.

The waitress, about his age roughly, had a lighter skin tone than he did, and didn't have nearly as sharp a face as Belladonna, nor was she as tall, though she still was taller than Anabel and about level with himself and Misty. She did have those marks on her face that he and Belladonna had, red eyes, and her white shirt strained in a way that hinted at other similarities with Belladonna's physical appearance.

Or was he just seeing similarities, and he was starting to see people who may or may not be related to him wherever he looked? That could become unhealthy, both mentally and socially.

It might have just been his imagination after all, though the waitress herself did look at him for a bit longer than he felt necessary, as if his appearance confused her. She quickly got over it however.

"So you guys ended up getting Scouse's drunken rage did you? Sorry about that, the Baratie does not endorse our employees drunkenly throwing Magikarp at people. I really should make it up to you….oh yes, that'll do quite nicely." The waitress came to a realization at the end of her dialogue, clapping her hands as she did so.

"What will do nicely?" Misty pressed.

"Baratie rule Number 6, if a customer or customers defeat a Baratie employee in a Pokémon Battle, even if he is so drunk off his ass he thinks that the new Gym Leader down in Fuchsia is Bruno on a unicycle, they get a free meal at the Baratie as long as they do not order expensive imported alcohol! By the time we can drag that lump back it'll be just before lunch hour!" the waitress stated with enthusiasm, again clapping as she finished talking.

"I don't know, we didn't eat all that long…" Ash was interrupted by his growling stomach.

The stomach growling was promptly mirrored by all who were not passed out from shock at their own defeat. Even the now blushing waitress.

"Oh, so I'm not the only one who’s hungry all the time? Even more reason to get Scouse to a barrel of lemon juice quickly then! Name's Ashley by the way, probably should mention that now given I'll probably be your server in about ten, fifteen minutes!" Again she clapped, was that a thing with her?

Back with Hala, Alola Region

His library potted plant was knocked over.

Oddly enough not in the direction of his Z-rings though.

As Hala lifted the hydrangea back upright, his eye caught a gleam on the floor. A white band lay on top a paper of some sort. A Z-ring.

Frowning Hala picked up the ring, and gave it a sniff.

Tapu Koko. It had this ring, but didn't decide it was a good idea to give it to someone?

Peculiar, even for Tapu Koko.

The paper it had been on top of was a print out of stats with a photo of Lilo on it. Yet the stats were off.

For one thing Hala liked to think he'd know if Lilo had been born male. Also the photo was somewhat off, as if it was in a slightly elevated position.

Curious he poked it, and the photo slid away. Revealing the actual photo to be of a boy who looked a lot like Frax and Velvet, but with brown eyes and a slightly different facial structure, and not just because he did not appear to be Alolan native.

The paper had a name for this boy, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town.

Lifting the paper up from the ground, Hala eyed the print out with curiosity.

"What are you trying to say Tapu Koko?" Hala asked around, before noticing in the corner of his eye another likely act of Tapu Koko.

A book sticking out of his bookshelf. One that he didn't leave like that.

Paper still in his right hand, Hala took the book out with his left and noted what book it was.

The Traveler who began the first Golden Age of Alola and traveled the World: King Kahele

A historic book written by a former trial captain turned history major with help from Tapu Koko's favorite thumbless archaeologist, King Kahele was a disconnected figure from the majority Alolan History.

It wasn't said on what island he was born, with legends suggesting he deliberately kept that vague for the sake of unity during the age of divided islands. As was tradition then, as a sort of proto-trial he like all male youth of the time were instructed to take to the seas for a month at least. Those who survived it were deemed men.

Those who didn't were deemed fish food.

Like many, he traveled for far longer than a single month. At the time managing for longer periods of time was said to make one much more fanciable. However he traveled for half a decade, and visited the world. Myth had no idea how he did it, though Professor Burnett had some theories she was investigating on the matter.

The lands that today were called Almia, Kalos, Hoenn, Oblivia, and Unova: they were among the lands he visited among many others. When he returned his boat was laden with many rare treasures and foreign things, amongst them several of the species of Pokémon that inhabited Alola today such as Fletchling, Emolga, and Machop.

