Hmmm: Reset Time.

Let's have some fun, shall we? And for a change, I'll start with a character that has appeared in Reset Bloodlines before I decided to have them star in a oneshot.

Odd: this is the sort of thing the others do. But why not? Doing so could be fun, and it lets me flesh out a character a bit more without clogging up a main chapter with too many details.

Anyway, time for some basic stuff.

This takes place during and after the up and coming Chapter 31.

IF you do not read Reset, there will be things that confuse you. Hopefully beyond that the story is still good, even as it is part of the greater Reset narrative.

Hope you enjoy!

….

He had seen many stadiums in television as a child. He had always loved seeing them whenever they aired, which in hindsight was both often and not often.

It was strange upon reflection. It would explain why he really didn't remember much of the Pokémon used in them. He was pretty sure a Vertress conference had something that resembled ice cream at one point though.

This wasn't Indigo, or Silver, or Ever Grande. It didn't have the design of a Kalosian stadium either….meaning this was probably a stadium that only existed in his dreams.

The pink smoke at the edge of everything was a good hint. That always happened when he had dreams not based on his memories.

That observation out of the way, the dream presented the main focus of it standing at the opposite end of the field, giving him a 'bring it' hand motion with a wicked smirk that Red, having to be honest with himself, was uncharacteristic of him.

""Hey! I was looking forward to seeing you, Red! My brother should be strong to keep me sharp! While working on my Pokédex, I looked all over for powerful Pokémon! Not only that, I assembled teams that would beat any Pokémon type! And now! I am the Pokémon League Champion! Red! Do you know what that means? I'll tell you! I am the most powerful trainer in the world!" Ash Ketchum declared, before pointing as his Pikachu darted forward, sparking threateningly at him.

The hand that pointed his way had a white band on it, sparkling in the center with some sort of stone Red didn't recognize.

"Go, Jolteon!" Red countered as battles flashed in his mind, happening fast and in the blink of an eye.

Ash's Pikachu and his Jolteon (which he didn't have…) exchanging Thunderbolts at one another.

A Lapras, another Pokémon he didn't have, blasting at Ash's Charizard with an Ice Beam.

A Snorlax swung an Ice Punch at his Dodrio, suggesting that Ash had a Snorlax in this dream.

A large green serpent coiled around his Scyther, the serpent resembling Ash's Servine, as Scyther's limbs glowed with a slashing attack Red could not identify out at first glance.

A Pokémon that was probably Ash's as well: a blue bug type with a large horn, exchanging rapid horn jabs with his Persian's rapid claw swipes.

Finally Red's own Charizard, a Pokémon that only existed because of Ash, was staring down Ash as he threw a final Pokémon out.

The ball light faded, revealing a Pokémon that Red had never seen before, standing on two legs. It entered a battle stance as Charizard took a deep breath, and unleashed a powerful Fire attack right at it.

Ash moved to tap the ring on his arm….

And then Red woke up from his dream before he could see what was about to happen, the sound of waves washing against the boat as it continued to move. A weight leaned against him at the side.

He didn't need to see who it was: it was Yellow.

If it had been anyone else, he'd feel greatly uneasy. But she could sleep against him and he didn't feel uneasy.

Perhaps it was because they had been traveling together for so long that he felt like he could be open with her like no one since his mother.

Perhaps it was because they were related and you were supposed to do that for your siblings. At least, if Ash was correct that was the case.

"It's sort of complicated, but I am pretty sure we're related. There are a lot of people like us all over the place, and I've met more than you and me. None of us know our father." Was the gist of what Ash had told them in the Safari Zone.

It was a bit of a farfetched idea, the idea that the three of them were not only half siblings, but also one of who knows how many everywhere.

However, it was hard to deny that he and Ash did look alike. Plus Ash was not exactly in the place to say that because he wanted to be related to him.

Red couldn't help but feel the same way: he'd rather not be related to someone who squandered himself as much as Ash did.

Plus, he was sure he saw someone that did sort of like him and Ash while on the way to catch this ferry. The hair was wrong sure, but the face felt uncannily familiar.

The fact the kid also had a Pikachu was a weird coincidence.

Still that was but one little thing in the growing list of things to think about right now. Top of the list was the reason he was even on this ship right now.

"That's not what I'm seeing. No, I'm thinking something else. Beyond a winner of a League, or even being declared Champion. I want to see you get there Red, and for that I'm here to offer you a bit of help."

From her pocket sped something right at him. Red caught it with a pair of fingers, and looked at it.

