ORIGIN
Trying my hand at a darker pokemon ff.
Ash is currently 22
Cynthia is 25
May is 21
Brock is 26
Misty is 22
Max is 17
Dawn is 20
Lydia (Future OC) will be 22
I don't own Pokemon
It was dark. No, not even. It was black. He couldn't see anything. The moon itself refused to come out, scared away by the awful almost tangible blackness.
He was frightened, only bad things could happen on a night such as this.
As he looked around he found what appeared to be a dim light flashing on a nearby hill. He moved towards it, like a moth to the flame. The closer he got the brighter the light became; beckoning him like a beautiful siren would a fishermen.
As he grew closer he realized it wasn't a light at all, it was a fire.
He started to hear screaming, a female voice. He frowned, sprinting up towards the hill.
As he neared he realized it was a house. His house. His house was on fire! He moved faster, willing his legs and lungs to not give up on him.
Halfway up the hill he tripped and fell, slicing open his leg on the very root that had the audacity to trip him. He shook it off, ignoring the crimson liquid making its way down his leg. The closer he got to the house the more frantic he became.
You see, this wasn't just any house. It was his house. And that meant it wasn't just any woman screaming, it was his mother's voice.
As he made it to the door his legs almost completely gave out, but he didn't care. As he forced the door open and ran in, he was in awe, complete and utter shock. In the middle of the fire was his mother, her eyes closed and head down as if praying.
No longer could he hear the screams.
The heat from the fire was unreal, sweat gushing from his every pore.
He was confused as it appeared she was completely unscathed.
Then, without warning, she walked out towards him, as if the flame she stood in held no domain over her, as if she was ethereal.
He couldn't move, frozen in place.
She was merely a foot away when she finally stopped, her eyes still closed.
Suddenly, her eyes opened and she let out the most horrific and violent scream he had ever heard, grabbing him by the throat.
He tried to scream out but found he had no voice. "YOU DID THIS TO ME." She yells, her grip growing tighter. "IT'S YOUR FAULT."
He tries to apologize, tries to beg for forgiveness, to explain that he tried his hardest to get there in time.
His vocal chords won't respond though, refusing to comply with his will.
Everything begins growing dim, his sight starting to give out.
He closes his eyes, reaching out to his mother, but finds that there is no one there.
When he opens his eyes again his horror grows tenfold. The fire has grown, his mother in the middle, screaming out as the angry tendrils of flame lash against her.
He tries to jump into the fire to save her, but finds he cannot, an invisible wall keeping him away.
Tears fall down his cheeks as he stands there helplessly, watching as his mother is swallowed by the flame.
Ash awakes in a heated sweat, breathing heavily as if he had just ran a marathon. He rubs his eyes, frowning.
'Another nightmare.' He thinks, sitting up. 'What I'd give for a peaceful night's sleep.'
Ash removes the heavy wool blankets, now drenched by his sweat. As he stands, he yawns, stretching.
This wasn't the first time he had a nightmare, that was for sure.
He had been having them for years, ever since the day his house had burnt down.
He was returning from Dr. Oak's house, when he saw the smoke and heard the screams.
By the time he got there the fire had already spread throughout the entire house. Without any regard for his own well being he burst in; jumping through the flames as he made his way to the room the screams could be heard from.
The door was locked, as if someone had meant to do this, to kill his mother.
At the time of course he didn't think of it, too focused on getting his mother out.
He slammed his shoulder into the door again and again, eventually knocking it down, the fire weakening the wooden foundation it sat upon.
By this time the screaming had stopped. As he entered the room he found his mother in a corner, surrounded by the angry fire.
He jumped through; scooping her up and making his way back out.
While traversing through what used to be his living room, a support beam from the ceiling fell, which he promptly tripped over, sending him and his mother sprawling.
He landed in a pile of smoldering ash; searing his flesh and slicing his leg open on the beam that had tripped him.
He screamed out in pain, but quickly shook it off, getting back up.
He grew light headed as he picked his mother up, almost falling again.
When he finally made it out of the hell that had become his house, he passed out.
His last vision that day was that of the bright lights of the fire truck and ambulance, as well as his mother's frail unmoving frame. The image burned into his mind.
The League wasted no time in his exile.
In hindsight, it was agonizingly obvious that someone was trying to get rid of him.
Not days after his exit from the hospital he was pulled aside by a league official, going on about how he had lost it, how it was his fault his mother was dead and that he was a threat to himself and those around him.
Word had spread that it was his very own Charizard that started the fire, by his command. It made no sense really, but people have a tendency of believing anything they hear, even if there isn't any evidence to back it up.
The new president of the league, none other than Giovanni himself, ordered him into exile, claiming he was insane.
Before Ash knew it, he was on a helicopter headed into the harsh frozen mountain range that surrounded Mt. Silver with only a rucksack of supplies and his pokeballs.
As he stood there watching the helicopter ascend into the clouds he vowed to get revenge.
Two years pass and Ash receives a letter from a courier Dragonite, stating that the league apologizes for its false allegations and that president Giovanni was found to be responsible for his mother's death, his key role in Team Rocket brought to light and all the other shady dealings he had been involved with during and before his presidency.
