Hey, I know that there is next to no originality in betrayal fics, but I thought it would be an easy way to get into writing. I've tried to put my own spin on the overused theme so hopefully it'll stand out a little from the others.

I'm going to be honest and admit the SPG isn't my strong point so there will be errors and for that I apologise in advance.

This is the first chapter of the edited version of this story, I hope my old readers enjoy the improvements. If you're new here thanks for reading, the future chapters will have some changes as well to correlate with this.

Since this will be in the Orre region this story will heavily use the plot of Pokémon Gale of Darkness.

The Kalos League had gone far better than Ash had expected when he first arrived, sure he wanted to win but after a rather lacklustre performance in Unova he hadn't been overly confident so coming second and a very close second at that was incredibly. The result against Alain only made him want to train even harder for whatever region he would head to next, he knew deep down that the next region would be the one where he took that final step and won a regional league.

However first he had to get home and attend to customary 'surprise' congratulatory party for how he had done in the Kalos League, this time it was once again being held at Professor's Oak home. He only knew this since his mother had been so insistent to meeting him at the lab rather than at home. As soon as the lab came into view Ash hopped over the fence into the corral connected Professor Oak's lab, he wanted to drop off all of his Kalos Pokémon while he remembered so they could meet the others and enjoy being outside of their Pokéballs for a while.

The only exceptions were Pikachu and Greninja, the former remained seated on Ash's shoulder while the latter was resting in the Pokéball attached to Ash's waist. Ash never went anywhere without Pikachu and since unlocking his bond with Greninja he didn't want to be parted from him either.

After dropping off all of his Pokémon in the corral Ash sprinted up to the lab and stood outside the front door. He waited for a few moments and then Ash knocked on the door which creaked open as the door had been left unlocked, Ash found this a little odd but shrugged it off guessing that this was part of the surprise. He stepped inside the dark house and grinned as all the lights were out.

"Hey, mum, I'm home!"

Ash expected to hear a huge surprise from everyone he loved but after a few moments he had heard nothing. A confused look appeared on Ash's face as he wondered what was going on. He quickly turned on the lights and gasped as he saw broken furniture, smashed glasses, ransacked draws and perhaps most worryingly no sign of his mother who said she would meet him here. With the house in its current state Ash wasn't taking any chance and sent out Greninja as some extra protection in case whoever did this was still here.

Ash crept through the house desperately ignoring the sounds of glass breaking beneath his feet, calling out for his mother hoping that she would respond but his heart started to sink as he got nothing in return. A flickering light in the office drew Ash's attention and he immediately walked into the room and looked around. Ash felt sick as he saw the scene before him, his mother, Professor Oak and Tracey were all on floor, pools of blood surrounding them.

He ran over to his mother and collapsed to knees as he prayed that she was alright but as soon as he rolled her over his hopes were shatter, she was dead, as was Professor Oak and Tracey. Tears fell from Ash's eyes as he cradled his mothers' body in his arms, he was so wrapped up in her that he didn't hear several people enter the room and let out a group horrified gasp.

"Gramps! Ash what did you do?!"

Ash looked up from the body of his mother to his friends who were all looking at him fearfully, at first, he wondered why they were looking at him like that but then Gary's words clicked. They actually thought he had something to do with this, he couldn't believe that these people who he had known for years thought he was capable of doing something this horrific.

"It wasn't me, I just came here to see my mother and found them all like this."

Gary ignored Ash and basically collapsed next to his grandfather and held his body as he cried. Meanwhile Brock walked over to the computed to check the security feed, he replayed it, and everyone watched in horror as Ash and Pikachu entered the room and slowly dealt with Professor Oak, Tracey and Ash's mother Delia. With a sigh Brock shut off the footage, he hadn't wanted to believe Ash could do something like this, but the evidence was right there. Reluctantly Brock faced the young man he had once seen as a brother and then like everyone else stared at Ash.

"If you didn't do it Ash, explain this." Brock said.

"It's not true, someone is framing me." Ash pleaded.

