AU: Here we are, the point that everyone has been waiting for; the battles! And it's not just any battle; it's time for Ash to wipe the floor with Max and Kieron to destroy the 'flower-boy'. So, I have nothing much to say in this AN apart from the fact that I have decided to update the story every Monday. If I can't get the chapters finished on the Monday, I'll definitely get it finished on Tuesday. So, apart from that, there's nothing much else to say, on with the chapter!
Normal POV:
"So Ash, feeling nervous or anything?" Serena asked curiously, walking with him to the trainer box.
"Heh, you kidding me? It's Max. He may be older but like with Tobias, his over-confidence will be his downfall." Ash said with a slight chuckle. Serena merely looked at him in mild exasperation and amusement. "What?" Ash asked with a small smirk.
"Shouldn't you be listening to your own advice?" Serena asked with a sweet smile, causing Ash to gape for a second before blushing slightly.
"I'm not over-confident. I simply believe in both my and my Pokémon's abilities. Together, with the training we have all done together, we can literally hear each other's thoughts and know what the other is thinking. With this, we make quite a formidable foe against other trainers." Ash said with a small shrug, his eyes lighting up as he talked about his Pokémon, which Serena noticed.
"You really do love your Pokémon don't you?" Serena asked with a gentle smile. Ash looked at her and saw her expression before his morphed into the same, surprising her. 'That's why we all love you Ash. You take great care in making sure all of your friends are treated like family. If only there were more people like you in the world, we wouldn't have monsters like Tobias' Serena thought to herself with a small frown.
"We're here." Ash said, cutting Serena's thoughts off. She looked at him and sure enough, he was opening the door to the room he would be waiting in until he gets called out. "So, I'll see you in a bit. This shouldn't take long." Ash said with a heart-melting grin, causing Serena to blush slightly.
"Wait." Serena said quietly, causing Ash to turn back. Before he could say anything, Serena had her arms around his neck and was giving him a small, sweet kiss. His eyes widened comically and as he was about to start kissing back, she pulled back. With a small giggle from the look he had, she winked at him. "That's for good luck." She said, before jogging away with a small wave. Ash watched her go for a second before putting a finger to his lips.
"Whoa." Was all he could say to himself. Without much else, he turned back and walked into the room.
"Could the challenger's Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Max Maple of Petalburg City come out to the battlefield?" The referee said through the mic, causing the two to look up from their seats. Without much thought from the two of them, they stood and walked out of the doors. Soon, they were at their own sides of the battlefield, one with a look of fear on his face, the other looking around at the stands and seeing who came to watch. Surprisingly, it seemed a lot of other trainers and families had come to watch their battle rather than the other two happening at the different stadiums.
"Now, we'll decide who sends out their Pokémon first like we do in the regular tournaments." The referee said, getting both their attention. "With this machine." Here, he pointed towards a large screen showing both of their faces. "It will decide randomly who will be going first." With that, the machine suddenly activated and started cycling between them before abruptly stopping on Max's face. "Trainer Max Maple, will you please send out your Pokémon first." Was all the referee said before standing back slightly, now holding the red and green flags.
"Okay Ketchum, let's see if these years away have made you not some second-rate trainer." Max said, hoping to goad Ash and make him angry. The opposite happened in fact, and he merely looked at Max with a small smirk.
"Come on Maxy, send out your Pokémon before you get disqualified for wasting everyone's time. No one wants to hear what your 'genius brain' can come up with." Was all Ash said, waving his hand. With a simple annoyed huff, Max sent out a Gardevoir.
"You remember this Gardevoir right?" Max asked, Ash merely looking at him in boredom. "This was the Ralts we met. Look at how strong he is now. Nothing you use will be able to defeat him." Max said with a cocky smirk, making Ash look at him like he was stupid.
"Big words kid." Ash said with his own smirk, before pulling out a yellow and black Pokeball. "This right here is an Ultra Ball. They're extremely expensive and should only be used on the hardest to catch Pokémon. Although, who is in the ball actually wanted to come with me, when he heard about what you had done to me." With that, Ash threw the ball and released what would be Max's downfall.
