Hiyas everybody, and I hope you're all excited for the new chapter! Now onto the review corner~

YouDont NeedToKnow69- Thx for reading, and don't worry! I won't leave this story unattended anytime soon!

Red Alfa- Okies!

W. R. Winters- Hehe, sorry for the mix up! And I'm pretty sure they would actually die if they listened to Ash for a minute.

Razzorow The Great Madman- Should I be worried you love death? Just kidding. And Ash is so pitiful, but he still wants to help his friends! *I wish I had friends like Ash*

Muzafarmansoor97- I think my quality of work is only good, I wouldn't actually call it excellent. But thanks for that moral boost!

AdvancedLover- Good things will come to those who wait! (Hehe, I indirectly praised myself ^_^)

SuperGV88- ...Super? *Teary-eyed* S-Super? Where are you! *Sob* *Whimper* *Sniffle*

Anyway...Please enjoy!


Brock looked around the gates impatiently. The rest of the gang were all standing near the city entrance, but Drew and Paul were not here. Brock wanted to leave immediately, but the girls all begged him to wait a while, and Brock was forced to give leeway. He averted his gaze to Dawn, who was looking around nervously.

''Dawn, don't worry!'' Brock assured, patting his chest firmly. ''With me here, you won't be victimized by Ash!''

Dawn merely shot a troubled smile back to him, and stared at the ground. Brock noticed she was twirling her fingers absent-mindedly, and shook his head in mild amusement.

''Guys!'' Paul called, emerging from the forest. He waved a hand to the group, and trotted over to them. ''Guys! I've got great news! We don't need to go to the Sinnoh League any more!''

''Huh?'' Everyone gaped at Paul, save for Dawn. She was still fixed on the ground, and didn't seem to want to meet Paul's gaze.

''It's not a prank,'' Paul explained. ''Ash won't be bothering us any more because he's-''

Suddenly, a desperate call for help alerted the gang, and they swerved to look at the newcomer, who was slowly crawling over to them.

''Drew!'' Brock cried, rushing over to help the battered trainer up. He looked weather-beaten, with purple bruises all over his limbs, and a few cuts and scrapes on his cheeks. He wheezed and bowled over, sicking up his dinner.

''What happened!'' Paul demanded, but Brock raised a hand. ''Wait. Let him rest. He looks like he needs it.''

Drew shook his head, and raised himself to Dawn's eye level. ''I was...at the riverside when...ambushed by...man in black.''

''What did he look like?'' Dawn asked eagerly. ''Did he have black hair? And a Pikachu with him? And-''

''He was Ash. I'm sure of it.'' Drew replied firmly, accepting the mug of water from Serena, and gulping down its contents.

''How are you so sure about that?'' Paul was shaking slightly, and he grasped an arm with his other. ''I mean, it was completely dark! Anybody could've attacked you. It could be Serena, or Brock, or anyone! Surely it isn't Ash?''

Drew smiled gravely, then reached into his jacket and pulled out a limited edition Pokemon League Expo hat, then threw it on the ground. ''Took it from the perp when he tried to kill me. Remind me, Paul, who do we all know and hate that happens to own this said hat?''

Paul didn't respond, but crouched down and let out a shaky breath. His fingers stretched out, but did not go any nearer to the hat, as if it was still just a mirage, and touching it might bring it to reality. He suddenly stood up, and Brock saw that his eyes were blood-shot.

''That's...that's impossible!'' Paul yelled, shaking his head furiously. ''It couldn't be possible because...'' His throat constricted, and he looked away, clenching his hands.

''Paul...'' Drew whispered, struggling to rise to his feet. ''Because what? What were you going to say?''

Paul stepped away from the group, and lowered his head. ''Never mind what I was going to say. Just know that it's impossible.''

Brock laid a hand on Paul's shoulder. ''Whatever you have done, I'm sure we can figure out a way. Don't be afraid to tell us what is on your mind. We'll always have your back.'' Paul merely shook it away, and folded his arms.

''Paul, stop it!'' Dawn yelled, tears openly flowing onto her dress. She sniffed and wiped a hand across her nose, then pointed a finger at Paul accusingly. ''Just tell everyone what you did! Tell everyone you killed Ash!''


A few hours before...

''Ow...'' Ash groaned, rubbing his head, where a massive bruise began to form on his temple, and winced. ''That was so lucky...how did I even survive?''

The leaves above him rustled, and a little yellow mouse dropped onto Ash's lap, breathing heavily.

Ash smiled, and petted his buddy. ''Come on, Pikahu...we gotta get up. We can't stay here forever.''

''Pika...'' Pikachu replied, too weak to move.

''Fine, I'll carry you.'' Ash gingerly picked up the semi-conscious rodent, and pressed his back against a tree, using it as a pole to stand up.

