Well, I left off on a pretty cool note last time, at least in my opinion, I guess ;) Anyway, I'm still taking your shipping advice into account, as well as your comments on the plot itself! By the way, I'd like to thank Temporal King for giving me some solid advice for the story itself, which is what I really like to see you guys comment about. But anyway, let's get on with the story!
"All right!" Ash let out, allowing a childlike grin to come over his face as he waved to the audience, absorbing their enthusiasm, it only serving to further his own. He'd be hardpressed to deny the excitement that still came over him at the idea of partaking in a tournament this big, no matter how much one could say he had matured.
To add to that, he'd come to consider the Alolan region his own, it's people his people, and seeing their support for him only made him more sure in what was about to come. However, as Ash walked to the center of the arena, he began to pick up a sound underlying the cheering. Barely noticeable at first, first a pathetic boo, it became louder and louder, and soon nearly half the stadium was sounding their disdain of the new Alolan Champion, hissing and jeering at the raven-haired trainer.
"Get out of the ring, abuser!" One spectator jeered, giving the Champion the middle finger beside his family, his wife and children seemingly not caring about the obscene gesture, their thoughts most likely aligned with his.
"A guy who gets his own mother killed doesn't deserve to be Champion!" Another yelled, throwing his soda as far as he could into the stadium, probably aiming for the center, although it barely reached past the last row of seats.
"Isn't that the guy that liked to hurt his Pokémon?" A young Kalosian girl asked, not much older than 6, pointing at Ash while looking up at her mother, who herself bore a look of disdain towards the Alolan Champion.
"How can you call yourself a champion, much less a trainer after what you've done?!" Yet another man cried out, genuine outrage pouring from his voice and words, having completely fallen for the lies of Professor Oak.
"No wonder this region's reputation so weak and pathetic, it has you for a Champion!" Gary yelled out, getting up out of his seat to do so, much to the astonishment of his fellow traitors, perhaps the loudest of all. The others didn't necessarily disagree with Gary's outburst, but they currently wanted to keep as much of a low profile as possible.
"Gary, get down!" Misty hissed, the redhead beginning to drag her boyfriend back down into his seat alongside Tracy, wrapping her body around his arm in an attempt to get him back into his seat. "Read the situation for once, damn it!"
"Read the situation?!" Gary cried out louder than needed, causing a bigger commotion than any of the others had wanted. The brown-haired researcher continued on an outraged rant, mainly directing his words towards his girlfriend, who wanted nothing more than to lose that title at the moment. "How about YOU read the message my hand is gonna sent upside your-"
As soon as those words left Gary's mouth, his girlfriend acted instantly. With nothing but a flash of movement, Gary was knocked hard onto his seat, with nothing but a dented seat and the red imprint of a clenched fist on his cheek signaling that he was struck at all. Misty then sat down with a huff, looking anywhere but in Gary's direction. The others were somewhat surprised, Misty and Gary had shared a fairly decent relationship so far after all, but they chose to focus on other things.
Gladion could only let out a small chuckle to himself as he witnessed this little conflict unfold, causing Professor Oak to whirl in his seat, turning to glare at him. "Are you seriously going to fall apart this quickly? At least leave something for Ash to do, otherwise there'd be no point in bringing you here, now would there?"
Professor Oak opened his mouth to say something, attempting to at least regain control of the situation, but immediately thought against it. There would be no regaining the situation now after Ash had revealed himself. Instead, Oak began to think of ways he could get out of this and contemplated what Gladion had just said about bringing him and the others here.
Seeing the old man receding into his thoughts, Gladion frowned, choosing to look out into the stadium once more, watching his friend walk on despite all the boos and jeers. Still, Gladion supposed, at least the people of Alola were standing by their Champion.
"Ash..." Lillie couldn't help but murmur to herself, clasping her hands together as she gazed on with worried eyes at her raven-haired friend, who was still on his way to the platform, his eyes covered by the shade of his hat. She cared for him, perhaps more than she herself knew, and could only feel unease as she looked at him bare the insults and outrage sent his way. "This is just horrible..."
