Indigo League 2: Forward

**"Indigo League 2: Forward"** is the is the forty-fifth (forty-seventh in Archive of Our Own and Royal Road) chapter of *Pokémon Reset Bloodlines.*Ash gains some notoriety after the first two preliminary rounds, and in the third he finds himself facing a familiar face in Joshua Martin. After a rather bitter victory, Ash spends some time with Misty to relax and have some fun, culminating in the two having what could be considered their first date. The fourth round has Ash facing a trainer who's had to make do with Wonder Trade, but has managed to make his Pokémon into forces to be reckoned with, giving Ash a run for his money to get past the preliminaries. At the end, the full tournament bracket for the Top 64 battles is revealed.

## Plot

After his defeat of the Rookie Crusher in the second round, Ash starts getting many congratulatory messages from friends and acquaintances, as well as former victims of the Crusher who are grateful that he could take him down a peg. Misty seems happy at Ash's newfound popularity, while the Pokédex comments that he's quickly getting talked about among other favorites like Koga, Alexander Silph and Corey, while adding that tomorrow's match will be on the Water Field. Misty smiles, wondering if she'll get the chance to see some rare Water-types, while Ash just hopes to fight a good battle, until the Pokédex informs him that his next opponent is going to be Joshua. All the joy and excitement quickly dissipate, but Misty reassures Ash that he's a better trainer and he needs to keep focus, while also be on the lookout for any possible cheating attempt. Misty suggests that he could dedicate his victory to Serena, who must be watching his matches in Kalos, and Pikachu agrees it'll probably make her happy. Despite the Pokédex suggestions to prepare, Ash finally decides on a plan of his own.

The next morning, Ash is playing around with Raichu's Heal Ball, which Iris takes notice of but doesn't know yet what he's planning. She's worried that he might get into another of his angry outbursts, but Ash assures her he knows what he's doing, even if he's acknowledging the possibility of it backfiring and not having a Tauros team to back him up this time, since he'll battle on the Water Field.

As the battle approaches, Ash gives Elwood a coffee after he won his match for a refresh, which the male twin is grateful for. He spotted Joshua entering the Water Field earlier after the opponent he just defeated left, wondering what he's doing there. Ash calls it "karma" earning an elbow from Pikachu, so he quickly explains it's just an inside joke, and Elwood tells Ash to beat him before letting Ash enter the field. As the two face each other on the field, they engage on some trash talk involving Serena, both assuming that she must be watching and wanting to beat the other so she can see it. The battle starts, with Joshua sending out a Magneton and Ash sending out Raichu. Joshua immediately mocks Ash for using Pikachu despite having a Raichu, but Ash counters that evolution stages aren't all that matters, considering that Magneton is still a mid-stage Pokémon itself. Magneton starts firing out a Supersonic, while Raichu uses Quick Attack to get behind it. When Magneton floats up to dodge, Raichu turns the attack into Brick Break, delivering a super effective hit with a speed boost that sends Magneton flying. Joshua tries to protest, but Ash quickly counters that it's a perfectly legal move, since Raichu did it by herself and Ash didn't send Pikachu or another Pokémon to assist. Both Pokémon then send out a Thunderbolt, evenly matched in power and without damaging one another, but the resulting blast pushes Raichu backwards. Joshua orders Magneton to keep pressing on to push Raichu into the water. Raichu once more dodges using Quick Attack, but Joshua anticipates and orders Magneton to get away to prevent the same combo from before. Joshua is confident that Raichu won't be able to hit Magneton with super effective moves, but much to his surprise, Ash orders Raichu to use Dig *on* Magneton, which she does by turning her tail into a drill and striking the magnet Pokémon with it, taking it down and winning the bout for Ash.

The shock of what just happened leaves Joshua dumbfounded, to the point he doesn't respond until the commentator and the referee both call him out several times. Joshua finally sends out an Arbok, and Ash decides to switch Raichu out. However, Arbok uses Pursuit to damage her as she's being recalled, and after the Pokédex explains the attack's effect, Joshua boasts that he has more Pokémon with that move in case he tries to run away, and the move works on U-Turn as well, leaving his choice of Yanma out. Ash chooses an Exeggutor, and Joshua's Arbok fires a Sludge Bomb. Exeggutor teleports away to dodge and then uses Confusion to restrain Arbok, who tries to struggle to break free but to no avail. Not wanting to win by spamming the same move over and over, Ash orders Exeggutor to launch Arbok in the air and strike with Psyshock, winning the second bout for Ash.

