The Coastline

In retrospect, they had taken a wrong turn.

Yes, they were going to Cinnabar, but this was not the way to Cinnabar.

According to the Pokédex, this would be a better way to find himself going to Sinnoh's very eastern edge.

The very wrong direction for one going to Cinnabar.

Anabel was about to teleport them back onto the beaten path when Misty spotted something on the water.

"Is that an Onix in the water!?"

Ash looked down, wondering what was going on.

If it was an Onix drowning, he'd have to move fast. Either getting it out of the water, or possibly capture it to save its life.

That would be kind of neat, and he wouldn't have to trade a Tauros for one.

Or was it like the Crystal Onix that feared water not? It would be a bit out of place for it, but that wasn't unheard of was it.

Or could it be…an Alolan Onix!

But at closer inspection down at the water's edge, it was not an Onix in the water, just an Onix shaped boat coming ashore at a little seaside village that was mostly dock.

'That's an odd design,' Anabel noted.

"What kind of person makes a boat like that?" Misty, sounding a bit embarrassed for jumping the gun as to what it was, wondered aloud.

"They are Boat People," Iris explained. "My grandfather told me stories about humans whose homes were ships. He had nothing but good to say of them, and said they were nomadic."

"They are the people driven from their homeland by a fiery devastation, brought upon by a mountain of fire. They traveled the world, living and dying on the very ships they escaped on, for years. Some were sent adrift to Hoenn, where their boats were stranded on a Corsola colony and so they stayed. The rest became nomads, adrift in the ocean with no fixed point, though a few remote places tend to have them often congregate, such as Poni Island in the Alola region. Their culture is a flexible one, with a famous story revolving around a temple called Samiya, though they do not share much of their language with outsiders. Their true name is unknown to the wider world, though they are often called the Seafolk. All that is known is that one of the groups that was an ancestor to the tribe are known as the People of the Water, though it is believed they have many ancestors mixed into their gene pool since then, including Sootopolitan, Alolan, and Draconid," the Pokédex elaborated on Iris's point.

"Pikapi?" 'Ash, did we meet any People of the Water? I feel like we did at one point, or was it the People of the Vale? I swear, I can barely remember anything about that one….which dragon did you ride during it?'

Ash shrugged, unsure of the exact details, and followed his companions as they walked down to the ship in question.

…

Boat People, Seafolk, People of the Water, whatever they wanted to call themselves, set up shop fast.

It hadn't even taken them ten minutes to get down from the cliff, and only another five to get into the village, to find several sea wizened men and woman older than her parents had already set up several stands laden with random items.

Just from her end, she could see Corsola horn pieces, coral statues, and items that looked like they had been obtained from all over the world.

A sign at the bottom of each sign read clearly.

ACCEPT BOTH PHYSICAL CURRENCY AND PHYSICAL BARTER. WE BUY AND WE SELL

Misty winced at the physical part. Clearly they weren't going to get anything if that was the case.

Their cash was all digital. Harder to lose, absolutely useless here.

And the place had to have some sort of cooking apparatus going that Misty had no idea the identity of. Whatever it was cooking, it smelled good, and it would be ready soon.

And they would not be able to eat any of it…..

"Barter agreed!"

The declaration from the cook grabbed her attention, as Ash gave the old man doing the cooking a half-dozen Nest Balls.

The Pokédex apparently could duplicate those things in mass, and they were perfectly fine to use and give away apparently.

Not sell apparently, but bartering was perfectly acceptable.

Where it learned to duplicate Pokéballs she wasn't sure exactly, but whatever the case it took care of their lunch needs.

And that was always important.

"Servings for the party of Ash, Iris, Anabel, and Misty will be ready soon. I will call you when it is prepared," the man told Ash as Misty turned to browse at the stuff at offer.

She wasn't sure she really had anything to barter, but it couldn't hurt to look. And if something absolutely did jump out, she could probably get some duplicated spheres to trade for it.

And so she strolled slowly in front of wares, peering over locals who had come out to peer the wares in interest.

Or, as she noticed in the corner of her eyes, for the youth of the village to watch a pair of young Sea Folk dance and play music.

It was nice music, even if not quite the music of a shopping area. Though that would be a reason for the youth to care for it beyond the shirtless guys playing string instruments and the lithe dancing girls that accompanied them.

They really did fit a lot of people on a single boat. Then again, it was a fairly large boat.

The items were many she noted, Corsola horn molded into statues, regular coral carved into the shapes of Pokémon and places.

Whoever made a coral duplicate of Suicune was particularly fine at the craft she noted.

Things from lands beyond were also on display, flutes made of glass, little cars that looked like they were made for rather larger square shaped batteries to operate them, some sort of square purple Pokémon statue with large, unblinking eyes….

The eyes blinked, and Misty jumped back in fright as what she had thought to have been a statue hopped down from its perch, turning to the shore and walking away, cheek pouches inflating and deflating as it muttered “Croa” again and again.

Oddly in its wake was a pile of what looked like golden bottle caps.

"….That was weird," Misty declared. It almost was like that Pokémon left those gold caps as payment, as one would do a taxi.

But why would…. whatever that was… Misty shook her head.

She probably did not need to know what that was all about.

Ignoring…whatever that was, she moved down the stalls looking at what they had with an idle eye.

She had to raise an eyebrow as a motherly looking woman walked away from a Seafolk stall with what looked like a very modern gaming system in the arms.

They stock those things?

So shocked was she at what she saw sold that she nearly walked past the Mega Stone that sat between a stone that looked like ice and a large chunk of amber.

Almost. Though had she been Psyduck, she'd have tripped due to her sudden stop.

"Ah, I see you noticed this little gem, though it is more of a stone." The old woman at the stall front grinned a toothy grin at her as Misty nodded.

"It's a Mega Stone, right?"

"That you are youngin', that you are. This stone hit my boat a while back, a fragment of a space stone. You know, it's an interesting story about these stones, my ma told me stories that these stones were the creation of Lord Rayquaza, who blessed meteorites as they fell to the earth. Scientist types say they are the result of a radiation from 3000 years ago. Makes you wonder if they can be both, radioactive meteorites perhaps?"

Whatever it was that made said stones, she didn't really much care. However it was still a rare find.

While she couldn't really see it too clearly, it didn't feel water-like, if that made any sense. It didn't make her go 'if I give this to Psyduck, Psyduck will become a juggernaut of power and might'.

Even if it wasn't water however, it was possible that it was something the others could use.

The image of Ash, standing victorious at a League holding the stone she got him, made her happy inside.

If she could get the stone, perhaps it would be something he could use.

If not….well if it was some sort of Arcanite or Nidokinite or something like that, it could become something that could help him in the future.

If it was Excadrite or something, that wasn't much less reason to get it really. Iris could use it just as well, even if she wouldn't get a trophy for her troubles.

"I see you are interested. Will you buy, or barter?" the old woman questioned as Misty reached into her bag.

"Given that the cash I have access to is all digital, I'm going to have to barter."

The woman gave a sigh at the decline of the physical medium, as Misty plopped down in front of her several little things that she had collected.

Three Red Shards that Staryu had found while training in the water some time ago.

A few Poison Barbs from the Tentacool army from Gringy City. She was told some people used them for things, and if anyone would see value in Tentacool barbs it had to be Seafolk, right?

A scale that had fallen off of Gyarados a while back that had slipped into her bag somehow. She had seen someone using the material on the dock, so the same idea as the barb, right?

It was her first attempt, and she tried to make it clear on her face to the woman this was not her max offer.

She seemed to pick that up as she eyed the items presented.

"That is hardly what anyone would call a suitable trade," she simply said.

"However, be free to obtain items you may wish to offer in addition, though if you want to get your friend with the Pikachu's help, do be warned that I have no need for Pokéballs and they will add no value to me." The old woman shot down that idea before Misty could even have it.

The idea of going to get Ash to help pay for the thing she wanted to give him….seemed odd for some reason. Off, like asking someone to plan their own party.

She'd have to manage on her own.

"I take berries," the old woman offered as Misty got the hint.

A toss of Wingull to go fetch some from the forest later, Misty was digging in her bag again for things to offer.

What she pulled out….

An Everstone, which she had been handed for free by someone from 'the B-Button League' while in Crimson City.

A towel from the S.S Anne. Why did she have that? It was quality material though, and so she offered it up.

And with Wingull returning with a branch of Oran berries, she added her barters to the pile.

"Better. If you wanted this Amber, you'd have it. If you wanted this Ice Stone, the berries alone would do. But for the Mega Stone….you must understand the value of it and why I must be difficult on it," the old woman declared as Wingull flew off for more berries, as she dug her hand into her bag for anything more.

She noted with unease that she wasn't finding much beyond her Pokéballs and clothes.

She grasped something more solid and pulled it out, revealing a slip of tough paper.

A Rydel Bike Voucher for one free Bike, in Mauville City.

….Why did she keep the thing? Her sisters’ nasty joke about her wanting a bike wasn't worth anything, and was just a nasty jab.

Perhaps it was meant to bartered, as so she put that down, along with a branch of Sitrus berries from Wingull, who circled around back to berry hunting.

Next she pulled out the Water Stone that Ash had gotten for her in Crimson City.

She paused as she looked at the stone.

Was it right to use a gift to pay for a gift to the gift giver? Would it be an insult?

Would she get another one if she needed it?

