I want to thank everyone who took the time to leave a review; I really appreciate your comments and feedback.

If you read the original version of this story and have any questions, PM them to me so we don't spoil anything for the new readers.

The poll will go on a little longer, it's a little too close right now (there's 4 votes between 1st and 4th) and the pairing won't start until chapter 13 at the earliest anyway so there's now a bit more time to vote.

Anyway, without further ado here's chapter 11, I hope you enjoy it.

In conversations:

'- Translation of Poké Speech – No human unless otherwise stated can understand it. Ash can understand it due to his Aura.

"- Human speech

"- Telepathy/Aura

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, if I did then Ash would have won a league by now.

Ash, Chu and Mew appeared in the clearing and were quickly surrounded by all the Pokémon congratulating him on rescuing Pidgeot and exposing Professor Oak. He wondered how they all knew about what had happened but was pretty sure that it was Mewtwo's doing. He glanced around the clearing and was disappointed to see that Anabel wasn't here.

"Has Anabel been here today?"

"No we haven't seen her." Meowth replied.

Ash knew that Anabel must have either stayed at her hotel with the other Frontier Brains or she went to meet Dawn. He really wished he could go see her right now but he knew that he need to get Pidgeot to a Pokémon Centre and see how much damage that collar had done. Ash hoped that someone else would find her and put her mind at ease, the last thing he wanted was to worry Anabel.

"Mew can you Teleport us to the Pokémon Centre please?"

"Of course."

In a flash Ash and Mew were now stood in front of the Pokémon Centre, Ash immediately pulled the legendary into a hug and felt her snuggle into him. He looked into her blue and eyes and could see that she was tired although knowing how energetic she is she probably hasn't noticed yet.

"Thanks for everything today Mew."

"I'm happy to help whenever I can."

"You should head back to the others and get some rest, you may not feel like it but you look tired."

"Maybe your right, when I lose it like I did it does drain me a bit."

Mew hugged Ash again and then Teleported away leaving Ash alone, he took the Pokéball containing Pidgeot out of his pocket and faced the Pokémon Centre. Ash was desperately hoping Nurse Joy wasn't busy so she could take a look at Pidgeot, he was extremely concerned about how much damage the collar had done. He had seen a few in the past and they done anything from psychological damage to killing the wearer. He took one more worried glance at Pidgeot's Pokéball and walked into the Pokémon Centre.

Meanwhile Anabel and Dawn were heading towards the Pokémon Centre to hopefully meet up with Ash. They like most of the world had watched the events that had transpired and were certain that the first thing he'd do would be take Pidgeot to the Pokémon Centre. The pair were just casually strolling while talking when suddenly a blue blur slammed into Anabel knocking her to the ground. A look of concern appeared on Dawn's and face and she knelt down next to Anabel hoping that she hadn't been injured.

"Anabel are you okay?" Dawn asked concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine thanks." Anabel replied.

Anabel and Dawn then looked to the Pokémon now lying on Anabel's stomach. It was a small, blue, aquatic Pokémon with stubby feet and club-like arms that are longer than its body. It had a red gem on its chest and a yellow dot below the gem. Its onion-shaped head had a pair of long blue antennae, which have small spheres on the ends. Its irises were dark blue with yellow sclera, and there are two yellow dots of eyelash-like markings extending from the eyes.

"What Pokémon is that?" Dawn asked.

"I-I really don't know." Anabel replied.

"Mama." The mystery Pokémon said while looking at Anabel.

Anabel's eyes widened as she remembered a story Ash had told her after he beat Brandon.

"Wait a minute, I remember Ash telling me about a Pokémon that called him papa and May mama. I think its name was Manaphy."

Dawn looked at the little blue Pokémon in Anabel's arms and remembered Ash telling her the same story, she never thought she'd actually meet the Pokémon Ash had told her about.

"So is Ash your papa?" Dawn asked getting a nod from Manaphy in response.

"And May is your mama." Anabel added.

"No! She no mama! You mama." Manaphy responded while still looking at Anabel.

