The Sabrina Arc

**"The Sabrina Arc"** is the thirty-first, thirty-second and thirty-third (thirty-third, thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth in Archive of Our Own and Royal Road) chapter of *Pokémon Reset Bloodlines.* Sabrina has finally decided to put Ash to the test, and thus teleports him against his will to the Saffron City Gym, forcing him to fight for his life. Meanwhile, Ash's companions desperately try to find him, and their search eventually leads them to meet with Belladonna and her group once more. Upon learning of the situation, Belladonna decides to join them in their rescue.

Due to the length of these chapters, the plot section will be split in three parts, following the AO3 and RR numbering, and the events will be told in chronological order.

## Plot

### Part I: The Search for Ash

As soon as Ash vanishes along with the Abra, the girls immediately break into different reactions: Misty begins to scream out for him in panicked tones, while Iris tries to find some trail on the spot Ash disappeared, and Anabel feels guilty for not catching on the Abra's intentions, but tries to calm down rather than dwelling on her mistake. As she tries to figure out how to track it, Axew and Iris knock the Team Rocket trio out of a nearby tree, and immediately Misty assumes they had something to do with Ash's disappearance, as does Iris. The trio defend themselves by stating that they don't even have an Abra, but Iris doesn't seem convinced and seems almost ready to murder them. Anabel reads their minds and finds out they're telling the truth, and Meowth reminds them they're supposed to stalk Ash, not kidnap him. Misty thinks that doesn't make it any less creepy, and glares at James, who seems offended by her non-verbal accusations, but Jessie steps in to defend her partner, saying that while she finds Ash physically attractive (especially after the training Iris put him through), she's not planning on kidnapping him to lock him in a basement to do him things for her personal enjoyment, plus Ash isn't even her type to begin with, and it's too soon for that after the Jessebelle incident. Anabel reads her mind to understand what she means, and after she does so, finds herself feeling sympathy for James and wondering how those things weren't inventions of fictional books. Misty however demands to know who kidnapped him, and when they can't give them an answer, Anabel simply decides to use her powers to send them blasting off and end the conversation right then and there, forcing Iris and Misty to calm down. First, they suggest on using the side Pokédexes to find him, but they were in Ash's backpack and Ash had it when he was taken. Then they suggest to call Professor Oak, but the scientist is due for a surgery and will be unconscious until late night, and while there were interns at the lab, they didn't know them enough to be sure if they could help. While Misty and Iris still continue to ask what to do, Anabel decides to try and use her powers to search for Ash. She fails due to her limited range, so she begins to follow her gut and tries disconnecting her senses to increase her reach. In the end, she tries to focus on Ash herself, his qualities and everything she knows and likes about him, and she manages to get a grasp on several psychic beacons scattered all over than seem to match him. However, the process leaves her somewhat dizzy and disoriented, but she manages to tell her idea to the other girls. However, Misty points out that she doesn't look well right now, and Iris adds that trying to jump blindly just for the off chance of finding Ash is dangerous, but Anabel reminds them they don't have any more clues. Grabbing a hold of them, she teleports them to one of those beacons and deciding they have to do something, they all agree. Anabel teleports them and they land near the Tree of Beginning, where the local Mew greets them and notices they seem lost. Once Anabel regains her bearings, she asks Mew about Ash. The Pokémon does seem to know who Ash is, but can't help them find him, and leaves them to wonder how Mew knows about Ash.

In the Saffron Gym, after defeating the Slowpoke barring his way, Ash heads for a nearby window and orders Roggenrola to smash it with Rock Blast, confident that he can survive a fall from an upper floor. The window turns out to be reinforced with Reflect, so Pikachu uses Thunderbolt on it, only to learn that Light Screen is also in effect. Ash tries to open it himself only to fail, and then punches out an Abra that tries to sneak up by teleporting in front of him. Roggenrola comments that Iris' turned out to be right, but Ash doesn't feel well punching Pokémon. After Ash asks Pikachu and Roggenrola if they have any plans, the Pokédex replies for them, although it'll take a while to implement. Ash lets out Servine for additional help while he tries to heal Roggenrola. As they quickly tell Servine what's going on, and that Ash suspects Sabrina might be behind it, Servine wonders about the Pokémon. Ash tries using a Net Ball to catch a fallen Starmie, and when it doesn't work, it confirms those Pokémon are owned by Sabrina. As if on cue, a ring of Abra teleports around them, each with a glowing elemental punch and ready to charge at them.

