Pallet Chapter: Misty

**"Pallet Chapter: Misty"** is the thirty-seventh (thirty-ninth in Archive of Our Own and Royal Road) chapter of *Pokémon Reset Bloodlines.* Ash returns to Pallet Town to take a break after Cinnabar Island and brings along his female companions to meet his mother. The chapter focuses mostly on Misty as she gets acquainted with Ash's mother and Pallet Town, while also thinking back about how far she's come and how much she still has to go to achieve her dream.

## Plot

In the Team Rocket headquarters, Giovanni congratulates Jessie, James and Meowth for their continued job on spying on Ash, and since he'll be staying in his hometown for a while, they can take a break from their task and take care of other assignments for the time being. At this point, Giovanni feels they have the right to know why he's interested in keeping tabs on Ash. James at first assumes Ash might be Giovanni's son and he hopes to mold him as his successor as the Team Rocket leader one day. Giovanni finds his theory amusing, but explains that he actually has a red-haired son elsewhere and it's not Ash. He proceeds then to explain that, with the increase of Bloodliners like him, that means an increase in Bloodliner-related crimes, citing that there's a young one in Johto who's becoming a bit of a nuisance to his own operations. His intention with Ash is to have someone on the opposite side of the law, someone who can act as an example, a paragon of justice who stands in opposition to Bloodliners who use their powers for crime or personal gain, a hero of sorts, and that's where Ash comes in, choosing him due to being the oldest and more "marketable" among the ones he's found, with the hope that he can rid them of some of their most annoying competition (including eventually the Bloodliner King). When the trio questions his choice of Ash, mentioning his one loss to Red, Giovanni explains that someone like Red is more likely to conflict directly against Team Rocket than Ash. He then states that his new orders are to ensure that Ash remains the nice and cheerful young man he is so he can grow into an ideal role model, which includes keeping an eye on his home and make sure that nobody he cares about gets hurt or worse, lest he ends up vowing revenge on the world for it, and if it requires a whole new department to do so, they might find themselves running it if they do well.

In Pallet Town, Delia hears footsteps approaching home, and she's certain that Ash is coming, and she quickly approaches the door to greet him. As soon as he opens it, she hugs him while rambling about her worries about him, only to abruptly stop herself once it sinks in that he's grown taller and more muscular in the months he's been away. She then looks over his shoulder and sees Misty, Iris and Anabel, making her wonder if Ash's obliviousness had really held out against a trio of attractive girls traveling with him.

After the introductions, Ash leaves to Oak's lab to greet his Pokémon, as well as explain about a Jigglypuff he caught, while Delia goes to prepare a meal for her guests. As she waits for the tea to boil, she thinks about Ash's new friends, all of whom are also Bloodliners like him, and the many questions she has for them. Misty then comes into the kitchen and asks if she can help with something, but Delia takes the chance and offers her to take a seat so they can talk for a bit. Delia first asks about how she met Ash, already knowing his version but wanting to hear Misty's too. Misty proceeds to tell her what happened, as well that she decided to follow Ash because she'd never meet another Bloodliner like her and thought they could perhaps understand one another. Delia accepts her reasons and then asks how it has been to travel with Ash. Misty says that she's enjoyed it a lot, always having a lot of fun, and she thinks he's a great trainer and awesome sparring partner, though before she talks too much Delia catches on that Misty is attracted to Ash's kind and caring nature and knack for helping others just for the sake of it. The conversation then shifts to what happened in the Cerulean Gym, and Misty explains that the only reason Ash ended up challenging it was because of her, explaining how Ash had to take her to the Cerulean hospital to save her life and how things ended up with him having to challenge the gym, as well as her backstory with her sisters and why she didn't want to go there. She also apologizes to Delia for having snapped at Ash at the time, and assures her that Ash never goes looking for trouble; rather, it's trouble that seems to find him for some reason. Delia admits that much is true, and she's always worried that there could be people out there who'd want to hurt Ash. Misty then stands up and assures Delia that she can count on her and the others to keep Ash safe, citing how he not only saved her life, but encouraged her to chase after her dreams. Delia feels more at ease to think of having someone to take care of Ash for her, albeit she's still a bit doubtful of having three attractive girls doing so, noting that Ash was never particularly close to any girl before except Serena. Right then, the tea is ready, so after serving it Delia asks Misty to take it and the sandwiches to the other girls, while she goes off to do something, explaining that she's going to throw Ash a welcome party at the Pallet House restaurant, and they're all invited to come too, but she needs them to keep Ash busy for half an hour when he comes back from Professor Oak's place.

