The Pokemon Trials: The Judgment of the Fallen

Chapter 1: Pasts Revealed; A Verdict Made

Prologue: Red

It has been six years since I waved goodbye to Ash. We were both fourteen then. After finally defeating the Elite Four and becoming the Indigo League Champion we once again went our separate ways. I decided to devote myself to the Cerulean Gym, and he went off on his own to train. It was the first time he was on any sort of journey without a human companion by his side.

In the last six years I've heard the stories; rumors passing from trainer to trainer across Kanto about Ash Ketchum, League Trainer, the one who, shortly after claiming that title, put an end to Team Rocket for good.

Once Team Rocket disbanded, I heard he spent some time at Mt. Silver, the treacherous mountain just West of Kanto. I remember hearing about how Gold, the trainer who cleaned up the remnants of Team Rocket 3 years ago, had managed to beat Ash. I expected Ash to return after that, but it was almost as if he had disappeared off the face of the earth, and the talk of Ash Ketchum throughout the region slowly faded away.

But if wasn't long before a new trainer shrouded in mystery popped up to claim the title of Champion.

Known as the "Silent Master" this trainer utterly defeated every trainer in his way. His face hidden behind his hat, the only words he ever spoke were when he ordered his Pokemon to attack.

And now he waits alone at his throne deep within Mt. Silver, eagerly waiting for a new trainer to prove himself worthy. Known only as "Red" this man had become something of a legend in the Kanto and Johto; the dream and terror of every new trainer. And all around the region you would hear the talk of people trying to figure out who this mysterious trainer was. But I knew…. There was no way he could hide the truth from me, the first companion he ever had. I knew that this "Red" was Ash Ketchum, the man who I have been waiting for.

Part 1: The Return of a Legend

Ash Ketchum had one arm wrapped tightly around Charizard's neck as the Pokemon came to a stop in the skies over Cerulean City. "Pikachu," the young man said to the yellow Pokemon held securely beneath his other arm, "We're here." The two smiled at each other as Ash nudged Charizard, signaling him to start descending toward the city.

A rush of euphoria flowed through Ash as the Cerulean Gym came into view. He could feel his chest tightening as the memories of his journeys came to mind, and the moment that Charizard made contact with the earth, the trainer jumped from Charizard's back and looked up at the gym with a tired smile, "It sure has been a while, hasn't it?" Ash returned Charizard to his pokeball, adjusted the red and black hat on his head, and opened the door to the gym.

The first thing that Ash noticed as he entered the main area was the many swimmers in the pool. Normally the cerulean gym's pool wasn't open to the public, except on special occasions, so Ash was a little shocked by the crowd. And, being unable to spot his old friend amongst the crowd, he walked up to three female swimmers sitting on the edge of the pool, "Excuse me," he said, interrupting their conversation, "I'm looking for the gym leader. Do you know where I could find her?"

The young woman in a red bikini turned to him and said, "I'm sorry, the gym leader isn't accepting any challenges today. You'll have to come back tomorrow." The swimmer turned back to her friends and continued their conversation.

"Actually," Ash said, once again interrupting the conversation, "I'm not here for a battle."

The three women looked up at Ash with a harsh glare in their eyes, and the young woman in the red bikini said, "You're not one of those creeps from Nugget Bridge, are you? If you are I'd suggest you just turn around and get out of the gym. Misty's not interested in giving up the gym."

"I'm not from the bridge," Ash said, his patience wearing thin, "I'm just an old friend."

"Old friend?" the young woman said, obviously doubting Ash's claim, "Look, Misty doesn't have time to—"

The young woman in a blue bathing suit tapped her friend on the shoulder and whispered in her ear. Ash was unable to hear what was said, but noticed that she was pointing toward Pikachu.

"Fine," the young woman in the red bikini said, sounding like she still wasn't fully convinced, "I'll get her."

As the young woman walked toward a door at the back of the gym, Ash noticed that the two other women were whispering to each other.

"So," the girl in the blue bathing suit started, "how do you know Misty?"

"Oh, we're just some old friends. We used to travel together." The two swimmers turned to each other and giggled. "What's so funny?" Ash asked, but this only caused the women to laugh even harder. "What?"

But before he could get an answer from the swimmers, out of the corner of his eye Ash saw a beautiful woman with her long red hair tied back in a ponytail, dressed in a white bikini and an unzipped blue sweatshirt walking his way. A huge smile spread across his face as he turned to face the woman who he'd known since he started his journey, and as she got closer, Ash extended his arms and started walking toward her, ready to embrace his old friend. But once she was just out of his reach time seemed to slow down. The last thing that Ash remembered before everything went dark was Misty's raised fist making contact with the bridge of his nose.

