After the Storm, Before the League

**"After the Storm, Before the League"** is the forty-third (forty-fifth in Archive of Our Own and Royal Road) chapter of *Pokémon Reset Bloodlines.* After the ordeal with Mewtwo, Ash receives a surprise call from Casey Snagem, to whom he ends up revealing his secret about the Old Timeline, and promises to keep in touch should he need some help in the future. Meanwhile, Lucario joins Ash in his training as the final days before the Indigo League go by, with Ash and everyone else preparing for it.

## Plot

The chapter begins with Ash having (yet) another weird dream, this time about the Pokémon League's preliminaries being changed to a full-on Battle Royal between 151 competitors. Ash and Pikachu fight their way through as they see a few familiar faces of trainers and Pokémon, until he ends up battling a girl whose accent he can't understand and has a Pokémon Ash has never seen before that he compares to a Mareep, and then she proceeds to use some sort of bracelet that's neither a Mega Ring or Z-Ring, causing Ash to wake up.

As he brushes his teeth, Ash recalls yesterday's conversation with Casey Snagem. The older trainer managed to piece together from Ash's worried reaction that he wasn't the first to figure it out. After Snagem assured his intentions weren't evil, he gave Ash his own guesses for him to either confirm or deny, and once he was confident enough Ash decided to tell him about the collapse of the Old Timeline, how Cyrus caused it and how he's now trying to prevent it. Snagem offered his help, since despite being retired he's still good enough in a pinch in case he might need additional assistance sometime, before inquiring about his Z-Ring. After Ash revealed he used it to defeat Sabrina's Mega Alakazam before, Snagem became heavily worried, and told Ash to *never* use it again against a Mega Evolved or similarly altered Pokémon in the future, but refused to disclose the full details, telling Ash people have died just for knowing the secret, other than the fact it apparently has something to do with the radiation waves such a clash might cause.

Later that day, while Ash is training Muk in the use of Brick Break in a sparring match with Yanma, Lucario argues with Ash and Pikachu how the former is focusing more on being a commander than a combatant. Ash and Pikachu argue the times change and so do priorities, and the discussion devolves into their music genres tastes, all of them disagreeing about their preferences. Muk suddenly loses an arm while fighting, much to everyone's shock, until he just reabsorbs it into his body to grow it back without issues, making Ash miss his Pokédex to make a witty remark about it.

Another day, Ash and his female companions get up early to head for Oak's lab, as the Professor has finally rebuilt the Pokédex. When they arrive, however, Oak has some news for them, including that Ash's Serperior has lately being frustrated at the fact that she still has hands, but too small to be useful, and has been lashing out by breaking things around, but Bulbasaur apparently managed to calm her down. The scientist then hands Ash his newly rebuilt Pokédex, now in a different casing than before, with Oak assuring them that the AI is fully intact with all its memories preserved except for the last few seconds before its destruction. Ash starts up the device, getting familiarized with the new interface, and the Pokédex expresses relief that Ash and everyone else is safe and sound, before inquiring as to why Ash has a Lucario registered to his ownership now. Before he can tell the story, Professor Oak announces he has something else for them: he was in contact with Lilo who informed him that an Alolan Pokémon stowed away in a cargo ship, but since she wasn't sure how long it'd been she didn't want to risk bringing it back without risking a quarantine period, and since it's a Water-type, he hoped Misty would want it. Misty eagerly accepts, not even bothering to ask what it is and grabs the Poké Ball to open it, only for it to reveal a Wimpod, which is also a Bug-type and looking close enough to Golisopod (which she's already familiar with) for her to run away screaming in terror out of the lab and down the hill. The Wimpod uses Aqua Jet to flee in the opposite direction, similarly terrified of her, leaving everyone wonder what they'll do about it.

Outside, Misty feels embarrassed to have acted like that again, and surprised to see she ran all the way down the hill. She has managed to become more tolerant of Bug-types, thanks to Ash and as long as they were within a reasonable distance, but Wimpod got too close to her for comfort. Psyduck then comes out, making a witty remark about how Misty could have probably jumped behind Ash for protection instead of running away, which she admittedly finds amusing. Psyduck then reveals she's never told any of them why she's so afraid of bugs, and at his insistence, she reveals that during a school trip someone pulled a prank on her, replacing her bottle of bug repellent for a perfume that attracted them, and while she can't say for sure they meant any harm to her, the experience was so gross it left her traumatized. When she tells Psyduck that he can laugh if he wants, surprisingly the duck understands why she's so afraid of them, citing a similar example with Vileplume, but then points out it'd probably be the same if something like Gyarados trying to eat her would happen to her, which Misty thinks about and ultimately ends up agreeing with. Psyduck then adds that perhaps Wimpod is just as scared of her, and would have reasons to be given what she could do, but doesn't know that. She then realizes that both have irrational fears and she could try and approach again, more cautiously. After she thanks Psyduck, the duck demands donuts for breakfast, spoiling the moment much to her amusement, but she agrees he earned them.

