Hello guys, thank you for all the support thus far. I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story.

In conversations unless otherwise stated this is how you can tell what kind of speech is being used.

'- Poké Speech

"- Human speech

"- Aura/Telepathy

Without further ado let the chapter begin!

The Unova League had gone far better than Ash expected, admittedly he had trained harder than ever but he had still expected to struggle against the other trainers. However, with no Tobias and his team of Legendary Pokémon in Ash's way no one was strong enough to compete with Ash and he was able to win his first regional League. He tried his best against the Unova Elite 4 but only managed to defeat the first member, still it was a massive improvement and both Ash and Pikachu were in high spirits.

They were walking from Viridian City to Pallet Town reminiscing about everything that had happened during their adventure in Unova happily thinking about the great times they'd had in Unova. The success in Unova was being them anxious to head on their next adventure and go one step further, their dreams of being the best around no longer seeming so insurmountable.

"Well Pikachu, I think our journey through Unova was pretty successful."

'Yeah we finally got what we deserved and won a league.'

"Yep, now I say we rest up for a month or two and get some training in, then we head to Kalos, I think we've got a real chance at beating the Elite 4 and challenging the Champion of Kalos. Does that sound good to you?"

Pikachu nodded and nuzzled Ash's cheek which made Ash smile, he scratched behind Pikachu's ear making the mouse let out a soft sigh. As much as they both enjoyed travelling and battling other trainers they wanted to take a break after the intense battles they'd had in Unova.

"Glad you agree. I think we should pick up the speed otherwise we'll be walking all day so Pikachu how about we fly the rest of the way home?"

'Sounds like a great idea!'

"Alright than, Charizard I choose you."

The dragon burst out of his Pokéball and shot a playful Flamethrower at Ash who by now was ready for it and leapt out of the way. Ash then walked back to Charizard and stroked the dragon' neck, he'd missed the faithful fire type and was overjoyed that he'd had a chance to reunite with him in Unova. He had to admit that he was surprised that the dragon had chosen to stay with him rather than return to the valley.

"Hey Charizard could you give us a ride back to Pallet?"

Charizard nodded and picked Ash up, he placed his trainer on his back and then flew into the air straight towards Pallet Town. The trio were excited to get home so they could see their friends and family and have some well-deserved rest.

Meanwhile in Pallet Town all of Ash's travel companions from his previous journeys had gathered at Professor Oak's Lab. They had all worked together to prepare a massive surprise party for Ash to celebrate his incredible performance in the Unova League and were now waiting for him to arrive. They were all sat in the lounge, watching the highlight from the Unova League when the screen suddenly cut to a news reporter.

"We interrupt this broadcast of the highlights of the Unova League for this breaking news story. Viridian City in flames! Moments ago, Viridian City was attacked by a man riding a Charizard. Streams of flames from the Charizard and bolts of electricity from the Pikachu on the man's shoulder have destroyed most the city."

Everyone looked at one another briefly considering the idea that it had been Ash but then immediately dismissing the idea, there was no way the innocent boy they knew was capable of something like that. If anything, he'd be there helping people and trying to stop the attacker.

"Many people have been injured by the attack, some in critical condition however so far there have been no casualties. We have video footage of the attack, warning this will contain graphic images."

The video began as the first attacks were launched at the buildings, screams of terror almost drowning out the explosions being created by the attacks. The camera zoomed in on the person riding the Charizard and everyone's eyes widened in shock. The face was shrouded but the hat, clothes, backpack even the way the Pikachu stood on the man's shoulder pointed to only person… Ash.

"It can't be." Dawn and Misty gasped.

"It is." Gary stated.

"Early reports suggest that the prime suspect is Ash Ketchum, he was last seen flying towards Pallet Town so if you see him inform the authorities immediately. Police have been dispatched from all surrounding areas and are currently on their way to Pallet Town."

While everyone was still trying to process the information, the booming sounds of a series of explosions made everyone rush out of the Lab and look for where the noises came from. Horrified expression appeared on their faces as they realised that the explosion had come from the Ketchum home. They immediately started running towards the Ketchum home to check on Delia, hoping that she was safe.

Far above them Ash had heard the seen the explosion as it happened and he was panicking about his mother.

"That's my house, Charizard we need to get there now!"

