Hello guys, thank you for all the support thus far. I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story.
Big thanks to the following people who have left a review: Xerzo LotCN, thor94, OddEyesEmperor, RoseBloodmane, WotTheHeck, animecollector and Maerk Andrew.
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 following week went by in relative peace for Ash and Paige, they had stayed in their temporary home and to their surprise they hadn't been bothered by anyone. Sadly, for them all good things must come to an end and they were woken up by someone banging on the door. Ash groaned and reluctantly got up, he looked at Paige who had chosen to sleep in his bed every night and saw that she was trying to fake still being asleep. He nudged Paige who turned over and wrapped the quilt around her, Ash chuckled at her antics but he knew that Scott wasn't going to leave any time soon.
"Come on Paige, it's time to wake up."
"Don't wanna." Paige mumbled
"Trust me neither do I but Scott's not going to go away. I knew we were going to get disturbed by Scott sooner or later, I was just hoping that he'd just call or message rather than bang on the door. I tell you what you get a bit more rest and I'll see what he wants."
Paige mumbled a thanks to Ash and smiled as he pulled the covers over her and placed a small kiss on her forehead. A smile formed on Ash's face as he saw her peaceful face, he turned towards the door but before he could leave Paige reached out and grabbed his arm. Ash turned around to see what she wanted and was greeted by Paige sitting up and hugging him tightly.
"I love you Ash."
"I love you too Paige. Now go back to sleep."
Paige nodded and released her hold on Ash, she laid back down and pulled the covers over herself. Ash quietly walked away from Paige, gently closed the bedroom door behind him and headed downstairs towards the front door. As soon as he got there another loud chorus of bangs hit the door, he quickly unlocked the door and flung it open nearly getting hit in the face by Scott who was about to continue knocking.
"Would you stop banging on the Arceus damn door."
"Sorry Ash, but I needed to tell you that I've arranged a meeting with the Sinnoh officials this morning in just over an hours' time. Then after that I've arranged a meeting with the Hoenn officials and my Frontier Brains"
"Why the hell couldn't you have messaged me that?"
"Mainly because I wanted to know the mood you're in before I take you. I guess my overenthusiasm with my knocking didn't help did it?"
"No, it didn't. Just wait here and we'll be out as soon as we're ready."
"Very well."
Ash closed the door and locked it up, he considered going and waking up Paige but decided to let her sleep a bit longer. Instead he went and got showered, dressed and fed the Pokémon first which took him around twenty minutes to do. Then he went to his bedroom and nudged Paige who immediately turned to face him and appeared to be much more awake than before.
"So, what did Scott want?" Paige queried.
"Well as expected Scott came to tell us that there is a meeting in an hours' time."
"I'm not surprised, the only reason he speaks to us is so he can drag to some meeting. I guess I'd better get ready then."
"Yep, you better hurry though I let you sleep in a bit so get ready quick and your breakfast will be on the table."
Paige nodded and jumped out of bed, she headed towards the bathroom to get ready for what would be a long day. At the same time, Ash walked down the stairs and glanced out the sliding doors seeing all his Pokémon finish their breakfast. He stepped outside and walked towards them to tell them about Scott's planned meetings for today. Ash's Pokémon spotted him and approached him wondering who had been at the door and what they wanted.
"Alright everyone Scott just informed me that there's two meetings today. The first is with the Sinnoh members and the second is with the Hoenn and Battle Frontier members and I wanted to see if anyone would like to accompany us."
"We're definitely coming with you. We want to be there just in case Brandon wants a fight." Celebi and Diancie immediately said.
'I'll come too, I'd be more than happy to teach Norman a lesson once again if he starts anything.' Sceptile added.
No one else was that bothered to come along yet, when the tournament started though that would be a different matter. Ash returned the trio who had decided to accompany him to day and he walked back into the house spotting Paige walking down the stairs. They both headed into the kitchen and Ash quickly got a couple of bowels of cereal for the two of them. The siblings quickly scarfed down their cereal, they placed their now empty bowels in the sink and walked into the hallway. They took their cloaks off the hooks and put them on, Pikachu, Froslass and Riolu then jumped onto their shoulders. Ash opened the front door and they were greeted by Scott leaning against his limousine.
"Are you both ready to go?" Scott asked.
"Yeah let's get this over with." Paige replied with a sigh.
Scott grinned and opened the door, the siblings reluctantly got in and sat on the backseat with Pikachu, Froslass and Riolu making sure there was no room for Scott nearby. The large man was now used to this behaviour and thought nothing of it as he sat in one of the open seats. The ride to the meeting place was spent in silence which Ash and Paige were grateful for, eventually the limousine came to a stop and Scott was the first one out. Ash and Paige followed Scott out of the limo and then into the building. Both were quite surprised at the rather grand hall Scott had decided to have these meeting as the last had been in a standard conference room. Ash and Paige took a seat and waited for all the members of the Sinnoh representatives to arrive.