"What..." Max asked, feeling his knee's buckle in shock and heartache.
"Yes Max, it's the same one we met on our journey together. Say hello to Jirachi again." Ash said with a massive grin.
"Well, this is a big surprise. Who knew the young man from Pallet Town would have a legendary, and to use it in the first round? What else does this young enigma have up his sleeve for the later rounds?" Goodshow asked down his own mic, with the spectators talking excitedly with each other. This was quite a big way to start the tournament.
"How could he do that?! He was with us when he saw how Max was when Jirachi had to leave! Is he so heartless as to turn Jirachi against Max for a simple grudge?! May shouted like a banshee, spittle flying everywhere from her mouth.
"Calm down May, remember what Tobias said? We need to keep a low profile. If none of us battle Ketchum then Tobias will completely destroy him later on." Drew said, massaging his girlfriends shoulders, trying to calm her down.
"Ugh, I hate him. I want him to die. He has been nothing but a nuisance for so long. If I battle him, I may just be inclined to have my Pokémon attack him directly." May said with an angry snarl, causing the others to look at each other in shock.
"May." Gary hissed. "Don't say such stupid shit out loud. There are people here. Ash's little group of slags are near us too. You need to be more careful." Gary said lowly in an angry voice. Properly chastised, May simply sat in her seat huffing and silently fuming.
"Stupid bitch." Serena said quietly, also fuming. "Who does she think she is? Their little group of betrayers caused so much pain to Ash and now she is asking how he can do that to them? She is such a hypocritical dirt-bag." The difference between May and Serena was the fact that Serena knew how to be quiet about things and able to easily control her anger. The group couldn't help but think that May had anger issues. Although with a boyfriend like Drew, that was to be expected. It was easy to tell that May was probably the more dominant one of their relationship.
"Did you hear her though?" Sabrina asked, causing the others to look at her curiously. "She said something about how the group may attack Ash directly. Or at the very least, she will. We'll need to keep an even closer eye on them." Sabrina said with a frown, causing the other girls to look at them in anger.
"If they think about hurting my son again, they have another thing coming." Delia said with a snarl, surprising the other girls. She was normally extremely nice and didn't condone violence, but the thought of someone hurting their own children if (or when) they have them someday caused the other girls to also feel angry.
"There's no way they will get close to Ash again. We will all protect him." Serena said with a determined glint in her eyes.
"Agreed." Was said by the others, before continuing to watch the battle.
"Begin." Was said by the referee, causing everyone to turn their attention back to the battlefield.
"Do you want to prolong this or defeat him straight away, Jirachi?" Ash asked, surprising Max and the referee as he asked it quietly enough so only they could hear him.
"I want to prolong this. He needs to learn the error of his ways." Although Jirachi was using telepathy, only Ash and Max heard this. Max looked at Jirachi in shock and hurt, unable to believe that the Pokémon who was one of his best friends when they met was talking about him like this.
"Okay then buddy. Hmm, use a weak Zen Headbutt." With that, Jirachi seemed to disappear and immediately reappear, crashing into Gardevoir's chest. Max and the spectators watched in shock as Gardevoir fell to the ground with a grunt, holding a hand to its chest.
"What happened to you Max? You're so weak now. You used to be full of such spirit and happiness. Now all I see is a black abyss where your heart used to be. You don't even care that Gardevoir is hurt, you only care about proving to Ash that you're better than him". Jirachi asked telepathically, with only Ash and Max able to hear him. Although Jirachi was taunting him, there also appeared to be a slight quiver in its voice.
"I know how it feels Jirachi." Ash said quietly. "He betrayed me to Tobias to get money and power. He lost his heart a long time ago." Ash said with a frown.
"Shut up!" Max cried, surprising the rest of the stadium since they didn't hear the conversation between the three of them. "You turned Jirachi against me. I have a heart, my heart merely seeks power and money while yours is stuck in the past." Max said with a sneer towards Ash.
