(Mario 64
U don't have to fit all of them in the main ones I believe I still think is still loyal to ash and one of her closest friends even if one of them is a traitor or wants them to think she is may (because deep down she knows ash would never do something like this or go so low to using drugs plus ash has done so much for her during their time traveling together to helping her become the person she is today she feels she owes him alot plus she still has her suspicions that professor oak is lying to everyone so in secret she wants to help prove ashs Innocence and gather as much information as she can before going to find ash in secret and tell ash and his friends that are with him everything she knows without the other traitors especially professor oak knowing about her plans and also travel with ashs group like the old days) Cynthia and Sabrina these 3 alone I know can definitely help ash since they really know him well and do everything in there power to help him and bring professor oak to justice and behind bars for good and once they do prove ashs Innocence and professor oak was the one behind all of this the traitors should definitely owe him a big apologie and make up for what they did it may take a while for ash to truly trust them again but he can definitely give them a second chance since he's not the type to hold a grudge or actually hate someone and at least be friends again)
You've given me a lot to think about. I think your suggestion regarding May might be a little difficult to do given what's happened so far, but if I can think of a believable way to work it in, I'll be sure to do so. Your advice has been really helpful and I thank you for that.
(Guest
Thank You for the Information on how Delia's doing. I'm sure you'll find a way to fit in that chapter. When you do I hope it turns out exactly how you want it)
I'll admit I wasn't going to, because I feel I should start on the revenge aspect of this story, but on the other hand I do feel it would be a good plot point to follow up on. That being said, I'm going to leave the possibility of doing this chapter to the readers. If you think I should do a chapter about Delia's situation, let me know in the comments or PM me.
Welcome to chapter thirteen. I hope you enjoy the chapter, please let me know what you think, especially with regards to if I should do a chapter on Delia in prison.
Paul waited two weeks before making his move. By this time no one now believed Ash was in the Hoenn Region and the search for him had gone quiet. In fact people were starting to think they would never find the disgraced trainer. Paul went to a local Carrier Pidgey Service and sent letters to Trip, Sawyer and Alain relaying that he knew they believed Ash was innocent and requesting them to come to a location in the Kanto Region at a specified date. Paul just hoped these messages would reach their destination. He also hoped they would turn up.
Paul made his way to the Kanto Region and headed to the Ketchum Residence, the location he'd given in his letters. The house was originally declared a crime scene, but after a month of no sightings of Ash it had been completely abandoned. Few people believed Ash would return to his old home, as this was where he had been confronted with his 'crimes'. Because of this the house was completely unguarded, which made Paul think it was the perfect place for the first meeting of Ash's secret followers.
Upon arriving in Palet Town, Paul waited till nightfall before setting up base in Ash's old home. Despite only being abandoned for roughly a month, the absence of residents was obvious. Paul closed the still hanging curtains and lit a lamp he had brought with him. All he had to do now was wait. He hoped they had gotten his messages and also hoped Sabrina had been telling the truth when she said his instincts had been correct. Paul knew those questions would be answered when he heard a quiet knock on the door.
A young man with neck-length dirty blonde hair and icy blue eyes wearing a violet undershirt, an orange jacket over a dark-grey hooded sweater, white trousers and black and white trainers stood outside.
"Trip?" asked Paul.
"Yeah, and you're Paul right?' asked Trip.
"Yeah, come in," said Paul.
The two went inside and sat down.
"So, are we going to talk about Ash?" asked Trip.
"Not yet, I'm waiting for a few more people to arrive," said Paul.
Ten minutes later, there was another knock. The next person to arrive was a boy with tanned skin, dark-green hair and blue eyes, wearing a white shirt, orange tie, a dark green vest, brown short pants, with black under jeans and green shoes. This was Sawyer, whom Ash had met during his Kalos journey. They waited another ten minutes for the last supporter. He was an older boy with messy black hair and blue eyes, wearing a pair of baggy grey pants, a black leather jacket, black boots, a blue shirt with a whiter undershirt, and a pair of fingerless gloves. He also wore a pale blue scarf. This was Alain, Ash's main rival and the one who had defeated Ash in the Kalos league.