"A Rainbow Pass?" Red observed as Naty nodded.

"Yes. This will allow you to travel to any place in my native Sevii Islands, where me and my associates work from. We have a little place we want you to find. It's off the beaten path, but it will be well worth your while to find. Not only are the rock formations surrounding it made of a mineral that counteracts the limits Pokéballs have, thus allowing for them all to be as free as Ketchum's collection, but my friend Meg makes sure the place never is barren. She can just breath on a plant like all the ones here and they'll be good as new. Of course, I am not without additional benefits."

She held up a brown and grey rounded stone with telekinesis once more, as Red looked at it in surprise.

"That's..."

"A Mega Stone, yes. Specifically a Kangaskhanite. I can see that you are looking for one here, and this is incentive to do so, and find us when your done here. We'll be holding your Snorlax with us until then."

With that she dropped the Safari Ball on Snorlax. It bounced off the fat of the beast, before opening up and sucking it inside. As the ball began shaking she held it in place with her mind before vanishing suddenly.

The girl, Naty, had set him up on this little hunt of hers, for reasons that she was being oddly vague about.

She offered a lot: things that would allow him to push past the gaps that Ash had over him. A place to have his Pokémon out constantly instead of kept in stasis when not in use, a home base, as well ways to ensure he was past him when Ash kept a hand tied behind his back, sort of speak.

Mega Evolution. They had a Mega Stone, he had the Pokémon that used it that he had been training since then. Finding them would give him all of these things.

Plus she had a Snorlax registered to him that she took as she left. As a Pokémon Trainer, every Pokémon caught was his responsibility.

Either to train to the best of his abilities, or ensure would be placed in a place better suited to them than his personal care.

True, it was utterly suspicious, and too good to be true. Yellow had every reason to be concerned, he could not deny it.

They wanted something from him. They were playing at something, and he had little option but to play towards whatever game they were after.

To get the game he had to rush from Fuchsia to Vermillion, and win three gym badges that really didn't feel worth it compared to the first four he had obtained (bar the Cerulean one, they all were more worth it than that one in all honesty). If this didn't pay off, he'd have to do a lot of training to win a serious badge if he wanted to do well at Indigo.

But if it did….perhaps Indigo would be his as a rookie.

"Pi."

The voice of his first Pokémon rang from the seat opposite of him. His Pikachu, after getting his attention, pointed to the front of the ship.

ARRIVAL AT KNOT PORT: 10 MINUTES

They were getting near One Island. His little scavenger hunt before Indigo was about to begin.

He gently nudged at Yellow, stirring her from her sleep.

"We're here." He told her, as she blinked at him with sleepy eyes.

She yawned before looking up front at the ship, staring at the distant land mass that was coming closer and closer to view.

"It's small." She observed.

Yes, yes it was. But size didn't matter as much as people think.

He had seen a small mouse defeat a massive Pokémon called a Mudsdale recently after all. A horse even he couldn't defeat.

His first defeat, even if the records never would show it that way.

One Island

Yellow's statement about the place being small was both true and false.

For one thing, he could see that the area called One Island had more to it than just a simple port town. He could see a land mass to the northwest of the island, a long stretch of field and rock that led up to a tall mountain.

He had also seen a secluded island on the way in, so there was more to the area than just the town.

On the other hand, the town was in fact, small.

It made Lavender Town seem the size of Saffron City. He didn't even see a mart in town.

A very large Pokémon Center sure, but no mart. Unless the mart was inside the Pokémon center….

He heard that was done in some places.

The port wasn't too busy, with a few dozen people piling off the ferry and wandering into the town, while in the distance about that many were milling about, most likely waiting to get onto a ferry next.

Observations in mind, he walked towards the town with Yellow and Pikachu in tow. He'd carry Pikachu or hold Yellow's hand if the crowd was bad, but it wasn't.

He kept a half eye on both if they wanted to do so though.

He passed into town without any issue, or a motion by either they wanted a ride or a hand.

"So…do you need to go to the Pokémon center after the ride, or are you okay to start looking around without it?" he asked Pikachu.

As the rest of his Pokémon were in their balls, they would not need such a thing. Their state had not changed since he had them all checked in Vermillion before boarding the ferry.

Pikachu shook his head in the negative, and so Red had that out of the way.

"Do you have any idea where you want to look for a vanishing woman who screams 'trap, trap, it's a trap'?" Yellow asked him, dubious in her tone.

She had always been that way about it. Pretty much the only reason she'd want to be here was because she agreed that he shouldn't leave Snorlax with them.

