"Ash! Ash, where are you?" A.J shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to make his shout louder, frowning in worry when he didn't get a reply: He knew Maddison had told Richie to let him go, but she din't tell him - plus he knew Ash needed someone to talk to, he remembered being in a similar situation when his Sandlash got badly hurt.
Continuing down the dirt path, A.J looked around with his eye brows furyed in worry, "Where could he be...?" He woundered outloud, scratching the back of his head as he walked, "Pi-Pi-PikPikachu!" A.J blinked at the sound, turning around to see Pikachu running up to him, "Pikachu! have you seen Ash?" He asked the yellow mouse, who nodded and started running towards where Ash was, A.J following closely behind.
"What are you doing here?" Ash demanded once more as he looked at Croconaw, his eyes going from angry to ice cold, "C-C-Croc...c-Croconaw..." The water type whispered, recoiling in shock and fear at the icy look Ash was giving him, backing up against a tree in fear: "Pikapii!" Ash and Croconaw's encounter was interrupted when Pikachu came running towards them, neither of them having noticed the electric pokemon left at all. Close behind Pikachu, Ash noticed A.J following him, making Ash frown a little, "A.J? what are you doing here? I told you I was going for a walk"
"I know you said that, but I know what your going through. Once, Sandslash got hurt really bad, just like Pidgeot, I was so angry, but then Richie found me and calmed me down by listening to me vent...plus I knew that this here Croconaw was following you, and I have a way you can understand what he is trying to tell you" A.J explained, unclipping a poke'ball off his belt whilst Ash, Pikachu and Croconaw looked at A.J in disbelief.
Throwing the poke'ball into the air, The small group watched as the pokemon appeared from within the poke'ball, "Alakazam!" The psychic pokemon announced as it's form fully appeared, looking around and walking over to A.J, "This is Alakazam, as you know, most psychic types can use telepathy - well Alakazam can! So, Croconaw can explain itself to him and then he can tell us what he is saying!" A.J concluded, smiling as Ash raised an eyebrow at his words, a small scowl on his face.
"Somehow I don't think anything that he says will make me any less angry, but go for it" Ash grumbled, watching as Alakazam and Croconaw started talking. After a few minutes, Alakazam nodded and turned to A.J and Ash: suddenly a deep and calm voice entered both the boys minds, "This Croconaw tells me that during an incident last year, he and another pokemon named Kingler were threatened and forced into siding with them - he also claims that the pokemon named Kingler was beaten near death until he agreed to side with them"
Blinking in surprise at what Alakazam told them, A.J face turn to anger, whilst Ash's face turned to that of suspicion, looking to Croconaw with untrusting eyes, "Is that true?" He asked the water-type, who nodded sadly, looking down in sadness and guilt, "Why should I believe you? Alakazam, can you tell if he is telling the truth or not?" Ash request Alakazam, turning his focus to the intelligent pokemon, who nodded, closing his eyes and focusing his mind to look at Croconaw's emotions.
Opening his eyes, Alakazam nodded and looked back to Ash, "I sense nothing from this pokemon but honest and guilt, no signs of malice or ill-intentions" He concluded, watching as Ash turned his attention back to Croconaw, a torn look on his face, "I don't know if I can forgive you Croconaw, what you did really hurt me, and to see you with her of all people..."
Croconaw's eyes filled with tears as he quickly started shouting desperately, "Naw-Naw! CrocCroc-Croconaw!" raising a brow, Ash looked at Alakazam who quickly translated the desperate pleas, "He says he didn't want to go with the girl, she forced him to go with her - Kingler only went with her because he wanted to protect him, the whole year him and the other pokemon were always trying to escape, but stopped when Misty threatened them if they left and didn't listen to her in battle"
Slightly shocked at the claims, Ash quickly believed the water-types last words, "I can imagine this new, horrible Misty doing something like that...I guess o can understand why you did what you did...but now what? you've escaped the she-devil and you've explained yourself to me..." Ash questioned, wondering if the pokemon in front of him wanted to join him, as well as if Kingler also wanted to join him, "Where you hoping to join me again or something?"
With a blush growing on his cheeks, Croconaw nodded shyly whilst looking down, blinking when Ash sighed and picked up the two poke'balls of the floor and looked at them for a full minute, completely silent, "I may end up regretting this, but I do believe in second chances, so I will give you another chance..." The words Ash spoke made Pikachu, A.J and Alakazam all smile, whilst Croconaw stared at Ash, jumping up trying to hug the boy, making Ash step back and the pokemon fall to his feet. Looking back at Ash with a hurt look, Ash sighed and stood up, "I said I will give you another chance, but you AND kingler will have to work to gain my trust, okay? hugging is reserved for pokemon and people I trust" Ash explained, trying to ignore the sad and hurt look of Croconaw's face by enlarging his poke'ball an pointing it at him, "Me, you and Kingler will talk later, for now return"
Looking down at the poke'ball after Croconaw had returned, Ash placed them inside of his bag before sitting back down on the log with a sigh, running a hand threw his whilst holding his hat in the other, "This has been one hell of a day..." Ash grumbled to himself, setting his hat back on his head. Turning to look at A.J, who had started chuckling at his words, Ash watched his friend call back Alakazam before sitting on the log next to Ash, "It sure has been one hell of a day...you want to talk about it?"
