Still seething, Ash trudged through the rain loudly, the squelching of his run-down shoes the only sound, besides the overwhelming sound of his blood pumping through his ears, "How could they do that? Say that?!" He thought as he continued through the mud, not caring that his already worn-out red sneakers were getting even more rundown thanks to the rain and mud.

All in all, Ash could deal with what the others had said about him - that he lacked skill and that their was a possibility that he would cheat. That wasn't what bothered him to be honest. It was the fact that Professor Oak - a man he had revered for his whole childhood, hated him and though he was so embarrassing that he would threaten to end the careers of other trainers. Thats what Ash found unforgivable.

A dark cloud of anger was clouding Ash's mind as he came to a stop, his eyes glazed over with hatred and anger as he clenched his fists, twisting around and punching a tree with all; his strength. The punch did nothing to the tree, except making a few leaves shift slightly, floating down and landing softly on the ground surrounding the angry 17-year-old.

"Embarrassing..." Ash whispered to himself, his eyes clouding with angry and misunderstood tears, which slowly began to trickle down his cheeks, the tears mixing with the rain and dripping onto the floor as he turned to look towards the open ocean - by mistake, the boy had found himself in the same area he and Dawn had ventured to before, only this time he was beyond angry.

"Ash...?" A voice suddenly caught Ash's attention, but not enough to make the boy look away from the outstretched ocean in front of him, "What do you want Max?" Ash voiced his thoughts towards the boy, having recognised the voice belonging to the 15-year-old Hoenn native.

"What's wrong?" Max continued as he emerged from the bushes, his outfit slightly damp from the rain, but drying than Ash's. Ash just gave a small chuckle, glancing at the dark-blue haired boy slightly before looking back over the ocean, "Whats right should be the question your asking." Max raised a brow slowly at the response, slowly walking closer to the distressed boy, stopping a few feet away from the boy - as much as he wanted to step closer, he was unsure where he stood with the raven-haired boy.

"Why didn't YOU tell me what they said?" Ash suddenly bite out towards the blue-haired boy, turning to face the boy, who looked confused at the question, "You were there when they were all bad mouthing me, why didn't you tell me what they said? Why leave it to Dawn?" Ash elaborated, his face still twisted in anger, yet, he was still exerting an almost creepy, calm vibe.

"What opportunity did i have to tell you?" Max answered after quietening down for a few minutes, making Ash raise his brow, "Back when i was explaining to Zack and the others what had happened in the past, you came out and told me there was no way you would forgive me." Max started, looking down slightly before looking back at the calm but angry Ash, "But i had a feeling you might forgive Dawn"

"What made you say that?"

"Even back when i was 8, i knew you liked Dawn - i thought out of anyone, she would be the most likely to be forgiven, so i thought it best she be the one to tell you, as she would be the only one you would listen to" Ash took a shaky breath as he listened to Max - his reasoning did make sense, as at 10 Ash did love Dawn, even before he knew it. And out of everyone, Dawn was the most likely to be forgiven.

"You have a chance." Ash suddenly changed the subject, looking away from Max and back out over the ocean. Max blinked, his eyes brimming with hope at Ash's words, "You and the others who didn't want to betray me still have a shot at earning my forgiveness, but i will take some time before i ever trust you guys again - be aware of that" Ash finished, turning and walking away from Max, stopping to glance back at the boy for a split second.

"You coming? If you want to earn my trust back, you will have to travel and prove to me that you deserve my trust" Max blinked, stumbling forward slightly as he quickly caught up to Ash, walking a few steps behind his long time idle.