Last Chapter...
"Like I was saying before, if Aether Paradise was the hotspot of Ultra Beasts and the location of which Team Flare discovered the Yzerlock's location, then it's likely the mole fed them the information. We keep an incredibly detailed report of everything and everything that's searched her at Aether Paradise."
Ash blinked. "Which means…"
"Whoever looked up anything about the Rainbow Yzerlock, we're about to find—"
A cry from the end of the room cut them off. "Use Psybeam!"
In an instant, Ash tackled Lusamine out of the way of a pinkish beam that destroyed multiple computers in the room. Sparks and electricity were launched in all directions from the blast that narrowly avoided the duo on the ground. In a moment, Ash's hands were gripping two pokeballs and the room was alight with the glow of Pokémon.
"Garchomp, Sceptile, on me!"
The duo materialized and let out two respective roars. Ash waited for the smoke to clear and let out a growl when he did. "I should have known."
A young woman was standing there, sporting orange sunglasses and a sexy smirk that would make most innocent young men faint. Her long legs were covered by orange pants and an orange belt held the pants up. What really stood out though, was the blonde hair she was sporting. Lusamine stood up, her jaw ajar. "W-What?"
Star Withers, dressed entirely in Team Flare gear, smirked back at the duo. "Howdy boss. Care to meet my partner Vivillon?"
Neither Serena or Sycamore noticed Ghost and instead focused on Clemont, who still hadn't said anything since figuring out Ash was the point of conversation. After a moment or two of laying into the blonde gym leader, Ghost cleared his throat.
"Pardon."
The trio looked to Ghost, who was no longer wearing his hat and seemed to have something in his hand. "I keep forgetting my manners… please go on, Mr. Ghost?" The balding man apologized yet again.
The young man with bright blue eyes smiled. "I would initially tell you that I'm far too young to be called 'Mr.' anything. I would also tell you Ghost is just fine. But… given the scenario and reason for me calling you all together, I suppose that wouldn't do either." Ghost held up a small device and pressed it. In an instant, Ghost's appearance changed. His light-brown, raven-style of hair and blue eyes morphed. His hair color darkened considerably and his eyes changed from blue to a light auburn.
For a moment or two, nothing was said between the four of them.
It was Serena who realized what had happened first.
She let out a strangled gasp as her hands flew to her mouth, disbelief written all over her beautiful face. "N-No… N-No… It can't be… I-I-It…" The tears began to flow freely as she fell to her knees, hands still covering her mouth as she struggled to process her emotions. Meanwhile, Professor still looked as though he hadn't truly processed what had just happened in front of him. Instead, the champion spoke for them.
"You can call me Ash."
Max Maple was sitting in his hotel room relaxing, knowing he was living the life of a true champion. He was in the final four of a legendary competition. He had a girlfriend that made boys swoon. He had proven he was a powerful trainer. Now, all he had to do was crush two puny trainers who stood in his path and he'd effectively become a legend amongst legends. There was nothing that could stop him now.
Abruptly though, the lights in the room cut off. "Hm?" The young boy muttered in bewilderment. "A power outage? Now?"
A voice swept through the room. "Not exactly."
Chills were instantly launched down his spine. Max whirled around, panic surging through him like a tidal wave. "Y-You!? Again!? What do you want!?"
Silence. Then, grim words. "Your time wears thin Maple. You're going to fall sooner than you think."
Max yelled to the seemingly empty room. "That's what you think. You may have gotten the best of me once, it's not going to happen again! Just try to stop me!"
A humorless chuckle echoed throughout the room. "You believe you will become champion? You believe you have a chance to overtake my throne?"
"I know I do. You should know your days are numbered Ghost, I'm coming for you and your league." Max spoke arrogantly, a smirk coming over his face for the first time in their conversation. Another chuckle from the champion. "Funny, I would say the same to you regarding your little posse."
Footsteps were heard clattering slowly somewhere in the room. "Let's talk about the champion role. I hate to break this to you, but not really; winning this tournament will not give you instant champion status or nothing of the sort." Max doubled-back in disbelief.
"W-What?"
"You actually believe that you'd just become a champion simply by winning in a tournament? What an idiot you are. It's actually a bit remarkable how someone so ridiculously inept can make it so far in a tournament." Ghost taunted with a bit of glee.
"That's a lie, you're making it all up!"
Another snark from Ghost turned into one of seriousness. "Well, even if I was, it's not like it matters. First, you're not going to beat me in battle. I'm going to bury you so badly it will take years to find your body. Your Pokémon will not be far behind you; I find it amusing that you believe you have a chance to win. Second, you won't become champion even if by some grace of Arceus itself you win this tournament, as it's not how the league works. How unfortunate." He walked slowly around the room, allowing the suspension to ramp up.
Max couldn't tell where Ghost was based on his movement, but it didn't take him long to hear the words next to his ear. "Last but not least, let's not forget the past."
The young man jumped a few inches in the air, startled to say the least. He turned to the noise, but nobody was there. "Past?" Max questioned. "What past?"
Ghost uttered two words. "Ash, Ketchum."
Max Maple merely growled at this statement. When he spoke aloud, it came out far more tentative than he intended for it to be. "W-Wha… What d-do you mean?"
Nothing was spoken for a moment. Then, more footsteps were heard, followed by words spoken with malice.
"I know you killed him. I've told you this before. Did you think I was bluffing? I told you everything you needed to know." The ominous voice spoke.
Max found his footing. "But you haven't turned me in. You haven't turned in any of my friends. This can only mean one thing; You have no proof of it. The courts won't listen to anyone without some kind of evidence, and even you know it!" A laugh escaped Ghost's lips from the corner of the room. The say the situation was dark and eerie was a drastic understatement. The laughter continued for a handful of minutes before Ghost spoke, darkness coloring his tone. "You believe I would be doing all this without any proof?" Max said nothing, sweat beginning to bead down his forehead slowly.