"…I have no need for Water Stones. I have more of those on my boat than I have wrinkles. If that was a Fire Stone we'd have a deal, but as it is…." the old woman declared as Misty returned the stone to her bag.

What was left?

Wingull returned with a branch of Pecha berries next, joining the pile as the old woman shook her head.

"You could pay me in berries, but that would take all day and you understand why that would be a bit much." The woman looked her over for a moment, before nodding.

"This stone is meant for someone important, isn't it?" Misty was taken aback by the old woman's observation as she continued.

"You know, I'm adapt at cloth modification, and I have a granddaughter about as tall as you. My daughter met this nice Unovan lad ages ago, but alas a Jellicent has him now. Still I have a granddaughter getting to be as tall as you, if only just as tall. Clothing is never in enough supply for her…."

"You want all my clothes?" Misty gasped as the old woman shook her head.

"No, no, not the ones on your back. Your spares will do. Do that, and the Mega Stone is yours to give to that nice Pikachu lad. Plus I'm told it is a holiday for women's shopping soon in Kanto, you can certainly hold out until then to resupply yourself. We'll be gone by then, even assuming we could bare the big city enough to handle such a day."

….

It took Misty a bit to decide, but in the end she left the place with a much lighter bag and back to only a single set of clothes, just as their lunch was called and she could tell Ash the great news.

It would later turn out that the stone was something called Sceptilite, much to her dismay.

Not even Dugtrite? She had to look up what a Sceptile even was.

Once they finished their meal, the group went back to the beaten path. Ash had been staring at the green Mega Stone for quite a while. His first one, maybe one he couldn't use yet, but he knew it would be useful in the future. It was weird; back in the old timeline it was very rare for Misty to do stuff like that for him. In fact, he hadn't forgotten that time she won those chocolates and deliberately left him out when she was splitting them (even after she spared some for Pikachu). Regardless of that, though, it had been a really nice gesture of her.

"Sorry I couldn't find you one for Pidgeot or Charizard," Misty apologized. "Really, I wanted to give you something useful, and I thought…"

"No, that's alright. You never know, I might find a compatible Pokémon sooner than we might expect. It won't hurt to be prepared." He put it back in his bag and smiled at her with gratitude. "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

Ash couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't stretching the truth a little, but given his encounters with Snivy, Aipom and Roggenrola, maybe it wasn't so farfetched to hope his old Treecko would show up in his path before Hoenn. Even if that wasn't the case, Ash was certain that he would appreciate that he had this little trinket for him once they reunited. In any case, Misty's smile made him leave those thoughts aside for a moment.

Funny; she had seen Misty smile many other times, in both timelines, but there was something… different about this one. He could see she was happy because he liked her gift, and that felt nice, but there was something else. Something Ash couldn't quite put his finger on, but definitely something he knew he'd like to see again.

"So, where are we going now?" asked Iris, interrupting his train of thought.

"Well, that old lady told me there's going to be some kind of shopping festival very soon, and I need to replace my old clothes," Misty recalled. "And, no offense, Ash, but I think you could use some new ones too."

"Funny, I was thinking the same," Ash chuckled, glancing at his outfit. If Iris was planning to take their training to the next level, spare clothes had become a must. He glanced at Anabel and Iris. "Any objections?"

'None here. And I wouldn't mind getting some new clothes for myself either,' said Anabel.

Iris for her part just shrugged. Ash figured she still had her issues about having to wear clothes all the time, but when she didn't say no, they all called it unanimous. Their next destination had been decided, and for some reason, Ash had the feeling that he wouldn't end up as a shopping mule this time around.

The way to extensive shopping options

Anabel began the morning with lavender bangs covering her face.

She stared at the ceiling of the Secret Power induced hole in the wall through the strands of her hair for a few seconds, wondering when her bangs had gotten long enough to cover her eyes.

Another thought came to her as she lay, just how long was her hair anyway?

With a blue glow her hair was flung out of her face, as Anabel darted out of the hole in the wall and past the other three secret base holes to the water's edge, where there would be a reflective surface.

What stared back at her was a nest of lavender hair that had grown well past where it normally stayed.

Her look for years had been a hair length only to the bottom of her ears. It was a nice look, low maintenance and it did its job.

It could occasionally cause others to mistake her for a boy, but she tried not to have that bother her.

The hair that stared back at her had climbed midway down her neck, along with down along her face. There would be no mistaking her for a boy now that was for sure, the thought comforted her but she liked her normal hair style.

She needed a barber. Or something sharp. She could cut her hair herself, right?

Or maybe Misty or Ir…Misty could help her with it. Would that go better?

"Oh, good morning Anabel!"

Ash waved to her as he ran her way, Pikachu flanking him. A brown fabric case was in his hand, and he was in only a white sleeveless shirt and a pair of shorts. Sleepwear.

Anabel herself was in an oversized purple shirt, which she did idly touch to make sure it was on. No sense in creating an awkward moment between them…again, like when they'd learnt Heal Pulse.

Ash came to a full stop in front of her, a curious look on his face.

"I don't normally see you up this early," he noted.

'It happens sometimes….though why are you up? Not even Iris is awake yet.'

She had to resist looking over her shoulder to see if she was up and planning some new exercise for them.

"Nothing much. I was actually just shaving my face. I really don't like being all bushy and I like to keep on top of it," Ash informed her as Anabel recalled that she had never really seen him with stubble or unshaven looks.

She paled when a thought went through her, when was the last time she shaved?

Iris certainly didn't shave, and she had no idea if Misty had any and unlike Iris she didn't have a shower scene in Ash's head to clear up if she did or not.

"Uh, Anabel?" Ash asked, clearly noticing her paling.

'Oh, nothing nothing…..just a girl thing.' Anabel resisted the urge to check her legs and armpits right there and now.

Ash seemed well willing to avoid getting into a 'girl thing', and thus he looked like he was looking for something else to talk about.

"You know, I only just noticed it. You let your hair grow out."

Though that something else was still somewhat related.

She nodded.

'Well, let it grow out, can't really make it stop growing out, same thing. Sort of. You don't have anything that can cut in there, do you?'

Perhaps Ash's shaving kit, which she assumed was what he had on him, could solve this little problem, or at least provide the means to fix it.

Maybe Ash could do the hair snipping for her.

Ash for his part was already going through the bag, poking around and pulling a few things in and out of it. A deodorant stick, a pair of tweezers, a shaving cream bottle, a comb and brush, a packet of ear cleaners….

Ash eventually pulled out a razor.

"This is the best I've got, what do you need it for?" Ash asked her. In response she closed her eyes and telekinetically moved all the hair she found having grown in when she wasn't looking.

'Not really what a razor can help with, but maybe you have another idea in mind. Regardless, I'd like help removing all of this.'

"You want to cut your hair?" Ash questioned for confirmation. She nodded as she let the hair go, the bangs covering her eyes again.

'As you can see, it is getting to be a bit of a problem.' She blew the hair out of her face as Ash seemed thoughtful. Meanwhile in the background Pikachu's tail was glowing white.

Could Iron Tail cut her hair? Would that even be safe?

"I mean, your bangs are getting to be a bit long, even mine could use a trim. But the rest…." Ash paused on them before continuing. "I honestly think it looks good on you."

Anabel stared at him for a moment, the comment taking a while to set in.

When it did, she felt her face light up with red heat as Ash continued.

"You had a nice hairstyle already, but it looks pretty good long. Better than my hair would anyway."

At Ash's comment she turned to the water and stared at it, her reflection staring back.

The longer hair, really looked that good on her? It did make her look more feminine and framed her face nicely, looking at her reflection again she had to admit Ash did have a point, she did look good with longer than usual hair.

"I mean if I let it grow out, I'd probably look like a hippie, or maybe a barbarian. What's worse?" Ash babbled a bit as the mental image of both came into her mind.

The mental image of Hippie-Ash and Ash-the-Barbarian caused a wave of mental laughter to awash both of them, as both laughed at the image for a moment.

"It would probably depend on which bathed less," the Pokédex snarked from Ash's jacket pocket.

'So Ash, between saying my hair looks good growing out, and your little soak with Iris….do you have a thing for long hair perhaps?' Anabel couldn't stop a wicked smirk appear on her face as Ash began looking very nervous.

'Be free to say whatever you want, Misty's hair is probably long enough I doubt any response you'd give would hurt her feelings.'

Ash promptly began gaping like a Magikarp amidst Pikachu's laughter, a mixture of mortification and what honestly seemed to be him actively wondering if he did indeed have a thing for long hair.

Cerulean City

The moon was bright tonight.

The house on the edge of town currently without official owners had a nice porch swing. It creaked nicely as the moon shone in the sky, reflecting in the nearby river nicely.

Belladonna couldn't sleep tonight, and she wasn't sure why.

It wasn't a bad day weighing her down. They all had a lot of fun, more than she had expected.

Modern art was not her thing, but Vedia and Aurora had a wonderful time at that museum. Evanna had appreciated making exaggerated declarations of what the art 'meant', annoying the snobby art viewers.

It was all a good time.

Was it Aurora? Was she regretting wanting her father dead? She knew that was a trope that randomly happened in fiction sometimes, was it actually based in reality?

Fiction crossing into reality never ended well.

