Author's Note:

Hey all, it's been a long time since I updated this story. Back in the day, there were issues with my beta, essentially changing my story and adding things I didn't want to be added and resulting in losing any motivation to write. I edited the first 15 chapters to how I wanted it to be; if you have any issues with the writing, blame Grammarly; it helped with punctuation and majorly cleaned up many problems. I have no timetable for finishing this story or adding more to it beyond finishing the part I had left off on, but it's a good read and a bit of unfinished business, so thank you all, and I hope you enjoy it.

Quick summary: Ash is back home after losing in the Sinnoh League to Tobias, and he has to choose whether to continue to the next region, in this case, Unova, or he can choose to stop and get stronger so he doesn't have to feel the pain of defeat again.


Crossroads Chapter 1: Swirling Thoughts

Pallet Town – Kanto Region

It was a crisp, cloudless night in Pallet Town as Ash Ketchum lay awake in his bed at 4:00 AM. He was looking out his bedroom window, remembering the devastating loss he suffered at the hands of the strongest opponent he had ever been up against; Tobias.

Start Flashback:

"Latios, shake off Pikachu!" Yelled Tobias. He knew Latios had already sustained substantial damage from Pikachu's thunderbolts while on its back.

Upon hearing his call, Latios shot up high into the sky like a bullet, with Pikachu barely clinging to its back. Once Latios had ascended to a high enough altitude, Latios quickly turned back towards the ground, which caused Pikachu to fly off Latios's back.

"Now, Latios, finish it with Luster Purge!" Called Tobias. Latios quickly descended, turned back to face Pikachu, and fired a purple beam from its mouth towards the now falling Pikachu.

"Pikachu, this is our last shot, use Volt Tackle!" Roared Ash. Knowing this was coming, Pikachu stabilized itself mid-air and engulfed itself in pure electricity before charging toward Latios.

Pikachu met Latios's powerful Luster Purge halfway, which caused a battle for dominance as Pikachu began to run against the powerful beam while slowly making its way towards Latios.

Once Ash deemed that Pikachu was close enough to Latios, the young trainer called out, "Pikachu, Iron Tail!" As Pikachu got closer to Latios, Pikachu's tail began to glow a bright, brilliant white. Once Pikachu's tail was at full power, Pikachu flipped himself around to hit the base of Latios's beam, which caused a massive explosion and large amounts of smoke to blast around the stadium.

Both Ash and Tobias covered their eyes once the smoke reached them. Neither of the two trainers knew what the outcome of the powerful attack would be.

After about a minute, the smoke began to clear. Once everyone could see the field, they saw that both Latios and Pikachu were down on the ground clearly out cold with swirls in their eyes.

The referee looked at the scene before him and made his official announcement, "Both Latios and Pikachu are unable to battle; however, Pikachu was the green trainer's last Pokémon, making Tobias the winner!"

End Flashback:

The way the battle ended made Ash reevaluate and question everything; "Maybe if I prepared more, then I would have been able to come up with a strategy to beat his Darkrai quicker, and I could've had more flexibility to deal with whatever other Pokemon he chose. Did I choose the right Pokemon? Should I have just gone with my strongest instead of mixing it up?" Ash thought to himself as he kept analyzing every aspect of that battle.

These thoughts and more kept flowing through Ash's mind. As he continued through the battle in his mind, he kept coming to the same conclusion: "I'm not strong enough."

It's a broad topic, but when Ash started to think, it put a new perspective on things. "Every time I have made it somewhat far in any league I have participated in, there was always somebody else I would end up losing to. Ritchie, Harrison, Tyson, and now Tobias, I couldn't even make it to the finals in any of them, so what is going to stop that from happening again?" thought Ash.

"I already know about Unova, and sure I could get some new Pokémon, make new friends and participate in the league there, but what happens when I meet somebody I can't beat again? It would all just be a waste of time, and I would usually be the last person to think that. Now though, I can't keep acting like I'm the best trainer in the world because I'm not, and if I want to be the best, then maybe it's time for me to stop and get stronger so I don't have to feel this kind of pain again for myself and even more importantly my Pokémon" continued Ash to himself.

With his mind swirling, Ash decided he had done enough thinking for one night. He went to sleep with Pikachu lying at the foot of his bed without a care in the world.