Back at Oak's lab, Ash's Pokémon split up to search for the runaway Wimpod, finding him hiding under the sink. Bulbasaur grabs him with his vines, causing the bug to squirm and cry out in fear for help, but no matter what he does Wimpod doesn't calm down, and for now Bulbasaur can only keep him restrained so he doesn't run away again. Pikachu and the others try to explain to Wimpod that he just ended up too close of Misty, whose red hair he apparently mistook for blood, before spouting out some random facts about humans that just happen to be correct, according to Bulbasaur's account. Pikachu explains to Wimpod that Misty's hair isn't stained from blood from victims or anything like that, and she's as scared of him as he is of her, and just need to talk things out to realize neither should be.

Misty comes back to the lab and is greeted by Iris. After clearing up the misunderstandings, she overhears the noises of the other Pokémon searching for and trying to catch Wimpod. After a while, Bulbasaur comes with Wimpod still held in his vines, and places him near Misty so the two can talk. Misty introduces herself and tries to apologize for scaring him, assuring him that she wants to get to know him and be friends. Wimpod freaks out at the realization that Misty can understand his speech, but she assures him that she does because she wants to be his friend, and to prove her point, she decides to hold him in her hands, and hugs him against her belly affectionately. When everyone is touched by the moment, Ash's Pokédex makes a witty remark about how this seems a bigger surprise than Lucario, just before a Venomoth teleports in and causes Misty to run away in fear again, although this time holding onto Wimpod. Psyduck calls it a progress, while everyone splits up to search for them again. The Venomoth, who belongs to Koga and has a message from him for Professor Oak, seems utterly confused at the reaction.

That night, Misty is having trouble getting sleep. After trying out many things, including undressing and re-dressing herself, and rolling around the bed, she realizes it's not the cold, but rather the dark and silent. She pulls Psyduck out of his Pokéball, waking him up, and asks him to snore to help her get asleep. Psyduck is confused, and Misty confesses to being scared of the quietness, as it makes her recall being trapped in the void when she was caught by Mewtwo's Dark Pokéballs, even thinking it also made it act so embarrassing today. Psyduck suggests that Misty could ask Delia for a night lamp, but that only makes Misty feel even more embarrassed. Psyduck then says that the others don't seem to have that problem: Ash has Pikachu, Iris has Fraxure and the wind outside, and Anabel seems to have dreams that help her sleep. The duck offers to keep her company if it helps her, albeit suggesting she could go to Ash's room and ask her to let her sleep with him for that night. Shortly after, the two end up falling asleep.

A few days later, Ash and Misty finish breakfast and get ready to go out for some exercise with the others, as today they'll only have a morning run. After opening the door, Ash runs into Lucario, who has decided to join them, wanting to take a more active role in Ash's training. Despite the surprise, Ash agrees and tells Lucario to lead the way. The run consists from going to one end to the other of Pallet Town about two and a half times before going back home. As they reach the last hill before taking a breather, Lucario climbs it up using Extreme Speed. Misty calls him a showoff since they can't do the same, and Ash follows with Quick Attack, much to her bemusement. Ash suggests they could teleport up there if they're too tired, which causes them to laugh.

A bit later, Ash is relaxing by bathing in a pond while Pikachu stands watch over his clothes (and in case Iris or someone else comes over), as Lucario explains he wants to help him train his aura abilities. Ash doesn't mind, but he wants to be sure he'll have time to train for the Pokémon League as well. Lucario assures him he will, although he still thinks the Pokémon League isn't the best way to use his time, especially given his record of being captured and needing to be rescued. Ash suggests they could bring the girls to the training as well, and asks if the training would involve learning moves like Aura Sphere, which Lucario confirms, and Pikachu quips that he could also teach the move to Squirtle, surprising Lucario who had no idea the move could be taught to them, until the Pokédex confirms the learning method was discovered recently in Kalos and the device has it stored in the databanks for future use. Pikachu adds that he could also teach it to Misty's turtle Pokémon, and that she'd be so happy she'd probably give him a big kiss, causing Ash to become flustered when the words sink in.

