Rise of a Legend

by Dragon Soul94

Betrayed by friends and family, Ash Ketchum runs away with all his Pokémon. Years pass and due to an upcoming tournament Ash returns to the league as the Champion of Kalos. As he battles his way to the top along with his new friends and family, will he forgive his old one? And with a new darkness rising unlike the world has ever faced will they survive or fall to the shadows? Harem

20. Chapter 19

AN: Hello my dear readers, Dragon is here with the next chapter for you along with an apology for how long this one took. As I said before I will not abandon this story, just took me forever to get time to type. I had to break it down with my hectic life and barely any free time to get it done. I have a more detailed reason if your interested at the bottom, but I'm sure I kept you all waiting long enough so here it its! Chapter 19 (which I am happy to say I got to!) of Rise of a Legend! ENJOY! The harem is as follows:

Cynthia

Anabel

Korrina

Serena

Ursula

Elesa

Roxie

Hilda

Sabrina

Skyla

Zinnia

Pokémon- Attack

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

"Pokémon"- Human Speech

'Pokémon'- Thinking

"Pokémon"- Pokédex Entry

Chapter 19:

The Long Awaited Talk, Mother and Son's Confrontation

Awakening with a loud gasp, Ash quickly sat up from the position under the tree he lay. Sweat poured down his face as he realized he had another unexplainable nightmare.

In the dream, he was trapped in a clear bubble that he could not break out of, no matter how hard he tried to do so.

Oh how he wished that he was able to break that bubble!

Ash was forced to watch as everything and everyone around was under attack, just like his nightmare about Pallet Town. Buildings were toppled, ground crumbled, Pokemon and people attacked and even killed without mercy.

The culprit of the attacks was an army of Pokemon with powerful feeling of malice and hatred flowing from them. They attacked with no remorse, no hesitation, and extreme prejudice. They were everywhere and had immense power that it was unreal.

Ash had no choice, but to watch as everything and everyone he cared for perished as they tried to fight back. Pallet Town, Lumious City, and the Indigo Plateau were among the burning places. Already at his breaking point, the dream had only gotten worse when it showed his precious people among the attacks.

He watched as Suzaku, Tai, Mia, and Zyon fell to the relentless assaults of the Pokemon. He watched as Cynthia and Anabel bled out in pain from the constant attacks. He felt terror creep into his being as the scene changed on him.

Ash bore witness to his sister being attacked non-stop by the army of Pokemon. No matter how hard she tried to fight or run away, she could not protect herself from the onslaught of attacks. Ash tried relentlessly to break from the bubble he was trapped in, but to no avail. Ash felt his dread and pain clench his heart tighter as the bubble shifted to a different direction, just in time to catch someone else fighting for her life.

Delia Ketchum was stabbed through her chest. Ash could no longer hold it in, his eyes poured down the tears as everything around him burned. Through his hazy vision, Ash glared at the one that stabbed his mother.

Only to see, not only the normal cloaked man, but a dark figure with a glowing blue eye and another figure that he couldn't recognize.

After shaking his head from the gruesome memory, Ash got off the tree he was leaning against. Looking up, Ash saw that it was still night due to the bright moon that lit up the slightly cloudy sky.

Ash quickly tore his gaze from the sky and looked around to only sigh in relief. He saw all of his Pokemon and Elites sleeping peacefully. Ash looked to his left and his gaze froze on the sleeping form of Delia, who had her head laying on a curled up Ninetales. The image of her being impaled flashed through his mind and his heart clenched in sorrow.

Ash couldn't get the image out of his head! He felt tears form in his eyes before he blinked them away and quickly got up.

"Maybe a walk will help clear my mind," Ash said softly as he walked away from the clearing.

He was completely unaware of the pair of eyes that were watching him.

Ash walked through the forest, his mind slowly calming down due to the peacefulness of the surrounding nature, the cool night air flowing through his hair. He listened to the sounds of the various night active Pokemon as they sung a nameless tune. Ash closed his eyes as he stood alone in the forest and let his aura flow though nature. Aura users can feel everything around them, not just living. He could use his aura to feel the lands pain or joy, how it feels.

Closing his eyes, Ash instantly felt his rapid heartbeat slow down and his emotions cooling down to match the cool night air. His shoulders slumped to a relaxed pose. Ash truly felt at peace as he became one with the forest. He felt no more fear, no anger, no stress, nothing at all. All he felt was pure peace as he felt the various forms of life in the forest.