Meanwhile, after teleporting away from the Tree of Beginning, Misty finds they've landed near a grassy hill, as she tries to keep the Togepi egg safe for reasons she isn't entirely sure of, but feeling that she has to do it. Anabel and Iris didn't seem to have a smooth landing themselves, and then Misty hears a male voice nearby. She turns around to see a boy who looks like Red and Ash, wearing a red tracksuit and with a Pichu on the shoulder. The boy starts talking and flattering her for her appearance and the Togepi egg, which makes her feel confused yet somehow feeling inexplicably happy just for being near him. He then inquires about her companions, and Misty begins talking about them. The boy smiles as he says he can't wait to meet them, until Psyduck pops out of nowhere and punches him out. Misty berates him as Iris and Anabel approach, but Psyduck then states that he sensed the boy was manipulating Misty's emotions and was certainly up to no good with her and the others, and tells her to get out of there before she ends up under his control. Realizing what was going on, Anabel quickly teleports them all away, but not before Misty overhears the boy, whose voice sounded so nice and friendly before, now swearing things about Psyduck that send down chills down her spine.

Back with Ash, seeing that the windows won't budge, decides to try attacking the walls instead to open a hole, having brought the rest of the Pokémon he had on him, now joined by Squirtle, Muk and Tauros. Together, they all charge at the wall with their physical attacks, failing to bring it down but shaking the entire building with their combined power. Ash wonders if they should try attacking one at a time at a single point, and Squirtle suggests that he and another Pokémon do it at once, as he has the highest accuracy for ranged attacks of everyone present. Pikachu strikes the wall with Thunderbolt and Squirtle follows up with Water Gun at full power. The wall shimmers, but this time around they manage to leave a small crack on it. Before they can keep attacking, though, a pair of Kadabra wielding their spoons with energy blades appear on either sides of him, forcing him to jump out of the way when they try to cut him in half, as Servine and Tauros charge at them. Then an Exegguttor appears, forcing Muk to step in front of him to stop its Barrage attack. As more Pokémon continue to appear, Ash wonders why Sabrina has so many of them, and how a Kadabra can use their spoons like laser swords. The Pokédex offers that she might have stolen it from a Pokémon Coordinator who used a similar technique in a Saffron Pokémon Contest a few years back. As they manage to get a moment's rest once they take down their attackers, they're about to focus back on tearing down the wall to escape, Sabrina herself appears. She commends him for his clever idea of trying to tear down a wall instead of a window, and Squirtle's suggestion, but now needs to ask him to stop. Ash's Pokémon immediately try to attack her, but she materializes a Reflect to knock them back. She apologizes for not explaining him the rules of her gym battle and how to win, but adds that this time around making her laugh won't help him win. This makes Ash realize that Sabrina knows his secret, sending down the chills down his spine and the rest of his Pokémon's. She then teleports them all to the gym's arena and sits on her throne, smirking evilly as she demands that they talk.

After teleporting once, Ash's friends now find themselves on top of a roof in a small farming town. Misty has had time to process what happened before, and after she tells Iris, the wild girl realizes that boy they ran into had evil intentions. Once they rest, they teleport again and find themselves atop a cliff. A nearby voice that sounds familiar talks to another who seems to have conquered the Pewter City Gym, asking how many badges she has. Misty looks down and recognizes Otoshi, the boy she faced and defeated back in the Battle Dome Tournament, with his Marowak wearing a tie with the Key Stone, and he's talking to a girl whose appearance resembles a female version of Ash with an Ivysaur, down to her choice in clothing except for a skirt rather than pants and her longer hair. The girl, who introduces herself as Manna, and says that she has five badges. Otoshi states that he seeks his fifth badge and challenges her to a battle. Iris takes notice that Manna and her Ivysaur smell like pollens she smelled once in her life, when her grandfather told her of an evolution ritual for Bulbasaur and Ivysaur that left the trace of said pollens in them. As the battle goes underway, Otoshi's Marowak suddenly gains a golden layer around his arms and chest, which increases their power, and when he attacks Manna's Ivysaur, ends up triggering Overgrowth, albeit a more aggressive and powerful version, which seems to worry the female trainer. However, they end up all teleported away before they can see the result of the battle.