With these and allies he met abroad and in Alola, he became the first unifier of the islands.

Kahele's era was known for a variety of things. It was the peak of the pre-Kapu law era, before the rise of the titular castes and traditions. From one of his allies, and later wives, Liliana, writing was introduced to the islands. He had the remarkable distinction of being the only known ruler of the united islands, and one of the few rulers of a single united island that had rarely occurred prior to Kahele's time, to have had none of his wives murder each other or any of their children.

It was speculated that this was from a combination of laxer proto-caste at this point in time, a generally peaceful time without major stressors like droughts or serious earthquakes, and the novel concept of Kahele having selected his wives with 'getting along' in mind.

His former trial captain and Tapu Koko's archaeologist without a thumb disagreed if Kahele's wives got along better due to his era being the peak of non-heterosexual culture in ancient Alola or if they just happened to be friendly or ambivalent among themselves, though they both agreed that Kahele did appreciate some of his warriors in that manner.

Kahele was also the first to use, and possibly the creator, of all modern Z-Crystals, which played a great part in his island unification. He came back from his voyage with many crystals and primitive Z-rings, and legend said he himself created them. Totem Pokémon also began to appear shortly after his return for reasons unknown.

Kahele ruled the islands for several decades; a benevolent ruler who ruled efficiently. In areas he was not competent in, either his allies or his wives ruled, and legend said he spent much time ensuring that his heirs would not kill each other for power.

Legend suggested it was done by fostering genuine family ties and discouraging the use of pointy weaponry or poisonous substances in the households. Modern science suggests that good parenting was also involved.

He was quite successful at it, and when he abdicated and left the throne to his third eldest Hekili (after his eldest daughter expressed a preference to remaining at her passion for designing temples, among them the modern Ruins of Hope and Conflict, and his second eldest desired to continue his mother Liliana's goal of writing down all the oral histories of Alola), who ruled just as well for several years.

During this time farming techniques reached a peak of efficiency in the region not met again until mechanization, the library of Liliana became, at that point in time, the greatest source of knowledge in the world with histories from all over the world, and the foundation of modern trials were established to reduce the amount of young men lost to the waves, even opening said trials up to young women. The golden age seemed posed to go on for years, if not centuries.

Oddly enough other parts of the world were having just the opposite. The area around the modern day Kalos region, including Kalos itself, experienced a lengthy epidemic of a disease later called 'the Dark Pestilence', which had begun shortly after Kahele visited. Other regions experienced strange disasters caused by Pokémon no one had ever seen before, or since, triggering the fall of nations, the deaths of kings, cities burning in great blazes, and the mysterious vanishing of an entire mountain, as if it was eaten in a single night.

However Kamehameha of Ula’ula Island, an ambitious man who had risen via Kahele's prized system of merit based promotion with genuine skill, desired power and so conspired to murder Kahele's entire family. The Golden Age ended in a single night of betrayal and bloodshed, and the islands entered a period of island vs island warfare.

Many still to this day debate if this era of fighting was worse than the era that came before Kahele, where islands were divided into their own separate tribes who fought among themselves with horrible brutalities.

It ended with a descendant of Kamehameha conquering the islands with the strength of his troop's Skarmory feather swords, at which point he crowned himself Kamehameha the First. He became the king who'd later receive the first Meowth to ever arrive in Alola.

Much of the direct legacy of Kahele and his royal family were lost during the interim centuries, mostly because Kamehameha wanted to destroy their legacy. Ruins, books, and plot points about one of Kahele's children or grandchildren escaping death in numerous fictional stories written centuries later were the most tangible legacies of the family, the latter died out after the entire family was proven to have been murdered at the same time, as discovered by Tapu Koko's favorite archeologist.

The story did lack a crazy faith healer who did a good monk impression, as he heard was the case of a similar, much less fondly remembered family in a country far from Alola.