If so…..what could she do about it? Asking Aurora about it would not go well, she'd probably think the question was being asked less as 'Aurora, are you okay? You seem troubled, is it your father's death?' and more like 'Aurora, you feel pity for that piece of scum! What sort of weak livered dullard feels sympathy for their horrible father! Rage, rage, hate, hate, snarl, snarl'.

Curse that man, even in death he was causing problems.

Footsteps rang against the wood, creaking nicely as she turned her gaze to the side.

Aurora, looking quite wonderful in a white sleeping gown they had found a while back. It was quite fetching, dressing her and Evanna up was always easier than her or Vedia. The best clothing was never made to their respective extremes.

"Oh, my dear Aurora, I hope I didn't wake you up. I couldn't get to sleep so I came out here." She gazed into Aurora's lovely eyes, clear and beautiful as fresh lake ice, and felt her mood rapidly reverse. "Who are you?" she growled.

Had the girl actually been Aurora, she would have squeaked. She would have been scared of her, and it would have been painful to witness.

But this girl was not Aurora, and thus did not do that. She merely put a ponderous finger to her chin.

"Huh, that's odd. It usually takes a lot longer for people to pick up that I'm not who they think they are. Is it a stain? I always miss stains."

"Your eyes are wrong." she declared with the finiteness of granite.

"No they're not, they are exact replicas of…..is this a subtle thing?"

"It's a love thing. I know the eyes of all of them perfectly, no one can replicate them to their exact perfections. Now. Who. Are. You?" she repeated as the false-Aurora sighed.

"As much as it would be fun to have you call me not-Aurora or something for this conversation, I think that would get a bit annoying. You might also try and remove my neck, which I would not like. I need my neck after all. You can call me Hilda."

"Alright, now drop the disguise and stop pretending you're someone else."

"Nah, I'll stay this way. You are 95.64% less likely to attack me if I do, both physically and with that little Truth take on your father's power. Unless I have miscalculated in my observations, in which case do in fact punch Aurora's face. Or slap it. Maybe throw something at it."

While said in her dear's voice, the tone was a tease bordering on a taunt. A tone she never used, with an 'I've got you' look on her face that Aurora also never used.

It was so wrong, it was very close that she could actually hit the fake wearing her dear's look.

And so Hilda the fake continued to give her that mocking look, and she continued to glare back, furious but unable to push so far as to hit her.

The fear that doing that would start a slope downwards held her back.

Belladonna was not unaware that something was wrong with herself. With a mother who never stopped collecting stuff, and a father who apparently never stopped fathering children, she should be careful not to get into a bad habit.

The worst of which being actually getting into the habit of hitting things that look like her loves. If that ever started rolling….

"Good, you can't attack me while I am like this. That makes my job a lot easier. So let's start, shall we?"

Hilda stepped off the porch and towards the water front, her feet crunching against the grass as she turned around to face her, still wearing the stolen face.

"As I'm said before, my name is Hilda. I work for a man you only need to know as the Bloodline Prince for the time being. Well work, spy for, report things with a different perspective than old Emissary does, sleep with, yada yada yada. I'm helping to continue to change the world." Belladonna didn't react. "I'll take your continued glaring as, do continue," Hilda quipped before continuing. "We have a particular interest in people like you, and the potential you can do to help move the world in the direction we want it to. Well at the moment we are following the Bloodline King…..but I'd like to think my Prince will one day kill him. He's…..highly unpleasant and best to be avoided. Sadly it is always dangerous to be near him, unless you don't like your thoughts being only your own."

Your thoughts not being your own?

"Dreams of a dead King and my Prince….well does he become the new Bloodline King at that point?" Hilda asked in some confusion. She'd find the bewilderment of Hilda amusing if she wasn't her, and took on a form that was killable for her. There were very few people she could look like that wouldn't be better than looking like Aurora.

"….Title questions aside, as much as I do feel sick saying it, the Bloodline King and Prince both want the same thing. A new world, a better world, building on what's been changed. Us at the top and humans….low. Lower than Pokémon if you want to be specific about it, though my Prince would elevate them as much as humans are put down. People like you and Ash Ketchum, or even little Arnold, are who we want on top of our new world. So how about it, the Bloodline Prince and I both want you for making the new world!" She finished her little ramble with a dramatic pose that reminded her of a Unovan wartime poster she saw once.

'I want you for the Unovan Army', by some colorful old guy.

"Hard pass."

Hilda seemed frozen in shock at her terse reply, and she stayed that way for what seemed like a minute.

Apparently she was trying to surmise why she rejected it, and so gave a revised version.

"I wasn't implying that your girlfriends would be any less important than you. I mean I'm just like them, one bloodline to my name. Zoroark Species if you want to know, call it a freebie. It's just that people like you, with two bloodlines, are special. The cream of the crop, a top percentile selectively bred…."

"I'd hate to see why anyone would select my mother 'to be bred'," Belladonna snarked before continuing. "My answer is still no."

"What, you don't think the world needs to be changed, that it isn't wrong?" Hilda asked tersely as Belladonna looked her right in her stolen eye color.

"I don't care about the world. There are very limited amount of things in it that I care about. Three of them are sleeping in this house, then there are the brothers I've found, the likely many other brothers and sisters I'm sure to find, and the ones who I'm sure will bring them all happiness as much as I've found it. Arnold has Laila and with time, he might find some more nice girls just as Ash and I have, but he's just a little kid, he has all the time to do so. Add in a few Pokémon or two, and that's as far as I care for. I'd get no enjoyment ruling over it."

Hilda stared at her like she was speaking gibberish.

"You don't want to indulge in anything?! You don't want to burn Azalea and everyone in it to the ground, tied up and made to suffer? You don't want a castle with human servants serving your every whim? You don't want more lovers? I mean sure unless you like incest you'd pretty much have to use a human for a few decades until diversity in the gene pool is a thing, but you'd have the pick of every other bloodliner your age and younger. After all, they all exist for you and Ash and all the rest of your family."

"The burning part I'd enjoy, but that's hardly justifying everything after, and I have no interest in men….what was the last thing?" Belladonna demanded clarification as a wicked smile cracked on an illusion of Aurora's face.

It was not a pleasant thing to see. A wrongness upon the world.

"Oh, you caught that, time for elaboration then. Ever wonder exactly why Bloodliners are much more common these days, and why so many are female? Here's the thing, it's because of you, and Ash, and all your other siblings. If you all had never been born, I'd be as boring a human as my sister, who runs some talent agency in Unova and now is tasked with making sure some League winner remembers to feed himself. But thanks to you, and your many hundreds of brothers and sisters found from Sinnoh's snowy tundra to Alola's tropical shores, I am more than human. Your little lovelies in there are more than human. Foongus Hair and the rest of my Prince's lovelies are more than human. Your line being born, perhaps not even as massively as they were but the range of how many were needed was utterly massive, met the conditions, and now we sit on a transitioning world. The world that you, Ash, and every one of your siblings who shares a unique take on what power means to them, from sea to shining sea, are all responsible for!"

If she wasn't born…..if Ash wasn't….if Arnold wasn't…..if none of them were….

A scene flashed in her mind, of her dear standing in the sun, right next to her father. They were smiling happily, not a care in the world.

The element that would make him a monster deserving death never existing, and the two being happy together. Aurora never needing to frown, or cry, a more whole her.

A world without her in it.

A better world for Aurora.

"Oh, I get it. Aurora actually got thrown out of her life of luxury and happiness because you and your siblings were conceived, and now you feel bad. Don't be, because of you Aurora is special. One day soon, even if you don't want to take part of making it happen, she'll be ruling the world with you….." The fact Hilda actually sounded like she was trying to make her feel better, as if she recognized the devastation that crossed her face was not what caught her attention, though it did make her feel worse.

It was the fact that a muscled hand had grasped itself atop Hilda's false head.

"You're done. Lecture time is over," Evanna declared darkly as Hilda shrugged.

"Oh dear, someone who has a 64.64% chance of causing me immense physical harm, growing to a much larger total if Belladonna looks away and plugs her ears. This is a problem," she said casually, as if she didn't' really consider what was about to happen dangerous.

The fact that moments after she said that a green haired girl about Ash's age in white appeared beside Hilda and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"A fun fact about my job, not only do I gather information for my Prince, I also find him lovely ladies of his own for him. This is Siri, a Gardevoir Bloodliner who can Teleport. I'd let go of my head now Evanna, unless you want to meet my Prince. I think this is around the time he bathes in his grand bath."

Evanna, who shared her lack of interest in men and picking up the threat to let go or be teleported away into a steaming body of water who knows where with a naked man, let go of Hilda's head. She vanished along with the newcomer moments later.

Leaving just the two of them in the night, alone. Herself, clad in a long t-shirt that was about all that could fit her as nightwear, and Evanna in only a pair of orange boys shorts.

There were no words exchanged for a few lengthy moments, before Evanna sighed.

"Look, that girl was a weirdo and a crazy person. Are you really going to put stock into what she said?"

"…..It's hard not to think about," Belladonna admitted quietly.

Evanna placed a hand on her shoulder before continuing.

"Okay, so let's run what she said through, at least as far as I understand it. Maybe Vedia would have gotten more of it, but Aurora's hugging her like a teddy bear right now so let me give it a shake. The not-Aurora said that somehow, you and your apparently epidemic of half siblings somehow are why I'm the way I am, as well as Vedia and Aurora."

"Yes," she confirmed quietly as Evanna continued.

