While her blog continued to attract one or two annoying comments, either those who told her she could just screw off, or others who just went for some shameless self-promoting, it was nothing she couldn’t handle.

This time, the telepath’s attention was drawn to a comment of someone who decided to share a family anecdote. Their grandfather, a veteran from the last war forty years ago, was forced to survive on a deserted island with no other human contact than a Ranger soldier who was also the sole survivor of his own shipwreck. Both had to leave their differences aside in order to survive and eventually find their way back home, and despite the fact they could never see each other again after that, said grandfather remembered the Ranger as a great friend, whom he learned a lot of things from.

For obvious reasons they weren’t giving any names, but the message concluded saying that, if they could understand one another, surely normal humans and Bloodliners could do the same, and also that they would like to meet her in person someday.

Anabel smiled, so she began typing her response.

Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. I think there’s an excellent parallel here with the goal I’m seeking with this blog; to make all of us understand each other despite our differences.

As it turns out, my family tree also has some people who fought the Rangers in the last war. I know very well what the popular opinion about them is, but even some of the oldest veterans at some point came to question the reason they were fighting for in the first place.

Sometimes, certain ideas or philosophies seem to conflict with each other, since on the surface they look very different and incompatible. But if we take the time to know others, we realize how deep down we’re not as different as we thought, and even when those differences continue to exist, it doesn’t mean we can’t coexist in peace, even work together to achieve our goals.

Here, it’s clear that neither the Trainer nor the Ranger, on their own, would have been able to survive the experience. Together, they were able to go beyond, much further than either of them could have done on his own, they could teach and learn from the other, and they both grew as a person. Isn’t this what that old adage goes, “You teach me, and I’ll teach you”?

Anabel stopped for a moment, placing a finger on her chin in thought. So far, the entry was good, but she felt it was lacking something. Something she could add from her own experience to complement on the story’s moral.

Recalling her encounter with Mewtwo and his clones, the girl remembered that what stopped him in the end was the realization that, no matter what happened to him, his origins, or whatever he thought of others of the world in general, sometimes your knowledge was incomplete or just plain wrong. There was good and evil everywhere, and she was certain that applied for both Trainers and Rangers alike.

Animosity between both factions was probably due to the fact that neither side made an effort to know the other, and they’d just get carried away by pre-conceived prejudices.

In their first encounter, Belladonna and her girlfriends were convinced that normal humans who were good and nice, like Ash’s mother, were the exception rather than the rule. She herself believed the reverse was true, and despite their actions, they proved themselves capable of doing good when they aided her and the others in the rescue of Ash.

Also, if Cross had so many similarities with Ash, even if they weren’t as evident at first glance, didn’t that give a glimmer of hope, that he wasn’t as bad as he seemed? And even if he was, couldn’t he change and become a better person?

She knew exactly how to end the entry.

We shouldn’t judge others so hastily based only on what meets the eye. We all have something special to share with others. Our stories, talents, and any other gift we have to offer to make a better world.

If you have more anecdotes like this, don’t be afraid to share them. I’m sure that many, just like me, will find them fascinating and enlightening.

Until the next time,

with love, your Salon Maiden.

And with that, she clicked the send button. That had been a pretty good entry. Whoever that person was, they should feel very proud of their grandfather. It’d be great to meet them sometime.

In the meantime, she had her own meet up to get in motion.

…

‘Ash, could you do me a favour?’

It was after they had a chance to have a bit of a post victory celebration. Nothing massive, just a bit of a nice meal out that eventually was joined by Red and Yellow. Red had intended just to drop Yellow off but his mom had made him eat and he seemed happy to be pushed to eat two sandwiches and a platter of chips before his match.

Plenty of time, his mom had said, and she proved herself right from what bit he caught of the early match just now.

His attention now was on Anabel, who approached him with a nervous expression. Why she was that way he had no idea.

“Pikapi.” ‘You are going to have a date.’

That might be the reason, and it was enough of a solid guess to not leave him to assume that Charizard either failed to pass the message or his buddy was ignoring it, but no reason to assume that.

“Sure, what’s up?”

'I'd like you to come with me. There is something I’d like to try, and I’d like someone I can trust to not make a fool of myself.’

“Sure.”

He had no idea what she was planning, but he was happy to help with whatever it was. Though what it was eluded him.

…

The guesses he had come up for what she wanted to were all wrong. At no point had he come up with the idea that of all places he would be going to today that the place would be…

“A bar.”

Did Anabel just talk!?

He turned around to her in surprise, and saw that she had a mini-dex in her hand.

“Yeah, this actually was just installed today. Not a perfect attunement of subtle body cues but a new program to add to my repertoire. Technically Professor Oak made this program, but I’ll just take credit for it.”

‘I already thanked him in person for it. It's a few years out of use for someone without a Pokédex level A.I but it will eventually be available for anyone. Anyway, I turned sixteen a while ago and I want to see what that is like.’

The marvels of technology aside, the other part was bigger news.

“Wait when did that happen!? We didn’t get you anything…”

She held a hand up.

