Once again, I do not own Pokemon, even though I'm extremely jealous of Nintendo…

Professor Oak was waiting for Ash to carry on with his story; he took another sip of his drink whilst pondering what could have been the reason for the sudden departure? What had happened that was so shocking, that Ash said he would not believe him? Oak couldn't think of a reason that would be able to do that at all, so the best option would be to wait for Ash to explain himself.

Ash on the other hand was thinking how to explain the events properly to Oak; it was so hard to explain due to the trauma he had experienced at that particular time he had blocked it all out from his mind, so it was only after his years of solitude that he was able to mentally piece it all together again. So after a brief minute if silence Ash finally spoke after a heavy and sad sigh.

"You see professor, the group of people involved in this made me feel terrible and worthless" Ash said with a sigh, before he got up from his chair and started pacing around the room. The stress of remembering what had happened 10 years ago was making his emotions very volatile; one moment he was sad, before ranging up to extreme anger for the pain he had received, before even going down to happy, as the actual solitude had made him a better trainer overall.

"I can remember the first day so clearly; the people, the location and even the bloody words!" Ash said, his voice filled with venom; Oak noted that his hands were gripping the chairs extremely tight as they had both turned into a milky white colour due to the lack of blood reaching them. He was more worried about the chair breaking though; it was a nice antique piece he had required over the years, so he wanted to preserve it still.

"Calm down Ash" Oak said, getting up and placing a comforting hand in his shoulder. "Why don't you just take in a deep breath to relax, and then tell me what happened without breaking my chair. " he said with a chuckle, hoping to make the atmosphere more friendly. Ash gave the professor a small smile at the joke made as he released his hands, before taking in a nice deep breath. "Thanks professor. Just remembering about what happened gets me worked up. But anyway, let's start from the beginning then shall we."

*Flashback*

Ash walked away from the cemetery whilst looking up at the sky. It had been 3 weeks since the fire and he was beginning to cope quite well. All of his friends had been supportive to him, helping him out with the house and other activities to keep him busy so that he wouldn't be left to think about the events that happened that night.. He would have liked to have spent more time with his mum today, but his friends had asked to see him specifically to explain something to him.

It was a simple note pinned to the bedroom door in Oak's spare room when he first woke, just saying for him to meet here at 3:00 PM sharp. Ash had just looked at the note and who had signed it noting that it just said 'your friends', before shrugging and throwing the paper in the bin.

The time was now 2:55 and Ash was already at the house because he figured out that he might as well make himself comfortable for what was going to happen; however, he was not expecting his friends to be waiting there for him already. Ash looked at all of his friends, noticing out of all of them, only Brock, Gary and Tracy weren't to be seen at all. Instead though, he was surprised to see Forrest there as well, but he pushed it to the back of his mind, as he figured that he must have been taking Brock's place instead.

"Hey guys" Ash said giving a huge smile to everyone. "What's the big-"

*SMACK*

Before he could even finish his sentence, Dawn's hand had struck his cheek hard, and had physically sent Ash spinning around the room with his hand clutching at his face. Ash was both shocked and surprised at what had just happened, especially the hit from the young girl that he thought was his friend.

"What…what was that for Dawn" Ash said whilst looking at her, trying to see what he could have done to have caused such a reaction from her that it resulted in her slapping him.

"You know what that was for you bastard," she snarled, before she lashed out again in the hopes of trying to hit him, but thankfully she was stopped by the others. It was clear to Ash that she was shaking but he couldn't be sure whether it was from being sad or just pure anger.

"What? What did I do?" Ash said with his voice filled with sadness. He was beginning to feel unsure of this meeting now, especially from Dawn's reaction. Why on earth did she do that, but was she the only one? What did the others want as well then?

"Come on don't act like an idiot Ash" Max said pushing his glasses back up his face. "Haven't you realised that since we have been hanging around you since your mum died, more of us have been getting hurt."

"What? That's what this is all about? That can't be true! Yes when we've been out it seemed as if all of us were getting hurt a bit more, but it was just pure coincidence…"

"Only the odd stumble? Rubbish. We tried not to show it, but all of us have been seriously hurt when we were hanging around you. Look." Max said lifting up his sleeves at the same time. All down his left arm was multiple of scratches. "This is the same on my other arm as well; does this look the odd stumble to you Ash? To me, this has caused a lot of pain for me. Sure it's not something major, but it still stings like hell."