Back in Saffron, Sabrina starts making some comments about whether Ash deserved his badges back in The Old Timeline, telling him that despite the lack of a definitive victory she saw no lack of effort from his part, even joking about the Dynamo Badge he got from Wattson. Ash inquires as to how can she know about that, since they never met again after he won the Marsh Badge. Sabrina then explains that she figured it all out by reading his mind, and has been doing so for quite a while. She knows everything, except how long he traveled, though by her estimation he should be about his current age by the time the reality broke apart, and also adding that May seemed to age backwards at one point. Despite Ash's confusion about the last statement, Sabrina proceeds to explain the rules: she stores the Marsh Badges on the upper floor, and if he can fight his way through her gym and get one, it's his, adding that she's certain he'll be the first to successfully claim one for himself. Ash however isn't interested in her badge anymore, and decides to leave, until Sabrina mentions that she has another prize for him waiting in the basement. Pikachu assumes Sabrina means that for sexual purposes, adding that he prefers that Ash gets that with his female companions and other people before her. Ash is confused about this, and Sabrina continues to annoy him by responding to his thoughts despite not voicing them aloud. Sabrina explains that she has no interest in sex or having children, and the prize in the basement is actually his missing Pokémon: Primeape, who survived after he was blasted away by Paul, and if he doesn't want her badge, he can go rescue him instead. Ash is shocked about this, but knowing that Primeape is alive gives him the resolve to save him this time around, and his Pokémon quickly join him on it, as more of Sabrina's Psychic-types appear to join the fray.

### Part II: The Search for Ash (Continues)

Another failed teleportation leads Misty, Iris and Anabel to Ritchie, this being the second time they run into him. Every time she needs more and more minutes to recover and be able to teleport once more, which only compounds her worries for Ash even further. As she recovers, she watches how Ritchie, along with Zippo and Sparky watch the egg the trainer carries hatch into a Larvitar, which he names Cruise. She ponders about whether Ash will feel the same joy and happiness when the Togepi egg hatches, before she and the others are ready to teleport once more and return to their search for him.

Back in the Saffron Gym, Ash and his Pokémon rush off to try and save Primeape, still having to fight their way through the Psychic-types. Ash is determined to save Primeape this time around, but Squirtle brings up some concerns: he's realized that they might not be able to remind Primeape, just like Ash couldn't remind Brock before. Ash however believes that even if that's the case, he can't be that much different, but Squirtle states that he's worried he might not be different *enough,* given that back in the old timeline he was aggressive and out of control, and only became their friend until the very end, so they should be ready for him to be what he was before they became friends. Squirtle cites that he was a gang member on both timelines and didn't change much, and perhaps became even worse this time around before Ash found him, as well how Misty didn't want Togepi's egg this time and how much that hurt, so they should be ready for the worst. Despite this, Ash's determination prevails, and he resolves to save Primeape whether they can remind him or not, and in the latter case, he'll redo their relationship from scratch all over again.

Anabel teleports the girls and they fall into a pond. As she regains her bearings, Anabel sees how Misty removes the water from their clothes and hair into a Water Pulse sphere, throwing it at a tree in frustration that she managed to learn the move when it's not useful. Anabel needs more time to rest, while Misty is worried that time is the only thing they don't have right now. They see they landed in a city park, and they spot Arnold, Anna and Laila having a picnic together, with Anabel deducing that Arnold must have been the one giving off the signal she followed. Despite her worries, the image of the family enjoying their time together gives her a warm feeling that brings back memories of her childhood, when her uncle would take her to secluded places where she could forget about her worries for a little while. Once she feels up to the task once more, she prepares to teleport them once more, but while Misty and Iris are worried about her, she's determined to find Ash whatever it takes.

They teleport near a lighthouse by the seashore, and while Anabel is taken to rest by Misty, Iris decides to check out the surroundings. The lighthouse is unfortunately closed, so she can't get in, but then overhears a Pikachu's voice nearby, and runs off to check it out. Unfortunately, the boy in question isn't Ash, as she quickly sees the physical differences between them, and takes notice how they play with each other with electric attacks. As she returns, she relays what she found to the others just when Anabel is back on her feet. Misty takes notice of how many of Ash's siblings seem to like the Pikachu line, so Anabel thinks she might be able to narrow things down using that, but she still needs to rest more. As they wait, Iris is still worried and hates that they have to wait, but can't do anything else but believe in Ash's strength to hold on until they can find him.

