A/N: Confused yet? That's the idea. If it makes you feel any better, this chapter is just as bad. Plot holes and timeskips leave a lot to the imagination, but I hope that my plan to fill them in later in the story works out. Otherwise this could be a major flop.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

"I often get asked questions if that really was me in that court room, I believe that should be self explanatory."

"Was I replaced? Maybe… I can't remember it all too well, in fact, I can't remember much at all form those days. It's been so long. Of course I can still recall my wife and my children, but not Ash. His face has long since faded into the mists of my disease. Despite my disorder and despite the harsh trials of time, I can still recall those eyes; those malevolent, murderous, cold crimson irises. I know that I was once told why those eyes were crimson and not their former gold, but for the life of me I can't remember."

"Heh, yes I suppose it is good riddance. All the pain and heartbreak Ash has been put through would end up on my shoulders, or, more precisely, my mind. But I have accepted my punishment and have no regrets. In the end, Ash Ketchum survived. And I guess that's an understatement"

Hoenn News Broadcasting Network (HNBN) hosting Norman Maple: Conspiracies that Slipped by the World.

Blackness and pain. Harsh, soaring pain that flew malevolently into the depths of his being and tore.

Was he alive? He sure thought so.

'Death,'

he reasoned

'only leaves pain to be felt by the living.'

So he clung, held on for the dear life that he wasn't even sure he was living.

'Pallet'

his mind felt no pain, it could reason

'... no. Pallet... I can no longer return.'

He felt himself stop moving; his Pokémon had exhausted themselves.

"No more."

He wanted to plead.

But one could only halt when the world halted with them; they did not have that luxury anymore.

"Rest now."

He wanted to assure.

But one could only rest when there were no monsters nearby, and there is always a monster nearby.

He drew in a sharp, shuddering breath. He couldn't see. The once expansive world had vanished before him; there was nowhere left for him to go. Had his vision been lost to blood loss?

Perhaps it was fear that kept his eyes shut.

His hands came up, and pried open his eyes. The world flew into color and the effervescence sizzled his undiluted, unprepared pupils. He took note of his strikingly familiar surroundings.

He couldn't make them out.

He shook his head in attempt to clear the blurriness, but he only succeeded in increasing the size of his headache. His surroundings were a blur. Occasionally he might make out a tree here or a bush there. One of the trees belonged to his exhausted Torterra. The continental Pokémon, which had always had so many problems roaming distances of land, had run itself quite literally into the ground. He knew, just by looking at his Pokémon, that he was done if they could find a Pokémon Center.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed blinding fire incinerating the edges of his blurry FOV.

'The sun is setting... night, shelter...'

His mind trailed off, no longer having the capacity to process thought. However, he had not been born into this life to give up on it so easily. He would fight until he allowed the last breath to leave his body. His right hand reached forward, taking up the majority of his vision. He took a moment to examine his hand. His blood spattered hand made all the more gruesome by the dislocated pinky and ring finger.

He slammed the hand into the Earth

He waited for the pain he was sure would be spiking excruciatingly through his nerves. He couldn't feel the pain. He was numb to everything except survival.

His left hand reached forward. This extremity equally dowsed, but the lacking the dislocated fingers made it easier to stomach. He could grasp the Earth rougher and move himself further.

He didn't have the strength to gasp as a black boot crushed his hand into the ground.

Ash's horribly bloodshot eyes looked up balefully at whoever dared to threaten his survival. Survival was the only thing he had now; nobody would ever take it away from him.

Instead of his admittedly less than threatening gaze meeting a truly threatening presence, Ash's unfocused gaze landed firmly on the pitying visage of Norman Maple.

Time skip, 4 Months after the Pallet Massacre

Ash had spent much of his time out of touch with society, simply wandering around Kanto, skirting each city. Only spending more than a few hours in the small, remote towns. But before all that wandering, Ash spent the night in Viridian, allowing his wounds to heal in a Pokémon center. Even Ash wasn't dense enough to believe he could simply just wander around Kanto with what Norman had accused him of. He needed time to gather his scrambled thoughts and rebuild his shattered resolve.

Unfortunately, when he was wandering through Celadon, Ash had heard a couple of people discussing a court case being held in regards to Ash Ketchum and the destruction of Pallet Town. He realized instantly that Norman was behind this. He still had no idea why the Petalburgh gym leader was out to put him away, but he would be damned if he was going to rot in a cell for the rest of his life. With that in mind, Ash boarded a red-eye flight to Petalburgh, which happened to be the location of the Court where the case was being held.

He had stopped at a local department store and bought some nice clothes. If he was going to make a public stand Ash knew he had to look the part of one who was respectable, so he bought a mostly seamless, entirely black jacket, the only seams that existed resided around his shoulders, where the sleeves connected with the chest area of the jacket. Even there however, the marks were subtle. It had a collar that went up to just below where his neck met his lower jaw. It had added fabric on the right end of the color that extended farther than the left side. On the end of it was a barely noticeable snap button.

