Seeking Freedom

Chapter 10: Jubilant Tears

A/N: Hey guys, welcome back to Seeking Freedom! It's been a while and I'm glad to be back.

I read the reviews for Chapter 9, and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE POSITIVE REVIEWS! It was so encouraging to read them, I can't thank you all enough!

Anyway, onto the Chapter!

A/N: This one is mostly a set up to the bulk of Chapter 11.

Kalos was a big place, and the Pokemon League had a little spending money in their pockets. There was a big property near the stadium where their Master's Tournament was taking place, so why not make a little investment?

Giovanni sipped away at a cup of coffee at his desk, in his home away from home. He wore a black blazer and a white shirt with a crimson tie. It wasn't a tight fit, but it helped illustrate the sheer bulk he had. Looker didn't know what else he was wearing, but envied the lavish material. His Persian was lying under the desk, waiting to strike if anything went wrong. Looker could just about hear the gentle breathing of the cat.

"Well, Officer Looker," He spoke. Looker leaned in close on every word. His investigation was being evaluated.

"I will try and offer as much help as possible. Team Rocket can't keep doing this, it's inexcusable."

Looker smiled. He was about to speak when Giovanni rose and faced the window on the back wall.

"This affront to justice cannot possibly go unanswered." He was didactic in tone.

Looker nodded and thanked Giovanni. The President of the Pokemon League shook his head and said,

"Thank you, International Police, for keeping our streets clean. The PLA will do whatever it takes to handle the situation. No Team Rocket scum will steal Pokemon from our trainers."

Suddenly there was a large bang. At once the door slammed open with such incredible force one would think a Pokemon had done it. Looker's head turned towards the door almost instinctively, and he regretted doing so when he saw a man being thrown in his direction.

Looker's eyes widened and his hand instinctively reached for his Luxray's Pokeball. Giovanni raised his finger to halt him from doing so. Looker hesitantly complied with Giovanni.

The man with white hair carried a very masculine aura about him, one which looked like it was now on the verge of destruction. He was flung into one of the chairs, and Looker decided to get a good look at the one responsible.

The boy. He boasted such character and such great force emanated from his being. It chilled the air around him and made Looker fear for his life. He knew nothing could happen, this was a place of business, but this boy's presence seemed almost unearthly. He was a force beyond all reasoning. He had long red hair and bore black, well-fitting jacket with a red rim. His eyes, however, were burning with anger and filled with a great determination as well as courage.

It was then that Looker noticed the red 'R' emblazoned on the breast of his jacket. His eyes widened with surprise.

"Silver," Giovanni said curtly. He did not look away from the window once, which seemed to further aggravate the red-headed child. Looker did not know whether he did this from fear of the child or lack thereof.

"What have I told you about interrupting me whilst I work?" He spoke calmly, yet with a hint of indignation.

The boy was with Team Rocket, the very crooks who Looker had been discussing with Giovanni only moments ago!

"You BASTARD!" 'Silver' snapped at Giovanni. Giovanni moved his feet away from the window and faced Silver. He looked him dead in the eye.

"WHERE IS HE?" Silver demanded.

Giovanni dismissed his claim and returned to peering out of the window.

"… Do you mean… No, that's not important right to you in the slightest. He's no concern of yours, son." He looked over his shoulder and greeted the head of Team Skull.

"Guzma, good to see you."

Looker felt a pang in his stomach when he started to feel… Left out.

Guzma had the eyes of a crook and Silver appeared to be a member of Team Rocket.

The white haired man groaned and responded, "Hey, boss. It's ya boi… Did anyone get the number of that… Redhead?" He slurred. His head was spinning about like a bobble head. He was just dizzy, thankfully not concussed.

Giovanni opened the drawers on his desk to throw an Ice Stone at Guzma, who caught it and held it against his head to relieve the pain. His Persian made itself known and curled into a a precocious little ball of fur on the table.

The Pokemon League was a hive of criminals.

The crazy theories were right. Suddenly Looker understood the motives of Don Satoshi, that wretched vigilante who acted without mercy or law.

Looker sought a way to escape from the predicament he was in. He quickly ran out of the door, and when Persian made to stop him with Fury Swipes, Looker thought he was finished. However, to his great surprise, Silver walked in front of him and kicked the feline Pokemon, knocking it across the room, and intentionally let a member of the International Police escape free with their secret.

Looker didn't waste a second in casting a smoke bomb and fleeing the building. Before he left, he looked at the bruise on Persian left by Silver's tremendous kick.

Looker was a secret agent, and since he how to get into the building, he also knew how to get out. Searching for him would be futile, Giovanni thought sadly.

Silver demanded his attention again, much to his displeasure.

"Guzma, tell the Boss what you told me a moment ago: tell me about the first human ever captured by our Shadow Trainer machine." Silver snapped. Giovanni looked at Guzma with an arched eyebrow.

Guzma shrugged and responded, "The boy wanted to know about what credentials I had to be working with the League. I told him that Team Skull, my posse, supply you guys with Z-Crystals from Alola, especially the freezing powers of Icium-Z. He already knew about The Cage from somewhere else, I dunno where."

Giovanni nodded. He turned to explain the harsh reality of the situation to his son.

"I see. Guzma, you will not be punished. My son is the only one who needs a lesson."