Ash looked desperately at the people he'd travelled through entire regions with, people he thought were friends, even family. All Ash got was the same angry, disappointed and scared looks as before, Ash finally turned to Serena, the one person he was sure would support him because of the bond they had that transcended beyond friendship. To his dismay Serena turned away and looked down, Ash reached out to her, but she backed away and gave a shake of her head as some tears formed in her eyes.

"Please Serena think about it, why would I kill any of these people? I love them all especially my mother."

While it went unnoticed by some Ash saw Serena's eyes widen ever so slightly, enough to tell him that his words had obviously influenced her, at least a little bit anyway, the same could be said for Bonnie and Clemont who were also thinking over what Ash had said. All three knew that Ash had made an excellent point, they knew how much he loved his mother, it was obvious whenever they saw him calling her and it went without saying that Ash respected Professor Oak more than anyone else, so it would make no sense for Ash to just kill them for no reason.

Brock could see the Kalos companions being swayed by Ash's words and to a degree he was too, but the fact of the matter was there was video proof of the crime. As much as Brock didn't want to do this, he knew he had to stop Ash before he convinced the Kalos trio to side with him.

"You're going to have to pay for what you've done Ash." Brock said albeit reluctantly.

Ash took another glance at Serena, then Clemont and finally Bonnie all of whom still appeared to be thinking over what he had said. While he wanted to see if they would believe in him, Ash knew he had no more time to waste here, if he stayed much longer, he'd be captured. So, with apparently no one on his side Ash decided that he had to escape before the authorities arrived, a quick Flash from Pikachu gave Ash a little bit of time to run out of the lab and into the corral to collect his Pokémon. His friends may not believe him, but he was certain that his Pokémon would stand by him and help him escape, however he was met by a row of angry, disappointed and shocked stares.

Ash looked around desperately trying to see someone who believed in him, but they all shook their heads. While they may not have witnessed the footage that Ash's friends had they knew everyone had been fine the last time they had seen them, then Ash went in there and now all of a sudden, they were dead, which in their minds led to an obvious conclusion.

Ash turned around as he saw his former companions, apart from Serena, Bonnie and Clemont, all chasing after him and he was heartbroken. He'd always done everything he could to protect the people he loved and always had their backs but when he needed them to have his they had abandoned him. As hopeless as the situation seemed Ash wasn't going to give up, it wasn't in his nature to just quit, so he sent out Greninja and activated his Battle Bond with him.

Greninja then picked up Ash and launched himself into the air, quickly gliding away towards Viridian Forest using the Water Shuriken on his back. Ash just hoped that the Beedrill swarm there would distract their pursuers while he thought of a temporary solution to their problem.

While in theory Ash's idea of fleeing to Viridian Forest was solid, in practice it wasn't as Greninja could only glide so far and they landed half way down Route 1 which was nowhere near the safety that the Beedrill would hopefully provide. With no other options Ash, Greninja and Pikachu started to run up Route 1 hoping they would avoid the authorities that would be waiting in Viridian City. However, before they could get to far an old friend landed in front of them and scooped them onto her back as she flew north. Word had reached her of the events in Pallet Town and she knew that there was no way Ash would do those things.

"P-Pidgeot? You believe me?"

The flying type nodded and continued gliding north, Ash's plan had been relayed to her as well, so she was headed straight towards the thick forest north of Viridian, the blaring sirens of the police and his former friends following them in hot pursuit. After a short flight Pidgeot landed in Viridian Forest, Ash told the Beedrill what had happened, and they immediately headed to the south of the forest to buy Ash some time to escape.

All except one who instead chose to accompany Ash from now on, with only Greninja, Pidgeot and Pikachu by his side now the Beedrill understood that Ash needed all the help he could get. The Beedrill tapped a Pokéball on Ash's belt and allowed himself to be captured before Ash could decline his offer. Ash sent the bug back out and gave him a small grateful smile, in a time where everyone had turned on him it was nice to find a few allies.

"Alright the rest of the Beedrill will buy us some time but not much." Ash sighed and sat down on a tree stump. "What are we gonna do guys?"

