Hello, everybody, and welcome back to my third chapter of this story! I am sorry I can only post a chapter every 5-6 days, my schedule is soo tight...I FEELZ SO UH-SHAMED. 2K WORD CHAPTER PER 6 DAYS. WHAT KIND OF PERSON AM I...

And now onto our review corner!

AdvancedLover: I'm so sorry! I didn't know they were like brothers and sisters! Well, can't change it now, but I'm so sorry!

bondinglucario: I didn't want to include so much violence in my story, so I'm sorry I didn't explain the abuse part! Welp, just use your imagination!

muzafarmansoor97: I have no idea how to end this story. I just think of what will happen next chapter, and type it. Which leaves room for a lot of imagination!

W.R. Winters: I might...just might put up a poll in the future to ask who would be together with Ash, I'm not sure yet. But thanks for reading!

Razzorow The Great Madman: Great idea! I'll just edit the first chapter to include a disclaimer! But I'm soooo lazy...thanks for reading anyway!

Red Alfa: Thanks, I'll put up a disclaimer in my first chapter...in 2024 or something...so lazy...

SuperGV88: Thanks for reading, and I appreciate the shout-out! But...do you mean I can easily make Pokemon die? Sorry, I don't really understand you, please don't hurt me, master!

And onward with the chapter!


Brock shuffled as fast as his feet could let him. He was still reeling with shock from Jaina's death, but he knew he had to go on. He had to protect his friends. He reached a crossroads, and took a turn to the forest. The spooky tales of ghosts and hauntings scared him as a child, but it was the fastest way to the Pavilion.

Suddenly, he spotted a figure lying against a tree. It was wearing a black jacket, and a fluffy black collar...with blonde hair?!

''Cynthia!'' He yelled, bursting into a sprint, and kneeled over her, wanting to touch the oozing wound on her chest so much, and he hurriedly took a handkerchief out of his pocket.

''Stay with me!'' He grabbed Cynthia's hand, feeling the cold, clammy skin rub against his fingers, and pushed away the dreaded feeling that he felt in his stomach. ''You gotta be alive! Come on, be alive!''

He didn't want to feel for her pulse, for fear of feeling not the steady beating of pumping blood, but the silence and stillness of death. He propped her into a lying position, and pressed the handkerchief onto the wound. It had stopped bleeding, but Brock wanted to do something, anything at all, to distract himself, from the absolute truth. The truth that she was no longer breathing.

''Cynthia...no!'' He sobbed quietly into her chest. ''You were so young! I looked up to you, as a friend, and a buddy! Who...who could have done this?!''

He let the limp body fall into the ground, and wiped away the tears that ran down his cheeks. When he opened them, however, he saw some bloodstains on the tree, only these didn't look random. They looked like they were written down! He inched closer to these strange symbols.

'' 'Ash didn't do it. It was...' '' Brock read aloud, then realized that Cynthia must have written it down when she was dying. He moved closer to it, trying to find the last word that she tried to write.

''...l?"


Ash clutched the green vial in his hand. He remembered it all too well; it was a gift from Giovanni. He closed his eyes as he replayed the scene over and over again in his head.

''Take this, Ash Ketchum.'' Giovanni passed the boy a small test tube filled to the brim with a greenish glowing liquid, capped by a wooden cork. ''This will grant you unlimited power.''

Ash took the potion from him gingerly. ''Is this some kind of steroids?''

''Oh, no!'' Giovanni sounded hurt, and Ash inwardly winced. ''Don't compare my greatest creation with a flimsy self-proclaimed by-product.''

Ash had no idea what Giovanni meant, so he just nodded his head solemnly. ''Sorry.''

''Drink this, and your entire team of Pokemon will be infinitely more powerful. Enough to crush your 'friends' under the heel of your boot!'' Giovanni cackled with mad laughter, and Ash subtly took a half-step back. ''But everything has a price. You take that vial, and you will lose all your memories.''

''All?''