Anabel smiled at Manaphy and cradled the young Pokémon in her arms, Manaphy sighed in content and snuggled into her mama's embrace.

"Love you mama." Manaphy said.

Anabel was surprised by Manaphy's declaration but she only needed to take one look at the cute little Pokémon resting in her arms to know how she felt.

"Love you too Manaphy." Anabel said tenderly

Dawn smiled at the adorable interaction between the Anabel and Manaphy and started gently stroking Manaphy head. The Seafaring Pokémon enjoyed the attention from both Anabel and Dawn and leaned into their touch.

"Come on then let's go find papa." Dawn said while stroking Manaphy.

"Yay papa make me happy!" Manaphy exclaimed.

Anabel gave Manaphy a small hug which she immediately returned, both knew that even though they had just met they had already made a strong bond that would never be broken.

"Papa makes me happy too."

Dawn helped Anabel to her feet and the trio recommenced their journey to the Pokémon Centre, the journey was mostly spent in silence as Dawn and Anabel were mostly paying attention to Manaphy who had fallen to sleep in Anabel's arms.

As soon as Ash entered the Pokémon Centre he instantly saw a woman he hadn't seen for over a year and a smile broke out on his face. The woman's head had shot up when she heard the doors open and her eyes lit up as she saw Ash enter. The woman got up from the table she was sat at, walked over to Ash and hugged him tightly, smiling tenderly as she felt him return her embrace.

"Ash I've missed you." she said

"I've missed you too mum." Ash replied.

Ash hugged his mother, happy to see her again. He hadn't seen her since he'd left to train on Mt Quena with Mewtwo and the clones. Of course he still kept in touch with her with regular calls but it was nice to see her face to face again.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd have watched the tournament on T.V."

"Well I saw that you were competing and I had to come see you battle but why didn't you tell me you were participating in this?"

Ash dropped his head in shame, he'd gotten so wrapped up in getting his revenge on his former friends that he'd forgotten to just call his mother to tell her what was going on.

"I'm so sorry mum, I got so caught up with them being here that I selfishly forgot." he said guiltily.

"It's okay sweetie I understand how their presence could do that. I don't blame you."

Ash smiled at his mother's forgiving nature, he was unbelievably grateful that his mother had stuck by him throughout everything.

"So how have you, Mimey and Ariana been since I last called?"

"Well me and Mimey have been fine but Ariana has missed you dearly."

"So where is Ariana?"

The second he asked the question Ash felt a pair of arms wrap around him, he looked down and saw his adopted sister Ariana. She hadn't changed much in the past year, she still had her shoulder-length black hair, her skin like his is lightly tanned, and she has dark green eyes. The only real change is that she had grown a bit probably standing at around four a half foot.

"Hey Ariana how are you?"

"Ash I m-missed you so much this year."

Ash saw tears forming in his little sisters' eyes and could see just how much she had missed him, he quickly got down on to his knees and pulled her into a tight hug. He felt her cling to him as if she was worried he'd disappear and could feel her shaking in his arms as cried into his shirt.

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long but I promise I won't be training on top of any more mountains. So I'll be able to see you a lot more."

It didn't take long for Ariana's sobs to subside, she pulled back from the hug and had a massive smile on her face. Ash wiped away her remaining tears and stood up, he picked her up and twirled her around drawing a giggle from her.

"So how have you been sis?" Ash asked.

"I've been doing great; mum's been helping me with my training. She says that if I keep training I'll be able to become a coordinator." Ariana replied happily.

"That's great news, I can't wait for the day your first contest comes around. I know you'll be amazing"

"You really think so?"

"I know so. Right I need to give Pidgeot to Nurse Joy so she can do a check-up on her and then we can properly catch up." Ash said.

Ash put Ariana back on the ground who immediately missed the feeling of her brother arms wrapped around her. She watched as Ash walked over to Nurse Joy and started talking with the Nurse. Ariana looked away when she felt a tap on her shoulder, she looked up at her mother who was searching through her bag. She already knew what her mother was looking for but wasn't sure if this was the right time.

