Johanna Gaiden

**Johanna Gaiden**is the first Gaiden sidestory in the expanded universe of *Pokémon Reset Bloodlines.* It is also the first sidestory written by Crossoverpairinglover and the first sidestory overall.

It stars Dawn's mother, Johanna Berlitz, as she struggles to win a Grand Festival in order to earn money to pay for some medical treatment for her parents after their insurance is revoked. Some time later, after an encounter with a mysterious man, and her parents' deaths, she receives a call from someone representing the U.T.P., asking her to join them.

## Plot

Johanna Berlitz receives a notice that her parents' insurance coverage has been revoked due to her father having been a smoker, and her mother suffering asthma, unless she pays a sum of $300,000 in the next 72 hours, plus an additional $100,000 for an upcoming surgery. This puts a high pressure on the young Coordinator, who realizes she'll need to win the upcoming Grand Festival finals if she wants to have enough to pay that sum.

In order to encourage herself, she recalls her previous achievements: she won five out of six Contests she entered during her first year, ranking in the Top 16 in her first Grand Festival, Top 8 in the second and third, and Top 4 on the fourth, just last year, and every time she lost to the eventual winner. However, while it's her first time in the finals, she knows that ranking as the runner-up won't be enough; she needs to win to get enough and pay for her parents' surgeries, but she's confident that this is her year, and her Pokémon are at her best.

The final battle begins, and Johanna sends out her Glameow and Umbreon, while her opponent sends out a Medicham and a Tangrowth. At first, she feels confident, until her opponent Mega Evolves Medicham, making her recall in horror how she lost to a Mega Lopunny during her second Grand Festival. However, she manages to recompose herself and takes on the challenge.

With a minute left she's taken a small lead and manages to take her opponent's Tangrowth down, making it a two versus one, though it doesn't last as Mega Medicham knocks Umbreon down, leaving her against the ropes. Thirty seconds remaining, and Mega Medicham seems ready to finish them off with multiple elemental punch attacks, so she has Glameow wrap her tail around it and unleash a Thunderbolt that forms several luminous rings that explode into a star, knocking Mega Medicham out with just seconds to spare, winning her her first Grand Festival.

A few weeks later, and with her parents undergoing another surgery, Johanna decides to have some time off in Celestic Town at the invite of her friend Lila, ending up in a bar for some drinks. Suddenly a man approaches and begins to look at her and, though flattered, she begins to have odd feelings about him, feeling rather creeped out and suspicious of his intentions, yet for some reason being around him causes her sexual urges to spring up. Fortunately, her phone ringing snaps her out of it and gives her the perfect excuse to get away, much to the man's dismay, who remarks that "this trip was completely pointless" and "there are other candidates".

Sometime later, Johanna's parents decide that they don't want to burden their daughter anymore and ask her to stop after a failed surgery. Knowing their cancers was too advanced to be reversed, they decided that they don't want her to waste their money trying to save them, ultimately leading to their deaths, much to her sorrow.

To make things worse, even the funeral's expenses end up leaving her in huge debts, with her barely avoiding to lose her parents' home, and now she's considering to cut some bills to get by during that month. Suddenly, the house's phone rings, and an unknown male voice speaks to her, apparently knowing who she is. At first, she assumes they're calling to ask her out and preemptively refuses, however the voice explains he's calling for business, not pleasure. Apparently he represents an organization known as the U.T.P., who is interested in her as well as mentioning an offer to cover her current expenses. Being desperate for money, Johanna agrees for a meeting in the Staravia Diner east of Twinleaf Town, and deciding to bring her Pokémon with her. The caller replies that they wouldn't have it any other way, leaving her to wonder what she's gotten herself into.

## Continuity

* This Gaiden sidestory takes place thirteen years before the events of **"Of Starters and Spearow: The New Reality"**.
* First appearance of Johanna Berlitz.
* First mention of the U.T.P.
* The man who meets Johanna, while not identified by name, is later revealed to be the Bloodliner King. This is the only instance of a woman known to have escaped his attempts of seduction to impregnate them with a child.