Thank you everyone who took the time to review. I really appreciate it.
Here's chapter 7 I hope you enjoy.
In conversations:
'- Translation of Poké Speech – No human unless otherwise stated can understand it. Ash can understand it due to his Aura.
"- Human speech
"- Telepathy
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
Pidgeot landed outside the Pokémon Centre minutes later. Ash returned her and he walked inside hoping Nurse Joy wasn't busy so she could take a look at Pidgeot. Once inside the Pokémon Centre he saw a woman he hadn't seen for about a year and a smile broke out on his face. The woman's head shot up and she looked to the doors when she heard them open. Her eyes lit up as she saw Ash enter. The woman got up walked over to him and hugged him.
"Ash I've missed you." she said
"I've missed you too mum." Ash replied.
He hugged his mother happy to see her again. He hadn't seen her since he'd left to train on Mt Quena with Mewtwo and the clones. Of course he still kept in touch with her with regular calls but it was nice to her face to face again.
"What are you doing here? I thought you'd have watched the tournament on T.V."
"Well I saw you competing and I had to come see you. Why didn't you tell me you were participating in this?"
Ash dropped his head in shame. He'd gotten so wrapped up in getting his revenge on his former friends that he'd forgotten to just call his mother to tell her what was going on.
"I'm sorry mum. I got so caught up with them being here that I forgot." he said guiltily.
"It's okay I understand how their presence could do that."
Ash smiled at his mother's forgiving nature.
"So how have you, Mimey and Ariana been since I last called?"
"We've been fine. Although Ariana has missed you a lot."
"Where is Ariana?"
Just then Ash felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He looked down and saw Ariana. She hadn't changed much in the past year. She still had her shoulder-length black hair, her skin like his is lightly tanned, and she has dark green eyes. The only real change is that she had grown a bit probably standing just over five foot.
"Hey Ariana how are you?"
"Ash I missed you so much this year."
Ash saw tears forming in her eyes and got down on to his knees pulling her into a tight hug. He could feel her shaking in his arms as she let out her tears.
"I'm sorry but I promise I won't be training on top of any more mountains. So I'll be able to see you a lot more."
It didn't take long for Ariana's sobs to subside. She pulled back and had a massive smile on her face. Ash wiped away her tears and stood up. He picked her up and she giggled.
"So how have you been sis?" Ash asked.
"I've been doing great. Mum's been helping me with my training for the Battle Frontier." Ariana replied happily.
"You told me you were training your Pokémon to respond to whistles rather than verbal commands. Is it working?"
"Yeah it is and we're getting much better. I'm having to give verbal commands less and less and in a few months I think we'll have it perfected."
"That's great news. I'll just go hand Pidgeot to Nurse Joy so she can do a check-up on her and then we can properly catch up." Ash said.
Ash put Ariana back on the ground and walked over to Nurse Joy. As he handed Pidgeot to Nurse Joy he was certain he could his mother and Ariana whispering about something. Although he wasn't really that concerned about that. At the minute he was just hoping Nurse Joy would give Pidgeot the all clear. But he knew those collar's had caused serious damage in the past so he was worried for her. After Nurse Joy took Pidgeot's Pokéball and went to one of the back rooms Ash walked back to Ariana and his mother who stopped whispering.
"What were you two whispering about?" Ash asked.
Ash was surprised to see that they both looked nervous for some reason.
"There is someone else here to see you Ash. Now before you do anything just promise us you'll hear what he has to say first." Delia said.
He wasn't liking the sound of this but they were his family so he trusted them.
"Ok I promise."
Ash watched as his mother took a Pokéball out of her bag. He was curious who was inside as it couldn't be Mimey because he never went into his poke ball and to his knowledge she didn't have any other Pokémon.
"Come on out." Delia said as she opened the Pokéball
The Pokémon appeared in a flash of light. Once the light died down it showed a reptilian creature that somewhat resembles a toad or a young dinosaur with a spotted blue-green hide. He had three white toes growing out from each of his four legs. His irises are bright red while the rest of his eyes are white. The most notable feature of this Pokémon is the green onion-like bulb on its back.
"What the hell is HE doing here?!" Ash yelled angrily.
Ash glared at Bulbasaur. He had always thought Bulbasaur was one of his loyalist Pokémon but he too had betrayed him and now he stood before him. Had his mother and Ariana not been here he would have gone ballistic but he was only just controlling his rage. Ariana grabbed Ash's arm and his gaze soften as he looked at his sister.
