Alright, back with Chapter 3. I am having a strong feeling that this story is gonna take a lot of time. A few things that I would like to mention before moving on:-
I know this is getting boring as two whole chapters have been focused on caves, Ash, and Dima's 10-year struggle, but it is worth the wait. At least you people won't feel "Whoa! What the hell is that?" Anywhere in the story from now on as everything has been explained.
It's going really slow, but not anymore. I am trying my best to finish things fast. In addition, this chapter will introduce us to the other characters that have been mentioned but not occurred in the story.
Our main protagonists straightaway will now, head towards the league. I could add something interesting on their journey to the Trido region, maybe.
I am not gonna repeat the Characters list. I am pretty sure we know everyone important by now.
-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-
The gusts of wind were strong enough to blow away anything in its way, but not the two massive Charizard's, and the two trainers sitting on them.
45000 feet above the ground level, Ash and Dima were flying on their Pokemon, on their way to the Trido region. They had decided to use their Aura's to help their Charizard's in this weather, but apparently, it wasn't required. The Charizard's found it easy to fly in this weather, and they were making small talk with each other will flying.
Ash and Dima had left Pallet town a day ago, after spending a week with their mother. They were selected for the top 500, and were told that the last day for registering for the second round of the tournament was April 12. That meant tomorrow. They had left Pallet town yesterday, in tears.
Their mother, Gary and Pr. Oak had promised that they would leave for the Trido region a few days later, in Pr. Oak's jet.
Now on their way, they decided not to converse. In all their years of training, they had learnt that they had to be alert, in situations like this.
Suddenly Dima heard a noise. A rumbling noise. The source of the noise was emitting strange waves…. As if it belonged… to a… a… a machine?
"All the flights have been cancelled for today due to the storm; this is one of the fiercest storm in the past ten years. What is happening?"
Dima looked at Ash, who looked back it him, clearly confused.
"He heard it too" Dima thought, "I can't communicate with him verbally, the storm's loud. We have to communicate through Aura."
Suddenly Ash heard a voice in his head.
"That's strange. I wasn't expecting any jets to be around till the storm died out. What do you think?" Dima asked him, telepathically.
"Something's fishy. We must go and check. The noise seems to be coming from over there. North west of our current facing direction." Ash replied.
He signaled Dima to stay a couple meters behind him. Dima nodded as they headed faster towards the source of the noise.
As they got closer, they saw a dark shade of gray. It was metal. A huge mass of metal floating in air.
"So we were right after all." Ash thought.
As they got closer and the whole plane came into view, their eyes widened with shock.
It was a huge airplane, with two long wings at the front and smaller supporting flaps at the back. The plane didn't have any rotating blades or anchors, so Dima was guessing some alternative fuel powered it.
"Judging by the size, brother, it's either fueled on molten carbonate, or proton exchange membrane." Dima said.
Ash nodded, "I didn't get a single word you said. However wait; there is some sort of a symbol on the side. Let's go check it out."
Dima replied with an affirmative, as the brothers glided forward, faster than the plane's speed, on the two beasts.
As they got closer to the symbol and it got clearer, Dima was having an uneasy feeling by recognizing its color.
"A lighter shade of Mauve… could it be…?" Dima thought to himself.
The symbol was clearly visible now. Ash could feel his blood boiling, and Dima's expression was furious.
"Rocket…" Ash whispered.
The two of them returned to their normal selves instantly. They weren't surprised. Precious seconds spent being surprised were precious seconds wasted. It was for amateurs, but they were professionals.
"We have to take them down, brother." Dima said.
"Excuse me?" Ash replied.
"WE HAVE TO TAKE THEM DOWN!"
"Dima. Calm down. It is a ship; we cannot just take it down like that. We don't even know who their mission leader in question is right now. Plus, we'll be late for the tournament."
"I don't care, brother. I am stopping them right now."
Ash sighed. He knew why Dima was reacting like this. Back in Kalos, Team Rocket had teamed up with Team Flare and kidnapped the Champion, Diantha.
Dima had single-handedly worked for 3 months and saved Diantha. Hence, even though Dima and Ash hated all the teams and went against them, Dima held a personal grudge against Team Flare and Rocket.
"Dima. Listen to me. I know how you feel, and I am not even saying that you cannot beat them to the ground, because it is a piece of cake for you, but I need you to chill. Stop it." Ash said
"If we hesitate now, we don't know what will happen. What if they're on their way to steal someone's Pokemon? Hell with that! What if they've already stolen them!? They're going down. Right. NOW. If you're not coming with me, I am going in alone."
Dima's eyes widened and he looked up at the plane.
"Hey wait this is a nice idea. I am going to take them out, and I want you to head over to the league and register the two of us. Sounds good?"
Ash sighed heavily. He knew he couldn't fight Dima anymore. Even though he was three months older and he used that to his advantage many times, he knew Dima wouldn't listen.
"Alright fine, do it. But please just… go easy on them. And make sure you're back in a week."
"I'll be back in three days. I am going trap all the people of this ship in an Aura Cube to get them arrested and crash this plane. If I find any stolen Pokemon, then yes. It may take me a week to come back."
"Also, brother. Our identities will be revealed the moment the tournament starts, so I am sure after knowing who you are, Scott will offer you help. Just ask him to postpone my preliminary matches' up to a week."