The four sat down in the living room.
"So, I'm sure you're all aware of why we're here?" asked Paul, but no one answered. "We all believe that Ash is actually innocent despite what Professor Oak is saying."
The three visitors looked at each other. They were understandably hesitant, as they were worried this could be a trap, but they nodded in the hope the letters they received had been genuine.
"Good, then we can discuss what we can do to clear his name?" asked Paul.
"Wait, there's one thing I need to know first," said Alain.
"What's that?" asked Paul.
"How did you know we believed Ash was innocent?" asked Alain.
"Sabrina of the Saffron Gym," answered Paul.
"Of course, I should've thought of that, if anyone would know if Professor Oak was lying it would be her," said Alain.
"Who's Sabrina?" asked Trip.
"She's the leader of the Saffron City Gym. Not only is she a Psychic Trainer, but she's an actual Psychic. She must have read Professor Oak's mind and discovered the truth," said Alain.
"But wait if she can read minds then won't she also know who else believes Ash over Professor Oak?" asked Sawyer.
"Not only that, but she must also think Ash is innocent. If she didn't, she would've turned us all in at that meeting," stated Trip.
"She's the reason I knew you all believed Ash was innocent. She confronted me after the meeting and told me to trust my instincts. Ever since Ash defeated me in the Sinnoh League, I've been keeping an eye on his journey. This is what lead me to suspect that you believed Ash was innocent, because you knew him in the same way I did, as a rival. While we might not have necessarily liked him or agreed with his training methods, we all got to know him through battles. And in those battles, we saw a trainer who was always kind to his pokémon and made them stronger through the use of hard work and strategy. Not by using illegal substances," stated Paul. "Sabrina told me to trust my instincts which is why I sent you those letters and why we're all here tonight."
"You're right. I always thought less of Ash because he came from the Kanto Region, which I considered 'the boonies', but the longer I knew him the more he proved me wrong. He also proved himself to be a better trainer then me when he defeated me in the first round of the Unova League," said Trip.
"My history with Ash is a little different," said Sawyer. "We were a lot more friendly in the time we knew each other, and I admired him greatly even when he lost a battle. I did have some doubts about his abilities, but all of that disappeared when he beat me in the Kalos league. A battle he won fair and square, so I know Ash would never drug his pokémon to make them stronger."
"Agreed. Ash and I were enemies once when I was helping Team Flare. When they betrayed me Ash helped me stop their evil schemes. If Ash was the person, they are saying he is, he would've never done that. Also if he really was using drugs on his pokémon, I have a feeling I would've lost to him in the Kalos League," stated Alain.
"So, we all agree, we see Ash for what he really is and not for what Professor Oak is claiming," said Paul.
"There's still something that doesn't make sense," said Trip.
"What's that?" asked Sawyer.
"If Sabrina knows Professor Oak is lying, why hasn't she simply gone to the police?" asked Trip.
"She didn't give me all the details, but she hasn't said anything because Professor Oak has already thought of numerous ways to discredit her and her abilities," said Paul.
"So, we're on our own?" asked Alain.
"I'm afraid so," said Paul.
"This isn't good," said Trip.
"Why, we all believe Ash is innocent. Maybe we can find a way to clear his name," suggested Sawyer.
"What can we do exactly? As of now the only people we know who believe Ash are four Pokémon Trainers and a Gym Leader," said Trip.
"Actually, its four Pokémon Trainers, a Coordinator and two Gym leaders," said an unknown voice.
The four of them turned. Standing at the entrance was a girl with short red hair, brownish-red eyes, wearing a dark magenta shirt under a light orange vest, pale blue jeans and sunglasses above her hair. The four trainers each pulled out a pokéball and prepared to battle her.
"Oh, come on do you honestly think I'm on Oak's side?" she asked. "You know it's not just rivals of Ash who are allowed to believe he's innocent, a rival of Dawn's can as well."
They put their pokeballs away.
"I remember you, you were at the meeting when we they were discussing how we should catch Ash in the Hoenn Region," said Sawyer.
"You're also the Coordinator who won the Grand Festival in Sinnoh when Ash and I competed in the Pokémon League. Zoey, right?" asked Paul.