His eyes snapped open though a few moments later as he felt a familiar aura make itself known among the shadows of a tree behind him. Sighing at the aura, he called out to his apparent follower without turning around or breaking his connection with the forest. "You can come out now, I know that your there."

The person walked out slowly from behind the tree as the follower was revealed to be his mother, Delia.

The young mother had awoken as she saw Ash jump awake from what she could see, from the signs and sweat, to be a very bad nightmare. She saw him look around the clearing, fear and relief written on his face. He even had that expression on his face as he looked at her! Her heart clenched in worry for her son as she saw him leave the clearing and followed after him.

Ash needed someone to comfort him, whether he realized it or not.

Delia stared at Ash's back, unsure of how to approach him with the matter. This Ash, while still the baby she loved more than anything, was very different from the one she raised. Comforting him will be vastly different from how it used to be.

Ash felt the turmoil going through his mother's body, the concern she felt that was obviously towards him. Ash could feel that she wanted to help him. Ash sighed as he looked towards the night sky and slowly sat on the grass. He gently pat the spot next to him, feeling that he should get something off his chest involving her.

Delia, understanding the gesture, sat next to her son (squealing in slight joy at being so close to her son). She looked at her child and was surprised to see his face was actually calm. 'He looks genuinely at peace right now.'

Looking at his mother from the corner of his eye, Ash took note of the surprised look on her face, along with the small smile on her face. Turning his gaze back to the sky, he finally spoke. "I really do love the night time Delia. At first I never really bothered since I always slept through it, never really giving it the chance to truly enjoy it. After my travels though, the night has become so much more incredible than I could ever have thought."

Delia nodded her head at his words, knowing that one's tastes may change through time. But why was he bringing this up all of a sudden?

Turning his head towards Delia, Ash had a serious and calm expression on his face. "The way I have been acting lately is not at all how I have been trained these years. Just like my taste and view on the night has changed, how I need to handle my abilities and emotions on this whole situation changed throughout my travels. Don't get it wrong, I don't like nor do I trust you at this very moment either."

At his words, Delia felt something stab at her heart repeatedly at the end of his sentence and admittance.

"Even now," Ash continued. "I want to cause you untold amounts of pain so I can finally satisfy this dark feeling that plagues me. I even gave into it already and tried to do something that made me absolutely sick. For that Delia, I am truly sorry." As Ash spoke, his calm demeanor fell slightly as a more sad expression grew on his face.

"Ash, sweetie please don't apologize, Delia said tenderly, even more heartbroken at seeing her son's sad face. "I deserve it for what happened. I'm so sorry honey! I never meant to this to you." No longer able to control her sadness, the young mother burst into tears as she continued. "I never wanted to cause you such pain honey, honest! When you ran away, I knew that I hurt you like no other and lost my heart. You are my baby, my son and the one I love most in this world."

Ash looked at his mother as she cried and apologized to him. He was honestly feeling very conflicted at the moment, not expecting a reaction like this from his words. He apologized to her, not because of her being his mother or because he needed her forgiveness (even if a small part of him really wanted it). He only apologized because he felt bad for attacking her due to not being able to control his own rage.

Now though, he couldn't help but to feel his heart warm up after hearing her apologize yet break at seeing her tears. As the warm feeling grew, that dark feeling made itself known once more as it felt like it fought for dominance and tried to make him give in to his more darker intentions.

Looking down at his shoes, Ash ignored the feeling as he focused his aura sense towards Delia and felt out her emotions. As he did so, he felt nothing but sorrow and love come from her; sorrow for her actions towards him and love for him even after everything that has happened. Ash looked down, surprised at what he felt.

His mother still loved him, she really truly loved him! After everything that has happened since they ran into each other, his hate towards her, his attack on her!

But, if she loved him so much as she claims, then why? Why turn her back on him when he needed her? Why would she abandon him?!

As Ash thoughts raced, he didn't take notice of the dark feeling try to influence his heart and thoughts with more vigor than before and succeeding. He didn't notice the warm, happy feeling he felt a moment ago begin to die from his heart. His aura began to race quickly and darken slowly as his anger rose more and more. His hand clenched in frustration as his eyes began to glow slightly from the aura that traveled through his body.