Ash nodded, and Dima nodded back, smiling. He flew right below the ship, and shouted,
"Charizard, Flamethrower!"
His Charizard let out extremely huge green colored flames out of his mouth as the metal sizzled and melted. Dima went straight inside and recalled his Pokemon.
He looked one last time at Ash, who showed him a thumbs-up sign.
Dima warmly smiled as he threw another one of his pokeball's in the air, and a native Alolan, snow-white Ninetales came out.
"Use Ice Beam Ninetales!" Dima ordered, as Ninetales let out an icy breath, sealing the open hole under the ship.
Ninetales nuzzled Dima's cheek and let out a coo of contentment and affection.
"I love you too, Ninetales" Dima replied in a playful tone, gently touching Ninetales head and recalling her.
Ash headed back towards the Trido region, as he saw the plane head in a slightly different direction and fading in the mist of the clouds.
"God bless those poor grunts," Ash prayed, "And the ship."
-XX-
The Trido region was a place which every trainer wanted to visit. A small, but an extremely beautiful island. The exotic beaches attracted many trainers to spend their vacations. The cafés and restaurants in the region were worldwide popular for their sumptuous food.
Not to forget, The Trido Region had the toughest battle tower out of all the regions.
It was a bright sunny day, and the temperature had risen, forcing everyone to switch into bikinis and swimsuits. The beach was crammed with people, and many people were swimming.
A blonde trainer was sitting outside The Café Licht, having an iced tea. Two men walked by her, giving her aroused and disgusting glances.
The woman sighed at this. She couldn't even take a break.
Cynthia Shirona, The Sinnoh Champion, was a bold and strong-willed person. The disciplined and fierce side of hers that could be seen while battling was also visible in her natural self. "A perfect mixture of elegance and assertiveness", as one of her fans had described.
However, the truth that no one knew, was that she had been travelling worldwide for many years, battling in different regions, tackling more trainers in the Sinnoh league, was all an attempt to divert her focus from one thing.
"Ash… Dima… Ash… Ash…" the words kept swirling in her head, and she had suddenly started crying.
10 years ago, when the news of two criminals on the run reached Cynthia, she couldn't believe it. The evidence was all in favor of the fact that the Ketchum brothers were guilty, and running away had made the case stronger.
Cynthia had completely broken down after hearing this. She was devastated from the fact that the person she loved with all her heart could do such a thing.
She knew that Ash wasn't that kind of a person. She had trusted him with her life. Ash always fought fair, and never gave up. Hence, the incident left a huge impact on Cynthia.
However, she couldn't bring herself to feel disgusted by Ash. Some part of her heart still said that Ash was innocent. This confusion lead to Cynthia become depressed, but for a very short amount of time.
Being a braver person, she decided to investigate the case with all the resources she had. When she heard about the Officer Jenny from the Kanto region, who was the leader of the brothers' case, she helped her out for 2-3 years. Eventually giving up, she convinced herself (not entirely) that it was Ash's fault after all.
6 years later, when the truth had come out, Cynthia was shocked, devastated. She was guilt-ridden, for not believing in Ash and Dima. She went into a depression again, for a longer period of time, for about 6 months.
Eventually, she tried to move on and forget what happened.
Cynthia brought her life back on the track in a jiffy, but she couldn't forget about those years.
Hence, sometimes, she suddenly felt like crying when she remembered them… him.
Cynthia wiped her tears away and got up. She had registered for the Champion's tournament, and had been taking a break from battling since morning. Cynthia had to accept that she did feel much better and relaxed now. Getting up from the chair and paying the bill, Cynthia headed for the Battle Tower, to collect the Pokemon she gave to Nurse Joy for running physical tests.
The only words that kept going around in her brain were, "My heart still feels that he's alive. Please… please Arceus. Tell me he's alive and he's participating here. Telling him my true feelings is something I don't deserve after all. I didn't even trust him, but at least give me the opportunity to apologize to him."
-XX-
In all her years of being the Kalos Champion and a world famous actress, Diantha Carnet was trapped in a busy schedule all the time. She never had time for herself, and couldn't relax one bit. Hence, taking a yearlong break from acting and Champion duties, she came to the Trido region, to participate in the world championships. The movies and Kalos league could wait for some time; Diantha had to give her best in this tournament.
She came out of the hotel gym and headed towards the battle tower to collect her Pokemon.
"God I'm tired…" she muttered to herself.
Diantha arrived in The Trido Region early morning that day, to register for the tournament. She collected her Pokemon from Nurse Joy, and as she was heading out, she saw a board from the corner of her eye. She walked to the board and gazed at all the pictures.
The board had the pictures of all the people who had won or achieved something in the Battle Tower Challenge.
She took a long time looking at all the pictures, and smiled to herself.
"This Tower is the toughest tower, as compared to all the regions. These people sure are something."
The she looked up at the biggest picture, at the top of the board. Apparently, it was the top contender of the battle tower, the only person to finish the challenge under 30 minutes.
Diantha looked at the picture, and her smile disappeared. Her legs suddenly felt wobbly, and she was on the verge of tears.
She quickly got out of there and ran towards her hotel room. She closed the door behind her and locket it shut.
Diantha gently sat down on the bed, and burst out crying.
It was Dima's picture. The reason Diantha had this sudden outburst was because she saw Dima's picture and missed him so much.