"Don't… Don't you call me that." Silver growled aggressively.

Giovanni rationally explained himself, but this was only to emasculate Silver further. He could barely stop his lips from curling at the corners.

"Silver, a Pokemon Master is only born once every thousand years. It only makes sense to preserve their bodies in whatever way we can. Red Ketchum came to fight me one last time." Giovanni tilted his head, gesturing Silver to sit. Silver was too livid, however and rejected the offer.

Explaining himself was merely a formality. If Silver chose to leave now, he would be beaten senseless later for defying due conduct with Giovanni. If he stayed, he could be emotionally emasculated.

Giovanni slowly got more angry at his son's inability to listen or behave.

"He stormed in through the front door of my headquarters, and we almost filled him with attacks from behind. Why did he do something so stupid, Silver? I'll tell you. His ungodly attachment to you. To this day his wife probably cries from his stupidity. His son is missing and fatherless. Not you, I mean: that brat Damien knocked off, of course."

Perhaps Giovanni had gone too far, Guzma thought. Silver's eyes widened. He gritted his teeth. His muscles tightened and veins became visible on his arms and his body flushed red. He went from a silent force of power, to looking like an angry Tauros. He had been insulted and discarded again and his body rose to the insult. His body became the manifestation of human wrath. His breathing was deep. Guzma began to sweat with fear. Never in his life had he seen anyone like this before. Not even that witch from the Aether Foundation was like this.

However, the glare Giovanni gave his son dwarfed the anger coming from Silver. Whilst Silver radiated an insurmountable anger, Giovanni batted it away as though it were nothing.

The hatred they bore each other went far past anything the Alolan gangster had ever seen before. Not even the most vicious, most territorial Pokemon in the world could stare at each other the same way Silver and Giovanni were. The entire room was flooded by the essence of years of hatred and abuse between the two. They were two demons.

"Father… You are a despicable man," Silver hissed. "You made me your slave…" Silver whispered.

"FOR WHAT? SO YOU COULD… WHAT, DID YOU THINK…? I'LL TELL YOU! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, YOU SON OF A HOUNDOOM, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT!"

Giovanni had enough of his bastard son at this point. Listening him yammer on about this, and that. He thought about wiping his memories with a Psychic Pokemon, but that could impact his skills as a Trainer. No, he would just have to school Silver the old-fashioned way.

"...Do you think anger is the answer to your problems, boy? In the face of a man, who is far greater than you, in his own place of business? Well? DO YOU? BECAUSE I WILL TELL YOU THIS, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT: FORGET ABOUT YOUR FAMILY! THEY ARE MEANINGLESS TO YOU, YOU ARE MY SON, MY SERVANT, AND NOTHING MORE! I DEMAND THAT YOU RESPECT MY AUTHORITY AND MY JUDGEMENT! LOOK AT YOU, RULED BY YOUR PATHETIC EMOTIONS! YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER PAWN TO ME, KID! YOUR SKILLS ARE THE ONLY REASON I PUT UP WITH THIS NONSENSE, AND THE ONLY REASON I KNEW YOU WOULD BE WORTH TAKING IN!"

Silver and Giovanni stared at each other for a moment. The hatred had switched from Silver, as he became weak and frightened. Now Giovanni radiated the unearthly fury.

Silver barked at him once more, but his words were beneath Giovanni's considering. Too childish and immature.

"YOU ARE NOTHING, BOY! YOUR FATHER COULDN'T SAVE YOU FROM ME! YOU'RE ONLY HALF THE MAN HE WAS, WHAT CHANCE DO YOU HAVE AGAINST ME?"

Giovanni stopped to regain his breath.

It was time for the finishing blow.

"They forgot about you." He spoke quietly. He emphasised his words and Silver's heart plunged. "They adopted another son. He became the pride of her life. Get over it, weakling. It's pathetic, watching you live like they mean anything to you. I spent thirteen years listening to you cry.. Grow up and start acting like the son of a true businessman. Forgo those childish emotions. As your father, I ask this of you."

He spoke coldly, mercilessly, in the way that would impact Silver the most. He didn't bother with the angry register and spoke coolly.

"Now leave. Do not let me see you again. Today you put my entire life work into jeopardy, lord knows where that officer has gone to. Why do you pull this crap when the stakes are so high? So much is riding on our winning this tournament…"

Giovanni shook his head.

"Leave your uniform here and change into something else. Come back once you become worthy of wearing it. I always have Damien and Tobias to replace you as my son. That position is always replaceable."

That was it. Silver glared on last time. It was weak, meaningless, futile. And then he ran, with glistening tears running down his face. He was defeated. Giovanni knew that after this, Silver would be resigned to his fate as a Team Rocket stooge.

As he ran, Silver collided with Ardos, who wasn't really phased by the impact. He gently readjusted his sunglasses and walked past Silver. Ardos had become familiar with the play in the little time he had been working under Giovanni's rule: Silver's destructive nature, his strength which came from his heart, never really got along with the cold, more tactical, head of Giovanni. Silver's inability to be a perfect slave was of great aggravation to the Rocket Boss.

Ardos shook his head. He walked into the huge office at the end of the hall, with the hardwood door and the red carpet.

He rapped his knuckles against the office door, and walked inside. Guzma gave him a toothy grin and had been switched from an Ice Stone to a NeverMelt Ice.

