AN: Hello my dear readers. I'm back and surprisingly still kicking. I'm sorry for my long absence, college started back up and I wanted a strong foothold for this semester before I typed up another chapter. Well there's not much too currently say really besides I love you all and thank you guys for all your support. The Harem is as follows:

Cynthia

Anabel

Korrina

Serena

Ursula

Elesa

Roxie

Dawn

Hilda

Sabrina

Skyla

P.S. I would like to think QUEENSPELLER67 for the offer of being my Beta.

Pokémon- Attack

"Pokémon"- Pokémon speaking (people won't understand unless told otherwise)

"Pokémon"- Human Speech

'Pokémon'- Thinking

"Pokémon"- Pokédex Entry

Chapter 8:

Pallet Town Destroyed?! The Awaited Encounter

Ash, after joining Pikachu on the bed, quickly joined the electric mouse Pokémon in the realm of sleep, but was suddenly awoken due to a loud explosion going off, shaking the ground violently with the destructive force it no doubt held. The explosion startled Ash to awake quickly and ready to jump out of bed, only to see he was already standing. Looking down, he noticed he was also no longer wearing his pajamas.

He was garbed in his Aura Guardian attire with his Aura Staff stabbed into the ground in front of him. Before Ash could think of what was going on, he heard a loud and familiar screech echo through his ears, right as another explosion went off, causing both him and the ground to shake once more.

Looking around for the source, Ash realized something even more troubling. For one, it was no longer night time like he remembered. The sun blazed with its everlasting rays of light while the winds were calm. This was worrying in of itself but it was not what made Ash cringe in worry. It was the area that Ash was in.

Ash has found himself in a burning town! He watched as the fire licking its way at one house continued to dance to the same unheard rhythm that the flames on another house danced to. He looked around and saw that the earth itself was upturned but some powerful force and many building were already in shambles. Ash began to hyperventilate at the site of a child's park nearby being eaten away by the same horrifying flames. He knew these buildings, he knew that park… he knew where he was. Ash didn't find himself in some random burning town…

…He was in a burning Pallet Town!

Ash's heart went wild with his flowing emotions, his anger and sadness being the most dominate of them all. His hometown, the place he lived, he was raised in, was being destroyed. All around him were his happy childhood memories… being burned to the ground before his very eyes.

Looking up, Ash noticed two things. One thing was that there was not a single cloud in the clear blue sky but it couldn't come close to the shock that he held for what else was in the air.

In the sky was the culprit, the one who was burning his hometown down to the ground. Flying around with its mighty golden colored wings that, were it not for the situation, would be both entrancing and beautiful.

The one destroying Pallet Town was Ho-oh, the legendary Rainbow Pokémon of Johto.

Ho-oh another torrent of flames from its mouth that, instead of lighting the building it was heading for on fire, destroyed it instead. The area around where it were up in flames that slowed licked away at the ground, but whatever remained of the building as well.

"Ho-oh what are you doing?!" Ash yelled out in horror at the legendary bird's actions. If the Legend heard him at all, it didn't show it as it continued to rain its flames on the town. "Ho-oh STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" and he was still ignored.

Ash was about to run towards the attacking Pokémon… but his battle instincts roared to life, causing him to roll to the left.

This was good since he barely dodged a Hyper Beam that was heading his way!

Scowling as he turned around, Ash found the culprit. It was Regigigas, the Colossal Pokémon stomping its way towards him, charging another Hyper Beam!

'Not now!' Ash yelled mentally, annoyed at the situation he found himself in. 'What in the name of Arceus is going on right now!?" He quickly made his way towards the gigantic Regi and slid under the fired Hyper Beam. When the danger passed over him, he stood up in front of the Colossal Pokémon and fired a point blank Aura Sphere that exploded and causing Regigigas to fall on its back. Knowing that he didn't have the time to deal with the fallen Pokémon, Ash reached for a Pokéball, only to find out that he had none on him at the moment!

'Dammit just like last time too!' Realizing he didn't have much time to waste here, he shot several more Aura Spheres towards the slowly rising Regigigas, causing it to fall back once more from the unexpected assault.

Without a second thought, Ash ran towards Ho Oh; leaving the groaning Regigigas behind.

As Ash ran towards the legendary bird, he couldn't help but to look at the burning of his hometown. He just began to realize that he hasn't visited Pallet Town since the betrayal. To see this happening and that thought invading his mind began to fill Ash with more depressed as a tear managed to escape his right eye. This feeling also caused to pick up the pace as he faster past another building that burst into flames like the others.

As he neared the bird, another loud screech from Ho-oh alerted Ash to the attacking bird once more, and what he saw filled him with dread as he ran even faster.

Ho-oh was preparing its signature move, Sacred Fire.