‘We were all too busy, and it was a few days ago. We can have it when everything has calmed down. Ash I…I honestly just feel the desire to do an adult thing that I can do now that I’m sixteen. It’s probably stupid, but I want to try it out and have someone I can trust to bail me out of it if it goes wrong. Also, without your mom around, no offense.’

None taken.

“So, I’m your designated driver then? Sure, I can do that. I’ll take the tab too. This place serves stuff I can drink right?”

“Milk.”

Anabel closed her lips at the sound the mini dex in her hand produced.

‘I mean to say a lot of things. Like I said, it isn’t the perfect translator. Especially given I think it found that translation funny.’

…

Places with alcohol were about the same as they were in Pallet Town, just not being run by his mother. The air had that sticky, sweet smell to it, and there were a lot of people in two extremes. The lights were a bit dimmed, though it was consistently lit in such a way to show intent over issue.

There were people cheering loudly and enthusiastically in one end with a bunch of others at an ongoing battle: looked like Red and A.J and it was pretty intense looking.

In the other were a few people slunk over a drink in sorrow, possibly those who had lost or were lonely.

He and Anabel took a seat at the bar right next to each other. An older man with a glass and rag in hand turned from his sink and looked at the two of them.

“What’ll it be?”

“Whatever you’d recommend, and milk.”

The minidex, unseen in Anabel’s hand, gave a response for her. As she finished her lips were pinched a bit.

That was again what was not recommended. At the very least she was probably not meaning to ask for him to have milk.

The man nodded.

“Moomoo, powerful stuff. Stuff of champions. Every champion from Cynthia to Leon drinks the stuff, or has it in their cereal or in a frozen treat form. As to you little lady, let me guess just turned sixteen?”

At that Anabel held an I.D up. The man nodded.

“Got it. Wanting to be an adult and all that. Give me a sec, I’ve got just the thing.”

With that the bartender turned around and began rummaging around a stock to the sound of clinking glasses and butting bottles.

“Howdy!”

He turned to the side and, with a start, realized that the patrons right next to them were in fact familiar to him. A very familiar set of hair colours, reddish and blue, that was Team Rocket! James was even waving at him.

Meowth was just beyond them, a cup of milk in hand.

He was ready to send out Charizard and drive them off, but before he could James waved him off.

“Chill, we’re off the clock. This isn’t business; this is a night on the town. Save the battling and the blasting off for some other time.”

The three clunked their glasses in a happy cheer before each taking a sip. Meowth, finishing his milk, was looking at him in concern.

“You’re underage.”

“I’m getting milk.”

With that reassurance the criminal cat was sated and returned to his own drink. He didn’t have to look behind him to tell that Anabel was aware of this exchange, and just as confused as he was.

‘The thieves and stalkers are worried about you drinking underage?’

Apparently.

“So quick question. When the tournament is over, are you staying in Kanto or are you wandering off somewhere else?”

Jessie’s question came with legitimate inquiry; it was not just her asking for the sake of asking.

“Somewhere else. Not sure were, but we’ll be beyond Kanto.”

Specifically, the Orange Islands, but being that specific was premature at this point. At his answer Jessie slumped over, her chin resting on the counter in pitiful depression. She let out a groan as James began comforting pats on her back.

To actually explain what was going on Meowth spoke.

“See twerp, when she’s off the clock on your duty she’s actually been giving contests a good go ‘round. She actually won two of them. First with James’s Inkay and Carnivine, the second time with his Yamask and her Ekans, who evolved into Arbok to get her that win. The lug’s Koffing evolved the next Tuesday. Ribbons carry over so if you were still here in Kanto she’d only need three more. Try and use them in another region though, and you’d have better luck with Jimmy’s bottlecaps getting you into the grand festival. But hey, that’s what happens when your job and hobby conflict.”

Jessie won something!? That was impossible; James was the one who could win things, not Jessie. Contest winners were people like May and Dawn and Harley and Jessilina and…

Jessilina. It couldn’t be…could it? Jessie couldn’t have possibly kept the same persona going for that long. She never did in Kanto or Hoenn. Though they all seemed to start with ‘Jess’, and Jessilina did use a Seviper and a Carnivine and a Yanmega and a Wobbuffet and a Dustox and a Meowth and a Cacnea…

Oh. Maybe it was a little plausible.

The clank of glasses freed him of dwelling on the idea of Jessie fooling them for that long as two glasses, one with a thick white milk and the other a clear golden liquid. A small thing of milk was also put out for Pikachu, who darted off his shoulder to start licking on it.

“Cold Moomoo from Johto, and something fresh from the Seven Grapefruit Islands out in the Orange Islands, plus something for the mouse on the house.”

“We tap the glasses together first before drinking them, right?”

The bartender shrugged at her question.

“It’s up to personal choice. You can if you want, just don’t break them. That’ll cost you extra.”

Anabel held her glass up and he tapped his against hers as she wished. It gave a satisfying clinking sound and not a shattering one.

“To strong bones!”

“To tasting what being an adult is like!”

“Pikapi.” ‘To a second round of dates for the best of sixteen, eight, and four rounds!’

