Alright yay (unenthusiastic crowd) I'm back with a long awaited chapter, yeah I kinda went MIA but so much went on and I didn't and couldn't find the time to write the story but now I'm definitely trying to make an effort and continue on. So yeah, you guys will find that I have put my own twist on several elements so if you're reading and all of a sudden start thinking, "Wait, this isn't right, or that's not how it works". well, it's my world now and that's how it's working because I want to shake it up a bit. Enjoy, hate it, I don't know, but if you have the chance then leave a review to let me know if anyone is actually reading this or if I just wasted five hours of sleep for nothing.

(Flashback/Mt. Silver)

He tipped his hat forward, shielding his face from Ash and Red as he kept his body facing forward, preferring to face the peak of the mountain,"When I am gone from this world, you will be the last remaining aura guardian in existence, it's important you understand just how serious this matter is".

Ash seemed expressionless, only crossing his arms as he leaned back on the boulder next to Red who was sitting on it, "I do, and I won't fail you, or Sir aaron". he looked down at his palms, watching as a fiery blue aura crept out of them.

Red had laid back on the hard surface of the boulder, "Once we send you out into the world again, you will no longer be the weak little kid you once were, you will leave having the heart and spirit of a destined champion, you will show your enemies courage and determination and nothing more".

"Yes". He nodded, walking up to the very edge of the cliff, Lucario followed right beside him while Pikachu jumped on top of it's trainer's shoulder, all three of them now staring out to the scenery.

"One final thing". both Riley and Ash turned to Red who had jumped off the boulder.

"What is it?" he asked, staring somewhat in curiosity.

"Trust no one, those with the crowns have the most tainted hands, but also, distance yourself from the people of your past, they can either become your greatest weapon, or your greatest fall".

"Hm….." he had nothing to say in response to Red's words, but rather instead asked something different.

"Red…..what exactly were you before vanishing from existence?"

Riley reacted to the question, now looking at Red who became silent to the question, calm and collected as ever, yet unresponsive to Ash.

"I was once the King….the best of the best, but as I said, the ones with the crowns have the most tainted hands…..I left, I abandoned my life after discovering the truth, and I vanished from society, but with my actions came deadly consequences, and those who were the closest to me became the target of consequence…"

"What do you mean?"

"...It means, there is darkness everywhere, no matter how much you try to escape it, it will always find you, and haunt you, one way, or another".

(Present)

He made his way over to the glasses boy, ignoring the glowing expression emitting from Max as he got closer.

"A-ash…...I can't believe it's really you". he muttered, still in shock by the raven haired boy's presence.

He nodded, attempting to keep short interaction with the young trainer, "It's been awhile, how are you?"

"I'm doing good, I got into the top four at the Ever Grande conference and was runner up in the Indigo League and even managed to defeat the battle frontier, and you?"

"...that's great, I've just been traveling around". Max frowned upon hearing those words, knowing right away that Ash was lying.

"Ash, where have you been all these years? What happened to you?"

He quirked an eyebrow, staring at Max curiously, "I don't know what you're talking about".

He sighed, seeming a bit understanding as he remembered the events from years ago, "I mean-"

His words were cut off by Ash's, eyes piercing through him ever so coldly, "I'm sorry Max, but let's try to focus more on our upcoming match, that's what I originally came for".

A slight feeling of disappointment hit him, he watched as the older raven haired male got farther and farther away, disappearing behind the crowd as he stood solely to look at his soon to be rivals.

(Dawn/May/Brock)

"Am I truly seeing this? Is that…..is that really my dear Ash?" her voice began cracking, the image of her son on screen was too much, he was no longer the young boy she had remembered, but a grown man.

Dawn placed her hand over Delia's shoulder, "It is…...and he's competing in the tournament as well".

"I don't believe this, after so many years of thinking the worst, we find him in the most prestigious tournament ever, it truly is fate". Professor Oak had folded his hands together in front of his mouth, staring assertively towards Ash's image, and then over to Gary's.

"But look…" Caroline pointed to the screen where they all finally realized that Ash and Max's images were paired together.

May had gasped silently to herself, "No way, they're paired up together for the double battle round".

Brock crossed his arms, "Not only that, but it also seems Iris and Misty have been paired up as well".

(Back inside the Hall)

"Well well, I didn't expect this at all, but alas, we will battle in the arena once more". Her lips curved into a calm smile, making the redhead somewhat uncomfortable and irritated.

