Indigo League 4: Anabel Date

**"Indigo League 4: Anabel"** is the is the forty-eighth (fiftieth in Archive of Our Own and Royal Road) chapter of *Pokémon Reset Bloodlines.* As the sixth round continues, Anabel writes a new entry on her blog before heading to ask Ash to have a date with her. The two head for a bar so Anabel can get a drink now that she's turned 16, but after that doesn't turn out well, they end up accidentally teleporting to a cave that was once part of the Victory Road. The two have a small private dance with each other, until an encounter with a Moltres that resides in the cave startles them, but after they give it a good battle, it rewards them and lets them go with a small reward for Ash in the form of a new Z-Crystal. The matches for the next day are finally announced, and Ash's prepares for his next opponent, who turns out to be Otoshi.

## Plot

Anabel is checking the comments on her blog, and answers one that tells the story about someone's grandfather who worked alongside a Ranger soldier to survive, thinking that it makes an excellent example as to how everyone should try and understand each other instead of judging based on prejudices. She later goes to see Ash and asks him to have a date with her, which he accepts.

The place she chooses turns out to be a bar, as she reveals she's turned 16 a few days ago and thus is now legal to drink alcohol. She also brought one of the Monodexes in order to use it as a talking device, and while not perfect, is still enough for her to communicate and cover appearances without outing herself as a Bloodliner. After they ask for their drinks, they quickly spot the Team Rocket trio, though they assure Ash and Anabel they're off-duty and won't be causing them any troubles. Jessie inquires as to whether they'll travel somewhere outside Kanto, which Ash confirms, much to her dismay. Meowth explains that Jessie has been trying Pokémon Contests lately and has been doing well, but if Ash leaves Kanto and they continue keeping an eye on him, she won't be able to compete in the Grand Festival, making Ash realize that "Jessilina" back in the old timeline was Jessie all along. Anabel tries a few alcoholic beverages to toast with Ash, but doesn't find them particularly tasty.

After they leave the bar, Anabel is left a bit wobbly on their feet, forcing Ash to catch her. Thinking someone approaches, she teleports them away, and they end up inside what seems a crystal cave. Anabel seems about to teleport them back, until Ash takes notice of the crystals and thinks this might be a better place for a date. He brings out Charizard, whose flaming tail quickly makes the crystals reflect the light in many colors, especially purple like Anabel's hair, and offers them to have a private dance party with each other, which she gladly accepts. As they dance, Anabel asks Ash about his future plans once he's done with the Indigo League. Ash replies that, whether he wins or not, there are some places he wants to visit with her and the others. Anabel inquires about Kalos, and uses the same mental trick she picked up from Mewtwo to send them both to a mindscape of Lumiose City based on Ash's memories. She then asks about Serena, and Ash tells her they'd probably run into her in the future as she seems close to begin a journey of her own soon. He also mentions that they'll possibly be going to take care of an errand for Professor Oak, and Misty's going to the Whirl Cup. She then shifts the mindscape into a tropical beach island, and teases Ash about the possibility of seeing them in swimsuits again.

After the dance, the two head out of the cave, and see they've come out close to Cerulean City. The Pokédex reveals this cave is part of an underground network that was connected to what used to be the Victory Road, a treacherous and dangerous passageway that trainers used to have to traverse and costed many lives to them. They also find an old graffiti that mentions a few names, which the Pokédex confirms belongs to Shadewell "Shade" Oak, the younger brother of Pallet Oak, and Akira Ketchum, one of Ash's maternal ancestors. The chat however is interrupted by a Moltres who comes over them and attacks them, and Charizard confirms that it wants to battle them. At first, Anabel considers teleporting away to escape, but Ash fears the Moltres might try to go and attack the city to get the battle it wants, so they bring out all of their Pokémon in hand to fight it off. During the battle, the effects of Moltres' Sunny Day helps Anabel's Eevee evolve to Espeon, and Ash tosses her the Z-Ring with the Psychium-Z crystal so they can use a Z-Move. Afterwards, the Moltres finally stops attacking, and satisfied with the battle and impressed with the fact that Ash and Anabel can also use Pokémon moves, gives Ash a Firium-Z crystal for his trouble before leaving. The two are left confused, but the Pokédex says that Legendary Pokémon have mysterious personalities and they'd be better off avoiding that one, adding that they probably shouldn't tell Delia about this encounter.

Back at Indigo, the matches finally end, and the tournament bracket for the Top 16 is finally revealed. Gary and Paul are set to fight against one another, while Ash is set to battle Otoshi. On the other block, Misty is disappointed that Fergus lost to Ritchie, while Ash wonders if Ritchie would be able to defeat Assunta this time around, as well as looking forward to see Red versus Alexander Silph. Meanwhile, he already has the perfect Pokémon for his match against Otoshi.

## Continuity

* The sixth round of the Indigo League ends, and the bracket for the Top 16 matches are revealed.
* The comment on Anabel's blog references the events of the *Laramie Gaiden*, as per the story told by Leeroy Laramie to his granddaughter Lara.
* Anabel is revealed to have turned 16.
* Jessie is revealed to have won two Contest ribbons. Her Ekans and James' Koffing are also revealed to have evolved to Arbok and Weezing respectively.
* Anabel's Eevee evolves to Espeon, and uses a Z-Move (Shattered Psyche) for the first time.
* Ash gets a new Z-Crystal from Moltres, a Firium-Z. This is the first Z-Crystal he obtains that he doesn't create himself.