His ball, his registry, his responsibility after all.

Also, she didn't really have any other suggestions of what they should be doing to argue him with.

"I'd start on an island. If you are looking for something around here, that's a good place to start." A voice joked to their side.

Red turned to give the person who made that snarky remark a look. That wasn't funny, nor was it helpful.

The girl who gave him the suggesting chuckled from her place leaning against a building with no clear intention. Was it a house, a warehouse, a derelict building?

The girl was average height for a girl (shorter than him by a bit), with long brown hair topped in a white hat, with a blue blouse and red skirt over a pair of slender legs. She adjusted her white hat to cover less of her eyes as she continued to mess with them, revealing a pair of blue eyes.

"I think its great advice. You won't have to waste time diving under the water to look for them. That would be tough I think; we all need air after all."

Red turned to ignore her. She wasn't going to be of any help, and frankly the longer she talked the more annoyed he got.

It would probably bother Yellow if he got into a fist fight with a random cheeky woman in a place she'd rather not be but had no other suggestions of what they should be doing, after all.

"After all, Naty can do a lot of things, but breathing underwater isn't among her skills."

The quip came just as they had taken their third step away from her. Perfectly said, not rushed at all.

He froze at that step, turning around to the woman in shock.

Where she was now standing straight up, an Abra in her arms and a hand waving at him tauntingly now that she had their attention in full.

"Good luck Red. Naty says you're find us, but you'll have to really look for us if you want your reward. A real quest I know, but I'm sure you can manage it."

At that her Abra teleported them away, leaving nothing behind as the three stared at the empty space in silence, at least until Yellow spoke up.

"Suspicious." She simply declared as Red shrugged.

Suspicious or not, they were already here.

….

Red wasn't they most social person out there.

Far from it really.

However even he knew the following needed to be done with some tactfulness.

"GYARARR!"

For releasing a Gyarados you were only beginning the process of taming in a public port area would probably be considered bad form.

Yellow stepped behind him as the Pokémon continued to growl at him, baring teeth larger than Pikachu.

Speaking of which, his partner knew what to do, and had already jumped at Gyarados.

Gyarados swung his head to try and stop Pikachu, but Pikachu stuck the landing and climbed on top of Gyarados's head and began sparking his cheeks.

Gyarados's growls quieted down into a low rumble of rage as Red walked to Gyarados's mid-section. Yellow followed him, and took his hand as he helped her on the great serpent.

He followed, and pointed towards the island he had seen coming in. Gyarados, growling the entire time in the same low manner, obliged and moved in the direction.

The moment they were in the water and going in the right direction, Yellow's hand began to glow pink. The pink energy seeped into Gyarados on contact, releasing a warm, friendly sensation.

Red gestered to Pikachu, who ceased with the sparking.

The moment Pikachu did though, Gyarados reared up, nearly sending Red flying into the surf. It was a motion that was meant to signal intent to dive.

Pikachu didn't need a command to know to spark again, and Gyarados stopped the attempted submerging.

He sighed as Yellow removed her hand, looking sad as it failed again.

Gyarados, a Pokémon that was hard to tame, though it was easier to do so as a Magikarp first.

He probably should have done so himself, but he hadn't had any interest in a Gyarados until he learned a bit more about Mega Evolution and decided to gather as many Pokémon that could mega evolve that he could find, as to ensure that if he did find a mega stone he would have all the possible chances to have a matching Pokémon.

Now he had a Pokémon he could barely control, and only by a method he'd really rather not do. Having a Pokémon he could only use when Pikachu was literally threatening it was not ideal for any trainer.

Attempts to get Gyarados to follow him without the threat, such as positive encouragement with food and Yellow's healing powers, were not going well.

Sadly Gyarados was also the only Pokémon he had that could cross large bodies of water with them on it. Poliwrath couldn't carry them after all.

If he saw a Lapras like in his dream, he'd make sure to catch it. The lack of threats he'd need on that end would be so much better for everyone involved.

Except Gyarados. Gyarados was stuck as his Pokémon without a proper way to change ownership, and that would have to be by trade or give away to someone who could handle it.

Red was pretty sure that releasing Gyarados would only end badly for him and everything near it.

…

The area was pretty much some cliffs, a beach, and some grass.

After returning Gyarados, he left Yellow alone for a bit on the beach so look at the rocky cliffs himself.

They looked dangerous, and he was well aware that he had dragged Yellow out on this quest. There was no need to get her injured on his gamble after all, and he was told beaches were nice places to hang around in.