A bit later, the girls are already at the restaurant as the party goes on. They're quite surprised that the townsfolk of such a quiet place are capable of throwing such a party, although they're happy to see Ash is so well-liked among the residents, and even Delia is into it, having taken up to sing at the karaoke. However, the female Bloodliners quickly take notice of a group of girls who have grabbed Ash and are fighting amongst each other to drag him to dance with them. Feeling a bit jealous, Misty suggest they should probably rescue him from that situation. While Iris doesn't understand why they should, Misty and Anabel explain to her that, unlike them, those girls are only infatuated with Ash based on his looks and local celebrity status, and don't even know him that well. Pleased to see that Iris gets the message, Misty steps in and tells the girls she's going to "borrow" Ash for a bit, and brings him back with the others, much to his relief. However, that relief quickly goes away as soon as Misty asks him to dance with her, Anabel or Iris instead, much to Misty's amusement.

After partying all night long, the next morning begins a new day of training for Ash and his Pokémon, after Ash has some cooking lessons with Delia. As they train, Ash takes notice that Togepi seems to be trying to imitate Charizard's Seismic Toss, much to Pikachu's horror and Charizard's amusement and pride. Ash then gathers them all for a meeting, and thinking that he'll probably do things in the same rough order, they'll be heading for the Orange Islands after the Indigo League, then to Johto, Hoenn and beyond. Serperior ask what he'll do if he gets everything important from each region done before, considering that he caught her and Boldore and met Iris before going to Unova. Ash replies that he'll play it by the ear, since even if he catches his Sinnoh Pokémon before he still has to go there to stop Cyrus from destroying reality. He then considers starting fresh in Johto like he did in Hoenn and beyond, explaining that he feels he didn't bring out everyone's potential and the toughest battles always came down to the veterans or powerhouses like Pikachu, Charizard, Snorlax and Squirtle. Ash cites that, even though he called for their help his Sinnoh Pokémon were able to match Pokémon Paul had for much longer. Ambipom chimes in, adding that there's the chance trainers like Paul, Gary or Red could also follow him to Johto, and reminds Ash that Paul probably doesn't do a complete team refresh per new region like Ash does, plus he now will have issues with Ash as they've already beaten him twice. Bulbasaur steps in to give a suggestion: recalling that the Sinnoh Pokémon mentioned that most of Ash's battles against Paul, barring the one at Lake Acuity and the Sinnoh League Conference, were three-on-three, so he can take three veteran Pokémon to face his old rivals specifically, and leave the three remaining slots for the new ones to train and gain experience. Ash admits that it sounds like a good idea, and with the current rotation system allows them to cycle easily so they can also get some workout at Oak's place and be ready for major battles.

Elsewhere, Misty has decided to better herself in a different way. She stands over a pond dug specifically for the Basculin school she caught in the Safari Zone, on an ice bridge made by her Seel, and every time she approaches, the Basculin jump to try and bite her, but she manages to jump out of their way, barring one who managed to chomp on her arm, which she quickly healed with Aqua Ring, and her other Pokémon practice their aim by blasting the Basculin as they jump out of the water. Suddenly, a branch snaps interrupts her training, and out of brush comes out a bespectacled, nerd-looking trainer that looks a bit older than her, with a Misdreavus, as quickly the side Pokédex she's carrying with her identifies. The trainer then states that, since their eyes have met, it means they battle. A Wartortle steps up to the challenge, one of the many she had caught before coming to Pallet Town. The two battle for a while until the Misdreavus' trainer calls the battle off. The trainer introduces himself as Nelson, and explains to Misty that he's planning on heading for the Raizen Mountains in Johto, since he plans to encounter and catch Legendary Pokémon such as Raikou, Entei and Suicune, using his Misdreavus to do so. While Misty herself is interested in catching a Suicune one day, she inquires as to how he plans to do so, considering how hard it'll be. Nelson explains that his Misdreavus can use Mean Look to prevent them from running away, but also needs to find a way to stop them from using Roar. She decides to listen to him, thinking that it might come in handy for the future as she lets the side Pokédex record everything, while also thinking that it might be a good time to see how far she's come.

Meanwhile, Ash and Anabel have just finished their training with Iris, who compliments them for doing a good job. After drinking some water, Anabel takes the time to admire the view of Pallet Town from where they are, but adding that they're teleporting back home. Anabel comments that Pallet Town is a nice place, and Ash agrees, but confesses to have felt a little cramped, especially during the days he has nothing to do. Anabel comments that perhaps he feels like he can never come back home again, and he agrees that he might feel that way after traveling so much, and now Pallet Town feels so small compared to him having seen the outside world in the past timeline. Anabel however adds that it's still a nice place, and she's certain that he'll find another place to come back to, which cheers him up.