Ash awoke the following day to the wonderful smell of a delicious breakfast his mother Delia Ketchum was making downstairs. Knowing food was waiting for him downstairs, Ash got up from bed, stretched, and got into his everyday Sinnoh attire rather quickly before waking his best friend of six years.

"Pika…" said Pikachu lazily as he stretched on the bed before giving its red cheeks a light smack with a prickle of electricity protruding from them. Pikachu climbed onto Ash's shoulder, and the two proceeded downstairs.

Once the pair made it downstairs and into the kitchen, Delia turned to Ash and said, "Hello, Ash! Your breakfast is on the table; how did you sleep last night?"

"Eh, I slept alright," said Ash, eating his breakfast. He was still somewhat sleepy from his mental reflections last night.

"Just alright? Usually, when you go to sleep, you pass out like a log," said Delia while laughing light-heartedly.

"Yeah, I guess I wasn't that tired, though."

"Alright then, Ash, if you say so. Anyway, what do you have planned for today?" Asked Delia curiously.

"I think I'm going to go to Professor Oak's lab to work with my Pokémon," said Ash as he finished his breakfast while Pikachu finished his morning ketchup.

"Ok, Ash. I'll be here doing the garden with Mimy while you're gone," said Delia. Upon hearing his name, Mr. Mime appeared in the window with a cheerful "Mr. Mime!"

Ash laughed at Mr. Mime's antics. He brought his dish to the counter and left the kitchen, saying, "Alright, mom, I'm heading out. I should be back later on tonight."

"Alright, honey, have fun!" Said Delia cheerfully as always.

With that, Ash left the house and began walking on the road toward Professor Oak's lab while thinking about the decision he had made last night.

Pikachu noticed Ash was in deep thought as he rode on his shoulder. In response, he said softly, "Pika…."

Upon hearing his best friend, Ash snapped out of his dream-like state and said, "Oh, sorry, Pikachu. Just thinking."

"Pika…" said Pikachu in a more serious tone while crossing his tiny arms and giving Ash a look that said, "Why are you acting like this?"

"Sorry, buddy, I've had a lot on my mind lately," said Ash looking down as he answered his faithful companion.

"Pika… Pikachu," said Pikachu, which meant, "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

Having spent so much time with Pikachu during their adventures together, Ash had garnered a knack for generally being able to understand what Pikachu was saying.

Ash stopped and replied, "I don't know, Pikachu. I don't want to lose anymore. Every time we have gotten far in a league, we always end up losing to somebody we meet there while traveling. I've been thinking lately about the past battles we fought together. I realized we always do the same thing in every region and, because of that, end up losing. Because of our constant failures, I've been hesitant upon going to Unova..."

Ash hesitated briefly as he gathered his thoughts. "To be honest, I just don't want to go to a new region just to suffer the same result all over again."

Ash continued, "Pikachu, it has always been you and me. Over the past six years, we have gone out and made many new friends, accomplished so many feats, and even saved the world a couple of times. However, I think we are at a point where we have to make a decision about our future. The thing is, though... I'm not sure what to do."

"Pika pi…," said Pikachu, quietly understanding Ash's situation.

"Hey, don't worry, buddy. I'm sure I'll figure out something. Let's go to Professor Oak's lab and see everybody," said Ash cheerfully, attempting to change the mood.

"Pika!" Yelled Pikachu while pumping a fist in the air, excited to see all of their friends again.

With that, Ash continued to walk towards Professor Oak's lab, and before they knew it, they were standing at the front door.

Ash knocked on the door, and after about a minute, the door opened to reveal the aged professor.

"Oh, hello, Ash. What can I do for you today?" Asked the professor.

"Hey Professor Oak, I came by because I wanted to train with my Pokémon today."

"Ah, that sounds like an excellent idea as it is a beautiful day to do so. In fact, I am glad you came by today because somebody is here looking for you," said Professor Oak with a smile.

"Who would that be?" Asked Ash curiously.

"Well, what do we have here? It's good to see you again, Ashy-boy," said the man who came up from behind Professor Oak.

Ash's eyes widened as he could recognize that voice from anywhere. As the man maneuvered past Professor Oak to reveal himself, Ash whispered, "Gary…."


I hope you all enjoyed and thanks for revisiting this story!

Crossroads Chapter 2: Friendly Advice
Cyclone20