Joshua picks his Fearow as his final Pokémon. Exeggutor fires out a Sludge Bomb, which Fearow dodges and strikes with an Aerial Ace. though Ash quickly notices that when Fearow used the move, he veered dangerously close to him before attacking Exeggutor, which he calls Joshua out for. Fearow then goes for a Drill Peck, and Exeggutor ties the bird up using Grass Knot to restrain its beak. The commentator makes a remark about considering surrender which enrages Joshua, who orders Fearow to use Tailwind to break free and then strike with another Aerial Ace. Once more, and this time clearly with intent, Fearow flies close to Ash in order to disrupt him from giving orders, and close enough that he reacts by punching the bird in the head, even with Pikachu giving out sparks just in case, knocking it out. Immediately, Joshua begins to protest that Ash cheated by doing that, but the referee calls out that Joshua is disqualified for having Fearow interfere deliberately with Ash, and that Ash reacted as anyone would do with a Fearow flying that close to them. As Joshua continues to throw a tantrum, security is called to take him out of the stadium, and Ash is left with a bitter taste in his mouth for the way he won this match, but congratulates Exeggutor nonetheless.

In Vaniville Town, Serena stayed up late, due to the time zone difference, to watch Ash's match, and feels happy for Ash's victory, even more after seeing it was against Joshua, and wants to continue watching the rest of his matches during the league. However, she's been thinking lately about how Ash continues to move forward to achieve the goal he set up for his life, while she still hasn't decided what she wants to do, despite having many talents and skills she could put up to good use herself. As she goes upstairs back to her bedroom, she sees her own reflection, looking rather disheveled and confused, but then shakes off those thoughts, saying to herself that if Ash is doing something to achieve his goals, she should also get in motion to try and find her own calling, remembering that she still has her trainer license, and decides she will set out once the Indigo League is over. She looks back at the mirror and sees that her reflection now looks better, and decides she will stop overthinking things and try and do something. Unknown to her, and to the sleeping Fletchling on the roost near the stairs, her hair changes color to black briefly before she gets into her bedroom and goes to get some sleep.

Back in Kanto, Ash is celebrating with his female companions as well as Elwood and Aideen at a restaurant. As the twins continue to praise Ash for his performance and engage in some friendly chatter, the topic deflects to Joshua's attempt to cheat, which Elwood chalks up to Joshua not having confidence in his skills to try and win fairly, which leaves Iris thinking about it. Right then, Joshua enters the restaurant, quickly attracting many looks and orders something before leaving, and Iris decides to follow him, partly to talk to him and partly to get away from the crowds for a moment. A while later, Joshua finally notices he's been followed and asks her what she wants, and if he's there to rub it in his face being defeated by Ash. Joshua chalks up Ash's victory to luck and blames him for now being banned from competing in Pokémon Leagues for an entire year. Iris replies that Joshua brought that upon himself as Ash was only defending himself, while Joshua continues to rant that all that matters is winning, not how you do it. Iris then explains that Ash didn't beat him just because he was stronger, but because he worked hard to hone his skills, and having been there with him she knows Ash has more than strength on his side. She then states that Joshua cheats because he doesn't believe in himself to win fairly, and if he spent less time trying to find ways to cheat and more trying to hone his skills, he'd have done better, even though she still believes he would have lost against Ash. The words seem to leave Joshua thinking, but he ultimately discards them, hoping that Ritchie has the chance to beat Ash to avenge him, despite his displeasure, before storming off and leaving Iris alone with her thoughts, wishing that he could change his attitude and better himself.

Meanwhile, the third round matches continue one after another in the other stadiums: on the Ice Field, Paul's Magmar defeats a Jynx by melting the icy ground; on the Rock Field, Gary Oak's Nidoking defeats a Hitmonlee, as the Pallet trainer recalls Casey Snagem's words of advice to take his victories no matter how easy or hard they come by; and lastly on the Grass Field, Cross' Incineroar defeats an Alakazam despite losing his type immunity to Psychic attacks.

The day continues and the match with Joshua has left Ash still in a funk, with Misty noticing. Upon inquiring about it, Ash confesses that he might have also reacted to Joshua's Fearow that way partly due to their experience back when they first met and the Route 1 flock attacked and almost killed him. Misty admits it sounds plausible, and chalks it up to normal behavior. Ash however still feels bad about it since he doesn't actually want to hurt anybody, whether it's a human or a Pokémon, prompting Pikachu to remind him of what happened with Mewtwo and Sabrina. Not wanting to see Ash moping about it, Misty proposes they go out to town and have some fun together, doing something different to just training all day long.