Ash continues his training, having Yanma and one of the Exeggutor battling against each other, and he's satisfied with the results when Yanma manages to learn Aerial Ace and Exeggutor performs his Sludge Bomb well. Suddenly, one of the Grimer comes close to show them an egg with markings Ash recognizes as being from a Koffing, which the Pokédex confirms, and later comments that this will help increase Ash's Pokémon count even without him actively catching them. Ash wonders if that seems fair, which the Pokédex insists that it is since he caught the Pokémon who breed those eggs, and they'll come in handy for the next time another crisis like Sabrina's arises, which doesn't make Ash feel any relieved.

Elsewhere, Anabel watches a sparring match between her Eevee and Iris' Axew, with the latter winning before jumping back to her trainer's arms. She starts thinking to herself and realizes that, unlike Ash and Misty, she doesn't have a clear goal to herself, and while she enjoys traveling with her friends, she feels she's just along for the ride, so to speak, and wonders what could work for her as a goal.

Later, Ash heads for Viridian City to pick up a parcel for Professor Oak, but makes a quick stop to accept a challenge from a rookie trainer with a Mankey. Ash battles using Togepi, who wins rather easily, and the trainer feels bad for losing and apologizes to his Mankey for the loss. When the trainer asks how Ash became so good, he replies that only through practice, and he'll get it eventually, but the trainer is on a bit of a hurry since many others in his grade have already begun with Rattata or Pidgey, and his Mankey doesn't do well against the bugs living in the forest. Ash tells him that sometimes it's better to work smarter instead of harder, and seeing he has time, he brings Chansey to heal the boy's Mankey and Serperior to teach him Aerial Ace so he can have an edge against the bugs, and later returns to Pallet Town satisfied at having helped the boy.

A bit later, Ash decides to try out something else, namely if the Counter Shield can be useful against the Shattered Psyche Z move, and tests it out with Butterfree and Ambipom's help. It quickly becomes evident that the Counter Shield won't work to stop it, with Pikachu suggesting that it might be better to counter solid projectiles. However, they have it hard to test it out unless they find a way to make different crystals, and to do so they need to figure out the full process to make one.

Another day passes, and after learning how to cook eggs, he goes back to train with his Pokémon, watching Togepi as he flies on the back of a Zubat while Pikachu looks worried about it. Then, Misty approaches him, asking him to battle her. While Ash doesn't mind doing so, he asks if Misty has any particular reason for it. She reminds him that they promised to have a battle for a proper Cascade Badge one day, and she wants to test herself to see how far she is from that point. Ash accepts it, and Misty suggests they use six Pokémon like he did in the Cerulean Gym. She brings out the Slowbro she caught in the Safari Zone, while Ambipom steps up to battle. Ambipom starts out with Shadow Claw, which Slowbro counters with Yawn. Ambipom switches to Double Hit to jump up into the air. Misty orders Slowbro to fire Scald, hitting Ambipom and knocking her to the ground. Ash takes notice that Misty seems confident, while recalling the two usually had the problem of blustering whenever they tried to seem more confident than they actually were. Misty orders Slowbro to use Psyshock, which Ash and Ambipom counter with a wide Swift, and both attacks hit their targets, though Slowbro seems to have the upper hand. When Ambipom tries to attack with Shadow Claw once more, Slowbro uses Slack Off to recover damage, and after a few minutes Ash concedes the round upon seeing he won't go anywhere in an endurance battle.

Misty congratulates Slowbro and then Wingull lands nearby. Ash brings Pidgeot to make it an air battle. Pidgeot opens with Air Slash, while Wingull dodges and counters with Water Pulse. Both trainers order Aerial Ace at the same time, and Pidgeot wins the collision sending Wingull spinning back, but he quickly rights himself and flies under Pidgeot to use a ranged attack. Ash orders Pidgeot to charge with Quick Attack, but Wingull doesn't move, instead waiting until the last moment before Misty orders him to use Shock Wave, catching Ash off-guard as he had no idea a Wingull could learn that attack. Misty was surprised too, but she continues to use it and has Wingull fire more electric blasts, which Pidgeot dodges. Ash waits for the next one to order Pidgeot to use Steel Wing to bounce it back, striking Wingull and winning this bout for Ash, tying the game.

After this, Pikachu seems ready to go, but Bulbasaur steps in. The Pokédex takes notice that Ash has been using Pokémon that he used for the Cerulean Gym match so far. Misty then calls Psyduck, who seems confusing at being chosen. Before the battle goes underway, Misty thinks that she almost expected Ash to use Serperior against her, and she actually had no clue how to battle against Bulbasaur, but she's fine with that because she wants to use this battle to learn. She knows that probably Ash won't risk hitting Psyduck in the head with Vine Whip and let him unleash a powerful attack, so they'd probably try to attack them with Sleep Powder or something like that. Much to their shock, however, Bulbasaur grins in a creepy way before tangling Psyduck with his vines and then starts licking and tickling him. With Psyduck laughing himself sick and completely helpless to attack, Misty concedes and gives up the round.