"If that attack finishes, then whatever's left of Pallet Town is done for!" Ash yelled as he sped towards Ho-oh, while channeling aura to his legs which allowed him to move quicker. If he could get in close then he could either deflect the attack or stop it altogether.

That was hope was quickly squashed as he had to dodge an incoming Flamethrower from his left by jumping backwards, causing him to skid slightly. Looking quickly to his left, Ash clenched his fists in rage at the culprit of his current delay.

There standing in front of him, was the same Charizard from his last nightmare. As it growled fiercely at him, smoke continued to spew from his nostrils. Ash quickly scanned the Charizard's aura, only to gasp loudly at what he just saw.

The Charizard's aura was so powerful! Its aura easily topped his own by leaps and bounds. The Charizard's aura was like a raging wave, continuously crashing against each other, becoming even more chaotic.

Ash tried to release a calm wave of aura, hoping to soothe the powerful Charizard's aura which, in turn, would allow him to see if he can stop its rampaging and maybe gain its help.

The results were not what he was expecting, and not in a good way for him.

Not only did the Charizard shrug off Ash's aura like a pest at its best, it roared so powerfully that it sent Ash flying backwards from the shockwave.

When Ash eventually stopped skidding along the ground, he shakily got back to his feet as he stared at the Fire/ Flying Pokémon in surprise and spoke in a low voice. "That's never happened before. He just pushed me back without any effort at all, it would need to know how aura works very well to…" before Ash could finish, his danger sense went off once more and he quickly ducked and dodged a kick that was aimed for his head while jumping back from an axe kick that easily cracked the ground.

Ash was silently thanking Mia for all her constant sneak attacks.

Looking at his attacker; he blinked when he saw no one there. Ash looked around before his eyes widened forward and coughed out blood due to the fist buried in his stomach. Once again, Ash found himself on his back though this time holding his face in pain from the knee that rammed into it.

As Ash tried to soothe the throbbing pain, he also attempted to focus his aura to try and heal the pain as much as he could; but before he could do much, a foot stomped onto his chest causing him to have trouble breathing. Ash struggled from the pressure on his ribs; it was like a Snorlax was sitting on him! He opened his eyes, only to see the same person from his last nightmare… only this time there was a Pikachu on his shoulder that was grinning at him with a dark glint in its eye's.

"So Ash, how do you like what I did to the place?" the cloaked man asked. "I haven't been here in ages, so I figured I'd come by along with a few friends of mine while completely eradicating everything and everyone too."

As the man spoke each word, he slowly applied more pressure to his foot, breaking a few of Ash's ribs in the process.

"Who… who are you?!" Ash wheezed out while trying to focus enough aura to strike back but noticed that his aura wouldn't listen to him, as if it was confused on what to do. 'I need to calm down; I can't use my aura with my emotions clouding my mind like this.'

"Who am I?" the man repeated sounding very amused by the question. "You know who I am, Ash, I would tell you more but it looks like playtime is over for us." The man looked over to Ho-oh who was in the midst of firing the Sacred Fire that it finished charging. "Ho-oh now finish it all, burn all away with your holy flames! Use Sacred Fire!"

Ho-oh fired its most powerful attack downward into the center of town; the flames quickly began to spread throughout the town. The sacred flames destroyed every building, turning them all into ashes within seconds. The silver flames spread from building to building and even the very ground gave way to the powerful attack.

The man looked at Ash once more, "know this Ash; soon the world will follow the same fate as the Pallet Town you see before you. Do you think you can handle what's to come?" Before Ash could say a word in response, Ash felt sweat pour from his body as the intense flames quickly made their way towards him and the stranger and the two Pokémon.

Ash could only watch helplessly as the fire washed over him, the stranger, and the two Pokémon, blinding them all in a bright silver light. Ash tried to scream but the only thing that came out was a silent whimper.

"ARRHHH" Ash yelled out as he jumped upright in his bed, sweat pouring intensely down his face. Pikachu and Lucario jumped up from their sleep and into battle positions, ready to eliminate any threat.

Ash bolted from his bed and ran to the bathroom and stared at his reflection while touching his face. He checked all throughout his body for any signs of burning or even just a bruise or pain. Finding none in the end, he turned the sink water on and splashed water onto his face to rid himself of the sweat.

'That was so vivid, it's like I felt every hit and even the very heat itself,' Ash thought frantically. 'Something big is on the way and that man and Charizard definitely has something to do with it.'

"Master/Ash!" came the worried voices of both Lucario and Pikachu. The Aura Pokémon stood next to Ash while Pikachu sat perched on his shoulder with concerned expressions on their faces.

"Are you alright Ash?" Pikachu asked his trainer, really worried.

"I'll be fine, just really shaken up" Ash replied. "I just had a really bad nightmare but it will be fine."