Greninja, Pidgeot, Beedrill and Pikachu honestly didn't have a response to that, there didn't seem to be much they could do right now other than run and hope to avoid the authorities. The only thing they knew for sure was that they would stay by Ash's side until the very end, they would not abandon him no matter what. The sounds of battle could be heard in the distance, Ash, Pikachu, Pidgeot, Beedrill and Greninja all knew that the Beedrill were fighting hard to protect them, but they were gradually being defeated. After a few moments Ash got an idea for a temporary place they could rest at and then plan where to go.

"We'll have to risk staying on Mt Silver for a couple of days while I think of something else."

The Pokémon who had stayed loyal to Ash were dubious about Ash's plan, Mt Silver was known as the most inhospitable and dangerous places in all of the known regions. However, none of them could think of a better plan for now so they all nodded in agreement. Ash returned Greninja and Beedrill so there would be less weight for Pidgeot to carry and then the flying type launched herself into the air and nervously flew towards Mt Silver hoping that this risk would pay off.

The journey up Mt Silver was far more dangerous than they had anticipated due to the intense blizzard, the strong wild Pokémon living in the area and the unstable ground which felt like it could give way at any moment. They searched for something to use as a shelter to stay in and thankfully found an empty cave, Ash gathered the wood in the cave and made a campfire to try and keep them a little warm.

The cave they were in reminded Ash a lot of his first journey when he got stuck in a cave in the middle of a blizzard. Just like that day his Pokémon had refused to stay in their Pokéballs and instead surrounded him to help keep him warm which helped him fall to sleep quickly.

Back in Pallet Town all of Ash's former companions who had chased after Ash were now back at the lab trying to comfort Gary and mourning the loss of three people they cared about. The Kalos natives had kept their distance a little so they could think over what Ash had said before he left, between them they had agreed that they didn't think Ash was capable of something like this. The problem was they didn't know how to say this to a group of people they barely knew. Serena took a deep breath and then decided to take the plunge and try to defend Ash.

"Guys what if Ash was telling the truth? There's no motive for him to kill these people." Serena suggested

"Serena's right, Ash loved his mum, why would he kill her?" Bonnie added.

"And let's not forget that there are people and Pokémon who can mimic other people's appearance. It would be simple for someone or something to take on the appearance of Ash to do this." Clemont continued.

An argument soon broke out between the Kalos natives and everyone else, the only one who hadn't gotten involved was Gary who was still hugging the lifeless form of his grandfather. It eventually became too much for Gary though and everyone turned to look at Gary as they heard him mumbling something, the Pokémon Professor in training gently laid his grandfather down and slowly stood up directing a hateful glare at the trio from Kalos.

"Get out. Get out! Get out! GET THE FUCK OUT!"

Serena, Clemont and Bonnie quickly did as they were told knowing that staying would exacerbate the situation, so they quickly walked out of the lab and carried on to the outskirts of Pallet Town. As they reached the start of Route 1, they watched as a convoy of Police vehicles and ambulances flew past them and headed back north towards Viridian City.

Serena sat down at the base of a tree feeling awful, she had let Ash down when he had needed someone to be there for him and that only added to guilt, she felt for actually believing Ash was capable of such a hideous act. Bonnie and Clemont weren't feeling much better as they were just as much to blame, they had immediately believed what they had seen instead of thinking about it and questioning why Ash would do such a thing.

After a short while Serena finally stood up and started walking towards Viridian City closely followed by Bonnie and Clemont. It was eerily silent for a couple of minutes as the trio kept thinking over what had happened and what they could and probably should have done differently. They were all hoping that Ash was safe whenever he now was and that he could stay ahead of the police until the real killer was found.

"Where are we going Serena?" Bonnie asked.

"Home." Serena mumbled.

"What about Ash?" Bonnie asked.

"There's nothing we can do for him right now Bonnie. Until it's proven otherwise Ash is going to be seen as the killer. All we can do is hope that someone can prove Ash innocent before he gets captured." Clemont replied.