They stop by a street full of stands with prize-winning games, with one being target practice with baseballs that Misty tries to win some Pokémon plush dolls, and after she fails to score enough for a Lorelei doll, Ash wins it for her, much to her delight to the point she even hugs him for it. Pikachu quickly calls it them having "their first date", which Ash denies, though inside he doesn't actually mind. The two continue to try different games, until they reach a Luvdisc scooping one that Misty tries, taking two of them together for herself before they leave despite the Pokédex's protests about catching a shiny one. Afterwards, Ash feels his spirits lifting up again and thanks Misty for bringing him along, making her smile, and then the Pokédex reminds them they have to go back before Iris does something stupid if she gets hungry, also calling their outing a date and with Pikachu agreeing, much to their embarrassment. Ash however thinks to himself that it might have turned out to be a date after all, and Iris and Anabel, who was eavesdropping telepathically and relaying what happened, agree that it definitely was, and Iris finds herself wondering what she'd like to do on a date with Ash herself. Anabel for her part checks the boards on a cinema, but none of the movies currently on circulation catches her interest.

Later, Ash is watching videos of his next opponent, Locke M. Hiraturemura, whose team seems composed of a huge mishmash of varied Pokémon from different regions. The Pokédex reveals that the registered information available on Locke has it that none of the Pokémon he's used so far in the tournament have the same O.T number, and theorizes that he might have Wonder Traded them all, due to his home place, Maroon Island in the Orange Archipelago, having little access to Pokémon barring Magikarp and Gyarados, and given that he has no Kanto Pokémon so far he might be focusing on trying to learn what his current ones can do instead of catching new ones. Ash mentions that nobody has a full grasp on everything their Pokémon can do, citing the example of Squirtle learning Aura Sphere, and name dropping having seen a Wooloo and having no idea of what it can do, much to Pikachu and the Pokédex's confusion.

The next morning, more fourth round battles go across every field: Dan's Typhlosion defeats a Kingler on the Ice Field; Koga's Ariados defeats a Gyarados on the Water Field; and Solidad's Ninetales defeats a Weezing on the Grass Field. In the afternoon, Ash gets his fourth round on the Rock Field, and seems happy that his opponent, for a change, doesn't seem nervous or act an arrogant jerk. Locke sends out a Hakamo-o, while Ash sends out Butterfree. As the Pokédex announces its entry about Hakamo-o, Locke seems surprised to learn that it gained Fighting-type upon evolving, which seems to explain it learning Sky Uppercut before. Locke decides to test out that very move and orders Hakamo-o to use it. Butterfree dodges it, getting nothing but a small air disturbance in his wings. Hakamo-o then fires out a Screech to bring Butterfree down and then try out another Sky Uppercut. Ash orders Butterfree to launch String Shot to break the fall and catch Hakamo-o, which Butterfree does by shooting a series of webbing strings to create a makeshift mat, cushioning the fall and getting Hakamo-o ensnared into it. Butterfree fires out a Psybeam while Hakamo-o uses Autotomize to slip out and dodge the attack, before countering with a series of rapid-fire Dragon Pulses. Butterfree counters them with Silver Wind, causing and explosion that blinds Locke and Hakamo-o momentarily as to what's going on, but Ash can still see it and capitalizes on it ordering Butterfree to fire a Psybeam on Hakamo-o's back. The dragon reacts and tries to attack with a Dragon Claw, but still gets hit by the Psybeam before he can put it to use. Butterfree fires out a cloud of Sleep Powder, which Hakamo-o passes through unaffected, so Ash quickly orders Butterfree to use Acrobatics. At first, Hakamo-o wins the strength clash, but Butterfree uses the momentum to fly up and dropkick Hakamo-o from above, still using Acrobatics to win the bout. Despite the loss, Locke takes out a small notebook and scribbles down something, before explaining to Ash that he wanted to take note of Hakamo-o's Fighting-type and its ability's coverage of Sleep Powder, which Ash accepts gladly.

In the stands, Professor Oak, Delia and Gary join Ash's female companions, with Oak and Delia having just arrived to catch Gary's match. Iris quickly takes notice that Gary has no recollection of the events with Mewtwo, while also somewhat snarking to see Ash performing so well, and they all sit down to continue watching the ongoing battle.

Locke sends out a Mienfoo, and Ash continues with Butterfree who fires out a Psybeam. Mienfoo dodges and then attempts to use Attract, revealing itself as female, and Butterfree counters with Silver Wind to deflect the hearts. As he does, however, he misses out a Rock Tomb forming above and raining down on him, knocking him out and evening the scores. After briefly considering a Tauros and discarding it, Ash sends out Bulbasaur to continue. Mienfoo charges in with a Drain Punch, which Bulbasaur dodges before launching on a makeshift Body Slam, taking advantage of his weight. Mienfoo fires another Rock Tomb, which Bulbasaur cuts using Razor Leaf. The two then collide against one another using High Jump Kick and Return, but Bulbasaur takes the worst of it with Mienfoo coming out unscathed, before attempting another Drain Punch. In a desperate move, Bulbasaur trips Mienfoo using Leech Seed to ensnare her in place, before finishing her off with a Solar Beam, putting the match two on one on their favor.