Ash and his Pokémon continue to fight, but they're lesser in numbers and their strength is limited. While they've managed to hold out this long, Ash knows that the numbers will eventually overwhelm them and he has to hurry. When a Natu shoots a Thunder Wave at him, coming in too fast to avoid, Squirtle jumps in and takes it for him, getting paralyzed. He reaches out for Squirtle, noticing that his Z-Ring is dripping of purple dust for some reason, before being attacked once more as he tries to fight his way through to grab Squirtle. Roggenrola tries to headbutt into the barrier only to get knocked out by a Fighting-type attack, while Servine and Muk get defeated by a trio of Wobbuffet who reflect their attacks as a trio of Slowbro behind them heal them, leaving Ash only with Pikachu and Tauros, before the latter gets sent rolling down with a Psychic-type attack against a wall. Sabrina, who was responsible for that last one, congratulates Ash for setting a new record on holding out so long, and unlike the team of Busters who held the previous one he's not going to die today. Ash vows that he's going to get Primeape back, and Sabrina continues to commend his efforts, mentioning that he forced her to pull a trick she was reserving for the likes of Agatha. Pikachu sends a Thunderbolt in her direction, which she deflects with her psychic powers. Sabrina realizes that Ash needs some more motivation to use his full power against her, perhaps anger. Ash mentally wonders if she really wants him to possibly kill her, and she responds that no, she's not suicidal, much to his annoyance as she keeps prying into his thoughts. When Pikachu tries to tell him to stop overthinking things, he can't help but have images of Delia and his friends being teleported here to be used as hostages, but Sabrina doesn't feel like doing that, and can make him angry in another way. Ash wonders if she's going to reveal she's his aunt, or worse, his grandmother, but she denies it, being twenty-two years old and not having gone through time-travel shenanigans like Ash's does, there's no chance of them being even distantly related, and she already checked. However, she proceeds to reveal what she knows about his father's lineage, the Dominion of Power Bloodline. As it turns out, this is shared by Ash himself and his other half-siblings, and it manifests depending on the nature and personality of the wielder, explaining why it's different for him, Red and Belladonna. She proceeds to reveal that she's dealt with Ash's father before and he's a monster. When Ash replies "You're one to talk", Sabrina admits to having similarities with him, but there are lines that she won't cross, such as comitting patricide. She then proceeds to explain what Ash's father does with his bloodline: manipulate and control others into doing what he wants, albeit in a subtle way, and that's how he managed to get in with Ash's mother and many other women to conceive him and his siblings, adding that his power also enabled him to accelerate their cycles so they would all get pregnant when they wouldn't in normal circumstances, and subtly planting into their subconscious some thoughts to ensure they wouldn't abort. Much to Ash's shock, Sabrina also reveals that his paternal grandfather was willing to have him aborted so he wouldn't ruin Delia's life. Ash realizes how Sabrina is trying to make him angry using that, so he tries to keep resisting. The gym leader adds that Ash might not be aware of the full implications: namely, that his grandfather in this timeline and his grandfather in the old one might not be the very same people in behavior, adding that his genetic material from his father also makes him different from the Ash from The Old Timeline. Ash replies that he's himself and not anyone else and he's not going to fall for that trick. Surprisingly, Sabrina replies amusedly that she's not denying that he's Ash Ketchum, but it doesn't change the fact that his father is a monster who sired him and the rest of his siblings not out of love or lust, but because he wanted to use them as tools, and he's willing to discard them if he finds them of no use, like he did to John Archer. Pikachu yells in rage that Sabrina has no proof of what she's saying, and threatens to blast her if he doesn't let them go. Sabrina's Pokémon relay this to her, and so she shows him her encounter with the Bloodliner King's Emissary in his mind. She goes beyond and sees the dream he had with MissingNo showing him the bad future where the Bloodliner King had done something to Serena and May. This, along with Sabrina's offer to give him a dream-catching device she stole from a scientist she killed, seems to finally hit Ash's rage-breaking point, and he orders Pikachu to attack her. However, Squirtle blasts Pikachu with a Water Gun to stop his attack, while Muk jumps on top of Ash. The rest of his Pokémon, having partially recovered from the onslaught, quickly get next to Ash, telling him that if he gives in to his anger he'll be letting her win, and just like they've learned from him, it's time for him to learn something from them, namely, that he needs to control his anger just like he taught Infernape to control his.

