Disclaimer: Not sure if I need to do this or not, but I don't own Pokemon.
Ash looked around the mysterious room that he and his remaining Pokemon had now found themselves in. The last hour had been an odd and frustrating one for Ash. His friends and family had decided that they wanted Ash to give up being a Pokemon trainer; a betrayal one could call it. Surprisingly, most of Ash's Pokemon had agreed leaving Ash now with Pikachu, Charizard, Greninja, Lycanroc, Infernape, Scraggy, Donphan, Noivern, Snivy, and Bayleef. Ash had run off and was going through Viridian Forest when he and his Pokemon had been teleported to this very, almost blindingly, white room.
"Where are we?" a voice asked which made Ash jump a bit as it had been very close. That is until he noticed that the only ones in this room at the moment were him and his Pokemon.
"Can you repeat that Pikachu?" Ash asked, double-checking.
"I asked where we were." Pikachu repeated before tilting his head in confusion at something else "What?" he asked looking at Ash's shocked face.
"I just understood you word for word." Ash said
"Wait, you can understand us now?" Snivy asked as she and the other Pokemon looked around the room in confusion "What is this place?"
"I'm not sure, though it feels familiar to me for some reason." Ash said "It feels like I've definitely been here before. More than once to."
A laughter suddenly moved through the room. The group turned to see a figure move towards the center of the room to reveal the laughter belonging to Arceus himself.
"Now Ash I know its been a while since you've been here, but don't tell me you've already forgotten what my domain looks like." Arceus said with a slight smile on his face as he saw the Pokemon stand in shock at the sight of him.
Ash however, simply smiled and gave a bow which his Pokemon reciprocated. Even the tougher ones like Charizard and Infernape didn't hesitate in bowing before the Alpha Pokemon. "Forgive me Arceus, but it has been quite a day."
"Now Ash, you know that there is no need for you to bow," Arceus said before frowning "and I'm quite aware of the recent unfortunate events you've had to go through. All of the Legendries are aware."
"Is something going to happen?" Ash asked, slightly afraid of what presumably angry Legendries could do to his former friends and family. He may have been mad at them, but Ash wasn't wishing death upon them and he knew that was definitely a possibility when it came to how angry a Legendary Pokemon can get.
Arceus however shook his head before frowning again "As much as some of them may want to, nothing is going to happen to the ones that used to call themselves your friends and family. However, I'm sorry to say that something is going to happen to you Ash."
"Me?" Ash asked before noticing something was off in the way Arceus had been talking to him "Wait, don't you usually call me "Chosen One" or something like that? You haven't called me by my name ever since we first met. And why do you look so sad? Is something wrong?"
"Yes, something is wrong." Arceus said "Ash, you are the first Chosen One in quite a long time and I have grown very attached to you. The recent event regarding your betrayal has affected us all greatly. Unfortunately, it was greater than any of us could have imagined."
"What are you trying to say?" Ash asked as he and his Pokemon listened with confused looks on their faces.
"Ash, it is with great regret that I must inform you that it appears that we Legendries have made a huge mistake. You are not our Chosen One."
"What? W-What do you mean?" Ash asked, a look of disbelief on his face "What do you mean you made a mistake? How could you only find out now that you made a mistake? Especially after everything I've done for you and everything I've gone through for the past seven years?"
"Ash, please don't take this personally." Arceus said as he tried to calm him down.
However, disbelief had quickly turned into anger amongst the Pokemon. This event was starting to feel familiar. Perhaps similar to one that had happened about an hour or so ago. "So that's how it is?" Greninja yelled, surprising Arceus.
"First Ash's friends, family, and even the other Pokemon and now you?" Bayleef yelled
Pikachu's cheeks sparked in anger "How many times has Ash risked his life? Now all of a sudden he's not good enough for you?!" Somehow, it was the second time he had to use that line today.
Not all of the Pokemon were throwing threats at Arceus however. Donphan, Scraggy, and Noivern began to huddle around Ash, though Ash wasn't sure if the younger Pokemon were trying to be brave and protect him from a possible attack or if they were afraid and seeking protection from him.
"I know that this feels similar to what happened earlier and I'm sorry, but please calm down so I can properly explain to you what I mean." Arceus asked. This timing was horrible but it had to be done as soon as possible.
"Guys please," Ash begged, gaining his Pokemon's attention "Let's hear him out. If anything, I think his explanation will be at least better than the terrible ones we had to go through earlier." Reluctantly, Ash's Pokemon calmed themselves down. It didn't stop some of them from having scowls on their faces though and it appears that he may have just stopped Charizard or Infernape from attempting to battle the Alpha Pokemon.
"Thank you. Ash, as I've said this does have something to do with your recent betrayal. As you know and have tried to change numerous times, I value Pokemon much higher than humans when it comes to being companions with. The Chosen Ones before you all had inseparable Pokemon companions. Some had human friends and companions while others did not, whether by choice or some other event. But they all had their Pokemon by their side no matter what. As you also know and have noticed, these Pokemon were noticeably stronger than usual."
"I think I see what you're saying." Ash said as he frowned "Most of my Pokemon left me so now I don't fit in the same mold as the other Chosen Ones. And if you did keep me as the Chosen One, the Pokemon that left me would still be stronger than most others."
Arceus nodded "I know you tried to build strong bonds with all of your Pokemon. I know that you didn't give the Pokemon any real reason to betray you. Something just went terribly wrong that not even Celebi or Dialga could predict and warn us of it."