"No Max. I have turned to the future more than you have. I was able to leave to my home. My second home. So I could take part in this tournament and show the world who you and your group really are. Tobias will also be getting his comeuppance." Ash said simply. Max looked at him in hate. He then turned to Jirachi, his eyes tightening in anger at the look of disgust sent towards him.
"Fine, you're a hypocrite. You complain about us betraying you, but then you turn Jirachi against me. I don't care about it anymore. Gardevoir, Hypnosis." Surprisingly, Gardevoir was able to quickly get up from the ground and sent the beam of psychic energy towards Jirachi. Ash watched this with narrowed eyes, wondering what Max was up to.
"Jirachi, don't let that hit you. Dodge to the side and use another Zen Headbutt." Jirachi immediately complied, dodging the attack and using its own against Gardevoir. Apparently though, Gardevoir was able to realise the situation itself and teleported away from the move before it could land.
"Good job Gardevoir. Use Heal Pulse." The Pokémon was bathed in a pink light before coming away from it, the mark on its chest now gone and looking more energetic. "Good, now get close and use Double Team." Max said, the Pokémon quickly splitting into copies as it got closer to Jirachi.
"Jirachi, spin and use Charge Beam." Showing its speed once again, before Gardevoir could even get close, Jirachi fired the beam of electricity and hit all of the copies, including the real one. Gardevoir fell with a grunt again, causing Max to growl in anger.
"Damnit, it's too fast. Gardevoir, try another Hypnosis." Max said, causing Gardevoir to stand with a grunt as it sent the wave towards Jirachi.
"Time to end this?" Ash asked, causing Jirachi to nod. "Use Doom Desire." Max watched in fear and awe as Jirachi lit up in a steel glow.
"Gardevoir, fall back. That attack takes a while to fully charge. Try and hit with another Hypnosis" Max said fearfully. Gardevoir, detecting its trainers stress, sent another wave of energy to the Pokémon.
"Dodge." Not needing to be told twice, Jirachi dodged to the side without any trouble.
"No! Gardevoir use Protect." A bubble of energy immediately came over the Pokémon, making Max breathed a sigh of relief.
"Max." Ash said, catching the boys attention. "Stay at the tournament with your little group. If you try to escape, I will kill you myself." Max would have scoffed. Although, it wasn't confidence by Ash as he said this. From the look on his face and the way he said this, it was a promise, not a threat. "Also, Doom Desire isn't like normal moves. For example..." Jirachi started glowing brighter silver. "It can crash through any defensive move used by a Pokémon. Including Protect." Max had a look of horror on his face now.
"Gardevoir, get out of-" He didn't have time to finish. It was too late. With a small grin on its face, a wave of power came from Jirachi as it stopped glowing. Instead, there was a small rumble and then purple lights came raining down upon Gardevoir, crashing through the Protect and leaving dust in its path. Max looked at this in shock and sadness, knowing there was no way Gardevoir wouldn't be fainted from an attack like that. Soon, the dust cleared and Gardevoir was in a hole, its body covered in bruises.
"Well done Max, you subjected your Pokémon to great pain. You could have come up with many more strategies in defeating me. Ash wanted to prove that I could defeat your strongest with only half of my full power. Tell your group something. Ash doesn't take it easy on anyone else now. Rotom is his strongest. I can't last a minute against him. Remember that the next time you try to act like you're the best." With that, Jirachi turned away and floated towards Ash.
"Max's Gardevoir is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Ash Ketchum." Ash merely waved at the roaring crowed, before setting Jirachi on top of his head and walking out of the stadium. It was quite a comical sight; a Pokémon that utterly destroyed a trainer's chance of continuing through the tournament was acting like a kid, sitting upon Ash's head and giggling to itself as they walked through the door. Max watched this with hollow eyes, returning his own Pokémon before turning and walking out without a word.
Soon, Ash had met back up with the group and they decided to head off to the Pokémon Centre. Since the other two battles will probably be over by now, the next trainers should be picked soon.