"If you didn't exist, Aurora's dad would have never decided that throwing your daughter out was a moral and right thing to do," Evanna continued.

"Yes," Belladonna declared solemnly.

"If you didn't exist, Vedia would have never been able to run away from home, and who knows what would have happened to her. Arranged marriage, suspicious death, stuck in a basement…." Evanna rolled off as Belladonna stared at her in surprise.

"There, that's fifty-fifty. My life would still suck as much as it did before meeting you regardless, so that's one person helped, another hurt, if we take the word of some shape-changing crazy person who wants to take over the world with some Prince and invited you, and thus us, to help them do it, as correct. I'd be fine if we did do that by the way, but that's not the point. The point is, if she's right, keep that in mind. If she's wrong, then she's basically one of those people who talk on the internet of that Oak guy apparently also making humans more complacent in a bid to have his grandson rule the world as the Oak Imperium."

"Sweetie." Belladonna smiled as she gave her a hug. She needed that. It was something to keep in mind.

It was bad, horrible, unforgivable, if she did make Aurora's life what it was, but it was good, very good, that she would also in turn have made Vedia's life better.

The hug turned into a heartfelt kiss that lasted just as long, their lips parting as the moon shone directly above them and bathing them in moonlight.

"So, if we are taking the word of the shape-shifting person for granted and you somehow make us who we all are….you plan on taking responsibility for anyone else?" Evanna teased as Belladonna could only stare at her in surprise.

Grampa Canyon

Ash wasn't sure this was right.

He was fairly certain that they should have hit a major city before they got to the place they found Togepi/where he was nearly eaten.

Emphasis on the 'slash where he was nearly eaten' bit, as that did not narrow down which incident he was talking about as much as he'd like. He really needed to be more careful this time round.

But, without teleporting except for cases of 'how did we end up on a sheer cliff', and 'how did we end up in the middle of a Beedrill nest', and a brief time in Dark City, they had found themselves in the dry as bone canyon.

Though it was a bit different than last time, given that while there was a giant pit with people digging inside it, he did not see Gary Oak doing his best Harrison Ford cosplay in it.

The people seemed more professionally unprofessional, if that was the best way of putting it. Also a pair of burly men were standing at the entrance to the canyon, glaring at the four of them to go away.

"What's their problem?" Misty wondered aloud.

"Their problem, is that we don't need Trainers stealing fossils, or worse trying to get them themselves. At least thieves don't break as much."

To all their credit, they had turned to the flannel wearing man before he was done pronouncing 'their'. Misty actually had a surprised look at how sharp her alert time had been, though Ash felt there was some pride in her surprised expression.

"Now, are you here to steal fossils?" he asked them bluntly.

Everyone from Pikachu to Iris shook their heads 'no' as he nodded.

"Good. I wouldn't try crossing through here until noon passes, so come with me to my trailer. I'm sure you'd rather learn about fossils than suffer heatstroke."

'…..I am not sure about that one. Can I go look for Togepi's egg instead?' Pikachu wondered to Ash directly.

'I have no idea where it is without Team Rocket blowing stuff up, and I am pretty sure you can get heatstroke too. He might have it on him and might be willing to give it to us.'

It wasn't unheard of for people to randomly give people Pokémon and Pokémon eggs after all. Plus what would a flannel wearing man even want with a Togepi egg?

…..

There was no egg in the man's office, just coolers and maps and trays filled with bones thinner than pencils.

He reached into a cooler with bottles of water in them (after skipping over a cooler that was filled to the brim with beer he accidentally opened), and tossed them bottles as he began with an apology.

"I am sorry about the concern, ever since people found the way to revive Fossil Pokémon, for all the good it does my fellow paleontologists who specialize in behavioral studies, it does have side effects. Among them is the tendency for people to try and grab fossils to get Pokémon for themselves. I have no problem with the use of poor quality fossil material for such endeavors, and especially not when someone puts their own effort into the process like the Gym Leaders Brock, Roark, and Byron. However I don't need the discoveries of the century stolen by a random Trainer trying to get type coverage."

"Is that a problem?" Ash would have asked how fossils tell you anything about behavior since he assumed there were people doing that before fossil revival, but he wasn't sure he could understand it.

Or that it could be explained in a timely manner, thus delaying what time Ash could use to try and figure out where Togepi's egg might be.

"Thievery? Of course it is with Team Rocket around. They love stealing fossils, it's why we don't work in Mount Moon anymore. They know better than to dig for them themselves, given that the average member can't tell a fossil from a geode and break them with shovels and drills. So like scavengers they have a bad habit of grabbing what we've already found."

The comment about people breaking fossils with a lack of knowing what a fossil was made Ash wonder, was the Great Fossil Rush a bust because it was a lie, or because people ended up breaking the fossils that they were after out of ignorance?

A question that he was sure one could ponder for many days, hopefully when he could get out of here without offending the guy.

Heatstroke risks noted of course.

Oddly enough though, it was Iris who had the next thing to say.

"Your maps are odd."

Her comment drew Ash's attention to the maps…..and he had to agree.

For one thing the maps of the world, which Ash would not try to figure out if it was different from what he was used to as to spare his mind from thinking about the implications too much, had the landmasses in wildly different places.

At some points the continents were all jumbled together, either as a solid landmass or several large groups that were not how he was pretty sure they normally were.

One map, labeled as 100 MYA, had Kalos much farther north than normal, even farther north than Sinnoh was. It was all but covered in white. He could only vaguely see what looked like Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, as they were all shallow oceans with islands that made him think of places where mountains were like Meteor Falls and Mount Moon. Sinnoh was much farther south, pretty close to the equator.

"Well today those maps are, but millions of years ago they were quite accurate." He noted Iris's confusion and so continued.

"Continents, ever since their formations, have always been moving. Slowly, but in the course of millions of years they can drastically change their location. Mountain ranges, some volcanos, and earthquakes are side effects of this phenomenal called Continental Drift."

That was how mountains were made? Ash always thought it had something to do with volcanos, though if they were also caused by continents slowly moving that made some sense.

Also some volcanos? There were volcanos that were formed other ways? How did that happen?

"Of course these ancient forms of continents and the seas had life on and in them, and not just plant life. Amidst the ancient conifers and ferns, before even grass and flowers and fruit evolved." Pine trees and ferns were ancient? Grass, flowers and fruit weren't that old?

You learn something new every day. He had never thought about asking what was older, a fern or an apple, but now he knew.

Perhaps he could win trivia night next time he was back home.

"Pokémon paleontology is not an old field, but we have identified a constantly growing number of ancient species. Most of them are clustered around two time periods that have a number of major fossil bearing formations, 300 million years ago, and 100 million years ago."

The paleontologist darted off to a shelf and grabbed a handful of figurines. They were of Pokémon, several that Ash knew to be fossil Pokémon, and a few that were still around today, like Relicanth, Shellder, and Sunkern.

And a lot Ash did not recognize at all. Apparently his dealings with (occasionally not having been dead) Aerodactyl, Kabuto, Kabutops, Omanyte, Omastar, Lileep, Cradily, Anorith, Armaldo, Cranidos, Rampardos, Shieldon, Bastiodon, Archen, Archeops, Tirtouga, and Carracosta did not even scratch the surface.

The figures were promptly plopped on the map, with Kabutops and a Pokémon that looked like a naked Genesect at 300 million years ago, while Omanyte, Omastar, Cranidos, Lileep, Cradily, Rampardos, Shieldon, Bastiodon, Archen, Archeops, Tirtouga, and Carracosta at 100 million years ago along with Shellder and Relicanth and several he didn't recognize among the two locations and several other maps.

He didn't see a Aerodactyl, Anorith, or Armaldo figurine, perhaps he didn't have any. Maybe they were rare and hard to find on the open market of figurines, if such a thing existed.

Though that did raise a few questions, if that was the case, why were there Kabutops hanging around with the Omanyte and Omastar originally?

Why was Togepi's egg around here, wherever it was? Were Togekiss and Togetic old Pokémon like Shellder were apparently?

"Why only bones from those time periods specifically?" Iris asked.

"We have other periods represented, but fossils aren't the easiest things to form. They require the bones to be deposited in the right conditions at the right time and be found quickly enough. It's why places like Alola do not have fossils, as they are too new land masses and mostly lack these factors. Anyone who finds a fossil in Alola found something someone dropped."

The last line was said bitterly, as if it was part of some old peeve. Ash decided it was best not to ask.

"Of course these figurines may not be the most accurate. They resemble a Pokémon revived from a fossil, but there is evidence that such revivals do affect a Pokémon's type and physiology. There have been some interesting studies involving Tyrunt fossils and revived specimens that explore this."

Then why were the Omanyte and other such Pokémon he met that were living fossils look the same as revived fossils? Or was that a time reboot thing?

The only way to check was to see if an Aerodactyl was still around to try and eat him, and was it worth going through that again? Probably not unless Togepi's egg was down there too, and Ash was pretty sure that cavern would be a place to check last if possible for it.

Wasn't the Pokédex going on about this idea itself during the last Gym battle, extant forms or something?

"So when do people come into the picture?" Misty brought up the question as the man shrugged.

"Not my field. I do know that humans are said to have originated in the region of…."

"Professor Cycad!" The trailer door was burst open before the question could be given an answer, revealing an intern that Ash half expected to run into around Pokémopolis’ ruins, but was instead another girl, thankfully nothing resembling him about her.