Sabrina is angry that Ash's Pokémon interfered right when she seemed to make some progress with Ash, but right then, the Pokédex chimes in to reveal the plan to get them out of there: with the help of the Exegguttor Ash caught in the Safari Zone, all of which can use Teleport, and coordinated by Bulbasaur, they managed to bring every single of the Pokémon Ash has at Oak's lab, just in the right time so Sabrina doesn't notice them and can control them. Right then, Ash's Pokémon break all through the gym's ceiling, forcing Sabrina's Pokémon to deflect the debris, while some Marsh Badges fall along with them and Squirtle grabs one and tucks it away in his shell. While most of the Pokémon immediately charge towards Sabrina and her Psychic-types, Chansey moves in to heal Ash and his active party, while Charizard throws Krabby at Sabrina, who hits her with Stomp and has her crashing through a wall, leaving a Sabrina-shaped hole in it. Meanwhile, Ash's Pokémon quickly engage the Psychic-types, with one of Ash's Tauros fighting alongside his Vulpix offspring, and Ash's three-leeked Farfetch'd engaging the Kadabra who wield their spoons like laser swords, feeling happy to face a new technique and eager to defeat them.

In Johto, Anabel's last teleportation leads them to another half-sibling, a girl named Meliae, whom Iris decides to talk to while Misty tries to help Anabel recover for their next attempt. As Iris explains to her about wanting to pursue a relationship with Ash, Meliae asks if she understands the implications. Iris knows that it means eventually having to "reproduce" with each other, so Meliae takes to explain to her that in a relationship, sometimes having sex means something more than just reproduction, as it also entails emotional and physical pleasure for the ones involved. As she uses her bloodline to check on Anabel's physical condition, Meliae realizes that she has some time and continues to explain about the sexual aspects of a relationship. Iris recalls that her own big brother Dragonite never found himself a permanent mate, but females did find him appealing on the physical department, and sometimes engaged in it just because they "felt like it", making Iris draw parallels with Meliae's own stance about not seeking a permanent relationship, since she likes being a free agent. By the time they have to leave, Iris is left with many questions, but nonetheless appreciates what Meliae told her.

Back in the Saffron Gym, Sabrina recovers from the surprise attack. The Gym Leader finds herself respecting Ash even more than before, while also annoyed at the fact that she hasn't succeeded in her secondary goal of getting him to stop limiting himself. She also ponders that Ash and the Bloodliner King (who is actually his father) also met in the previous timeline when they weren't related by blood, and thinks Ash might be able to stop him, given his history with madmen with delusions to take over the world. While Ash's Chansey cures him and the other Pokémon he had in his active party, Sabrina decides it's time for other measures, and summons an Alakazam that's guarding Primeape in the basement. She uses her psychic powers to summon an object, while the Alakazam reveals having a Mega Stone under one of his spoons.

Meanwhile, Ash finally feels the exhaustion of the battle catch up to him, while Chansey tries to heal him and the rest of his Pokémon try to fight around him. Sabrina then makes him float with his powers, while summoning a Key Stone to her hand, and he quickly checks his own wrist to make sure she's not stealing his, and then uses it to Mega Evolve her Alakazam, causing the fighting around them to stop for a bit before resuming. Goodra steps in and uses a Dragon Breath attack, which Mega Alakazam deflects back to them. Goodra tries to take advantage of it to use Bide, but the result is the same, although a Spewpa and a Pidgey step in to form a shield to protect them, getting knocked back. Ash then calls Vivillon, Servine and Butterfree to use Stun Spore, Attract and Silver Wind, but like before, Mega Alakazam deflects all the attacks back at them once more. Ash however takes notice on how Mega Alakazam's floating spoons glow every time they deflect an attack, so he orders all of his nearby Pokémon to attack at once, hoping to overwhelm them with numbers. Unfortunately, Mega Alakazam redirects some of the attacks into each other, while deflecting the remaining ones back at them. Roggenrola and Goodra manage to use their own attacks to stop them. Right then, Ash's Yanma takes the chance to ram Mega Alakazam, but Sabrina catches him in a psychic grip and sends him back at Ash, who has to catch him before he hits the ground. Right before they're attacked by a Slowbro about to hit them with Flamethrower, he zips away while the Slowbro is knocked out by Raichu. As the scuffle around him continues, he searches around his backpack to pull out a Timer Ball, which he gives to Raichu with instructions to go to the basement and catch Primeape with it. Raichu complies and uses Dig to go to the lower levels, while the rampage continues around and Ash realizes that Yanma found a hole in Alakazam's defense and they have to find a way to exploit it.