"Ketchum!" They turned back, noticing that the TB ('the betrayers') as they simply started calling their group were here now. "How could you hurt Max like that? You know how much Max misses Jirachi. How about you hand over Jirachi to me and we don't have to do anything I won't regret." Ash raised his eyebrows at her, wondering when she had gotten such a big mouth.
"You may want to watch what you say. Considering we're in a public place, you may not want to act like a Team Rocket grunt or something, trying to get my own Pokémon from me." Ash said with a small smirk. May's face seemed to pale before growing red in anger and embarrassment.
"Shut your mouth." She said with a hiss. "If you manage to get to the end of the tournament, Tobias will certainly mop the floor with you. He'll make the Sinnoh League and the Pallet Town incident look like child's play." She said with a smirk. Ash's eyes immediately tightened in anger. Before he could do anything rash though, Serena held onto his arm and pulled him away slightly.
"Don't listen to her. She knows she can't do anything to you. They're all weak and since we're in a public area, they're not stupid enough to try to attack us." Ash could have sworn he heard her mutter something like 'although they are definitely stupid' before they walked away.
"Look at that, walking away like a child." May shouted, causing the group to sigh in annoyance.
"Unless you want your head through a wall and be forced into torture you could never imagine in your wildest dreams, you better shut your mouth before I do it for you." Surprisingly it wasn't Ash that said this, rather it was Sabrina.
"Pfft, so you're another one of Ash's little sluts?" Gary asked, causing the girls to gape at him. Other trainers watched these loudmouths in shock and annoyance before continuing on their way. Before anyone could blink, Ash was in front of Gary, his eyes blazing in fury. He merely squeaked in fear and fell on the floor in shock at Ash just suddenly appearing in front of him. Ash crouched down to his level.
"You need to watch what you say Gare-bare. You and your little group of betrayers may not feel like publicly attacking us, but I have qualms about putting people in their place. Watch what you say from now on. Better yet, stay away from us. You won't like the consequences of trying my patience." With that said, Ash stood slowly, giving the other betrayers a pointed look, before going back to his own group. They continued back to the Pokémon Centre without another word towards the other group. Luckily, they seemed to understand that Ash wasn't to be messed with and decided to leave them alone.
Soon, they were back at the Pokémon Centre and decided to sit down so they could wait for the next battle. Instead of talking much, they simply sat there in a companionable silence as they enjoyed their time together. Ash though, decided to think about the time that he had met Jirachi.
-FLASHBACK-
"I can't believe them." Ash hissed to himself quietly, his eyes bloodshot. All it seemed he was doing lately was crying. After only four months, the death of Pikachu still caused his chest to tighten in sadness and anger. If that wasn't enough, he couldn't go home. He didn't know at this time that his own mother was in fact innocent and wasn't betraying him to Tobias. But since he didn't know this, the thought of Pikachu no longer with him and his own mother hating him was too much for the young man to handle.
"Ash!" He looked up upon hearing the childish voice, although there was a tone of wisdom too. Looking up, now broken from his thoughts, Ash saw a Jirachi coming towards him. Looking closer, he could see many similarities with the one that he had saw during his previous journeys. He was then surprised, when the aura of the Jirachi was the exact same one that he had saw when on his Hoenn adventure.
"What?... How are you here Jirachi? I thought you only woke every thousand years." Ash was trying to keep his anger in check though, since Max was really good friends with the small Pokémon.
"I was invited to the council of legendary Pokémon. So, I have been 'awake' since we first met. The reason I'm here? I saw what Max has done to you. Arceus doesn't see you as the Chosen One for no reason. He also saw the way you were treated. So, he decided to intervene. He sent me to join you on your journey to make sure you don't also go down a path of darkness. He wants you to deal justice and show the world, but mostly Tobias and 'The Betrayers' the error of their ways for causing so much crime and hurt."
"Okay." Ash merely looked at Jirachi for a second before nodding. Without another word from Ash, he pulled out an Ultra Ball and held it out. Jirachi looked at it in slight apprehension for a second before tapping it. With that, Ash continued walking towards the next town...