This time though, Max knew where Ghost was speaking from. Granted, the Alola Champion had finally emerged from a dark corner of the room. "Kalos. Volcano. Betrayal. You had the nerve to call him a friend only to push him to his demise without a second thought. You, along with his other friends, murdered Ash Ketchum." The champion took a step closer to the boy, who looked visibly intimidated. Ghost spoke slowly, putting emphasis on each and every word. "Remember those words I told you? I. Was. There." More footsteps slowed pattered around Max, who could feel an eerie sensation gnawing at his senses.
"I want to know… why."
He had tried this approach before. It hadn't worked then, and the intimidation didn't seem to work now. Max gripped a pokeball, prepared for battle. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about you bastard. Get the hell out of my room."
Ghost said nothing for a moment or two before eventually breaking the silence. "It seems you've made your decision… very well. Mr. Maple, since it seems as though you won't be cooperating, I'll let you in on something; my entire league is aware of your actions against Ash Ketchum. Your entire group will be tried, you will be found guilty, and you will be thrown in jail for the rest of your lives."
Ghost took two steps closer, his red vest coming somewhat into view. "I will allow you one final battle; your battle against myself. I am here to tell you that, no matter what happens, victory or defeat, I will be arresting you for your actions. You will not be able to win the tournament no matter what becomes of our battle." Max's breathing began to get rapid as panic set in slowly.
"N-No… that's a lie! You can't issue direct arrests!"
A laugh escaped Ghost's lips. "And yet, I got Damien Dark arrested immediately after my battle with him. He's been tried, he's been found guilty of Pokémon abuse, and he's going to spend the rest of his days rotting behind bars." Max appeared to be paralyzed in fear, not moving as Ghost slowly approached him. Speaking directly in his ear, Ghost whispered.
"Imagine what I'm going to do with you and your worthless posse when you get convicted of first degree murder."
Max couldn't help but shudder. "I'm going to give you the offer I'm going to give your friends; the same one I gave you before: confess to the murder of Ash Ketchum, and I myself will lighten how hard I will push you in the courts. Should you choose not to confess, I will humiliate you all one by one in the courtrooms, but not before messing up your lives as best as I possibly can."
Ghost turned and walked to the room's balcony. He turned back to Max, who was still frozen in place, pokeball in hand. "You have until the day before our battle to decide, at midnight." He took three steps towards the railing and spoke again. "Oh yes… don't worry about telling your friends… they're about to find out the same as you."
Max watched in abstract horror as Ghost leapt off the edge of the ledge and into the night sky, as though a mass-murder had escaped into the darkness to continue his reign of terror. Max dimly felt a trickling liquid spilling down his left pant leg; he was too engrossed in realizing the horrific truth.
Ghost, his nemesis, thorn in his side, and most feared trainer in the world, knew his darkest secret. The realization slammed into Max.
Ghost was coming for them.
Present…
The days had merged together quickly. The battle between Ghost and Max was nearly upon ALT City, and it rightfully had the entire world holding their breath. Max Maple, a complete underdog and nobody had somehow made it all the way to the final four of the tournament.
However, Ghost himself was spending his time with two particular people; his partner Misty and his medical refugee in Abel Winchine. The boy, who was essentially all healed from his wounds and had been staying in the medical center in the Pokémon league for his own protection, knew almost nothing about why he had been moved outside of his protection. His Pokémon kept constant guard, determined to not allow any more harm come to their trainer. A looming conversation explaining everything was soon on the horizon though, and to say Ash was a bit worried would be understating the obvious.
With his spare time, Misty and him would spend many hours together carousing across ALT City and enjoyed every second together. Fortunately, of the two battles that remained, Max and his battle was first, which meant they would be able to happily enjoy some extra time while the second battle would be at least two days apart. Ash had a short intermission before he had to seriously dive in.
But what he and Misty ended up doing in some of their spare time was actually that of some battle preparation. Since Ash's identity was still a secret to the outside world, the two could only talk about their true lives in the cover of privacy. In public, while they'd happily enjoy their company of one another, Misty would explain to Ash how Max's battle tactics had developed over the years and give some pointers to how to bury him even greater than the public expected him to do so.
Normally, Ash would take some offense to the pointers, as though someone was trying to say he wasn't capable of beating someone by himself. However, spending this time with Misty while beginning to rebuild old bridges was important to him. Of course, there was plenty of time for kisses and cuddles as time droned on.
On one occasion, a trio of young female tourists had caught them getting intimate in a corridor near the heart of the city. To say they were shocked was a drastic, drastic understatement. They ran out of the alley with a blinding speed and mouth's chattering at maximum volume. Ash knew it wouldn't be long before word got out officially… not that it really mattered in the long haul in his eyes. Of course, something would happen that he hadn't been able to calculate.
But, in other news, as the city prepared for the semi-finals matches of Trip vs. Misty and Ghost vs. Max, Aether Paradise was working overtime to locate the Yzerlock. With Star locked up and in league custody, the entire facility was on alert to make sure the device wasn't activated. Ash had deduced that, with one of their spies in league custody, one of three things would happen from Flare's end.
The first and least likely option would be that Flare would snap immediately and attempt to use Yzerlock in a blind rage. While it was unclear if Flare was missing anything or even knew how the device worked, Ash didn't think they could get access to Delveon, who was always attached safely to his belt.
The second option was that Flare did nothing and stood pat, waiting for their signal to strike. Ash found this choice to be more likely. However, choice three made the most sense; doing something in retaliation but nothing that major. In any event, Flare hadn't done anything that Ash had taken notice of… yet.
On the topic of Flare, or at least ex-operatives of said group, Malva had yet to turn up anywhere. Diantha was, as per usual, being a fraud of a champion, so naturally, she did nothing to help the situation and held up insisting she knew where Malva was and that she was fine. Though when Ash pressed, she didn't give him any further details.
Xavier was still worried sick, and by this point even Ash felt a bit of worry creeping up on him. The timing of her leaving combined with Xavier's' reemergence felt like a dark coincidence to him. The man was becoming a shell of his former self, even as he was buried under the work he received for knocking Ash's socks off back when he and Malva were fooling around. It didn't change that the brown-haired man was far out of sorts than what his elites expected of him.