Elsewhere, the Team Rocket trio returns from the place where Anabel had blasted them off, and they wonder what they should do, wait until they return or try and find them. James proposes they could play Skat to kill time until they return, and when Jessie and Meowth look at him funny, he explains it's just a card game and not a case of coprophilia, and they seem to mistake it for being attracted to Officer Jenny.

After several failed teleportations, Misty, Iris and Anabel end up falling on top of a table, and much to their surprise, turns out they ran into Belladonna and her girlfriends, who were sitting on a couch watching TV. Misty and Iris recognize Vedia and Evanna from their previous encounters. Noticing that Anabel seems disoriented, Aurora asks if she's okay, but Misty snaps that nobody asked her. Belladonna steps in and says there's no need to be rude, and then asks why Ash is not with them. Iris is the one who responds, explaining that Ash was kidnapped by an Abra who teleported him away, and they've been trying to find him since, always running into more and more half-siblings of them. Vedia takes notes of everything she says while Misty tries to keep the Togepi egg and Anabel safe, until Evanna says something about rumors being true. When Belladonna inquires about this, Evanna explains that rumors abound that the Saffron Gym Leader, aside from the known facts that she's a homicidal maniac, is also a Psychic Bloodliner looking for worthy opponents, and forces them to battle against all of her Pokémon at once. Aurora seems worried about Ash, but Vedia states that they might still have a chance and he should be able to hold out, but they need to hurry. Belladonna states that they can use Aurora's Shellder to teleport there, and then Misty realizes that she means *all* of them. Aurora suggests they give Anabel some Mental Herbs to help her recover faster so they don't have to leave Anabel behind. Despite Misty's protests, recalling what they did in the power plant, Belladonna insists they're going to save Ash because she's his sister, and Anabel reads their thoughts to assure Misty that they do want to help, so the redhead grudgingly accepts, including even a crash course about relationships while they're at it, much to their discomfort.

### Part III: The Battle for Ash

Raichu manages to reach the basement, finding it surprisingly easy to get through as there's little resistance on the way out, thinking that perhaps the heavy hitters were called upstairs for the battle. Upon opening the door, she's surprised when she sees Primeape chained to the wall, recognizing him from the time she was under Paul's ownership and blasted him away. Primeape too recognizes her, and thinking she's here to finish the job, angrily tells her to get it over with, but Raichu notices there's despair in his eyes, just like she felt after Paul abandoned her. She inquires as to what happened to him, and Primeape reveals how he almost died after she blew him away, with an Arbok almost ending him until Sabrina showed up and brought him here for healing, but once he recovered she chained him to use as bait for someone called Ash Ketchum. Raichu then reveals that Ash is here and sent her to rescue him, much to Primeape's surprise as he doesn't understand why a random human would try to save him. Raichu recalls having overheard the others talking and suspects that perhaps Ash knew him, since he was pretty angry when he got blasted away for some reason. She offers him the Timer Ball that Ash gave her so he can enter and escape, and after some thinking, Primeape accepts it with no struggle. With that done, she immediately goes back above to help Ash and the others.

In the meantime, Servine continues to fight and thinks she's always eager to toss herself into a fight, but admits that perhaps a horde of Psychic-types might be a bit too much to handle. After charming two male Kadabra with Attract, and tossing a female one into a wall with Leaf Storm, she finds herself surrounded by several Natu, which she quickly strikes with Aerial Are, and then a Flamethrower from above, courtesy of Charizard, finishes them off. The two exchange thumbs up and she has to dodge an incoming herd of Exeggutor, which some Tauros stampede on. Chaos reigns about, with attacks raining all over the place. Frowning, she looks at her hands and ponders that, despite Contrary making her Leaf Storm stronger, she has her limits and her own moves are weakening due to fatigue, and seems almost reaching her limit as she uses Attract on an incoming Slowbro and Xatu, with their numbers still overwhelming her. Still, her loyalty to her trainer is stronger than the temptation to give up, and wanting to keep fighting somehow. As she spots Farfetch'd fighting against the "spoonsaber"-wielding Kadabra, she gets an idea and when a couple of those come to attack her, she knocks the spoons out of their hands and uses them herself to strike them down, rinse and repeat, before she finally recovers enough until she's forced to go back to Chansey for healing.