Diantha first met Dima when he came to Kalos for a year to travel with Ash {if any of you are still having a tough time imagining Dima, he looks like Usui Takumi. For now, imagine Dima as Usui Takumi with a big beard and long hair, with a muscular body.}. As every man who took, interest in her was always after her money… and her body, Diantha had totally given up on dating.
Hence, when Dima showed interest in her, she behaved towards him in a poisonous way. However, to her surprise, Dima never reacted in an angry or frustrated manner whenever Diantha snapped at him or insulted him. He just returned a smile and nodded in agreement.
This made Diantha feel extremely happy, and she wondered whether she was doing the right thing or not. Hence, Diantha apologized to him for her behavior and told him the reason.
Dima simply smiled, understanding her feelings and forgave her. After that, they started spending more time together, and not realizing it, they fell in love with each other.
When Diantha had started having doubts about her feelings, they were confirmed after the Team Rocket and Team Flare incident.
After Dima saved her from the two teams, she knew that she had completely fallen in love with him.
Unfortunately, after that, the incident took place, which forced them to run away.
Diantha was devastated when she heard this news, but she was one hundred per cent sure that Dima couldn't do such a thing. She, alongside Officer Jenny and Cynthia tried investigating the case. However, when the two brothers were announced dead, she had no choice but to try her best and move on.
Diantha thought that it'd be easy to move on, because she was good at these things. However, she wasn't able to. And the only reason for that was she still didn't agree to the fact that Dima was dead. Somehow, her heart still had a feeling that Dima was alive, it was as if she could just sense him.
As she calmed down, she washed her face and headed out of her room, with a fresh change of clothes. "I need a drink."
-XX-
"That's strange, Lucario. Battle tower? The registration is in the battle tower? Also, they've actually opened a healing center at the reception for the trainers. That's new. No doubt this region is considered the best." Ash said, talking to Lucario.
Lucario nodded and said, "Well, it did say so on the invitation. Although, I think the exquisiteness of the Battle Tower is the last thing on your head, isn't it Master?"
"True" Ash replied, "I am really worried about Dima. I hope he's okay."
"Oh. I meant…" Lucario trailed off.
"…Cynthia?" Ash replied. "That's something I am not worried about. It is gonna be great meeting her after such a long time. When my identity is revealed, I am going to tell her about all my feelings. She may turn me down, but I'd be happy as it'll be a load of my chest." Ash replied.
"Hm." Lucario replied.
"Hey, Ash. Look. We're here." Pikachu suddenly said, as he pointed towards the direction of the tower.
The trio looked at the tower, and slightly grunted. As they entered the tower, the felt an icy cold blast of air hitting their faces, making them feel overjoyed.
"Mind putting your hood on, Ash?" Pikachu said.
"Pikachu is right, Master. We should try staying incognito." Lucario said.
"Don't worry, you two. No one's gonna recognize us. Plus what's the point of keeping the beard and long hair if I have to put the hood on?" Ash said.
"Now come on, get in." Ash took out two Pokeballs and recalled Pikachu and Lucario, promising Pikachu to call him out as soon as possible.
Ash and Dima had decided to keep their long hair and beard for a while. Delia had a problem with it, of course, but she didn't say anything.
Ash headed towards the counter, and many female trainers looked at Ash, blushing furiously and whispering.
Ash gave a tiny smile, as he stood by the counter, talking to Nurse Joy.
"Good Morning, Nurse Joy."
Nurse Joy looked up and her face went red.
"G-Good Morning, Sir." She managed
"I am here to register for the Tournament"
Nurse Joy nodded.
"Of course," she said, "Could I borrow your PokeDex for a moment?"
Ash smiled and nodded, taking of his TransmissionDex and handing it to Nurse Joy.
"That's weird," Nurse Joy thought, "What is this PokeDex? He was wearing it on his wrist like a watch. Plus, the moment he took it off, its shape turned into a standard PokeDex. But the color is the same as before…"
"That's a TransmissionDex. I am a close friend of Pr. Oak and he gave that to me. I hope there is no problem?" Ash said.
Nurse Joy slightly jumped in surprise when Ash started speaking, as if reading her mind.
"Of course not, Sir. Just a moment please."
She kept the TransmissionDex on a green sensor as it was scanned. The data appeared on Nurse Joy's screen, and she was surprised.
The man had seen and caught MANY Pokemon. The TransmissionDex readings were going crazy, from the amount of data in it.
"Wow, you've achieved quite a lot, Mr…" she trailed off, looking at the name displayed on the screen.
The moment she saw the name, she froze. An expression of confusion crossed her face, which slowly turned, into shock.
Her eyes widened and she looked at the man.
"YOU'RE ASH K-" she said, clearly loud, but Ash covered her mouth.
They stood like that for a moment and Ash looked around, checking whether anyone was looking their way. He sighed in relief when he saw that no one had heard her and were busy with their own job.
"Well I know it is a surprise." Ash said, getting closer to Nurse Joy.
"But I really think this isn't the time for me to reveal myself. How about we just keep this our little secret. Also, if anyone asks you whether a man named Ash Ketchum has registered for the tournament, I think you know what to do." Ash said.
The nurse dumbly nodded, lost in the young man's handsome face.
