"Ash… Ashy… no…"

"…"

Ash felt like he wanted to just run away, but… he couldn't. Misty, May, Dawn and Serena were hugging him as close as they could, with their lost friend feeling their warm embrace but still being shadowed by the dark thoughts that were going into his mind.

"Everyone… I've betrayed… mom…" he choked.

"No, Ashy… you have not."

"…"

"…"

"How… how have I… not?"

"…"

"Ashy… let us... hug you." May said sweetly, as she was crying with him.

Ash did not say anything, and did not move from there. He couldn't get over betraying his mother, but he wanted to at least get over the initial shock. He let himself to be embraced by his friends as they all kept crying. They knew that it wasn't the exact moment to get to the plan, with so many emotions taking over.

"So… THIS… is why I've left… for two years?! I've betrayed… you all. I don't deserve you…"

"…"

"…"

Ash once again felt ready to break the embrace and run away, but the girls sensed this and hugged him even tighter, and something cool happened. Serena and Dawn's Pokeballs reacted and out came Delphox and Togekiss, who joined the hug.

"...Delphox?… Togekiss?"

"Yes, Ash…" Serena smiled.

"Do you see… this?"

More Pokeballs reacted, this time it was Mamoswine, Pachirisu and Blaziken. Then it was Psyduck and Politoed, and then Quilava and Pancham came out. Finally, even Misty's Gyarados was there for him.

And finally, Ash's own Pokeball reacted, the only Pokemon he had with him at that time. It was his Gengar, who looked at him before sneaking with his ghost-type abilities and cuddling up with him close.

Ash felt a massive, comforting weight pushing against his body. He began to calm down when he noticed that everyone was there for him.

"See, Ash?" Misty spoke. "You haven't betrayed anyone."

"…"

"…"

"...I… guess…"

"It's not `you guess`, Ash." Dawn spoke. "You have NOT betrayed anyone. We were all there for you."

"Thank you… everyone…" he said as he choked in tears again, with the girls and their Pokemon cuddling up with him.

After about fifteen minutes, the girls have finally broken the embrace and called their Pokemon back, not before thanking them. Then Ash recalled his Gengar, and then the four girls once again hugged him at the same time.

"Hey girls…" Ash said in a slightly better mood. "Why do you hug me… so often?"

"We'll let you know when the time comes." Serena sweetly said.

Meanwhile at Jira's place

"Ah, so this is your place?" Stephen said.

"Yeah." Jira answered. "It was where Ash lived for two years with me. By the way, looks like someone is coming."

"Hey guys," Goh spoke.

"Stephen here, nice to meet you."

"So Jira, why do you want me to meet Ash Ketchum?" Stephen asked.

"He is a person who ran away from Team Rocket. His mother was in an affair with Giovanni, the boss of Team Rocket."

"That's… shocking. But from what I know, Jira…"

"What do you mean?"

"Giovanni has actually resigned."

"What?!"

"The media still presents him from time to time as the hidden boss of Team Rocket. But I've heard rumours of him being in a happy relationship. That's not how Team Rocket does things."

"How do you know this, Stephen?!"

"I was a Team Rocket admin."

"…"

"…"

"You were in Team Rocket?!"

"Yeah. I resigned because they disrespected me and my family. I once called Ariana a twat for attempting to blackmail my father into giving them $500,000 and they immediately fired me and wrote that article about Blackthorn City."

"But Stephen," Goh said, "I like to imagine that people have braincells. Not everyone is a fucking sheep, after all."

"That's true, but any kind of article can deal damage to the local reputation. Fewer people would like to visit places like the beautiful Dragon's Den. That place is well known as being the only one in Johto where you could find dancing Dragonair. Not to mention fewer money being brought into the city in general, less businesses and so on."

"Then that means you must, no, not must, ABSOLUTELY must meet Ash Ketchum", Jira concluded. He was even more sure of himself than before. "What do you say, shall we have a beer? Or will a juice do?"

"I think I'll just take an orange juice," Stephen said. "I'm curious about this Ash person."

Back to Ash and the girls

"See Ash," Misty said, "this… is what the media does."