Butterfree comes up after hearing the battle, with Pikachu protesting about him cutting the line, but nonetheless allows him to go. In turn, Misty brings out Poliwrath. Wanting to play smart, Ash orders Butterfree to use Sleep Powder, which Misty and Poliwrath counter with Water Sport. Surprisingly, the attack is strikingly similar to Erika's Rain Dance strategy, and it begins hampering Butterfree's wings in much the same way. They try using Psybeam to attack, but Poliwrath fires a Bubblebeam at the same time, with both attacks cancelling one another, but more water splashes into Butterfree's wings and sends him down to the muddy ground. Poliwrath charges with a Dynamic Punch, which Butterfree tries to stop with a Psybeam, but Poliwrath dodges it and then hits him with an uppercut, sending him flying and forcing Ash to catch him. Misty smiles at the result, but also pondering that many of her strategies have been taken from others, such as Erika and Ash himself, wishing that she could come up with ideas like that of her own and deciding to find a way to create them by the time they have a real battle against each other.

As Charizard comes down, Misty realizes that Pikachu will come last, so she sends out the Blastoise she caught on Blastoise Island. Charizard growls enthusiastically, finding it good practice for an eventual rematch with Gary's own Blastoise. Misty orders a Hydro Pump to start, which Charizard dodges by flying (and accidentally hits Ash's Jigglypuff on the back) before countering with Flamethrower. Blastoise shields himself using Protect, coming out unscathed, and Misty orders him to use Flash Cannon, hitting Charizard in the chest. A second blast is fired at him, but this time he stops it with a Metal Claw. Charizard shoots another Flamethrower, which Blastoise takes with another Protect before using Hydro Pump once more. Charizard dodges it before flying in to grab him for a Seismic Toss, but Blastoise defends himself firing more water streams as he prepares a Skull Bash, which Ash notices too late to switch the move, but fortunately Charizard dodges Blastoise's charge when swooping down. As he looks at his claws from using a Slash attack before, Charizard tells Ash that he creates another Z-Crystal. Ash looks at his Z-Ring and notices that it isn't seem dusty right now, but Charizard insists they have to try. Ash looks at Misty, who despite not understanding Charizard's speech quickly catches on what he means and agrees with him. He finally complies, and grabs his wrist as he tries to summon the power to create a new crystal. Multiple colored energies concentrate around the Z-Ring, with the colors fighting amongst each other until only a light blue and a white light remain fighting for control. As more Pokémon approach to see what happens, the blue light seems to be winning out, but ultimately the white one prevails and solidifies into a Normalium-Z. Once he's ready to use it, Misty orders Blastoise to use Protect when they call the Z-Move. Ash performs the pose and charges Charizard with the Z power, using Breakneck Blitz for the first time. Much to Misty's shock, Charizard breaks through Blastoise's Protect, sending him flying and forcing Misty to jump out of the way, before crashing at quite a distance. Ash himself seems surprised at the move's power, and Pikachu comments he wants to do it next.

For the final round, Pikachu finally steps in and Misty sends Gyarados. The redhead finally has seen how far she's come and how long she still has to go to give Ash the battle he deserves: she needs to come with strategies of her own instead of just taking others', but she has improved herself nonetheless, and is clearly on the way there. Pikachu attacks with Thunderbolt, and Gyarados defends himself stabbing his Iron Tail on the ground. Pikachu charges with Quick Attack to try and knock Gyarados' tail loose, and the marine serpent counters with Bulldoze to stop the charge. The tremor sends Pikachu flying, letting them attack with Water Pulse. However, Pikachu uses Counter Shield to deflect it back at them. Gyarados sends out a wave of Surf, which Pikachu jumps over with an Iron Tail. Gyarados then shoots a Dragon Breath at him. Pikachu then attacks with Wild Charge, as Ash congratulates Misty for breaking the move limit. Misty thanks him for the praise, adding that she's been working much harder since the Sabrina incident, and it makes her wonder where she'd be if she hadn't met him. The comment causes them both to blush, but Ash quickly states that they still have to learn from the other, and the battle continues and both of them still smiling at one another.

## Continuity

* Misty references the events of the *Blastoise Island Interlude*, as she already has several Wartortle and the Blastoise she caught during said side story under her care.
* Misty mentions to Ash the promise they made to battle for a Cascade Badge, as told at the end of the *Misty Gaiden*.
* Ash creates his second Z-Crystal, a Normalium-Z, and performs Breakneck Blitz for the first time with Charizard.
* Gyarados is the first of Misty's Pokémon to break the four-move limit.