"Trinity….it's been awhile…..how are you?" she did her best to remain calm in front of her opponent, but the older female giggled upon seeing past her mask.

"I'm doing well, five wins straight in the whirl cup sure does get a bit boring when the competition isn't that strong, hopefully you can bring some excitement to our match soon".

A smirk followed quickly across the redhead's mouth, "Count on it".

Iris stood solely by, watching the scene closely and feeling the light tension growing from Misty, she waited until Trinity had left to start questioning her.

"What was that about?" she asked, staring curiously at Misty who shook her head with a sigh.

"That's trinity, I guess you can say an old rival of mines…...she brutally beat me in the whirl cup several years ago, and when I decided to give it another shot….fate had repeated itself, taking a long hard look at myself, she is the reason why I worked so hard to become the most powerful water type gym leader in Kanto….I cannot lose to her this time".

"Then we better start talking strategy, because I'm not about to be kicked out of this competition so easily".

"Hm". she nodded to Iris's words, the two of quickly wandered off, talking below normal voice as they escaped the crowd.

Wallace had appeared back on the screen, "Alright ladies gentlemen! We have given the team's 30 minutes in order to get acquainted with one another, but now it's time to start this tournament! And starting us off will be the random pick of…" he pointed up at the jumbo screen where teams were shuffled about.

Four of them had been selected, revealing two pairs, Blue and red, "Teams 1 and 6"!

"Looks like we're up first". Max stared at the screen which revealed his picture alongside Ash's, across from there's were the photos of the opponents they would be facing.

Lance chuckled as he comfortably shifted in his throne, "What an interesting way to start off the tournament, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah….." nodded the blonde, keeping her eyes glued to Ash's image as a sigh escaped her lips.

Two men in a referee's outfit came searching the crowd, "Teams 1 and 6! Follow Us!"

Ash made his way towards where they were at, only to be stopped as his arm was pulled, he looked to the source, finding Gary only inches away from him, hazel eyes piercing him like razors.

"Gone without a trace for almost 8 years and you return without so much as a notice…...just who the hell do you think you are, do you even realize just how much of a scar you left on everybody?"

He remained silent, staring back at Gary with an expressionless face, "Just who the hell do you think you are! Huh!"

His patience was shortened when he had grabbed the raven haired trainers shirt, pulling him in closer, enough that Ash could now hear the grinding noise of Gary's teeth clenched together.

All heads were turned towards the two males, silence followed after which was quickly broken by the whispers of the people surrounding them.

"..." Paul stared with his usual cold expression, while Max watched from afar, already beside the referee who was ready to escort him.

"Oh no…" muttered Misty, putting both hands over her mouth as she waited for the worst between the two.

He placed his hands over the brunette's wrists, tightening his grip on them as he pushed Gary away, "Who am I?"

A smirked slithered across his lips, "I'm the very best…" his back was turned towards the brunette, giving the former researcher only a view of Ash walking away.

"...And pretty soon, I'll be the legend of this tournament".

He felt a sharp presence staring at him and spun back, noticing that Leaf was glaring madly towards his direction, her emerald colored eyes now turning into almost a dark hue.

"Ngh….." he couldn't hold it in but knew he had to, his blood began boiling, the sight of Ash acting normally bothered him more so, leaving the brunette to quietly bite down on his thumb for restraint.

"There they go…" whispered Iris, following the four trainers who disappeared into the hall leading outside to the stadium field.

(Stadium Battle Field)

"Ladies and gentlemen here we are! Only seconds away from the first match of this year's Legends tournament, competing on team one are Max Maple from Petalburg town in the Hoenn region, and Ash Ketchum from Pallet town in the Kanto region!"

"My Ash…..how he's grown….." Delia's voice became quiet and delicate, similar to a whisper with the other's able to hear her as well.

Professor Oak nodded, but rubbed his chin as he hummed below hearing range, "He sure has…..but something seems awfully different about him".

"What do you mean?" questioned Brock, scooting forward in order to be near the professor.

"I can't quite put my finger on it".

"He grew taller?" answered May in question form, he shook his head.

"He got new clothes?" Cilan followed after only to be denied like the brunette.

Norman chuckled, "What exactly are you referring to Professor Oak? Ash seems perfectly fine to me, just the same as he was years ago".

"No….." they all looked back to face Dawn who was now shifting uncomfortably in her seat, slowly twiddling her thumbs as she faced down.