Ash winked, making the Nurse blush extremely red and sending chills down her spine. She was feeling extremely aroused, and Ash could see where this was going.
He removed his hand from her mouth, and the Nurse frowned.
"Well.. we..we we need.. your… we… date together… no no no! I mean we need your… your Pokemon! For physical tests!" she managed to sputter the words out, about to faint from the embarrassment.
Meanwhile, what the two didn't see was that another young, blonde and female trainer was watching the scene unfold. She hadn't heard what the Nurse had said as the man covered her mouth.
"She's about to pass out from the embarrassment" Cynthia thought as she slightly giggled.
"Well it does make sense. That man surely is handsome. But why does he remind me of someone? I am having a feeling I've seen him somewhere." She floated away in her thoughts and started walking away, not looking where she was going.
She tripped on the edge of the sofa and started falling.
"Shit" she thought, as she braced herself for the pain that was to come.
However, she didn't feel any pain on her head. Instead, she felt a light touching sensation on her waist. She fluttered open her eyes and realized that she hadn't fallen. Somehow suspended in mid air, she looked up and saw the man.
The same man who was earlier registering for the tournament. Her heart suddenly started racing, as she saw the man's face. His handsome features brought a blush to her face as he smiled, making her smile too. But the only thing that was making her heart race even faster, was because reminded her of someone.
"Why does he look like… like Ash?"
He helped her up and they both stood there.
"Spacing out like that can be dangerous, Ms. Shirona. I hope you're not hurt." Ash said.
Cynthia looked at him and smiled, "Ah I am completely fine thanks to you sir. And, um… it… it is a surprise that you know my name."
Ash gave an amused and confused look altogether, "Who doesn't? Cynthia Shirona, the Sinnoh League champion. The strongest Champion alongside Lance and Diantha. The legendary battle between Lance Wataru, Diantha Carnet and Cynthia Shirona. You and Diantha defeated Lance individually, but the battle between you and Diantha was a draw as both of your last Pokemon fainted."
Cynthia's eyes widened, "Wow. You surely know a lot about all of us."
Ash nodded, "Yep. Especially, a lot about YOU. I've been keeping tabs on you." He said, giving a side smirk and winked.
Cynthia managed to suppress her nosebleed and blushed furiously.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, in a teasing voice.
"Maybe you will find out. There is a huge surprise in store for you, Ms. Shirona."
Ash said with a smirk.
She gave a confused look and didn't say anything as she kept staring at him.
"Wow, he's like an angel. And he looks like Ash! This is great. I really want to know him more. While I still search for Ash, his presence around me will remind of him and give me an emotional boost. Don't worry Ash. I know you're somewhere out there, and I will find you. I love you. So, so much." She thought to herself.
"Staring at me like that isn't a good idea, Ms. Shirona. You don't want to fall down again, do you?" Ash said.
Cynthia snapped out of her thoughts and realized what he was saying. Before she could react, the man pushed her back.
"Whoah!" she exclaimed and looked at Ash, "What was that for?" she said, somehow vexed.
Ash pointed towards a direction, and Cynthia followed his finger. She saw a pothole, millimeters away from her feet.
"Shit" she whispered.
"Thanks again." She said, and Ash simply nodded.
Ash suddenly jumped a few feet away from her, effortlessly, and started walking away.
"You need to stop spacing out, Cynthia. Your boyfriend won't like to see you get hurt." He said, loudly, walking away.
"I don't have a boyfriend!" she shouted back, in a teasing and amused voice, playing along.
"Really? That's great! I thought I lost my chance!" he shouted back, and waved.
He disappeared back into the tower, to get his Pokemon, leaving behind a red-faced Cynthia, sighing and smiling to herself.
"That guy. Wait a se- Damn it! I didn't even ask him his name. Nevertheless, I have to thank him. He gave me a good laugh, I feel much better now." She walked back to her hotel room, for a meal, and then to train.
-XX-
"You can't defeat me, weakling." Giovanni said, as he threw the man with the eye patch on to the ground and kicked him in the guts. The man coughed blood and looked up at Giovanni, and saw a black mist surrounding his body, and his eyes glowing red.
"Damn you, you monster." He coughed.
"Monster? C'mon! I… am… a… God. You better not try sneaking up on me and killing me Ghetsis, or the next time, I'll cut off your second arm too." Giovanni replied.
Ghetsis looked at his right arm, and saw nothing but blood seeping out of it in huge amounts. Ghetsis walked out of the room, limping towards the infirmary.
"We're already having problems finding the Pawāde~you, and these weaklings are causing even more problems." Giovanni muttered to himself.
He sat on his chair and looked at Cynthia Shirona's file.
"Interesting…," he muttered, as he went through the file twice.
He closed the file and threw it into the shredder, and pressed a button on his desk.
A grunt, alongside a scientist came running into the room.
"Is the bug ready to be planted?" he asked.
"Yes, sir. It is ready. Final procedures are being carried out." The scientist replied.
"We will have the system infiltrated in no time." The grunt said.
Giovanni chuckled in pleasure, "Great work. It is finally time. We will know who the Pawāde~you is, and kill them."
Just then, Giovanni heard a voice in his mind, "Good Work, mortal."
Giovanni replied, telepathically, "Thank You, Master. It is an honor."
