Holy shit, I suck at rewriting.


Ash huffed in fatigue and ducked as a Flamethrower was thrown above his head. He gritted his teeth and watched his Pikachu retaliate with some arcs of lightning, throwing off some of his pursuers. Next to him, his beloved girlfriend Serena also began to grow tired.

"Ash…" she breathed out. "Where are we going to go after this? I don't know if I can run anymore…"

The boy in question gritted his teeth; she was right. They were going to reach Viridian City soon and, with the attitude of his so-called current friends, they probably wouldn't hesitate to fabricate a faux story to incriminate him. He glanced over to Serena and nodded grimly.

"I may know of a secluded place to get away from these guys, but…"

Serena sighed in annoyance. "Just get us there, Ash. Anything is better than running away from them right now."

Complying, Ash fingered a Pokéball on his belt. "Go, Charizard!" He yelled.

An orange, draconic Pokémon exited the Pokéball and roared, displaying its large amount of power. Its eyes narrowed at the incoming friends and stared at Ash questioningly. "No questions buddy, we need you to do something to throw my friends off." Charizard raised a brow at the venom in Ash's words, but nonetheless, the Pokémon obeyed his trainer's orders.

Using its massive wings, it flew into the air and charged a breath, releasing a large torrent of fire. Allowing the fire to run rampant on piles of dead branches and leaves, the fire quickly spread and created a wall to block most of the pursuers. Ash quickly grabbed Serena's hand and forced her to come with him onto Charizard. The massive dragon flapped its mighty wings and flew higher. Ash cursed when he heard Pokéballs opening and he groaned when he heard more wing-like appendages flapping behind him.

"You're not going to get away, Ash!" A purple-haired trainer riding on a Dragonite growled out. "Use Dragonbreath on them, Dragonite!" She commanded.

Ash stared back at the Dragonite with a pained expression; it pained him to think of hurting it. It was a good traveling companion for Ash, providing someone for his own Charizard to spend time with. I can't believe I'm seeing Dragonite in these circumstances… Ash thought bitterly. "Charizard, I'm sorry to ask you, but you need to use Dragon-" He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Serena gripping a Pokéball. "What are you doing Serena?"

She smiled painfully at him. "I know this hurts already… There is no need to tax yourself further, Ash. I'll help you out now," she explained resolutely, placing a hand on his face. She gripped the Pokéball harder and released the dragon Pokémon inside—Noivern. "Noivern, take that Dragonite down with an Ice Beam!"

I'm sorry, was all Ash could mouth out to the Dragon-type before he watched a thin beam of frost energy blasting its wing. The Dragonite whined in pain and Ash watched it fall into the emergent layer of the forest below. He winced as the impact had caused a large cloud of dust to appear. Elsewhere, a blue-haired girl wearing a white beanie growled at watching her comrade fall below.

"You'll pay for that, Ash! Togekiss, Aura Sphere!" The Togekiss looked at its owner's friend in sadness, but reluctantly manifested a blue ball of energy. With frightening accuracy, it shot the speedy projectile towards Ash.

"Thunderbolt to deflect it, Pikachu!" Ash commanded. The rodent obliged, sending an arc of lightning at the ball, dissipating it. It exploded, and Ash's vision became clouded. Once the smoke had cleared, the blue-haired girl was nowhere to be seen and Ash released a breath he didn't know he was holding. He stared at the sky with a stony expression and Serena felt a few tears run down her face as she held his hand.

Some hours later, after being away from the vicinity of Pallet Town, Ash felt his Xtransceiver buzz.

"Hello?" He answered with a rather dead voice.

"Ash, it's Paul!" A worried voice on the other end exclaimed. "What happened? I came to visit you after your defeat in Kalos and I heard those friends of yours talk complete garbage about you!"

Ash gritted his teeth. "I honestly have no idea why they did what they did or say what they said," he sighed in grim acceptance. "But things happen for a reason, and they must have believed my incompetence was so great that it was big enough a reason to drop me as a friend."