"Ash you promised me and mum that you'd hear him out first. Riolu has told me the reason Bulbasaur turned on you that day. Please just listen to what he has to say."
Ash sighed. He did promise them and he kept his promises.
"I'm glad that you've finally mastered how to communicate with Riolu." Ash looked at Bulbasaur and let out another sigh. "Fine I'll listen to him but it better be a damn good reason. If it's not I'll get Charizard and let me tell you he'd love a reunion with you."
Bulbasaur nodded.
'Ash if you don't think my reason is good enough I will gladly stand here and let Charizard roast me.'
"Okay I'm listening."
'Well this is what happened..'
Flashback (A few hours before Ash arrived home after the Sinnoh League)
At Professor Oak's lab Bulbasaur was in the corral as usual. In one of his less diplomatic moments he had just hit with Heracross with a Solar Beam to stop him sucking the sap from his bulb again. Bulbasaur wished he would stop but knew that he wouldn't no matter how many Vine Whips, Razor Leaf's or Solar Beam's he hit Heracross with.
But today nothing could get him down. He'd heard that May was in town which meant she'd bring back his mate. He also knew Ash would be back soon and he couldn't wait to see his trainer again.
Bulbasaur then saw all of Ash's travel companions over the years coming into the corral. He walked to them and they asked him to round up all Ash's Pokémon. He nodded and went off to find everyone. When they were all gathered they looked expectedly at Ash's friends wondering what they wanted.
"We've all decided to tell Ash that he should give up training since he clearly has no idea what he's doing." Misty said.
Bulbasaur couldn't believe what he was hearing. These people were supposed to be Ash's friends and here they are berating him.
"We know you are all very powerful but you are being wasted by Ash. We swear that if you to come with us we will help you reach you full potential." Brock added.
Bulbasaur looked around and saw most of Ash's Pokémon nodding. A couple of them looked unsure of what to do possibly due to fear of what will happen if they don't side with the majority. Charizard, Donphan, Bayleaf and Infernape on the hand looked absolutely furious. Bulbasaur looked at Ash's so called friends and shook his head. He would not betray his friend like that, not after everything they had been through together. The human's watched Bulbasaur's reaction and then looked at May. The Co-Ordinator from Hoenn took a Pokéball out and sent out her Bulbasaur. Although Bulbasaur was still furious he couldn't stop a smile coming to his face as he saw his mate. Bulbasaur started walking towards his mate but then May stood between them. Bulbasaur growled angrily at May who knelt down.
"She's going to have your child. So if you don't do as we say you'll never see her or your child." May whispered.
Bulbasaur was torn between his friendship with Ash and his love for his mate. After a a few minutes of internal debate he hung his head in shame and reluctantly nodded showing he understood and agreed to their terms. Charizard roared in anger and disbelief that Bulbasaur had chosen to betray Ash.
Bulbasaur looked at the humans and saw the evil grins plastered on their faces. They left the corral and gradually the Pokémon fled to their own parts of the corral not wanting to be near Charizard, Bayleaf, Donphan and Infernape. The only Pokémon left were the four Pokémon that were standing by Ash and Bulbasaur. Charizard, Bayleaf, Donphan and Infernape were all glaring at Bulbasaur.
'Guys I'm sorry but you have to understand she's my mate.' Bulbasaur pleaded.
'Save for someone who cares traitor.' Charizard snarled.
'I always respected the loyalty and dedication you showed. But now I have no respect for you at all.' Bayleaf snapped.
'To think I used to look up to you. You disgust me.' Donphan growled.
'I may not have known you long but I always thought loyalty was the most important thing to you. It seems I misjudged you.' Infernape said in a disappointed tone.
Bulbasaur felt tears prick his eyes at their biting comments because they were all true. He had just thrown away all of the self respect and honour he had. The four Pokémon that had chosen to stand by Ash started walking away leaving Bulbasaur all alone. Now Bulbasaur let the tears he had kept in flow and they trickled down his cheeks.
Later that day Bulbasaur did as he was told and stood with the other's that had chosen to betray Ash. He nodded along with them and added his own fake glare and growl at the person he respected more than anyone else. He watched as Ash flew away on Charizard with tear's in his eyes and Bulbasaur had never felt more ashamed in his life.