Bonnie nodded sadly as she grabbed a hold of her brothers' hand, the contact helped calm her down a little but couldn't do anything for the pain and guilt she was feeling for what happened to Ash. Clemont firmly held Bonnie's hand and did his best to put up a strong front for her, right now she needed him to be strong even if he didn't feel like it after the day's events. Meanwhile Serena wiped away the tears in her eyes as she walked a little ahead of Bonnie and Clemont, internally berating herself for believing that security footage.

Ash woke up from a nightmare and looked around the cave at his loyal Pokémon who were thankfully all still asleep, he'd been worried that he may have woken them, but it seems as though he hadn't. With a sigh Ash got up and left the slight warmth of the cave, he knew there was no chance of getting back to sleep no so he instead looked out over the mountains as the blizzard raged on. As the memories of the day once again caught up with Ash, he fell to his knees as tears started to trickle down his cheeks. He looked up at the sky imaging Arceus was there looking at him and glared as he asked the only question he had.

"Why?! Why?!" Ash shouted as his voice echoed through the mountains.

The shouts woke up Ash's four remaining Pokémon who quickly surrounded him and tried to provide any comfort they could for Ash as he broke down in front of them. The group did the closest thing they could do a hug around Ash hoping it showed just how much they all cared about him. Ash felt his only remaining family doing their best to console him and couldn't begin to express how much he appreciated what they were doing. Eventually Ash fell to sleep, the pain and suffering he'd been through today combined with his anguished cries had exhausted him.

The Pokémon who remained loyal to Ash looked at one another knowing that this would not be the last night they would have to do this. They just hoped that they could help him get past this in time, but for now all they could do was be there for Ash. As a particularly icy wind cut through the mountains Greninja picked up Ash and carried him back to the cave so he could rest in the slightly warmer conditions. The Pokémon then gathered around Ash making sure he couldn't wander off again without them if he did happen to wake up again.

A few days later Ash woke up as morning had once again come although up here on Mt Silver it was hard to tell when days started and ended because of the intense blizzard. Ash sighed as he started the fire he'd made in the cave, he knew they couldn't stay here any longer, there was no food up here and the weather conditions were terrible. They could only stay for another day or so before they would be forced to leave.

The problem was where to go, Ash knew he couldn't stay in any of the main regions, the police would be searching for him relentlessly, so he had to flee somewhere remote and hide there. A few places quickly came to mind like The Orange Archipelago and Sevii Islands, but they were reasonably well known and would probably be investigated too. After dismissing those areas Ash suddenly remembered hearing about a place called Orre, a tough and harsh area that no one tended to visit which sounded like the perfect place for him to go.

Ash quickly woke up his four remaining Pokémon and explained his idea which they all completely agreed with for the exact same reasons as Ash. With his Pokémon in agreement they left Mt Silver and headed in the general direction of the Orre region, since it was so remote Ash had no idea where precisely the region was only that it was to the west of Johto. As they flew over Johto Ash looked down at his clothes and knew he needed to get a new attire and ideally a mask to hide his identity, just in case the people of Orre know who Ash Ketchum it. So he made a slight detour so he could stop in Goldenrod and check out the department store, while it wasn't the safest option it would be his best chance of finding something suitable.

As night fell, Ash snuck into the Goldenrod department store with the help of Greninja who made quick work of the guards and security cameras. Ash felt a little guilty for doing this to these innocent guards, but he had to, he quickly searched through the clothing department taking a double-breasted trench coat, matching fedora, tailored pants, a pair of black leather gloves and finally a mask with a pattern that made Ash think of the Rorschach inkblots which gave him an idea for his new persona.

Once he was fully dressed Ash admired his new look in the mirror, it certainly disguised him well, he just hoped that it wouldn't make people ask too many questions. With his identity hidden and a new name to go by Ash then left the building with Greninja close behind, some of the guards had started to wake up so Greninja was reluctantly forced to once again knock them out. As soon as they were outside, Ash recalled Greninja and then sent out Pidgeot who crouched down so Ash could get on her back again. Once Ash was safely in place, Pidgeot launched herself into the air and they flew away into the night beginning their dangerous journey to Orre.

Author's Notes

So that's chapter 1, I'd appreciate any feedback.