But back at the league, Abel was recovering, waiting for any of the elites to give him an explanation on why he had been moved from ALT City's hospital to the league's private ward. Not a single lick of information outside of Ghost being the one to initialize and authorize the movement had come his way. To say the anxiety had begun to build was a drastic, drastic understatement. He'd only been there for a few days but was back to full health.
In any event, the ward he was placed in had multiple other beds and smaller beds for what appeared to be Pokémon. His Pokémon were scattered about the room, his Minun taking the role of lead guard amongst his Pokémon and essentially giving each of them shifts. There were food bowls for them as well littered around the room, as though they'd already made themselves at home. As the young man was scanning the room warily, he didn't notice someone sitting directly next to him.
"You're awake. Good."
The man started, lurching backwards in a defensive maneuver. Ghost himself was sitting there, eyes unreadable and face emotionless. His red vest was still on, but he was opting for blue jeans instead of his usual dark gray. "Did you even knock?"
A chuckle. "Of course, I wouldn't want to barge in and be promptly blown to kingdom-come by your army of Pokémon here would I?" It was then that Abel realized the Pokémon must've been used to his presence, if that was the case…
"You've visited me a lot, haven't you?" Abel spoke suspiciously.
"How'd you know?"
"If you just came in for a quick visit by coincidence, my Pokémon would likely be at your throat, no matter how many of yours you'd bring in. They're relaxed, which means they're used to you being here in this room, in all likeliness." The young man shrugged.
"Hm. You're correct. I've been waiting for you to wake up, you see." The champion spoke, the smallest of grins etched on his face.
"How long have I been out this time?"
"Not long. All the other times you've been awake I've been out of the league, which is quite often these days. Overall you've only been here about four days, but your body has been resting and recovering from the toll you took. You've been asleep a lot more than usual."
Silence came from Abel, processing the information at his own pace. After a moment, he pushed himself up and stretched before speaking. "If you've been visiting me that often, it obviously has something to do with why I was brought here, why you visited me in the hospital?" The trainer looked around the brown-brick colored room and sighed. "Well, let's hear it. If you've been coming this often, you must have something you want to get off your chest. I'm all ears."
The champion seemed to look off into the distance for a moment. "First and foremost, I was simply visiting you because I was there visiting Misty. That being said, I truly wanted to see how you were doing. The conversation I was present for just happened to be by coincidence."
Abel's eyes bugged out for a moment, the realization slamming into him abruptly. He was the son of one of the most hated men across the globe. And a champion who was bracing for a region-wide attack from that group was sitting next to him.
"If you're here to ask about Lysandre, I had no clue he was even my father, I swear it! Delia Ketchum only sounds familiar because of that will we'd just read! I never even got to meet Ash Ketchum before!"
Ghost held up his hand and Abel stopped his tirade. "Firstly, the name is Ketchum. Secondly, I'm not accusing you of anything, the information was clearly as much of a shock to you as it was to me. All I would like is some information."
An exasperated look formed on Abel's face. "W-What do you want to possibly know about Lysandre? I just found out this guy was my birth dad just a few days ago! I've been trying to process knowing that one of the most evil people on this entire planet is the man who's my biological father, w-what could I possibly know that would be of any use to you?"
"Well for one, tell me how you remember going to Hoenn. How do you think Lysandre got your foster parents to take care of you without them recognizing him?" Ghost spoke matter-of-factly.
Silence. "Well, he wouldn't have been well-known then, right?"
"What do you mean?"
Abel elaborated. "Wasn't Team Flare barely in the picture back when I was born, if at all? My foster parents probably wouldn't have known him, especially if they were from Hoenn."
The champion frowned. "Well, that actually makes sense to why Lysandre wanted you in Hoenn and not Kanto, where you were likely born."
"How do you figure I was born in Kanto?"
"Well that's where Mrs. Ketchum is from. She's been there her whole life. Seems easy to reason that it's there in Pallet Town where you were born."
Abel had a surprised look. "Pallet Town? I was just there a couple of weeks ago!"
Surprise formed quickly on Ghost's face as well. "You were? What for?"
Abel scratched his head sheepishly. "Admittedly, I was visiting Tracey's gravestone."
"I-I may have seen you. I was there a couple weeks ago as well." Ghost admitted.
"And why were you there?" The young man blinked, obviously curious.
Ghost shrugged. "I was there speaking to Mrs. Ketchum herself."
Abel's jaw unhinged. "What are the chances of that? Why were you there?"
The champion grinned softly, looking down to the floor. "I was fulfilling a promise… to an old friend."
Abel nodded slowly. "Alright… well, what do you want to know?"
"Do you know anything about your family and just before you left? I remember you mentioning their place burned down mysteriously. Do you think Flare had anything to do with it?"
The young man frowned and looked thoughtful. "I doubt it. Again, I don't think they were aware of Lysandre and that he had a son. I don't think anyone could've known."
More silence again from Ghost. Abel spoke again quietly. "He's out there. He knows he has a son with a woman who he didn't care enough about to stay together with. I can't believe I ever came from someone so vile. He's scum, he doesn't deserve to be on this planet anymore. He's… he's…"
"Dead." Ghost finished for him.
Abel's eyes widened in shock. "Say what? He's dead? That's not possible, how is Flare in operations then?"
"They've got a new leader in charge. Never seen their face though." Ghost admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.
The skepticism from the bed-ridden man was obvious. "Then how do you know Lysandre is dead?" Ghost was quiet for a moment and then chuckled darkly. He looked right at Abel and spoke as bluntly and seriously as he could.
"I killed him."
Abel tried to form words, but found that his brain and his mouth weren't cooperating with one another. Instead, he merely opened and closed his mouth repeatedly on repeat, unsure of what exactly to do with this information. The next words that came out weren't for some time since receiving this information.