Charizard nodded and shot full speed to Ash's house, he landed outside the burning building and Ash on instinct jumped off the dragon's back and ran towards the house. He was suddenly stopped by a three-clawed hand grabbing his arm. Ash wrenched his arm trying to get free so he could rescue his mother but Charizard grip was too strong for him.

"Charizard let me go, my mother's in there Charizard I can't leave her to burn to death."

The dragon replied by pointing to himself and then the house, he released his hold on Ash's arm and then charging into the house, he desperately looked around the burning ground floor for any sign of Ash's mother but found nothing. He then heard coughing coming from upstairs and burst through the ceiling, he immediately spotted Delia on the floor and picked her up not noticing all her injuries. He then shot a Dragon Pulse at the wall blowing a hole through it and letting him fly out of the house and land in front of Ash. Charizard placed Delia gently on the ground and watched as his trainer fell to his knees, tears filling the boy's eyes as he looked at his badly wounded mother. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her blood dripping onto his arms.

"No, Arceus no. Mum, mum can you hear me?"

Delia's eyes opened and despite the pain she was in she smiled at her son, she'd been hoping she'd get to see him one last time. With what little strength she had left Delia placed her hand on Ash's face and wiped away his tears.

"Ash, honey I'm dying."

"No, no you're not mum. You'll be fine, I'll get you to a hospital and…"

"We both know that I'd never survive moving. Ash it's over for me, please just promise me that you'll stay safe."

"Who did this to you? Who's responsible?"

"It was Team Rocket, they said something about getting rid of you for good. I tried to stop them but they attacked me."

"They'll pay for this; I swear they'll pay."

"Don't let darkness consume you honey, the desire for vengeance can change a person. Remember who you are, remember that I love you and that I'm so proud of you."

"I love you too mum."

Delia gave Ash a final small smile before letting out her last breath, her hand slipping away from Ash's face. Ash watched his mother's eyes close for one last time and tears flowed down his cheeks as he clutched onto her dead body. Pikachu and Charizard watched their trainer mourning and let out a few tears of their own.

"I promise that Team Rocket will pay for this."

Ash was so focussed on his now deceased mother that he didn't hear the footsteps of his friends behind him, the group looked at Ash in horror as they saw the lifeless form of Delia in his arms. With no one else in sight, the blood covering Ash's clothes and the images they had just seen on the television it led them all to one conclusion.

"Ash how could you do this?" Professor Oak asked.

"Was destroying Viridian City not enough for you?" Gary added.

"What the hell has gotten into you? Have you gone insane?" Tracey yelled.

Ash finally tore his gaze away from his mother and noticed that his friends were stood behind him. He felt his spirit lift for a moment until he processed what they said, he then looked at his friends in complete bemusement, he had no clue what they were talking about and wondered why they were saying these things.

"I don't know what you're all talking about." Ash whimpered.

"Stop playing innocent Ash, there's video's all over the news showing you destroying Viridian City. There's images of children and Pokémon laying injured in the streets all thanks to you and now we find you with your mother dead in your arms with only your Charizard and Pikachu nearby."

"You can't be serious, you don't honestly think I'd destroy Viridian City and murder my mother, do you?"

Ash looked at all his so-called friends in shock, he gazed at each of them individually and saw that most of them were glaring at him while some were crying and avoiding his gaze. At that moment, he knew that they did indeed believe that he's guilty of the horrific crimes they described.

"You all do don't you? You actually think I'm capable of committing crimes like that. I-I can't believe it." Ash said in disbelief.

"Ash if you give yourself up maybe things won't be so bad." Brock suggested.

The young man shook his head at Brock and then hugged his mother tightly, he looked down at her peaceful face and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry mum, I have to go." Ash whispered as he gently placed his mother on the ground.

"You're not going anywhere Ketchum; you're going to pay for what you've done." Gary said.

Most of Ash's now former friends took a step closer to him all intent on making sure he was going nowhere, Pikachu and Charizard immediately placed themselves between Ash and his former friends. Electricity was sparking off Pikachu while the flame on Charizard's tail grew more intense.

'You're not going to do anything to Ash. If you come any closer you're all taking a Thunderbolt from me!' Pikachu yelled.

'And a Flamethrower from me.' Charizard added.