However after a half an hour, the rocks had only revealed to him more rocks. Nothing like what Meg described.

"Rhyhorn!" He shouted as the gray Pokémon charged, smashing a boulder into bits as he shook his head.

"Nothing." He sighed in resignation for the dead end as Rhyhorn grunted in agreement, before letting out a surprise grunt at something nearby.

"Nothing huh? Well, I assume you must share a Rhyhorn's limited senses then. After all, I'm certainly not nothing. Far from it in fact."

The voice, with an accent to it, declared this statement to Red in a bit of amusement.

Looking past the rock, Red was greeted with the sight of a man in white in all but some sort of blue ascot, scraping at the rock face with an instrument Red didn't recognize, slicing off some sort of white material as he did so.

"You know, they call this place Treasure Island, and it really is. The sea spray here creates a rather vivid natural sea salt that really does bring out certain dishes in a brilliant way." The man noted conversationally as Pikachu stared at the man intently.

As if this man was dangerous.

The man turned around, gazing at him with eyes that felt familiar to Red for some reason. He seemed to be looking over him with an expression that Red had only seen when his mother took him shopping.

The gaze of someone looking over fruit to determine how ripe it was. It was an odd thing to be doing to someone.

This man…he wasn't a pirate, was he?

….If so he would be an oddly dressed one.

"My first observation was obviously correct, it hasn't changed at all." The man declared as Red felt oddly insulted.

"A dish with all the right ingredients, but somethings still missing from you. Timing, intent, intensity…..such minor things that ruin the artistry of a perfectly prepared meal."

"Care to say it in simple terms." Red asked the strange man as he smiled, before said strange man smirked and held out his ascot, if that was what it was. Red wasn't really an expert in fashion products.

Really, what was in the center of it caught his attention. A keystone.

Both he and Pikachu looked at the man in renewed caution. Rhyhorn stared at the unknown man in dull surprise, not knowing what that meant.

"Oh I can tell many things, Red Taijiri. You're a tad far from home, aren't you? Then again, so am I." His eyes shone with the look of someone who was about to go into a grand declaration he truly believed, his eyes still reminding Red of someone he had seen before.

Closest thing he could say was the Cerulean Gym Leaders, but that couldn't be right. This man felt important.

"You are trying to perfect the recipe that you think will succeed for you. Mega Evolution if I am correct, following the path that fellow Scott lay out for you when he first gave you a Keystone. However, for as close as you may be getting to it, as powerful as you become….you are still missing that last thing you need. A step you haven't taken, and seem to struggle with if your Rhyhorn is any indication."

What step was that, exactly? He kept his Pokémon healthy and fit, and ensured there was nothing wrong with them. He trained all of them, as difficult as that was starting to get with how many he had, making sure they were all as strong as they could be.

If a Pokémon was having issues, he helped them through it. It was how his Sandshrew had learned Gyro Ball and evolved.

What could be missing?

"I see you don't see it. A pity, the most promising people always mess up with the smallest things. Timing mostly." The man declared as the water behind him exploded, revealing a Gyarados snarling with the powers of the crushing deep.

Rhyhorn glared at it as her horn began to glow white, ready to fire Rock Blast at it, as the man laughed.

"You can try that I'm sure, but it won't really help you. My Gyarados may have been caught as it currently is much like yours, but we've long gotten past that troubling stage. It's why what you see is more than just a bauble."

At his declaration, Red noticed that the horns on top Gyarados's head had some sort of ornate crown to them, which held a shiny stone in it a bit like the Kangaskhanite Naty had shown him. The man in white hopped onto the Gyarados's head, which turned around and began swimming away from the cliff rear.

As the man sailed away, Red stared after him in annoyance.

What was he getting on about? Who did he think he was, Paul?

…

"Red, you wouldn't believe how many pearls just wash up here!"

Yellow, obviously having a better time at things than he had, had an entire pile of pearls and star pieces at her feet, the little girl grinning at him in pride.

Red stared at the treasures she found, and nodded.

It was in fact impressive.

"I guess you'll be in charge of finances now." He simply declared.

Yellow nodded in agreement. Hopefully the island had a place to cash this stuff in, or else it would be a bit of a pain to carry around, even off the Gyarados ferry of possible death.

…

Sadly the place did not, and so Red found his bag rather heavy the next day as they found themselves on a long rocky path that led towards the distant mountain.

Mount Ember it was called, and the way to it was the Kindle Road.