Brock could only grimace in disgust, as foreigners from all over the world voiced their disdain towards the Alolan Champion, his best friend, his very first traveling companion. Over the years, he and Ash had continued to travel together and had only grown closer as friends and battle partners. He'd even come to consider Ash as a younger brother, and Ash had reciprocated that feeling, making it hurt all the more to see him suffer like this. He could only shoot a glance at the traitors, hoping they were proud of what they had done to Ash. It would only make it all the better when Ash would bring them down to size.
"Dammnit..." Paul growled, clenching his fists tightly, Electivire looking at him in concern. Red was all that Paul could see right now, the color literally pumping through his vision. Even if he and Ash argued most of the time, the years they had spent together still made them friends, without a doubt. Having to simply watch this happen to a friend of his was far from being something that Paul was okay with. Noticing his fingers were beginning to dig into his skin, Paul relaxed a bit, looking at Electivire to let the Pokémon know that he was alright. And he would be even more so once those traitors were taken down.
Bonnie was furious, all these people had no idea who the real Ash was, they were simply going by the lies that Professor Oak had spread. It was all that she could do to simply bite her lip, otherwise, she would've flung some choice insults into the crowd, preferably ones that Paul that taught her for special occasions. Drampa nudged against her, the wisened dragon giving her a look. Bonnie got the message alright; "They'll get what's coming in due time." Bonnie took a deep breath and smiled, showing Drampa that she had gotten the message. Still, she was less concerned for Ash himself, as she was confident that he would come out at the top by the end of the day.
Ash simply kept walking through the stadium, however, raising his hand for silence once he got to the center of the stage. Whether the people watching approved of him or not, everyone in the stadium fell silent. But not because of Ash himself, although that was most likely the case for the residents of Alola. It was because Lance, the champion of Alola himself, had stood up, raising his own hand for silence. Stunned, everyone in the arena against Ash was shocked into silence, as the Johto Champion nodded for Ash to begin speaking.
Ash himself couldn't help but feel the slightest bit embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, seeing how effectively the Champion of Johto was able to silence the entire stadium. Still, with a quick glance to Pikachu, who was grinning at him from his shoulder, Ash gathered himself and began to speak.
"Well, first I gotta say thanks to Lance for doing that," The raven-haired trainer began with a smile, his voice being amplified by a microphone hidden in his jacket. "Probably would've had to listen to your grievances all afternoon if he hadn't." That brought a few chuckles from the Alolan residents in the audience, but the glares of the ones against him only intensified. Still, Ash continued, getting ready to spill the truth he had wanted to do so for the past 5 years.
"So before I allow the Tournament of the Stars to begin, I know that most of you in this stadium are probably shocked to see me in the position of a Champion, much less me period." Ash continued, glancing up at the Champions' skybox, where many of the Champions were looking at him in disbelief. He had made Lance and Mr. Goodshow keep his secret from everyone, and that included the other Champions.
"After the world-wide broadcast delivered by Professor Oak 5 years ago, I guess I can't blame you. According to him; I've abused my Pokémon, attacked my friends when confronted about it, inadvertently killed my mother when doing so, and mind-controlled my Pokémon. Countless other rumors have been spread about me, I'm sure, some of them entirely absurd. On top of that, my trainer's license has been revoked in all regions that chose to do so 5 years ago, Alola being one of the few exceptions. So if that all was true, I'd let you go right ahead and boo me off the stage right now."
Gaining some semblance of courage, Gary got up and cast an accusing finger towards Ash, drawing a PokéBall from his waist. "All of that is true! So let's all take that bastard out right now! He doesn't deserve to be Champion, much less a trainer!" Some foreigners began to raise their voices as well, although not standing up with Gary. Still, the half of the crowd that was against Ash initially began to shout out some boos and jeers again. Grinning, Gary was sure that he had begun to win over the crowd again until Ash spoke up once more.
"Of course, I said if that was true," The Alolan Champion corrected, silencing the crowd yet again. "Although I don't expect those that are against me to accept this now, all the things that I have been accused of being are false, all fabricated lies by Professor Oak."
That set the stadium into an uproar, the ones who believed the lies of the traitors going back to hurling insults at the Champion yet again, and the people of Alola verbally defending their Champion against those that would call out against him. The traitors could hardly believe what was happening before their eyes, the story they had fabricated all those years ago was coming apart, and now many of them began to fear the worst.