End flashback
'I later learned that they had been lying. Bulbasaur wasn't going to have my child. She had been in on it the whole time but by the time I found out it was too late, you were gone.' Bulbasaur went silent.
Ash looked at his first grass type and could see the guilt in his eyes. Ash knew that had this been a few weeks ago he would have still been angry. But now that he was with Anabel he understood why Bulbasaur did what he did and if Ash had been in the same position he would have done the same. Ash knelt down to Bulbasaur's level. The grass type flinched and looked away not wanting to see the anger and hatred in Ash's eyes. He'd heard that Ash had mastered his Aura capabilities over the past seven years and Bulbasaur was expecting some form of Aura attack to be launched his way. But he knew he deserved it and he was prepared to pay for his betrayal.
Bulbasaur let out a surprised gasp as he felt Ash wrap his arms around him. He looked up at Ash who was smiling.
"I understand why you turned against me now. I forgive you Bulbasaur although the other's may not do so as easily though."
Bulbasaur nodded knowing that they would probably never forgive him for what he did. But he do anything he could to earn their friendship and respect back.
"Ok I'm gonna return you now. I promise we'll catch up later."
Ash returned Bulbasaur and looked happily at his Pokéball. Ash had always felt that Bulbasaur's betrayal had hurt the most (apart from the rat's) because he'd always thought he was one of his most loyal Pokémon. Ash was glad he now had him back. Ariana and Delia looked on happy that Ash had forgiven the grass type. They had both spent time with him for several weeks and they knew he was ashamed of what he'd done to Ash and wanted to make amends.
Ash placed Bulbasaur's Pokéball on his belt just as the doors to the Pokémon centre opened. Ash looked to the door and saw Richie and Sparky with triumphant grins on their faces.
"Hey Richie how did it go against Agatha?" Ask asked.
"I beat her again but damn her Gengar is tough. You know your battle with Brock is all over the news. So how's Pidgeot?"
"I don't know yet. I'm worried because those collar's are bad news."
Richie nodded as he had heard the stories of what the collars had done to Pokémon He then saw Delia and he shared a look with Sparky. They both nodded and now had a devious look on their faces as they looked to Delia and then to Ash.
"Hey Ash I have a friend called Thomas who is trying to beat the Battle Frontier."
"Ok well how's he doing?" Ash asked wondering why Richie had suddenly bought this up.
"Well he has the first five symbols. Scott keeps saying that he could fight Brandon for the Ability Symbol and the Brave Symbol. But he keeps refusing saying he wants to beat the Salon Maiden first." Richie paused and watched as Ash realised where he was going with this.
"Please Richie don't say it." Ash pleaded.
"So Ash do you think you can ask your girlfriend to have a battle with him?" Richie and Sparky almost burst out laughing at the look of horror on Ash's face.
"Aw my Ash has a girlfriend." Delia said.
The look of horror on Ash's face had now intensified as his mother started bombarding him with questions. The question got more and more embarrassing. It became to much for Ash when she made a certain comment about his underwear.
"MUM!" Ash yelled feeling absolutely mortified.
Everyone laughed at the embarrassed trainer. Ash muttered a few curses under his breath directed mostly at Richie.
Meanwhile Anabel and Dawn were heading towards the Pokémon Centre to hopefully meet up with Ash. They were just casually strolling while talking. Suddenly a blue blur slammed into Anabel knocking her to the ground. Dawn knelt down next to Anabel hoping that she didn't get injured.
"Anabel are you okay?" Dawn asked concerned.
"Yeah I'm fine thanks." Anabel replied.
Anabel and Dawn then looked to the Pokémon now lying on Anabel's stomach. It was a small, blue, aquatic Pokémon with stubby feet and club-like arms that are longer than its body. It had a red gem on its chest and a yellow dot below the gem. Its onion-shaped head had a pair of long blue antennae, which have small spheres on the ends. Its irises were dark blue with yellow sclera, and there are two yellow dots of eyelash-like markings extending from the eyes.
"What Pokémon is that?" Dawn asked.
"I-I really don't know." Anabel replied.
"Mama." The mystery Pokémon said while looking at Anabel. Her eyes widened as she remembered a story Ash had told her after he beat Brandon.
"Wait a minute. I remember Ash telling me about a Pokémon that called him papa and May mama. I think it's name was Manaphy."
"So is Ash your papa?" Dawn asked.
Manaphy nodded.
"And May is your mama." Anabel added.