Paul blanched on the other side. "Incompetence?" He sneered. "If your friends judge you on your incompetence in winning leagues, they must not care for you at all. If they consider your track record for saving people to be incompetent, your friends are really shit, Ketchum."

Ash laughed bitterly. "Heh. I guess," his face fell. "I don't know what to do Paul… I don't know what to do."

Serena placed a hand on his shoulder. "We should just get away… Get away. That secluded place you're talking about? Even more secluded than that."

Paul had heard Serena. "What are you gonna do in this secluded place, Ketchum?"

Ash shrugged. "I don't know. Train? Reflect? There's a lot of things I could do there," he looked back at Serena and gave her a small smile. "I think I could have someone by my side while I live in seclusion."

"Are you sure you're going to be fine on your own? I could help you out with anything, Ketchum." Ash heard him growl on the other side. "Your friends are real douchebags, and someone has to look over you, don't they?"

Ash couldn't help but form a small grin on his face at his friend's enthusiasm. "You know Paul, thanks. I wish I could accept, but I'd like to be with Serena… Just for some time until I calm down, the situation calms down, or if I feel like going back."

A pause. "Fine. Call me back if you ever need to hesitate. Don't be a stranger, okay?"

"Thank you, Paul. Means a lot." The connection cut at that final line and Ash put away his Xtransceiver.

"Ash…" Serena whispered, leaning in closer.

"Serena… Is it true? What all of my friends said about me?" Tears began to fall down his face. "Am I really a worthless nobody? Am I so terrible at what I aspire to be that I'm not even deserving of friendship?"

Serena was quick to disagree. "Ash, no! You're not worthless nor terrible! You're definitely deserving of friendship, just not theirs." She scowled at him. "How could you even begin to think of yourself like that? You're a powerful trainer and have gone toe-to-toe with spectacular trainers. You've assimilated so much experience throughout your journeys… You've proven your worth to numerous people, isn't that enough?"

Ash shook his head. "Apparently not, according to my so-called friends…" He buried his face into his hands. "I can't… I just can't believe they would do this to me, Serena…" He cried softly.

Serena wrapped him in a hug and she too began to cry more. Her emotions were running rampant; one side of her felt murderous intent for the newly minted betrayers and the other side felt sympathy for Ash. "I don't' know either, Ash… Your friends know how to put up façades, don't they?"

Ash wiped his face. "Yeah… Yeah, they do." He sighed out, shaking slightly but stopped his tears. "We're going to Mount Silver." He decided.

"M-Mount Silver?" Serena stuttered. "Isn't that a dangerous place?"

Ash sighed. "Yes, but with my 16 badges, they're sure to get me in. You have enough qualifications in other areas, so I don't doubt you will as well."

"But… Why Mount Silver?"

Ash shrugged. "No one would find us there. The guards that watch over the mountain's entrance record whoever goes in and sends it to the champion-in-power. The betrayers would never get their hands on that kind of information as they had no formal ties with Lance… Only me."

"What are we even going to do when we get there?"

"Didn't you hear what I told Paul?" Ash asked rhetorically. "I'll train… I'll reflect… I'll improve myself and show them a new and improved me…"

Serena smiled sadly. "But Ash, I told you that you don't need to-"

He shook his head. "You're going to say that their words aren't true? They honestly are, Serena. I aspire to be a Pokémon Master, but I've never won an official championship as the Orange League isn't really considered all that extravagant and legitimate." A shrug. "We'll do training and truly get to know each other during our time there, Serena…" He flashed a small grin. "Think of it as an extended date."

She perked up hearing him make quips already. "An extended date? You have got yourself a deal, mister." She hugged him and fell into his arms. Ash placed his arms around her and quietly ordered Charizard to make way to Mount Silver. They sighed, content in each other's embrace as they faced their journey.


Hopefully, this does your expectations justice.