-FLASHBACK END-
After that was over, Ash quickly became good friends and opened up to Jirachi like he does with his other Pokémon. Although, with a simple 'whenever you want to leave, simply tell me' caused Jirachi to relax and also be more open with them. Sadly, Arceus didn't decide to show up often, only when a situation was extremely dire and Ash needed to be talked out of doing something.
"You okay Ash?" Hilda asked who was sitting next to Ash, so she saw that he had a certain look on his face before anyone else. "You seem to be in deep thought and I saw a couple of scowls here and there." The others looked at him curiously, with Ash smiling gently.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about the time Jirachi and I met. It was only a few months after what happened in Pallet Town. He really helped me with not becoming too angry at everything." The others looked at him sadly as he said this, nodding sympathetically.
"I still can't believe Rotom can beat a legendary." Elena said, her eyes twinkling. The group understood that she loved Pokémon battles even more than Ash did, which was saying something. "Even though Pikachu is a Rotom now, it's amazing to think that he is so powerful." She said with a slight flush, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the small electric Pokémon. The others chuckled at her. Rotom apparently loved the attention he was getting as he floated towards her and seemed to nuzzle against her cheek. Although you would think it would hurt from the electricity, she simply giggled. "Hehe, Rotom. That tickles." With everyone in higher sprits again, the group started a more active conversation with each other.
After another half hour, Nurse Joy turned the screen on again. The group stood quickly and went towards the front with everyone.
"Okay trainers." She said, getting everyone's attention. "The next matchups are now being chosen. I wish you all luck in your battles." With that said, she also turned to watch as the screen went between the different trainers. With three trainers already out of the tournament, it cycled between the others more than previously. Suddenly, as soon as it started, it stopped on the next trainers to battle.
"Well fancy that." Ash said with a small chuckle, watching as Kieron gave Drew a massive grin. "Looks like another is going to be out of the tournament. So soon too?" Ash asked the last slightly mockingly, causing the other group to scowl as they walked away. Like before, the other two matchups weren't any interest to the group so they walked back to their seats.
"The next battles will be starting in ten minutes. Could the trainers go to their stadium?" Was all that was said over the loudspeaker. Without much else said, the group headed off to the stadium where Kieron will be battling Drew. Ash and the girls (including his mother) headed to the seats, while Mia continued following Kieron.
"Hmm? What's up Mia?" Kieron asked with a raised eyebrow, standing outside of the room he was to wait in. Without saying anything, Mia looked at the ground with a slight blush. "You okay? You're burning up." Kieron stated, holding a hand to her forehead. She looked at him with a small smile for a second before surprising him by laying a gentle kiss on his cheek.
"Good luck Kee. I know you can destroy the flower-boy." She giggled as she walked away, leaving Kieron standing there, looking at her in shock. He had always seen her as an older sister, but doing this? It was slightly confusing.
Without too much longer to wait, the two trainers were called to the stadium. Soon, Kieron was walking towards his edge of the field calmly and looking around the stands to see who had come to watch. Drew, on the other hand, was looking around with apprehension. Kieron remembered that Ash said something about how Drew used to do contests and he was bad at it. So, he must be even worse at regular battling. From the look on his face, he seemed like a complete poof and unable to actually handle himself.
"Now we'll decide who sends out their Pokémon first." Said the referee, indicating towards the screen. A few seconds passed before it stopped on Kieron's face. "Will trainer Kieron Addams send out their Pokémon first please." Was all that was said before the referee stood back.
"Okay here we go. The first battle of the tournament. Go" Kieron cried, throwing a Pokeball. "Poliwrath!" Poliwrath appeared in a spark of light.
"Heh, easy." Drew said with a smirk. "I choose you Roserade." The grass Pokémon also appeared in a spark of colours, settling on the ground and looking at the Water/Fighting type with smirk of its own.
"Poliwrath versus Roserade! Begin" As soon as the referee finished lowering the flags, Kieron burst into action.