"All because of some idiots and now articles are gonna be written about me and you girls." Ash spoke. "Everyone… I want to go beat Team Rocket after this tournament."

"We will come with you." May said, with great confidence. "We too, have a bone to pick with them."

"May…?"

"We've told you everything." Serena spoke.

"I get it." Ash smiled. "I'll be counting on you, as well."

"Now listen Ash, I want to deal the finishing blow." Serena smiled.

"No, it's gonna be me!" May shouted.

"No, me!"

"Now, now… girls, don't do that." Ash smiled. "It's not the time to make a plan, honestly. It's okay to just go with emotional reactions or something right now. We are all filled up with all kinds of thoughts."

"…"

"You know what, you're right, Ashy." May said. "You have some amazing critical thinking moments from time to time."

At Jira's place

"Oh, hey guys! It looks like he's here."

"Hey there, Jira! Oh… Stephen?"

"Ash Ketchum, it's nice to meet you. My name is Stephen Oliveira, and I live in Blackthorn City."

"Nice to meet you, Stephen. I'm from Pallet Town. So… what brings you here?"

"Jira told me about you. You are a great trainer and an enemy of Team Rocket. I was wondering if we could… uh, team up."

"Well… yeah, I hate Team Rocket. How could you help me in this regard?"

"I was a former Team Rocket admin. I can feed you with precious information."

"Sounds great…"

"Look, Ash." Misty spoke. "He… he can confirm everything to you."

"Stephen Oliveira," Ash spoke. "Is… is it true that Giovanni is no longer the boss of Team Rocket?"

"Yes."

"He is in a relationship with Delia, my mother." Ash spoke. "How can we make sure… that they are no longer affiliated?"

"I have a few conversations with him, but what I can tell you is that he might actually be in Pallet Town. Giovanni was acquited of all the accusations."

"How?! What?! He founded this piece of shit organization, he should get life in jail, this idiot!"

"He agreed to send 1000 Team Rocket grunts to the police. He was supposed to get a sentence of 1000 years himself, in other words, a life sentence. Giovanni is trying to turn over a new leaf in his life. He told me that he is trying to receive Arceus into his life."

"What a stupid excuse, to be honest," Ash said. "But… at least my mother is happy, right?"

"Yes, they are in a happy relationship."

"Well, may Arceus forgive him," Ash said. "I feel like I betrayed everyone when I ran away. But Giovanni needs to at least send me his deepest apologies, and maybe I will forgive him as well. He had no reason to chase my Pikachu nor bully me or my friends for years now. Even before he resigned, his activities were downright shady."

"Anyway, Stephen," Ash continued, "I've seen your battle with Jira. I think you are a very competent trainer and I'd be happy to join forces with you. Look, here are my friends, Misty Waterflower, May Maple, Dawn Berlitz and Serena Yvonne. They will help me as well, and they even told me that they want to deal the finishing blow, so to speak." he smiled.

"Nice to meet you all," Stephen said. "I… I think I know you. You were idols back then."

"Yes." Serena said. "I don't want to remember that life again."

"I can understand how it feels… it must have been really tough. I've heard that you weren't sleeping well."

"No." May said. "Sleep is the best… after food."

"So Ash, I'll have a talk with Clair as well. Her dragon-type Pokemon could be of great use."

"That would be great, Stephen. The more, the merrier."

"Clair is my girlfriend, by the way." Stephen said, in a move that shocked Ash. "Me and Clair were childhood friends. She is the one who instructed me on how to get out of the mess I was in. I joined Team Rocket in disguise at her suggestion."

Ash wanted to know more about it, but he was feeling rather sleepy. Nevertheless, he did have a drink with Stephen and talked about other things, mostly Pokemon related, before the two parted ways.

"Hey, Pikachu… let's go." Ash spoke to his electric mouse, as Glaceon, Buneary and Sylveon protested a bit, but finally let him go.

"Thank you for taking care of my buddy," Ash said, as he went inside, where he met up with Goh and Jira. The four girls were also there, hugging him one last time before going to their own bedroom.

"Jira…" Ash spoke.

"Yeah."

"Get ready for tomorrow. Let's do our best."

"This is it", Ash thought. "I'll get my revenge, friend."