Ash didn't know why that was there, after all, there was nothing to connect it to on the other pole of the collar, but he shoved the thought aside, blaming it on modern fashion. Under the jacket, which he wore open, was a deep red shirt with no design. The fabric was sleek and soft and held a very slight reflective quality. He wore plain black pants that were reminiscent of slimmer slacks, and all black shoes that were a median between dress and vans. While there he decided to get a haircut. He found a place that was cheap and efficient and got in line. In no time his wild hair had been tamed completely, it now fell neatly on all sides of his head. The hair on his forehead fell just past his eyes and leaned protectively towards his right eye, while the back tapered to a relative point just past the protruding bump towards the base of his neck, not a hair out of place. When Ash looked in the mirror he couldn't help but chuckle at the sheer irony. He had been trying to comb his hair for years but it would never remain calm, always shouting its presence and recklessly jutting out. As it turned out, all he needed was a little change and the hair was under control. He thanked the lady who had cut his hair, paid her, and strode out of the store to the courthouse.

When he arrived at the courthouse the guards outside the door wouldn't even let him in (He had to prove it with his outdated ID on his pokedex). After one of the guards decided to let him in, they suggested he take a new picture for his ID. Ash nodded mindlessly, saying he would do it later. When he had made the decision to show up to the trial he had no idea how much everyone would be focused on him.

He still bore the scars on his face from his fight with Norman, and when the Petalburgh gym leader saw them he smirked quietly at him. Ash just ignored him, and sat down where he was told. His advisor had told him to stay quiet unless a question was directed at him with the judge's authorization; he was to speak no other time. He was also told to remain cool and calm, any outbursts would reflect poorly.

Ash had nodded, he had to take many threats on his life, many jibes at his abilities and pride, and he had to keep quiet through the sympathetic murmurs. On occasion he would answer any question asked of him as truthfully as he could. But after one question about what he was doing Norman stood up.

"You expect us to believe that you showed up in town just as the bombs started? Does that sound fishy to anyone else?"

Ash did as he had been told and kept quiet, taking the outburst

"Well?" Norman continued his rant, "Are you going to answer me you coward?"

Ash just glance up at the judge, his deep red eyes piercing the judge's light blue ones. When he received nothing, the trainer just gave Norman a cold, disinterested glare. This sent Norman over the edge

"He has to have murdered Delia!" The man cried, "He had to have paid off the people who bombed Pallet, the man who held her hostage. Why else would he shoot her even after he had accepted the money?"

Ash growled quietly, eyes narrowed in accordance with his tensing muscles. However, an arm across his chest, courtesy of his advisor, silenced him and any aggressive action about to be executed. Ash looked at the older gentlemen, and saw the pain in his silver orbs, but he still received a negative nod. His gaze told Ash everything he needed to convey,

'Let him make a fool of himself'

That silent message would stay with Ash the rest of his life.

Once the judge had finally gotten Norman under control, the case resumed. Ash shared his stories of pain, he told the judge about the way Norman had cornered him and assaulted him. About how after his Pokémon had rescued him he had struggled his way out of the town, bleeding and frozen. Then he briefed the judge on his collision with the Rocket Shipping van on the outskirts of town.

Norman defended himself by saying that he wasn't there. He was never there, and his family can back him on that. That it must have been a Rocket that had cornered him. Ash didn't care; he didn't want to see Max and May suffer by taking their father away from them.

Finally, the court case had ended in angry shouting. He was ruled innocent, but that didn't stop Norman's half of the court from busting opens in anger. The people on Ash's side, Professor Oak and Gary, strode silently out of the judicial building. Ash stood calmly and strode out of the courthouse. He ignored the shouting and things thrown at him. He was even sent to ground when a chair was slammed into his face, undoubtedly shattering his nose. The chair came down again on his left shoulder. Ash heard a crack, then the man cursed and walked away in anger.

The chair had broken

Ash stumbled out of the courthouse, blood streaming from his nose. He tried to keep it off his clothes because they had cost a lot of money, but eventually the blood flow overpowered the considerable sum and he was forced to stop in a store and request a towel. So when he dragged himself into the Pokémon center he was shocked to see Gary and Professor Oak in the lobby. Both gasped when they saw the state of the poor boy. They rushed Ash to a hospital, where he stayed for two days. He was diagnosed with a badly broken nose, and a broken left collarbone, which would require surgery.

Ash insisted on paying for his surgery, but Professor Oak insisted right back, saying it was the least he could do. Ash relented, for he was in too much pain to argue with the elderly professor.

After three days in the hospital, Ash was cleared, and told to take it easy. Gary and Professor Oak had flown with him to Johto, where the Professor had a summer retreat in Tohjo Falls. It was beautiful there, and Ash stayed until he was fully recovered. He had to go back to the doctors to get the plates taken out of his shoulder but other than that he never had any need to return to the hospital.

After about 7 months on the Professor's Ranch someone caught wind of Ash staying there. It was horrible. Someone set fire to the house while the Professor and Gary were out, Ash however, quickly got it under control and put it out. Local Police had detained Ash. The Pallet native saw no reason to struggle with the police, for he had been proven innocent. Imagine his surprise when he had been thrown face first into the cold concrete of a jail cell.