"Yes, what is it…oh I see. The thing in your arms." The professor observed as all eyes were drawn to what the girl was carrying.

Clutched in her arms was the egg that would hatch into Togepi.

The moment of silence that followed was the length of forever in Ash's mind. Was there any way he could steer this so they could get the egg without it being too strange a conversation…

"Well, that's an odd find, but that isn't a fossilized egg and none of us have time to care for such a thing. Would any of you like to have it?" Professor Cycad asked, solving all the issues that could result in an instant.

Pikachu let out a huge sigh of relief from his shoulder, nearly falling off as a result.

…..

That night, at a camp area by a small pool...

"Now that we are far enough to ensure the egg cannot be taken back, allow me to tell you all what Pokémon it will hatch into."

The declaration came after they finished eating for the night, causing all their eyes to move to the egg currently being held by Pikachu carefully in a little rocky nook soon to be Secret Powered by Psyduck.

Axew was currently looking at the egg in interest, which reminded Ash of how well Axew had gotten along with Scraggy. Would Axew do as well with a less outgoing Pokémon?

'You can tell?' Anabel questioned, which Ash relayed to the machine in part for his own confusion.

You could?

"Certainly. Eggs are always patterned after what Pokémon they are to hatch into. It's a handy thing to note if you find an egg and quite good for taking away the guessing game part of it."

But the guessing part was the fun part of it. Sure he knew what this egg would hatch into, but what if he found another egg?

It would be part of the excitement of it all to see what it would hatch into with Togepi.

"This egg will hatch into a rare Pokémon known as a Togepi," the Pokédex declared, confusion etching itself into Misty, Iris, and Anabel's faces as the name was given.

"Togepi?" Misty said in confusion, which Ash had to admit oddly stung coming from her.

"Togepi, the Spike Ball Pokémon," the Pokédex showed an image of Togepi on screen. Misty's face seemed to soften upon seeing Togepi, which Ash would count as a good thing.

"Togepi grow by absorbing emotional energy people and Pokémon generate to grow. They grow best with positive emotion, while their growth is stunted by negative emotion. If this emotion is evil in morality, they can turn wicked and cruel."

That explained that Togepi in Sinnoh, though an odd thought came to Ash.

Did Brock's post-Ivy depression cause Togepi to stay a Togepi for all of Johto, and only after Brock was farther away did Togepi move faster to evolving?

It was an odd thought. It could have just been inexperience with working with young Pokémon.

"Togepi evolves twice, it gains the Flying type upon evolving into Togetic, while exposure to the Shiny Stone evolves it further to Togekiss." The two evolutions were shown on screen next to Togepi.

"What type was it before evolving?" Iris caught the fact the Pokédex didn't say.

"Fairy."

Iris shivered like someone was walking on a shallow grave at that point.

"I have already taken to pre-registering Togepi to you. When it hatches your record will be fully updated," the Pokédex told him as Ash realized what had so radically changed.

"Isn't that a bit hasty? I mean, I may not be the only one who wants…."

"I am fine without Togepi," Iris said simply.

'I am doing a lot of work with Eevee already, I don't think I could take another Pokémon on right now,' Anabel honestly admitted.

Misty just shook her head, which stung. Utterly, utterly stung. To see her reject Togepi so easily really made the fact that this wasn't the Misty he'd known for years hit home like a ton of bricks. Maybe he could trick her into it, Togepi imprinted on her because she was the first to be seen after Togepi hatched. He could try and recreate the moment, without the mini-tournament with Team Rocket though, but that wouldn't be fair to any of them.

Ash had never tried to bring Psyduck's memories back, and he wasn't sure if the issue with humans would extend to Pokémon he did not have originally. He'd rather not make things tricky by doing so.

Right now though, Ash was seriously hoping he couldn't bring memories back. Because if Togepi saw that head shake…..

It would make Brock's dead parents look like a bump in the road when it came to rough emotions.

"Regardless of who Togepi is registered to, all of your emotional well beings will play into Togepi's hatching and growth, so you will all have involvement. The egg won't count to any party totals until then, so you can care for the nitty gritty then. Now, would you like to review your financial totals before mass spending?"

The Pokédex promptly displayed a set of numbers, which caused Misty and Anabel's mouths to drop open, Ash to stare at the Pokédex in shock, and Iris to…well she didn't react.

He was pretty sure she didn't really understand just how much the Pokédex was saying he had to his name.

"….You….didn't hack the banks, did you?" Ash asked the Pokédex.

"No, that would bore me. I'd sooner steal money from Team Rocket and other Yakuza-type criminal organizations for the challenge, and I'd do so from either should we require it. The money in question here however, is completely legal in origin."

Ash stared at the money, still uncertain about that part. He was pretty sure he had enough to buy the kind of car Gary had back in the day without car payments afterwards. He'd probably still have enough left over to hire some cheerleaders too. Not that he'd want to.

….

Ash had gotten the package of the item storage capsules Professor Oak had sent his way for testing the day before Princess Day. Said package contained forty cubes colored the same as a regular Pokéball. They did indeed work, for Ash tested them on a large rock.

It had worked fine, the twelve foot hunk of sandstone had vanished into the cube which hadn't changed its weight at all for holding it inside, though testing releasing the thing did create a massive splash of sea water that drenched them all and did require Squirtle to go retrieve it from the sea bottom.

In Ash's defense, it was common to throw your Pokéballs, and they looked a lot like them. And it still worked afterwards, as demonstrated with his shoes.

After that, it was to the trenches. Also known as 'town with a lot of stores during a mass shopping day'.

Also called pain. They say 'war is hell' but that's nothing compared to this.

Not the same as Girls Day.

….

Their first stop had been relatively quiet. Stores that specialized in selling beds and couches weren't the hottest sellers on Princess Day, though the staff were happy to see them and offer significant discounts.

Ash really didn't understand beds at all, but three were still purchased that fit himself, Anabel, and Misty well.

Iris declined to get one.

Next stop a furniture store for something to store more clothes before they could begin the dangerous part of the day…

"Is that a 90% off sale on socks?"

Oh no.

Misty's stop and declaration on the store front caused Anabel and Iris to stop in their tracks, with Anabel subtly tugging him to a stop too.

"The socks you gave me do have a hole now." Iris looked down at her feet. "I am also fairly sure that '90%' is a good thing?"

'Oh yes, it is.' Anabel agreed.

It was spreading. The virus.

"With that price, we all could use some more socks. You know, I've never really used this day for much, but I'm really feeling it now." Misty said in a tone of growing giddiness as Ash knew it was definitely here, especially when Anabel and Iris nodded in agreement (Anabel more so than Iris).

The shopping virus. It had claimed more victims, it was uncontainable and turning into a pandemic.

"Come on!" And with that, and another subtle telepathic tug from Anabel, they were into the store.

The only consolation was that the horrible frenzy that ensued had several pairs of socks fitting him thrown his way.

"Pikapiiiii!" 'Ash, you probably could use some more of….HEY! No grabbing my tail, it is not a sock!"

And so Princess Day suffered its third clothing based electrical attack as he later would find out.

The virus was in brief remission after they got out and they managed to get four dressers for a total of seven used storage capsules and thankfully the electronic store did not engage responses from them….before the virus returned in full force upon the spotting of an accessory store.

The madness was back, his Z-Ring was nearly swiped three times in the span of ten minutes. Though, again to their credit, the fourth and fifth would be attempt was stopped by a glare from Iris and a loud 'that is not for sale' shout by Misty.

Said shout did not dissuade the sixth though, what was wrong with this holiday?!

….

Their target was shopping.

No, that wasn't the right way to put it.

Saying the target, Ash Ketchum, was shopping implied he was in the lead. It was not a day guys shopped.

It was a day they were carrying things for the shoppers, though Meowth had to give them credit as the stuff being bought did seem to go to him as much as the rest of them, and they were in fact feeding him.

It was more than some people were doing today, in any case.

Also that the non-talking girly had her Kadabra help out with bags when moving.

Still….

"….Those two bozos better get here soon. I am so putting in for overtime at this point." The cat complained.

Jessie and James were both off enjoying the festivities, and they had both darted off before he could complain, though both had reasons he did not push the issue.

Jessie had been in a bad mood after a Lickitung had eaten her breakfast, after kicking and punching it repeatedly she had caught it in a ball in a sheer blind rage, before hearing about some contest for some dolls and demanding James give her his Pokémon for it.

She was still mad, so he had given her them without issue, and she had stormed off in a fury after James asked her about where she'd even keep a bunch of breakable dolls.

It was the first Meowth had heard of her storage locker. An odd choice to use her pay increase on, but it was her money.

While Jessie had stormed off in a fury, James had a flier for a knick-knack sale fly right into his face and got a giddy laugh, the happiest Meowth had seen him since the incident with the butler and his fifty-shaded fiancé. When Meowth had told him that there was no way a guy named James could get that sale, he had made a creepy laugh and said he had a solution to that problem.

Meowth wasn't sure why James had fake, inflatable breasts on hand, and he probably would be better off knowing. He knew the skirt was Jessie's though.

The cross-dressing that ensued did not bother Meowth as much as James's false pumpable bosom. That was a human thing to be bothered by.