But why this book of all his decently vast collection of them? Why did Tapu Koko leave this book for him to find, along with a paper about someone who looked uncannily like Velvet and Frax the trial going students?

"Kokooo!"

As if realizing his confusion, a loud wind blew past him. Tapu Koko.

Turning around to the sight of his hydrangea once again being on it's side and spilling dirt out, he also noticed something else having changed.

Another book, but this one laying open to a specific page.

He didn't need to see the cover to know what book it was. It was another book written during the age of Kahele.

Several of these books were considered staples, being in use for centuries. Several were written by his wives: the native born Malea's book of native plants and their edibility, as was Wailani's book of ocean currents that made cross island travel much safer.

This book however, was a bit more obscure. If was by one of his foreign-born wives, Lif, and was a compilation of stories from all over the world that she had discovered during their travels and painstakingly translated into multiple languages.

Prophecies of the end: be it of nations, eras, cultures, and the world.

He had read it as a child, after hearing rumor of a story that suggested that Tentacool were survivors from a previous universe. The book had that legend in it. He hadn't touched the book after though, but the writing style was distinct: a relic of Lif's alphabet of origin even when she wrote in Liliana's alphabet or ancient Alolan.

This was not, however, the legend on Tentacool. Hala really wasn't sure what region it had come from. Also the book seemed to be missing pages, and he had a suspicion that Tapu Koko had them. As was the parts that seemed to have been scratched out and rendered unreadable.

What was left however, Hala could read.

...Upon the mixing of two into one to the birth of those who hold the staunchest of opposites, the sleeping shall awaken. Born in number of ones, they shall always be support but not of two. The crown of the king is beyond them, and the twos shall be magnets to the ones. From lands without a crown, the shadow of the throne lingers upon all. Restrained by the shadow and judgment of the world, be opposites bound in blood...

Read, but perhaps not understand a bit of it. Prophecies were a headache even without translations.

Righting his plant and taking a look at the data of Ash Ketchum, Hala figured that would be easier to start, and better for his sanity, than trying to search through a book of grammatically archaic legends of the omega.

Back in Kanto

The restaurant that the possible sister of his who just so happened to share his cross-dressing alias, for some reason that he could probably blame MissingNo for and be seen as being reasonable for it, was floating.

A Boat Restaurant, or a restaurant on a boat, blue and red with a giant Magikarp head for a stern. Was that a new one for him, floating restaurant boats? It was hard to keep track of all the things he'd seen in his travels, given he had done everything from be part of major motion pictures to getting trapped under the ocean and nearly losing his soul on multiple occasions.

The water around the boat was clear and bright, though it did seem to have some disturbance in the distance. Perhaps it had some sort of large Pokémon in it.

Entering the boat through a large door, Ash was surprised to see the inside was surprisingly…posh? Was that the word for fancy carpeting, nice looking seats, and folded napkins and utensils, posh?

"Pi?" 'I'm no designer, but I question if this fits the aquatic boat aesthetic.'

Ash couldn't help but agree. He had been expecting something like a tavern, with a bar and pool tables and hairy men yelling at each other about everything, not something that looked like a place Norman took his wife whenever Max was gone.

An old looking man, in the 'crotchety and fist waving' sort of way waited for them inside, instantly drawing Ash's attention away from contemplating restaurant aesthetics. He was, despite his age, none the less dressed in the white garb of a chef, though the peg leg was atypical for a chef in Ash's opinion and the mustache that looked more like rope than hair.

Would it be rude to check that it was hair? After all, who braided their mustache like it was rope, or let it grow large enough to tie yourself to a pole with. It was even the right color.

"Throw him in the back until he sobers up, I'll have words with him then." The man grumbled as Ashley nodded before grabbing the man by his ankle and dragging him away.

The old man then looked the four of them over with a contemplative eye.

"You were in that tournament back in Lavender, well at least three of you were? The one run by that chubby touristy dolt?"

"You mean Scott?" Ash pointed out with some annoyance in his voice. Scott was not a dolt.

What was a dolt anyway? He was sure someone called him a dolt at least once.