"Thank you, Pikachu and you too Charizard. Let's head back to the corral and see if any of the others believe me."

Before Ash's now former friends could do anything to stop him, Ash jumped onto Charizard's back and they flew to Professor Oak's Lab hopeful that they would have allies there. They landed in the corral and all of Ash's Pokémon quicker surrounded them. Ash was distraught to see how many of his Pokémon were glaring at him, he knew he didn't have long so he squashed down those feelings so he could say what he needed to.

"Okay everyone I'm assuming you all saw the news report so if you think I'm innocent get your Pokéball and bring it to me so we can leave, the rest of you can go to hell."

Ash was heartbroken when only eight Pokémon retrieved their Pokéballs and gave them to him, those eight were Bulbasaur, Bayleef, Donphan, Scraggy, Totodile, Infernape, Sceptile, Snorlax and Swellow. The loyal Pokémon stood alongside Pikachu and Charizard protectively in front of Ash, glaring at the Pokémon who didn't believe in their trainer who had done so much for all of them.

"Thank you, for believing in me." Ash said as he briefly hugged his loyal Pokémon.

Ash was startled by the sound of sirens in the distance, he quickly returned his loyal Pokémon apart from Charizard and Pikachu and then climbed on to the dragon's back. Charizard knew there was no time to wait for Ash's command so he flew away in the opposite direction of where the sirens were wailing. Ash stayed silent with tears trailing down his face while Charizard flew them to safety, he had no idea where the dragon was taking him and he couldn't bring himself to care. All he could think about was his mother's last words and the looks on the faces of his so-called friends. Ash's eyes suddenly grew dark and cold as he muttered a sentence.

"Ash Ketchum is dead."

Paige was hugging Ash tightly as her brother finished the story, she knew that this had been hard for him to do and was very proud that he had managed to tell the story without losing control of his emotions. Ash looked down at Paige and was grateful for her presence, he knew that without her here he wouldn't have been able to tell that story.

"So, everyone thought I was guilty of murdering my own mother as well as the destruction of Viridian City. So, let's just leave it at that." Ash snapped.

Scott was in total shock; he hadn't heard everything that had happened on that day and he'd had no idea that things had been that bad. He had heard bits and pieces here and there but nothing he heard came close to the truth.

"I'm sorry about what happened that day Ash, you didn't deserve that at all. I think there's something you need to know though."

This peaked both Paige and Ash's curiosity and they focussed on Scott.

"Okay I'll bite, what do I need to know?"

"Well after the event five years ago I started looking for anything to prove your innocence, I knew that there was no way you'd destroy a city or kill your mother. The problem was that the video footage made you the top suspect, thanks to how the person who did that was dressed, as well as the Pokémon he used. So, I've been compiling evidence over the past five years and I've found that it wasn't just Team Rocket who were involved in framing there was also..."

"Team Magma, Team Aqua, Team Galactic and Team Plasma." Ash interrupted.

"How do you..." Scott started in shock.

"Know that? Simple I was the one who took down Team Rocket, I looked through their computers and saw video calls between the leaders of every faction discussing how to get rid of me. That's why I went after Galactic next, they were easy to pick off, then I met Paige and I knew it was time to stop risking my life for a world that hates me so we settled down on the island."

"Wait if you've had access to those videos why didn't you take the recordings to the police? All the charges made against you would be dropped immediately and you'd be free to go where you want."

"That's the thing though Scott I have everything I want on our island in the Orange Archipelago, seriously there's nothing in the outside world that I want. There was and still is no reason for me to come back and prove that I'm not dead and that I'm innocent of the crimes that were committed five years ago. All that would achieve is having the media barrage me with questions about my mother's death, my innocence, how I'm still alive and any other crap they come up with. It was much easier for me to just fake my death and then go far away from everyone else with Paige."

"Listen Ash not everyone turned against you, there are a few people helping me, people who didn't believe you were guilty of what happened five years ago."

"Bullshit!" Ash yelled then looked guiltily at Paige.

"Sorry Paige."

"No problem, I was going to say something similar if you didn't."

"It's true Ash, I swear." Scott pleaded.

"To be honest it doesn't even matter if some people did care. I told you I faked my death for a reason, I didn't want to be found by anyone and I still don't." Ash replied.