"But, it was…"

"No Ash, it wasn't just a stumble. Explain to me then how I just experienced a stumble..." said May, who Ash had only now noticed that she was sitting down in a chair in the corner of the room. Everyone's attention went to her and it was clear to even someone with poor eyesight with the massive cast that filled her right leg. "This wasn't just a stumble was it Ash? Was me catching my leg in that hill a stumble Ash? No, I broke my leg. Can you even imagine the pain I'm in! And it's all because of you!" she said, before she started sobbing silently, causing Dawn to rush over there and hug her, whilst shooting as a murderous look in his direction.

"But I don't understand. You just slipped…" Ash mumbled trying to make sense of the situation. Where they right? Was he to cause for the injuries they had gotten recently? "I… I need to be alone for a bit." He mumbled out loud, before he ran out of the room and up the stairs, before locking himself in his room.

*End Flashback*

Oak just stared at Ash, confused by what he had just heard. Was all of this true? When he spoke to May, Max, Dawn and the others, they had seemed fine , with them all saying that they were there to try and help Ash as much as possible, so how could have they changed so rapidly in such a short time?

"I'm sorry Ash but I don't understand. I knew about them getting hurt but I don't understand why they were blaming you. Can you explain this please?" the professor asked, tilting his head slightly waiting for Ash to respond.

"Yes. At the time professor, I didn't understand what they meant as well. All I could think of was the odd trip or stumble whether we went out." Ash said, looking out of the window as if he had spotted something, before he looked back at Oak. "However, it wasn't after I had left that I began to figure out what was happening. You see, doesn't it seem strange that when you are walking down a side path by a road that you suddenly trip? When I started thinking about it, I realised that most of the incidents were similar to this. May on the other hand was the final piece in all of this. We were out in the field having a race up a hill, when I heard her cry out. At first I thought Max had done something such as chuck something at her, but then I heard the crack that followed shortly after. Afterwards I thought she must have tripped over a hole but, when I re-visited the site not long after I had left all of you, I inspected the entire hill but there was nothing that was possible of causing a break to the leg..." Ash said, before shaking his head. His friends had turned against him for something that wasn't his fault, but rather pure coincidence.
However there was a slight nagging feeling in the back of his head. Was it pure coincidence that all of this happened after his mother's death? Sure the fire had been put down as an accident, but even he couldn't see how that was possible. How a house could suddenly be put on fire, with no traces of what caused it? And when you link that with the accidents, it started to look like it all had been done on purpose.

Oak on the other hand was simply shell-shocked by this revelation. "I… I don't know what to say Ash. So you are implying that someone was behind this then?" Oak asked, and all he was given was a grim nod of the head. "So did you ever find out who caused these accidents to happen then Ash?" he asked, trying to squeeze out the last details from Ash, desperate to know what had happened.

"Unfortunately not. I searched high and low but I found nothing."

"Hmmm… Actually, you never got to why you left did you?" Oak said, before shutting up in order for Ash to speak.

"Ah yes that's right. Let's see, it was only a couple of hours after my friends that…."

*Flashback*

Reflecting in the events that had happened earlier on, Ash felt that he needed to owe his friends an apology for what had happened. He never wanted to cause any harm to them at all, so he felt that apologising was the way to start. Maybe then they could forgive him and then things could be patched up.

Right at that moment he heard the doorbell ring, so he went downstairs thinking to himself that once he answered this he would go over and see his friends. It was an excuse to go see them as well, so if the person at the door wasn't important, he could tell them to go away as he was meeting some important people.

As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of a fist coming straight at him and that was all he remembered as he blacked out, apart from "On the same cheek Dawn hit me as well…"

Ash woke up to the sight of all his friends from earlier on were in the living room accompanied with their parents; straight away he guessed that this wasn't going to be good, and his fears were proven right when Norman spoke first.

"You're a pain in the arse Ash you know that?" He started his face red with fury and rage. "We all let our kids go on adventures with you in the prospect of them having a good time and being able to see the regions, with you ultimately leading them to danger. So why do you have to continue bringing more of innocent people with you!" he shouted, with his wife putting a hand on his shoulder to calm himself down.