-XX-
Diantha was sitting on of the tables inside The Café Licht. She was smiling, remembering her memories with Dima. She had ordered a cappuccino, and was enjoying it, while looking at the beautiful scenery through the huge glass panes of the café.
"The sunset surely is amazing, isn't it, Ms. Carnet? It's as if the is sinking, going into the sea just to rise tomorrow again." A voice said behind her.
She slightly jumped from surprise, as Ash came from behind her and sat in front of her.
Diantha blushed slightly as she took the handsome man's features in.
The Diantha from the past would have tried to avoided Ash, but she had built her trust in men after she had met Dima.
"It sure is." She nodded.
"It really is a pleasure to meet, you Ms. Carnet. I am a huge fan of your battling style." Ash said.
"Please, call me Diantha. And the pleasure is all mine, Mr…" she said.
"Oh yes. Ketchum." Ash said, looking away.
"Right, Ketchum." She smiled and nodded.
Diantha realized what the man had said.
"Wait a second. Did you just say Ketchum?" Diantha stuttered.
"Yes." Ash said in a playful tone, "My name is Ash Ketchum."
Diantha froze. It was true, the man did look like Ash. He even had Pikachu on his shoulder.
"OH MY GOD!" Diantha shouted, and jumped on Ash, giving him a bone-crushing hug. Tears flew from her eyes like streams.
"Ash… Ash… where were you all these years? Why? Why?" she cried.
Ash then quickly told her everything, leaving out the Aura and Arceus incident.
"Oh my god, you guys went through so much." She started crying again. Ash hugged her and said, "It's okay. We're alright now, and we're here." Ash said.
Diantha finally calmed down and they started chatting. They chatted about everything they missed over the ten years.
"So, you met Cynthia yet?" Diantha asked, clearly teasing.
Ash smiled, "Yeah I did actually. She doesn't know my name yet." They both giggled.
"So, you're planning on keeping it a surprise huh?"
"Yep. I think I'll tell her tomorrow. There is no need to hide anything." Ash replied. Maybe he was thinking too much. All he had to do was apologize to her and tell her how he truly feels. Plus, after today's encounter, it was pretty evident that there was nothing awkward going on.
Diantha nodded. She was trying her best to avoid any discussion over Dima. She wondered where he was, but decided to leave it aside. However, Ash didn't.
"Go on, ask me. I'll tell you." Ash said, his voice serious.
"Wow. I'm that predictable?" she sighed and tears rolled down her cheeks. Ash gently wiped them off.
She gave a simple smile as a thank you, and asked him, "Where is Dima, Ash?"
"He hasn't arrive in the region yet, Diantha. I have no clue how long he's gonna take. On our way towards here, we saw a massive ship that belonged to Team Rocket. The moment Dima saw it anger dwelled up inside him. It was clear that YOU were the reason. He remembered the past, and lost it. He is in that ship now, battling against those evil creatures." Ash said.
Diantha put a hand to her mouth. She couldn't imagine that even after all these years, he was still the same. The kind-hearted person who couldn't tolerate injustice. Moreover, most of all, the reason that gave him a boost was Diantha. This made her extremely happy.
"Will he be alright?" She asked.
"Of course! It's really the ship and the grunts we have to worry about. They might not be safe." Ash said, and they both laughed. Diantha was really happy, she hadn't laughed like that for years. She felt great. And the fact that she was about to meet Dima in a few days was something that made her heart go crazy.
They talked for hours, and decided to retire for the day. As the two of them headed out of the café, they never got a chance to notice the television. The news flashed all over the world, everywhere. A ship had crashed, two hours ago, in the ocean near Trido region. Apparently, the ship belonged to Team Rocket.
-XX-{THE NEXT DAY}
"Hey Max! Wait up! You don't need to run like crazy. The Pokemon center is not going anywhere." May yelled at her younger brother.
"That doesn't matter! My Pokemon need to be healed ASAP!" Max yelled back.
"God, is he ever gonna change?" Misty sighed. The others nodded.
The traitors were all headed towards the Pokemon Center. They had been practicing the whole day for the Masters' tournament, and needed to have a break.
They decided to head over to the Pokemon center to heal their Pokemon and have a few drinks.
"Why is the weather so hot?" Iris said, fanning herself with her hand.
"Looks like summer has finally set in. It's good. At least we get to go to the beach." Brock said, drooling.
Cilan walked up to Brock and kept a hand on his shoulder.
"You're right Brock. The beach." Both Cilan and Brock started drooling.
Misty took out her mallet and stroked both of them on the head.
"Hey!" they shouted in pain.
"Control yourself, you animals." Misty snarled.
They went inside the Pokemon Center, only to find the only thing happening they didn't want.
Max was yelling at a man. The traitors ran over to him.
"What are you doing Max! Stop embarrassing us!" May whispered harshly.
"Well I am asking this man to apologize and he's denying. He ran into me and isn't even sorry for it! Hey you! Do you not understand what I'm saying? Apologize!" Max yelled.
The traitors looked at the man, who was wearing a red colored cloak. He had his hood on. He took the hood off, and blood trickled down the noses of every female traitor. This man was totally something else.
-XX-
Ash couldn't believe his eyes. The people who were responsible for destroying 10 years of his life were right in front of him.
The people who betrayed him in his time of need, the only people he hated the most were right in front of him.
Suddenly, a word of advice given by Dima went through Ash's brain.