"Yeah like Ash said we don't want to reveal that we're alive since we have no interest in what happens in the world, we are a family comprised of those who we trust and that's how we like it." Paige added.

"Well said Paige. Listen Scott I came to this tournament to win it and then go home, I have no intention of staying here after the tournament, there's not going to be some fairy-tale happy feel good moment where I reunite with those treacherous scumbags, it's just going to be me winning and then leaving for good."

"Please Ash reconsider this, there are some people who really care about you, people who searched for months hoping to find you and were heartbroken when you were pronounced dead."

"I seriously doubt that considering that nobody came out in my defence in the weeks following the death of my mother."

"Yeah if they were cared so much about Ash where were they when he needed them most?"

Scott could see that he wasn't getting anywhere with Ash or his sister but he was desperate for Ash to see that there were people who legitimately cared about him.

"Some of them were away on special training, some were dealing with threats from various evil organisations and some people just weren't interviewed. Please Ash just think about this, there are some people who really care about you, people who would be overjoyed to hear that you're alive. We can talk to the police and find the evidence we need to clear your name, just please don't leave these people thinking you're dead."

Paige was getting seriously pissed off with the way Scott was not listening to what they were saying and how he kept trying to manipulate Ash, she stood up and slammed her hands down on Scott's desk making the larger man jump.

"This conversation is over Scott! We've done more than enough to earn your private home for the duration of this tournament. So, shut up and show us where it is!" Paige snarled.

Scott was legitimately terrified of Ash's sister, the glare she was throwing at him as well at the glares from Froslass, Pikachu and Riolu were clearly telling him to back off. He turned his gaze from Paige to Ash, still really wanted to continue trying to convince Ash to reunite with those who cared about him but he could see that Paige was going to do everything she could to make sure that that wasn't going to happen. After a moment's thought Scott decided that Paige was right, this conversation was over for now, there was a danger that if he pushed Ash too hard he could do a lot more harm than good.

"Okay, okay, you're right Paige, you've answered more than enough questions. I'll take you to the place now."

Scott got up from his desk and opened the door of his office, he left the room quickly followed by Ash and Paige. While they walked through the corridors Ash looked down at Paige and pulled her close to him, she immediately wrapped her arms around Ash and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks Nemesis, it seems that despite everything, Scott seems to know what to say to try and manipulate me." Ash whispered.

"Don't mention it, we stick up for each other and I know you'd do the exact same thing for me. So that means that no one messes with my brother."

"I'm really glad I have you with me."

"Me too."

A smile appeared on Scott's face as he heard the siblings interact, it was nice to hear that the old Ash was still in there. The only problem was it seemed that the old Ash he knew only appeared for Paige, and based upon what he seen so far no one else was getting close to him. He wasn't sure how he was going to get Ash to open up to others since his original plan of trying to convince Ash to talk to those who were helping to clear his name had been blown apart. All he could do for now until he came up with another plan was bring Ash and Paige to meetings and hope that maybe someone will be able to get through to them.

"I'll come up with something, I have to." Scott thought.

A few minutes later, the trio walked out of the building and saw that a car was parked outside waiting for them, Ash opened one of the back doors and sat down with Paige next to him, he was waiting for a driver to come out when he saw Scott get behind the steering wheel. His eyes widened as he remembered his previous experiences in a car that Scott was driving.

"Wait you're driving us home?" Ash fearfully asked.

"Yep, we'll be there in no time."

Ash and Pikachu paled at the prospect of being in a car driven by Scott, Pikachu scrambled into Ash's cloak hoping that it would be a slightly safer place. Ash ignored the mouse's actions and immediately put on his seatbelt, he then put Paige's on as well and grabbed hold of her hand. The girl looked at Ash in confusion wondering why he had to frantically put on her seatbelt and had a death grip on her hand.

"Scott drives like a lunatic, trust me you need all the safety you can get when he's behind the wheel."

Paige glanced at Riolu, both thinking that Ash was just overreacting so they decided not to take Ash's advice and sat in the car casually a choice they will both regret.

Notes

Thank you all for reading this chapter, please leave a review below telling me what you liked and what I could improve on. I'm also willing to use any ideas you may have.

Once again there are minimal changes to this chapter, things will start to change more when other characters appear.