"Oh, you've met him huh? I suppose he'd be the kind of person you'd get along with, too much cheer and not enough broken bones in him. Guy's always talking about some sort of Battle Frontier, he had this harebrained idea of a Battle Restaurant before I got the blubbering fool to leave. Anyway, if that fool got drunk he probably tried to battle you, and you probably beat his ass five ways to Sunday. So eat what you want, it's on the house, Ashley will serve you in a moment."

And with that the peg-legged old man wandered off towards a room Ash suspected was the kitchen. Or was he hallucinating the sound of boiling oil and the scent of cookies just as he may be starting to see siblings everywhere?

'Oh, is this typical for trainers to be served for free if they win battles?' Anabel was genuinely curious.

"Nope," Ash said with certainty. You had to pay at Lake Valor before you battled for your right to be seated, though they were at least nice enough to not require a payment per challenge. May mentioned quite explicitly the place was not cheap, and she would not have done so if the place was not known for very good food.

Or if she had a birthday to buy for in the following few months, most likely.

Ashley ended the conversation by approaching the table, a memo pad in hand, pen held in her ear, and a nametag with Sennenryu written on it. Ash assumed that was a last name.

At least it wasn't something like Getchem, Snagem, Gotcha, or Getya. That would warrant his head into the table and shouting into the wood.

"Okay, so do you have any idea what you'd like to start with?" Ash noticed the girl visibly resist the urge to clap after speaking, which he could only assume had some history behind it, and at that point a worry swept over him.

How did Anabel eat out if she couldn't speak?

….

As it turned out, there was a simple solution to that, so simple that Ash would have slapped himself for not thinking of it sooner. It was so simple it wasn't even worth mentioning.

So in the end it didn't matter, and the delicious food that came from the kitchen of rope-mustache man himself put it out of his mind, as well as thinking about any possible siblings.

Thank you distracting capabilities of good food, particularly free food!

"Ring-Ring-Ring, Ring-Ring-Ring, phone call from Professor Oak."

Though the loud ringing of his Pokédex could distract from the distractingly good food.

Putting the machine to his ear, Ash wished the Dex had a more phone-like build. Or at least floated on its own power in front of his ear.

"This is Ash."

"Ah my boy, good to hear from you. Now, might I ask you about the many, many Grimer you sent me just now?" The Professor spoke in a tone that was only vaguely threatening.

"It's complicated, but it was the most humane way of doing it." Ash simply offered. That should be sufficient. He also made a mental note to bring Muk over to ensure Muk remembered him as soon as he could.

"Oh I see. Well then I won't pry, though between them and the Goomy I swear you attract strange events like no one I ever seen. Heck given where you are I'm surprised you haven't seen anything strange happen."

Other than drunken battling and a possible sibling waiting his table?

"The restaurant you are at is famous for only hiring people who are not only qualified, but can stare down the owner's Gyarados for two minutes without blinking, and his Gyarados is among the largest known in captivity. It's over 40 years old, has fangs thicker than some car models, and it's not allowed in several cities out of concern for life. As I recall he caught it during the war and decided not to eat it out of pity."

A distant roar sounded, as if from the other side of a lake. Once again Ash swore he heard the sound of Team Rocket being blasted into the sky, but that couldn't be right. That had happened only a few hours ago.

"My occasional watching of the Food Channel aside, I have something urgent I need you to do. I need you and your friends to hightail it to Fuchsia, ASAP."

"Asap? Sap is not fast at all."

"It means As Soon as Possible," Misty offered Iris.

"Why not just say that?"

"I'm going there anyway, but is there a reason you want me there quickly?" Did he miss something, like that freaky storm that nearly hit a bit before the League? He got an invitation around that time for meeting a Pokémon Master, but the thing got cancelled for some reason, and it wasn't the weather.

Was that hitting early?