Part 2: A Vitriolic Reunion

Ash awoke a few minutes later on a bed in a large room. He sat up on the edge of the bed and felt a painful throbbing in his nose. He reached up and felt the swollen spot between his eyes and sighed, "Man, Misty, you really haven't changed."

"Speak for yourself," a female voice came from the door. Ash turned around and saw Misty standing there, arms crossed over her chest, and with a very angry look on her face. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Red," she said, putting a very strong emphasis on the nickname.

"I was training," Ash said, not sounding too confident.

"Training?" Ash said angrily, "Training?" she raised her voice even more, "What sort of training prevents you from letting others know you're okay?"

Ash struggled to find an answer. He surveyed the room and noticed that the walls were covered with pictures of water pokemon. But, on the far wall, was a picture of himself and Misty, taken shortly after his victory over the Elite Four. Ash lowered his head and smiled, letting out a little laugh in the process.

"What's so funny?" Misty asked angrily, "Do you have any idea how worried I….we all were?"

Still smiling, Ash looked up and into his friend's eyes, "I missed you too, Misty."

Misty blushed. Taken aback, she hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and slapping Ash across the cheek. "You think this is funny," she grabbed him by his collar and got right up in his face, "Six years," she yelled, "Six god damned years I spent being worried sick about you, only ever hearing about you through rumors. Do you have any idea what it's been like?"

Ash was speechless. He just stared into Misty's deep green eyes. He felt Misty's hands loosen on his collar, "Misty…I'm sorry."

She fell to her knees, "Six years, Ash," she said quietly, "I was so scared. You were all alone in that god forsaken mountain, and I here I was, unable to do anything about it." Ash reached his hand out to lift her chin, but she started talking again, "What happened to you….what made you isolate yourself from your friends?"

Ash let his hand drop. "I don't know what to say."

Misty stood up and looked him in the eyes, "Promise me you won't leave me again."

"I promise," Ash said. He stood up and put his hands on her shoulders, "I promise," he repeated.

Misty hugged him, burying her head in his chest. He slowly put his arms around her as well. "Twerp," she said softly with a smile.

Part 3: A Dark Past

"Suzie," the man called out to the little girl as she curled up under her bed, "Come out, Suzie, Daddy just wants to talk to you." From her hiding spot Suzie could hear the sharp crack of her father's leather belt against the palm of his hand.

Her breathing started getting heavier and she started shaking in fear as her father's heavy footsteps stopped just outside her door. He covered her mouth with her hand, trying to muffle the sound of her breathing as his brown loafers slowly got closer and closer to her bed.

"Suzie," he called out once again, "Don't upset Daddy. He's not going to hurt you," the man knelt down and stared right at Suzie, "Don't be afraid." His mouth extended into a vicious smile as he reached beneath the bed and dragged the little girl out from under the bed.

He effortlessly threw the girl on the bed and turned her onto her stomach. "Please, Daddy, don't do this, please," she cried, but the man pulled her shirt up and winded his arm back. "Please-"

She was cut off by the pain of the leather belt snapping across her bare back. Tears started streaming from her eyes as her father continually snapped the belt across her back and her legs. She cried until she had gone numb with pain, and the only sound that escaped her was a quiet whimper.

She could feel a warm trickling of blood dripping down her sides when her father turned her onto her back, sending another wave of pain through her body. "Oh Suzie, your mother would be so proud. You are such a strong girl."

He raised his belt once more, when the lights suddenly went out and the room went pitch black for a moment before the lights flicked back on. The father let out a laugh, "Wooh, that scared me for a second."

"Then this will be terrifying," A soft female voice said from behind Suzie's father. "Just who do you think you are," the man said as he turned to face the cloaked figure that had entered the room. "Get out of my house," he said, raising the belt threateningly, "or else—"

"Or else what," the cloaked figure said maliciously. The father smiled viciously as he raised his hand, ready to strike, but as he drove the belt down, he felt an invisible force hold him back.

"What is this?" he asked, a hint of fear in his tone. "What are you?"

The cloaked figure turned to the girl, lying silent and shaking on the bed, "Suzie," she said, "I will protect you." The cloaked figure raised one arm, revealing a green hand as the sleeve of the cloak fell back.