Delia, her eyes blurry from the tears spilling out, could no longer hold herself back and rushed at Ash, engulfing him in a tight embrace. She kept muttering 'I'm sorry' over and over as she held her son as tight as she possibly could.

She had not noticed that Ash's clenched hands snapped open and straightened out. His hands were engulfed in a dark green glow (slightly blending in with the night), signifying the use of the Grass type move Leaf Blade.

Before Ash could make use of the blade, the wet spot on his shirt from his mother's tears caused him to pause and looked down at her. The light of the moon came out from the clouds above and illuminated her perfectly so Ash was able to see her crying. Her crying face caused a memory to flashback through his mind back when he was still young, around eight years old.

He remembered when his mother doted over him when he got sick from being poisoned by a rampaging Vileplume when he visited the Oaks Ranch. He ran out when no one was looking and began playing with as many of the Pokemon in the back as he could. Eventually though, Ash kicked a rock that hit and angered a bunch of sleeping Beedril that swarmed after him. Some of the Beedrils were held back by the Pokemon he was playing with, but some had slipped by them.

Ash continued to run as he was pursued by three of the Beedril that began firing Pin Missiles at the young eight year old. He had dive into some bushes and avoided the attacks. The Beedrils continued on their paths, not having seen him hide among the bushes. Ash was far from safe though as the Pin Missiles had hit a resting Vileplume that only served to anger the Poison/Grass type who released a Poisonpowder that completely covered the young Ash.

Ash, coughing and getting sick from the powerful poison, fell out of the bushes in an attempt to run away. Vileplume, still angry to be awoken, began stalking towards Ash while preparing to attack him once more. Before the Poison/Grass type could proceed any further though, it was pelted by several rocks that got its attention. Looking towards the culprit, Ash saw that his mother who threw them as she ran towards them. Ash, unable to hold himself, passed out from the poison in his system.

He had awoken to find himself in his bed with his mother laying by his bed side with warm and cold water buckets beside her, her hand gripping his tightly and tears staining her face.

She had taken care of him as best as she could, due to there being a lack of hospitals in the town. A doctor did come by and tell her what needed to be done and she followed his orders to the letter. When she saw him awake, Delia gushed over him and kept him warm and protected for two whole days with barely any sleep.

Now that he finished reliving the memory, the dark feeling in Ash's heart shrunk once more as the warmth grew stronger. The dark green Leaf Blade turned to its normal light green glow as it dispersed while the young champion looked at his crying mother. Feeling the dark presence try to return with intensity as his mother held him, Ash grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her away. Looking into her teary eyes, he couldn't help be live the memory if his mom taking care of him that day and remembering the tear stained face she had back then.

"Why," Ash asked softly. Delia gave Ash a curious glance as she wiped the tears from her face. "Why did you do that to me? If you loved me like you say you do, like you have shown me many times before and still claim you do now, then why betray my trust in you? Why did you try to destroy my dream?"

Delia flinched at his words as he yelled out at her. She looked to Ash and saw the hurt, the pain, the rage, the sadness; all of the mixed up emtions that she helped cause him.

She truly ashamed of herself for making her son go through so much.

"Ash, I never meant to hurt you sweetheart," she said as fresh tears began to fall. "It wasn't that I didn't believe in you anymore, I was worried about you." Her words caused Ash's eyes to widen. She was worried, about what?

"Ash, you had gone to several leagues and had done well in each one, but in the end you lost them which ended in you becoming upset. After seeing you go off on a whole new adventure without a second though when you hear of a new challenge or region, I began to worry that you didn't have a backup plan for you fall back on just in case. If I passed away early, how could you provide for yourself and your Pokemon since you didn't have any steady income. Its with that in mind that I sent in a job application to the prestigious PokeTech school where you would be a teacher for the young trainers there, which they replied that they would be honored to have a trainer with your skill as one of their instructors."

"So you decided to plan things ahead of time," Ash said in a monotone voice as he thought over what he just learned. He was honestly unsure on how to take this new information from his mother. In her defense, she did all she did in an attempt to help him with his future, to keep him from hitting a dead end.

On the other hand though, it showed that she was beginning to lose faith in him. She no longer saw him as someone who was progressing well with his dream, even if at a sedate pace. She also no longer believed in his Pokemon, who all worked very hard for him and that had angered him immensely. He locked his gaze upon Delia, ready to yell at her only to pause as he looked at her.

