Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or its characters.

English is not my first language, there will be some grammar or spelling mistakes from time to time, I'm sorry for this. This is also only the second time I'm attempting to write a fanfic.

Here's what I plan for my story:

1. Ash might catch a legendary Pokemon or two, but this is not set in stone. I would like to have Ash focus on using his existing Pokemon.

2. Ash will NOT catch a Lucario or become an Aura Guardian.

3. And he will not be the Chosen One, either.

4. Misty, Leaf, May, Dawn, Lyra, Iris, Hilda, Rosa, Serena, Mallow, Lana and Lillie will be Ash's lovely angels.

5. This is a slightly more serious Ash than the one seen in the anime.

6. I hope you enjoy this. :)

Chapter 1

„There he is!"

„Quick, now it's our chance! Golbat, take him out!"

„Weepinbell, have a go at it!"

That was the sound of two Team Rocket Grunts, guarding the entrance of what was once the Pewter City Gym...

It was 8 AM. Ash wasn't himself this time around - he usually woke up after 11 AM. A really sleepy, hungry raven-headed young trainer, Ash Ketchum, still severely affected by the awful events that happened yesterday, dashed into the Gym, now a Team Rocket base. He was almost alone, with only two Pokemon ready to help him. He needed to try to preserve them as much as possible, in order to try to clean up the base.

„Gengar, I choose you!"

A purple-sized Ghost-type Pokemon appeared, a Pokemon he caught rather recently – Ash's Gengar was visibly ready to fight. Ash decided to be reckless and turn this into a 1 vs. 2 battle.

„Only one Pokemon, young guy? Don't you know who you're messing with?"

„Don't try to taunt him, idiot! Weepinbell, use Razor Leaf!"

„Gengar, Psychokinesis!"

Weepinbell's Razor Leaf almost hit its target, but was stopped quickly by Gengar's Psychic attack and sent right back into Weepinbell, while also partially hitting Golbat. However, the two Pokemon took little damage.

„Golbat, Razor Wind, now!"

„Weepinbell, hit hard with Sludge Bomb!"

The two attempted to hit Gengar at the same time, but the Ghost-type managed to hide its presence just in time, making Team Rocket's Pokemon confused.

„Ice Punch, back-to-back!"

Gengar appeared again and hit Weepinbell at point-blank, managing to freeze it and knock it out – putting it out of commission – but failed to strike Golbat, who used its excellent speed to fly high and dodge, and Gengar fell back.

„Ugh! Weepinbell, return!"

The defeated Grunt immediately pulled Weepinbell back and flew, to the disgust of the other Grunt. His head started cooking up all kinds of name-calling words and stopped him from concentrating. This was Ash's chance to strike.

„Gengar, Psychokinesis! Drive Golbat into the wall!"

Gengar quickly listened to Ash's command and managed to strike Golbat even from a rather high distance, freezing the bat and pushing it back with great force. Moments later, Golbat found itself powerless and felt its body smashed into the wall above the gym's entrance.

„Nooooo! You, you... I won't forget this!"

As the second Grunt quickly called Golbat back and flew, Ash and Gengar started chasing him. Pikachu was not with Ash. He was in the Pokemon Center, fighting for his life.

The visibly angry, reckless and heartbroken Ash went full no holds barred this time around. This was not about him finally deciding to take action about Team Rocket's repeated attempts to steal his Pikachu. This was not Ash deciding he wanted to be a catalyst of change in the Kanto region. And it was certainly not him wanting to be famous for being the young man who took out a well-guarded organization.

This was revenge.

The Pewter City Gym Leader, the best Rock-type trainer in Kanto... Brock. He was no longer.

Brock was like a brother to Ash. Accompanying him through four regions, living his life to the fullest, being a well-experienced trainer, these were things that remained stuck into Ash's memory ever since the incident that happened the day before. The two lifted each other up, laughed together, cried together, and had a full load of stories to tell.

***DAY ZERO: Disaster in Pewter City***

Team Rocket's plans were finally made clear yesterday. It was June 22. A beautiful, sunny day in Kanto, including Pewter City. This day was perfect for going out into the park, jogging, reading books under a tree. But it was also perfect for a planned solution against the Pewter City citizens.

The evil organization was here to make a name. Their leader, Giovanni, decided to resort to a Final Solution. The objective was to overthrow the Pokemon League and replace it with their own, a corrupt, dishonest one.

Brock and his family invited Ash for a meal at the gym, which was happily accepted. Ash was having a rest in Pallet Town after coming back from Alola, where he managed to win the Pokemon League in his seventh attempt and finally brought home the long-dreamed of trophy. Ash decided to do a small tour of Kanto, visiting the closest cities around Pallet Town, and decided to start with Pewter City at Brock's invitation.

Once Ash got into Pewter City, he could smell some suspicious activity fifty meters away from the gym, but decided to let it slide for now – he was far more excited about meeting Brock, who he had not seen in six months.

„Knock knock!"

Brock's younger brother, Forrest, opens the door and sees Ash.

„Hey Ash! You got here!" Forrest gave Ash a handshake and congratulated him on becoming the Alolan Champion.

„Thank you, Forrest! How are things going?"

„Eh, I'm just chilling over here. Brock wants to see you!"

„Great. Let's go!"

He finally saw Brock in the living room, a rather small one for his family's size, and the two hugged each other. Brock happily congratulated Ash for winning the Alolan League and told him he made a feast specifically for him. Brock's parents and Forrest helped out, while Brock's younger brothers – who were still kids – were happily waiting, as they knew it was food time. With a lot of sweets.