Not too far from there, Roggenrola ponders that she's always wanted to be faster, and right now she feels that desire more pressing. After dodging a clash between Butterfree's Psywave and a Slowbro's Hydro Pump, she gets barely a moment's rest before she gets ambushed by a flock of Xatu, which she Rock Blasts before they can use Psychic on her. She runs into some Kadabra who try to hit her with Psywave, and she counters with Iron Head. The two groups of Pokémon eventually come back and force her into the defensive. Finding herself overwhelmed by numbers and surpassed in speed, Roggenrola decides to try and outsmart her opponents. After dodging a barrage of attacks, she launches several Rock Blasts at the ground, propelling herself upwards, then continues to shoot them in rapid-fire succession at her foes. As the Xatu try to fly at her, she continues her attack while spinning in the air, until she leaves them buried under the rubble. She lands back on the ground a bit dizzy, but manages to steady herself and quickly returns to the fray, ready to strike fast and smart.

Ash continues to direct his Pokémon against Sabrina's Mega Alakazam, trying to overpower him with their multiple attacks, but he continues to deflect them into each other to cancel them out. He manages to freeze Ambipom, Bulbasaur and Yanma when they try to sneak up, but that leaves him open for Charizard to grab him and slam him against the ground, prompting the Fire-type starter to remark that he feels lighter than the other Alakazam in the room he defeated. He launches a Flamethrower, but Mega Alakazam deflects it towards Ash's Pokémon, forcing Squirtle to fire a Water Gun to save them. As a few Pokémon are thrown into Chansey's healing circle, Sabrina remarks that Ash would need even more Pokémon to overwhelm her Mega Alakazam with sheer numbers, yet things would be much easier for him if he just used his Dominion Bloodline. Ash insists that if he does that, she'll win, to what she replies that she wins all the time, whether her challengers prove themselves worthy or not, and wondering what Ash might try to pull off. Suddenly, Ash's Z-Ring begins acting out emitting a purple hue, as if absorbing psychic energies around and causing Ash's hand to shake violently. The energy eventually condenses into a solid object: a small crystal that falls into Ash's hands, much to his, his Pokémon's and Sabrina's shock. The Pokédex explains that this is a Z-Crystal, specifically a Psychium-Z, which enables the use of the Shattered Psyche Z-Move, and theorizing that it might have been created through the mixture of the residual Psychic-type energies in the gym and Ash's own Bloodliner energies, with the Z-Ring as the missing element. Ash then recalls his battles against Lilo and the twins, how it formed colored dust in his hand, perhaps as failed attempts to create Z-Crystals. Sabrina comments that she never expected him to throw her a new surprise, adding that apparently Z-Crystals were created by King Kahele, but the method he used was lost to history along with him, and Ash might have just rediscovered it. Ash places the crystal on the ring, and recalling the visions he had before, imitates the poses to summon the power and calls Butterfree to help him, as he's the only one of his Pokémon who knows a Psychic-type move. Sabrina has her Mega Alakazam use Protect while Ash prepares the Z-Move and charges Butterfree with the power. However, the Protect is shattered when Farfetch'd throws a leek at it using Feint. Ash calls out the move, and Mega Alakazam gets sent all over the place ricocheting while ramming on several of Sabrina's Pokémon, and the power explodes in a burst of light that sends a wave of energy washing over Ash. The Pokédex informs him that the attack sent out three waves of radiation, the last of which reached the nearby city area, albeit with no ill effects for anyone in the vicinity. Mega Alakazam is defeated and Raichu has rescued Primeape, but Sabrina isn't happy with this development and prepares to attack Ash herself, determined to force him to do what she wants, while her remaining Pokémon gather around her to assist her.