"Dawn?" May watched with a worried expression.

She shook her head once, "He is different, he's not a kid anymore, just like you and I, Ash has matured, you could see it in his eyes, the trainer you all thought was hopeless….. has now become a trainer to be feared".

They had nothing to respond back with, only turning back to the field where they laid there eyes on the raven haired trainer who stood coolly beside Max, waiting for their signal for the match to begin.

Wallace pointed his arm towards Max and Ash's opponents, "...And on team six! We have Ritchie Hiroshi from Frodomar City in the Kanto region! And his partner, Tyson Tetsuya from Mauville city in the Hoenn region!"

"You gotta be kidding me". May's jaw began parting open from shock.

Brock released a harsh sigh, scratching his head in angst as they all turned to him, prepared with questions regarding his reaction, "I can feel it already, this match will not be easy for the two of them".

"What is it?" asked Delia, already worried if Ash would be in trouble.

"Ritchie is an old rival of Ash's, a strong one at that and who Ash lost to in the Indigo League".

"Oh dear, that's right". she whimpered, clasping both hands over her mouth.

"What do you know about their opponents May?" Caroline turned to her daughter who began rubbing her arm nervously.

"Tyson was another rival of Ash's who he lost to in the Ever grande conference, he's a powerful pokemon league winner, I don't know how those two will do it, but let's hope they're tough enough to take them down".

Norman crossed his arms, "Have faith in your brother, he's trained long and hard for this moment, no way will he let himself be beaten so easily".

"Neither will Ash". commented Dawn, watching the raven haired trainer with a hopeful gaze.

The referee held his green flag up, "The following will be a double battle! Each trainer will use only three pokemon and whichever team is left without any party members will be disqualified, winners will advance to round 2! Trainers! Are you ready?!"

They each pulled out a pokeball, connecting gazes with one another as a quick wave of tension sparked from in between.

He smirked upon finally getting a chance to notice his opponents, Ritchie flashed him a wide smile, "Long time no see Ash, I knew one day we'd end up like this again".

He held back a chuckle, "Sure has, but don't think it'll be the same as before, because I'll be the one advancing to the next round".

"Is that right?". Tyson laughed, holding his pokeball out towards the two, "I've been wondering what you've been doing since the Ever grande conference, now I'll finally get to see how much you've grown!"

"I promise you, it'll be more than you can handle".

He brought the flag down, "Let the battle begin!"

They threw their pokeballs all at once,

"Gallade Let's go!"

"Pikachu! I choose you!"

"Sparky! It's all you!"

"Meowth! It's on!"

The stadium echoed with their screeches and cries, the crowd lit up with cheers and screams as the alarm sounded out, the screen had each of their images on opposite sides with images of their pokemon secretly blocked with a pokeball icon.

"So you have a raichu now". commented the raven haired boy, staring at Ritchie's sparky who was now fully evolved, the patch of hair being the only nostalgically recognizable thing.

He nodded, "Yup, we thought long and hard, but in the end, I left the decision up to sparky who chose to become stronger".

"Rai-rai!" it had a venomous glare, spark's of electricity began emitting from its cheek sacs.

Max looked back and forth between the two electric types, *Two pokemon from the same evolutionary line pinned against each other, what will Ash do?*

Tyson quickly took action, "Guess I'll do the honors! Meowth! Use Night slash on Pikachu!"

It quickly disappeared, reappearing again as it was on the move and then vanished once more, "Stay calm pikachu". ordered the cap wearing trainer.

He shot a fist upwards, "Let's go Sparky! Use thunderbolt on Gallade!"

It growled as its cheek pouches lit up, it's body was engulfed in orange energy, releasing a powerful beam of electricity towards gallade.

He pushed his glasses up, "Slice through it with psycho cut!"

"Ga-gallade!" It took off, racing towards the bolt of electricity which came heading towards its direction. It's blades quickly expanded, now glowing with a purple energy as it swiftly performed a series of hypnotizing movements which allowed it to release multiple purple, crescent shaped energy blades directly into the electric attack, destroying it in one hit with the after effects of a thick smoke.

"Meowth!" it appeared above pikachu, positioning it's sharp claws out which were covered with a dark mist.

"Use Volt tackle". it's body became shrouded with electricity, causing the electric type's figure to appear black and white behind the sparks, it swiftly charged upwards, tackling the feline pokemon who hissed upon contact, now being tackled up into the air with force, unable to move.