So that left him doing their group job solo, with Jessie off winning dolls in a rage, and James cross-dressing to buy cheap knick-knacks with the aid of a device that Meowth knew not the purpose of having, nor why James would own one.

"Deli!"

Meowth, not taking his eyes off their targets, held out the Pokéball that Jessie had dropped in her anger to the bird.

"Yeah, I'm going to ask ya to take this one back and put it in reserve in case we need it later. Maybe in a year Jessie won't try and stab the thing."

Delibird saluted affirmatively before taking the ball and flying away with it.

"Hopefully Jessie didn't only say she 'hated it and wanted it gone' in anger and actually would have wanted that on her person, or else I might be in trouble for that." Meowth mused to himself as the observation continued.

…..

Ash stood alone with a plethora of shopping bags. The ominous air that hung around him was obvious for anyone who had bags laying about on this day.

The madness had spread, and Ash felt like he was being watched by a school of Sharpedo.

This comparison was not helped by the mob of women and girls who seemed to be stalking around him, as if looking for an opening to strike. The training from Iris to give him the same sort of sixth sense to danger as her was working as he could hear his fight of flight instinct screaming at him to do something other than stand there.

Seriously, what was wrong with this holiday? Sure there was some cloth yanking last time, but it seemed to have evolved at some point into a contact sport.

All that was missing was Casey running around, shouting about the Electabuzz and hitting people with a baseball bat.

Still, just as the holiday had evolved into something tougher since the last time he had endured it (he didn't remember it in any other regions and May seemed to have avoid any contact with it, thus sparing him possibly worse pain and suffering), he had evolved as well.

And not just in his ability to grow hair on his face.

The same woman Ash was pretty sure grabbed something Misty and Jessie fought over slowly approached his bags from the side, stealthily as if she assumed she could not be seen if she did so.

As her hand moved towards a bag, the purple shadow under the bag shimmered, and out popped a friendly creature.

"Grime!" One of his Grimer greeted cheerfully, before grabbing her hand and shaking it.

The woman's resulting scream of horror caused Pikachu to wince, even as the shadows of the other bags rose up as three other Grimer and Muk and hugged the woman at once.

"Pika…." 'Did you really have to do that?' Pikachu complained.

"It worked, didn't it?" Ash said simply as the circling swarm rapidly let them be, not wanting to share the fate of their fellow virus victim and be hugged by friendly slime creatures.

Pikachu gave him a look that said 'you are only feeding the crazy'.

"There are rumors that mega corps use psychic types to stimulate shopping madness," the Pokédex observed as the woman managed to escape from the Grimer hugs.

"….And that is helpful to their bottom line?" Ash questioned the logic of it.

"It's only a rumor, somewhere in the feasible between the Oak Imperium and people being watched through their technology by corporations like Devon or Lysandre Labs," the Pokédex admitted.

The Oak what? What, did people think that Professor Oak wanted to rule the world or something?

"So it isn't true," Ash simply stated.

"Most likely, but it is an explanation for the madness. A bad explanation, but an explanation nonetheless."

Like Brock's Ivy angst delaying Togepi's growth perhaps.

As if summoned by the thoughts of Togepi Misty popped out of the nearby changing room, dressed in a red blouse held by thin straps and a pair of denim shorts slightly longer than her usual ones back in the days of suspenders with a pair of large red shoes to finish the look off.

"What do you think?" Misty inquired as Ash gave her an honest answer.

"I am not the person to ask about fashion."

"Well I'm not usually one to care, but there is something in the air that makes me really want to have fun with this." Misty shrugged while raising the idea that there were Pokémon or viruses at play spreading the madness.

"But you know, not sure I really look good in these shoes anyway. I'll try something else." And so Misty returned into the changing room, as Ash blinked.

That….was surprisingly easy.

Ash immediately slapped his face, for thinking that someone was going to run off with Togepi's egg, even past the Grimer and Muk defenses around it and the rest of their stuff.

He quickly glanced over to make sure it was still there. It was, thankfully.

Ash's eyes wandered down to his arm, which had gained something from the accessory shop other than bite marks and scratches.

A white metal ring, similar at a glance to the Z-ring in color and shape, but with differences that were noticeable upon closer observation, such as a few black etchings and a more rounded shape overall.

Slotted into said white ring, in a slot that once held a marble of some sort, was the Keystone. Snuggly fit without a psychic force clawing it out like the marble, the door to Mega Evolution was now at his wrist.

He would just have to figure out a bit more to it. The first thing on the list to figure out being the simple question of how to activate the process. Were specific gestures required the same way Z-moves seemed to need?

The changing room doors burst open again, with Anabel walking out in a white T-shirt, a pair of purple pants that left some leg skin exposed between them and a pair of white socks, and purple sneakers. A purple scarf fit around her neck, while a belt with purple circle completed the piece.

She, like Misty and himself, having gotten some hair trimmed but Anabel's longer hair was still present to the look.

'So Ash, what do you think?' Anabel asked as she adjusted the scarf a bit.

'The shoes are a definite, but I'm not sure about the pants. Are they shorts or pants?'

"Are they comfy and easy to wear?"

Anabel had a thoughtful pinch of her lips at the question Ash offered, before returning into the changing room.

"So, did we miss anything at the pharmacy?" Ash asked the Pokédex aloud. Even that had been a melee today.

"Deodorant, shaving products, shampoo, soap, floss, toothpaste, new toothbrushes….well I suppose you could have gotten the mouthwash but the fighting was fierce in that aisle," the Pokédex listed off as Ash felt the old question rise again.

"About the bank totals, you'll be good to pay for everything, right…."

"With the sales today you'd have to try a lot harder to empty your wallet," the Pokédex informed. "Plus I can easily hack the store register so the charge fits into what totals you need."

Ash would have asked the device to please not do it, when Anabel stepped out again, this time in a pair of lavender sweat pants and a white T-shirt.

'I think this will do better for the next time Iris wants us to run, wouldn't you say?' Ash nodded in agreement as Anabel smiled and returned into the changing room.

"Gri!"

As a Grimer scared off another looming stuff poacher, Iris stumbled out of the changing room, dressed in a very, very….

Very odd choice of dress, as if she was planning to go sneak into the Flower Garden Troupe's headquarters again.

Where Iris had found a fairy tale princess version of her normal outfit, a shiny princess crown, and a pair of pure white sandals Ash hadn't a clue.

He was equally unsure of why she'd even wear a thing.

Also since when did Iris's outfit have a plunging neck line? But that was beside the point.

"Why are you…." Ash asked as Iris blinked.

"I… honestly am not sure. It was all a blur," she admitted in confusion. She waved her arms around, an unpleased look on her face.

"Ax." Axew popped out of her hair, looking discombulated. There was also a crown on his head that looked matching to Iris's.

"I will not be keeping this," Iris declared bluntly as the door opened again, and Anabel and Misty walked out as well.

Anabel was dressed in a black three-piece suit with a white undershirt, an outfit that looked pretty good on her despite the fact that suits were more the sort of thing a guy would wear.

Misty had an expensive-looking white dress with a single covered shoulder and a long skirt.

"You know, we probably should have found something better in the 'fancy' department," Misty admitted taking in Iris's appearance.

Ash would ask why they were in the fancy department, but that was probably the wrong question to ask. Also if Iris was any indication, the memory there may be blurry.

'She'd look good in something like this, but I think we said something about wanting to balance it out. Two suits, two dresses,' Anabel surmised.

"Two suits?" He wouldn't talk about spending frivolously, they had money to do so even if everything wasn't ridiculously on sale today, but even that seemed a tad odd a purchase.

"Yeah, yours. You've got your own backlog to try on when we're done," Misty spoke as if reminding him. Did he repress the memory?

"You do. You have a sizeable catalog to try on when they are done with their own selection," the Pokédex had a similar tone.

"I'm sure they fit…."

"There is fitting, and there is fitting," the Pokédex snarked. Ash's eyes flicked to his pocket as he wondered what the hell that meant.

"We'll find you something else when Ash is trying on his stuff. I'll watch our stuff," Misty told Iris as the girl looked eager to get out of the dress.

And they soon returned into the dressing room, as dread overcame Ash once more.

"How much more do they have?" How long did he have until the pain began?

"….Do you want the answer in total clothing, or total value of the clothing?" the Pokédex quipped.

….

Misty had to admit, there was something….good about Ash looking her over when in a swimsuit.

When she came out and asked Ash what he thought of her, be she in a blue bikini or a red one, and she could tell he liked what he saw.

That he was interested, even as he tried to not look her over like a piece of prime meat.

It was nice to feel pretty, nice to feel attractive. And to be frankly honest, it was a nice stepping stone.

Misty had no real idea how to try and go from what they had to something more, it wasn't something she knew how to do.

She wasn't sure Ash had any idea how to do it either.

It wasn't like she could simply do what her parents would do (…for various reason), and Ash's father was apparently too busy having other kids to give pointers.

Even then, his pointers would probably only be good for a single night, which was hardly what she wanted, nor what she was near sure that Ash wanted.

So, this was a way to work towards it, even if it would be trial and error. Though that didn't mean there weren't potential problems.

Iris, for as much as the girl was someone that Misty did see as a friend, was also interested in Ash. She knew that.

She also noted when Iris herself came out in a one piece swimsuit (after telling Iris that yes, you would need that), that Ash did like her appearance as well.