Pikachu didn’t tap his own glass for many reasons, but he added his own cheer to the mix.

“To Jessie’s depression at her hard work rendered completely pointless!”

It was at least more welcome than Meowth adding his fourth cheer in.

With that both of them took long gulps of their drink. Said drinks were opposites: a thick cold to a warm flow.

His drink made his entire body shudder in chilled joy as it all went down. What didn’t go down in one massive gulp, which got applause from somewhere in the bar, stuck to the top of his lip. He used a finger to rub it away as he turned to Anabel, a smile on his face.

“So, what does being an adult taste like?”

Anabel hadn’t finished her glass, it was half full. Her face was pinched and she had a general look of having tasted something unpleasant.

Not ‘May or Misty cooked something’ unpleasant, but nothing he’d like to eat unpleasant.

“Being an adult tastes like shit.”

'I’d have used a different word but it does fit…’

“Here here!”

All around the bar came shouts in agreement to her mistranslated grumble, including from Team Rocket.

“Don’t be in a hurry to grow up. I’m not even talking about crow’s feet or turning into an old hag. If you only do what adults supposedly do you don’t really get to do anything. It’s all about doing what you want when you want, not what you can only do as an adult.”

“Some people think that once you’re an adult you can’t do half of anything anymore. No more colourful movies, no more bottle cap collections, no more food with sugar, and general no more fun. That’s all from the old days, like forty years ago. Being an adult now means you get to make your own mature.”

“Meow…me says that is right.”

“Wobbuffet!”

The general agreement on what being an adult was like aside Anabel eyed the glass with a deflated look.

“Well, there goes my plan. Hard to have fun when the fun tastes like death.”

“Don’t worry about it. Not having a plan doesn’t get in the way of anyone not having fun. Just because one idea didn’t pan out doesn’t mean that the night is ruined. It just means we try something else. The League is more than a bar, a few mirrors, and carnival games.”

While she didn’t make a move to try and finish her drink, she did perk up a bit at his words. Said half-drunk glass was removed with his fully emptied milk, and quickly replaced with a different drink that was a different sort of alcoholic beverage.

“That’s the spirit. Never let an experiment gone awry get in the way of a night on the town. Seeing as your boyfriend’s win over that Crusher guy got me some good betting odds back, consider this one on the house. It’s older stock that isn’t really moving anyway, so it’s no problem at all. Maybe a different flavour will leave you with a better impression.”

Anabel nodded in thanks for the free offer before taking a sip of the drink. The sip lasted for a few seconds before putting it down. She shook her head.

“It’s different, but it still tastes like adulthood.”

She didn’t have any more adulthood before they left.

…

His goal for the night was to get things on track for Anabel to have a good time. Her goal of trying drinking with someone she could trust on her back was done, but it was not going to make her smile the way Misty and Iris did. He’d make sure she was grinning before they got back home.

Though there was a slight complication.

“Whoa!”

The Pokédex might still be providing sound effects but it didn’t make Anabel stumbling on her feet and him needing to catch her. She fell in his arms, her face in his chest and her hair fanning around her.

‘I didn’t even finish an entire glass and I can’t keep my balance. What gives?!’

As they were in public, he couldn’t really answer her: people paid some attention to them as they moved around the bustling Indigo streets. Adjusting his arms to hold her up he took a corner into an alley and just enough out of sight that no one would notice anything odd.

He helped her up, and noticed that her cheeks were flushed red in a way that wasn’t just embarrassment.

“Well like you said this was the first time you tried alcohol. It’s probably going to hit you harder than it would if you were used to it. We can just wait for you to no longer have two left feet, or maybe I can even use Heal Pulse.”

“Human I doubt that would work. Intoxication would be a status ailment, not a stamina loss.”

Couldn’t hurt to try.

A burst of wind fluttered through the alley, shaking a few things. However, at the sound he felt Anabel tense in his arms he had not taken off her yet.

‘Someone’s coming, I’ll hide us!’

Seconds later they were in a dark place that smelled like must and stone, and Anabel’s tension turned into realization.

‘That was alcohol-based impaired judgment wasn’t it?’

He nodded, his eyes adjusting to the lack of light. Details of the cave became more exact: the cave walls were a bluish-gray stone with structures in them. Natural constructs that looked like dim crystals.

As he looked at the crystals an idea came to him.

…

She was going to bring them back to Indigo from wherever she had teleported them to, but Ash seemed to have an idea in mind for them here.

Of all things it involved him letting Charizard out: the Fire Pokémon’s tail illuminating the cavern in full. The light exposed several large blue crystals growing out of the walls, floor, and ceiling allowing them to refract the light from Charizard into further colours.

They were mostly shades of purple from something like her hair to a darker shade, but a few other colours were also visible.

“Wow, they even are making everything the same colour as your hair. That’s even better! Seeing as we are all on our own and have a perfect place, shall we dance?”

‘A private dance party on a crystal-lit dance floor? How could a girl refuse?’

A gruff grunt and a chirp briefly drew her attention to Charizard and the now disembarked Pikachu, both of whom were giving the two of them approved thumbs up. Charizard also gave one of his wings a very noticeable move as to emphasize it. ‘Wingman’ perhaps?