"Correct and I gotta say I'm impressed, I've heard you don't have the best memory when it comes to remembering names," said Zoey.
"I've had to be a lot more cautious ever since Ash was accused," said Paul.
"Then you might want to double check that no one's listening when you're about to have a private conversation," said Zoey sitting down with the rest of them. "I heard your whole conversation with Sabrina, and I've been following you ever since. You all believe Ash is innocent I want to help."
"Why are you so sure he's innocent?" asked Paul.
"Like the rest of you I've seen the type of trainer Ash is. I've met few people who care about their pokémon as much as he does. That was all the proof I needed to know he'd never abuse them. Also, Dawn believes he innocent and has fled with him, as did Brock. That gives me more incentive to help find him because now three of my friends are missing," stated Zoey.
"Wait you said two Gym Leaders believe Ash is innocent. Who else?" asked Alain.
"Candice, the Gym Leader of my hometown of Snowpoint City. As soon as we heard the news we both had our doubts and have been trying to think of a way to clear Ash's name ever since," said Zoey. "Sadly, we've come up with nothing."
"We're back to the main problem, we're still short on people who want to prove Ash's innocence. Somehow, I think one extra Gym Leader and a Coordinator won't be enough," stated Alain.
"What about a Pokémon Photographer?" asked another unknown voice.
A flash went off and everyone turned to the entrance. A boy with brown hair and black eyes wearing a shirt with horizontal red stripes, blue shorts and carrying a camera entered the room.
"I believe I just caught the first picture of the Anti-Oak Squad," he said happily.
"Who're you?" asked Zoey.
They'd seen this boy at the meeting, but none of them knew who he was.
"The name's Todd Snap, I'm a Pokémon Photographer," he said happily.
"Let me guess, you don't believe Ash is guilty either?" asked Trip.
"Nope and if I didn't you wouldn't be having this meeting, because I already have proof of your collusion with Sabrina," said Todd pulling out a photo of Paul and Sabrina talking. "I was also listening in that day. A good paparazzi has to know how to stay hidden."
"I guess this is what Sabrina meant by, some might find me," thought Paul.
"And don't worry about asking me why I believe Ash is innocent, my reasons are essentially the same as yours," said Todd.
"Do you know if anyone else is out there?" asked Sawyer.
"Probably not. I think I'm the last surprise visit for this meeting," said Todd.
"Well, I do a bit of photography myself, so having you on board might be useful for gathering evidence in secret," said Trip. "Welcome."
"Thanks," said Todd taking a seat.
"Ok, so essentially the group of people that believe Ash are, four Trainers, one Coordinator, two Gym Leaders and a Photographer. I still don't think we have enough powerful people on our side to pull this off," stated Alain.
"Don't be so sure, we have a few more people on our side," said Paul.
"Like whom?" asked Zoey.
"According to Sabrina there are a total of twelve people who are Gym Leaders or League Members that believe Ash is innocent. Apparently a Professor is also on Ash's side. If we assume that Candice and Sabrina are amongst the Gym Leaders or League Members, there are eleven other people who believe Ash is innocent. I know that's still not a lot but its better than nothing," stated Paul.
"Who else is on our side?" asked Trip.
"Unfortunately, Sabrina wouldn't give me that information, as she feels if too many of us are seen together it might look suspicious. I have to agree, her having regular meetings with Gym Leaders, League Members or Professor's won't look suspicious. The same is true if we have regular meetings," stated Paul.
"Not only that, but if no one but Sabrina knows the identity of every Ash supporter, it'll decrease the chances of us all getting caught, which will increase the chances of us finding a way to clear Ash's name," stated Zoey.
"And how exactly are we supposed to clear Ash's name?" asked Todd.
No one had an answer to that question. All of them had been thinking on it for a long time, but none of them knew how they were going to get the information they needed from Professor Oak to prove Ash's innocence. But then again, maybe they didn't have to.
"For now, we do nothing," said Zoey.
"What?" asked the remainder of the room.
"I know it sounds insane, but what else can we do? Oak has eyes everywhere, so I don't think there's anyway we can get the proof we need to clear Ash's name," said Zoey.