"H-How… How did you kill him? Are you certain he's—"
The champion interrupted. "Tossed him off a five-story building. I watched as his brains splattered the concrete below like a burst of red paint caking a plain wall. For someone who was content on causing the world nothing but destruction and pain, I showed him no mercy then."
"Would you show him mercy now?"
Ghost opened and closed his mouth hesitantly. "That's… a good question. Back then, I was someone completely different. I only wore black clothes and cloaks that concealed my identity. If you could believe it, I was a shell of this self to cover who I was before I became Ghost, champion of Alola."
He was silent for another moment. "To answer your question, I don't know if I'd kill Lysandre again. Part of me believes I was far too harsh, but back then, I slaughtered anyone who stood in my way. I wasn't afraid to take lives to save them, as I saw it. The other part of me believes that if I had left Lysandre alive, the world may have fallen into ruin. It's a tough decision to make, and it's one I may have to make again soon if I'm to stop Flare again."
"I see…" Abel spoke quietly.
Ghost said nothing before carefully picking his next words. "I need to tell you something important Abel. It's part of the reason you're here."
"Alright…" The man spoke slowly. "I'm all ears."
"Look, I need to know; what do you know about Ash Ketchum?"
The boy was clearly not expecting the question. "My parents are Lysandre and Delia Ketchum, but you want to know about my dead half-brother?" Abel looked more than a little baffled by Ghost's question but didn't refrain from answering it honestly. "Well, everything I know about Ash was essentially told to me just a few days ago from that will message. I know he'd passed away awhile ago, but I've never met him. I wouldn't know really anything about him. Why do you want me to tell you about my dead half-brother?"
Ghost chuckled. "Well, it's not really a matter of me wanting to know about Ash… I want you to know about Ash."
"Huh?"
Ghost stood up and walked to the nearest window, arms crossed behind him as he prepared to reveal the cold truth. "Ash Ketchum was not tragically killed by nature as many people have believed. Ash Ketchum was a victim of foul play, killed by his best friends by throwing him in a fiery volcano. He was betrayed by those closest to him and left to rot, all the while those who backstabbed him got away with murder."
Abel gaped and then began laughing. "Ghost, how would you know that? That sounds like a modern tragedy of some sort. How can you expect me to believe that? Why do you want me to believe that?"
Ghost turned, the faintest of smiles on his face. "Because I was there."
"How could you have been there? That was… at least five years ago! That's gotta be before you were even—"
"The champion of Alola? Not quite." Ghost paced for a moment. "It was before I was even the Ghost, before my alias consumed me and my past."
Abel said nothing, only cautiously eyeing up the Alola champion as the powerful trainer picked his next words. There was a strange glow about Ghost, as though he was about to reveal something that could change the world. "Truth be told…" The raven-haired trainer chuckled softly, running a hand through his light-brown locks. "People are still blind to the oblivious truth that is right in front of them. People don't question the true identity of the Ghost. Soon, people will begin to do just that. It's why my identity won't remain a secret for long. It's why I need to do what I'm doing here."
Abel blinked. "And, what exactly is that?"
"… letting someone in."
Another moment of peace before Ghost took a deep breath, licking his lips and gritting his teeth. This would be a move that would be necessary should the worst come to worst- having Abel as an ally would be crucial. "If Ash Ketchum was here, and he would say anything to you to help you two understand one another, I'm certain he would say, "Never, ever trust Max Maple. Don't trust him with your life, don't trust him with your Pokémon, never trust him. Avoid him like the plague. Keep your distance."
"Ash had a problem with Max? Why?"
Ghost chuckled darkly. "Well, prior to getting chucked into that volcano, he believed Max Maple was on his side."
The realization began to settle in for Abel within a few seconds. "Wait, Max was close friends with Ash? How can that be? Wouldn't he have been able to realize Max wasn't—"
"Like I said, Ash was unable to see the truth before it was too late. The mistake would cost him dearly, but not in the way many people thought. He lost… his life."
"Yeah, he died. Everyone knows that." The young man frowned in bewilderment, still unsure of where Ghost was going with this.
Said leader shook his head, signaling that Abel was still wrong about one thing. "No, I said he lost his life… but… contrary to what everyone believed that day…" Ghost took a seat next to Abel once more.
"The man once known as Ash Ketchum is still alive."
Abel's reaction was a choked gasp mixed with a startled jump in his bed. The boy was looking at Ghost for any shred of joking manner within his eyes or on his face. He saw neither. It was all business for the champion, who looked to be nothing short of dead-serious. "You… Y-You can't be suggesting that Ash Ketchum is still out there?"
"Oh, he is. He's alive. But, as I said, he lost his life." Ghost nodded seriously. "The world believed him to be dead. His so-called friends believed him to be dead. And thus, because of this, Ash Ketchum had to become dead. When Ash Ketchum fell, a new name rose. A new era began under a new name. That person swore to use his second chance to rise to glory, to lead his people to glory, and to get revenge on those who betrayed him."
Abel said nothing as Ghost stood up and walked to the door slowly, shoes gently clamoring against the floor. "W-Wait? That's it? Ghost!"
"Oh… by the way…" Ghost opened the door and turned back to him, a small grin on his face. "Don't call me Ghost anymore, little brother." Abel's eyes bugged out at that, knowing very well what that meant.
"Call me Ash."
The door was closed for a brief moment before Abel launched himself out of the bed and sprinted after his older half-brother, a look that mimicked nothing short of stunned disbelief on his face. For the next few hours, Ash would catch up with his now-aware half brother as Ash explained how his arm was nearly-melted off, his mind scarred and name all but put into the past. Then, he explained the importance of Abel's assistance to the league and why it was so important that he understood the situation with Flare.
Meanwhile... ALT City
As Ash and Abel reconnected on a different level than they had ever been at before, Misty was doing some shopping inside one of ALT City's more premiere clothing stores. She was shopping for some more, naughty, items that she planned to show her partner at a later time. Just the thought of knowing that she had a boyfriend with such a ridiculous backstory was almost comical to her if it wasn't under such dark circumstances.