"Are you sure this is the best time to do that?" Ariana asked.

"Yes, the sooner we do it the better." Delia replied.

"Okay mum."

While Ash was discussing the scans that would be done to Pidgeot he was certain he could his mother and Ariana whispering about something. Although if he was being totally honest he wasn't really that concerned about what they were talking about. At the minute he was focussed entirely on Pidgeot and was just hoping Nurse Joy would give Pidgeot the all clear when she finished the long list of necessary medical checks. He was preparing himself for the worst though as he knew those collar's had caused serious damage in the past so he was worried for her. After Nurse Joy took Pidgeot's Pokéball and went to one of the back rooms Ash walked back to Ariana and his mother who stopped whispering.

"What were you two whispering about?" Ash asked.

Ash was surprised to see that they both looked nervous for some reason, whatever they had been talking about must be important.

"There is someone else here to see you Ash. Now before you do anything just promise us you'll hear what he has to say first." Delia said.

Ash wasn't liking the sound of this, it sounded like he wasn't about to like who he was about to meet but they were his family so he trusted them and would do anything for them.

"Ok I promise."

Ash watched as his mother took an old looking Pokéball out of her bag, he was curious who was inside the Pokéball. He knew there was no way it could be Mimey because he never went into his poke ball. He tried to think of who else it could be but to his knowledge she didn't have any other Pokémon.

"Come on out." Delia said as she opened the Pokéball

The Pokémon contained in the old Pokéball appeared in a flash of light. Once the light died down it showed a reptilian creature that somewhat resembles a toad or a young dinosaur with a spotted blue-green hide. He had three white toes growing out from each of his four legs. His irises are bright red while the rest of his eyes are white. The most notable feature of this Pokémon is the green onion-like bulb on its back.

"What the hell is HE doing here?!" Ash yelled angrily.

Ash glared at Bulbasaur, he had always thought Bulbasaur was one of his most loyal Pokémon. He had trusted him to look after the Pokémon living at Oaks' ranch and thought that he would stand by him no matter what but he too had betrayed him. Ash knew that had his mother and Ariana not been here he would have gone ballistic however the longer he looked at Bulbasaur the angrier he got and he was only just controlling his rage.

Ariana saw that Ash was getting angry so she grabbed his arm and watched his gaze soften as he looked at her, she was one of the few things that could calm Ash in an instant.

"Ash you promised me and mum that you'd hear him out first. Riolu spoke with Bulbasaur and told me what happened so please just listen to what he has to say."

Ash sighed as he felt his anger die down, he did promise them that he'd hear what the Pokémon had to say and he kept his promises.

"I'm glad that you've finally mastered how to communicate with Riolu, I'm proud of you Ariana."

Ariana smiled at Ash who looked at Bulbasaur and let out another sigh, as much as he didn't want to he would listen to the grass type.

"Fine I'll listen to him but it better be a damn good reason. If it's not, I'll get Charizard and let me tell you he'd love a reunion with you."

'Ash if you don't think my reason is good enough I will gladly stand here and let Charizard roast me.'

"Okay I'm listening."

'Well this is what happened...'

Flashback (A few hours before Ash arrived home after the Sinnoh League)

At Professor Oak's lab Bulbasaur was in the corral as usual. He took his role of leadership seriously and he looked over the corral making sure that everything was fine, however he suddenly felt the weight of a certain bug on his back. In one of his less diplomatic moments he had hit Heracross with a Solar Beam to stop him sucking the sap from his bulb again. Bulbasaur wished he would stop but knew that he wouldn't no matter how many Vine Whips, Razor Leaf's or Solar Beam's he hit Heracross with.

But today nothing could get him down he'd heard from one of Professor Oaks' calls that May was in town which meant she'd bring back his mate. He also knew Ash would be back soon and he couldn't wait to see his trainer again. Although he relished his role here he had to admit that there were many times that he missed traveling with Ash.