She was also not unaware that he had seen a lot more of her than a swimsuit. Iris had let it slip that she had showered with him a while ago.

(It was also somewhat tied to her having no idea how to work towards a relationship, as media portrayals of relationships would have her yell at Ash for being a pervert or a cheater despite the scenario being very clearly not of his choosing. Frankly that would only end in her acting like, and frankly being, an unlikable bitch.)

While Iris said it in a way that Misty had to agree that Iris did not do it as part of her mentioned interest in having Ash be her 'mate', what she did say clearly showed that Ash had noticed things, and liked them for as much as he tried not to overly focus on them.

The only hint of a good thing was that, if anything, Iris was probably less understanding of how to instigate a relationship as she and Ash were.

Then there was the fact that Iris would, as she admitted herself, not consider Ash and her being together as a sign not to try and seduce Ash. Or Iris and Ash being together a reason Ash should not be with her.

That was, if anything, something that made Misty more uneasy. Iris completely, without any hint of jealousy, considered that an option, and Ash, for as good and kind and decent as he was….was still a teenage male.

Such an arrangement would be something he'd struggle to say no to, and if it was Iris who he was with….well Misty had to acknowledge that she'd be hypocritically more okay with that scenario than the other way around.

When Anabel had stepped out in a lavender tankini and nervously asked if Ash thought it looked better than the similar colored one piece (to which Ash was as nervous in replying as he had been when she asked about two different bikinis), Misty was quite aware of the other possibility.

Anabel was starting to also, even if she did not say it as bluntly as Iris, show signs of being attracted to Ash. That had problems of its own to consider.

For example, if Iris went up to Anabel the same as she did her, how would Anabel react?

Misty had to admit, the possibility of Anabel agreeing with Iris made her very nervous.

'You can read his mind; he likes the both of us, so what is the problem?' She could practically hear Iris say such a thing.

That would lead into all the previously commented issues of hypocrisy on her end all over again.

"Can I wear a shirt?" Ash called out from the changing room, having been putting it off for a while now.

'We didn't wear shirts outside of that one jacket that went with it,' Anabel told him with a tease as the door creaked open and Ash stepped out in a pair of black and red swim trunks.

And only a pair of black and red swim trunks, revealing all the muscle that Iris had been working on increasing even as she had them run miles.

While Ash was already fairly muscular when they first met, Misty never had a chance to actually check him in detail, but now, she could notice things. First, he was broad-shouldered, and while it didn't seem that much at first, his arms looked now like they could conceivably stop the punch of a Kangaskhan like he had told them before. His legs also looked fairly well-toned; all that running in front of his Tauros had definitely paid off. His abs were also starting to show hints of a six-pack, and Misty had to wonder if Iris had been aiming for that from the beginning. She'd probably have to thank her for it later.

She had to stop her tongue from licking her lips, though there was one issue she did have with how Ash looked.

While Ash was hardly one of those men who were hairier than some Ursaring, she'd probably prefer if they could get Ash to shave more than his face.

They probably should have tried to get some shaving material that was for more than just a guy's face, but it was in high demand at the pharmacy today and they'd rather not lose a hand.

Ash could use with less hair, but it was far from worth a limb.

As Ash got confirmation from them all that he looked good, (and was told that no, they did not actually get the speedo that was also on sale), and returned to try on another swimsuit, Iris spoke up.

"Does human body hair have any way to make it grow more? I think Ash would look good with more of it on his chest."

Misty and Anabel stared at Iris in equal parts bafflement, unease, and 'how on earth is this conversation going to go'.

Two days later

They had escaped the madness with no loss of limb, and with everything they needed.

With a tap, one of those items, a three drawer storage place for clothes, was sucked away into the item capsule as Pikachu raised a sleepy head off the bed.

"Pikapi…." 'Five more minutes…'

"I already gave you half an hour even after I washed and shaved and all of that stuff." Ash told his buddy as said buddy grumpily hopped off the comfortable mass of blankets and mattress that was Ash's new bed away from home.

Ash quickly returned the item into its capsule as he paused to note the new clothes he was now defaulting to, given the damage to his previous outfit.

It was much the same, a new red and white hat with the design divided into two red thirds and a center white third, a black and blue short sleeved jacket with a white hoodie, and a pair of blue jeans and shoes. The two rings, one on each arm remained, a Z-Ring without any crystals, and a Key Stone whose powers he was unsure of how to unlock.

A pair of black fingerless gloves completed the set, along with the underwear and socks his mom thankfully felt the need to stop asking him about.

Pikachu, with a tired gait, climbed up him and onto his perch on his shoulder as Ash walked out of the tree hollow turned secret base into the sunlight beyond.

"So, I see sleeping beauty is done," Misty teased as Ash smiled.

"Well, unless he sleeps on my shoulder I guess."

Like him, everyone else had changed up their default outfits thanks to the shopping madness.

Misty's outfit was now mostly yellow and blue, with new yellow shoes and bracelets that worked with a pair of blue shorts, a blue tube top, and a yellow jacket unbuttoned over said tube top. Her hair was also held a bit longer than usual, with a single pierced ear holding her own keystone.

Iris had kept her old shoes, but she was now wearing a much shorter shirt of similar color and dimensions to her old one, with a pair of pink shorts showing off just as much leg as Misty now did. Around her wrists and neck were a pair of tooth themed accessories, with the necklace having her keystone set in the center. Her hair was now held in place a bit by a hair piece, though it still spilled out from her like a massive eruption.

Anabel was wearing her hair out longer, which was a nice look with her new purple sleeveless top and white pants. A pair of black boots and a brown belt with a purple symbol of Psychic types embedded in it was all the decoration she had going for her.

'So, what sort of surprises do you think today will hold?' Anabel asked them as Iris smirked.

"Whatever they are, they are nothing we cannot handle."

As if summoned by Iris's declaration, Ash felt something pop up behind him.

"Abra, the P.S.I Pok…." the Pokédex began reading off as Ash felt something tug on his hoodie, and immediately he was no longer on the path to Cinnabar.

The path to Cinnabar was not a nice looking, if somewhat ominous looking, mansion hallway after all.

"…émon, and we appear to have rapidly shifted geographical location." The Pokédex interrupted giving the entry as the Abra floated a few strides away from him.

"You took me here, why? Do you need something?" Ash asked the Psychic Pokémon, wondering if this was related to a dispute with some Ghost Pokémon in an abandoned mining town.

The Abra slowly turned to face him, before setting its own fist on fire and flying at them.

Pikachu hopped to counter it with Iron Tail, colliding with the Fire Punch.

Not interested in seeing how this clash would go, Ash sped forward with Quick Attack and knocked the Abra away with a rapid punch.

As the white streaks dissipated from around him Pikachu was wide awake and sparking in anger.

"Pika." 'What was that about? First it takes us here, and then it attacked us?'

"Where is here anyway?" Ash wondered aloud as the sound of rolling came from down the same direction as the defeated Abra.

"The here is Saffron City. The address….the Saffron City Gym," the Pokédex declared with audible concern as the rolling revealed itself to be from a group of approaching Exeggcute.

All of them seeping a fog of Stun Spore as they approached.

Ash turned the other way and ran, Pikachu in his arms as the rolling clouds of spores came right after him.

….

All of this was being observed from the top most room of the Gym, where a computer blazed with information.

A glowing duo of blue dots were running on the second floor, those being Ash Ketchum and Pikachu. A single purple dot, the Exeggcute up there, was in hot pursuit.

On the edges of the screen were seven large data boxes. The topmost showing Ash and the top right Pikachu.

Ash Ketchum, One KOs, Zero Assists

Pikachu, Zero KOs, One Assists.

Sabrina smirked, a telekinetic pull reaching for a nearby Sitrus Berry and tossing it to the Abra who was the source of the two's performance grade so far.

She rarely needed it, but she had the thing anyway, and sometimes she really did need raw data to say if a person really did deserve to live or not. Sometimes her gut wouldn't give her an answer.

As the teleporter ate the berry slowly she smirked.

"Well, I do believe this is a nice little callback for you, or do you remember? It was that doll of mine that brought you to me last time, or are you too panicked to notice? Regardless, your test has only just begun. I am sure you will prove yourself worthy of living, but can you break yourself of your self-restraints? Particularly for what you will not give up on so easily?"

On the uppermost and lowermost levels of the map were two golden dots. The top one was situated where she kept her Marsh Badges, the lower where Primeape was.

Both heavily guarded second only to the door out, and with all the windows fortified those were the only three destinations he could go for.

But seeing as she was a good sport, she'd make sure he knew where each were if it looked like Ash and Pikachu was about to leave early.

No point in losing something forever so recklessly after all.

….

Meanwhile the two were approaching a spiraling staircase, going both higher and lower.

"Down means open door," the Pokédex pointed out.

"And things roll down the stairs, not up them. Won't the powder fall down after us too?!" Ash yelled back.

As he declared this Pikachu blasted a thunderbolt at the Exeggcute, who had a yellow Light Screen flare up to block the attack.

Ash scurried up the stairs the moment his foot got in range, darting up the creaking steps even as the Exeggcute, no longer powder spewing, rolled down the stairs.

Ash saw a flash of yellow at the top of the stairs, and reacted immediately.

"Roggenrola!" Ash threw the Safari Ball up the stairs, and the sound of a thump suggested that Headbutt was used.