Giovanni was in his chair, tending to his Persian. The cat hissed at Ardos when he walked in, but the blue-haired enigma ignored it.

"Giovanni, sir, I have news."

Giovanni looked at his most loyal servant with a bitter expression.

"Can it wait?" He snapped. Ardos shook his head and started to smile.

"The good news," Ardos reached into his trouser pockets and retrieved two shining Pokeballs.

Giovanni looked over the desk and eyed them for a moment with a child-like curiosity. One was made of a very rich gold and had traces of ruby around it. In the light it glowed in many different colours.

The other Pokeball captured the essence of the depths of the ocean. It was a sleek silver colour, and deep blue rim. In the light it was resplendent.

His extremities filled with a terrifying warmth. His heart moved the same way the heart does when good news reaches it, except in his case it was the purest, deepest evil. The gleam of triumph appeared in his eyes. He tried to suppress his sheer satisfaction from Ardos.

Giovanni leaned back in his chair and smirked.

"What have you brought me, Commander Ardos?" He feigned ignorance to hear the story of their acquisition from the ex-Cipher commander.

"Tobias and I, we used a pair of binoculars to detect the presence of Ho-Oh in the sky. Analysis shows that it was resting in one place for more than three days. I used his Latios to battle it and in twenty minutes we were able to capture it."

Giovanni nodded with a taciturn contentment. "And what of Lugia?"

"Our Psychic Pokemon sensed Lugia's presence as soon as we captured Ho-Oh. We sent Ho-Oh out in a controlled environment and commanded it to release a signal. Shortly after, Lugia appeared and I subdued it with my Kingdra." He responded succinctly and immediately. This pleased Giovanni.

"Where are they now?"

"Ho-Oh is currently underground in the on-site lab and we transported Lugia to the Plasma Frigate. I didn't want them to be anywhere near each other."

Giovanni looked up and pursed his lips. No, he thought. There were no flaws in the plan thus far.

"I should have sent you to do this years ago," He said smugly.

No Pokemon were more prominent in legend than the two birds of the Johto Region. Jessie and James had first-handedly seen the power Lugia possessed. It was phenomenal!

Ho-Oh had such a miraculous power and those blessed to see it were given eternal happiness. It was also known that Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire could eliminate the darkness in one's heart, so to have that power under his control and not used against his legion of Shadow Pokemon, made him feel very safe indeed.

"Ho-Oh and Lugia… Both in my possession. Why, I feel like a God now! How goes the... purification?"

Again he didn't hesitate to reply.

"The researchers have stated that it will take a very long time to convert either of them. For Shadow Lugia, they have to dig up Cipher's old schematics from the Orre Region, most of which were destroyed or confiscated, and improve on that design. We've sent Archie out to do that job for us."

Giovanni drummed his fingers against the desk.

"However, once we finish with Lugia, which should take us around a month, we can simply alter the genetic template for Lugia and transplant into Ho-Oh."

"… How long?" Giovanni asked. No, he didn't ask. He demanded. Did he even speak? Did he open his mouth? Ardos and Guzma both knew what he was going to say, but the force of his 'demand', if one could even call it that, made itself known immediately.

"..."

"At least a month, sir." He spoke softly. Giovanni swivelled around in his seat, much to Persian's discomfort. He looked out of the window again, optimistically searching for Interpol Officer Looker.

"Keep Ho-Oh and Lugia in captivity, make sure that no one knows that we have them in our possession. Not even within our own organisation. That is my demand. Have Ein oversee the project."

Ardos nodded. "Understood, sir." He turned around and left. "Hold up," Guzma muttered. The Alolan got up and left with him.

"Oh, and Ardos?"

"Yes sir?"

"How many Pokemon do you have with you right now?" The Boss asked.

Ardos suddenly looked sad. Then he turned furious and looked at the Boss.

"Three."

Giovanni shook his head. "That simply won't do. Please," He gestured for him whilst also pressing keys on his laptops. In an instant a plethora of Pokemon dropped from above.

Ardos shyly approached the desk and stood there. Giovanni turned his laptop around and gestured for him to scroll through.

"Take whichever Pokemon you like. About four years ago, Galactic Boss Cyrus' plan to capture Dialga and Palkia failed and his Pokemon were returned to us after he went missing. Please, do take which ever ones you like and analyse them on my PC." He asked.

Ardos, although uneasy, checked each Pokeball. He looked at the three in his pocket, sadly.

Cipher was a terrific Empire across the world. Although the Pokemon League was stronger, Cipher and their admins were far smarter in comparison to them. They were geniuses, rich geniuses, funded by the wealth of Mr. Verich, and as the heirs of the Empire were given all the comforts they could ever want. Ardos had enrolled in Pokemon Technical, with his brother and close friend, Wes, and grew up to serve under their father. Wes, the loose cannon he was, left school earlier and joined Team Snagem. The brothers begged their father to acquire Team Snagem in hope of seeing their friend again. Greevil was reluctant. This was Ardos' first mistake.

During his last year of school, Ardos was shocked to hear that the Snag Machine, the tool they used for robbing trainers of their Pokemon, was stolen by none other than Wes. He felt betrayed when Wes was on Television, defeating the head of Cipher in Orre at the time, Evice and snagging their ultimate Shadow Pokemon.