"What does this all mean though?" Ash asked "Can I not help people or Pokemon anymore? If someone evil is doing something, do I have to just ignore it now?"
"That Ash is now up to you." Arceus said, surprising Ash. Despite what happened earlier and how he was actually feeling, a small smile still appeared on Arceus' face "Remember that most of the time you didn't even need one of us to tell you that you should help someone or stop someone from doing something that you believed was wrong. It's just that now that you don't have your duties as the Chosen One anymore, you are free to follow your own path."
"What do you mean 'my own path'" Ash asked, confused as to why Arceus was now smiling
"You are now free from what I or the other Legendries tell you to do." Arceus explained "Your Pokemon journey is now no longer going in one direct path; that being the one we've set you on. Now you have absolute free will on what and where your path now takes you. If you wish, you may continue to help people and Pokemon and stop evil as you see fit. If you yourself ever turn evil –"
"No way!" Ash yelled, an incredulous look on his face "Where did that idea even come from?!"
"Just the need to cover all of my bases." Arceus said, his smile not fading "Don't worry I know you won't turn evil. Anyway, as I was saying, if after all this time, you feel the need to isolate yourself for whatever reason, you don't have to expect any of us calling for you. The possibilities can be endless. And it's all up to you Ash."
"I don't know what to say." Ash said, a thoughtful look on his face
"There is one other thing I should mention." Arceus said, a more serious look on his face now "While you may not be able to regularly interact with Legendries anymore, you will retain the knowledge of where the ones you have met are located. Since you are no longer the Chosen One, the Legendary Pokemon are now free for you to catch. But, should you attempt to catch one and succeed in adding them to your team, they will become your responsibility and yours alone. I've never had to strip someone of their Chosen One title before, so this might seem odd that I would let you keep this information. However, this has all come rather suddenly and it wouldn't be fair to punish you for things that have happened outside of your control. Plus, I know that we can trust you."
"Right." Ash said as he was still trying to process all this information that he been given "So, I guess this is the last time we'll be talking to each other then?"
"Unfortunately, yes. The time has come to return to your world." Arceus extended a leg and pulled Ash into a hug, catching Ash by surprise for a second before he hugged back "Goodbye Ash. I think I speak for all of the others when I say that even without us, you'll continue to amaze and impress, no matter what you do." Ash let go of the hug before returning to his Pokemon. Arceus gave a thoughtful look before catching Ash's attention again "Ash, one more thing. As a reward to the Pokemon who did stay loyal to you and as a thank you for your years of service, the Pokemon with you now will retain what keeps them special such as your Greninja or Lycanroc."
Ash and his Pokemon were thankful for that as they waved goodbye to Arceus before being surrounded in a blinding light and disappearing. After Ash and his Pokemon left, Arceus finally let a tear fall "Goodbye Ash Ketchum. All of us will miss you."
Meanwhile, Ash and his Pokemon had reappeared where they had left, Viridian Forest. The sun was setting now compared to what it was like earlier this morning. Remembering Arceus' last words, Ash looked at his Pokemon to see Lycanroc still in his Dusk Form. Ash then looked at Greninja and the two nodded. Easily, Greninja activated the Ash-Greninja form before getting out of it. That settled, Ash remembered something and began looking in his pockets, but found no Rainbow Wing. Ash then looked at a nearby tree and held out his hands before concentrating. However, no aura sphere came out. Not even a poorly made one.
"I guess the aura powers were a part of me being the Chosen One?" Ash asked, his Pokemon shrugging, not having an answer "That Riley guy was an Aura Guardian and he wasn't a Chosen One. Maybe it was just a coincidence then?" More shrugs. Ash shook his head "You're right, I don't need to dwell on that much longer." Ash looked out to the sunset. He half expected to see Ho-Oh again, but saw no sight of the golden bird. Yet Ash wondered how much was truly different now. Although he was no longer the "Chosen One", Ash didn't feel any different. As a matter of fact, it almost felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all. "So, it looks like we're officially on our own path now." Ash looked at his Pokemon, the same determination and passion in his eyes just like every other new journey "I don't know where this is going to take us. The only thing I need to know is if you're with me!"
The Pokemon gave a cheer. They didn't leave Ash before and they weren't leaving now. Ash returned his Pokemon while Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder before Ash started to run off into the sunset. The pains of betrayal was the last thing on his mind now. He was still a little upset about what had happened, but he wasn't going to let that ruin this. And while Ash didn't know where he was currently going or where he was going to end up, Ash knew one thing was certain: he was going to make the most of it, just like every other journey before this one.
(Meanwhile)
Back at Professor Oak's lab, the Pokemon that did leave Ash suddenly started to feel strange for a second before feeling normal again. It almost felt like a weight had been taken off of their shoulders, but they also felt something else. Did they suddenly feel weaker? The Pokemon shrugged it off while Ash's former friends were now trying to decide which of Ash's former Pokemon was going with who.
Author's Notes: Here's a completely unplanned story that popped into my head. I'd love for some feedback on what's good and bad about it as it ended up being my first. Probably because I didn't need to write a Pokemon battle.
The inspiration for this story comes from other Ash betrayed stories that have some or even all of Ash's Pokemon leave him but still play the "Ash is the Chosen One" card. Doesn't really make much sense to me, but then again, any logic usually gets thrown out the window from the very beginning of those stories just by having Ash betrayed as the plot. Don't get me wrong, I still like those stories but…yeah.
Seem to be great stories for beginning writers though.