I would like to clear a few things up before I start this. One question a reviewer asked was why didn't Ash or his Pokémon try to find each other. The answer is this- Ash didn't seek them out because he was trying to stop May from entering the Grand Festival, and he didn't lawfully own them. His Pokémon didn't because they thought he was dead. After all, he did disappear without warning, and they haven't seen him for a year and a half. I hope that explains it.
Max rubbed his eyes trying to clear them; the scene in front of him was too impossible to be real. After all, black voids with mind-numbing amounts of floating colorful images can't exist naturally. Realizing that it was, in fact, real, he turned to glare at Red.
"Why did you bring me here," he shouted. "What do you want?"
Red glared back. "I didn't bring you here, Celebi did. I asked him to because I wanted you to see the truth of what happened last year, not what your sister told everyone."
Max quieted down. He was trapped, he realized, and demanding that Red take him back obviously wouldn't work. The best he could do was to go along with it and try to escape later. He watched as Red walked over the void to an image. As the older teen touched the image, he turned and spoke. "This is what caused the events leading up to what your sister did. This is where it all started."
The image expanded, engulfing the others floating around. It had no sound, but Max could tell what was going on from the actions of the three people inside. One was a teen with messy black hair and a Pikachu on his shoulder, a person Max recognized as Ash. The second was a younger version of his sister, she looked to be maybe one or two years later. The third was another teen, this one a grassy-haired boy.
The first and the second were standing next to each other, talking with the third. The third seemed to be apologizing, and the first seemed to be accepting it, but the younger version of May wasn't. Red began talking. "After may defeated him at the Grand Festival, Drew wanted to apologize for being an ass. May, for all her talk of forgiveness, wouldn't accept it. She got mad at me, and ran off."
The May in the picture did just that, and the picture shrank. Red walked over to another, and it too grew until it filled their vision. This time, the grassy-haired coordinator was absent, though the other two were still there. The two seemed to be arguing, though the black-haired trainer seemed to be the calmer of the two. Red started talking again. "Here, I tried to explain to May that Drew just wanted to apologize. She still wouldn't have it. I gave up, and decided to try again when she calmed down. She never did."
The image shrunk back again. Another grew to take its place as the dominant image. In this, the black-haired trainer kept trying to approach the younger May, but she walked away as soon as she saw him.
"No matter how many times I tried, May wouldn't listen. She wouldn't even talk. I started to get worried around now."
This image shrank back, and Red walked past Max to an image behind the starting trainer. This image grew, though something seemed different about it. It was as if the image was darker, though Max couldn't see any change in tint. The image showed the black-haired boy running over to a shiny Eevee. He seemed to glare at someone behind him, and the image shifted to show the younger May.
"May wanted the Eevee, but after what she did to weaken it, I didn't think she should have it."
True to Red's word, the Eevee was in terrible condition. Its leg seemed to be broken, and its fur was matted with blood. The black-haired boy pulled out a Pokéball, and said something to the younger May. She said something back, and pulled out one of her own.
"We agreed to fight for it. I won."
The battle passed as a blur, as if it was a terrible nightmare one wanted to forget. In the end, a Sceptile stood panting over an unconscious Blaziken. As the boy tapped the Eevee with a Pokéball, the girl snapped out an insult to the boy, and pulled out her five remaining Pokéballs. She quickly called hers out and knocked out the boy before he could react. Max could only stare in shock at what happened next. The younger May released the unconscious Eevee from its Pokéball, stomped on the ball, and ground it under her heel. She then pulled out a Pokéball of her own, and captured the Eevee.
"She knocked me out, and permanently released it. She then caught it, and slipped the Pokéball back into my bag."
The image faded away. Red glanced at Max. "Do you know what happened next? She claimed I had stolen her Pokémon. Because the Eevee was registered under her ID, they ruled me guilty. She got the Eevee, as for me, I was out through hell. My Pokémon were sold at an auction, and I was being transported to jail. As the van passed though Viridian forest, a Pidgeot ripped open the metal room and pulled me out of the van. That Pidgeot was mine from my first journey, one of two Pokémon to avoid being sold. It took me to the other, Pikachu. Later that year, Pikachu died of disease. I couldn't visit a Pokémon Center. Outlaws aren't allowed to."
Max felt empty inside. His sister - his own sister! - had lied, stolen, and betrayed someone who had been her best friend. It was no wonder that Red hated her, he couldn't blame the teen.
Red continued. "That's when I ran into the two Pokémon you saw earlier. Mew had been following me for a while, she always caused trouble when she showed up. Celebi was an old friend from Ilex Forest. They, along with Pidgeot convinced me not to kill myself. They brought three Pokéballs. I used one for each of them and one for Pidgeot. I began contests under the identity Red, until I was able to clear my name. The League still refused to give back my Pokémon, because they didn't want to have to pay the buyers back."
Max was shocked at this. The League he had looked up to for years was that corrupt?
The older teen resumed talking. "I still used the name Red. Ash didn't feel right anymore. I started contests, I couldn't battle without Pikachu. I tracked down May and made sure she couldn't win. When I was done, I went to Sootopolis to look in the Cave of Origin. I wanted to find a way to talk to Pikachu one last time. That's when I ran into you."
He turned to Max. "Do you still think your sister is innocent?"
Max could only shake his head. "I- I don't know. No. Sh- She isn't."
To explain where they are. They are in a mindscape created by Mew while using Celebi's power to display memories as floating images. That is also why Mew and Celebi are absent in this chapter. After thinking for a bit, I realized Pidgeot wouldn't be sold due to Ash not owning it. I decided he was rescued by it and it is one of his three current Pokémon. You know the other two.