"In a few days' time, there will be a Tag Tournament held in the city. All money earned from it will go to the Safari Zone, the thing was set up by several company sponsoring such as Devon Corp, Lysandre Labs, Silph Co, and the Verich Shipping Conglomerate, as will a rare opportunity. The winners of the Tournament, and a few friends, will be allowed to enter the Safari Zone for an entire day with unlimited balls. It's a priceless opportunity for me to study the population, one I haven't been able to obtain in 40 years. I need you and Gary to enter, preferably on multiple teams, and your friends as well, to increase the odds."

Ash opened his mouth, ready to check that Misty, Iris, and Anabel had no objections. He hoped they didn't, there was no reason for them to object to him going there to win and see his Tauros…

"I'm in. I'm sure there are Water Pokémon there for me there."

"I want to get stronger, you can have the other parts."

'I have no objections'

"Okay then Professor, we're in agreement," Ash stated in loud glee.

"Excellent! Between you three and Gary I know we can do it! I'll be rooting for all of you! Now I have to go get my Pizza!" With that the phone conversation was over, before Ash could even introduce Anabel.

"Well you've got something to do, so unless you are planning for dessert I'd suggest skipping out now. It'll take you a few days to get there, so don't dawdle" Ash heard the owner shout from the kitchen.

…

A few hours later found the four on the road, the sky was clouded and the forests had grown silent.

In the quiet, a question was raised, but not one that began with sound. For it was Anabel's suggestion, and one she alone could offer.

'You know, I could just teleport us to Fuchsia. It would be a lot quicker, and I can promise you that my teleporting won't end with us appearing in the midst of a car intersection or inside a wall, I have a sort of sense about that sort of thing.'

The group stopped moving after she brought this up, the others all trying to figure out the best response for such a statement. Eventually Ash had something to say in response.

"That would be faster," admitted Misty.

"It would but that wouldn't actually help us out all that much," Ash pointed out. "I mean, you know how we all have our own goals?"

Anabel nodded.

"I want to compete in the Pokémon League, Misty wants to capture all the water Pokémon in the world, and Iris wants to get stronger. We need to walk if we want to get the opportunity to face challengers or find a nice place for Misty to fish," he continued, gesturing to a nearby stream. "Teleporting around might actually hurt us in the long run."

That's when Iris piped up. "Couldn't we just Teleport to the Gym and train for a few days there?"

Ash scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I kind of feel that training in the same place for days before attempting a Gym gets tedious, you know? Especially when you compare it to the road where there's all sorts of new things to explore. For me, it's just a lot funnier with a bonus of getting a lot more experience from variety. Does that make any sense?"

'I do see what you're saying. I never thought of that before.'

"It's not a bad idea though, in case we ever get lost."

The moment Ash suggested getting lost, the sky rumbled with the piercing sound of thunder.

Rapid glancing around yielded no place to get out of the rain. No caves, tree hollows, or thick tree canopies. This forest clearly wasn't a member of the old growth club.

"Weather is also an acceptable reason to teleport," Misty declared as thick rain began to fall on them, impacting the ground with the intensity of a Charizard staring contest.

Moments later the four were as if they were never even there.

"Wobb!?"

"You're right blobby, that's new."

Much to the confusion of Team Rocket.

Several hours later, Fuchsia City

In the last few hours they had managed to find the registration center, a place to eat, and the Gym, which was actually closer to town than Ash remembered it.

That wasn't so much help however, being that the Gym being closed for a rather interesting reason.

Currently out for a job testing the security systems of I Am Not Going To Tell You. Do not loiter, Gym is currently on lockdown. Security includes trip makibishi, vaguely mild explosives, guard Voltorb, and other hindrances I do not have legally say upfront. This isn't Cinnabar, hotels are cheap and plentiful. I should be back after the tournament unless I am killed, at which point I apologize for the inconvenience.

It would seem that they were going to be here a while, even if they hadn't sped out of the way of the rain.

Worst come to worst there was a Battle Club in town.

Ignoring time control issues Ash was now in his single hotel room (odd he could afford that these days), and it was about time he do something he hadn't had the chance to do yet.

"Muk!"

"Muk!" 'Ash!'

Hug his favorite slime monster, brought over from Oak's lab and thankfully not leaking bad smells. Thank you Pokéball technologies.

Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Butterfree, and Servine were on the bed, watching the hug in some amusement.

Wiping a tear from his eyes, the turtle had something to say

"Squir." 'A Boy and his slime monster. Is there anything more beautiful?

"Bul…." 'I can think of one thing more beautiful…'

"So Muk, do I need to explain anything more or do you have a good understanding of things?" Ash asked as he ended the hug.

"Muk!" 'Time broke, you caught me again, and you even got my old buddies from back in the day.'

"Bul…" 'Yes, why did you that again? The things are a nightmare, only Charizard seems to like them and that's just as training.'

Hence why Bulbasaur and Charizard swapped: Charizard wanted to show off and perfect his new power via fending off their hug attacks, and Bulbasaur needed a break/wanted to file a complaint.

"It's complicated."

"Bul…" 'Try me…'

"They were all being controlled by my possibly half-sister in a plot to kill one of her sort of father-in-laws." Muk visibly shivered at the reminder.

"Saur." 'No seriously, why did you do capture enough slime creatures to bury half the town in hugs?'

"Ser." 'No, that's actually what happened.'

Bulbasaur and Squirtle stared at Ash in shock.

"Squi?" 'Have you always had...?'

"No!"

The mons were caught off guard at Ash's volume, Butterfree fluttered back, Muk inched back, and Pikachu tensed up. Noticing this Ash took a deep breath, and continued in a softer tone.

"I just…I don't know. I never really gave my dad a lot of thought, he was basically someone I knew existed, and I guess I'd have liked to meet him one day, but it was never all in my face. But ever since Lavender Town…"

"Red was weird, but I can handle people looking like each other inexplicably. Nurse Joy's stopped tripping me up long before I got stuck in a sunken ship back in the day. Sometimes people just look alike, but then it became two people, and three, and now four, and then Aurora put the idea in Belladonna's head, as well as my head."

"I would have loved a sibling. We could have shared a parent, or mom could have remarried someone and they had a kid already or they had one later, or Mom could have decided to take in some random kid she found on the street. I'd have loved to be a big brother, or a little brother, or something. But not like this."

"I don't want to always be looking at people and wondering 'do we share eyes or face marks or earlobes because of chance, or because we share the same father'. I don't want to discover that people terrorizing places are in fact related to me. What's going to be next, am I going to find out that Paul dyes his hair and powders his face and he really looks like me? Is the next time I run into other members of Team Rocket who aren't Jessie and James they are going to look like me? When we get to Indigo, are half my opponents going to secretly be related to me?"

With that Ash plopped down on the bed with a thump, yet despite lying on rather soft sheets he didn't seem any less stressed.

Pikachu darted to Ash's side and brushed up against his trainer.

'This is about that Ashley isn't it?'

"Is this going to be a thing? Maybe I've just been thinking about it since then, but is that going to be my life now? Constantly seeing them everywhere, or just seeing something that's not even…."

Servine silenced him by covering his face with her tail.

'Stop thinking, that's not your job off the battlefield. If it happens it happens, if not it's no reason to go crazy.'

Butterfree landed on his stomach before adding in his own two cents.

'If it does happen, it's a surprise. Just as much a surprise as a party, or a tornado, or other things….' Ash wasn't sure what Butterfree meant by that, he occasionally got like that after he flew off on his own for a time a while back.

'However, you can't let that make you afraid of life. Surprises will happen, you just have to be ready for them without going mad about it. Plus, we have other things we need to be worried about at the moment.'

"Bul." 'The Tauros.'

At the reminder of his 30 steers Ash pulled out the Pokédex, the screen glowing with various competitors in the upcoming tournament.

"Research completed on our possible foes. Would you like information on Mike, the Fire specialist? Perhaps Rachael Trapper from Crimson City? I assume you know all there is to know about Gary Oak of Pallet Town, perhaps Lilo of Melemele Island or Nikki of…"

"Have any of them won a League?"