Ash met said Rock Pokémon at the next stair landing, the Mantle Pokémon standing next to a defeated Drowzee.

Before them down the floor stood a Slowpoke, who yawned and unleashed a torrential fire stream at them.

Roggenrola spat out a Sand Attack that met the fire and doused it, as the Pokédex surmised it all with a scream that sounded like a swear word in the tone of dial up.

Ash suspected he'd hear many more swears in dial up before they got out of here.

OMAKE CANON: SIBLING EMPATHY

Next stop a furniture store for something to store more clothes…

"Is that a 90% off sale on socks?"

Oh no.

Misty's stop and declaration on the store front caused Anabel and Iris to stop in their tracks, with Anabel subtly tugging him to a stop too.

"The socks you gave me do have a hole now." Iris looked down at her feet. "I am also fairly sure that '90%' is a good thing?"

'Oh yes, it is.' Anabel agreed.

It was spreading. The virus.

"With that price, we all could use some more socks. You know, I've never really used this day for much, but I'm really feeling it now." Misty said in a tone of growing giddiness as Ash's knew it was definitely here.

The shopping virus.

"Come on!" And with that, and another subtle telepathic tug from Anabel, they went into the store.

The only consolation was that the horrible frenzy that ensued had a pair of socks fitted to him thrown his way.

Though Ash's mind, at least in a desperate attempt to be anywhere but here, briefly went back to the (probably) half-brother and friends he saw in Stone Town.

Midori.

What sort of hell was he in for today? After all, he had four female friends with him, not three.

….

Midori had been having it good recently.

Really, it was great, just before leaving, had gotten to meet an amazing Trainer and got all sorts of good advice from him.

He and his best friends finally got to leave Stone Town, and had never felt freer. The world was theirs, and it felt like bliss.

No more naysayers about how friendships and bonds couldn't last after you left home. No more people saying there was no way they could win anything.

He and Rana couldn't make it to the Leagues. Kusa and Hoshi the Grand Festivals. Monet's sketches never making it big.

They'd never hear that again. It was great!

They'd even been making great progress, too, He captured his first Pokémon in Vulpix, and Kusa a Magnemite. Their moves and techniques were looking good, Monet found his Vulpix inspirational for her artistic muse, and there would be a Pokémon Contest in Fuchsia soon.

They could all get what they needed there, badges, ribbons, and Monet would have a lot of interesting architecture to draw.

She had already talked of making one with all of them dressed as ninjas.

Though before they got there, he had taken the wrong turn and found himself in pain and terror.

First mistake of the day. Most likely would not be the last.

"Give it here, boy!"

"I don't care what your little girlfriends are paying you, I'll pay you more!"

"Those shoes will be on my feet, mark my words boy!"

Princess shopping, and the mob of women were on him.

Make that DEFINITELY would not be the last mistake of the day.

Machop had already fallen to them giving him time to run away (Why did one of the women have a Rhyperior on hand, and who'd pay for the damaged lighting fixtures?!), hopefully Nurse Joy wasn't lost to the madness.

He doubted it, seeing what was before him, but one could hope, yes?

Order had broken down completely, the store wasn't able to stop the stampede.

Battles of physical conflict, shouting, and Pokémon were everywhere, another cashier screamed in frustration up at the front before running out of the store. Barely heard over the angered cacophony, it was just part of the madness at this point.

The buildings of man were simply not designed to deal with this kind of insanity. He swore he heard something groaning and it wasn't Machop. He was inside his Pokéball.

He ran past a series of changing rooms as the door cracked open. He felt a flash of fear at more pursuers, before a green whip of energy shot out of it and wrapped around his waist.

He barely held onto the packages he was asked to hold onto as he was dragged inside as the mob turned, ready to break down the door.

Even as Rana locked it and held it back with her own body as Hoshi, Kusa, and Monet looked his way in concern and relief.

"That….was not one of our better ideas," Monet admitted as the energy whip slung back into Kusa's hand, vanished as if it was never there in the first place, "Sorry about that Midori, we thought they'd ignore you because you're a guy."

That was probably the worst mistake of the day.

He nodded in agreement before he turned to Kusa with a worried look.

"Kusa…." He breathed in concern as she shrugged at the sound of carnage behind the door.

She waved off his concerns with a smile. "Believe me, I'm not the only one producing vine whips today. I saw at least three Bellsprout helping their Trainers over the last new set of cooking knives, I don't think they could tell. Plus, they aren't exactly thinking right now."

The changing room door shuddered with renewed blows as he heard curse words he had never heard before. That pretty much proved her point.

If it weren't for the lack of moans over 'braaaaaaaaaaains...', Midori would think they were a ravenous horde of zombies.

"Well, it looks like we're stuck here for a while," Hoshi observed as Kusa moved to the door next to Rana. Rana slumped over in relief as Kusa took on the mob's blows.

Midori shot her a deadpan look, as if to say 'gee, no kidding, what was your first clue?' before he wondered what they should do while they waited for the crowds to die down.

"Any ideas?"

And bad got worse, at least as far as Midori was concerned.

Monet shrugged as a smile formed on her face. A very specific sort of smile.

The sort of smile that involved things such as bikinis, lacy unmentionables, and other things that usually didn't get seen.

The sort that always seemed to end with him blushing.

He had to open his mouth...

"Well, we do have the loot we managed to not have ripped out of our hands, and the stuff our brave hero managed to save from a group of monsters. And seeing as we're in an unusually large changing room I say…"

The smile was soon accompanied by a glint in her eyes, and Midori knew things were going to get even worse.

She walked over to the door that Kusa was holding back, Mime Jr. hot on her heels. She tapped the door with her index finger as it shimmer with a Reflect.

The hammering of the mob lessened both in noise and stress to the door, as she turned to Mime Jr.

"Now, Mime Jr. will keep an eye on the door and make sure it stays enhanced until they go away. Given our gallant knight protected the last pair of this year's hottest shoes, that won't happen for a while so until then let's make sure they all look good on us, with a fashion show!"

Her tone went higher for the last bit as all the girls beamed and he blushed, a blush that drew redder when Rana held up a pair of jeans that were not fitted for girls.

Oh, sweet Arceus, NO.

"You too of course." She grinned as Midori briefly considered if he was safer back in the open. Between the teasing and the possibility he'd have to tell them 'no, that did not look good on you'….

The sound of what he could only assume was a katana being unsheathed quickly made him forget any ideas that being stuck here would be any more dangerous that out there. Especially when a second one got unsheathed and the sound of clashing metal was heard.

Seriously, what sort of horrible virus engulfed people on days like this? And who carried a sword while shopping?

Or was that a Princess Festival only thing?

If so, he hoped he would NEVER see it again. Which wasn't at all likely.

So, yeah, he was doomed.

OMAKE CANON: SWIMSUIT SEASON

"Why is this happening to me?"

The reason why Misty would want to buy more swimsuits for herself (the ones she bought a while back had been spared from being sacrificed for the Sceptilite) was beyond Ash's understanding. But the fact she wanted to convince the others to join her… it was a repeat of the S.S. Anne, but now threefold.

"I still do not understand," said Iris. "Do humans have to wear clothes even for bathing?"

"There are places, like pools or beaches, where it is a rule to wear them if you're going for a swim," Misty explained.

"Well, it is weird. I once visited a beach in Kalos where no one seemed to care about that," the wild girl said, as she examined a dark purple one-piece that matched her hair.

Ash and the others exchanged glances, but decided not to press any further. The Trainer didn't get to explore enough of Kalos in the old timeline to know if that was the norm for beaches or something, and he would never have asked Serena about that.

'I'm not sure about this,' said Anabel. 'It's been a while since I last went to the beach, so...'

"We might as well be ready." Misty then turned towards Ash. "For now, you just wait here."

And so, the three girls disappeared behind the dressers, and the swimsuit fashion show began. Misty seemed the boldest of the trio, showing off her curves in a bikini with a yellow strapless top and a blue bottom. Iris complained about her cream one-piece being too skin-tight, but Ash had to admit it went well with her more athletic figure, plus how the light color contrasted with her dark skin. Anabel, who seemed a bit awkward at being stared at, appeared with a black one-piece with white frills on the chest and hips, which also went nice with her petite shape and, like Iris, contrasted well with her skin tone.

As the show continued, over and over again with new swimsuits, Ash wasn't sure how to phrase it with words, but the fact was he did find them all... attractive, beautiful, even sexy, perhaps? He really didn't want to play favorites, but one thing was for sure, he liked what he saw in each of them.

'Brock would probably feel in heaven if he was in my stead,' he thought, thankfully being out of Anabel's passive telepathy range at the moment.

…

Meanwhile, at the Pewter City Gym…

"AAACHOOO!"

That sneeze cost Brock a couple of valuable seconds, giving his challenger's Ivysaur the opening to finish charging its Solar Beam and fire it at his Onix. Taking the blast in the face, the rock snake shook the ground after slumping, unable to continue.

"Onix is unable to battle, Ivysaur wins!" Forrest declared as he raised a flag.

"Alright, just one more and that badge is good as ours!" The challenger, who sort of reminded him of a female version of Ash Ketchum (a female cousin?), cheered to her nodding Pokémon.

As Brock returned his fallen Onix and grabbed his next Pokéball, he couldn't help but wonder where that sneeze came from. Also, why did all of a sudden felt like asking Lucy if she wanted to go to the indoor pool?