The letter said that he had been imprisoned for his actions, and that Ash's exile was null.
He took the note and crumpled it up, throwing it aside.
What did he have to go back to now? He had been gone for two years, everyone had surely moved on by now. Hell, he didn't even have a home to go back to.
He would spend the next two and a half years continuing his intense training regimen, mastering the art of Aura and training his Pokémon to their fullest potential.
The courier Dragonite eventually appeared again, bearing another letter.
This one however, piqued his interest. Tournament of Arcues, open to any who desire to enter, the winner earning the title of Pokémon Master, and a healthy chunk of change.
It was at this moment that he finally realized what he wanted to do. If he won the tournament, he would have the money to rebuild his home, and to open a gym in Pallet.
Over the years his attitude had changed dramatically.
Ash's content for society had faded, replaced by a burning desire to kill Giovanni. Although, he wouldn't allow himself to stoop to his level, killing someone who couldn't fight back.
He knew that if he resurfaced again Giovanni wouldn't be able to resist the urge to finish what he had started; he would find a way to get out and try to kill him. Until then, he decided to just live his life.
His friends… how he missed them. May.. Max.. Brock.. Misty.. Dawn.. Cynthia… he truly missed them all.
He especially missed May, who was his best friend before he left, and Cynthia, who he had become smitten with.
He truly wanted to go back, though, every time he thought about returning to see them, he couldn't shake the thought that they hated him or simply forgot about him. Childish as it may seem, he couldn't help it.
He saw this tournament as a way to reintegrate himself back into society, to eventually see his friends and ask them to forgive him for being gone so long.
He still clung to the now half burnt handkerchief Cynthia had given him before he left to go home, before the incident. It was kind of a strange keepsake, representing not only the good times, but also stood as a constant reminder of why he was where he was. It drove him, kept him going. Regardless if it was to make him happy or provide him the motivation to train himself up, to ready himself for the day he confronts Team Rocket and Giovanni.
She had been helping him train up his Gabite for a few weeks, seeing as how she had a fully grown Garchomp it made sense.
It was during this time he realized he was growing attached to her, forming a crush.
He thought of course, he had no chance. He was just a trainer.
Sure, he had saved the world many times over but he hadn't even defeated any regions elite four, he was nowhere near her level.
Not to mention the fact that she was gorgeous, and older, if only by a few years.
That didn't stop him from trying though.
The duo were joking around; She gave him a handkerchief to hold onto until he came back, a symbol of good luck, a physical promise to return, as if he was a knight about to go off to war.
Looking back, of course it was completely obvious she felt something for him too but in the moment things just don't appear how they really are.
As the two hugged he couldn't help it.
He claimed her lips in a short and chaste kiss, waiting for the smack that was sure to follow.
To his surprise though, she had kissed him back, afterwords making him promise to return soon.
He agreed; of course, little did they know what awaited him when he returned to Pallet.
That was the last time he saw or spoke to her.
It was still dark out; Ash could tell it was around 0600 by the way the sky looked.
He quickly cleaned up, brushing his teeth and dumping buckets of water over himself, lathering up with a sort of home-made soap and rinsing off. It was his morning routine, which he had stuck to for the past five years.
He walked outside to the now barely-there fire, throwing some fresh logs in. In just a few minutes the fire had grown back to a healthy size, so he gathered some snow and threw it in a large pan, along with some local berries and other plant life.
It wasn't the greatest tasting thing in the world, that much was for sure, but it did the trick. The berries were high in protein and other nutrients, whereas the random plants and roots provided weight to the meal, giving them the energy to train.
He silently chuckled to himself.
This would be the last time he would eat this sort of meal, to which he was pretty thankful.
Today was the day; they would leave out for Kanto at 0700.
He figured Garchomp could have them there by roughly 1000 hours if everything went okay.
Ash sat by the large pot, gazing up at the clear starry sky. He couldn't help but worry about being around people again, considering how long it'd been since he had any real human contact.
One by one his Pokémon wake up, accustomed to the morning ritual, their bodies adjusted to rising early. He greets them all accordingly, giving each a healthy portion of the soup.
'Today's the day. After you're done eating, start cleaning up the camp. Throw everything that we don't need in the cave, the rest goes in my ruck. It's high time we show the league what some real Pokémon can do. The other trainers, they don't know what they are about to face. I'm proud to call you my Pokémon; no, my friends, and together we are going to tear through this tournament like a hurricane, devastating all in our path. I know you will all do me proud.' He projects to the group. They all yell out loudly in response.
Ash grins, proud of what they have accomplished, what they've become.
A few hours later and the camp is completely packed away. His Pokémon recalled to their respective pokeballs, the only two left out being his Garchomp and Pikachu.
He hops up on the large dragon's back, Pikachu following suit.
'Make a beeline to the ocean; from there we head to Kanto.' He tells Garchomp, 'Yes, master,' replies the large Pokémon, cracking its neck, readying itself for the flight.
And with that he flaps his large wings, instantly finding lift and taking to the sky.
'Kanto, here I come,' thinks Ash, anxiously awaiting the tournament.
Just a simple background chap.
30may-updated, fixed up a bit.