Still, it felt like fate had officially intervened by pushing the two of them back together. What had seriously startled her more than anything was how Ash had seemingly put off training for his battle against Max to spend time with her. When she had questioned if what he was doing was smart, he had simply spoke that Max wasn't worth training for until the last minute and that, 'Max was going to be buried.'
It didn't startle her as much as she thought it would, to be frank. Ash seemed oddly at peace when the topic of Max ever came up, and when she questioned how he could be so calm, he bluntly said four words, a small smirk on his face as he spoke.
"I have a plan."
She hadn't been relayed into the plan, but it involved Clemont in some way, according to Ash. Regardless, she was happy that he seemed to be at some sort of peace with the given situation and was ecstatic to spend so much time with him at a busy time of his life. She was happy that life was temporarily settling down. Of course, she was about to get a righteous slap in the face from left field.
The bombshell redhead had been finishing her shopping and was in preparation to head back to the league to see Ash, who she expected to be done speaking with Abel. However, something had cut her off in her tracks. It was, more accurately, someone.
"Hello girl."
The redhead turned to see Max there behind her. But oddly, none of his posse seemed to be accompanying him. Misty growled angrily, she hadn't really had meaningful conversation with Max since he took her from Ghost weeks ago and attempted to manipulate him. To no surprise, she was still incredibly bitter to the small male.
"Hello Max. Lose your way from your little criminal brigade?" She snarked. "Here to kidnap me again?"
Max scoffed. "You're attached to that douchebag Ghost like a keychain. Need I remind you that he's my next opponent?"
Misty frowned and then laughed. She grabbed his arm and yanked him into a private corridor of the city and out of sight from any prying eyes. The gorgeous red-haired girl turned on Max with a look of pure malice. "You kidnapped me and nearly convinced my boyfriend that I would leave him for my dead crush. Why would I ever support you? If I'm picking between my boyfriend and my douchebag companion who tried to ruin my life on multiple occasions, the real question is, 'how fast can I turn in the card?'"
The boy sneered. "He's nothing but a big bully. He's threatened to actually remove me from the tournament from some seriously outlandish claims. I don't buy it for a second."
Misty laughed again at Max. "Why would he make a threat that he couldn't deliver on? This is the champion of the Alola region we're talking about Max, the connections he has are simply too much for you to possibly comprehend."
"And how would know about these connections?" Max snarked. "Even he doesn't tell you everything Misty. You can't be that gullible."
Misty fired right back without missing a beat. "You're one to talk about being gullible if you honestly think you can beat Ghost in a battle. Though I should thank you for being so worthless as a trainer… it did get me a date with the man that's going to bury you and your Pokémon alive in a couple of days."
The young trainer just growled. "Just you wait, this time things are going to be different."
The red-haired girl smirked. "No they won't."
Max opened his mouth to say something, but Misty kept talking, her anger beginning to boil over little by little. "You've always been a sore loser. You lose to a trainer, you whine and moan until your girlfriend shoves her breasts into your face. You lose to Abel Winchine consistently, so you steal his Pokémon and get out of battling him thanks to him getting attacked, and here you are thinking you're the next biggest thing. You lose to Ghost once badly enough where you have to target me, kidnap me and impersonate me to completely demoralize him. What kind of morals do you even have, if any? You're a worthless piece of shit Max, and I wish I never had met you."
Even Max looked a bit surprised by Misty's rage. "Misty, I—"
The girl wasn't finished. "No no, shut your mouth. Don't utter another word. This isn't something that's only been recent, no. You've been acting like a tool for ages now. Mom and Dad are too blind to see what you've become, but I'm not. In their eyes you're an angel who can do no wrong and is blessed with talents beyond comprehension. All I see is a flat, dull, sulking crybaby who resorts to underhanded and illegal actions to get what he wants. You have no skill. You have no conscience. You have no morals. You are the definition of worthless. I always wondered when your dickishness turned from that to outright backstabbing others to get what you want, but it's not that hard to pinpoint the exact time in all reality."
She was in his face snarling by this point. "This all started the day you killed Ash."
Now, Max had kept the little-known fact that he had seen Ash just before he passed away very close to his chest. He never spoke about it, and he knew none of his friends spoke about it. But if Misty known that, that meant a lot of things that he didn't want to run through without some serious time to consider his actions. The young man's face morphed from fear and surprise to reality settling in and anger.
But then, it changed to glee. "I knew it!"
Misty merely frowned, certainly caught off-guard by Max's abnormal reaction. "You told Ghost about the Ash situation, blew it out of proportion and told him we killed him to get back at us for the whole 'impersonator Misty' thing huh? That's classy Misty, it almost worked too. Nobody was killed, I certainly haven't killed anyone." Max laughed innocently.
But there was a slip-up in the slide. "I never mentioned there was a group. Who's this 'we' you're speaking of?"
Max did pale this time around, not realizing his mistake until pointed out to him by the one who opposed him. After a few moments, he merely scoffed and growled. "Whatever. You don't have any proof. Ghost only thinks we did it because you told him, which means everything he's done so far is simply a ploy. Thanks for confirming it."
Max made to push past Misty, but something she said made him halt. "Is that really a chance you're going to take?"
The boy didn't move, seriously considering her words for maybe the first time in their entire conversation. Misty took a step in front of Max and spoke conversation, hand itching towards a pokeball she had nearby. "My boyfriend wiped the pavement before when he thought you were just a whiny little brat. Imagine what he'll do to you on the battlefield when he knows you're a murderer. You can run all you want, but he's going to pin you on the battlefield, then run you over in courts. You're going to spend the rest of your life behind bars where you can't hurt anyone else."
Max opened his mouth to speak but got a glimpse of Misty's hand reaching towards a pokeball and instinctively reached for his own. This only made Misty more alert, believing a battle was soon to begin. Max, however, felt he had the advantage here. He felt that he had a lot of experience despite Misty being a skilled trainer.
"You think can beat me in a battle Misty? Hmph. You're dumber than you look." Max chuckled arrogantly.