"Are you sure Master?" Lucario asked not convinced. He has never seen his Master this… this frantic before.

"Yeah partner so don't worry about it… and stop calling me Master" Ash said calmingly before it turned slightly annoyed. "Come on, let me get ready so we can go out and eat and find out which Pokémon to use for out battle today."

Pikachu and Lucario nodded reluctantly, noticing that Ash was trying to avoid talking about what occurred but decided to just believe in their trainer. They turned around and left the bathroom.

Closing the door behind the two Pokémon, Ash let out a low sigh escape from his lips. What was that nightmare all about? One was for certain…

…he had to check on Pallet Town as soon as he can, 'I will not let that happen, I refuse to let it HAPPEN!'

Turning on the shower, Ash began his day; he could feel it was going to be a long day.

A few hours later, Ash is at his temporary training area along with his Pokémon, trying to decide who to use for the upcoming battle. His Pokémon stood, all anxious to be chosen to go battle. The others, like Charizard and Pikachu, knew they weren't going up until they had a really powerful opponent. They were both hoping to have that happen sooner than later. They really wanted to get a go at the tournament.

"Alright guys I have made my choice" Ash spoke while taking out the required Pokéballs and returned his chosen Pokémon. The one's that weren't picked looked slightly disappointed to not be battling but Ash assured them that they would all get their chance to show their prowess.

They all nodded at their trainer, knowing he would give them their chance as well.

After everyone was assured, Ash quickly left with his chosen Pokémon towards his battle at Block B, confident in his victory, which soon turned to a feeling of rage when he passed the building for Block A due to what he saw or to be more accurate, the people he saw walking.

Walking outside the stadium was none other than Delia Ketchum, Prof. Oak, Gary Oak, and Dawn Berlitz.

'I'm just going to take the long way around,' Ash thought to himself as he was about to turn around to avoid the, no doubt, conflict. His idea would have worked if not for…

"Hey Ashy!"

…Mia having horrible timing as usual.

Mia's outburst of his name caused Delia and co. to look in their direction with wide eyes. In Delias case, her eyes began to tear up when she saw her son looking at a girl and then to them.

"Ash" Delia said as she slowly walked towards her son, tears threating to fall from her increasingly moistening eyes. "My Ash, my sweet baby boy. You're back sweetheart."

Prof. Oak and Dawn couldn't help but smile at the reunion of a loving mother and son. They knew how much Delia has been waiting for this day, the day to see her son again; though not all of them were so convinced of this moment.

Gary was not easily overridden by his emotions, which was a good thing. He instantly noticed how Ash's eyes seemed to darken instead of lighten, the closer Delia got to him. Then looking closer, his eyes narrowed as he noticed how Pikachu seemed to tense and his eyes widened in realization of what was about to occur and quickly tossed out his Umbreon from his Pokéball.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt."

"Umbreon use Shadow Ball!"

Pikachu shot a low powered Thunderbolt that was intercepted by the Shadow Ball, causing a small explosion that caused Delia to cover her face in an attempt to keep the dust from entering her eyes and she took a step back from the explosion so she would not fall to the ground.

"It would seem that Gary Oak has saved the day," Ash said in calm, uncaring voice while a cold grin was plastered on his face.

Everyone present was shocked at the fact that Ash ordered an attack on his own mother. Gary glared pointedly at the fact that Ash showed no form of remorse for his action towards his mother.

Delia stood there confused for a moment before what just happened finally sunk in; her son tried to actually cause her harm. That Thunderbolt he ordered was meant to hit her! As the cold, hard reality of what had just occurred hit her, her eyes burst into tears; her baby boy has really tried to hurt her.

"Ash… honey what are…" Delia began to ask before her voice got stuck in her throat as Ash glared heatedly at her.

"Don't you DARE call me like that again," Ash spoke venomously. Ash's rage caused Pikachu to yell out in agreement and for it to spark its cheeks in anger. "With what you did, you have no right to speak as if we are close. No RIGHT!"

"Ash that is no way to speak to your mother!" Prof. Oak yelled out to reprimand the Kalos Champion for his actions and words. The response given to him was for Ash's rage filled eyes to go dead cold as they looked towards him, causing the professors spine to shiver at the stare.

Once again Gary had a gut feeling at what was about to occur and was ready just in time for Ash to speak his response to the elder professor.

"Pikachu use Electro Ball" Ash commanded smoothly.

"Umbreon Dark Pulse quickly!" Gary countered.

Like before, the two attacks met in a clash and quickly exploded, picking up some dust.

"Don't you ever speak to me like I'm some child you can scold, professor" Ash said coldly, practically spitting out the word professor. "If you ever dare try to scold me again, I promise Pikachu's next attack will not be countered again."

"Ash, what gives; why are you attacking us?!" Dawn spoke out, clearly annoyed and unhappy about Ash's actions.