The man let out a shrilling scream as he felt a terrible pressure in his skull, as if his mind was being compressed with incredible force. He collapsed on the ground, twitching, his eyes opened wide in terror, as the last bit of life left his body.

The cloaked figure walked up to Suzie and extended its hand to the girl. Suzie moved back, trying to distance herself from the figure., and hugged herself as tears started flowing. "Do not be afraid," the cloaked figure told the girl, "I am going to protect you," she got on her knees and looked the scared child in the eye. She then reached up and lowered her hood, revealing her green hair, red eyes, and, most shockingly, a pale face with a deep scar running from just below her right eye to her chin, "I won't let anything happen to you," she once again extended her hand to the child, "You don't have to be afraid anymore."

Suzie took the Gardevoir's hand. The pokemon pulled her in tight and hugged her, "Hold tight," she whispered in the child's ear, "I will make sure they pay for what they did you." The Gardevoir, with Suzie in tow, teleported from the room.

Part 4: The Boy of Tragedy

When Ash and Misty returned to the main gym area, the pool had started clearing out. "Hey, Misty," Ash said, "since when has the gym been open to the public?"

"For about two years now," Misty said, "we needed to pull in some revenue to keep the gym running so that the Water pokemon that we've taken in could stay here. Ever since my sisters stopped performing, we've had some trouble paying for the aquarium's upkeep."

"Things sure have changed, haven't they?"

"You should talk to Brock about that," Misty said with a smile, "Apart from Forest, who helps him at the Gym, all of them have left the gym to train their own pokemon."

"I'll bet Flint's happy to have some peace after all these—"

"Hey, Misty," A teenaged boy walked up to Misty and Ash with Pikachu held in his hands. The boy seemed tall for a teenager, but was very skinny. He had short brown hair with bangs that came down to his eyebrows, and judging by the dark bags beneath his eyes, he hadn't gotten much sleep. "Do you know whose Pikachu this is?" he said as he hoisted the disgruntled Pikachu up to eye level, "I caught him on a raft in the middle of the pool and was afraid he'd electrocute the swimmers."

"Oh thanks, Devin," Misty said as she took Ash's Pikachu into her arms. Pikachu quickly scurried up her shoulders and sat on her head, causing her and Ash to smile.

The boy looked at his watch, "Misty, it's almost 6 o'clock. Should I start closing the pool?"

"Thanks, Devin. Also, I know that you're supposed to be off, but would you mind going to the Pokemon Center and pick up some food?"

"Sure, no problem," the boy said as he turned to leave.

"Oh," Misty called out to him, "Put it on the Gym's Card, and make sure to get something for yourself, I know you haven't eaten today." Without turning around, Devin stuck his thumb in the air and directed the remaining swimmers out of the gym before he followed suit.

"Who's that?" Ash asked once the boy was out of sight, does he work for you?"

"That's Devin Trax, I hired him to help me run things after my sister's left."

"He looked like hell," Ash said with a chuckle, "What kind of work do you make him do?"

Misty didn't answer; she just looked down.

"What happened?" Ash asked, "Is he okay?"

Misty sighed and shook her head, "It's complicated, Ash, and it's not the happiest story." Ash felt guilty, realizing that his joke was in poor taste.

Misty sat down by the edge of the pool and dipped her feet into the water. Ash removed his shoes, rolled up his pant legs and sat beside her. They sat in silence for a moment before Misty started, "Devin lived in a house on the southern edge of town. His family were great friends of the gym and often came by to help care for the Pokemon. Devin became really attached to the pokemon, so four years ago, when he was finally able to start his own journey, he could not have been more excited."

Misty paused, wondering if it was okay to continue. She took a deep breath and started speaking again, "After he got a Pokemon from Professor Oak, he rushed back here to show me. He even caught an Abra on the way without using his pokemon," Misty let out a small laugh, "He really wanted to make sure that I was the first one who got to see his pokemon…he even said that he picked it just to prove that he had what it took to be the best."

"Charmander?" Ash asked.

Misty nodded, "He wanted to show me that, despite the odds, he could beat anyone—"

"Misty," Devin called out from the entrance, "I'll leave your food here," he placed the bag on the table, "I'm going to head to my room," He left with his own dinner, leaving the older trainers alone in the gym.

After some time Misty continued her story, "He was so happy. But I could tell his Charmander didn't take too kindly to him. And that night….." Ash noticed a tear flow from her eye.