"They will be there, and once they know the truth, they will vex you and try to get under your skin in order to make you do something wrong, because they will clearly be scared of your strength. Try to keep it in, brother. Don't let anger cloud your brain."
Ash inwardly smiled at those words and took a deep breath. He calmed down as his pulse got back to normal.
"That idiot told me to prevent anger, and he let anger take over himself. I hope he's okay." Ash thought to himself.
The traitors could feel the atmosphere getting worse, and they could hear what the people around them were saying as they watched the scene unfold.
"Wasn't it the boy with the spectacles who ran into the tall guy….?"
"Yeah. But look how the boy is behaving… wait haven't I seen him somewhere?"
"Right! That's Max Maple! May Maple's younger brother!"
"May Maple? The princess of Hoenn? Wow, that's his brother?"
"Yep. I didn't expect him to be such a brat. The way he's shouting tells it all."
May took a deep breath in. Even though they hadn't seen what happened, it was clear that it was Max's fault. Before she could tell Max to apologize, the man started speaking.
"Ah! I am truly sorry. I guess I should have seen that you were running like crazy and I should have stood somewhere else." Ash said, earning quiet giggles from everyone except the traitors in the room.
Misty glared at the man, and said, "That's no way to apologize!"
"What?" Ash said, shrugging and widening his smile, "It wasn't even my mistake! But I apologized to prevent any ugly scenarios!" the other people sitting in the Pokemon center nodded.
"Yeah! Good that you apologized!" Max yelled again.
"I would have totally crushed you if you hadn't said sorry, you know." Max bloated.
The traitors froze as they all glared at Max, who didn't even notice.
"Excuse me?" Ash said, all signs of contentment gone from his face and tone. His voice was somewhat scary, as the traitors except Max took a step back and the other people in the center diverted their eyes.
"Well, you know. It wouldn't take me much time to pin you to the ground and land a few blows to your head, but I was talking about a Pokemon battle."
The smile on Ash's face returned. This is exactly what he was waiting for.
Ash gave a gentle laugh, as all the girls in the room drooled.
"Really? To be honest, I am a bit scared." Ash said, in a sarcasm-coated voice.
"But" he continued, "I do need a small warmup. How about a Pokemon battle?" Ash suggested.
"Ha! You're challenging me? Max Maple? Do you really wanna get destroyed?" Max said. Some people in the hall and the traitors nodded.
Even though Max was a little brat, he was an extremely strong trainer. Almost everyone in the five regions knew who he was.
"Well, I am a big fan of your battling style, Max. I wanted to battle you." Ash said.
Max grinned, clearly drowned in pride.
"Oh. Sure! I'll show you a couple of my moves. However, I won't go easy on you, rookie. So better watch out." Max said.
Ash nodded and turned to Nurse Joy, and said, "Are my Pokemon ready Nurse Joy?"
She nodded and gave him all his Pokeballs. The traitors and everyone else were so busy cheering Max that they didn't notice how many Pokemon Ash had.
He quickly chose six Pokeballs, remembering Max's team, and attached them to a belt on his waist. He put the rest in his bag and turned around.
"Shall we?" he said.
"Of course." Max said.
The traitors, Ash, and every other person in the Pokemon center, headed to the battle field behind the Pokemon center. The two trainers took their spots, and Iris decided to become the referee.
"This is 2v2 match between Max Maple, and…" she pointed towards Ash.
"I'll tell you the name after the battle." Ash said, his tone darker and deeper. Everyone took a step back except Max.
-XX-
Cynthia and Diantha had run into each other on their way to the battle tower. The two of them were close friends. The two of them started chatting, and decided to head over to the Pokemon center, to check on the tournament Status. As they were talking and heading towards the entrance of the center, they heard loud cheers coming from the back of the center. Clearly confused, the two of them ran towards the back and saw a huge crowd. Almost a hundred people were present there, and it was clear that a battle was going here.
The moment people realized that Cynthia and Diantha had arrived, they went haywire.
"Hey look the Sinnoh Champion! And the Kalos Champion!"
"Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha! Cynthia! Diantha!"
This was all that could be heard.
The two of them waved at everyone and after signing some autographs, looked at the trainers in the battle box's
On one side, they could see Max and the other traitors standing beside them. They knew everything about the betrayal, and their expressions turned furious. All the traitors except Max, Brock and Cilan hung their heads down in shame.
Brock and Cilan winked at the two champions, and they both sighed and ignored.
They looked at the other side, at the trainer in the second box.
"Hey! That's Ash!" Diantha though to herself.
"That's the trainer I met yesterday!" Cynthia said to Diantha, her smile widening.
"You've met him?" Diantha asked her, surprised.
"Yeah! He's really, really sweet. And he's hilarious." Cynthia said, giggling to herself.
The pair waved towards Ash, who replied with a smirk and a nod.
"Okay! Battle BEGIN!" Iris shouted. The crowd cheered and roared, yelling Max's name.
"Okay! Okay! Chill! Let me destroy him!" Max said, as everyone except the Champions laughed.
Max took out a Pokeball and threw it into the air.
"Sceptile! I choose you!" he yelled, and a green colored huge gecko came out. He growled at Ash, who didn't flinch at all.
"His starter. Hm. Let's see. I wanna beat him with a type disadvantage though." Ash thought.