"Yeah Ash!" Gary yelled out, just as annoyed as Dawn was. "What gives you the right to attack both your mother and my grandpa?!"

"I believe the right was given to me when you all mocked my dream. I believe the right was given to me when you all tried to crush said dream. I believe I was given the right when you all BETRAYED MY TRUST!" Ash spoke softly and by the end was yelling out in anger.

"Ash… please… please understand…" Delia began to speak through her quickly approaching sobs in her throat but was interrupted by Ash.

"No, YOU understand! I want nothing to do with you, get it! Just talking to you all right now is pissing me off, so before I do something I may regret later" Ash narrowed his eyes while releasing a bit of his aura to strike more fear "it would be best you all leave me alone."

After speaking those final words; Ash walked forward and took notice at how Gary and Umbreon tensed, ready to attack if necessary. When Ash got passed all of them and was about to get too far, he heard his name being called by none other than Mia, who he could honestly say that he forgot was even there.

Ash smiled at his Fighting Elite, knowing that she didn't mean for any of that to happen.

Mia felt bad as she probably caused Ash to be in a really rotten mood now. She only wanted to wish him luck in his battle, even if she was sure he wouldn't need it, and make sure he remembered his promise to her for a spar. Now with Ash in a bad mood, well there was no way she was going to spar with him.

The last time they spared with him in a bad mood, he nearly broke both her arms and fractured her bottom two ribs mere moments in the spar. When her boyfriend found out how she got hurt, he was ready to practically murder Ash until she him not to since Ash didn't harm her this bad because he wanted to, though the whole thing did put a strain on their friendship for about three or four months.

"Are you okay Ash? I didn't mean for this to…" but she was cut off due to Ash's chuckle and smirk.

"You shouldn't apologize all shy-like Mia, it doesn't suit you," Ash replied still chuckling at her expense. Mia pouted while slightly glaring at Ash's grinning face.

'To think I was worried about the idiot' she thought playfully. "Whatever you say Ashy. Look I just wanted to say good luck and I was going to meet with the others later today and wanted to know if you wanted to join us. Of course the invitation goes to Zyon as well."

"Yeah that sounds like fun flat chest," Ash replied. They began to make their way away from the traitors.

Delia watched the whole exchange with a mix of agony, jealousy, joy, and curiosity. Agony because not only was he ignoring he but he hated her. Her baby boy hated her, the very thought made her burst with tears. She felt jealousy due to the caring smile that he gave Mia and not her, joy at seeing Ash smile again; even if not to her, and curiosity at how the girl knew her son so well. 'Maybe they are dating?' She quickly snapped out of her thought when she saw them walk away.

She wanted to run after them, to hold Ash close as yelled for forgiveness. She wanted nothing more than to have her baby back. She watched as they walked away, leaving Delia to cry heavily for the son that wanted nothing to do with her ever again.

As Ash walked away; he was in deep thought over the confrontation he just went through. 'I can't believe I actually attacked them!' Ash was so surprise by his own actions, He knew he would be angry but to attack without any remorse at the time was unexpected and really unwanted. He was taught to care about and love life, that was the duty of an Aura Guardian and yet he disregarded that. He needed to get his anger under control.

"Hey Ash, are you sure that you are ok?" Mia asked worriedly. Ash can be quiet at times but not with a battle coming up. He relates more to a kid with a new toy towards upcoming battles.

"Yeah I'm fine…" Ash began pausing in thought. "…feeling guilty about how acted over there. I basically went against all that I learned to get where I am now; stay calm and think rationally, I even attacked them."

"You were angry Ash" Mia said in as comforting tone as she could muster. She's not really known for her comforting personality, her belief 'you are upset? Then train! In the end your training will never betray you." Basically meaning to punch and break a few things to feel better "its understandable that you would do something like that."

"You know Mia…" Ash said causing Mia to lean in to hear Ash better "…you really do suck at comforting people." This caused her to face fault at Ash's words. This caused Ash to chuckle at her "but thank you. Now I got to go win my battle, see you later flat chest!" Ash then ran off towards his upcoming battle.

Mia got up and smiled at Ash's retreating form before yelling out "Good luck Ashy!"

AN: And that is done! Finally I got the time to do this without any issues. I'm really sorry that I took so long to get this out but like I said, college is a pain and I wanted a good foothold for this semester. I hope you all enjoyed the little nightmare I gave Ash this time, or is it a nightmare at all!? I reread this twice and I must say that I am proud how this has come out. I hope you all liked it as much as I had writing it, especially the interaction between Ash and some of the traitors, most important being his mother. Like I told you all, no one will be forgiven so easily, not even Ash's own mother. So I hope this left you satisfied. As always please favorite and please comment, I would love to know what you all think.

Dragon Soul94 is out!