"No she no mama. You mama." Manaphy responded while still looking at Anabel.
Anabel smiled at Manaphy and cradled her in her arms. Manaphy sighed in content and snuggled into Anabel's embrace.
"Love you mama." Manaphy said.
Anabel was surprised by Manaphy's declaration but she only needed to take one look at Manaphy to know how she felt.
"Love you too Manaphy." Anabel said tenderly
Dawn started stroking Manaphy head. The Seafaring Pokémon seemed to enjoy the attention from both Anabel and Dawn.
"Come on then let's go find papa." Dawn said while stroking Manaphy.
"Yay papa make me happy."
Anabel gave Manaphy a small hug which she returned.
"Papa makes me happy too."
Dawn helped Anabel to her feet and they continued their journey to the Pokémon Centre. Dawn and Anabel were mostly paying attention to Manaphy who had fallen to sleep in Anabel's arms.
Back in the Pokémon Centre the laughing had died down and they were all now waiting to hear about Pidgeot. Ash jumped up from his seat when he saw Nurse Joy walking out. He went up to her praying that Pidgeot would be alright.
"So how is she?" Ash asked frantically.
"She will need some surgery around the area the collar was as there is some damage caused due to it being worn for so many years. But she'll be fine as there appears to be no permanent damage. If you come back for her in a few days she'll be ready."
Ash let out a massive sigh of relief. He was over the moon that the damage was minimal. He seen those collars cause a lot of damage, anything from neurological problems to in extreme cases death. Ash thanked Nurse Joy and began walking back to the other's.
"By the way all the competitors have a week off." Nurse Joy said.
"Why." Ash asked as he didn't understand why they'd take a break when they aren't even half way through the tournament.
"Because of the special event being held to promote Co-ordinating. The thing is over the past few years Co-ordinating has become less popular and there are not a lot of new faces are appearing. So the four best Co-Ordinators are having a tag team match."
"So who are the top four Co-Ordinators and who have they been partnered with?" Richie asked.
"The teams are May and Drew and they're against Ursula and Zoey."
"That's odd I expected Solidad to be one of the top four." Ash replied.
"Solidad retired a couple of years ago. She'd won all four Grand Festivals and decided to step aside to allow other's to shine." Ariana stated.
"Well if Solidad's won all of them I guess her retiring makes sense." Ash said.
The doors to the Pokémon centre then opened. Ash turned to look who it was when a small blue Pokémon slammed into him. Ash looked down at the Pokémon in his arms and smiled. Manaphy looked back with her dark blue eyes and a smile on her face.
"Papa." Manaphy said lovingly.
Anabel and Dawn then walked through the door and smiled at the scene.
"Hey Manaphy." Ash said as he gave Manaphy a hug.
"Love you papa."
"Love you too Manaphy."
Ash placed Manaphy in one arm and wrapped his other around Anabel who returned the embrace making sure not to crush Manaphy between them. They broke apart much to Manaphy's displeasure as she liked being held by her mama and papa.
"Anabel there's a couple of people I want you to meet." Ash said as he led Anabel to Delia. "Anabel, this my mother Delia Ketchum. Mum this is Anabel she's my girlfriend."
"Hello it's nice to finally meet you Mrs Ketchum." Anabel said politely
"Please call me Delia and it's nice to meet you too."
Ash then looked at Ariana.
"This is my little sister Ariana. She's a little shy so don't be offended if she shies away from you at first."
Anabel walked over to the young girl. She knelt down allowing Ariana to make the next move. Ariana stood still for a moment before walking up to Anabel with a smile on her face and she hugged Anabel. Although she usually was shy with people she figured that if Ash was in love with her then there is nothing to be afraid of. Ash was happy to see Ariana not being shy around Anabel. She usually was with other's when she first met them. She was shy with Richie at first and she was probably still terrified of Paul.
"I didn't think you had a sister Ash." Anabel said.
"Well Ariana isn't a sister by blood. Um it's kinda hard to explain without telling you the full story."
"Okay so how did you two meet?" Anabel asked.
Ash looked at Ariana and saw that the memories of that day were now on her mind. Ash passed Manaphy to Anabel and took three Pokéballs off his belt.
"Lucario, Luxray and Donphan come on out."
The trio of Pokémon appeared and instantly were hugged by Ariana.
"Hey can you guys take mum and Ariana to the clearing?"