The intended message or not, it was clear Charizard would stay to provide light for the cave for as long as they wished.

He gently took her hands into his, and pulled her close, and the two began to dance alone in the shimmering lights of the crystal cavern.

She had never danced when at Pallet. The town liked its parties and they celebrated more than she would have expected. However, as a dance with Ash was a competition between the local girls who knew him growing up and realized ‘how on earth did we miss that’ and the more aggressive Iris and Misty.

Because of that competition what followed were mistakes on her end even as her right foot lost its status as a second left: a few stepped on toes and not quite matching his tempo. However, no matter her mistake he kept smiling and worked to accommodate her with adjusted movements on his own end. The more she danced the more her feet avoided his own and matched them. The slight haze of the alcohol faded away from her, which only improved her matching his steps with sheer instinct and feeling.

The light illuminated everything they all had come to love about him, with the dancing only making all of those things further stand out. His smile that was kind to all who needed it and warmed her more than the alcohol had without a negative to be felt. His handsome face that enhanced the kindness of his smile. His care and empathy for others that helped match her tentative movements as she learned the steps without a complaint to be had. The physical build that was powerful and strong, but tempered with the kindness that made him never come off as threatening to anyone who wasn’t horrible enough to earn his disdain.

If she so wanted, she could see everything he saw with her that made him care about her just the same. Her own kindness that matched his own, her desire to see the world same as his. Her interest in self-improvement she strove to as he did. The hair that he had suggested she grow out went down her slender form in a length that, while not Iris’s blanket, surely fulfilled his own interest in longer-haired girls quite well.

Their smiling dance became something slow, and with that came talking.

‘So, Ash, you said you want to see the world after the League no matter what happens.’

Their bodies were close, so much she could feel the heat that came from his core.

“I said if I win, though that was me being confident. Win or not I want to see more of the world. Though I do have some places I’d like to go or think I’ll go next.”

‘Do tell. Kalos wouldn’t happen to be among the places you are thinking of going by any chance?’

Ash seemed surprised at her question, and with a grin she poked his mind just a bit. The cave shimmered by both their perspectives before being replaced with a shining city filled with light, spaced streets laden with cobblestones, cafes, and a single large tower in the middle.

Ash was surprised to be seeing it, to now have a slow dance in the midst of a distant city’s streets instead of a cave.

‘It’s a newer trick I picked up. That Serena girl must have told you a lot about her home to get such a vivid picture of it in your mind, or you did some research on your own about it afterwards. Kalos is beautiful I have to say.’

He nodded, a tad more nervously than usual. Perhaps he was worried she’d see something embarrassing in his mind, but he had nothing to worry about.

It wasn’t like he was the only one to have seen Iris naked.

“Well, it is named for its beauty. Kalos, not Lumiose City. This is Lumiose City, a city of lights.”

‘It was? Well, you learn something new every day. Kalos is named for its beauty and alcohol tastes terrible. Going here next would be wonderful I’d have to say. A beautiful country, a whole new culture to see and enjoy. I think Misty said she had a cousin or something over here at one point.’

“Did she?”

Anabel nodded at Ash’s confusion.

‘She did. Plus, maybe we can meet up with that Serena girl you know and see Kalos together.’

If Ash was confused at Misty’s distant relation in Kalos he was shocked to have that point come up.

“You, uh, would want that?”

She smiled.

‘All that I’ve heard about her is that she is nice once she’s used to a place, has a famous mom, and can cook. That would be nice to have around.’

Ash’s surprise was now laced with confusion, and his reason for the confusion was what she guessed it would be.

“Is a cook worth…well….Serena is really nice and all but she, well, um…”

‘Likes you?’

“That’s what the mouse says, and I think Gary too. Pikachu has his own silly thoughts on things, but if Gary is also saying it…”

‘It must be true? Don’t be so surprised Ash, a lot of people like you. It’s hardly a disqualifier, especially if they can cook.'

She didn’t just mean that as Iris having gotten her on team ‘share Ash’. It would be nice to have someone who could make more complex food than the stuff bought or gathered from berries in the woods.

“According to Pikachu she is actually going to start out traveling the world soon. He overheard something the other night.”

She was sure she saw something briefly dart around the building shadows of Ash’s memory at that moment. A small bluish shape darting around like a ninja. It was momentary though, and not as important as what he was saying.

‘So, it works out perfectly then.’

“It would…but he also mentioned hearing something about a possible errand Professor Oak would want me to do in the Orange Islands. Plus, Misty wants to go to the Whirl Cup in Johto…”

‘I can get Misty to the Whirl Cup. We don’t have to go to Johto just for that. And if we are in the Orange Islands for a bit, well I don’t think they are that big. It would just be a bit of a tropical getaway before we go to either Johto or Kalos.’

She tickled at his mind again and their location that they were seeing instead of the cave changed from the beautiful city streets to a pristine tropical island. Sand and palms and clear blue oceans all.

She could almost smell the sea salt scented air from Ash’s mind. It reminded her of the stuff on Seafoam, but purer.