''All.''

''Then I'm never going to take it,'' Ash said firmly, pocketing the deadly potion. It seemed impossible, but Ash felt that his pants were a hundred times heavier. He tightened his belt before Giovanni continued, ''You will need to use it one day, Ash Ketchum. And you will thank me for it.''

Ash didn't like that Giovanni sounded so sure of that, and he quickly made up an excuse to go away. When he was out of Giovanni's sight, he swore to himself that he would never use it.

Now, as he twirled the green vial, he wondered if it wasn't such a bad idea to lose your memory. At least he can walk around so innocently, blissfully unaware of what he has done in his past memory. He suddenly snapped back to reality; Pikachu was beating him! He quickly shoved the potion down his pocket and ran through the empty streets, illuminated by the dim light of streetlamps.

Suddenly, he stopped. And heard sobbing. He inched closer to the source, which was behind a tree, and pressed his back against the woody bark.

It sounded like the sobbing came from a small boy, and to Ash, it just seemed like the boy was lost. He really wanted to go; Pikachu was beating him by a mile, but he couldn't leave the boy alone, here. He slowly walked around the tree, and sure enough, there was a little boy quietly sobbing. He had spectacles that were too big for his eyes, and wore a green shirt, and brown khaki pants. Ash crouched to get a better view of the boy.

''Hey,'' He said softly, so as not to scare the poor child. The boy whimpered and jumped a little further away from Ash. ''It's okay, I won't bite!'' Ash dug into his pocket and pulled out a special treat he always gave to Pikachu when it was sad.

''Here, have a chocolate bar!'' Ash pushed the chocolate into the boy's hands, and he took them quietly, chewing on the bar.

''Why are you here, all alone? It's dangerous here, for someone like you.'' Ash placed a hand on his shoulder, and he sniffed.

''I...I lost my big sister! I just wanted to play, and I told myself I won't go far, but I couldn't help it!'' He burst into tears, and Ash quickly hugged him.

''It's okay!'' Ash cooed, gently ruffling the smaller boy's hair. ''What's your name? Who's your big sister?''

''I-I'm Max!'' He said, and Ash stiffened. ''My big sister's-''

''May.'' Ash finished, and Max stared at him with renewed awe. ''You know her?''

''I should.'' Ash said quietly. ''I'm Ash. Ash Ketchum.''

Max's eyes widened like saucers. ''WOW! You're the Ash Ketchum? The one that made it all the way to fourth spot in last year's league?''

Ash nodded solemnly, and Max gave a whoop of joy. ''Wow, you're like my number one idol! You were all like ''Eat my thunderbolt!'' and your Pokemon were like ''Pew pew pew!'' and it was just so amazing and awesome!''

Ash smiled. It seemed ironic to him that May's brother idolized him, while May herself...well, Ash hasn't been in frequent contact with her.

Ash stood up, and extended a hand. ''Come on. I'll bring you to your big sister, May.''

''Really? Thanks!'' Max took it, and Ash hauled him to his back, and sprinted after the Pavilion, with Max riding him piggyback style.


Brock absent-mindedly walked to the Pavilion. He was already in the main street, and some homeless people were giving him odd looks. It was probably because of the fact that he was completely soaked in blood, but Brock was too hooked up with Cynthia's last message to think of anything else.

What was she trying to say? Ash didn't rape her? If not, then who? 'l'? Is it someone he knows? Or maybe it was someone he will meet in the future? As Brock went down the sidewalk, he tried to think of some names that begin with 'l'. Lily? Lester? Lynthia?

Well, maybe not Lynthia, but Brock was determined to find out this 'l' person, and give them a piece of his mind. He strode past the traffic lights and quickly headed for the Marble Pavilion, which was smack dab in the middle of the city. He walked into an coliseum-like structure, with the floor covered in fine glass crystals. May, Drew, Paul, Dawn and Serena were already in the middle, whispering in frantic voices.