"But how is doing nothing going to help him?" asked Sawyer.
"I have a feeling Ash will be the one to make the first move in clearing his name," said Zoey.
"How do you mean?" asked Alain.
"I think most of us can agree that Ash has proved we were wrong about him. I used to believe that Trainers should never try Coordinating and vice versa. While I never saw Ash win a contest, he always proved he was skilled enough to make it through the appeals round, which proved to me that trainers could do contests if they wanted to," said Zoey.
Everyone else thought about their history with Ash.
"He proved to me that his method for training pokémon was more effective than mine," said Paul.
"He did the same for me," said Trip.
"He proved my doubts about him were wrong," said Sawyer.
"Ash proved himself a worthy opponent for me, when I used to only be vaguely interested in battling him," said Alain.
"Exactly. Ash regularly finds a way to prove people wrong. It might be years before Ash can do anything, given the severity of his situation, but something tells me that sooner or later he'll find a way to prove everyone wrong. And when that happens we need to show him our support and do everything in our power to help him prove his innocence," declared Zoey.
"That does sound like something Ash would do," said Trip. The rest of the room nodded.
"So its agreed, we'll bide our time until Ash is ready to prove his innocence, then we'll do everything we can to help him," said Paul.
"For Ash," said Todd.
"For Ash," said the rest of the room.
Elsewhere in Saffron City, Sabrina was wondering if she had waited long enough to start recruiting the Gym Leaders and League Members who believed in Ash's innocence. To her surprise one of those recruits came to her. Sabrina was getting ready to call it a night, when she heard the door of her gym open. At first she assumed it was simply another challenge, so was surprised to see a tall, slender young lady with knee length blond hair, grey eyes, wearing black trousers and a black coat enter the room. It was Cynthia the champion of the Sinnoh League.
"Cynthia, what an honour it is to have the Sinnoh Champion visit my gym. What can I do for you?" asked Sabrina.
"Drop the act, I know you believe Ash is innocent," said Cynthia.
"Oh, and what makes you think that?" asked Sabrina.
"Because I also think Ash is innocent and I also know you're a Psychic, meaning if you were on Professor Oak's side you would've alerted him at the meeting," stated Cynthia.
Sabrina smiled.
"I was wondering if anyone was going to confront me about that," said Sabrina.
She got off her podium and walked over to Cynthia.
"I'm amazed you didn't want to talk about this after the meeting," said Cynthia.
"I considered that, but I thought I should wait until the search for Ash calmed down. You have to be careful who you talk to at the moment. The when and where is also important considering the number of Oak followers" said Sabrina.
"Smart move I would've done the same thing," said Cynthia. "Now tell me, are there any other League Members that believe Ash is innocent?"
"Yes, but there aren't many. Regardless, I have a feeling when the time comes Ash is going to need all the help he can get to clear his name," said Sabrina.
"I agree, so what now?" asked Cynthia.
"I hope you packed well, because we're going to have to go on quite a long road trip," said Sabrina. "At the meeting I sensed there was at least one person from each region who believed Ash was innocent. We need to go talk to the Gym Leaders, League Members and Professors who believe Ash is innocent."
"What about the other people Ash met on his journey?" asked Cynthia.
"I have a feeling the one they call Paul has already made contact with most of them," said Sabrina.
"Paul believes Ash is innocent?" asked Cynthia surprised. "I'll be honest he was one of the last people I thought would support Ash."
"Regardless we have to make contact with the others so we can build support for him," said Sabrina.
"Alright, we should go as soon as we can. The sooner we contact everyone the better," said Cynthia.
"It's a shame you didn't bring Flint of the Sinnoh Elite Four with you, because he also believes Ash is innocent," said Sabrina. "So we're going to have to go back to the Sinnoh Region."
"Flint believes Ash is innocent?" groaned Cynthia. "I literally saw him the day before I left."
"Well, these things happen," said Sabrina.
With Sabrina, Paul and Cynthia operating from the shadows, they formed a small but powerful group of people who believed Ash was innocent. They just hoped this group would be powerful enough to help Ash when the time came to clear his name.