"Misty, you don't have to…"

"No, it's okay. That night, after he and his family had fallen asleep, his Charmander forced its way out of its pokeball and set his house on fire."

Ash's eyes went wide. He'd heard of violent pokemon, but had never heard of a pokemon acting with such malice.

"Devin awoke shortly after and ran to his parents bedroom, but before he could get there, the Charmader attacked him. His Abra, sensing the danger, freed itself from its pokeball as well and teleported him here."

"What happened to his parents?" Ash asked as a lump formed in his throat.

"They died," A voice said from behind them. Ash and Misty turned around and saw Devin standing there, the same empty expression on his face, "they got caught in the flames and the house collapsed on them…. and the Charmander."

"Devin," Misty stumbled, "I'm…I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Devin said as he put his hand over his chest, "what's done is done. I can't dwell on such things." He reached into his pocket and handed Misty the Gym Card, "I forgot to give this back to you, the receipt is with your food."

"Devin," Ash said, "why don't you eat with us?"

Devin stood there wordlessly for a moment before turning around, "I really should get back to my room." But he hadn't taken more than two steps when a young woman burst into the gym.

"Misty," she shouted, and Ash realized it was the woman from before who had been wearing the red bikini, "You need to come outside, now. Something's wrong."

Ash and Misty stood up, "What's wrong, Tina?" Misty shouted, and the lights in the gym went out.

There was the faint red light of a pokeball releasing a pokemon, "Abra," Devin called out, "Use Flash," and the room was illuminated by a faint glow.

"Come on," Tina beckoned them, "this is an emergency." Ash, Misty, and Devin ran after Tina as she led them out of the gym and to the edge of town facing Mt. Moon. "I was trying to head to Pewter City, but something's preventing me from passing."

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Just watch," Tina said. She leaned down and picked up a small rock from the ground and threw it ahead of her, but after flying about five feet, it simply bounced back as if it had hit a wall.

"A barrier," Ash said as he laid his hand across the invisible wall, "and a strong one at that."

"Devin," Misty turned to the boy, "can you see if you can teleport past the wall?"

"Sure thing," he took Abra's hand, "Abra, teleport us out of here." The Abra nodded its head and the two blinked out of sight for a split second, but instantly appeared against the wall and were thrown back.

"Devin," Misty leaned down and helped him up, "Are you okay?"

"We couldn't get through," Devin said, groaning as he stood up, "what kind of barrier is this?"

His Abra pulled on his sleeve and pointed to the top of Cerulean Cave, where two figures stood, one of which—the taller one, shrouded in a black cloak—had its arms raised in the air.

"What is that?" Devin pointed to the figures, and the attention of the three others followed his direction.

Ash strained his eyes, "It's….it's a Gardevoir, and a little girl."

"Attention Cerulean City," The cloaked Gardevoir announced, "for too long have you humans caused pain and suffering to not only your own kind, but to pokemon as well. It is time that humans finally paid for the crimes that they have committed."

"Ash," Misty said, "I think it's creating this barrier."

"No problem," Ash only had one pokeball at his belt—he had decided to allow his other pokemon to rest after having trained for so long. Hereached for the pokeball and threw it, "Charizard, go," Charizard emerged in a ball of red light, ready to fight. "Charizard, fly up there and take out that pokemon."

With a roar, the Charizard flew toward the Gardevoir at a blazing speed, but as it got into range, the Gardevoir pointed to the fire pokemon and shot a green bolt of psychic energy at him. Charizard dodged the attack and sped forward, picking up speed, but just as it was about to strike, it collided with an invisible force and fell several feet to the ground below, "CHARIZARD," Ash screamed out.

The Gardevoir pointed to the unconscious pokemon. She began glowing with purple energy, and the Charizard was lifted into the air, "Stupid beast, this is what you get for following a pathetic human," And with a flick of her wrist, she threw the pokemon back toward Ash, who returned the pokemon to its pokeball mid-flight.

?You will all serve as an example to the humans of the world," Gardevoir announced, "Judgment is upon you; you are all found guilty for your crimes. And the punishment is….Death."

Ash, Devin, Misty, and Tina stared in shock at the two figures, unable to fully comprehend exactly what was going on. Devin's Abra grasped his leg tightly, afraid of what lie ahead.

And high up, standing with the cloaked Gardevoir on Cerulean Cave, Suzie looked down upon the City, filled with people that had failed to see the pain she had suffered her entire life at the hands of her father. And she smiled, relishing in the power she finally had to take her revenge upon the world.

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There's chapter one. Please review.