Ardos was so furious, and joined his father in Cipher as his bodyguard. He resigned his life to Cipher and inevitably, to find Wes and crush him like the Weedle he was.

Five years later Ardos was shocked to hear his father's words. A boy, no older than ten years of age was in front of him. In his own fortress, Citadark Isle, his father admitted defeat.

"From this point on..." He said.

"Cipher is finished."

He refused Ardos' suggestion of destroying the base and killing everyone associated with Cipher except for them, and starting anew elsewhere. Unfortunately, the scum Ardos called his brother, Eldes, convinced Greevil into surrendering himself.

Ardos fled. His Swellow, Electabuzz, and prized Snorlax had been Snagged by this boy, his remaining Pokemon critically injured. Unlike Greevil and Eldes he had fled capture- if the police found him he would definitely be destroyed.

He united the remaining Cipher Peons and whatever was left of the Shadow Pokemon schematics and desperately searched for a way to begin his reign as Supreme Master of Cipher. That was how he met Giovanni.

Ardos decided to take Cyrus' old Gyarados, Honchkrow, and Houndoom to replace his old Shadow Pokemon.

One thing Giovanni never doubted was Silver's desire to prove himself and he was prepared to give him the tools with which to do so. Ever since Giovanni kidnapped him during his youth, Silver had been made to do despicable things. Silver grew up around various Team Rocket Bases, occasionally the Magma and Galactic ones. Giovanni never let him near Team Aqua, they were too dangerous, and at the time he hadn't acquired Plasma and Flare. He had to wait until Ghetsis was out of the picture to start operating in Unova.

Everyone treated Silver coldly and he hadn't a single friend. He never got to go to school with other children, and was home-schooled by Team Rocket scientists, the drop outs who could never make it as Pokemon Professors. His favourites were Cyrus, Saturn and Charon of Team Galactic. After Silver turned ten, Cyrus, the head of Team Galactic, gave him his first assignment. Everyone said he wasn't ready. Everyone said it would be impossible. Cyrus just shook his head and said, "The only impossible thing would be them stopping him."

Pokemon Master Red Taijiri's genes ran strong in Silver. From a young age he was gifted with Pokemon. One of first negative encounters with his father came when he was only seven years old and he freed a Shiny Ralts into the wild. The poor thing was essentially a gene pool with which other trainers could breed their Pokemon in the hopes of getting a Shiny Ralts of their own. Successful ones were pilfered from the trainers and sold to the highest bidder. Ralts herself was pawned off to rich trainers for entire weeks so they could do what they wanted to her.

Silver located her cage and broke the hatches on it and she instantly teleported away, without even saying 'Thank you'. His father had been furious with him, and from that day Silver learned that Pokemon were only tools. That was how he treated his team. However, they refused to abandon Silver despite the cruel way he treated them.

The assignment was simple: capture as many Pokemon as he could from Elm's lab. It was a couple of months prior to Ash getting his first Pokemon, since Giovanni was adamant about letting Silver realise his talent as a trainer and use that power against the Rockets.

In a single night Silver walked into New Bark Town and burned down two houses as though they were nothing. The police were distracted with ensuring that everyone was safe that it left the Pokemon Lab wide open. Silver broke in through the windows and captured every single Pokemon in the lab. One he took a liking to was a friendly-looking Totodile who was ditzy and polite to him even when he had captured all of his buddies. He wasn't done, however: using his army of Pokemon he ran to Violet City and Cherrygrove City, where he went on to use the vast numbers of Pokemon at his disposal to completely overwhelm all the trainers. He captured over a hundred Pokemon in a single night. Even Falkner was devastated by the loss of so many precious Pokemon.

Giovanni was so impressed that he let Silver keep a Pokemon of his choice. He chose to keep the goofy Totodile with him and it ended up being his accomplice in many crimes. In just two months, Giovanni was awed to see it had become a powerful Feraligatr.

Many Team Rocket operations had failed in the past, but it was going to be okay now. If Silver had been a menace before, what was he with Pokemon? Virtually unstoppable. The money that was lost by the bumbling grunts was easily made up for by Silver's incredible success.

Eventually, Giovanni decided to assign Silver some of his own, less powerful Pokemon. Silver turned them into phenomenal creatures within five years of training.

Even the most valuable soldier in his private army, Sabrina Natsume, was perhaps weaker than Silver.

Sabrina was the strongest Psychic in the world, by far. It took twenty PhD's and a team of engineers to figure out how to keep her powers in check. There was a brief period in which she was free of their control, but that had been easily settled.

Oddly enough, she had an encounter with Ash Ketchum as well, which resulted in her dominion being broken.

Giovanni was most displeased by this. In years to come, he himself met Ash Ketchum, foiler of so many of his plans. How that clueless boy did it was a mystery, but he knew that something needed to be done about him...

Silver went back to his hotel room, far away from the huge office building. It was the second biggest hotel in Kalos, just about smaller than the Kalos Celestios, or as it was known locally, the Regnum hotel. It was called the Old Castle Hotel.

He only used his room or storing clothes and belongings. He spent most of his time training or doing missions for Giovanni. He kicked the door open and threw himself on to the bed and cried for a moment.