''Brock!'' May suddenly cried, and ran up to hug him. ''Are you all right? You're covered in blood!''

''I noticed,'' Brock smiled weakly, then pulled a marble chair to him, sitting down. ''I asked everyone to come here, because-''

''Ash is alive.'' Drew said vehemently. ''And he's come back after all this time, to kill us off one by one.''

''But why would he do that?'' Dawn was clutching May's hand with a death grip. ''He's not like that!''

''Remember Cynthia?'' Drew retorted angrily. ''He wasn't like that either, hmm?''

''I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding!'' Serena argued. ''He's not like this!''

''How do you know?'' Paul demanded, slamming his fist onto the wall. ''He is evil!''

May sighed at them; this was once a circle of friendship and care and trust, now everyone is arguing about Ash. She sat down, and saw that Brock was resting his chin on his hands, staring at the ground like he was in deep thought.

''Brock? What's on your mind?'' May gently shook him. He grunted, and let out a deep sigh.

''Ash didn't do anything. He was set up.''

''What?!'' May reeled back from the sudden news. ''W-who did it, then?''

''I don't know. But he or she starts with the letter 'l'.'' Brock went back into heavy thinking pose. ''I'm trying to think of anyone we know that starts with 'l'.''

''Wait...so if Ash isn't the culprit, then he's innocent!'' May said excitedly. ''We can forgive him and reunite our long lost friendship and-''

''Ash still killed Jaina.'' Brock tucked his head into his arms. ''She was my favorite sister. She was my only...sister.''

''I...I'm sorry.'' May couldn't think of any way to help Brock, so all she could do was pat his shoulder affectionately. ''But I'm sure Ash didn't mean it, and if we really thought about it, we could-''

''ASH KILLED MY SISTER, MAY!'' Brock stood up from his seat, startling everyone into silence. He turned to May, anger burning in his eyes. ''HE KILLED HER! I LOVED HER, MAY! WE SHARED THE SAME ROOM, WE SHARED THE SAME HOUSE, WE SHARED EVERYTHING!''

Everyone jumped back by his sudden outburst, and he sighed, slumping on his chair. ''I remember once, we were too poor to eat. I only had half of a bun left, and I was starving for three days. But I gave the bun to her, because I wanted what's best for her, and I wanted so much to see her grow up and get married, start a family, and raise up kids.'' A single tear slid out of his eye. It traveled down his neck, and stained his collar. ''I wanted to do so much...I even prepared the prank I was gonna give to her future husband...now it's all gone.''

Everyone gave him sad, sympathetic looks, and some of the girls proceeded to pat his back. He just stared at the ground, silent as a rock, and empty as a shell. May wanted to hug him, but he sounded so sad about Jaina, she wanted to kick herself for even mentioning the remote possibility of forgiving Ash.

''Okay, Pikachu, you got me,'' A voice suddenly said, and a familiar black-haired boy stepped out into the Pavilion, accompanied by Max.

''YOU!'' Brock stood up, glaring at Ash vehemently. ''GIVE ME BACK JAINA!''


Ash was confused; Jaina was alive, isn't she?

''GIVE ME BACK JAINA!'' Brock screamed, and charged at Ash. Luckily, Drew and Paul restrained him, but Ash could not help but take a step backward.

''Jaina's alive, right?'' Ash called out nervously.

''NO!'' Brock yelled. ''YOU KILLED HER!''

''What? No!'' Ash objected. ''I didn't do anything!''

''Twenty four hours ago, you came by to my bank, didn't you.'' Brock growled.

Ash nodded slowly.

''And during that time, you saw my sister Jaina, didn't you?''

Ash nodded again, but quickly shook his head. ''But I didn't kill her!''

''LIES!'' Brock screamed. ''Give me back Jaina!''

''I swear, I didn't kill her!'' Ash raised a hand in the air. ''Let god be my witness!''

''Ash, what's going on?'' Max cowered behind Ash, nervously shaking his arm. ''I'm scared! Why are you all shouting!''