"What's wrong rookie? Scared already?" Max commented, and Ash looked at him.
That was it. Ash decided to put Dima's advice aside and go all out.
He took a Pokeball and threw it into the air.
"Greninja! Aura Bond!" he yelled, confusing everyone at his choice of words.
The evolved form of Frogadier came out. The moment he came out, everyone gasped. This Greninja had clearly trained a LOT. Average Greninja's were usually 1.5 meters in height. This Greninja's height was 6 feet. That was 2 meters. Also, he clearly looked overpowered. The way he carried himself looked disciplined and he gave a small bow towards his trainer, who returned it with his own, and the people were surprised at the strong bond.
"A Greninja? Fwahahaha! You idiot! You're at a type disadvantage!" Max laughed.
Ash didn't reply, and Greninja took his battle stance.
"Sceptile, use Razor Leaf" Max said, as Sceptile threw the leaves at Greninja at an amazing speed.
Ash didn't say anything, as he was telepathically talking with Greninja.
"Dodge at the extremely last moment and jump." Ash said.
Greninja nodded and as the leaves were about to hit him.
Everyone gasped. Greninja had dodged the attack with such a speed, that he wasn't even visible.
"What the hell?! Where is he!?" Max yelled.
Ash smiled, as everyone looked at him. He looked up, and so did everyone, as their jaws dropped to the ground.
Greninja had jumped extremely high and landed back with a flip.
"Greninja! Double Team!" Ash said, as Greninja formed multiple copies of itself and glared at Sceptile. Sceptile looks scared.
"Whoah!" Max shouted. The quality of the attack was tremendous. Every copy looked as if it was Greninja itself. None of them could be suspected.
"Using Extremespeed, run around Sceptile in circles, but don't tackle him." Ash said.
The crowd was clearly cheering for Ash now. They were shouting and cheering, as Greninja had clearly become their favorite.
Sceptile was unable to focus. Many Greninja's were running around him at an extremely fast pace.
"Finish it Greninja. Use Water Pulse!" Ash said, and Greninja's copies disappeared.
Greninja jumped even higher than before and he threw a pulse of water at Sceptile.
"Huh! Pointless! It won't do anything!" Max said.
Ash smiled.
Greninja landed back on the ground, and wasn't panting at all.
Sceptile could be seen, lying spread eagle on the ground. He had swirls for his eyes.
"Sceptile is unable to battle? Max, send out your next Pokemon!" Iris said.
The crowd cheered for Ash, who didn't react and kept staring at Max."
Cynthia was shocked. The man had amazing skills, it looked like he was really strong.
"Maybe even stronger than me. Who is he?" she thought.
"Wow! He is great!" Diantha exclaimed.
"His Greninja reminds me of Ash!" Cynthia said, and Diantha nodded, giggling inwardly.
Max was furious.
"Hey! You cheated right? How could you defeat me! You're a rookie! And you were at type disadvantage!" Max yelled and complained.
"I definitely didn't cheat." Ash said, smiling, "And I'm not going to say anything about the rookie part, but I think I can tell you what happened."
"Clearly," Ash continued, "My Greninja has been training with me a lot. We've been through pretty intense training together." He said.
Everyone was satisfied with the answer, but Ash continued, "But it is true. Having type disadvantage, no Pokemon can be strong enough to defeat its opponent in a single blow. But I kept a couple of things in mind."
"One. You surely noticed that I talk to my Pokemon telepathically. This mad Sceptile nervous. Two. When I executed extremespeed, Sceptile focused most of its energy in figuring out where Greninja was, so he didn't focus on his defense. And three. I used my telepathy skills to my advantage. When Greninja was running in circles, I told him to use Leer continuously. He had used leer on Sceptile around four times. So my single attack was enough to take you down." Ash finished.
Every person was silent. They couldn't believe it. The mysterious trainer executed his surprise tricks during pressure. He was one hell of a trainer.
Cynthia and Diantha were shocked.
"Man, he's gonna be a tough competitor." Diantha thought
"Shit, he's amazing." Cynthia whispered.
"Fine. You're dead now. Gallade! Finish him!" Max yelled, as his white Bipedal Pokemon came out. He looked confident and strong, but no one cheered this time. They were more interested in Ash's next choice.
Ash simply nodded and took a Pokeball out of his belt. Greninja got off the field and stood beside Ash.
Ash threw the Pokeball in the air, and yelled, "Glaceon! Aura Bond!"
The tiffany blue arctic fox came out, and stood on the battlefield. Her charm and cuteness had everyone go crazy. Even Gallade had lost his focus for a second.
"Hello!? Gallade to earth!" Ash shouted.
Max growled at him, as everyone laughed.
"That's it! Destroy this asshole! Gallade! Use Close Combat!" Max yelled.
Gallade ran towards Glaceon at a really fast pace, ready to fight.
Ash simply nodded, and so did Glaceon.
"Hey! That's just like Diantha!" someone in the audience yelled, and everyone praised Ash and Diantha. Diantha simply smiled and waved her hand as a thank you.
In the meanwhile, Glaceon had gotten out of the way, and was gracefully dodging every blow Gallade was landing.
Gallade was feeling tired, and the moment he stopped, Ash yelled, "Glaceon! Use Attract"!