He emptied the closet looking for a change of clothes, and pulled his suitcase out from under his bed to retrieve his laptop. He downloaded the CCTV footage from the HQ and printed a picture of Looker's face. He perfectly understood what Looker smelled like, in his anger it did not slip him by. His body had a veteran look to it, his Pokemon were sure to recognise him instantly.

Silver was wearing his hair underneath a yellow Pokemon League Expo hat. He wore a yellow waistcoat, and a black under shirt. The same look that his mortal enemy, Ash Ketchum, donned for his first two years as a trainer, except in yellow.

Ash got to live with Delia Ketchum. Silver's mother. Two years after Silver went missing, they went out and adopted another kid. Why did he deserve to live like that, and get rewards and money, when the most Silver ever got was dinner?

He understood Giovanni's instruction completely and relayed it to his regiment: Seek and Destroy that pest, Looker, and be permitted to wear the Rocket uniform once more.

Silver always acted alone. Most two-man jobs, his Pokemon could handle with ease.

First he used his high-end wristwatch to analyse his Pokemon. The results were very pleasing indeed. The levels of his Pokemon were so high that even the Champions would struggle to keep up with them.

Feraligatr, Crobat, Gengar, Weavile, Magnezone, and his new team-mate, Alakazam. It was a new capture and wasn't as good as the others. It would do, but needed some extra training.

He showed them the photo, and he described the scent. Alakazam understood it perfectly. He closed his eyes and telepathically messaged the others what the smell was.

"NOW GO!" He barked at them. Easily his Pokemon would turn the city upside down. Silver lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting for them to bring Looker's head back to their master.

He was seeking freedom from this life.

Ash returned to the small hotel that Delia was staying at. He made sure she got there safely, he didn't want anything bad to happen to her, not in a million years.

As they arrived in the lobby, Ash ushered her up the stairs.

"Well, good night Ash. I'll be seeing you." Neither of them really wanted their reunion to end, but Delia understood that Ash had to get his rest if he were to compete in the Tournament. Sure, the First Round was over and it was now the weekend, but Ash wasn't the sort who would take things so easily. Tomorrow was a valuable training opportunity.

"Good night… mom." He smiled faintly. After he turned away and she walked up the stairs, he almost cried in sheer frustration: he had kept many secrets from her.

Don Satoshi left Delia without revealing anything about what he had done for the past three years. She knew he had been attacked many times in those hard days, and had fought many a battle, but she was unaware of the intensity at which he fought. He didn't mention just how many people he had to kill, nor how many people were on the lookout for him. All the blacklists, all the lives he had ruined beyond repair…

Ash wanted Freedom. He wanted to be Free from all of this, but he couldn't live in a world where using Pokemon for personal gain was the norm. It was unfair.

It had been a dark night, so no one could follow either of them. She would be safe. Now it was time to check in on his team. Ash went back to the forest.

"Hey, guys." He said coolly. They all looked at him and cheered for Ash. He hugged them all, and sent out his Volcarona, Sceptile and Charizard. Staraptor laid out a comfy bed of leaves for them and the weakened battlers rested in the bed.

Volcarona was still dizzy from her battle with Golisopod. She was completely infatuated with the Bug Pokemon, that was for sure, Pikachu thought.

"You guys rest up, okay? We'll get you some stuff to eat." All three of them chimed with satisfaction at seeing the boss in a happy state. Ash sent out Slylveon, Pidgeot, Pidgeot, Lucario, and Noivern. Staraptor descended and looked at the situation with some uncomfortable uncertainty. But now was the time for dinner, so who cared? The plan was that they would eat, then Ash would go to the city and face off against Clemont. He wasn't sure which Pokemon to use. Ash also took the time to introduce Squishy and Z2 to the team. Mew and Latias giggled at the sight of their favourite Legendary. Apparently, Zygarde was everyone's favourite in the Hall of Origin.

Staraptor was discomforted for some reason, but hid his discomfort with ease. Staraptor had seen someone in the forest earlier. Only for brief moment, but then they had vanished. He assumed it was a small Pokemon and his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Pupitar smirked and dragged a huge sack of raw Pokemon food out from under a bush with his teeth. Ash's eyes widened at the sight of it. Staraptor glared at him unhappily. Ash noted that dragging the bag with ease, without having any appendages, which was evidential of just how much Pupitar had been training. He was proud.

"Where… Where did you get all that?" Ash asked, pointing at the bag. "You guys could eat all of that, its' filled with all those special nutrients for professional battlers. Hell, Brock even did a paper on this stuff three years ago to get his diploma." He said in awe. Pupitar smirked and looked at Staraptor, who flushed.

"I stole it." He said, adamantly. "Feraligatr wouldn't stop going on about how hungry he was, so I went into down and brought this back."

Ash stared at Staraptor for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Of course you did… What, someone was just about to feed their Pokemon and you swooped down to steal their food?"

Staraptor cooed and shrugged with his eyes closed

"But Ash," Sceptile said. Him, Charizard, and Pikachu were the only ones who were really allowed to call him that. When they said it Ash's eyes didn't flash with hatred.

"Won't those Pokemon starve?" Sceptile asked. Staraptor shook his head.

"I just broke into a warehouse and took this from another thief." Staraptor stated. Ash nodded. "Stealing from a thief is fair game. And besides," He added hatefully.

"Feraligatr, you complained that you were starving but did you help Staraptor in getting the food?"