‘You know that is actually a good plan. Warm tropical seas for a bit of a vacation after the League, and then either Johto or Kalos. Both have Leagues, both have Water-type Pokémon, both might have Hunter J lurking in them, and while one is probably better at letting you get rematches with any of your rivals you don’t get to battle here the other has your friend who can cook. Both are good plans.’

The water illusion they were dancing in had a disturbance in it, and she briefly wondered if a Zubat or something had fluttered by, or if Pikachu or Charizard were trying to get their attention. What it was soon became clear, and she couldn’t help but giggle.

Even more so when Ash blushed horribly at it.

‘Oh yes Ash, we will have swimsuits and stunningly rise out of the water no matter where we go. You do that for us too, so don’t think we don’t get something out of it either. It’s quite the fair trade.’

She took them out of the mental projection and back to the cave of crystals again and, grinning, pushed her body into Ash’s and made his blushing face redden up even more.

‘Of course, if you want to see me being that stunning without a swimsuit on, we don’t need the water for that.’

As Ash’s face got even redder, she giggled.

No wonder Misty liked doing that, it was fun.

…

The fun that was teasing Ash was fun, but you could have too much of a good thing. Also, if the teasing worked a bit too well that would be inconsiderate to Pikachu and Charizard let alone probably a step too far for Misty.

In the regards to both concerns the four of them got up to a question that was worth pondering. Just where had they ended up.

“Is that Cerulean City!?”

Their look around the crystal filled caves had led them through pathways lined with crystals to an opening in the cave forged by crystal clear mountain water. The water cascaded down the mountain in a waterfall that filled the air around the two of them with the sound of crashing water.

The distant lights of a city were visible from their height, and as someone who had never been to Cerulean, she couldn’t say so herself. If Ash guessed its identity was perhaps, he saw something distinct from this far.

“Being out of that cave has enhanced my GPS so yes, that actually is Cerulean. In fact, I can even give a name for the cavern system you two found yourselves in to dance. It’s a cavern system linked to the unimaginative Cerulean Cave, though it was collectively known by a different name many years ago. Perhaps you two have heard of Victory Road?”

Victory Road? She’d heard the name before, but it was just familiar to her nothing more. The blue walls of the waterfall edge seemed to have something on them, so as Ash looked like he was thinking on his answer before giving it she used her finger to rub at the wall.

Dust and moss gave way to the faint marks of a scraped marking, an ancient graffiti from some long ago period. She could just make out what it said.

Shade Oak w s here Se mb

Pallet is a ick

Batt d the legen that bur ed th t man ion w th Akira Ketch m

Fu k d Akira h re st ll b t a s in t wn

G ng to Ind go to kick P l e in t e ba ls

And even than only barely.

“I’ve heard of it. Professor Oak said it was something that Trainers travelled instead of the gyms or along with them a really long time ago. Like his grandfather’s time long ago. But that’s near Viridian not Cerulean.”

Ash’s more extensive recall of the term meant that she didn’t have the time to try to figure out exactly what ‘Shade Oak’ was saying.

“That’s the old cave system that is officially recognized as it these days. It’s where a lot of Trainer’s train before Leagues even today. However, it was once part of a larger series of caves and passages aspiring Trainers could take to reach the same location via mountain passages. Tohjo Falls, Mt. Moon, the Diglett Tunnels, Cerulean Cave, they all linked together into many paths to the same destination. Each with its own perils and all with casualties. Its why Cerulean Cave is said to have such a bizarre array of Pokémon in it, it was considered the most treacherous path and many Trainers teams were left here after their human’s horrible deaths. You could overcome it though: Pallet Oak’s younger brother Shadewell Oak and one of your maternal ancestral relatives Akira Ketchum conquered it. Wider commercialization of the Leagues led to the abandonment of these treks, though these days there would be far fewer casualties in general.”

“Akira Ketchum and Shadewell Oak? Those are new names to me.”

“Akira Ketchum was the sister of your mother’s father’s…”

An exact placement of the relative was cut off by a loud shriek that pierced the air like a firework detonation.

Charizard growled, his light-giving tail swinging aggressively. Pikachu’s cheeks sparked in readiness to electrify something.

The faded graffiti had boasted of battling something, and she could read legen. That was not a hard faded word to finish.

‘We should get out of here, now. I can get us back to Indigo before…’

A blinding light suddenly filled the waterfall cavern, interrupting her. As the light dimmed just enough, she peered over her arm and what she saw was unexpected to say the least.

“Riirrhhaha!”

Flapping great wings coated in flame just beyond the waterfall was a massive golden bird Pokémon. It was once she had heard of but never seen as was the case with most of the world, though around a mountain that wasn’t a volcano was not where she’d expected to see it.

“Moltres.”

Ash sounded just as astonished to see it as she was.

“Moltres the Flame Pokémon and the third legendary bird you’ve encountered Ash Ketchum. A Moltres glows as bright as day and can bring warm weather anywhere it so chooses. Some call it the Herald of Spring, the Eternal Flyer, and the Bird of the Sun. They are more typically found near volcanoes than crystalline caverns, though there are records of one residing in the Victory Road you were familiar with at one point so this is not without some precedent.”