It was rather hot, Yellow was wafting herself with her hat to try and stay cool.

He was used to heat, being him and all, but it was still going to be a bit harder than he suspected.

"….We can try this at night." Red offered as he looked at the sun.

It should be cooler by then.

…

There were months before Indigo, he could take his time looking for Naty's little bunch. He didn't have to rush this.

The cave they had found in the rocks was cool inside, at least compared to outside.

There was an inner heat that seemed to radiate from it, but that was probably the distant volcano more than anything else. It was still much better than the path.

It was a sort of muggy warmth, and it didn't take long for Yellow and Pikachu to both fall asleep.

He didn't though.

In part because he didn't feel tired, in part because he didn't fall to sleep easily, and in part to make sure that they weren't all tired because of carbon monoxide or something and have to drag both Yellow and his first Pokémon out of this cave to save their lives.

Thankfully, he did have something to pass the time that wouldn't disturb the two sleeping.

The Pokegear SP he had taken from Team Rocket's stolen truck, with a pair of headphones in them.

It was handy for more than what he had originally gotten it for, among which continuing preparing for the future.

Among that included learning things, and studying. The latter was what he was doing now: with an old League video playing for him to try and pick up on possible ideas, as well as trying to cover his issues with not knowing many Pokémon outside of Kanto.

He needed to fix that.

An Ever Grande Conference battle from years past was a video he had randomly clicked on to work on it: a trainer named Casey Snagem against a trainer named Rico.

A preliminary battle, the year this video was taken had multiple ones before the qualifying rounds would begin.

The latter had a Fearow out, which was atypical for the Hoenn Region yet not helpful to him. He already knew about Fearow quite well.

The Pokémon that the Casey guy was using at least was new to him: some sort of large green and brown Pokémon with green leaf like wings and bananas growing out of it.

A Tropius, the video called it. Interesting…..

It seemed to be a Grass and Flying type, decently bulky with moves like Air Slash and Energy Ball.

However, it was losing the fight. Rico would be moving on, Red could tell.

"Sky Attack!" Rico shouted as Fearow, who was flying high above Tropius, glowed gold. The golden Fearow rapidly descended downwards, moving at Tropius like a comet.

The attack landed, and Red moved to hit the next battle that the playlist he was following had: A Gabriela versus Mabel Fight from the Kalos League…and why was the video still playing?

The Fearow flew out of the attack, and Tropius was still standing?!

Red stared at the video in shock. That…that shouldn't be possible. He had followed the fight, how powerful Fearow was hitting and how Tropius was taking the hits. Tropius should be down by this point.

It wasn't an ability at play doing this: he had already seen a speed boost when the clouds weren't covering the sun that showed the ability of Tropius was Chlorophyll.

A Tropius might have other abilities than that, but this Tropius had the same ability his Victreebel had.

"How is that thing still standing?!" Rico echoed his sentiments as Snagem stared back at Remo with a dead serious expression mirrored by Tropius.

"Simple really: both Tropius and I are equally devoted to winning this battle, and we both refuse to lose! We worked too hard to get here, and we won't lose here! It is our power together that will make sure we win this battle!"

"I don't care how much you want to win; you should have lost by now!" Rico snapped.

"Energy Ball!" Casey and Tropius were clearly not willing to lose, and so the green ball attack was sent flying at Fearow in retort to his declaration.

It struck before Fearow could respond, right in the wing joint on the left. Fearow cried out in pair as it was sent plummeting to the ground, smashing into its trainer with sufficient velocity.

The impact seemed more intense than a simple critical hit. It was as if the Energy Ball was already packing more power before the critical hit even occurred.

Why though?

"Fearow, and Fearow's trainer, are both unable to battle! The winners are Casey Snagem and Tropius!" The referee decreed as Tropius smiled faintly, before collapsing in exhaustion.

An exhaustion that would mean that a ref would declare it unable to battle.

"What a stunning upset! Both trainer and Pokémon refused to give up, and thus created a miracle! This is a power of the close bond between trainer and Pokémon!" The M.C declared to mass cheers as Red paused the video, now in deep thought.

A trainer and Pokémon so in sync they refused to lose, even when carrying the damage that would cause a Pokémon to fall in defeat?

Was it a friendship thing? Red understood treating your Pokémon well, and that some Pokémon evolved from it, but such a thing actually changing a battles course?

That was impossible, something that couldn't happen, that didn't make any sense….

"I have a plan, but first you need to get Charmeleon to evolve."

The words said by Ash Ketchum rang through his memory as he recalled the final part of the Tag Tournament.

