Ash and May were on their way back to the Pokemon Center, discussing more about Mewtwo and some of Ash's strategies for his battle against Ritchie the next day. They were walking through the busiest part of the tournament, the shopping district. The two lovers were just walking around the city, killing time, because there was no special plans for tonight. Their conversation was interrupted by a joint group of voices calling Ash's name. "Ash, May, over here! We want to talk to you guys!" Ash recognized the voices, it was none other than the traitors. He tensed up instantly, and his mood went sour, but May picked up on this instantly. She started whispering to him. "Ash, they don't know I've been seeing you, I haven't told them because I didn't know how you would handle it, I know you still have harsh feelings towards them, but try to keep it a little easy okay?" Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing! Here was May, the one who had begged for forgiveness and was now dating him, is trying to get him to forgive everyone else so easily? He was beyond furious, and he stormed towards the other trainers, May hot on his heels.
Brock, Misty, Max, and Dawn were with each other, the boys carrying multiple bags clearly belonging to the girls. They had all matured physically in the past 5 years. Brock had a little more muscle, but by looking at him you could tell nothing else had really changed. The two girls, also filled out their figures a little more, but they were still nothing compared to May. Max still had his glasses, but he had finally gone through puberty, causing him to get a little taller and to lose his high-pitched tone. The whole group had smiles plastered on their faces, seemingly unaware of how angry Ash was standing before them. May had caught up to Ash just in time, before Max began talking. "Hey Ash, you had two amazing battles so far! How hard did you train that last one from today? Where did you get that shiny Alteria? Do you have more shinies?" Although Max had matured physically, his border-line annoying curiosity had not gone away.
Ash cut Max off very quickly. "Shut up right now!" The whole group was shocked. "All of you, how the hell do you think it is okay to pretend like nothing happened 5 years ago? I was at one of the most emotional points in my whole life, and you all turned your backs on me! We have all been on incredible adventures together, and I have always done anything I could to help you guys. Sure, there were rough times for all of us, but can any one of you tell me you didn't have any good memories? Or any fun times? I considered you like family, and when family turns around and stabs you in the back it hurts more than any Pikachu Thunderbolt ever could. You guys are dead to me. I must thank you however, because due to your disregard of my feelings, I have become the strongest trainer on the planet. And I now have the most beautiful woman by my side as my girlfriend, so life without you guys turned out to be just fine."
May blushed at the last words, but then her face turned grim, when the realization of how serious Ash's words were. The inner circle of 6 was silent as could be, but than Brock broke the silence. "Ash, we were getting tired of seeing you hurt from never winning a league. We had no intentions of harming you emotionally, but at the time we felt the best thing for you was to try a different career choice. All of us respected you as a trainer and a person, but you weren't winning. We knew you wanted to be a master, but at the pace you were going that dream was basically unachievable. But it's been 5 years, and just because you've won a couple preliminary battles in this stupid tournament, doesn't mean you're amazing. I guarantee any of us could wipe the floor with you. In fact, theres a clearing just outside of the shopping district, I vote that all 4 of us each battle you. 4 battles of 1 on 1." The other 3 traitors agreed with Brock, feeling confident that their pokemon could defeat anything Ash could throw at them."
Ash had a sinister smile form, he loved Brock's idea. "Let me and May get a quick lunch, and allow me to transfer a couple of my pokemon, after all I just had a battle and I do not have 4 healthy fighters currently. How about in 45 minutes sharp, May will call Max when we're ready so we can find the field." The group of 4 grunted, showing their understanding. Then the two groups went their separate ways, eager to battle each other. May was worried, she knew how angry Ash felt, and she hopes what she thinks will happen, doesn't.
*Guys another short chapter I know, but in the next one we get all 4 battles, plus a surprise tickle attack! If you guys have any preferences of which 4 you want Ash to use against the traitors, please PM ME! And just a warning the battle against Ritchie will happen not next chapter, but the following one! Thank you all for your support!