"No, most of them are rookies without a League challenge to scar them emotionally, or as a mark of glory. Cynthia hasn't decided to pop up if that's what you are worried about."

"Then it's fine. I'm sure I can handle anything," Ash stated with confidence, a desire to find his Tauros again pushing back his earlier stress, at least for now.

'So, what do we do if we lose? Do we just….'

"We won't lose. I believe we'll win," Ash stated still with confidence.

'And if we don't?'

"Then in that case, we take a page from Team Rocket's book. If they can break into secure places, surely it can't be difficult that we can't do it. We didn't manage to get to Primeape in time, I'm not going to lose family again," Ash said this with the same level of confidence as before.

Squirtle didn't look as convinced.

'Maybe if Pidgeot wasn't off delivering love letters for you it would be, but we are currently missing our giant stealth bird right now'.

Blushing a bit Ash waved his water type off.

"If Pidgeot isn't back yet, or if she gets back and is too tired, I'll think of something. Between Muk slithering past, or hugging, security, Charizard flying me overhead, and Pikachu just blasting things we are going to get them back."

"As your technological resource I would like to point out that I can hack the motion sensors. However I am also obliged by my programing to remind you that your mother would prefer you not get a criminal record." The Pokédex offered its services.

"Of course, we're not going to lose. Nothing this tournament can do will surprise me whatsoever."

Simultaneously all gathered Pokémon slapped themselves, bar Butterfree whose limbs would not reach that far.

Squirtle helped the poor bug by slapping him with his tail.

A few days later found Ash in the Pokémon Center, holding up a 6 and looking for whoever else in the room had a 6.

That person would be his partner until the end of the tournament, and he had gotten a lengthy email from the Professor explaining that he must not get paired up with Gary, Misty, or Iris if possible as to improve their odds.

How the professor thought he could influence that was beyond him.

Ash had originally hoped to increase the odds even further by having Anabel join, but she had declined. No voice and all. Pity too, she was just as good at battling as he remembered.

Flashback

A part of him had been curious, there was a need to know. Was she as good as she had been? That need, that question had led to his current situation, a training session against Anabel. Just like the battle in the Battle Tower Anabel didn't say a word when commanding her Pokémon, although there was an actual reason for it this time and not just a battle tactic.

Facing Pikachu on the field of battle was a Kadabra, spoon in hand and glowing with psychic energy. Ash had expected to see Espeon or at least an Eevee but Anabel had chosen the Psi Pokémon to be her partner for this training session. His eyes searched Anabel's face for some sign of what she had planned but her lilac eyes gave nothing away.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" The yellow mouse took off at high speed towards the psychic type but with a flick of the spoon Kadabra sent Pikachu sideways into a tree, then flying upwards into the branches. "Thunderbolt." A streak of electricity flew out from the leaves of the tree but a quick Teleport and Kadabra was out of harm's way.

As Kadabra appeared slices of psychic power came from the spoon as it was swung through the air, the waves of purple energy flew into the branches of the tree in an attempt to hit Pikachu. A cry of pain from the electric mouse proved that at least one attack had found its mark.

Pikachu fell out of the tree and managed to land on his feet, disappearing in a small cloud of dust as he used his speed to avoid leaving an opening. Ash had talked a bit of strategy with Pikachu before the battle, it was only a theory but he had to assume that to read someone's mind enough to know what they were going to do next Anabel had to know where they were. With Pikachu moving too quickly for her to see and Ash leaving Pikachu to his own devices, that should level the playing field, it was only a theory but it was all they had to go on. This new Anabel was an unknown, she looked and sounded like the one they knew but with all the new things in the world like Bloodliner abilities and psychotic step/half/whatever the proper term was-siblings all he could do was theorize.