Bulbasaur then saw all of Ash's travel companions that had accompanied over the years coming into the corral. He walked to them and they asked him to round up all Ash's Pokémon, he nodded and went off to find everyone. When they were all gathered they looked expectedly at Ash's friends wondering what they wanted. It wasn't unusual for their trainers' friends to talk with them however Bulbasaur could tell that something was different today.

"Attention all of you. We've all decided to tell Ash that he should give up training since he clearly has no idea what he's doing." Misty declared.

Bulbasaur couldn't believe what he was hearing, he knew that something was wrong but he never expected this. These people were supposed to be Ash's friends and here they are berating him.

"We know you are all very powerful but you are being wasted by Ash. We swear that if you to come with us we will help you reach you full potential." Brock added.

Bulbasaur looked around and to his shock he saw that most of Ash's Pokémon nodding. He could tell that a couple of Ash's more timid Pokémon looked unsure of what to do possibly due to fear of what will happen if they don't side with the majority. Charizard, Donphan, Bayleef, Totodile, Sceptile and Infernape on the hand looked absolutely furious. Bulbasaur looked at Ash's so called friends and shook his head, he would not betray his friend like that, not after everything they had been through together.

The human's watched Bulbasaur's reaction and then looked at May knowing that she held the key to getting Bulbasaur to side with them. The Coordinator from Hoenn took a Pokéball out and sent out her Bulbasaur. Although he was still furious at Ash's so called friends he couldn't stop a smile coming to his face as he saw his mate. Bulbasaur started walking towards his mate but then May stood between them. Bulbasaur growled angrily at May who knelt down in front of her.

"She's going to have your child. So if you don't do as we say you'll never see her or your child." May whispered.

Bulbasaur eyes widened as he was given such a heart rending choice, he was torn between his friendship with Ash and his love for his mate and the child she was carrying. After a few minutes of internal debate, he hung his head in shame and reluctantly nodded showing he understood and agreed to their terms. Charizard roared in anger and disbelief that Bulbasaur had chosen to betray Ash after everything they had been through.

Bulbasaur looked at the humans and saw the evil grins plastered on most of their faces, he couldn't believe that these were the same people that travelled with Ash. He watched as they left the corral and gradually the Pokémon fled to their own parts of the corral not wanting to be near Charizard, Bayleef, Donphan, Totodile, Sceptile and Infernape. Eventually the only Pokémon left were Bulbasaur and the six Pokémon that were standing by Ash. Charizard, Bayleef, Donphan, Totodile, Sceptile and Infernape were all glaring at Bulbasaur.

'Guys I'm sorry but you have to understand she's my mate.' Bulbasaur pleaded.

'Save it for someone who cares, traitor.' Charizard snarled.

'I always respected the loyalty and dedication you showed, but now I have no respect for you at all.' Bayleef snapped.

'I used to look up to you Bulbasaur, you were like my brother. Now you disgust me.' Donphan growled.

'Ash has done everything in his power to help us and you've just left him for that whores Bulbasaur. You're pathetic.' Totodile added.

'You have no honour.' Sceptile said.

'I may not have known you as long as the others but I always thought loyalty was the most important thing to you. It seems I misjudged you.' Infernape said in a disappointed tone.

Bulbasaur felt tears prick his eyes at their biting comments because they were all true. He had just thrown away all of the self-respect and honour he had. The six Pokémon that had chosen to stand by Ash started walking away leaving Bulbasaur all alone. Now Bulbasaur let the tears he had kept in flow and they trickled down his cheeks.

Later that day Bulbasaur did as he was told and stood with the other's that had chosen to betray Ash. He nodded along with them and added his own fake glare and growl at the person he respected more than anyone else. He watched as Ash flew away on Charizard with tears in his eyes and Bulbasaur had never felt more ashamed in his life.

End flashback

'I later learned that they had been lying to me all along. Bulbasaur wasn't going to have my child, she had been in on it the whole time but by the time I found out it was too late, you were gone.' Bulbasaur went silent.