"Norman…. I'm sorry for what I have done. I never wanted to cause my friends any danger. I'm truly sorry…" Ash said, not knowing how to finish off the sentence. He was shocked at how his day was turning from bad to worse so quickly, it was unreal.

"Sorry? I don't give a crap if you're sorry you little prick" he snarled at Ash. "All of us have come to an agreement. You are going to pack your bags and you're going to leave tonight. No ifs, no buts. If we... no. If I see you here tomorrow I will personally hunt you down and make you pay. Understood?" He said with his face right next to Ash's before pulling away; he had noticed that Ash's eye's had turned a slight blue tinge compared to the normal brown colour, but he didn't want to appear frightened by the change though.

"Leave? But… but I don't know where to go. Come on guys, help me out here" he said barely registering what Norman had done; he was almost pleading to his friends when he said the last part of the sentence. However, all he was given was the same cold and stony looks from his friends.

"Guys…" Ash said, with his pulse racing on, quickening by the second. "Please don't do this to me" he pleaded. This couldn't he happening at all to him; especially with the circumstances that had been dealt to him recently.

"No Ash. No more help." a feminine voice said. Ash looked around and saw that it came from Misty, his first ever friend apart from Pikachu. "We've helped you so many times in the past, and not once have you repaid the favour. So now you're going to repay all of us." She said before heading past him and walked out of the door. The other followed suit until Ash was left alone. It was only when everyone had fully left that Ash realised the whole scale of the situation, with the silent tears raining down his face as he picked himself up and went up the stairs.

*End Flashback*

"The rest as you know is history professor. Once I had gathered up my Pokémon, I left straight away, not wanting to see this place again. Until now that is." Ash said, giving out a sigh. Suddenly, he got up and stretched before heading to the door. "Professor, do you mind if I send my Pokémon out for a bit of air?" Ash said, hand ready at his bag. Light of the morning was beginning to flood through the windows. Did I really go on for that long period of time? He thought, thinking about how it was dark when he had arrived at the house.

"Sure Ash. I might as well have a look at your Pokémon as well. For evaluation of course" the professor chuckled whilst getting up. Fishing for the keys in his pocket, he eventually found them and unlocked the door. They were both greeted to a strong gust of wind.

Walking out into the open space, Ash pulled his bag around and with about 6 pokeballs in each hand, he sent out all of his Pokémon in quick succession after replacing the balls. All of Ash's Pokémon looked around as they tried to scan the new area they were in, for they all begun to stretch out without having to worry where they were as they all recognised this place within a heartbeat. Oak looked out at the Pokémon, amazed at how powerful they were.

Pikachu who ran straight up to Ash and jumped on his shoulder, glad to be out of that dammed pokeball finally. Meanwhile Blastoise, Floatzel, Kingler, Crawdaunt, Lapras and Glalie went over to the lake area and proceeded to relax with some gentle swimming. Venasaur, Meganium, Torterra, Tauros, Snorlax, Donphan, Toarkoal went over to the to the meadow area and begun to doze in the steadily growing sun, trying to get some of the natural sunlight into their bodies as soon as possible.

Pidgeot, Heracross, Noctowl, Swellow, Staraptor and Gliscor all instantly went over to the tree and made themselves comfy in the branches, all keeping an eye out on the other Pokémon. Charizard, Primeape, Typhlosion, Sceptile, Infernape and Garchomp all made their way in front of the tree and begun sparring with one another.

The only remaining Pokémon was… Totodile who was dancing in-between everyone with a huge smile on his face.

"Um Ash, not trying to be rude or anything but why hasn't Totodile…evolved yet out of curiosity?" Oak asked, completely confused as to why the water starter had remained in its basic form compared to the fully evolved Pokémon surrounding it.

"Ah good old Totodile" Ash laughed. "He's the only odd one out unfortunately. He refuses to evolve yet, as he is waiting for the right moment."

"Ah I see. All of your pokemon are looking good, but I can't help but wonder that one of them is miss-"Before Oak could finish, a sudden shadow was above him and within a matter of seconds he was enveloped in a purple goo.

"Ah yes, that's what I was missing. Hello there Muk" Oaks muffled voice said, before he crawled himself out of Muk's body. Muk just gave a huge smile at Oak, before he made his way back over to the pokemon lounging about in the sun. Ash on the other hand was on the floor laughing. It had been a long time since something had made him laugh like that before. Calming himself down, he gave Oak a good smile.