“Riirrhhaha!”

Moltres let out the same call, blazing eyes resting on Ash and her in what seemed like anticipation.

“Pikapi!?”

Pikachu translated for Ash, and he’d translate it for her and the Pokédex.

“It wants to battle us.”

…

‘What!? Why? Did we anger it somehow?’

That wasn’t why. This wasn’t like Zapdos who was in a bad mood. The Moltres was looking at them eagerly, more akin to Charizard than anything truly dangerous. Someone who wanted a fight and a good one to show their strength, not for the sake of destruction.

“Zzrrrr.” ‘The machine said something about Trainers not coming here anymore. People rarely tread these caves and mountains by now, and that means this oversized Pidgey hasn’t had a proper fight in decades. The moment it heard some humans battle is all it thought about and is thinking about now.’

“Rirrahhhhaa!"

The Moltres let out a cry confirming Charizard’s guess, and matched the declaration with an opening salvo of flames. The flames rushed at him in a massive torrent, but glowed purple before diverting around and crashing into themselves.

Behind him Anabel had glowing eyes, her psychic power at the ready. It was something that confused the eager Moltres, who stared at Anabel in surprise at her abilities on display.

If it was a few decades out of the loop of what was going on perhaps it didn’t know what Bloodliners were.

‘We can still get out of here. I can stop whatever it tries before teleporting.’

That was a good plan, but he had a nagging feeling that would have a major consequence they wouldn’t intend.

“If we can see Cerulean so can Moltres, and it might go picking a fight there. We need to give it what it wants because we can defend ourselves.”

…

She hadn’t thought of that.

‘Okay. Give the Moltres the fight it wants. Not how I thought our first date will end but sure. Go!’

She had both Eevee and Alakazam and let both of them out. They weren’t the first to go into it as Pikachu and Charizard both attacked with Thunderbolt and Flamethrower.

Moltres avoided Pikachu’s electric attack and matched Charizard’s flames with its own. The two attacks duelled each other in competing intensities, Moltres’ flames slowly winning the contest, as Eevee spun up a Swift attack.

They hit Moltres, who briefly lost concentration and let Charizard regain the lost ground and fully push back with his fire. The Flamethrower hit Moltres, but neither it or Swift really seemed to phase it.

Moltres flapped its wings and let out a slice of air her way but Ash slashed it apart with Metal Claw.

“Rirrrihhhh!?”

Moltres’ surprise at seeing the move was as large as her own use of psychic power to defend them all, and equally so when she and Alakazam both gripped Moltres in a telekinetic bind. Two purple shades of mental energy held Moltres mid-flap, unable to escape. She didn’t need to tell Ash to get on it, as both Pikachu and Charizard began blasting at Moltres with Thunderbolt and Flamethrower.

He also had the time to send out the other Pokémon he had on him; Gigalith, Serperior, Togepi, and Vivillon, and tell them to attack.

They unleashed their attacks along with her Eevee’s Swift: Rock Blast, Leaf Storm, Flamethrower for a second burst of it, and Gust. They all slammed into Moltres at once, inducing a great burst of smoke.

“Gig?”

Gigalith muttered something she was sure was ‘did we get it’ but she could say for certain that they didn’t. It was still there, and still fighting. In fact, as the smoke cleared the clear dome of a Protect was visibly fading around it before it let off a counter-attack.

Said attack began with a Flamethrower their way through Moltres’ still mobile mouth. Aqua Tail from Serperior doused it before it could hit them but the attack shocked them enough to let their guard down and allow it a great flap of its wings to generate a wind gust that blew into all of them. Charizard and Ash used their steel attacks Iron Tail and Metal Claws to hold themselves steady while Serperior used her tail to shield Togepi and dig into the earth with Leaf Blade. Gigalith also had the weight to hold.

The rest of them were sent flying into cave walls. She was shielded by Alakazam’s telekinesis from taking too hard a hit and used herself to catch Eevee but Alakazam, Vivillon, and Pikachu took solid thumps to the cave wall and were down.

Fully free Moltres soared into the sky and Charizard sped out after it. Her eyes darted from the downed teammates of theirs to Moltres and back.

Did she help them with Heal Pulse or try to restrain Moltres again?

“Help Charizard and the others get Moltres. I’ll heal Pikachu and the others!”

The third option was Ash use Heal Pulse himself, and with a nod she ran past him towards the cavern opening as he ran into it, hands already glowing with healing power.

She reached the front of the cave and had full sight of the aerial duel between Charizard and Moltres. Moltres had crashed into Charizard with a glowing talon that looked like a Rock Smash attack, but Charizard had caught the blow and was now spinning a Seismic Toss with a tight grip on said talon. Moltres squawked in surprise as it was flung towards them and she readied her powers as needed to prevent a collision. Swift, Rock Blasts, Flamethrowers, and Leaf Storms were fired at the approaching Moltres and struck the bird before it got too close. Once more there was an explosion, lesser than before, and even as the smoke was kept up by Charizard putting on a lengthy Flamethrower barrage on the bird she saw no Protect.