''Ow ow ow!'' The trainer whimpered, reaching down to touch the jagged cut that ran from his thigh all the way to his sole. Must have grazed it on a rock somewhere mid-flight...a scream erupted from his throat, and he forced it down before he scared off any Pokemon. ''Great, sprained my ankle...''

Ash looked around, and spotted a small river a stone's throw away from him. It was gushing out with a radiant sparkle, and seemed to beckon Ash closer, awing Ash by its regal beauty. Ash made a run for the banks and scooped up water into his throat, enjoying the refreshing taste that lingered in his mouth.

He cupped his hands and dug into the river, and slowly dripped it into Pikachu's mouth. ''Come on buddy, drink!''

He smiled as the yellow mouse began to breathe less frequently, and soon, it was able to sit up without too much pain. Ash continued to feed Pikachu the river water, then hugged Pikachu with all his might. His eyes burned, and he felt warm, salty tears stain his cheeks, but he didn't care.

''Pikachu...we're alive!'' He sobbed. ''We made it!''

Pikachu patted Ash's head earnestly, then noticed that Ash's cut was still bleeding. It jumped out of his arms and started licking the wound.

''Eh...I'm pretty sure that will only make it worse,'' Ash laughed quietly, pushing away his buddy's fervent tongue. ''We need to get some real help. My ankle won't heal quickly on its own. Come on buddy, let's go to a hospital.'' He grabbed a tree trunk for support, and using his unharmed leg, hauled himself up. Pikachu crawled onto Ash's arms, and the latter started limping his way to the nearest hospital.

If his doubts were correct, he should be near the Sinnoh League championship tower. Ash grimaced, but he knew that they had a general hospital, and swallowed the lump on his throat as he made way for the tower.


''Dawn, this is no laughing matter.'' Brock warned, reaching out his hand in defense. ''Please tell me you're kidding.''

''I'm not.'' Dawn said with a tiny voice, and stole a glance at Paul. The latter was still facing his back towards them. ''I...um...saw Brock going out with a rose, and I thought he was cheating on May, so I followed him.''

Dawn quickly glanced at May, but she was transfixed on her Pokeball. Brock gestured for her to continue.

''Then I saw him and Ash go into a fight, and Brock left. After that, I saw Paul trying to strangle Ash, then...then!'' Dawn choked, and she fanned herself.

''Then what?'' Brock asked, gripping her arms. ''What happened?!''

''Paul...Paul threw Ash off the cliff!'' Dawn cried, sobbing into Brock's arms. ''He didn't even shed a tear!''

Everyone gasped, then Paul swerved round to face them all. ''I didn't do it! Dawn's lying!''

Drew painfully help up a hand. ''Paul, in the last few hours I have been relentlessly pursued by a man in black that has a vendetta against all of us, nearly had a dagger pierce my heart, and I threw up my dinner. I'm starving, tired, and half-alive. Please, just answer the question truthfully.''

Paul closed his eyes for a moment. ''Yes...so what if I did?!'' He thrusted a finger to everyone. ''Can you all say for yourselves that you're not happy I did it?''

Everyone was silent. But May nervously raised a hand, and Paul groaned.

''May, stop believing in him! What did he do to deserve your devotion?! He's bad!'' Paul gestured wildly, and May seemed to shrink with every word that spilled out from Paul's throat. ''He killed Cynthia. He killed her, May! Can't you see, even a little bit, that he's a spawn of Satan?''

May was hiding behind Brock now, and trembled slightly. Brock patted her on the head, then turned to Paul. ''She's just standing up for what she believes in, Paul. Let it go.''

''I see.'' Paul snorted. ''A couple will always cover up for each other.''

Brock narrowed his eyes. ''And what is that supposed to mean?''

Paul met his gaze, and they both stared at each other with ferocious intensity. ''You know exactly what I mean, Brock.''

''Stop fighting!'' May sighed in frustration. Out of the corner of her eye, she swore she could see Drew smile in amusement, but was instantly replaced with a wounded frown.

''It doesn't help that we're fighting amongst ourselves,'' Drew reasoned, stepping in front of the two atomic bombs. ''Ash is alive, so you don't need to be worried, Paul. But as long as he lives, he has a personal vendetta against all of us, and I'm sure you all have heard of the term 'divide and conquer'.''

When Brock and Paul nodded slowly, Drew clasped his hands together. ''Well, let me quote another phrase. Divided we stand, united we conquer. If we fall out, we're making ourselves more vulnerable. We need to stick together; only then can we truly be safe.''

Drew walked away from the two of them, letting them digest that comment, and stopped in front of the girls. May smiled, and placed a hand on Drew's shoulder. ''I'm glad you're here, Drew. Otherwise, we would all be divided! Thank you so much.''

Drew blushed from May's compliment, and risked a glance at her. ''What do you see in Ash? Why do you keep believing in him?''