Ash looked at his first grass type and could see the guilt in his eyes but could he risk trusting his again? He kept his focussed on his old friend and remembered all the adventure's they'd shared, the battles they'd won and the friends they'd made. He knew had this been a few weeks ago he would have still been angry, he had no doubt that right now he would have had a barbequed Bulbasaur. However now that he was with Anabel he understood why Bulbasaur did what he did.

As much as he hated to admit it if he had been forced to choose between someone and the love of his life he'd have done the same as Bulbasaur. So Ash knelt down to Bulbasaur's level, the grass type flinched and looked away not wanting to see the anger and hatred in Ash's eyes. He'd heard that Ash had mastered his Aura capabilities over the past seven years and Bulbasaur was expecting some form of Aura attack to be launched his way. But he knew he deserved whatever punishment Ash dealt him, he was prepared to pay for his betrayal. Bulbasaur let out a surprised gasp as he felt Ash wrap his arms around him, he looked up at Ash and the same smile he had given him all those years ago was on the young man's face.

"I understand why you turned against me, I forgive you Bulbasaur although the other's may not do so as easily though especially Charizard. I'll be honest he'd already prepared a space in hell for you."

Bulbasaur wasn't surprised by what Ash said and nodded knowing that they would probably never forgive him for what he did. But he was determined to do whatever it took to earn their friendship and respect back no matter what.

"Ok I'm going to return you now. I promise we'll catch up later."

Ash returned Bulbasaur and looked happily at his Pokéball, Bulbasaur's betrayal had hurt him the most (apart from the rat's) because he'd always thought he was one of his most loyal Pokémon. Now that he knew the truth Ash was glad he now had him back, Bulbasaur had always been a dependable Pokémon and he knew he would get the others forgiveness eventually.

Ariana and Delia looked on happy that Ash had forgiven the grass type. They had both spent time with Bulbasaur for several weeks and they knew he was ashamed of what he'd done to Ash and wanted to make amends.

Ash placed Bulbasaur's Pokéball on his belt just as the doors to the Pokémon centre opened, Ash looked to the door and saw Richie and Sparky with worried looks on their faces.

"We saw everything on the television, how's Pidgeot?"

"I don't know yet. I really am worried about her; those collars are bad news."

Richie nodded as he had heard the stories of what the collars had done to Pokémon He then saw Delia and he shared a look with Sparky, they both nodded and now had a devious look on their faces as they looked to Delia and then to Ash.

"Hey Ash I was talking to Scott about finishing the Battle Frontier after this tournament. So far I have five symbols, Scott keeps saying that I could fight Brandon for the Ability Symbol and the Brave Symbol. But I keep refusing him, you see I really want to beat the Salon Maiden first."

Richie paused and watched Ash's eyes widen as realised where he was going with this.

"Please Richie don't do it. I beg of you." Ash pleaded.

"So Ash do you think you can ask your girlfriend to have a battle with me for the Ability Symbol?"

Richie and Sparky burst out laughing at the look of horror on Ash's face, they had been waiting for a time to stitch up their friend and this was the perfect opportunity.

"Aw my Ash has a girlfriend; you have to tell me everything about her. Is it Anabel? I know you fell in love with her when you were younger."

The look of horror on Ash's face had now intensified as his mother started bombarding him with questions. The question got more and more embarrassing, which only made Richie, Sparky and Ariana laugh even more. It eventually became too much for Ash when his mother once again made a certain comment about his underwear.

"MUM!" Ash yelled feeling absolutely mortified.

Everyone laughed at the embarrassed trainer, who had raised his hood and was practically hiding in his cloak. Ash muttered a few curses under his breath directed mostly at Richie for causing him to be so embarrassed, he swore that he'd get even with him and while his loved ones continued to laugh he had already started plotting his revenge.

Notes

Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

What Richie did to Ash is pretty much an exact replica of what I did to a friend of mine back in school – I'll never forget the look on his face when his mother started asking several very embarrassing questions.

Next time we'll have some Manaphy cuteness and Ariana's backstory.

Please give a review telling me what you liked/didn't like.

If you have any questions PM them to me. I am more than happy to answer them.