"How could you do that?" Nicole was the first one to speak, her voice cracking from the anger she felt - thought she and her brothers didn't care for Ash attitude towards them and other people, they now understood the depe wound that Ash carried with him that made him the way he was.

"There's more...this is a bit better information that even Ash doesn't know about" Max spoke softly, not looking the three in the eyes as he continued to tell his story.

It didn't take long for word of Ash's Ketchum's disappearance to spread through out Kanto and the other regions pokemon leagues, all of who owed a lot to Ash for stopping the evil organisations, in some cases saving the region from near destruction.

Lance of the Kanto league was the first to hear of Ash disappearance, and set out to gather information on why the young boy with so much potential had disappeared form the battling circuit for seemingly no reason. Lance knew that Mr. Ketchum had traveled with two of the people he had given the title of gym leaders, so he thought that would be a good place to start.

Asking the two gym leaders gained the man very little information, as they lied through their teeth - claiming they hadn't heard form Ash in years. So lance's next step was to ask Professor Oak, the man who gave Ash the means to become a pokemon trainer in the first place - surely he would know, being that Oak was supposed to keep in constant contact with every trainer he sent of into the world of pokemon training.

Oak was a better resource for information. He told Lance what happened between Ash, himself, his mother, and his friends - which left Lance gob smacked and absolutely furious. It was known around the regions that the regional professor could revoke a trainers licence, but every professor knew that he/she would need to go through the region's champion with substantial evidence in order to fully revoke a licence.

Furious with Oak and his clear disinterest in doing thing the way they were supposed to be done, Lance tore Oak a new one, demanding to know of the location's of Ash's old "friends", as he knew that Oak wouldn't have kept stolen pokemon with him, instead having distributed them among other trainers.

However - professor Oak felt no sympathy for Ash, or any regret for what he had done. With that in mind, he refused to give out the names of the trainers that had been present in the room, and what pokemon had technically been stolen, justifying his actions by saying he was doing the best for Ash and his pokemon.

"Bullshit Oak, you tore the boy down because you saw him as a threat, you saw him as competition. His Pokemon did not betray him over night, they were convinced, you were planning this and it was premeditated."

Oak stood their defiantly - he knew what he had done was wrong, but he didn't care. In his own mind he had done the right thing - so he continued to refuse the names and locations of the others. Seeing as Lance only knew of Brock and Misty, he had to rely on information form the other leagues, but for the time being he had to deal with the two thief's that held spots in his gyms.

"As far as i know, Brock and Misty lost their places as gym leaders - i don't know what happened with everyone else except my sister, who was banned from entering contests - all of them blame Ash for what happened even thought its their own faults" Max continued slowly, blinking tears away form his eyes, "I-I never took any of Ash's pokemon, so they never took my licence away, but i have always regretted what happened that day...i came to Alola hoping to get a new start, but i didn't expect to run into the past" Max finished, lifting his head to look at the three, who bore furious/yet confused looks on their faces.

"Let me see if i understand..." Darwin spoke slowly, the only one of the three who was managing to keep his composure, "You and many of Ash's "friends" decided he cheated and wasn't worthy of being a trainer, so you betrayed his friendship and some of you basically stole his pokemon" Max nodded solemnly at the words, flinching slightly at the monotone sound of the boys voice.

"But, unbeknownst to Ash - the others have basically been caught out in what happened, have lost their careers and all but blame Ash for what has happened?" Max once again nodded, confirming Darwin's summery of what he had told them.

"No wonder Ash is so none-trusting" Zack finally spoke up, taking a slow shaky breath in order to stay calm, "I want to know why? Why would you and the others do that to Ash? I may not have known him for long, but even i can tell he is a fantastic trainer who would never cheat, and one who cars for his partners deeply"

Max sniffed as small tears fell down his face, hiccuping slightly as he started to talk once more, "I-I...I don't have any excuse really" He admitted in defeat, raising a hand to wipe his tears away, "i was only 8 at the time, and i had always looked up to Ash as my hero - but when everyone started saying he had cheated, i become confused and disheartened that my hero had resorted to cheating in order to win"

"But as time went by, i did research and found there was no known pokemon drug that could do what happened to his pokemon - i was convinced the others had to be wrong, and i was riddled with guilt after what i had done, having not stood up for someone who had allowed me to travel with him, even though i wasn't a trainer and couldn't offer anything to his journey"

"I looked everywhere for Ash so i could tell him how i felt, but i could never find him - eventually i gave up, accepting that i had screwed up big time, and there was no way i would get a chance to rectify what i had done" Max finished with a sigh, "After giving up, i decided to travel to a different region for a new start - but i didn't expect to run into you guys, or Ash..."

"well...why don't you tell Ash how you feel? maybe he will understand..." Nicole spoke up slowly, making Max shake his head, "Nothing i say could ever make up for what i did..."

"He's right you know" A sudden voice interrupted them, making them all turn towards the mouth of the cave, only to see a soaked Ash and Pikachu staring at them with a cold look.

"Ash? How long have you been there?" "Long enough to know you know about my past, and long enough to know how Max feels towards me" Ash retorted sharply as he took a few steps into the cave, using his hand to move his soaked hair out of his eyes so he could look at the four trainers, "The only thing i can say si that he is right - nothing he can say or do will ever make up for what happened" Ash stated after a few seconds of staring at them, making Max look down sadly, "But i am glad to here that the others got what is coming to them - i also have some questions of my own that i want you answer"

Max just nodded slowly in confusion, confused as to how and why Ash had found them after declaring he was leaving.

"What became of the others? Also, why did my pokemon betray me, and who ended up with them?" Max blinked slowly before deciding to tell the truth, believing it was the least he could after what he did, "I don't really know what became of the others, as they all elft for their own regions - i'm guessing the same thing that happened to Brock and Misty is what happened to the others"

"As for your pokemon, i only know what May told me" Max spoke truthfully, watching as Ash crossed his arms, waiting for the boy to continue, "May told me that the Professor...or ex-professor sold your Tauros to safari zones around the world. As for you other pokemon, I honestly don't know - May wouldn't tell me who got who, no matter how many times i asked her"

Ash closed his eyes before nodding and turning away, "Good to know." He stated as he disappeared back into the thickness of the storm that fell over Alola, "Wait! Ash!" Zack called out, cursing as Ash didn't look back, completely disappearing into the craziness of the storm.