“Riihhhaaa!”

The blinding light that the Moltres let off meant she wasn’t able to see anything. Once again, she was completely blind, and she couldn’t see the attack that came next. However, she could feel its power, and the smell of intense heat.

“Giggg!”

She managed to squint just enough to see a Solarbeam fly into Gigalith and send it flying down to where Ash was. She heard his loud exclamation of shock and the not gentle thump of Gigalith being slammed into the wall before her eyes.

The sound of another slash of concentrated air and the sound of Charizard being blasted with it came next. Her eyes opened just a bit more. She saw him falling but he was starting to recover and would soon be back in the fight.

The Flamethrower aimed at them and boosted by the Sunny Day Moltres had used into a towering inferno. Serperior blasted at it with a Leaf Storm and Togepi an Extrasensory, but both were shattered on impact with little effect.

‘Stop!’

She let loose all of her power on the boosted flame, and it stopped before it could strike them or do anything but make her sweat a little. The flames billowed at the point she was stopping them like a hose one covered with one’s palm, but it wasn’t getting past.

“Rihghgghhh!”

Moltres let out a determined cry and pulled more firepower from within itself, increasing the pressure put against her. She struggled, and the flames started to inch forward.

“Toge?”

Togepi let out a nervous chirp as the flames got closer.

“Vee!”

She couldn’t really see Eevee, only spotting her in the corner of her eyes. She was staring into the bright light of Moltres that glowed like a second sun, and she wasn’t sure what she was seeing.

Was it Charizard fully recovered and able to give them a hand?

“Veeeeee!!!!”

A new light illuminated them, and it was not that of fire. It was a blue light, and it was again from the corner of her eye that she saw what it was.

Eevee was evolving!

She grew taller, her tail thinning out and elongating before splitting in two. Her eyes changed position on her head, and a jewel popped up on her forehead. The light burst away, and her Eevee was now something different.

“Esp!” ‘Anabel, let me give you a hand!’

The fact she could now hear Espeon was secondary in her mind as her second Pokémon assisted in the repelling of the Flamethrower, even pushing it back a bit. That was her focus, to get the fire back and away from them all.

Tertiary was the question of timing: did Moltres glow so brightly it was like a sun to trigger Eevee to evolve into Espeon and not Umbreon at this time of day?!

“Zrrrr!”

A Dragon Claw from a returned Charizard knocked Moltres away and off the fire spitting duty. With it they were fully relieved and could go on the attack.

“Anabel!”

She was surprised that she caught what Ash had thrown at her. She was astonished to see what it was.

His Z-Ring.

He was still healing Pikachu as Vivillon fluttered around him, a thumbs up in encouragement. She nodded, a bit nervous but if Ash thought she could do it she would!

‘Alright Eev…Espeon we showed him how to interrupt this attack, let’s show him one of our own!’

“Esp!” ‘I saw him train the moves with Tauros and Gigalith before, I know how to pose myself as the four legged one in this dance.’

She could recall how Ash did his own poses, so she was similarly prepared even with her more complicated moves.

First, she crossed her arms, and felt the buzz of power that Ash had described.

“Ser!”

At Serperior’s bark Charizard got some space from the now confused Moltres. She poked her temples next, and the power buzz got even more intense.

She finished by holding her right arm out palm flat, and a purple glow formed around her in a massive burst of light before flooding into Espeon, who glowed with their combined power.

‘Shattered Psyche!’

Both she and Espeon shouted the name of the attack in unison as Moltres was surrounded in the same aura that had been around them both. Moltres then violently swerved down before striking an invisible wall that shattered with visceral impact. These impacts happened two, then three, then four, then five times. At the sixth time Moltres hit a suddenly appearing invisible wall Charizard was there with a Dragon Claw and struck Moltres in tandem with the Z-move.

The resulting impact explosion was larger than anything she had seen it do before, and while Charizard did have to recover his stability in air after the blow it was nothing compared to Moltres.

“Riihhhggaaa!”

Who was falling down without any control and out of sight of them, and thus ending the battle.

As Moltres vanished from view her legs turned to jelly and she fell to her knees, a pose mirrored by Espeon.

The Z-Move did take a lot out of you, especially at first. Ash was right.

She felt a jolt of energy return to her and looked up to see a smiling Ash with his healing hands resting on her back. He reached down and helped her back onto her woozy legs, holding her against himself in support without a blush on his face.

The Heal Pulse he was putting into her lower back not healing her own blush. A back on their feet Pikachu, Gigalith, Vivillon, and Alakazam were darting around to see if they missed anything with Serperior and the now landed Charizard (with Alakazam talking to the still tired and newly evolved Espeon enthusiastically).

“Well, this was a bit more of an eventful date than the last two, so maybe we try something low key next time. Maybe a picnic. That was an awesome Z-move by the way.”

She smiled up at him, happy for the compliment.

‘It was only that good because I saw you work on your own so much. I’ll keep the picnic idea in mind for next time though.’