As Locke returns the downed Mienfoo, he comments that he wishes he could go through his matches without revealing all three of his Pokémon. Ash then cites how him trying to play smart almost led him to fall to Pava's Dragonite. Locke seems to agree, since he's had to make do with trial and error to find out what his Pokémon can do, but he's still ready to win. He sends out an Avalugg, which he calls his "Ultimate Shield". Despite Bulbasaur's protests about type match-ups, Ash decides to continue battling and orders him to use Razor Leaf. However, Locke has Avalugg summon a Hail, and the damage from the previous attack quickly regenerates thanks to its Ice Body ability. Bulbasaur tries to fire a Leech Seed, but Avalugg uses Substitute to avoid getting caught in it and shielding itself as the damage continues to regenerate. Desperate, Bulbasaur tears off a couple of rocks with Vine Whip to use them as weapons. Surprisingly the attack works, fizzling out the Substitute and almost doing actual damage on the third strike, until Avalugg fires out a Blizzard that sends Bulbasaur flying into Ash's arms and out of the match. Meanwhile at the stands, Pikachu is frustrated that he can't go down and help Ash, while Gary comments that Locke has all the reason to call Avalugg the ultimate shield, but adds that no shield can defend against everything. Professor Oak agrees, and then tries to make an analogy with the difference between a Skarmory and a Blissey, which Iris tries to give an answer to, but not quite the way Oak expected.

Back on the battlefield, Ash considers his remaining options: Serperior and Pidgeot are bad match-ups due to type disadvantage, and the Tauros he brought along doesn't seem a good choice either, so he's left to choose Squirtle. After getting some damage from the active Hail, Squirtle shoots out a Water Gun, which seems to do more damage than Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf, but still regenerates. Ash recalls something he learned back at Oak's summer camp, how some Pokémon were able to take one single strong attack just fine, but fell to a barrage of many weak but constant strikes, and vice-versa. Squirtle then fires a Water Pulse, which Avalugg freezes solid with Blizzard before getting hit by it while also knocking Squirtle off his position, forcing him to hide behind a rock to shield himself from the icy winds. Locke orders Avalugg to use Bulldoze to break all the rocks on the field so Squirtle has nowhere to hide. Not having any other options, Ash tries to gamble ordering Squirtle to use Aura Sphere, despite its training not being yet complete. The attack detonates on Squirtle's hands before being launched, but creates a pocket of air that shields him from the Blizzard enough for them to launch a Water Gun. Again the attack hits true, but the damage continues to regenerate making their efforts futile. As Avalugg prepares for another Bulldoze attack, Ash has Squirtle propel himself using Water Gun higher to land on top of Avalugg, who tries to shake him off using Blizzard. However, the attack barely makes Squirtle shiver and he begins using repeated incomplete Aura Spheres at point-blank range, racking up super effective damage much faster than Avalugg can regenerate. Locke panics and finds himself unable to decide an attack to get out of that pinch, until Avalugg just shakes his body to knock Squirtle off his back. However, by then the damage is too serious, and one Brine attack is enough to put the living iceberg down for good, winning the match for Ash.

After the battle, Professor Oak decides to talk to Locke while Delia takes the girls to talk about Ash and Misty's date. Ash finds himself talking to Gary, who recalls he's lived up to the promise he made during his last birthday, not only catching up but actually getting ahead, and now Gary himself is the one who feels like he's chasing after Ash, as well as Paul and Red, wondering if this is how Ash felt before about him. Ash replies that it's similar, but not quite the same, and while everyone works just as hard, sometimes you might get lucky breaks or not. Gary hopes that his training in the past months is enough for him to catch up, and reminds Ash that he still has the half-Pokéball from the promise they made, and he's ready for their eventual battle to see who'll claim the other's half, and Ash declares he's not planning on losing to anyone, especially Gary himself, who seems pleased with the answer.

After the preliminaries are over, the full tournament bracket for the remaining matches for the Top 64 is revealed. Upon Iris' request, the Pokédex explains how the participants will advance through the bracket as they win, with Anabel noting that Ash, Gary and Paul are on the same side, and they'll eventually have to eliminate one another to meet Ash in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Red and Alexander Silph are on the other side, which means Ash will have to reach the finals to face either of them, should it come to it. While Ash is somewhat disappointed on not having the chance to face every one of his rivals, but he's still aiming to win and battle at least one of them. Misty makes a joking comment about how he might have jinxed it and might end up not fighting any of them, and the redhead explains that she prefers that Ash battles someone he won't have intense rivalries with, which he understands.

## Continuity

* The Indigo League Conference continues, going through the third and fourth rounds.
* First appearance of Locke M. Hiraturemura.
* It is revealed that Butterfree has broken the move limit, learning Acrobatics.
* The full tournament bracket for the Top 64 of the Indigo Conference is revealed.