He felt that he couldn't yell at her, that all his anger that he felt had vanished as he gazed into her teary, hazel colored eyes (a color that matched Ash's own). The tears on her face, the shame that was easily shown, the love that was almost impossible to hide as she gazed at him. Turning his back to her so he could get his thought together, Ash took a deep breath before releasing it in a heavy sigh.

"May I have some time alone," Ash asked her, his calm voice hiding the turmoil in his heart. He had yet to realize that talking with his mother had made him completely forget about his latest nightmare.

Delia nodded her head as she began to walk away back towards the camp that they rested in. She paused for a few seconds before deciding to leave one last message for her child. "For what its worth to you Ash," she began without turning around. "I love you honey. I have always loved you and still will always love you." After saying her piece said, Delia walked off.

Feeling her leaving, Ash fell to the soft grass as he stared at the starry night sky. Slowly, he began to chuckle (unsure if its amusement or annoyance). "She just had to get the last words, and those words just had to be it," he said in between his laughter. He sighed as he calmed down. "It was so much easier when I just hated her and wanted her gone. Just what should I do now?"

His only answer was the constant noise around him as he slowly drifted to sleep, feeling oddly at peace.

Stretching, Ash awoke to the bright rays of the Sun hitting his face. Looking up at sky as he shaded his face, he took note of how cheery and blue the sky was today, not a cloud to be found. Standing up, Ash could not feel the cold feeling in heart, as if it was hiding away due it being afraid and waiting for a chance to return.

Ash shrugged, not really caring since he actually felt great this morning. Like he was a brand new person! His aura even flowed more freely, like any blockage was gone and it nothing impeding its path. Ash smiled brightly as he turned his head slightly.

"So Lucario, how long are you just going to stand there and stare at me?" he asked in amusement. His friend walked out from a nearby tree and made his way to partner's side.

"I was worried when no one saw you this morning," he said. "We thought you left due to your former mother being in the same area, so we went looking for you."

Ash grinned at his partner, surprising him at his happy attitude that he hasn't really shown these past few days. "I can see why you guys would come to that conclusion my friend," he replied as he chuckled. "But as you can see, I am doing okay. In fact, I'm doing better than okay! I feel like a whole new me and new me says its time to continue our win streak at the tournament!" Ash looked toward his friend, his determined gaze causing Lucario to grin in anticipation. "Lets win this thing Lucario and take down that Shadow while we're at it!"

Lucario's grin only stretched further and nod at his trainer. Ash's friendly aura has returned at full force and it was amazing to see again. This feeling is what made him join Ash in the first place. He didn't know what happened, but he was just glad that it did.

Ash Ketchum was back!

The duo silently made their way back to the others so Ash could collect the Pokemon he was going to carry with him today. Things were going to be tougher now, so Ash had to take the battles more seriously due to him holding back a lot in this tournament.

But first Ash had a loose end that he needed to tie up for now, Delia Ketchum, the woman that betrayed his trust and broke him painfully. The same woman who was currently brushing the healthy fur of her Ninetales, who was purring pure bliss.

Ash could sense the strong bond between the two, actually causing him to smile as he was happy to feel such love between people and Pokemon. It was the type of bond that an Aura Guardian like him lived to see.

Complete harmony and cooperation.

"Delia!" Ash called out to her, getting her to pause in her brushing and give him her attention. Worry, love, and desperation were clear in her eyes. "I want to thank you for last night, for keeping me company. Our talk helped me to calm down, which was more helpful than you know. I'll make it up to you."

His words surprised everyone that was present, not expecting him to act so civil with Delia. This made them all wonder what had happened between the two trainers while they all slept.

Delia's eyes widened in shock, not expecting her son to address her. Her eyes shone in joy at the thought of actually not only helping her son, but to have him talk to her with joy and not pure anger like before. It was a dream come true for her!

She smiled so bright and warmly that it made the Sun seem bland and cold in comparison.

Ash gave her a small, friendly smile before he addressed everyone. "Today, the break period ends the tournament will continue. So if you haven't already, you should go check to see who your opponent is going to be. As for me, my opponent won his last few matches with only one Pokemon. The match has been raised to three vs. three, so pick carefully. Good luck everyone and may the aura guide you all to victory," his gaze turned slightly towards Delia, "all of you." He made his way to his Pokemon as he made his choices.