'Of course master.' Lucario replied.
"Thanks." Ash said as he watched them leave.
It took a couple of moment for Ash to realise that Lucario had called him master again. Ash walked outside and he could just see Lucario in the distance.
"Lucario stop calling me master." He yelled.
Ash was certain he could hear Lucario chuckling as he walked back into the Pokémon Centre to find Richie, Sparky, Dawn and Anabel who were laughing. Manaphy was looking around confused at what was so funny and in the end just closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again. When they saw Manaphy was asleep they quietened down and Anabel looked at Ash bemusedly.
"Ash why did you make your mother and Ariana leave?" Anabel queried.
"The thing is it is a very sad story. It always makes Ariana cry so that's why I wanted them to leave. Anyway this is what happened..."
Flashback (5 years ago)
Ash had just started gathering information on Team Rocket so that he could take them down. He was currently in Sinnoh searching around the Mt Coronet area. So far he had discovered a small outpost so it seemed logical to him that a base must be somewhere in the area. After about an hour of searching Ash found what appeared to be the entrance to a facility. Ash still found it amazing how much influence Team Rocket had in Sinnoh. He had always assumed that they had only operated in Kanto and Johto but his travels had proven that they were a far greater threat than anyone thought.
He stood watching the guards patrol route for half an hour and spotted an obvious gap where he could sneak through. As he was about to execute the plan he heard screams coming from the east. He couldn't ignore the terror filled screams and ran towards the source. He stopped in a clearing where he saw a young girl who could be no more than six running from a couple of Team Rocket grunts. The girl stumbled and fell to the floor. She tried to crawl away but one of the grunts grabbed her and picked her up.
"Sorry kid it's nothing personal but we can't have you telling someone about what happened."
The grunt pulled out a knife and was about to stab the young girl until an Aura Sphere slammed into his gut sending him crashing back into a tree. The other grunt looked to where the attack had come from and spotted Ash. The grunt ignored the girl and now aimed a gun at Ash who shot forward and hit the grunt with an Aura infused punch that sent him crashing into his buddy knocking both of them out. Ash ran over to the girl who was now in the fetal position and sobbing uncontrollably. He knelt down next to the girl and pulled her into a hug.
"Hey calm down. I've dealt with the bad men. They won't hurt you now."
The girl sobbed into his shirt. After a few minutes her sobs lessened.
"Why were those men chasing you." Ash asked gently
"T-they k-k-killed my m-mummy and d-daddy." the girl said between sobs "I-I saw them h-hurting Pokémon so I-I ran home to tell my parents. The b-bad men followed me and broke our door down. My daddy told to run so I did."
"What's your name?" He asked
"M-my n-n-name is Ariana."
"Do you have any family or friends I can take you to?"
She just shook her head. Ash sighed sadly as he had no idea what to do now. If the girl had no other family he really had nowhere to take her. Maybe if he checked her house he could find something. Ash took Charizard, Flygon, Gardevoir, Luxray and Absol's Pokéballs out and sent them out. The Pokémon looked sadly at the sobbing girl wondering what happened.
"Can you guys protect this girl while I'm gone. I'll explain the situation later."
The Pokémon nodded. Ash knelt down next to Ariana again.
"Stay here with my Pokémon I'll go check out your house and see if I can find anything. Which way is your house?"
She pointed to the east.
"Ok I'll be back soon."
It only took a couple of minutes to find the house which was actually a small farm. Ash walked in through the now destroyed door and looked around. He saw the bodies of what he assumed were Ariana's parents on the floor with multiple stab wounds in them. Ash walked over to them and found that the father was still alive. Ash knelt down next to the man.
"How is Ari-Ari-Ariana?" the man asked as he coughed up some blood.
Ash knew the man was dying and so did he. So Ash didn't try telling him to save his strength.
"She is safe. I dealt with the Team Rocket grunts who were chasing her."
Ash watched as the man tried reaching out to his wife but she was just too far away. Ash got up and gently picked up his wife and placed her down next to him. The man grabbed her hand with his and held it as tight as he could.
"P-please take c-care of Ari. W-we were the only f-family she had."
"I promise I'll watch over her."
"T-thank you." the man took his last breath and death finally took him.
Ash closed the man and his wife's eyes.
"Rest in peace and may your Aura lead you to a better place." he murmured.