Feraligatr nodded vigorously. Staraptor too.

"Mew, Feraligatr, and I went." Staraptor explained.

Ash smiled. "Did the guy put up a fight?" The boys all shook their heads.

"I used Transform and pretended to be a huge Salamence. I just stormed in and scared him off."

"He didn't actually have to fight? Lucky for him, huh?" They all shared a laugh and roasted berries over the fire to go with the food they had prepared.

Ash was impressed with what they had done with the large clearing. The treetops were covered in huge boughs, which he assumed Feraligatr had put there. The stability of the structure was surprisingly reliable, supplying them with escape routes, and it provided them with shelter from the rain. The Legendary Pokemon could easily escape if something bad were to happen.

The lower branches were very thick and after moving some vines around, courtesy of Pikachu, were fit for use as beds for Sylveon, Pikachu, Noivern, Pidgeot, and Staraptor.

Sceptile's bed was on top of the tree they slept on, in his own little hollow. They had a small make-shift ladder for him to climb up there with. If it rained during the night, he would gladly soak up all the water. If it snowed, he could always come back down and sleep on one of the branches.

There was a deep fire pit to prevent risk and there was a wooden fencing around the river bank. There were nice seats around the fire, made from logs and stumps that Flygon had found.

Two huge holes had been dug out and filled with hay and leaves. Charizard and Volcarona had two deeper beds in case something happened and they burned the forest down in their sleep.

Lucario and Pupitar had their own beds on the ground to. A special bed, made out of an exotic leaf, was left there for Ash's sake, because they didn't know when he would return.

Pupitar dug a cave underneath the river, so that Latias could hide from any kind of thermal sensor. Mew made a cute nest in the leaves and was a master at doing so. Zygarde already found his spot, clinging to a tree.

"You know, you guys did a really good job with this place," He said whilst eating a plate full of toasted bread which Staraptor had considerately brought from the warehouse he raided.

"I wonder what else you could do?" He thought.

Sceptile, with great difficulty, stood up, and pointed at the openings in the trees where Ash had entered from. He squinted his eyes for a moment and they began to glow green. From where he pointed, trees sprang out of the ground and created an entrance way for the others. Ash watched him warily.

"Sceptile? You okay, buddy?" The grass lizard smiled, whilst panting. He took a seat and tried to catch his breath after using a powerful Frenzy Plant.

Sceptile and Volcarona were given larger portions in smaller pieces than the others, and Charizard, as usual consumed the most food. He burped flames and they all laughed at him.

They dined on their nice food and drank clean water, which had been purified from the river by distillation.

Suddenly Lucario shuddered and they looked at him strangely. Then, Ash's eyes widened for a moment. Just as suddenly as it had happened, he seemed to change again. Now he put his game face.

"You can come out now." He said chillingly.

They all stared into the dark distance. Suddenly, they heard the crunching of leaves. Ash's eyes narrowed when Clemont appeared in front of him looking ashamed. His clothes were torn and burned in places. His glasses were smashed and barely on his face. He limped towards the fire which Ash was sitting at.

"Ash I..."

Ash shot up instantly and grabbed him by the throat. Then, in a show of strength, he lifted him up.

"A-AAH!" He coughed.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me here?" Ash demanded.

"P-please… Put me down." He cried.

Ash shook him around a little bit before flinging him to the ground. "Explain! Now!" Clemont immediately carried out his orders.

"A-Ash, listen to me… I want to apologise, for everything that's happened, but, there's something else that I need to talk to you about! It's about… It's about Greninja!" Ash paused for a moment and stared at Clemont.

"What happened to him?" He snapped. He hadn't seen Greninja since after his battle with Sawyer in the Kalos League, in this very spot three years ago. Not since the incident with Alain…

He searched Kalos over the past three years but nothing came up. Then it hit him and he paled as he put two and two together.

Clemont's explanation was rushed but Ash hung onto every word.

"I wanted to visit the guy who battled you, Guzma, but there was this red haired kid with him from Team Rocket. I went to ask him if I could talk to Guzma for a moment, but I heard them talking about how Ash Ketchum must be destroyed,"

Ash glared at him.

"W-well, they said so many things about what happened three years ago… I heard that it was all a set-up, right from the beginning! The incident at Oak's Lab was planned just to deface you so that the red-head could get back at you for something."

Ash took a minute to process this. His face paled and he went quiet.

"A set up..." He whispered.

"Then suddenly Greninja dropped down from the ceiling and attacked me! I… I had no clue what to do. I tried to send out my Pokemon but then the other two noticed me and the redhead sent out his Crobat and used it to tie me up. I told him to stop because I was an Elite Four, but he just laughed at me and said it was time for me to die."

Clemont was crying at this point. He was spluttering over his words and he was wailing. His throat kept catching.

"I managed…. To reason with him. I've never begged like that in my life, Ash. It was dark and I was so scared… His Magnezone used Shock Wave on me and my clothes burned up."

Suddenly Ash spoke. It was at this point Clemont realised he was crying. His voice was weak and wavering.

"Why did he let you go?" Ash asked without comfort.

"It was hell! He… Poisoned me with his Crobat's Toxic attack!"

Suddenly Ash's Pokemon gasped. The toxins of a Crobat were lethal to humans. If someone were bitten they would be dead within hours. Charizard, wanting to get a closer look at the traitor's face, spat on the fire to make it roar even louder and burn brighter.