His words surprised them all once more, since he said that to Delia too and not just them. Telling someone those words wasn't just a way to say good luck, especially from an Aura Guardian, as it also meant that the person will be watching over you. Ash only ever said it others if he meant it, which were usually his friends or Pokemon.

Alex stood there, happy at her brother's seeming change of heart. She was happy that her brother gave a genuine smile instead of a forced one that held hidden hatred or anger, though she was curious what Ash and Delia spoke about to cause such a complete change of action and emotions. She turned from her brother, who had made another choice of what Pokemon to use, and changed towards Delia. Seeing the giant smile on the face of normally distraught mother, Alex decided not to question it and just be happy for them.

'If Ash is happy then so am I,' she thought. 'Now let's not get left behind in this tournament!'

After making his final choice, Ash looked at Lucario who leaned on a nearby tree. 'Pikachu, I know you may feel left out at the current moment, but I will be using you soon buddy. I promise,' Ash said through his aura towards the Electric Mouse Pokemon who gave his best friend a thumbs up before running off to join the other Pokemon that were relaxing under the shade of a tree.

'So what's going on between you and Delia?' Lucario asked Ash, connecting their aura together. 'Will she be one of us from now?' Ash shook his head as he gazed at the Aura Pokemon.

'Right now, I'm not going to be hostile towards her,' he replied using the same methods. 'Delia and I spoke last night and I got some answers that I needed to have. It even helped remind me of a few things that I seemed to have forgotten after all these years. Is she apart of our little group, I don't have answer for that yet my friend.'

'Do you trust her Ash?' Lucario asked seriously. He needed to know how Ash felt because this was a huge decision to make. To let the person that hurt you badly in your life again, it could end badly so it shouldn't be rushed.

He was NOT going to allow his friend to be hurt again.

'No I do not Lucario,' Ash replied without hesitation and yet no anger either. 'While I may have decided to be more lenient involving her from now on, it doesn't I am going to let her in my heart so soon. I am merely giving her the benefit of the doubt, not another chance to hurt me again. I'm still not completely comfortable with her around and I don't think I will be comfortable with her anytime soon.'

Ash looked to the sky once more, loving how peaceful it looked as the warmth in his heart felt as clear as the sky was. He looked back to Lucario as he smiled. 'I'm just protecting her as a guardian and as my job entails. What happens from now on, will depend on her actions.'

Lucario nodded as he understood Ash's choice. He shall be more civil with her, but not let her around his heart. He will be prepared to throw her heart coldly if she crossed any bounds that she shouldn't and do it without any hesitation. If she shows that she really is trustworthy then he will continue to defend her and care for her. He won't be calling her mom anytime soon as she will just be another person to him at this moment in time.

He agreed and was happy his friend wasn't going to be some naïve fool and forgive her so easily. Civility and forgiveness were two very different things.

Ash smirked as he raised his Pokeball at Lucario. "Let's go win us a tournament," he said as he returned the Steel/Fighting type into the confines of the sphere.

AN: And that is a wrap and the end of this chapter. I would like to apologize one final time for how long this chapter took as I had a LOT going on. I was able to read stories, but not type due to my laptop not working and my job calling me in or me working late, only to come home to do work for school. College life is a pain and I can't wait to be done lol. Well I hope this chapter was worth the wait and that you all enjoyed it. I know there hasn't been much battle wise this chapter, but I felt it would be best to address the issue between and Ash and Delia at this time.

Before ANYONE asks, No Ash has not forgiven Delia nor does he trust her to the extent where he cares for her. He no longer sees her as a person he may hate with every fiber of his being (or maybe he never hated her at since he was confused about how to feel towards her) but it does not mean her will hug her, call her mommy, and let everything go back to the way it was before. He knows she loves him, and has remembered the care she gave him, but he just can't find it in his heart to love her again like before. He just sees her as a person that needs help, no more. Well that's all I felt needed to be addressed and I will probably repost this chapter so I can answer any reviews that I didn't do. Speaking of repost, I will be reposting the past chapters as my Beta, LEGAL-EAGEL53, and correcting any mistakes and adding a few things here and there. As usual I hope to read many review about what you think of the story or any thoughts/theories you may have, so please do so if you have the time as I love to read them and hear your thoughts. Also please Favorite and Follow! Till next time!

Dragon Soul94 is out!