The part where they were facing down a powerful opposing Pokémon, Torterra. There were few options available, and Ash had given him the first plan that came to mind.

"Pokémon don't just evolve when they hit some single point, they evolve with a combination of power and will. Your Charmeleon has the power; you just have to make the will flow out like an unstoppable flood."

A silly, crazy, plan, that involved him giving Charmeleon an encouraging speech in the idea that it would make his second Pokémon evolve and have the power to push through Torterra's defenses.

The silliest, craziest part of the entire thing…

It had actually worked.

With both his Charmeleon, and Casey Snagem's Tropius, they had taken the encouragement and will of their trainers, and turned it into a miracle, if not additional power.

Ash's idea had worked, and not because of anything that could be calculated. It was entirely based on something else, not data and knowledge, but something beyond those things.

"You are trying to perfect the recipe that you think will succeed for you. Mega Evolution if I am correct, following the path that fellow Scott lay out for you when he first gave you a Keystone. However, for as close as you may be getting to it, as powerful as you become….you are still missing that last thing you need. A step you haven't taken, and seem to struggle with if your Rhyhorn is any indication."

And the man in white's words washed over him in a swelling of realization, as he reached into his bag.

Maneuvering through balls and pearls, he pulled out the keystone and stared into it.

Was that what Mega Evolution needed? Was he missing that piece with most of his Pokémon, but Charizard and most likely Pikachu?

Was it something that Casey Snagem had? That the man in white had? That Ash Ketchum understood, if not mastered already?

The power of friendship, of close bonds that went beyond simple trust?

If that was it…..he might be in trouble.

….

He threw the Pokeball into the air, releasing the Pokémon inside in a deeper part of the cave, where it shouldn't wake either Yellow or Pikachu.

"Poli." The Poliwrath looked around, expecting to see an enemy to fight in either training or true battle. He seemed confused simply looking at him instead.

"So…..how are you?" Red asked one of the Pokémon he'd had for a while with all the friendliness he could muster.

Poliwrath stared at him in confusion and not a bit of unease.

Being friendly, bonding with others….it was not something he was all that good with.

This…was probably going to be a tougher challenge to work on than finding Naty and quite possibly additional mega stones.

Looking away from him in a 'what is going on this is strange' way, Poliwrath's eyes widened in surprise before bounding away.

Red was about to call for his Pokémon, wondering if he had scared it away with his attempt to bond with it better, when a splashing sound was heard.

Water droplets splashed against him. Warm water droplets. Not salty.

Curious, Red held his hand out as flames burst across his palm, lightning up the darker cave more.

Before him, illuminated by his hand, was a large hot spring, which Poliwrath was currently relaxing in with a happy expression.

That….would explain the muggy feeling.

A hot spring…

An hour later found both him and Yellow neck deep in the water, content looks on both their faces. The hot spring was illuminated by Charizard, who stood at the edge of water with clear disinterest in getting near it, as five of his Pokémon soaked with them.

Poliwrath, Pikachu, Kangaskhan, Persian, and Beedrill.

Red's bag, along with all of their possession (including Yellow's hat and all their clothes), was also ashore with Charizard, with his bag in arms reach of him.

It was a simple plan really. They had to wait here until dark to look around in cooler temperatures. In the meantime, they could relax in this hotspring.

In doing so, he could start working on the bonding he had no idea how to really do himself, and with access to his entire ball collection he could return a Pokémon who was getting too hot and bring out another one.

That should cycle through all of them by nightfall, letting all of them enjoy a warm, relaxing dip.

It wouldn't be enough to match what Snagem, Ketchum, or the guy with the eyes of one of those Cerulean Girls had, but it would be a start.

"You know, when we do find that trap….do you think they have a hotspring like this?" Yellow asked in a relaxed voice as Red shrugged.

If they were here….very likely. He had no idea about the other islands.

But he'd find that out in time. Right now, it was time to work on bonding with his Pokémon better.

…

And that is that.

I wrote this while waiting for the New Year ball to drop in New York City. Fox was commenting on Red a while back and I decided to do some thinking on how to work on it. This was the result.

That was Siebold, by the way.

I'd like to see a few more oneshots detailing him in the various Sevii Islands, doing things as he works on himself along the way. We'll see if any happen, but if not I'm probably going to write the end of it in Reset proper. Note that this may come from other Resetverse writers and not myself.

Happy New Year Reset Bloodlines, and to all readers. Hope you all like this little nugget of inspiration.