Ash started searching for anything Ariana might want to take with her. He was stood in Ariana's room and spotted a photo of her and her parents smiling. He took the photo as she would want something to remember them by. He also spotted a Riolu doll on her bed and decided to take that too just in case she wanted it. Ash managed to find out Ariana's parents names as he searched for anything. When he was done searching he went out back and found a shovel so that he could at least give Ariana's parents a proper burial.
Ash piled the last bit of earth on to the grave he had dug. He had chosen to bury them together as Mark had taken his last breath with Catherine's hand in his. Ash put the tombstone he had made out of a boulder in front of the grave. Ash looked at the tombstone he had made and knew that it wasn't perfect but it was the best he could do. Maybe one day Ariana could come and choose something more fitting for her parents.
Here lies Mark and Catherine Williams.
Mother and father of Ariana.
They were loving parents who were taken before their time.
"I promise I'll make sure your daughter is kept safe." Ash murmured.
Ash picked up the items he had taken from the house and walked back to where he had left Ariana and his Pokémon He walked into the clearing and saw Gardevoir cuddling the now sleeping Ariana. Ash returned all of his Pokémon except Gardevoir and took Ariana from her.
"Gardevoir Teleport us to my mothers house please."
She nodded and placed her hand on Ash's shoulder. The trio then appeared in front of his mothers house.
"Thank you Gardevoir." Ash said as he returned her.
Ash knocked on the door hoping his mother was home. The door opened and Ash was relieved to see that it was his mum.
"Hello Ash who's this?" Delia whispered.
"It's a long story. Can we put her to bed first and then I'll explain everything."
Delia nodded and opened the door to the spare room. Ash placed Ariana on the bed and pulled the covers over her. Mother and son then went downstairs to let Ariana rest. Ash told the whole story to his mum who was shocked at what she had heard.
"So mum can she stay here?"
"Of course she can. I'll do the best I can when you're not here."
"Thank you."
Ariana then walked into the kitchen and stared at Ash. Realisation then kicked in and tears started trickling down her cheeks.
"I thought it was just a nightmare." she whimpered. Ash walked over to her and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry Ariana but it wasn't a nightmare. Listen I promised your father that I would take care of you and I will. This is my mum and she will be here for you too"
Ash let go of Ariana and his mother wasted no time in bringing Ariana into a tight hug. Ariana clung on to Delia and cried until she cried herself to sleep.
Flashback end
"I stayed for about a week so she could get used to me and mum. But then I had to go and continue my quest to destroy Team Rocket. I returned home a couple of months later when I had had finished searching Sinnoh and mum told me that Ariana had only just stopped having nightmares."
Richie and Sparky had heard the story before but it still made them just as mad as it did the first time. Anabel and Dawn were on the verge of tears feeling incredibly sorry for Ariana.
"When she was eight she started calling us mum and brother. She said it was because we had been her family since she started living with us so it felt right for her to call us mum and brother."
Everyone was silent as they thought of Ariana. As they stood in silence Ash looked at Bulbasaur's Pokéball and decided he'd better go tell the other's about what had happened. He just hoped Charizard wouldn't kill him.
"Guys I'm gonna go take Bulbasaur to see the other's." Ash announced.
Richie was confused. "When did you get Bulbasaur back?" he asked.
"Just now. Short version is he only betrayed me because the traitors threatened to part him from his mate."
"Okay well I guess I can understand that. Paul probably won't though."
"Yeah I know." Ash agreed. "I'll see you later Richie."
Ash, Anabel and Dawn then left and headed back towards the clearing. Manaphy was still sat sleeping in Anabel's arms. On the way Ash fully explained what had happened with Bulbasaur. Dawn and Anabel both understood as Ash had why Bulbasaur did what he did. When they reached the clearing Ash saw his mother and Ariana. The former was sat down talking with Meowth and the latter was playing with Meganium, Glaceon and Heliolisk. Ash took Bulbasaur's Pokéball off his belt and was about to send him out when he realised something.
"Hey Dawn you haven't introduced your Pokémon to ours yet." Ash said.
"Well I wasn't sure how they'd react to seeing them." Dawn replied.
"They'll be fine trust me."
Dawn nodded and sent out all of her Pokémon They went over to Infernape as they recognised him and the fire monkey started introducing them to everyone.
"See I told you. They have no ill-feelings towards them as they didn't... you know." Ash always made sure not to say betray with Dawn as there was always a very guilty look on her face if he did.