"You are no match for a trainer like me. Just give up your attempts." On hearing that Max just laughed but Misty felt the match could be close.
Max seemed to pick up on her hesitancy and preyed on it. "So here's what's going to happen—"
"No, I'll tell you what's going to happen." The duo turned to the new voice that had abruptly brought them out of their little grudge match. The pink-haired woman that Misty had been seeing more and more was there, a dark aura surrounding her body and covering her every move. She slowly walked into the conversation while Max instinctively took a step back.
The girl spoke, bitterness and malice woven together. "Go back to your little wimp brigade or whatever it is you're a part of. If you don't, my Glaceon and her Vaporeon would be quite glad to introduce you to our absolute-zero attack. An immediate look from Zandra to Misty told her that it true. The redhead turned to Max and merely smiled. "Well Max? What's it gonna be?"
The boy seemed to weigh his options for a moment or two before ultimately scoffing and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Neither of you are worth my time anyway. It'll just wear my Pokémon down too far. Tell Ghost he better stay in his lane, his time in the tournament's about to come to an end, just watch."
"Maybe you should believe it yourself first before trying to convince others." Zandra spoke in a bored tone.
The only male of the now trio opened his mouth to argue, thought about his words for a moment before snarling and stalking off. As he left, he gave his parting shot. "Watch your back pinkie. You're all gonna get it." The teen walked out, muttering under his breath.
Misty let out a soft sigh of indignation, more than just a little angry. Surprisingly though, it was Zandra who broke the silence first. "I just felt that you needed help."
The girl sweatdropped, expecting the reaction from the protective pink-haired beauty. "Er… thanks?"
Either Zandra didn't notice the hesitancy or chose not to care/comment on it. "No problem. Ghost sent me. He's done with his conversation with Abel and they've caught up. He's in a conversation now with the gym leaders of Alola regarding the device Aether Paradise is looking for, but it shouldn't take long. He instructed I take you back to the league if you're done with your shopping."
Misty didn't say anything though; she merely looked at Zandra, who appeared more bored than anything else. "Why don't you like me?"
This question honestly seemed to startle Zandra, who'd been caught off guard by the question. "Why don't I like you?"
"Yes! You still have been cold to me. Even after you rekindled everything with Lance, you still act all distant around me! Why is that?" The young woman was baffled.
"H-How did you know I was—" Zandra's cheeks were tinted red.
Misty waved her hand. "Please, I'm a woman like you; I pick up on stuff men don't. Whenever his name comes up, you change."
The beauty grumbled, a bit miffed she'd been so obvious. "I really don't want to have this conversation. Can we please move along?"
But the young woman was persistent. "No, because I want to have this conversation!"
Resolve seemed to settle in Zandra's eyes, as though she'd just been given the green light to let loose years of frustration. "You want the truth? Fine; then here's the truth. I do not trust any of his old friends and expect them to betray him again and you know you've got him wrapped around your finger. It's sickening to watch him let go so easily."
"Why is that a bad thing if we want to be together?" The girl was flabbergasted.
"Because you're forgetting that Ash suffered for six years thinking about his friends even though you did not betray him. I know he can forgive, but because of the past Lance and I have, I don't forgive easily. It's how I got my nickname. So while he may have forgotten all the pain the other traitors caused him all those years ago, I haven't. That's why I'm so bitter." Zandra spoke angrily, allowing the steam she'd been consistently building up to let loose.
Misty had a stunned look written on her pretty features. Zandra took a deep breath and turned away from Misty. "Now, can we please get on with this and get moving?" The pink-haired girl didn't wait for Misty's response and merely walked out, an unreadable expression on her face. Misty ran to catch up, unsure of what the red-haired champion himself could've done that made Zandra the way she was.
Though she knew Max was a liar and a cheat in most ways, he had spoken the truth about one thing; Ghost didn't tell her everything.
The League...
"So we all understanding the situation, yes?"
The group of people looked amongst one another and nodded. It was Vanya Strickland, the HeaHea City Gym Leader, who spoke. "I think it's a consensus yes. We know the stakes and we understand that the region and the world could be on the line here."
Kiawé added. "We know to remain in direct contact with Aether Paradise if anything goes haywire. We know to always remain in touch with the league in addition to Aether. We're all on high alert for the Yzerlock. We'll find it, you can count on us."
Ghost nodded, a calculating look on his face. "I'm glad we're on the same page. You're all dismissed, thank you for coming on such short notice." One by one the leaders filed out, all of them muttering and speaking amongst one another conversationally. Ash merely bit his inner lip, feeling the stress of being a leader and then some. He didn't regret becoming Ghost; it was a necessity to remain hidden. But it was times like these where he wished he was just Ash Ketchum, normal trainer.
The world was at stake. He had to protect the regions and the world, but he feared what would happen if he didn't stop Flare from activating the Rainbow Yzerlock. Part of him believed it was smart to bring the other world leaders' attention to the situation at hand, but in the end, he opted against it. Lance would become the likely exception to the situation, but he didn't fully trust all the leaders, especially Diantha. It wasn't like she was working for Flare, but he questioned her priorities and what she would do with the information if it got out.
That's why everything was kept on the extreme down-low. With Aether's Mole successfully dug up, Ash felt twice as safe relaying information there. Security had once more ramped up, but fortunately, given the tournament being local, it wasn't odd for an increase of security. Therefore, it seemed like little to no attention was brought upon themselves despite Aether Paradise being connected to ALT City.
His pokégear rang, snapping him out of his train of thought. He picked up on the second ring. "This is Ghost. Speak." Ash shook his head with a roll of his eyes when he heard the voice on the other line. "Yes, it's been awhile, but I'm incredibly—"
He hesitated as the voice on the other line spoke. The champion sighed and rubbed his temples with one hand. "No, I'm not following contests… No I'm unaware of essentially everything related to medical items that help Pokémon gain legal advantages. Why is this important to me and why did you call me to tell me this?"