Everyone watched carefully, as Glaceon winked and hearts popped around her. The moment Gallade saw that, he had hearts in his eyes, as he danced around, clearly fazed in Glaceon's features.
"Gallade! Snap out of it!" Max yelled, but it was no use.
"Okay then. Glaceon use Ice Beam. And make it strong, I want Gallade frozen."
Glaceon let out an icy cold beam of energy, which hit Gallade.
"It's no use, rookie. Ice attacks are weak against Gallade." Max said, laughing.
Ash sighed.
"He still thinks type advantage matters?" Ash thought.
The Ice Beam froze Gallade solid, as he couldn't move.
"Great work, Glaceon. Now use Hailstorm!" Ash yelled, as a huge storm of hail covered Gallade.
It hailed for a few minutes, and Gallade took another few minutes to get back.
The moment he had thawed, Max yelled, "Gallade! Use Psychic!"
Gallade was panting hard, and took some time to execute the attack.
However, the moment his eyes glowed blue, Ash yelled, "Glaceon! Use Shadow Ball!"
Everyone was surprised, as Glaceon launched a dark purple ball at Gallade, who was hit hard, and landed a few meters back, eventually fainting.
"Gallade… is u-un-u-unable to ba-battle! The red trainer wins!" Iris said.
Everyone cheered for him, and the champions looked at him in awe.
"Amazing. His tactics are simply amazing!" Cynthia stuttered.
"Wow, Ash. You've improved drastically." Diantha thought.
Everyone was cheering for Ash, and he waved back. Glaceon climbed on his shoulder and licked his cheek.
Ash scratched her head, as Glaceon cooed in pleasure.
"HOW!?" Max yelled at the top of his lungs, which made everyone go quiet.
"YOU WERE AT A DISADVANTAGE! YOU'RE JUST A ROOKIE! HOW DID YOU DO IT?!" Max yelled.
"Again? God, stop it." Ash said.
Everyone looked at him, including the traitors, who were glaring at him.
"Type advantage doesn't matter. Your skill and practice does." Ash said.
"You want me to tell you my plan this time too? Fine. Now listen carefully." Ash continued, as everyone looked at him and listened. They were interested in hearing his tactics, as he was so great at all this.
"I had figured it out that you hadn't learned your lesson related to the type advantage. Therefore, I chose a weaker type against you again. This made you overconfident, and you could not focus. Nevertheless, you also didn't want to take any chances, so you used a super effective attack against Glaceon, i.e. close combat. However, you forgot that Close combat lowers the users' defense and Sp. Defense. I used that to my advantage, and tired Gallade out. Then, when he was taking his time to regain his strength, I took that chance and froze him with ice beam. It hadn't affected him much, but hailstorm did it. Gallade took some damage from the hail, and due to being frozen for a long time, he took a lot of damage. This lowered his defense extremely. Therefore, when he thawed, you directed him to use Psychic. Unfortunately, you forgot his defense was low, and he used all his power in the attack, while his defense being almost zero. I again used that to my advantage, and used a super effective attack, Shadow Ball." He ended his explanation.
Not a single person was there whose jaw was not on the floor. They were completely shocked at the young trainers' tactics. He had managed to defeat one of the strongest trainers in the world in a jiffy.
They all cheered for him, and he waved at everyone. He looked at Cynthia and winked who blushed hard and received a nudge from Diantha. As he was heading back, Max yelled, "Hey! What's your name?!"
Ash froze.
"I think its time." He thought.
He turned around and gave everyone a look. He smiled and recalled Glaceon. He threw another Pokeball out, as his Pikachu came out and ran up to his shoulder.
Majority of the people looked confused, but Cynthia's eyes widened a bit.
"The only person I knew who used to travel with Pikachu like that was..." she thought to herself, the blood frozen in her veins.
Ash then looked at Greninja, who closed his eyes. The moment he opened it, water swirled around him and formed a shuriken at his back. Suddenly, he changed his form, and looked like Ash. His appearance looked extremely similar to his trainer.
Most of the people were still confused, but Diantha's smile grew wider and Serena gasped.
"It can't be!" Serena yelled, as everyone looked at her.
"No! It's a lie! You're a fake right?!" she yelled again, as everyone looked at her in confusion.
Ash started walking away.
For the last time, Serena yelled, "Ash?! Ash Ketchum?!"
The moment she said those words, it was as if time had frozen. Every person who was present there was shocked.
Cynthia couldn't believe it. Tears had started rolling down her eyes, as she looked at him.
"Oh my god. Oh my god." She thought, as she fell to her knees, and Diantha sat down at her side, hugged her and whispered, "You found what you were looking for."
Cynthia looked at Ash, who looked back at her. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he blew a kiss towards her.
Cynthia smiled and cried even more.
"Bingo." was all he said.
He called his Charizard out, ran over to Cynthia, grabbed her hand, and flew away with her on the huge dragon, leaving the shocked crowd behind.
- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-
God. I am done with the third chapter. Holy shit. I am really tired, so I am gonna go sleep now. The only things that I will explain for now are that:-
Ash may seem really really OP, but that's not true. Max is a weak trainer, as compared to Ash. The battle will be tougher against the champions.
Dima will return in the next chapter, and he will reunite with Diantha. There also be a segment of his experience on the ship.
God my hands. Phew.
Hang around for the next chapter.
BaneP,
Off for now!