And everyone surely ate. A lot.

Once they finished their meal, Brock and Ash decided to take a short walk around the gym in order to chill and talk about what else happened in their lives. They barely opened the door and a huge explosion was unfolded in front of them. It was extremely loud, so loud that it could be heard in Viridian City and Pallet Town with ease.

„What... what's going on?" Ash shouted.

It was not too long before the Pewter City Gym caught fire. Ash had only three Pokemon with him, none of which knew any Water-type moves. This would be the moment he regretted not bringing Palpitoad or another Water-type Pokemon with him.

Ash and Brock ran into the front of the gym and Brock sent out Ludicolo and Steelix, while Ash got Pikachu and sent out Swellow in order to help.

„Ludicolo, Hydro Pump! Steelix, use Dragon Tail!"

„Pikachu, help him with Iron Tail, and Swellow use Aerial Ace!"

The four Pokemon combined their attacks, but Ludicolo's Hydro Pump was not powerful enough, Steelix got burned, while Pikachu and Swellow were just not enough to stop it. The whole gym's roof was covered in flames, and Brock quickly ran to evacuate his family.

Meanwhile, Ash was grinning when he suddenly heard a voice...

„Koffing, Smog!"

Within a few seconds, Ash could not see anything, but couldn't be sure who started the attack. Then he started hearing Pikachu's squeaks. This was not a good sign.

30 seconds later, the smoke ran out and Ash could see Pikachu caught by a Bellsprout's Vine Whip, while being held tightly. Ash commanded Pikachu to use Thunderbolt to free himself, but he wasn't able to gain enough power.

„Swellow, use Aerial Ace!"

„Koffing, stop him in its tracks! Use Poison Gas!"

Swellow managed to dodge Koffing's Poison Gas and charged straight towards Bellsprout, but Bellsprout was conveniently placed right ahead of a tree – giving Swellow no options but to hit both Bellsprout and Pikachu, either directly or indirectly. Swellow decided to go behind the tree to hit Bellsprout's back, but the Grass-type Pokemon jumped with Pikachu onto the tree's leaves.

This prompted Ash's Pikachu to use Thunderbolt uncommanded and free himself, but he fell right on top of the Koffing.

„Koffing, Poison Gas yourself! Destroy him!"

This was the voice of a Team Rocket Grunt. There were two of them. Why were they here?

Koffing managed to cover himself with a cloud of toxic gas and poisoned Pikachu, putting him into a state of torture, constantly having his health worsened over time and hindering its defenses.

„Team Rocket! You idiots!" shouted Ash. He was visibly annoyed by their actions.

„Well, well, well. Who do we have here?"

„That's right. The Alolan League champion. How amusing."

„It would be great for us to take him out right here."

„Of course! We'll report this to Giovanni! He'll make us his right men!"

„Swellow, use Quick Attack!" shouted Ash, taking his chance. It managed to hit Koffing right in the face and stroke a critical hit.

„You... fucker! Is this how you won in Alola?"

„Bellsprout, catch it with Vine Whip!"

But Swellow was too fast for Bellsprout. He flew with great pride and speed, and made a fool out of the Grass-type's Vine Whip. Swellow then quickly finished it off with Whirlwind, driving it into the tree and knocking it out.

Meanwhile, Pikachu was visibly affected by the poison inflicted by Koffing's cloud gas, and managed to stand up after a five-second struggle.

„Pikachu, are you okay?" Ash said.

„Pi... pika..." Pikachu murmured.

„Finish Koffing off with Iron Tail!"

„Koffing, here it comes! Protect!"

Pikachu ran off towards its target, still shook by Swellow's Quick Attack earlier, and managed to defeat it before Koffing was able to put its guard up.

The two Grunts quickly recalled their Pokemon, but a third one quickly appeared from out of nowhere and shouted:

„Houndoom, Flamethrower! Target Pikachu!"

The Dark-type dog appeared from the Grunt's Poke Ball and instinctively used Flamethrower as Pikachu was ready to dodge, sending two bursts of fire into different directions and managing to hit Pikachu with three bursts before landing a continous one almost at point-blank range. The Houndoom would not show signs it was about to stop.

„Pikachuuuu! Noooo! Swellow, use Aerial Ace!"

As Swellow was ready to strike, the Houndoom stopped spreading fire and was ordered to use Crunch – the two attacks collided and nullified each other.

Pikachu's situation got from bad to worse. He was burned heavily by the Houndoom's powerful Fire-type attack. On top of that, the poison was still in his body, and he could barely stay on ground.

Ash was visibly more and more concerned about Pikachu's health. Nonetheless, he decided to continue the fight.

„Swellow, Boomburst!"

„Counter with Flamethrower!"

The two Pokemon were engaging into an intense battle that a neutral would visibly enjoy. But it was certainly not enjoyable for Ash. This was about to turn into one of the worst days of his life. The Team Rocket Grunt was visibly smiling. It could be that he wasn't just any Grunt.

As Swellow and Houndoom keep charging at each other, Brock and his family were evacuated into the gym's backyard, and sent out many Rock-type Pokemon – many Geodude, Graveler, Onix, and Forrest's Rhyperior were there to help. The flames were engulfing the gym, and trying to stop them with Rock-type attacks would damage it structurally. Brock's Marshtomp and Ludicolo were trying to stop the flames with their Water-type attacks, but the fire was blazing hot – it had blue nuances in some places – it must have been caused by a strong attack. A very, very strong Fire-type attack.