He shot his hand forward, "Iron tail!"

"Pikachu!" it leaped further up ahead, doing a front flip as it's tail turned metal, it brought it straight down on Meowth who was hit once more, now being shot down on the ground viciously.

"Meowth!" his eyes shifted to Ash who had the same smirk from before.

"Sparky! focus a thunder attack on Pikachu!" it's attention was now turned on pikachu who was still in mid air, it's devious glare came back, with a slight growl it unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning from above the sky to shoot directly down on Pikachu.

"Pi-pikachu!" it cried as it was hit, now jolting from the power of the thunder surrounding it.

A scoff like chuckle escaped his lips, "We've done more than just train, we've unlocked the secrets behind power manipulation…."

He closed his hand into a fist, "Absorb it!"

"Pi…..ka…...chuuuuu!" it's cry got louder, the energy from the thunder now aiming for the ground was being sucked back up and being absorbed by the small mouse type.

"W-what…..impossible". he muttered.

"Incredible". whispered Max, distracted by the amazing sight of pikachu's thunder absorption.

Tyson took notice, now aiming his arm towards Max and gallade, "Meowth! Use double team!

The normal type emerged from the thick smoke, now doubling itself into multiple copies and surrounding Gallade who quickly looked back and forth to it's sides.

"Huh?" his eyes widened when he saw the ring of Meowth's surrounding his pokemon.

He snapped his fingers, "Use water pulse!"

"No!"

Their eyes began glowing blue, the ground beneath them started quaking as a vicious water vortex swallowed the fighting type from thin air.

"Ga...gallade!" it screeched, taking massive damage from the spiraling attack.

"Now send it right back with Electro ball!"

"What!"

"...Chuuu!" the thunder was gone, all of it now harbored within Pikachu who did a quick spin, aiming it's tail down towards Raichu, a giant yellow sphere glowing with an orange core appeared at the tip, being four times the original size of the attack.

"Pikachu!" it shot electro ball straight down, too fast that it didn't give enough time for Raichu to dodge who was stricken directly, a giant explosion formed quickly upon hitting, now causing a wave of harsh gusts to blow towards every direction.

"Sparky! No!" he clenched his jaw tightly, using both arms to shield his face from the dust blowing to his face.

"Breakthrough with vacuum wave!"

It's eyes shot open, the blades on its forearms extended out with a powerful white glow and it began rotating, picking more speed up until the vortex was now being reversed and shifted to the opposite direction, eventually bursting open as it was destroyed.

"Do it!" he shouted.

It had taken the form of a giant twister, now racing across the field as the copies of meowth were destroyed by the powerful gusts.

"Rai…..rai…" the electric type revealed itself, still standing but with major injuries inflicted on it, barely able to stand as it's cheeks began sparking up in anger.

"Sparky! Focus punch straight at pikachu!" It charged straight towards pikachu, holding up it's fist which began glowing a light blue.

"Counter it with thunderpunch!"

They're fists clashed, blue and yellow sparking together to cause a green color in between with a piercing sound.

"Alright Meowth! Use double team once more and then Shadow ball!" It jumped into the air, multiplying like before and releasing several powerful dark colored sphere's towards Gallade who was racing after them.

"Destroy them!" shouted Max, watching as his pokemon spiraled through each shadow ball and drilled into each Meowth, eventually coming into contact with the real one who was sent racing across the field, coming to an end when it crashed against the stadium's walls, leaving a surface of cracks behind.

A leer followed on Ritchie's lips, "Now use mega kick!"

It cackled deviously, overpowering pikachu who was pushed back, it's knee lit up with a red glow, swiftly bringing it up where it struck Pikachu from under, sending the electric type up into the sky with a piercing screech.

"What the….." Sparky's body had currents of electricity running across it's body, unable to move.

He was startled by Ash's calm chuckling, "Surprised? You should have known better than to play out a physical attack, now your pokemon's paralyzed from Pikachu's static".

"How? Our pokemon have the same ability, that means pikachu should have been paralyzed as well!"

He shook his head, pointing up towards Pikachu who seemed to be charging on electricity, "Lightning Rod".

"Lightning Rod?"

He nodded this time, "Pikachu's second ability".

He was taken aback, as was Max who had been hearing the entire time, "Impossible! A pokemon can only have one".

