It didn't take long to get back to the camp site - it also didn't take long for Ash's prediction to come true. Small drops of rain began to fall from the dark clouded sky, steadily increasing until it was lightly drizzling. The rain didn't bother Ash in the slightest, especially since it was only a light drizzle, but Dawn had took her bag of her back and was holding it above her head, trying her best to protect her hair.
"Why are you doing that?" Ash asked after glancing at Dawn a few times, a look of slight confusion, but somewhat knowing look on his face, "I hate the rain. Besides, if my hair gets wet, its a pain to sort out in the morning!" Dawn replied as hse shifted the bag to cover more of her hair, making Ash chuckle as the two entered the camp site, where two tents were set up.
"Hm, didn't know they packed tents..." Ash mused softly as he walked over to a tree and leaned againest it as he watched Dawn quickly set up her own red tent, "Aren't you going to set up your tent?" Dawn asked once her own medium sized tent was up, turning to look at Ash and lowering her bag once she was stood under the canape of the tent, the rain drops making a soft patter sound as they hit the tent's fabric.
Ash just shrugged as he looked at her with a neutral look, "I don't have one" Dawn blinked and frowned, thinking before beckoning the boy forward, "Well, you can't stay out in the rain. Come on, there is enough space inside for us both" Ash looked hesitant at the girls words, making Dawn smile gently, "Don't worry - there is a zip up wall that keeps both sides separate." Ash raised a brow and nodded, slowly walking inside of the tent, where Dawn followed inside, zipping the front of to stop the rain from entering.
A few minutes of silence past as the two trainers laid on their respective sides of the tent, the wall zipped closed, but thin enough so one could see the outline and hear the other person, "Ash?" Dawn's voice snapped Ash out of the gaze he had directed at the tent above him, making him glance to the outline of the blue-haired girl, "Hm...?" Ash responded, watching as Dawn's figure shifted, indicating she had rolled over to face his direction.
"I've been thinking about it...do you want to know what happened all those years ago?" Ash seemed to freeze up at those words, battling inside his head for a response. Not receiving a reply made Dawn frown as she glanced over at Ash's figure, "Ash...?" Ash snapped out of his inner battle and coughed slightly, laying a hand on his sleeping Pikachu's back, stroking it as he nodded to himself, "Tell me." Ash stated, listening as Dawn took a deep, shaky breath before talking.
"Where do i start?" Dawn mused aloud at first, making Ash frown, "Why did they betray me - start by explaining that." Ash instructed, rolling over so he and Dawn were facing each other.
"When we all at your house waiting for you to come home, everyone was discussing the battle between you and Alain" Ash hummed lightly in return - he remembered the battle vividly. He may have lost that battle, but it was one of, if not the best battle he had had in a very long time. Certainly the best battle he had during his Kalos journey, "Paul was the first one to talk - he claimed that although mega-evolution was a thing, there was no way you could have pulled of that "stunt" as he called it, without a mega ring or a key stone"
"Paul continued, saying that he had seen similar things happen when cheating trainers drugged their pokemon up with Protein or Calcium" The idea of people drugging their pokemon made Ash and Dawns blood boil - it was common knowledge that drugging ones pokemon was not only illegal, but highly dangerous, often resulting in death of said pokemon being drugged.
"Me and a few others thought for sure that Paul was talking out of ass - honestly i didn't even know why he was there. As far as i know, you two never came to terms" Ash raised a brow - he knew that Paul had shown him some respect at the end of their battle, or so he thought. The wave of his hand had been a signal to Ash that he at least respected him as a trainer - clearly he was wrong.
"Anyway - Iris was the first to back up Paul's, i guess accusation or assumption" Ash rolled his eyes at the mention of the dark skinned girl. He had never really liked her before the betrayal. Always calling him a kid - it was irritating.
"She claimed that she had heard rumors that Kalos trainers were notorious for drugging their pokemon, and that she wouldn't be surprised if you did the same, saying you seemed like someone who would do anything to win." Dawn stopped, waiting for Ash's figure to nod before continuing.
"Thats when Misty and Brock joined in - they said that you weren't a skilled trainer, that most of you badges were given to you and not earned, so they though the same had happened in Kalos, and that your lack of skill had driven you to dramatic and illegal measures" The hairs on the back of Ash's neck began to stand, the sound of the rain outside falling of def ears as the sound of his own blood rushing through his ears blocked it out, anger welling up inside of him as Dawn continued to talk.
"Hearing so many people taking Paul's side must of triggered something inside of the others - Richie and AJ began to doubt you, thinking back on there own battles with you. AJ claimed that you had tried to demand a rematch after trying to force Pikachu to battle, and Richie claimed that during yours and his battle, your pokemon showed you no respect, so the two were convinced that you desperation back then had manifested into dramatic measures to win"
"From the way he was talking, i gathered that Trip didn't leave on good terms with you either. He almost instantly agreed with Paul, claiming that you were a weakling who would do anything to win a battle, even cheat, like you had back when you battled him in Unova"
Dawn stopped, hearing Ash's breathing becoming heavier with each word she spoke, "Barry and Cilian are the only two whos reasons i dont know. They didn't chip in with any opinion, but they also didn't protest"
"What about Zoey, Max and May?"
"Zoey stood up for you, saying she didn't think you would go to such measures - she stated if you would do that, you would have done it earlier in your adventure. She especially pointed out that during your Sinnoh journey, that you actually lost some contests, showing you weren't all about winning, instead just enjoying the competition"
"Max backed her up, saying that although you liked to win, you understood that losing was part and parcel in pokemon battles. He said that if you would go to such measures in the Kalos league, why wouldn't you have done it before in the other leagues you had competed in: May on the other hand was torn as she later told me. She remembered how much you loved to win, and what extremes you would go to, but she didn't know if you would be willing to drug your pokemon just to win a league championship"
"In the end, May ended up siding with the others. She never really explained why, but she did" Ash stiffened more and more, his anger beginning to simmer in his stomach, "Why didn't you, Max and Zoey stand up for me when they turned on me?" Ash cut Dawn off sharply - it was the main thing he wanted to know.
Dawns eyes darkened in sadness as she began to speak once more, "We wanted to." She started, her voice beginning to shake as tears filled her eyes, "Professor Oak threatened us, saying if we were to stand up for you, he would contact the other professors and tell them we were abusing are pokemon"
"We knew that an accusation like that, from someone as prestige as Professor Oak would be hard to argue with - we were convinced that are pokemon licences would be revoked and pokemon taken away from us" Dawn began to choke whilst Ash began to bubble more with anger.
"Why did Oak do that? What did he have againest me?" Ash demanded, his eyes hardening and his hand gripping onto Pikachu's fur, "He explained that although you had shown potential as a trainer ever since beating Gary in a battle, ever since your skill had began to deteriorate, becoming worse and worse with each journey you went on. He claimed that your were becoming an embarrassment, and giving Kanto and Pallet town a bad name"
"That motherfucker..." Ash growled, which Dawn seemed to not here as she began to bring her story to an end.
"The only one i kind of get is your mother - she said after seeing you jump of Lumious Cities tallest building, she was convinved that you were to reckless to be a trainer. I get that she was worried is what i mean, but she should have had more faith in you."
Ash suddenly sat up, his eyes brimming with anger filled tears, "I need to go." He stated, unzipping the door of the tent and stepping out, "Wh-? Where are you going?" I need some time to myself." Ash growled out as he began walking away. Dawn was tempted to follow, but she could see Ash was beyond words angry.