Clemonts' face was blue and he visibly had little strength in him.

"That doesn't answer my question." Ash said without comfort. They were astonished.

She was astonished. Was this… Really Ash?

"I gave him my Pokemon," Clemont said. Ash fell silent.

"You did what?" He snapped.

"All of them… Diggersby, Magnezone, Heliolisk, Jolteon, Chesnaught, the Alakazam I was going to trade back to Bonnie."

Ash's anger got the best of him.

"YOU LET YOUR POKEMON DIE IN YOUR PLACE?" He screamed.

"Die…?"

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?" He snapped. He growled and kicked Clemont in the side. He called out in pain and rolled over.

"Do you know what they do to Pokemon in there? They take them into their custody and turn them into Shadow Pokemon. Fighting Machines that can't be reasoned with. Your Pokemon… They are probably being experimented on as we speak!"

"What, seriously? Man, that's messed up!"

Clemont gasped and started to cry. "How could I let this happen? Oh no..."

Ash growled and rummaged through his bag. He pulled out a bunch of Pecha Berries and threw them at Clemont, who moaned and swallowed them, relishing every bite of the refreshing berries.

Ash approached him and Clemont screamed when Ash sprayed him with a chilling Full Heal.

"After I got back from the Stadium," He continued, having calmed down.

"I went to the only people I could trust. First off, I went to Korrina, the Shalour City Gym Leader and then we tried to find you. She used her Lucario's Aura to find you out here and told me where to go. I can't trust anyone else except you right now. Max and Paul won't let me anywhere near their villa because of all the horrible things I've done to them. You're the only one who can help me at this point," He whispered.

Please, Ash… Help me get my Pokemon back."

The fire cackled and the moon hovered in the dark sky. The Pokemon watched in fear of Clemont's life.

"..."

"..."

"Very well," Ash said. Clemont looked up at him with his eyes wide. The roar of the fire lit up his eyes.

"You were electrocuted and horribly poisoned. I suppose that must have effected your sense of reason," Ash said. "I will find your Pokemon and make you apologise to them. Alright?" He said.

Clemont began to cry with happiness.

"I can't thank you enough… Ash."

Ash helped him up and got him to sit by the fire. He offered him some food.

"After everything he's done to you, you still want to help him..." Someone said with a great deal of respect.

"Korrina, be careful!" Clemont cried out. Ash turned his head to face her. His Pokemon followed suit in sync with each other..

Suddenly Ash's eyes widened as Korrina rushed forwards. His Pokemon tried to stop her but she was too quick on her roller skates. Her Lucario made his way in, with his hands held up in peace. Ash's Pokemon halted their attacks but pointed their attacks at him.

Ash got up and tried to block her. Ash was extensively trained in martial arts by the strongest Lucario he knew. However, whereas he learned from only Riolu and Sceptile, Korrina knew all kinds of different counters. She had been training Fighting-Types her whole life, she was an expert in studying their movements. She easily moved his arms aside and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Been waiting to do that," She said huskily. "I can't believe its' been three years, Mr. Confidence," Korrina teased him.

Ash's eyes were wide and he was terrified. HE WAS DON SATOSHI! Who was this girl to just kiss him like that?

"You're so different, though..." She whispered in his ear. Shudders went down his spine, not unnoticed by Korrina.

He finally got a good look at her. She was tall, taller than him. She had long blonde hair tucked away inside her helmet and wore her white-and-red dress and black shorts. Ash began to sweat as her perfectly formed face was in that proximity to him. She was delicate yet masterful, and was good at what she was doing to him right now.

Ash remembered her confidence, her strength, from three years ago. Fletchinder and Hawlucha (the two of them had turned traitor just months later) fought against her Lucario, whom he could sense at the mouth of the clearing.

"Korrina, you really shouldn't kiss him like that, he's very-"

"Clemont, shut up, I'm talking to Ash. And YOU!" She snapped.

"What the hell is happening, just a minute ago she kissed me?"

"Three years ago, after the Indigo League I came to Kanto so that I could find you, only to find out that you had run away! Not even a clue, no footprints, no one knows where you are and most people say they're glad you're gone?"

Ash was filled with a malevolent fury and his Pokemon backed away.

"Don't talk as though you know what I've been through. I've been-"

"NO, LISTEN TO ME!" She yelled with a blazing passion. Ash was actually stopped by someone else's fury!

All of his Pokemon stared in awe. Charizard silently scoffed at him.

Korrina began to speak again.

"Did it ever occur to you that we'd still be here for you? Me, Anabel, Cythnia, Elesa, we ALL care about you… Why did you never come to any of us, we could've protected you!"

"If I had done that you would've been in danger! The news would've destroyed you!"

"I DON'T CARE, ASH! You… YOU were the first boy I ever loved, and you just left!" She sobbed.

Ash suddenly realised she was crying. He felt incredibly guilty all of a sudden.

"Listen…" He murmured. Suddenly he decided what he could do. He pulled her in closer, hoping that it would work. She softly started banging her fists against his body.

"I… I'm sorry, that… That I left. I was so upset, you have no idea, Korrina. They all hurt me so much. How was I supposed to know that you still trusted me? My mom went into shock, even she couldn't protect me. How could I have known that you loved me enough to risk your reputation on me?" Ash whispered.