Up in the gym leaders' area, arguing had begun to erupt. There were those that still believed Professor Oak's lies, intent on removing Ash from his position and then there were those who remembered the spunky kid that had challenged them all those years ago and were willing to give him a chance to explain himself properly. Yet, up in the Champion's skybox, Lance got up, once again calling for silence.
"As the regional Champion of Johto, and the former Champion of Kanto, I myself can attest to the fact that this young man is telling the truth," Lance stated, much to the astonishment and relief of everyone in the stadium. It was here that Professor Oak began to panic internally; if Lance himself was testifying to Ash's innocence, there was no way to dig himself out of this now. "Once Ash became this region's Champion, it was only a matter of time before I found out. Acting quickly and covertly, I investigated him. After using specifically trained Psychic-type Pokemon to verify the story he told to me, as well as conducting an extensive evaluation of all the Pokemon under Ash's care, both physically and mentally, as well as the mental state of Ash's friends I can conclude that the accusations against Ash are indeed false. For the murder of Delia Ketchum, the destruction of the Ketchum's house, and the defamation of Champion Ash, legal actions will be taken."
"But," Ash interjected, drawing the crowd's attention back to him. "Since I am the Champion of this region, all legal actions taken in this region are ultimately left to me. The people who spread these lies about me, my friends, can now expect to face legal charges. Misty Waterflower, Gary Oak, Tracy Sketchit, May Maple, Max Maple, Drew Thornrose, Trip Shoot, Iris Dragonheart, Cilan Dent, Clemont Volt, and of course, Pokémon Professor Samuel Oak, you are now all officially faced with legal charges on behalf of the Pokémon League of Alola."
The entire stadium went into an uproar, again, but this time of a different manner. Sighs of relief, shouts of joy, and cries of confusion rang throughout the stadium; the world now informed of Ash's innocence. Yet, there was one group of people who were anything but relieved. Ash's former friends, the ones who betrayed him, were now receiving looks from people all around, now realizing the crimes that they committed. The truth was out, and there was nothing that they could do about it.
"Gramps, what are we gonna do?!" Gary nearly screamed, his usual bravado gone as he proceeded to freak out.
"Nothing, you dolt!" Misty said in place of the professor, resisting the urge to smack her boyfriend. She poked him in his chest, her nerves frayed as well. "Didn't you hear? Lance is on his side! We're screwed!"
"Aw, man!" Tracey whined, having not paid any attention to Ash's and Lance's words, choosing to draw Bonnie in a rather suggestive pose on his paper. "I tore a hole in my sketch!"
"That damn Ash!" May growled, clenching her fists tightly as she stared out into the crowd. "I'll get him for this!"
"Yeah, once I send out Gallade, that weakling will be through!" Max said, beginning to reach for his PokéBall.
"No, you idiot!" Drew said, smacking Max's hand down, his nerves shot from hearing Lance's announcement. "You wanna tangle with the rest of the Champions?"
Trip simply smacked Drew's hand away in turn, smirking, the events unfolding right in front of him doing nothing to faze him. "So what? Bring them on, any day of the week. Serperior and I can take 'em on."
"But that's Lance!" Iris wailed, Axew shifting nervously in her hair. "Master of all Dragons, Johto Champion, and coolest Dragon Master ever! And he's against us!"
"The sour mix of a tainted truth, the palate-cleansing taste of a lie come forth, this serves to be a very bitt-" "SHUT UP ALREADY!" Everyone yelled, cutting off Cilan before he could even finish.
Meanwhile, up where the Gym Leaders sat, Clemont could only look down at the ground as the countless Gym Leaders stared at him, some in anger and others in sheer disbelief. He attempted to shrink into his seat, but that did nothing to stop the unwanted attention he was currently getting.
As for Professor Oak, he could hardly believe that this was happening. He could see it now; his entire career, everything that he had built up over his life, his name that had once been renowned across the entire world, it would all be worth as much as dirt. His body trembling, he stole a glance at Gladion, who could only smirk back at him.