Silence. "… I'm the champion of an entire region and in the final four of a tournament in my own home ground. Yes I'm very busy!" Ash groaned and paced the room. "Fine, call back later." The line cut dead and Ash couldn't contain his annoyance. "They call me randomly, yet it's my fault. Sheesh. I'd love to be talking about performance-enhancing items regarding contests but I still don't get why it involves me."
Ash walked to the nearest window and looked out of it, admiring the ocean below with a thoughtful look in his eyes. It didn't take long to be ripped back to reality.
"Deep in thought?"
Ash turned to the voice and saw Axel and July walking into the room. "Just got a lot on my plate at the moment. What's the word?"
The green-haired girl responded first. "Xavier's still out with Clemont, preparing the plan. Zandra's likely got Misty by this point and will be on her way back with your precious lady—" Axel playfully jabbed his girlfriend in her ribs, making the girl growl playfully. After a moment she finished her sentence. "And as for us, we got something that, well, seems fake."
"What seems fake?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
"It's just… well, look at this." Axel said. He pulled out a small black laptop and opened it. "What's so important that—" Ash began but July interrupted him.
"Trust me, you're going to want to see this."
A few seconds droned on before Axel got a screen to appear. The leader of Alola got a glimpse of the photo and frowned. It was a picture of a woman on her toes and hunkered down close to the ground. She was wearing a mostly-black uniform of sorts, but her face was blocked. "Who is she? Where is this taken, and why is it impossible to get a clean look of this picture?"
The blonde boy explained. "This was taken directly outside the east corridor of the league a few days ago. That's when we had a massive storm, and the storm temporarily took off the power of the entire league. It's why the quality of this picture is bad."
"Hoping you have good news then?" Ash spoke expectantly.
Axel clicked the 'next' arrow key on the computer and began to scroll through pictures. "Bail gave this to us while you were in your meeting with the leaders. They'd just been able to collect all the pictures from this, and we matched the location outside. It's undoubtedly real."
"But who is it?"
The electric-specialist clicked one final button that turned the picture again to a clear photo. This time, Ash could clearly see the person's face. He paled profusely when he immediately recognized the girl. "W-Wha… I-I don't…"
"You always trust your gut Ash; it seems that it wasn't wrong."
Ash stared at the picture, which clearly showed a pink-haired girl staring away at something as she continued her work. Despite the black outfit, she was clearly attractive. Ash muttered softly, "Malva." Sure enough, the picture indeed showed the missing elite of Kalos. It took a few more seconds to settle in, but then Ash recalled a statement that had been spoken from the beginning of their conversation.
"Wait, you mentioned something being fake?"
July merely chuckled. "Aware as always Mr. Champion. Remember, this could be someone with a ton of makeup on, like 'Misty' did that one time. Also, what doesn't make a lot of sense is why Malva would be outside the league on such a strange time."
"Well it was raining, it would make a lot of sense to be out there. Plus, maybe she knew that the power was out in some systems and just didn't realize the cameras were still active thanks to the backup generators?" Ash questioned his elite's logic, identifying some serious holes with the claim that the picture could be faked.
Axel added. "I didn't think about this before, but if this picture is from a video reel, how could it be faked unless the information Bail gave us was fake?"
July opened and closed her mouth. "I… didn't think about this either. If this information is unedited video footage, that essentially removes all variables. At least, all the most likely options have been shut down."
Axel looked to July and blinked rapidly, cheeks heating up a bit from embarrassment. "So it's not a fake?"
Ash sighed. "Maybe it is, maybe it's not. I don't think it is given the circumstances, but as for right now, I have somewhere I need to be. I need you both to follow up with Bail and Arch about this, we need to see if any systems have been compromised. I'm putting you both in charge of the task, don't let me down. Under no circumstances are you to attempt to make contact with me over the course of the next two hours, is that clear?"
The lovebirds looked to one another, unsure of the odd request given the timing. But they knew better than to disagree with their champion when he had a plan. "Alrighty then boss, the floor's yours." Axel said hesitantly while July merely raised her palms up as if to surrender.
"Good. Make sure everyone else gets the message too. I've got somewhere important to be…" Ash turned on his heel and stalked out of the conference room, the smallest of grins plastered on his face. The duo behind him looked more than just a little perplexed, but neither one was stupid enough to question him when his mind was set in stone.
The Traitors...
"That was delicious!" An obnoxious voice gushed loudly. The rest of the group voiced their opinions wholeheartedly as they came from a meal at a local restaurant nearby their hotel room in the Pokémon center. Bonnie was attached to Max like a hyperactive keychain of sorts while Iris, Dawn and Cilan were all patting their stomachs in unison.
Cilan was the next to comment. "I must say, that cuisine was positively divine. The fluffy texture yet bold flavor of my dish was a mixture of blends that made everything positively scrumptious!"
"I still can't believe how useless some people are. We're getting treated like Gods!" Dawn spoke, a hint of greed in her eyes.
"They've never seen a trainer as strong as my Maxie." Bonnie spoke sweetly. "And I'm worthy of royalty myself."
"You said it babe." Max commented, a smug grin on his face. "These people are eating out of my hand because they don't want to upset such a strong trainer. I can't wait to bury Ghost into the pavement when it comes time to battle."
The blonde girl snuggled tighter to him. "You teach that big bully what it's like to suffer a real loss."
The group had made their way to the elevator of the Pokémon center and all compacted inside. It was Iris that spoke next. "He's all talk. I'm guessing everyone changes their battle-style from propaganda and stuff. This is his region now, so I'm sure he just bribes the newspaper places and media outlets to write good things about him."
The fivesome chorused their agreements as the elevator doors opened. One by one they filed out, beelining for their room. As Cilan fumbled with the door, Max picked up where the rant had left out. "I'm going to make him wish he never became a trainer. He actually tried to convince me, Max Maple, that he was able to remove me from the tournament. Heh, he must really think I'm stupid or something, only an idiot would fall for that."
The door opened and Cilan immediately heard the television on. "Iris I thought you said you turned the television off when we left?"
"I did!" Iris said, a bit offended by Cilan's tone.