''Because I know he's telling the truth.'' May replied tersely. ''Why does nobody believe him?''

Drew closed his eyes. ''Let me see...he killed Jaina, tried to take my life, and hates us to the very core. Oh, and he also did unspeakable things to Cynthia.''

''You can say that again.'' Brock lumbered over to them, dragging his camel pack behind. ''He burned the forest where Cynthia died so there would be no evidence.''

The girls gasped at the news, and May brought her hand to her lips. ''No...''

''Yes.'' Brock slung his pack over his shoulder. ''Come on. We have a long way to go before we reach the League tower. Better get a move on now.''


Ash slowly peeked into the tower's doors. It was pitch dark, inside and outside. Ash quietly took out a pin and began unlocked the door with a single jitter; all that time spending learning from Giovanni certainly was proving to be useful. He sneaked into the cafeteria and navigated the place with pinpoint precision. After all, he had been in here before.

Ash slowly made his way past the tables and chairs, and stepped out into the main lobby. There was a medical room just next to the receptionist counter! Ash quickly limped over to the room, when suddenly, all the lights flickered to life, and a nurse stepped out from the medical room, humming softly. She turned round, and spotted Ash leaning against the wall.

''EEEEP!'' She squealed. ''HELP! THIEF!''

Ash was in no condition to argue with her, instead he tried to point at his ankle and his cut, but the nurse had already rushed into the medical room. A moment later, a doctor with half his lab coat put on properly stepped into view, hastily thrusting at Ash with a broom.

''Stay back!'' He warned, sweating profusely. ''I don't have any money.''

Ash was getting dizzy, and slumped on the wall, gasping for air. His breaths were ragged and uneven, and he raised a shaky hand to point at his ankle. The doctor and the nurse stared at him, unsure of what he was implying. Ash was ready to cry out in frustration, but he tried to make a plus sign with his fingers: The universal symbol for hospitals.

Ash smiled with satisfaction as the doctor realized what he meant, and started screaming orders to his nurse. He looked down to see Pikachu holding his finger worriedly. Until his vision tunneled and his consciousness dimmed, and all he saw was eternal blackness...


Giovanni tapped his phone impatiently, then immediately picked up once it started vibrating.

''What took you so long!'' He demanded. ''You had me waiting for an hour!''

''Unexpected circumstances,'' Was all the reply he got, then Giovanni sighed in frustration. ''Well? Did you do it?''

''Done and done.'' Giovanni stated proudly. ''I made the forest burn, just like you wanted.''

''Good. Now stop calling me! It's annoying.''

''Wait!'' Giovanni said, and he could feel the tense breathing of Labem through his speaker. ''I have some information you might want.''

''What kind of 'information' could you possibly give me,'' Labem sneered.

Giovanni smirked, and averted his eyes to the dormant Sinnoh League tower in front of him. ''Ash is in the tower. And he's injured.''

''Is he now? What a perfect opportunity!'' Giovanni heard a clap from his other end. ''I want him to watch in agony as his friends slowly die, and he could do nothing about it. I want him to spend every waking moment of his life knowing the meaning of the living dead.''

Giovanni cleared his throat. ''Why do you hate him so much?''

''None of your business!'' Labem snarled. ''Now follow my instructions. I want you to...''


May sighed. All day long she had been trekking down the mountain path. She was tired and hungry, but refused to accept a hand from Brock. They were halfway down the mountain when Brock called for a stop, which was more than fine to the panting trainer. She sat down eagerly as Drew chuckled and gave her a steaming bowl of stew.

''Eat up. You're famous for that.'' Drew smiled, then his eyes turned serious. ''We won't find anything good down there, until we reach the tower.''

May took a spoon and fiddled with the soup. ''Drew?''

''Hmm?'' He turned his gaze to May.

''I just want to say...thanks for being like, the glue to us or something.'' May giggled. ''For helping us stick together.''

Drew smiled, then patted her head. This time, May blatantly shook it and glared at him. ''Stop that! Why does everyone do that to me? It's like I'm a dog or something!''

''No! Nothing,'' Drew quickly turned away, and walked off, muttering something about hair. May sighed. It was really great that Drew was here, if not, everything would have fallen apart a long time ago. She stirred her soup as she stared at the sky, and replayed the scenes from earlier today in her head. Particularly when Drew had acted like a peace talker.

''It doesn't help that we're fighting amongst ourselves. Ash is alive, so you don't need to worry, Paul-''

''Wait a minute!'' May gasped suddenly, realizing for the first time the major loophole everyone had ignored. She dared a glance at Drew, who was busy talking with Brock.

''How did Drew know Ash is alive...''


Did no one notice the loophole too? Then I did my job well XD

Well, this is one chapter I definitely enjoyed writing, and I hope to see more reviews soon! Bye everyone!