He rotted in that very same jail cell for 6 months, surviving on half a ration of bread and water and any other scraps he could scavenge before he finally had enough. When the guard in front of his cell had passed out drunk in front of his cell Ash nabbed his keys and made his escape. Escaping was nearly impossible. He had to avoid guard Houndoom, the tower's searchlights and the guards themselves, who were armed with assault rifles. Each time a bullet made contact with him he felt excruciating pain. Although once he had made it out by escaping in a guard's uniform the pain in his side, right shoulder and thigh subsided. There was nothing left that reminded him of home. The guards had taken his pack, taking everything. From identity to sentiment souvenirs, there was nothing. Ash was now resigned to his fate, and began walking in the direction he thought would take him to a town. He didn't know where he was going, but he did know that the terrain around him was extremely rocky.

After a few days of walking he stumbled upon what appeared to be a town late at night. Ash didn't care if it was or wasn't, but he found a Pokémon center and crashed the next few nights there. When Nurse Joy had seen the blood soaking through the holes in his jumper, which had been supplied by the guards, she had asked if he was all right. Ash said he was fine, but the Nurse asked him to remove his jumper so she could look him over. Ash had blushed slightly but relented, he didn't want to die of some petty bullet wounds. Nurse Joy was shocked when she saw the bullet wounds, but did her best to operate anyway. After two days of recovery she had told Ash that he was fit to go. Ash offered to pay for the surgery, but the Pokémon nurse declined, saying that the Pokémon league funded surgeries, so he was in the clear. Ash thanked the nurse, and then set about getting a change of clothes. He went to a store and stole a black shirt and blue jeans along with a black jacket with a grey hood sewn into the collar. Ash didn't care if the security camera caught him, for he had no active ID and would be skipping town shortly. After stealing a map of the area as well as some equipment he had his revelation regarding his illicit proficiency. With that in mind he did a few odd jobs around town to make some extra cash. He didn't even use it; he stole a stainless steel lighter and a dark grey pack, which he placed all of his stuff in. He spent the night on the roof of a five-story office building behind a large concrete wall. It was peaceful, the air was clean and the view of the dark countryside wasn't bad either. It wasn't until now, laying under the silver belts of stars, that he realized he couldn't have paid for his surgery even if Nurse Joy had asked him too. With that less than happy thought he drifted off to the best sleep he had in six months.

He was up at dawn the following morning, covered in morning dew and shivering beyond belief, but he pushed forward, determined to make Tohjo Falls in two days. At least his prison had been remotely close to the border between Johto and Kanto, it was his first stroke of luck in over a year. The only thing obstructed Ash's diligent pace was the large, aquatic route 27. The obvious solution would be to rent a boat, but that would cost money, something he was short on. So he spent the early evening sitting on a rooftop outside a harbor. The harbor had plenty of boats, but he wasn't looking to ruin someone's investment, so when his eyes landed on what appeared to be a spare dingy he grinned. He broke into a boat supply store that sold engines and other industrial needs. He lifted a 200-horse power outboard that left the supply store 10 grand out of pocket. Ash didn't bother setting it up properly, he just filled the tank and tied the outboard securely to the back of the dingy.

The bad part about the dingy?

It wasn't built for going 40 miles per hour. About halfway down the water route to Tohjo Falls he heard a cracking noise. He looked around wildly, eyes desperately searching the coastline with paranoia, but when his eyes landed on nothing posing imminent threat he relaxed. Only when water rushed into the foot wells of the dingy did Ash realize where the cracking had come from. Begrudgingly, the Pallet trainer swam the last eight miles to Tohjo Falls with a piece of wood as his lifeline.

When he arrived at Tohjo falls it wasn't even morning, so he left his piece of wood on the dock and made his way towards where he remembered Oak's place being. He reached the house just as the sun was coming up. He rapped a few times on the door.

Nothing

He knocked again.

Nothing

Ash knocked one more time, then fell asleep right against the door, his lack of sleep finally sunk in its claws as his Mountain Dew and Caffeine pills wore off.

Professor Oak was about to go and see Professor Elm, who was now his not so next-door neighbor, but a hell of a lot closer than he used to be. When he opened the door his customary deep breath of fresh morning air was cut off by a soggy thump from his feet. He looked down in surprise and saw a boy with all to familiar features.

"Oh boy." The professor groaned, although any man who bothered to pay any amount of attention to the professor could see the excitement and relief repeatedly washing over the professor's face. With resolution practically scrawled all over his features, the elderly professor attempted to lift Ash up, but his shoulders sagged as he came to a resolution.

"Gary!" He shouted, "Gary! It's important! I really need your help!"

When no teenager came thundering down the steps he tried a second approach.

"Gary!"

He didn't succeed in bringing his grandson into the waking world, but he did manage to wake up the sleeping object of the current dilemma.

"Hey professor, what's for breakfast?" He said sleepily

The professor just chuckled at the boy, and enveloped him in a hug.

"Anything you want my boy!"

A/N:

Like I said at the beginning, your head should be spinning. No doubt Ash's head is spinning right now. Curious about his prison stint? Curious about what really happened? Curious about why the hell I skipped the whole damn thing? Well then stay tuned, and tell me how confused you are.