Kadabra eyed the battlefield cautiously watching the puffs of dust as Pikachu changed direction, trying to find a pattern to the movements only to get blindsided by a series of rapid fire Thunderbolts. The Psi Pokémon teleported again, this time appearing with his back to a tree to avoid attacks from behind. A glance at Anabel and a confirming nod in return Kadabra closed his eyes and was surrounded by a bright energy signifying the use of Calm Mind. Kadabra's eyes snapped open as a wave of psychic energy expanded outwards from his body. The psychic wave wasn't something Pikachu could avoid and sent the mouse sprawling across the ground.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out. The Mouse Pokémon pushed himself back to his feet and shook some dirt from his fur. He burst into full speed again circling Kadabra and attacking with bursts of Thunderbolts, at random intervals he would ram into the Psi Pokémon with Quick Attack. At the moment of contact he would get hit by a counter attack but simply powered through it and kept going.

A look at Anabel and Ash saw that this wasn't the same one he'd fought in the Battle Tower, her moves and battle skills were as impressive as ever but she lacked the experience of a seasoned Trainer. Her skills weren't as sharp as they had been and some work and they would be given what he knew about her new history it was obvious she didn't have the knowledge gained from constant battles to back up and hone her skills.

"Pikachu, let's finish this."

"Pika!"

Pikachu stopped circling Kadabra and ran up the backside of the tree, dropping towards Kadabra while using Thunderbolt. Seeing the attack, Anabel had Kadabra counter with Psybeam. The two attacks passed each other in mid-air and hit their target causing a small explosion as the psychic energy interacted with the electricity cloaking Pikachu.

When the dust cleared both Pikachu and Kadabra were knocked out. Ash smiled as he and Anabel walked over to collect their Pokémon and treat their injuries, yes this wasn't the girl he'd known but she was still as good a Trainer and one day might even be better.

Flashback ends

Ash glanced around the busy room, wondering if his partner was holding 6 but just not looking his way.

Ash felt his heart stop for a moment when he saw Paul with an unsettlingly 6 like number, but thankfully it was quickly shown that Paul in fact had 9, not 6.

Taking a deep breath, Ash put the possibility of having to balance ensuring he won and got to see his Tauros again, and the horror of Paul possibly grabbing some of them, behind him. That was no longer possible, and this tournament was not going to have any unexpected surprises in it at all!

"Red I can't believe it! Red, I found the guy with the other 6, and it's Ash from the Battle Dome! Can you believe it, you two are going to be battling together!?"

Ash felt the de-stressing from a few days ago melt like ice in the summer heat as Yellow darted in front of him, bouncing a bit and grinning widely. Following her slowly was the dark haired trainer that he fought at the Battle Dome, his own Pikachu on his shoulder just as Ash's was.

"You two are both amazing, so there is no way either of you are going to lose!" Yellow stated, oblivious to what Ash was thinking now even as he tried to ignore the fact she had marks on her face like himself, Belladonna and Ashley.

"This is going to be the greatest team up ever!"

Meanwhile, rescued from What Could Have Been

Mount Auburn, Kalos Region

Long ago, Alain had vowed to himself to become the strongest mega-evolution trainer.

It was not so odd a desire. He recalled many trainers having some sort of desire like that back when he worked with Professor Sycamore.

Did they still have that? It had been some time since he had been there.

Regardless of changing times, he knew that while any wanted to obtain such goals, everyone had different ways of achieving them.

The 'isolating themselves for intense training' was one such method, but one that Alain did not believe himself.

You could train on top a mountain all you want, but you had to wait for the challenges to come to you. You also only trained yourself to deal with the conditions of mountains.

When one traveled, you looked for challenges over infinite terrains.

Though sometimes the wanderer had to come to the stationary, and that was why he was on top the mountain.

Standing on one end of the summit, Alain looked across the pinnacle, his Charizard growling at his side.

Staring back at him was another trainer: darkly dressed in black and blue just as he was, with black hair and odd marks on his face. Curled around him was a massive Steelix, adorned with a large helmet with a Mega Stone in the center.

On the Steelix stood five other Pokémon: a Roserade, Talonflame, Octillery, Jynx, and Ursaring.

"So, I heard your name's Vermell." Alain tested his opponent, seeing if he'd make the first move.

The snow continued to fall, neither of them making the first move. Yet even without movement, the tension was laying upon the area thicker than the snowfall.