"Hey shouldn't you be introducing them to Bulbasaur?" Dawn replied.
Ash could see the deliberate attempt to change the subject and went with it.
"Yeah you're right. Hey everyone can you come here please?"
All of the Pokémon in the clearing got up and crowded around Ash wondering why he wanted them.
"Listen everyone there is someone you need to see. Now before you do anything just listen to his story. I've forgiven him but I don't expect you too straight away."
Ash threw Bulbasaur's Pokéball revealing the grass type. To say all the Pokémon looked pissed would be an understatement. Charizard had his murder face on and it was taking all of his will power to not Blast Burn the traitor in front of him into oblivion. Bulbasaur saw the intense glares being sent at him but he stood his ground. He told everyone the story and they could see by the look in his eyes that everything he was saying was true and that he was ashamed of what he'd done.
Luxray, Absol, Glaceon, Flygon, Espeon, Gallade and Gardevoir stood by him. They all understood the position he'd been put in and were now standing between him and the rest of the Pokémon showing that they supported him and would protect him. The other's grumbled and walked away swearing that they wouldn't forgive him that easily.
"Well that went better than expected. I thought I was gonna have to explain to Nurse Joy why I have an incinerated Bulbasaur."
Ash looked to Bulbasaur who was surprised that anyone had stood by him but he was also sad as he knew he had a lot of work to do if he wanted to regain their respect and hopefully their friendship. Ash knelt down and placed a comforting hand on his bulb. Bulbasaur looked up at Ash.
"Listen they'll come around eventually. It'll just take a little time. Although I would recommend you stay away from Charizard for the time being."
Bulbasaur nodded and went with the mated pairs and Flygon so they could talk and keep him safe. Ash watched on just hoping that the other's would forgive him as he had done. Although he knew that Meganium, Donphan, Infernape, Meowth and especially Charizard would struggle to forgive him.
"Hey Ash I think it's best if we leave them for now. It might give the other's some time to think." Anabel said.
"Yeah I think you are right Anabel. The five of us can spend some time together." Ash replied.
They left their Pokémon in the clearing hoping they would calm down and maybe even begin forgiving Bulbasaur. The rest of the day consisted of Ash introducing Dawn to Ariana and the trio basically chatted while Delia and Anabel spent the time getting to know each other. When night came they went to their individual hotel's to rest. Dawn was relieved to find out that Ariana and Delia were staying in the Elenion too so she wasn't alone.
The next day Ash went to the Pokémon centre hoping Nurse Joy would let him see Pidgeot just to see how she was feeling after the surgery. Anabel had come with him and was holding the sleeping Manaphy in her arms. When they entered the Pokémon Centre Ash saw a familiar woman with a Plusle on one shoulder and a Minun on the other.
"Hey Ursula, how have you been." He called out.
"Hi Ash I've been doing well. I won the Sinnoh Grand Festival a few months back and I'm here to crush that bitch May and her tosser boyfriend Drew."
She'd met Ash a few months after the betrayal when she was travelling around Sinnoh. Ursula thought it was odd seeing Ash on his own so she approached him and they began talking. He told her what had happened and it infuriated her that they had turned their backs on Ash. They spent a few days together and became friends. After parting ways they made sure to keep in touch with each other regularly.
"I'd heard that you were in that match tomorrow. Make sure you pummel em."
"Oh believe me I will." Ursula said in a sinister voice.
Ursula's Pokénav then starting ringing. She took it out of her pocket and saw that it was Zoey.
"Hey Zoey when are you getting here?"
"What do you mean you can't get here?!" Ursula yelled.
"Okay. I hope you heal up quick."
She hung up the phone looking seriously pissed.
"So I'm guessing that Zoey can't come for some reason."
"Yeah. She was out training when someone attacked her. The person broke her leg so she can't make it here." Ursula sighed and then slammed her hands on a table. "Damn it, there is no way I can get someone else out here for tomorrow."
Ash smirked maybe he will be able to get his revenge on May a lot easier than he thought.
"Hey Ursula. You know I've done a few contests in the past and I'm free tomorrow."
"I was hoping you would say that." She said while smirking.
Notes
Please give a review telling me what you liked/didn't like.
If you have any questions PM them to me. I am more than happy to answer them.
Manaphy gender was never specified in the movie so I am making Manaphy female.
It was pretty hard writing Ariana's back story. I don't know how well it turned out but I like it.