''What does god have to say about that?'' Drew looked at Max. ''Kidnapping? You disgust me, Ash.''

Ash momentarily stood stunned at his words, then realized that he had waltzed in on them with Max at his side, and now he was hiding behind Ash. Which did not help him that much.

''Wait, wait!'' Ash put up both hands. ''I can explain!''

''Don't.'' Paul walked up to Ash. ''You've explained enough. I mean, rape is one thing, but kidnapping a mere child?''

Ash suddenly felt a flare of indignation bubble inside him, and he resisted the urge to punch Paul to death. His pocket vibrated slightly, reminding Ash of the green potion Giovanni gave him. His hand instinctively reached inside his pocket, clenching the vial.

''Girls, you have to believe me!'' Ash pleaded to them, while Max was holding Ash's arms. ''It isn't...this isn't what it seems!''

''I...'' May was trying hard to believe Ash, but she just couldn't bring herself to believe he wasn't doing anything evil.

''Enough talking, Ash. You've already killed more than enough.'' Brock said, standing up. ''Cynthia will be your last victim.''

Everyone gasped; apparently it was news to them. ''Cynthia's dead?'' Ash demanded. ''What happened?''

''Don't act all innocent!'' Drew accused. ''You killed her, just like you killed Jaina. You just won't stop, won't you?''

''For the last time, I did not kill anyone!'' Ash felt like tearing his hair out.

''Stop.'' Brock help up a hand. ''I won't let you take Max's life too. Even if I have to use my Pokemon.''

''Wait a minute, you can't seriously expect me to believe that you're going to use Pokemon against me-'' Ash began, but Brock had already thrown out his entire team of Pokemon. Drew and Paul were throwing out their Pokemon too, and the girls were scrambling in their pockets for their Pokeballs.

This is bad, Ash thought. I can't win against this number of Pokemon.

He grabbed Max, and pulled him to his chest. ''Don't make any move! Or Max gets it!''

Brock stepped forward, but May pulled him back. ''No! He's my brother!''

Ash felt so bad that he was using Max to escape, especially after being his idol, but he had to get to the bottom of this. His friends were being manipulated, and he had to get to the cause of it. He slowly inched closer to the exit, and his friends all followed suit.

He reached the door, and whispered an apology to Max. Then he kicked him, and ran off into the city.


''Max! Are you all right?'' May held her brother in her arms. He was sobbing quietly, mumbling about ''Heroes'' and ''Idols'' and ''Chocolate bars'', for some reason. The rest were all just trying to recover from the shock. Only Drew seemed comfortable with everything that has happened, and he rested his legs on the mahogany table.

Brock coughed loudly. ''Everyone, now you've probably seen Ash in his true colors. Any objections, girls?''

Silence.

''I was expecting that. But Ash isn't the kind of person to just give up. He's going to come back with more and more Pokemon until he overwhelms us, or takes us down one by one.''

''So what do we do now?'' Dawn asked nervously.

''Simple.'' Brock flashed a toothy grin. ''We go to the one place he will never want to go again. The Sinnoh League Championship.''


After that, when everyone has decided what to pack and bring, May pulled Brock to one side. She was fidgeting and squirming, and was about to break under the pressure.

''Uh...Brock?'' She asked, twirling her fingers.

''Yeah?'' He replied, unsure of what May's motives are.

''How do I say this...'' May stared at the ground uncomfortably. ''You know Max?''

''Yeah.''

''Well...I've been thinking about Max, and I realized that I'm not ready to be in a relationship right now. Max needs me more than ever, and I shouldn't let anything distract me.'' She said quietly.

Brock's eyes softened. ''What...what do you mean?''

She turned away from him, unable to meet his gaze. ''I'm saying...let's break up.''


Wow, my longest chapter yet! I hope it was good, I personally felt that the beginning was a bit boring.

Well, at least May and Brock aren't together now! Or are they...

Goodbye for now!