Elsewhere, the girls are relaxing at a different pond, with Misty commenting how this usually happened in waterfalls instead of ponds. When Iris suggests they could do it at the shower in Ash's house, Misty quickly shoots it down, not wanting Delia to have more weird thoughts about them and Ash than she already might have. Anabel admits that it feels less awkward to bathe this way, as she feels less exposed, plus it's a good way to rest after all that running. She then glances at Misty's stomach, noticing that she doesn't have any cuts from what happened with Wimpod a few days back. Misty didn't think about it before, but she's happy to know she won't have any scars. Iris explains that Wimpod's limbs aren't sharp enough to leave scars, prompting Iris to lift her left foot out of the water to show a scar near her ankle, which happened from cutting against a rock in the Orange Islands when a Magikarp spooked her. She then shows another on her right wrist, some bumps from a Dratini who bit her. And then, she stands up from the water to show another going down her left hip, caused by a Slash attack from a fight with some Gabite for a water pond near a cave. She doesn't remember any more from the top of her head, but Misty appreciates that she shares the stories, since it's normal for girls to talk about that kind of stuff while they're bathing. Anabel decides to share something of her own, namely, how she feels her body has grown much trimmer thanks to the exercise, even though it's nothing like what Ash, Iris and Misty have, and then uses her psychic powers to pull them out of the water momentarily to compare their physiques. Misty takes notice that Iris had a more muscled abdomen compared to them, which leaves the wild girl wondering if it has to do with Misty doing more swimming than running. Misty quickly replies that she doesn't think that would look good on her, preferring to have a smooth stomach rather than a muscled one. Iris is left pondering about it, and Misty finds herself wishing that Team Rocket or someone else showed up just to break up the tension and embarrassment she's feeling.

Elsewhere, Charizard finishes training Togepi on breaking a rock, and flies away to do some training of his own, until he spots Gigalith who's testing out Rock Polish to see what she can do now. Charizard quickly takes notice that Gigalith seems a bit drunk on her newfound power after evolving, much like he himself did back in the old timeline. Gigalith openly admits as much, so Charizard decides to knock her down a peg by challenging her to a sparring match, wanting to show her that power alone isn't a match for power and skill together. Gigalith accepts the challenge.

Later, Ash is seen training Squirtle in the use of Aura Sphere while Lucario supervises. However, the turtle doesn't quite get the move right, and it explodes in his hands, knocking him backwards and leaving him helpless on his shell unable to get back up. After Ash helps him get on his feet, Squirtle asks if there are any tips to get the move right, but before Lucario can explain, he senses an unknown presence approaching. Quickly the rest of Ash's Pokémon, Pikachu, Togepi, Serperior, Vivillon, Pidgeot and Yanma come closer in case it's an attacker. However, it turns out to be none other than Bruno, who seemingly lost his way to Pallet Town's restaurant, and asks Ash for directions. Ash offers him some snack bars he has to spare in the meantime, which Bruno appreciates. Pikachu reveals to everyone else that Bruno is a member of the Elite Four, one of the strongest trainers in the world, much to their surprise. As thanks for the snack bars, Bruno offers Ash to have a sparring match, knowing that he'll be at Indigo soon, surprising the trainer as he often had to pester Elite Fours to get them to battle him instead of being offered to. Nonetheless, he accepts to a best two out of three.

The first bout is Bruno's Machamp vs Ash's Pidgeot. Pidgeot takes to the sky and fires out some Air Slashes, which Machamp blocks using Focus Blast, which Lucario takes notice of. After that, Machamp uses Stone Edge, which Pidgeot dodges by flying up until the stone shards lose momentum and fall back to the ground. Ash then tells Pidgeot to perform a move they were practicing earlier. Machamp prepares to intercept it, but the move turns out to be a feint using Quick Attack and then switching to Aerial Ace at the last moment, managing to catch the Fighting-type off-guard and dodging a second barrage of Stone Edge in the process. Machamp crashes into a tree, so Ash orders Pidgeot to attack the tree using Air Slash to impair Machamp's view as they prepare their next attack. Pidgeot then charges in with her recently learned Brave Bird, her fifth move, but when she's about to hit, she gets hit by a Dynamic Punch from Machamp, knocking her out much to Ash's shock. Bruno however commends Ash on his cleverness before with the Quick Attack-Aerial Ace combo, but points out that the Brave Bird was too loud and thus they could hear it coming.