"Poliwrath fire Ice Beam and rush Roserade." Poliwrath also burst into action, surprising many with its speed.
"Roserade, use Grassy Terrain." That was a small surprise. Who knew someone like Drew knew anything about status effects and using the field to his own advantage. With a small spin, Roserade made the field into a nicer looking terrain, but also causing problems for Kieron.
"Ugh, I hate that damn move. Wait." Kieron had a look on his face as he thought about a strategy. Even though the move made contact with Roserade, it quickly healed some health. "Aha. Poliwrath use Hail." Drew looked extremely annoyed now, as hail started pelting his Pokémon.
"Ugh, use Ingrain." It was odd, with Drew constantly on the defensive even though he had the advantage of a grass type. Roserade quickly planted roots into the ground, recovering more health. "Now use Sunny Day." Kieron's eyes widened, understanding what he was trying to do.
"No! Don't let it use that move. Poliwrath, use Blizzard." If Sunny Day was activated, then that meant Drew was trying to use Solarbeam. That's the only thing Kieron could think of for using such a move.
"Roserade, dodge out of the way. Then use Magical Leaf." Drew hollered, causing the Pokémon to quickly dodge to the side and fire the leaves towards Poliwrath.
"Protect." A bubble immediately covered Poliwrath. The attack bounced harmlessly against it before dissipating. "Use Water Gun in the air." Although it confused everyone else, Poliwrath quickly understood and fired a jet of water in the air. "Freeze it." Now, with a massive block of ice in the air, it was time for the finisher. "Use Brick Break and send the shards of Ice in Roserade's direction." Poliwrath surprised everyone again with its speed and precision as it immediately sent many shards of ice towards the grass type Pokémon.
"No! Roserade dodge-" He couldn't finish though, since the ice was too fast. They all impacted against the Pokémon. It had fainted before it even hit the floor.
"Roserade is unable to battle. Kieron Addams is the victor." The referee shouted, causing the audience to cheer. Ash and the others cheered the loudest though, making Kieron look towards them with a grin. He quickly returned Poliwrath, before heading out of the stadium.
He quickly met back up with the group, with Mia latching onto him with a hug. He merely looked at her with a smile and gave a small thanks. The group soon headed back to the Pokémon Centre, not really bothered about most of the other battles that would be happening soon, apart from their own. Thankfully, none of their group had to battle next so they could simply sit back and be able to relax.
"Phew, it's crazy in here. When a group of trainers leave, another two come here. I'm surprised no one has been sitting here when we went to battle actually." Serena said, looking around curiously at the other trainers. Now that they thought about it, it was a bit curious that no one decided to sit here when they went to the stadium.
"Oh well, looks like we've found our spot for the duration of the tournament. These seats are way too comfy." Kieron said with a sigh, lying further back against the seat. Soon, the rest of the group were able to relax as well and they sat once again in a companionable silence. Without much to say until the next battle since they simply wanted to sit there and relax, the time seemed to go extremely slowly by. Someone was bound to get a bit fidgety from sitting around for so long without doing anything.
"Um." Serena said quietly, causing the others to look at her. "As much as this is enjoyable could we maybe do something? I don't really like sitting around and not doing anything." The others chuckled at her, before starting to brainstorm on what they should.
"I have an idea." Kieron said with a massive grin, causing the others to look at him curiously. "How about we play a little game of Truth or Dare?" Ash couldn't help but feel a spike of dread rise within him as the others enthusiastically agreed to play. "What do you say Ash?" Kieron asked with a small smirk, hidden from the others. Ash merely looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Fine." Ash sighed, noticing the puppy-dog eyes coming from the girls. What had he gotten himself into?
AN: There we go, another chapter done! I hope you liked the little bit at the end, be sure that there may be some funny and embarrassing things asked next chapter for the group. I also noticed that I had only had a certain few people within their group actually talking, so I tried to get the others to join in the conversation this chapter. I'm trying to mesh out everyone's personality so they don't all feel like side-characters. Another point I want to make; lemons. Do you guys want to see them? Since it is a harem story, expect quite some explicit material. I'm also asking because I'm pretty sure writing lemons are against Fanfiction's terms and conditions. So, if you guys want to see them. Give me an idea of what I can do to make sure my story doesn't get taken down. Also, I'm abysmal at writing lemons, so don't expect much.