"However," Ash continued once again, allowing a cocky smile on his face. "I did invite everyone to this tournament, so it'd be a shame if everyone couldn't enjoy it the way I had wanted. We have amassed an even number of 128 people here, and it'd be an inconvenience to redo matchups. So, to the people that I just listed, with the exception of Samuel Oak, you may continue with the tournament, with a little offer I've thought up. Make it to the final 8, and I'll let you walk free. Lose before then? You can be sure that you will be hit by the full force of Alolan law."
"Hear that, old man?" Gladion said tauntingly, much to Oak's chagrin. "Looks like your time is coming early."
"N-No..." Professor Oak stuttered out, rising up out of his seat, the ones he had gathered to start all this doing nothing to help him. He was on his own now, the other traitors knowing that if they made the wrong move, they could very well be arrested, just like the professor. "T-This can't be happening!"
"Oh, but it can, Professor Oak," Ash called from down in the arena. "As of now, I'm pressing you with full charges, immediately. You'll be arrested, right here, right now and put into holding until the tournament is over. I still ask what could've possessed you to betray me the way you did, but after 5 years, I guess it doesn't matter." Ash paused, turning to look at his friends, all bearing looks of support on their faces, from a simple thumbs up from Brock, to an ecstatic grin from Bonnie. "I've got new friends, and a new life. One that you'll never be able to take away. Gladion?"
"Gladly!" The blonde-haired trainer responded, when suddenly Oak made a break for it, beginning to flee. Gritting his teeth, Gladion swiftly tackled the old man to the floor, Alola's police force swarming around the two almost immediately, swarming through the tournament's entrances. Ash had certainly been prepared for this, but that was the last thing on Oak's mind right now. As Oak felt the cuffs tighten around his wrists, he could practically imagine his name was all but dirt now. The once-great Pokémon Professor was no more.
Forcing the old man to get up, the numerous Officer Jennies walked him out of the stadium, much to the surprise of everyone still there. With the exception from Lance and Ash's friends watching from the skybox, nearly everyone could hardly wrap their heads around the fact that Professor Oak had singlehandedly ruined the future of a promising young man, for a reason that was still unknown. The reality of the situation began to settle in, not only for the people spectating, but for Ash as well. For the pain he endured all those years ago, for the death of his mother, he was finally going to make it all right.
Taking a deep breath, Ash continued, feeling a large weight dissipate from his shoulders. Feeling the eyes of the stadium on him once again, he looked up, finally ready to get the real tournament started. "All right then, everyone, how about we get things started with a good ol' one on one exhibition match! As for the volunteer, how about Lance himself? I've sure been relying on him a whole lot for the past 5 years, how about I reward him with a battle?" Even after all this, Ash couldn't stop the smile coming onto his face at the thought of a battle.
Bonnie, Brock, Lillie, and Paul all smiled as well, happy that their Ash was still the same. They went off towards the sidelines, as Ash moved to one side of the battlefield. Moving to his side, Ash extended his arm towards the filed, Pikachu leaping off of it and landing firmly on the ground, ready to battle.
"How about it, Lance?" Ash called up enthusiastically, taking his mind off of the traitor situation for now. "You're not chicken, are you?"
Lance, still somewhat surprised that he'd be battling in public when he hadn't in a long time, simply smiled at Ash's taunt and released his Dragonite from its PokéBall, letting the orange psuedo-legendary carry him to his side of the field. Landing with ease, the Johto Champion extended his hands toward Ash in a similar manner, Dragonite coming down onto the field with a CRASH!, staring down Pikachu.
"Well then, Ash, shall we get started?" Lance said, smirking. "I assume you're using Pikachu?"
"You betcha!" Ash said, signaling a referee to come over. "The ref's gonna count down for us, okay?"
"Fine by me," Lance said, as the referee began counting. "But you should know I won't go easy on you!"
"3!"
"Same here!" Ash said, rubbing his hand over his Mega Z-Ring. "I'm gonna give you all I've got!"
"2!"
The crowd's anticipation only grew as the battle reached its beginning, excited at the prospect of two Champions battling at full strength. Ash couldn't lie, his was growing as well, it was hard not to get excited over fighting Lance himself. Looking at Pikachu, he smiled, glad that his buddy was here to experience it with him.
"1!"
"Pikachu, I choose you!"
"Dragonite, let's go!"
"The battle between Alola Champion Ash and Johto Champion Lance will now begin!"