Well, look who's back from the dead!
Seeking freedom- chapter 3
it was a glorious day for battling Pokemon: the waves rolled across the sea's surface, and the sun engulfed the ocean in it's bright, perfect glow. The winds were brewing slightly; a tremendous day! Today, however, they would battle on a much better field.
"I don't understand. Why is the boat stopping?" Ash Ketchum, arms on the desk before him, asked the Nurse Joy behind the counter: his attire had distinguished him from the Ash Ketchum personality: a black shirt with a cloak, torn at the bottom edges, along with matching black trousers. Pikachu was tucked away in the messenger bag slung across his broad shoulders.
Replying over the top of her glasses, the Nurse Joy responded,
"Due to the amount of battling that has been taking place on the boat, sir, we need to stop in order to treat the patients. Please understand." The Nurse's explanation annoyed Ash: it was aggravating, hiding in the shadows like this: he had come just when he was sure almost no-one would be here, and yet there was a queue behind him!
Leaving the medical cabin, he growled angrily.
"Pi Pikachu?"
"No, I'm not alright! I have to wait for this boat to get to this dumb Frontier thing, since you insisted we come back! You know what the Pokemon League is! You know they control over Team Rocket, and all the others!"
Ash hissed to his starter, who sank deeper into the bag. Ash muttered profanities under his breath, cursing his life and it's bad luck.
Ash Ketchum- everybody agreed he was a bad guy. Damien said so: he was a terrible trainer, a cheater, and he almost killed his mother in a house fire. She did the right thing, disowning him: murderers and arsonists get what they deserve.
But Ash never burned his house down, though. He never tried to kill his mother. He never cheated or abused his Pokemon.
He was young: his friends, many famous people, along with international 'super-trainer' Damien Michaels, convinced him he was no good: they depressed him, and forced him to give up his dream.
He would never be a master, they would say. They told him Damien's abusive methods were better, and that he was too nice. He was weak: he was bad.
He had given up his dream, and stayed with his mother, who fussed over him.
"All your friends have accomplished something, Ash! What have you done yet?"
His own mother was ashamed: sad, that her son was a failure. Thanks to Damien, she had come to know this. Ash's heart still stung: their bad treatment didn't stop. They made fun of him: jeered and slandered him. He- who had helped them so much- was nothing to them. He was disposable. He was a loser. He was waste. His friends didn't care.
Ash loved May, Dawn and Serena. He loved them, and Damien had taken that out of reach, leaving him to wallow in a grey void of misery.
The final blow was dealt by Damien, as a safety precaution: Ash had come to know the League's corrupt secrets. They were affiliated with evil organisations, like Plasma, Galactic, Magma, Aqua, Flare, and Rocket. They wanted control over the world, and upon sharing his knowledge, Damien exterminated him for good: appointed by the League, he burned down Ash's house and blamed him for it.
Ash's world changed forever in a day, he only narrowly escaped a grave sentence: he was sent to prison, but only for a month. He had gotten out, much to the public's chagrin. Upon returning, he was banned from seeing his Pokemon and was disowned.
He took his Pokemon back. He ran. He trained. He fought. He bled. He swore vengeance. Vengeance against Team Rocket. Vengeance against the Pokemon League.
He took down Team Rocket operatives one-by-one: he blasted hideouts, and rescued Pokemon. He fought with all the vigour in his heart, never stopping. His antics were always covered up, but he knew that he had hurt the League. A lot.
"Attention all passengers, we will shortly be arriving at Seafoam Resort. Please take all of your belongings off of the boat, as we will be staying there for a week."
Ash calmly looked across the railing, into the coast, which was slowly coming into view, slowly taking in his breath.
"Pikachu? I'm sorry I yelled at you..." Ash quietly spoke: he had hurt his partner, his best friend. His strongest Pokemon.
"Chu." Ash couldn't help but smile. The mouse was his friend: he had forgiven him.
"Still, though..." He put a finger to his lip.
"There's something off about this tournament, don't you think?" Pikachu nodded: his master was right.
The boat finally stopped. A brief moment of seemingly universal silence usurped the world for a second, before being replaced by the rush of trainers to get off of the boat, and start the party.
Trainers were flying of off the boat: looking at the crowds, Ash knew to take a better route: through the water.
"Lapras, use Surf to sail to the emptiest part of this island." Ash's Pokeball released a blue Pokemon, with a hardened, grey shell on it's back. Lapras purred, before setting of to it's destination: the grey precipices to the North of the resort.
Ash set foot onto the craggy coasts, and released all of his Pokemon.
From the old days, all of his Pokemon had stood by him: Lapras and Pidgeot had joined him, as friends from the old days.
Amongst their strongest, Charizard, Sceptile, Greninja, Krookodile, Pikachu, and Infernape were the best fighters. Legendaries had fallen to these Pokemon before: they were not to be underestimated.
As for his new captures, those were plentiful: Pokemon from his days as a League Trainer, Zoroark, Tyranitar, Gengar, Lucario, and Volcarona had joined him. New captures also filled his bag: Raticate, Houndoom, Rotom, and Salamence were the newest ones.
Looking around to see that everyone was alert, Ash cleared his throat, and began to speak.
"Alright, everyone! You wanted to come to the tournament, and now we have a full week to train! I expect the best of you, so don't let me down!"
Cheers chorused through the group as they split of to train.
"Hey look! It's Ash Ketchum! The cheater's in this tournament!"
Ash could feel hairs rise on the back of his neck as he turned to address the people who so boldly insulted him. And so did his Pokemon...
"Well, well, well, look who came back!" Dirty blonde hair and a cocky smirk, Trip Sniper was there.
And he looked like he was itching for a battle.