She felt something grainy in Ash’s hands: the battle was just close enough to start making a Z-Crystal but no dice. It wouldn’t get a chance to fix it as…

“Rihhhhhg!"

All of them, even Togepi, tensed as Moltres soared back up from the depths of the cliff and landed in front of them, looming over them with intense eyes. Ash held her tightly in a reflexive way as their Pokémon all prepared for a second round of battle to begin.

“Rihihihihhihihihi!”

At least before the Moltres began laughing.

“Pika…pi?”

“Esp.” ‘The crazy bird is apparently…happy….with that fight. It hadn’t had a good one in decades apparently.’

She could only stare at the bird. Did it not realize just how much power it had been flinging around?

“Rihihihihhihihihi!”

Was this bird the reason that the now Cerulean Cave was known for being particularly deadly?

“Pikapi.”

“Esp.” ‘It isn’t exactly sure when humans were good for things other than attack plans and inventing things, but it likes it. Also, while it doesn’t know how you two did what you do it does have a history with something called ‘Tapu Lele’ so it has something for us for giving it such a good fight.’

That something was Moltres leaning down, sharp beak pressed against the Z-ring that still was on her own arm instead of Ash’s. She gave the Z-Ring back to Ash, who held his Z-Ring clad arm out in front of Moltres’ beak. Moltres’ flames lit up to a blinding white as a yellow-orange aura glowed around Ash before flashing red. Ash’s hand shook violently for a bit before the red aura dimmed away and Ash opened his palm slowly to reveal a red Z-Crystal. With that done Moltres let out a cry and took off into the sky, letting loose a joyful call with just a hint of desire to go train itself some more for the next time.

Neither she and Ash had any words to wrap what just happened up nice and neatly, so the Pokédex had to finish it for them.

“Legendary Pokémon have their own unique personalities. That one has a personality best avoided. Don’t mention what just happened to your mother if possible.”

Agreed.

…

She waited for Ash and her to get all of their Pokémon to Nurse Joy before she, with the speaker that had started this crazy date at ready, got to properly finish it.

Ash didn’t have a moment to say anything to her before she took her lips and smooched the cheek opposite of the one Iris had claimed yesterday.

“That was a crazy date, but one I won’t forget anytime soon. I’ll tell Misty and Iris about it, you stay still like a statue again.”

While he did react the same as he did when Iris had kissed him yesterday it was mean that the Pokédex put that to words, as it wasn’t what she had intended.

‘Though seriously, thanks for salvaging tonight for me. A picnic next time, okay?’

Unless an Entei or Suicune came around it should be a lot simpler.

…

He felt a jolt go through him that fully returned him to his senses as he waited for the upcoming battle list to appear on a large public screen in the midst of the League grounds as they returned from the Pokémon Center for their teams to get a full healing, swap them out to tell the story on the Oak end, and to catch up Misty and Iris about the entire thing. A jolt of anticipation and readiness.

He was six rounds in, and the next round was the Top Sixteen. This was as far as he got last time at Indigo.

It felt like it took longer to reach that point than it did the last time, between there having been two more battles to reach the Top 16, and beyond that point there would only be full battles.

He heard the bounding leaps before he felt them land on his shoulders: Pikachu with practice and Squirtle with some awkward struggling to get balanced, but the turtle eventually settled on his shoulders. He felt both of their coiled energies through his shoulders, and their burning anticipation for the upcoming battle.

This was where they had lost the first time, and of all of his losses it was probably the bitterest. He couldn’t even say if it was more from the situation that had put him at a disadvantage, a clear case of a legitimate mistake causing his defeat, or something else.

None of that would be repeated again.

“You know, I’m pretty sure you don’t have to wait for the official announcement. The person you’d be up against next would have won already, the last battle is just finishing up now. It looks like that Neesha from New Island is going to walk away from it with a win.”

He turned around, and nearly caused Squirtle to lose his recently obtained balance and fall off his shoulder. It was Misty, arms crossed and a curious expression on her face. To her point he shrugged.

“I could, but I like a bit of build-up of anticipation sometimes.”

Misty nodded in understanding, as the monitor flashed in warning with the up and coming listing for battles tomorrow. Seconds later the battles popped in, and what came out was going to be a very interesting day. On the left was his side of the tournament.

Gary vs Paul

Pete vs Solidad

Otoshi vs Ash

Dan vs Corey

And the right.

Koga vs Alex

Ritchie vs Assunta

Red vs Alexander

‘Hiker’ vs Neesha

“That Ritchie guy was the one who beat Fergus earlier today. Honestly that’s a pity; I liked the guy a lot. Still your childhood rival versus your jerk rival, though I guess we already knew that was probably going to happen.”

They did, but it was still something to see that matchup would actually happen. It was honestly a tournament with a lot of interesting match ups: if he recalled correctly Assunta was the one who beat Ritchie in the Top Eight the first time around in a six on six match. Would Ritchie have a better go at it this time around?

Then there was Red against Alexander Silph. That was going to be an interesting battle whoever won. Of course, there was his own match up against someone that he would have actually liked to battle at Indigo the first time but didn’t. And against Otoshi he had the perfect Pokémon.