Serperior volunteers for the second bout, while Bruno sends out a Hitmontop. Serperior begins using Attract, and Hitmontop defends himself spinning and creating a sand tornado to deflect the hearts while approaching to attack. After hitting Serperior in the jaw, Ash orders her to counter with Aqua Tail to clear off the sandstorm, and the attack comes out stronger than expected, not only cutting through the sand but also hitting Hitmontop behind. Serperior reveals that she got a power boost when Hitmontop came out, possibly triggered by her Contrary reacting to Hitmontop's Intimidate. She goes in to attack using Aerial Ace thrusts, which Hitmontop manages to dodge. Hitmontop then jumps over Serperior, which she counters by squeezing him so he can't get away, but this proves a mistake as Hitmontop summons a Rock Slide that rains all over them. Serperior blows them away using Leaf Storm, causing a huge dust cloud that leaves Ash unable to see what's happening. When he tries to give a command, he hears Serperior getting hit, and indeed, inside the dust she's able to dodge using her flexible body but Hitmontop manages to land a few hits. She decides to take a chance and sends out an Aerial Ace right when he's about to attack again, landing a solid blow and knocking Hitmontop out of the dust cloud and defeating him. As Chansey approaches to heal her, Bruno once more commends Ash and Serperior for their skills.

The final bout begins, and Pikachu steps up to face Bruno's Hitmonchan. Pikachu starts launching a Thunderbolt, which Hitmonchan dodges using Detect. When Ash suggests trying to use rapid-fire attacks, Hitmonchan counters using Vacuum Wave. Pikachu dodges the punch by the hair and manages to launch an electric blast, but the air shockwave still knocks him into a tree, though he manages to land on it safely. Despite not wanting to risk in getting close, Ash realizes they don't have any other choice and orders Pikachu to use Quick Attack. As he approaches, however, Hitmonchan stops the attack using Quick Guard, before preparing a Focus Punch. Pikachu risks it with a Volt Tackle and both attacks collide, though Pikachu seems the worst for wear due to the recoil damage. The attack however seemingly left Hitmonchan paralyzed, giving Ash and Pikachu a chance to prepare a Z-Move. They quickly perform a Gigavolt Havoc, delivering massive damage and assuming they won, but much to their shock, Bruno reveals that Hitmonchan is still standing, having used Endure to survive the attack at the last second. Hitmonchan then begins pummeling Pikachu using Close combat, breaking the tie and winning two out of three for Bruno. The Elite Four trainer however compliments Ash for having given him such a great battle despite being a rookie trainer, and asks about where he got the Z-Ring. Ash reveals he got it sent from the Kahuna of Melemele Island, and Bruno seems familiar with him. After asking for directions for the Pallet House restaurant, Bruno says that Ash might be winning his first league in about three years, and hopes they can meet again by then.

Sometime later, Ash, Pikachu and Raichu bear witness to the latter two's egg hatching into a Pichu. Ash tells Raichu that it's their call to decide what they'll do with him. He's been caught off-guard by several of his Pokémon having eggs lately, and while he doesn't mind keeping some for himself, he's willing to let them decide whether they want to be trained by him, or someone else. Pikachu agrees to find his son a good trainer if that's what he wants. Before they go off to train, however, Ash gets the news that apparently, Pikachu mated with Jigglypuff without realizing, to both their shocks and the Pokédex's seeming delight.

Elsewhere, Anabel is writing a new blog entry, commenting that the Indigo League begins in three days and she's going to be there as a spectator, but knows many people who will participate. She adds to the entry that she doesn't mean Bloodliners specifically, but rather friends and wonderful people she's met during her travels, and the winner will be determined by many factors and none of them has to do with their birth: skill, judgement, some luck and their Pokémon. Finishing her entry, she stares at the last moon in Pallet Town they'll be seeing in a while. The telepath takes notice that, while the Mewtwo ordeal let them burn enough energy to stay there for a while, they're now feeling the urge to get back on the road, which is why they decided to walk to Indigo instead of teleporting. As the comments begin to come in, the Pokédex reveals that while many of Ash's siblings have done notable performances, only one of them, Vermell Arcer from Kalos, has won a League Conference, leaving Anabel to ponder on Ash's chances to win the league. She's sure that he can win so long as he makes good calls and has some good luck, but regardless of the result, she's looking forward to see it.

## Continuity

* Ash reveals his secret of the old timeline to Casey Snagem.
* Misty catches a Wimpod.
* First appearance of Bruno, who has a battle against Ash.
* Pidgeot is revealed to have broken the four-move limit, learning Brave Bird.
* Pikachu's first offspring, Pichu, is born. He's also revealed to have mated with Jigglypuff and having an Igglybuff egg with her.