She looked up at him and stopped hitting him. Her light grey eyes shimmering with tears were beautiful, he realised. She was beautiful. Ash shook his head, what was he thinking? Delia Ketchum didn't raise perverts, as he learned the hard way. He closed his eyes and just hugged her.

"Oh, Ash," She whispered.

"I'm sorry too..."

"What, why?" He asked in shock. Korrina gave him a sad smile. "I saw all those reports on the news. I saw all the times Serena made fun of you, and those other girls too. I know we aren't that close but you're still my friend. You helped Lucario and I unlock the secrets behind Mega Evolution. I love you and I let you down."

They stood there in each other's arms for a moment.

"Well, Ash," She muttered. "Consider yourself lucky."

Suddenly she closed the distance between them and kissed him on the mouth.

"You've got a busy few weeks ahead of you. Hope you're as strong as I am, you'll need the energy." She laughed, called Lucario to her side, and walked away with a sway in her hips. She was in very good shape, especially her lower body, and Ash flushed and tried to look away from her excellent figure. Unfortunately, he realised, the unthinkable was happening. He didn't want to be a pest nor did he want to stare at her body. But she was perfect and he had to wipe some drool off of his mouth.

"Lucario," He asked. "Never knew you were so lonely."

"Carr?"
"I saw the look you gave that Lucario," He said coolly. His Pokemon flushed.

He yawned. It had been a VERY long day, what with the traitors, the training, the match with Guzma, Korrina and Clemont, Zygarde, and the one thing that stuck true with him: Misty.

"Pidgeot, do me a favour," He asked slowly. The Bird Pokemon descended before him.

"Can you go to the Mirage Kingdom for me? I think you already know why."

Pidgeot grimaced. "Long journey, this time of night..." He cooed.

"Just get the Pidgey swarm to do it, I'm tired too." He said tiredly. Pidgeot cooed and smiled. This was easier. He flew into the forest and called on some Pidgey.

Twenty minutes later. Korrina came back with a sleeping bag, and what really caught his attention was the huge grin on her face. His eyes widened.

"What? Did you think I'd just leave?" She said innocently. "I waited for three years to make up for not being able to help you back then, now I'm going to stay with you forever, like it or not."

Ash closed his eyes and gave her a weary smile. "What did I expect? I don't think you'll stay that long once you get to know me..."

She giggled. "No, deep down you're still the Ash I know."

He smiled faintly and his eyes watered a little bit.

Ash went into his bed and Korrina lay her sleeping bag next to it, and started talking about the past three years.

/

In the dead of night, the train station was silent. The lights shone and illuminated the platform in a beautiful way. She could see the wilderness of Kalos in front of her, the sky with its' many hundreds of stars, the moon hovering wonderfully in the sky. It had been many years since she had looked up at the night sky like this.

Misty Waterflower sat at the train station, holding a scrap book in her hands.

It was a red scrap book that had a few scratches on it. The pages were somewhat crumpled but the photos were still in good condition. On the front cover it read, 'Misty's Memories'. No one else in her family had ever seen this notebook. It was filled with all kinds of pictures from her adventures.

It had been several years since she looked at this too.

There was a picture from the day Togepi was born. Brock took this one: she and Ash were there in the shot, cuddling Togepi, who looked happier than Misty had been in the past three years.

The darkness enveloped the sky and the cold air wrapped around the station. Misty began to shiver.

A train ran past the station. She watched it go and the sound sent shudders down her spine.

Snow began to fall from the Winter sky.

Misty turned the page. She smiled again. Each page was worth a million memories. Her throat began to ache a little bit.

Eventually she landed on a page filled with pictures from the Silver Conference. She stared at a picture of Gary and Ash in the first match. Ash's Heracross was giving Gary's Magmar a run for his money. There were pictures of the whole thing, up until the final push between Charizard and Blastoise.

Then she looked at the last entry: the day she and Ash parted ways. After she got home she stuffed it in her drawer and had forgotten about it. She tried to forget him, but she couldn't.

After everything that happened with Damien she wondered if she would have survived in his shoes.

Years later, she still missed Ash. She wondered where he was. He was alive, she knew that much:

Ash Ketchum, dead? Team Rocket couldn't do it, Lawrence III couldn't, The Masked Marauder couldn't: Ash was better than that.

She closed the book and blinked, only to realise she had been crying for a while. She wiped her tears away.

In the distance a speck was visible in front of the moon. She wiped her eyes again to get rid of it. She looked up at the station clock.

Five past eight. Her train would be here any minute to take her away from this wretched, materialistic life. What would she do after? She didn't know. Where was she going? Johto, for now.

This was the end of the old Misty Waterflower. The train sounded in the distance. She was going to search for Ho-Oh. Because wherever Ho-Oh was, she was bound to find Ash. The speck was back again and now she realised it was more than just a funny speck. It accelerated and zoomed above her head. She heard it zipping past and wondered what it was. They turned around and landed on the station platform. A big, white, egg-shaped bird with curly wings, red and blue 'horns' on his head landed in front of her, and on top of it was a certain Electric Mouse Pokemon, who gestured for her to get on.

"Togepi." She smiled. Now she was crying for a whole different reason.

Hope you enjoyed, R & R!