Apart from that, let's get onto the first chapter with me responding to reviews:
thor94: Don't you worry, Tobias will get his comeuppance soon enough, he doesn't even realise what Ash, Kieron and Arceus can actually do to him. I hope you liked the battle with Ash and Max; I wanted to make it relatively long so it was just a waste of time. As you can see, Jirachi is disgusted with Max, although it also hurts the poor guy to see Max like this.
Guest: Whoa, that's a biggy. You know, you should totally write stories dude, you've got some amazing ideas. Anyway, those are ALL amazing ideas, I was actually thinking of doing something along the lines of a lot of those myself at the start of the story, but you definitely made it better. With the betrayers though, I was just gonna kill them off or throw them to the side at the end of the story so Ash can put this part of his life behind him. Although, I like your idea much better. The thought of them being treated the same way they treated Ash by pretty much all beings of the world apart from themselves is very comical. Your idea really does have merit for the story and it's one I am really thinking of doing. Also, I hope you like how I had Jirachi treat Max this chapter; it may seem a bit OOC for such a kind Pokémon like Jirachi but Max needed to be put in his place for his constant arrogance. I also see people doing this in betrayal fics a lot so it seems to be a fan favourite lol.
Having Manaphy turn against May? I actually hadn't thought about that. The thought of a Pokémon that saw you as its mother turning against you? That would be enough to send anyone down a deep pit of depression. Call me callous, I think that idea is hilarious. I simply have a dark sense of humour. Also, I was thinking of having Serena as the new mother to Manaphy, although this will give some screen time between one of the other girls, so I think it will indeed be between Hilda or Sabrina.
For the last paragraph, that sounds awesome. In fact, i was actually thinking of doing something along those lines when I was planning for the start of the story. Being televised and pretty much disowned would be the last straw for TB (The Betrayers) and they would just wish death upon themselves. Although, Arceus makes it impossible for them to end their lives until it's their time, causing them even more pain. Heh sounds cruel but that could be a big part of the sequel I may write for the story (hint hint). Anyway, thank you for the extremely long review and suggestions; they will definitely tie up loose ends towards the end of the story.
WhiteEagle1985: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.
BlazingInferno75: I hope you enjoyed the ass kicking Max received; it was definitely amusing writing it. Also, I'm glad you're enjoying the story; everyone's support makes me want to keep writing.
Red the Pokémon Master: Haha, I love both games honestly, considering I have both of them. Although, I do think Mega CharizardX is really cool.
.Dawn: Haha, short and sweet. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.
AmericanBoy2016: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. I'm also excited for the final confrontation between Ash and Tobias. I honestly don't know what to do for that battle, but I'll be sure to make it the very best of my abilities. Hmm, well that would be spoiling one of his team for the final battle. I hope you enjoyed seeing Max get destroyed by Jirachi though. Sadly, the updates can only be once a week to ensure the chapters have been checked thoroughly. Although, I see a few errors even after checking and uploading the chapters. Anyway, I start back at college on the 27th this month, but I'll hopefully be able to keep the updates to once per week.
So, that's it for everyone's reviews. If anyone has any questions, make sure to leave it in a review. From now on, I'm going to respond to everyone that leaves a review on the chapters. Also, I left a little hint for the - probable but not completely decided - sequel I MAY or may not write after the story. Also, I'm thinking of maybe writing another story soon. I know, I was saying I don't really have much time. But since the chapters take around two days at the most to complete, I may be able to get another story started, if you guys would like to see that. It may be Pokémon; it might be something else entirely. You may not know this, but I also read Harry Potter fanfiction so maybe expect that at a later date. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this actually very long chapter and I'll see you in the next one. Bye-bye 3.