"Now professor, would you like to see my latest additions as well?" Ash asked, and without waiting for an answer, he reached into a side pocket in his bag and brought out 10 more balls before chucking them in the air. Arange of Pokémon was released from their pokeballs as they materialised in front of Ash, with the professor just looking with his mouth wide open.

"Um professor, you might want to close your mouth or you're going to be catching some flies soon." Ash said with a chuckle as he turned around and noticed the expression on the professor's face with Oak instantly shutting his mouth.

"Ash… when, and how did you catch these Pokémon?" Oak asked, amazed at the power they looked, especially if they were new additions to the team as he had never seen Ash with these pokemon in his life before.

"Well, when you're shunned by your friends, travelling is your best option I'm afraid." Ash said. "When you are on your own, you would be amazed at how much faster you can travel as well. I met some old friends on my travels, as well as my new ones."

Oak was amazed at how calm Ash was. It was amazing to see, with it also being obvious that he had close bonds with all his pokemon, especially that he had been able to meet up with some of his old friends as well, such as Lapras and Primeape as well.

"Actually Professor I have a favour to ask of you. While I'm here can you look after my pokemon seeing as I'm only allowed the usual 6, but can you also give me a new pokedex in the name of…Red. Red Satoshi." Ash asked. He wanted the new pokedex because if he was asked by one of his former friends to look at it, they would know instantly who he was.

"No problem Ash. In fact, I was going to say the same thing to you as well, but you beat me too it I suppose" Oak chuckled before heading inside. He returned 5 minutes later, with a new updated pokedex in hand and passed it to Ash, who bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"Just to let you know, your name has been changed on it as well, but I've added a nice little feature on it as well, as I know it would suit you more than a new trainer; all it does is that you can access your pc at any time from your pokedex and transfer over and receive any pokemon when you need it. Obviously you can still contact me about that, but I know that you would need this if you're in the wild. But I'll still be able to look after your pokemon as well though." Ash was simply flabbergasted at this knowledge, before he pulled in the old man for a hug, grateful for what he was doing before he released him.

The duo stood silent in the field just looking at the pokemon. However, unaware to them was a Murkrow sitting up top on the roof, silently observing them and every movement that they made, as well as each word they said due to a recorder placed on its neck, until it stretched out its wings and flew away.

"So Ash, what's your plan now?" Oak asked, although he probably knew what Ash was going to do. Although he did come here to talk to him, he knew what Ash really wanted to do; he wanted to go after his friends.

"Well, I thought I would head up to Pewter for a bit before challenging the gym again" ash said, before looking at his watch, "If I leave now, I might get there before 3 which will give me enough time to consider what to do next" he said, before signalling over to 5 of his pokemon. The rest of his pokemon understood, as Ash had told them when they were in Mt Silver that if this time did come, certain pokemon would be chosen for certain places.

He looked at the pokemon that were standing before him, happy with the choices he had made; obviously Pikachu would be coming with him, as he wouldn't leave his starter to not come with him at all.

"Well, I better go now. Thanks for seeing me Prof. It was nice to finally speak to someone that I trust again. I'll be in touch." Ash said, hugging the professor briefly before setting off down the path around the house before turning right into the direction of Viridian.

"Bye Ash" Oak muttered, wiping away a solitary tear before heading inside, leaving Ash's other pokemon outside to do what they had to do.

(Skip to mid-day)

Oak was sitting inside the living, sipping a cup of tea with the TV on, but his mind wasn't on the TV at all but on Ash instead. He was anxious to hear from him again, but he was also a bit scared at what was to come as well. Different variations of images appeared in his mind, and he was so involved with the different scenarios he did not hear the slight creak behind him at all.

The last though Oak had was before he was knocked unconscious by the assailant behind him was "Is Ash going to be ok?"

Authors Note: So I hoped you enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed going over this again. You might be thinking as to why I haven't revealed the extra pokemon as of yet, but I decided that it would make a nice surprise for later on.

To Swagnilla-Ice-1985, I'm not revealing anything as of yet. With the name in mind, it will be a nice shock hopefully to everyone, and also a nice change from the usual ones as well.

See you in a weeks time!