As Cilan and Iris took off for the TV to see the issue, arguing all the way there, Max, Dawn and Bonnie remained behind as the door closed behind them securely. Max was smirking arrogantly. "He had the gall to claim he was there at the volcano when that little prick Ash fell in. It was nothing more than Misty feeding him words. He doesn't completely know what's going on, not a chance in hell."
Dawn scoffed. "He's nothing more than a brute Max. You can run circles around him when you face him in battle."
Max snorted. "Of course I can. I'll make him pay for picking me out in front of all those people during that party. He's going to wish he was never born!"
A voice cut in from their little tirade. It was Iris. "Oh my god!"
Cilan's voice was heard next. "W-What… G-Good heavens…"
The voices continued until the two females and singular male made their way into the common room where the television was located. The Unova duo had similar looks that seemed to mimic utter terror. It was the main ALT City news channel that was on. The other three took in the headline of the television and gradually, one by one, they each paled and felt their hearts drop into the pits of their stomach.
On the screen, a squadron of Pokémon and officer's dressed in blue were seen escorting a young blonde woman out of what was almost certainly her house. She had tears streaming down her face, and a woman with short, brown hair was sobbing at the home's entrance. The woman was presumably her mother. The group of five recognized the girl immediately, as well as the woman behind her. The headline of the news channel was clear as day:
"Serena Yvonne, Pokémon performer, Coordinator and Poke-Puff specialist taken into custody for murder of former Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum."
Max could hear his heart pounding in his ears, as though time was slowly down entirely. He could barely make out the other people of the group around him exclaiming in disbelief or letting out frantic whispers of terror at what they'd just learned. Max wasn't sure how long he'd stared at the screen, but the reality of the situation was still settling in. Ghost had said he was there that day. He claimed to have proof. It was undoubtedly Serena that was shown in that video. It was undoubtedly Mrs. Yvonne, Serena's mother, in the video. The outfits of the police officers even matched that of Kalos.
It was as though the young boy had been doused profusely with a bucket of ice water.
'Ghost wasn't bluffing.'
'Ghost wasn't bluffing.'
'Ghost wasn't bluffing.'
'… Holy mother of Arceus. He knows. He truly knows what we did.' Max sank to his knees, shaking his head slowly and eyes never leaving the television screen, which then showed the police officer's giving a statement about the situation at hand, and how Serena had cooperated with law enforcement.
It was another couple of minutes before Iris spoke, panic in her voice. "Guys, this… this can't be happening. This can't be happening!" The blonde girl in the group merely whimpered, knees tucked into her chest as she felt the dread beginning to consume her. Cilan was sitting in a couch chair, eyes on the floor and hands on his knees. "I… I don't understand how this could've become reality…"
Max suddenly spoke, hope in his voice. "W-Wait, maybe this is just something fabricated that Ghost got the local police to forge together and got it to air? You know, like in movies and stuff! They'll do anything to make him happy!"
A chorus of agreements came from the majority of the group before a sentence from Dawn stopped them. "N-No… it's n-not fake."
The trainer still alive in the top four felt his heart constrict. "What d-do you mean?"
She was staring at her high-tech phone, cheeks devoid of color. "This is all over the Sinnoh news, as well as Unova Daily. I haven't seen a single place that hasn't confirmed the rumors to be true and that Serena was arrested. Pictures from the arrest were taken outside Vaniville Town and just outside her home as well during the operation. They… they really arrested her for the murder of Ash."
Cilan took looked a shade of white. "This… this means that—"
Dawn interrupted softly, allowing their realities to become completely shattered. "She can identify all of us as people of interest, like Ghost can. Like Misty can. That's three claims… and Ghost claims to have proof. Otherwise there's no reason the Kalos police would even listen to him. He… he wasn't bluffing."
The group of five were all staring at one another, similar looks of lost hope and crushed dreams on their faces. Bonnie was crying. Dawn was close to tears. Iris looked as though someone had run over her favorite stuffed animal. Cilan was on the verge of cardiac arrest. Max, though, was a true sight to behold. His eyes were devoid of emotion, his stance mimicked that of a sports player who just lost a major tournament of sorts. He looked like he was on the verge of completely snapping.
"Of course I wasn't bluffing."
The group all turned in unison to the balcony of their room, where a dark figure was standing there, red cap concealing their identity. The figure chuckled. "I never bluff."
Bonnie had lost her temper. "You son of a bitch! Who do you think you are, ruining our lives like this!"
Ghost snarled. "Shut your mouth you worthless tramp. The day I take words from a murderous bitch like you is the day I'm no longer breathing on this world." Bonnie's cheeks puffed out and she felt the urge to lash out and strike him down.
With Cilan restraining Bonnie, Dawn took the reins. "You have some nerve doing this Ghost!"
"Oh, I have the nerve?" His voice darkened. "You take the life of an innocent, refuse to take responsibility and don't heed my words. I told you all that you would pay for committing the crime, and now the bill comes due. You will all suffer my wrath, you will all be arrested, and you will all be charged. Max Maple, as I stated before, you will not win this tournament under any circumstance. If this…" Ghost opened his hand and gestured to the television at this moment. "Is any sign, your days are nearly up. You won't be able to win a tournament regardless of if you must cheat to get past someone as formidable as myself."
The boy growled. "You… you bastard!"
The champion continued as though he hadn't heard the boy speak. "Furthermore, you will all spend the rest of your days behind bars, rotting away. I will personally see to it that you all suffer and beg for mercy. You will receive the same amount of mercy you showed Ash Ketchum; none. You will all crumble at my legs, pleading and crying for any semblance of relief. You. Will. Get. None."
With this sentence, he turned to the balcony and opened a pokeball. "You had your chance." A bright flash and a bellow from a Charizard later, the balcony was clear. The traitors were all left staring at the night sky, similar feelings of horrified bewilderment and terror radiating through their forms.
As the man flew away, the smuggest of grins came across his face.
'Thank you, Clemont and Xavier, for your work. Everything is proceeding as I foresaw… lovely.'