Right then, however, Ash's female companions and Belladonna's group teleport in, and they all immediately attack Sabrina's Pokémon to clear the path. As Sabrina is shocked by the new arrivals, Misty and Belladonna quickly get a hold of Ash's arms to protect him, while the Pokédex explains the situation and that Sabrina is the one responsible, and they need to immobilize her so she can't thwart their escape. Sabrina snaps out of her shock and tries to attack them, knocking Vedia into Iris, but Aurora shoots an Ice Beam and freezes her. When she tries to use her psychic powers to break the ice, Anabel uses her own to reinforce the ice and keep her there, while Ash's Exeggutor proceed to teleport everyone out of there and back to Oak's place, though not before glaring at Sabrina with hatred, making Ash wonder if she had something to do with their released state. Just as she manages to break the ice, Anabel teleports them away, leaving the gym leader a mixture of anger of being unable to fulfill one of her objectives with Ash, respect for his skills, and exhaustion for the whole ordeal that makes her want to go to bed.

Having returned to the same spot they were at the beginning of the day, Ash throws the Item Capsule containing his bed into the Secret Base they had used last night, wanting to rest and put an end to this day, while Pikachu claims Ash's jacket and goes to curl himself in a corner, feeling as tired as his trainer. Suddenly, Anabel teleports into the cave, along with Iris, with both of them implicitly asking to sleep with him tonight just to make sure he'll stay safe. Misty then comes in too, albeit she hesitates until Belladonna gives her a push to get inside, saying that the bed is large enough for all of them. Awkwardly, Misty only manages to say she needs something to sleep in, so Ash offers her a spare shirt, which she quickly changes into while Anabel covers Ash's eyes. Once she's fully covered, Misty tries to say something, but isn't sure what, recalling a similar moment when they left Cerulean City. While she wants to have a private moment with Ash, she knows she can't tell the other girls to leave, as they're all worried about him. Anabel senses what she's feeling and assures her there's no need to feel embarrassed. Ash tries to assure them they don't need to do this, but Misty shushes him, telling him she wants to stay close and be sure nothing will happen to him, and that she doesn't want to lose him. Misty thinks to herself that she's still afraid of losing Ash, but not to lose him to Iris or some other girl romantically, but to someone who'd try to hurt him, and she resolves to take Iris' training more seriously to be able to protect him from now on. With that thought in mind, she and the other girls stay with him and they all go to sleep.

Outside, as Belladonna finally falls asleep, she finds herself having a strange dream, being on a floating island with a small house, out of which an elderly Pikachu that doesn't look like Ash's or Red's comes out. The Pikachu hisses at her as if feeling threatened, and then she speaks with a voice that isn't hers, feels herself using a power in her eyes that isn't the one she knows, and threatens someone (implying to be a son) with sleep deprivation for two days straight. The Pikachu then fires an electric attack at her, and she wakes up, finding herself sleeping on Evanna's stomach, just as Aurora sleeps on hers, and decides not to move to avoid disturbing her. Meanwhile in a faraway region, a certain elderly Pikachu is also jolted awake from a similar dream.

In the Kalos region, Mabel's Mawile dreams of the time back when she won the Lumiose Conference for her trainer, defeating Casey Snagem's Chesnaught Bond Phenomenon transformation with her Mega Evolution, recalling how their clash unleashed a wave of energy all over the place. After waking up, she realizes that her trainer had the same dream as her, wondering if whatever happened to them back then now happened elsewhere and hoping that it didn't occur in a stadium full of people.

## Continuity

* The battle against Sabrina ends, and Ash earns the Marsh Badge from her.
* Ash's female companions see several of Ash's siblings across the regions, including Travis, Ritchie, Manna, Arnold, Meliae, and an unnamed one.
* In the aftermath of this arc, Krabby, Servine and Roggenrola end up evolving, as revealed in the next chapter.
* This arc marks the first time when all of Ash's currently owned Pokémon take part in the same battle at once. The next time will be during the Mewtwo arc.
* It is confirmed that Ash's father is the Bloodliner King, as well that he and the seventh brother of Orre are one and the same.
* Ash creates his first Z-Crystal, a Psychium-Z, and uses his first Z-Move, Shattered Psyche, with Butterfree.
* Misty recalls the chat she and Ash had the night they left Cerulean City, which is shown in the *Misty Gaiden*.
* Belladonna's dream it's implied to be a memory of Heratia, specifically from the time the E brother escaped from her, as first hinted in the *Holiday Special 2017*.

## Trivia

* The Sabrina arc was originally split in two chapters in Fanfiction.net, one focused on Ash's companions as they search for him, and the other focused on him battling against Sabrina, with a Complete Edition released as an April Fools' chapter. The complete edition has the events fully compiled in chronological order, with several extra scenes added.