"Heh, but it is possible, with the perfect training, I've been able to strengthen my pokemon, so much that I had achieved in unlocking the second ability within them, Pikachu's being lightning rod, and with that, every electric attack released on the field will be immediately directed towards Pikachu who will absorb it without any damage, not only that, but because static is of electric type, it will only get absorbed like any other thunder attack".

They all looked onto Professor Oak who seemed just as surprised as the rest, "Professor….is that true?"

"It…..it is, but I've only ever studied pikachu's with either the ability static, or the ability lightning rod, never have I seen a pokemon be able to activate two abilities, it's just absurd, impossible".

Norman blew out through his mouth, causing a slight whistle as he was still stunned, "Well, believe it, because Ash has clearly proved it".

His lip curved up, revealing a sharp toothed grin, "Give them a taste of your Thunder pikachu".

The clouds began thickening quickly, the sky darkened a bit, a giant roaring startled the crowd and then blinded them as a destructive thunderbolt came crashing down onto Raichu who cried and growled from the heating pain, it's body jolted back and forth uncontrollably, leaving a blast of smoke to explode and surround the field as the ground began surfacing with cracks from the attack.

"I guess I forgot to mention, whenever electricity is absorbed by pikachu, it's attacks get powered up three times more than it's original range, round up the amount of power it still had stored from earlier and…"

The smoke cleared up, revealing Raichu flat on the ground within a small crater, eyes closed and completely KO'ed.

"...Your pokemon are finished".

"Meowth and Raichu are no longer able to battle! Trainers! Call out your next pokemon!"

"He's gotten stronger….much stronger…" Misty's eyes were glued to the screen.

"F-for a kid I guess". mumbled Iris, crossing her arms defensively, she looked away, biting her lower lip as she peeked back over to the screen, a somewhat angst expression now washing over her.

A smirk appeared on Paul's lips, he shoved his hands into his pockets, staring up at the screen like everyone else, "Hmph…you've outgrown your weak little self, I'm impressed".

Diantha settled her eyes onto the raven haired trainer, a glint on her eye appeared as she crossed her legs, "Ash is certainly amazing, two abilities for a pokemon? I've never seen such a thing, but then again, I shouldn't expect anything less from a special boy like him".

Alder nodded in agreement, "Ash has certainly left an impact on me since the first time I met him, now he is proving he has plenty of potential to become much more than just a winner".

Lance folded his hands over his mouth, crouching over on his chair as he placed his elbows on his thighs, "You're right…...he has the potential to become "The" one".

Her head quickly snapped over to the redhaired champion, "What did you just say?"

Steven intervened, "Lance is right, since the disappearance of the Kanto champion, not a single trainer has risen up and proven to be able to defeat the substitute Elite four, we cannot have Kanto without a champion, and League rules state that if a champion cannot emerge through battle, it will be the duty of the neighboring champions from other regions to decide on a trainer who is fit for the duties as champion".

"Are you suggesting Ash is a close fit for champion?"

They looked at one another, exchanging glances as they turned to the blonde simultaneously with a nod, Steven stood up, he walked over to the edge of the balcony, facing down towards Ash, "It's not something we are guaranteeing, but seeing how Ash has progressed over the years, he is becoming a strong candidate, however, we'll still be examining him as the tournament continues in order to confirm our decision".

Alder had leaned back in his chair, taking a sip from his drink, "Kanto is the leading region in the world which harbors the most powerful Elite four league ever, the champion has to be just as strong and befitting as it's people, and of all the trainers I could remember, there was only one who fit the title, a boy who Ash resembles much to our luck".

Lance sighed in frustration, "Unfortunately, that boy had to vanish out of thin air, leaving Kanto championless, not only that, but his Elite four team vanished as well, luckily, we have former members from the Elite four filling in in the meantime".

Her gray eyes lightened as she saw Ash on the field, a smile formed on her lips, but it quickly faded as she turned her attention to the sky.

*Red, did you plan this as well? Or is fate allowing Ash to finally be recognized as the strongest trainer in the world*

Yup so there you have it, chapter 5, I know it's been like what…..a year? couple months? I'm not sure but I'm not about to count either, the point is, I've been gone for a long time and well it's because school and work and so many things came up so I never really had a chance to write but now I'm trying to get back on it and I figured why not write the next chapter at 1 am and finish at 4, so here it is, I hope you guys enjoyed it and please be sure to review to let me know if there really is anybody still reading this or not so I don't waste my time cramping my hand by typing, so yeah, review and until then.