Looking at A.J for a second before looking down at the floor, his arms hanging over his knees as he clenched his fists, ignoring the pain he felt as a result of punching the ground earlier, "I just don't understand it all A.J...I don't understand any of it all! Why would she hurt Pidgeot so much? Why?" Ash started to rant, his voice starting to rise in volume, "Actually, you know what I want to know? I want to know why she betrayed me! why they ALL betrayed me!"
"I did everything for them! Just look at everyone who left me! Look how much I did for them! If it wasn't for me, Brock would never have been able to explore the world and learn more about becoming a pokemon breeder, he wouldn't have caught all those pokemon of his if I hadn't let him travel with me! And how does he repay me for all the stuff I exposed him to? He ditches me, even takes some of my pokemon away from me!" Ash continued, his rant so loud that the area they were in was now silent - except for Ash's ranting.
"Then Misty, I don't why I ever though of her as a friend! every chance she got she put me down! The first time we met she slapped me - she pulled me out of a river and slapped me! I get that she was worried about Pikachu, but I was a kid, I was 10 and nearly drowned but she didn't care in the slightest! Sure, she pointed out which way the pokemon center, but she knows I only took the bike because Pikachu NEEDED to get to the hospital! she knew that! But still, for the next 2 years she followed me everywhere! Through Kanto, Johto and the Orange Islands! I put up with all her insults, even bought her a new bike and helped her reconnect with her sisters, who ended up making Misty the gym leader, not once did I get a thank you!" Ash's voice was thick with anger as he ranted about the hot-headed girl, "Then she calls me a loser, steals some pokemon as well, then nearly kills Pidgeot!"
Taking a deep breath, Ash pinched the bridge of his nose as he continued to rant, A.J just sat their and let him get all his feelings out, "Then there's Tracy, we met him in the Orange Islands, he was a sketcher, a dam good one, - even if I hate to admit it. His idol was Professor Oak, so I introduced them, and I got him the position of lab assistant! if I hadn't been their he may never have ,et the Professor! Shaking his head in disbelief, Ash growled and kicked a tree, watching as a few Pidgy flew from the tree, "Then there's May, Max and Dawn! In Hoenn I taught May everything about being a trainer, encouraged her to get into Contests and always gave her advice and was their for her when her rivals would tear her down! As for Max, he was May's little brother, if I hadn't given the okay, he wouldn't have travelled with us at all! Dawn was like May, a new trainer who loved contests! I met her in Sinnoh. Just like with May, I taught her everything, giving her tips for her Contests that I remembered from travling with May!"
"Then in Unova I met Cilan and Iris - I don't even remember HOW Iris and me started travelling together, every time I did anything wrong, ANYTHING, even if it wasn't my fault, she call me a kid, even though I was older and more experience then her! As for Cilan, he was a different guy, we weren't the closest of friend's, but it still hurt when he turned his back on me!" Ash growled out stamping his foot on the floor in anger as his fingernails dug into his palms.
"But the last two to leave me hurt the most...Gary, he was my oldest friend and rival, sure we didn't always get along, but I respected him, and I though he respected me! Guess I was wrong! Then there's her...my m-mom..."Ash continued, his voice starting to crack as tears are anger starting spilling over his cheeks, turning around with so much pain, betrayal and ange rin his face that it made A.J's heart break at the usually strong-willed boy, "She agreed with them! She didn't believe in me anymore! She just kept saying that maybe it was for the best if I gave up! Do you know what that's like A.J? To be betrayed and abandoned by EVERYONE you ever really gave a dam about?! To have your own mother basically say that you aren't good enough to accomplish your dreams?! BECAUSE IT'S THE WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD!"
With those last words, Ash's knees finally gave way, making the boy fall to the ground in a sobbing heap, his body shaking violently as his cries of pain echoed through the clearing. Pikachu, who had started crying during his best friends rant, ran to Ash and hugged his head, "Pikapii! Pika-pipi-Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, sharing in his trainers pain.
A.J watched Ash and Pikachu cry, holding back his own tears A.J stood up from the log and kneeled down to Ash, helping the boy sit up, "I-I'm so sorry Ash...I'm sorry you went through hell and back, I can't imagine the pain you must have felt, or that your feeling now, but there is something you have to remember," Ash hiccupped softly, looking up at A.J like a small child, making the green-haired boys heart ach for him, "They may have left you, but you still have me and Ritchie, you have Maddison, Jason and Natalie...You have Pikachu, Charizard, all of your pokemon...were your family now, and we will never leave you behind"
A.J words hit Ash hard, forcing more tears down his face as he threw his arms around the slightly taller boy, his body shaking as he sobbed into A.J's shirt, who looked alarmed at first but hugged the boy back - At the same time, Pikachu jumped to Ash's shoulder and continued hugging the broken boy:
"Please...Please don't leave me"