Moments later Cynthia walked onto the room and immediately spotted Thanatos and his sister sat away from everyone else. Seeing this as another great opportunity to learn a bit about what Thanatos knew about Ash she cautiously sat down in the empty seat next to him. She didn't fail to notice the way Thanatos' Pikachu and Froslass had instantly fixed their attention on her and she knew that she needed to once again be careful with what she said.
"Good morning Thanatos, it would appear that we are together once again."
"So, it would seem. At least this time you don't look like you want to throttle me."
"Well last time I thought you hated people like me who do actually believed in Ash. Now that I know that the opposite is true I have no problem with you."
"Glad to hear that, the last thing I wanted was a vengeful Champion after me."
Cynthia smiled at how easily she was conversing with Thanatos, she was seriously considering discussing what she learned from her conversation with Sabrina but decided that this was neither the time nor the place. The only way Thanatos would talk about what Sabrina had told her was if they were in private so she decided to ask one of the question she'd wanted to the last time they met.
"You were with Ash after the incident, weren't you?"
At first Ash was surprised by Cynthia's declaration but when he gave it a second thought it wasn't that shocking, the way he had spoken about himself the last time they met had probably led her to make that conclusion. He pondered on what the best response was to give away as little as possible but also give her enough information to satisfy her.
"Yeah I was for a short time. We were both after Team Rocket at the time, our paths crossed and we decided to team up."
"Did Ash ever talk much about what happened or any plans he had."
"Not really, he gave me a basic version of what happened and apart from that he didn't say much beside giving out orders to his Pokémon."
"I'm not really surprised considering everything that happened to him. Well it appears Scott is ready to begin the meeting. We should talk again soon Thanatos."
Cynthia gave Thanatos a smile and then turned her attention to Scott, now fully focused on the upcoming meeting. She appreciated any information she could get from Thanatos and didn't want to risk losing the chance to find out what else he might know by overstepping a boundary unintentionally. The other Gym Leaders and her Elite four had started to arrive too which meant that Thanatos would probably not reveal any more information.
Meanwhile Ash and Paige sighed as the last of the representatives filed in and the start of another monotonous meeting began, by the time Scott had started his opening speech they had started to block him out. They really had no intention in listening to Scott drone on about the plans for the tournament.
After a couple of hours, the meeting mercifully came to an end and gradually all the Sinnoh representatives left the room. Ash and Paige were about to stand up to leave and have a short break but they were stopped by Scott. They glared at the large man who merely smirked and pointed at the door. The siblings turned their gaze to the door and weren't surprised to see that the Frontier Brains who entered the room and took their seats. As soon as they sat down every member of the Battle Frontier apart from Anabel staring at them. It was clear that it was a silent warning to the pair to make sure they didn't do anything to harm Anabel.
Ash and Paige groaned as they realised that they weren't even going to get a short break between meetings and prayed that the other attendees would arrive soon so they could get out of here as soon as possible. Their prayers were answered as the entire set of Hoenn Gym Leaders and their Elite four walked in and sat down. Ash and Paige paid no attention to any of them apart from Norman who had smirked at the pair and even given them a subtle approving nod.
Scott gathered up his notes and was about to begin the meeting when Brandon suddenly stood up.
"Wait a minute Scott before you start this meeting I just want Thanatos to know that despite what you've said to Cynthia I don't trust or believe you. If you do anything to hurt anyone you'll have me to answer to." Brandon said.
"Threatening my brother is a very bad idea." Paige stated.
Paige stood up and began glaring at the Pyramid King, Ash could see by the intensity in Paige's glare that she had really been angered by Brandon. Ash decided to step in before Paige did something she'd regret, he quickly took hold of one of her hands hoping it would calm her the same way it calmed him. He was glad to see her instantly relax and squeeze his hand, he turned his gaze to Brandon who was still staring at them with an emotionless expression.
"Listen Brandon I mean no harm to anyone here and if we are not provoked there will be no trouble."
"To be honest I don't see the problem with what Thanatos apparently said at the Kanto meeting anyway, everything he said was true. Nobody stood up for Ketchum after the event seven years ago but then again Ash didn't deserve to have anyone support him, he was nothing more than murderous terrorist who is now thankfully dead." Norman announced.
As soon as Norman said that Anabel shot up from her chair and ran out of the room with tears in her eyes. The rest of the Frontier Brains quickly chased after her, each throwing a glare at Norman who simply laughed at each of the Brains, clearly proud of what he had managed to do. Seeing Anabel so upset felt wrong to Ash, regardless of what happened five years ago, he still respected the Salon Maiden.
"You know Norman maybe you should spend more time worrying about those brats you call children rather than commenting on dead men. I mean just look at those kids of yours, Maxy there keeps complaining to the League any time he loses and your beloved daughter has become a total failure." Ash replied.
Norman stopped laughing and immediately turned his gaze to the hooded man who was mocking his children. He stood up and glared at the man hoping to intimidate him however it appeared that wasn't going to work.
"How dare you speak of my children like that, I demand an apology from you."
"Well there's no chance of you getting an apology so how do you suggest we settle this?"
"Let's settle it with a battle like men."
"Having battles with people seems to be a recurring theme for me whenever I come to one of Scott's events. I had intended to avoid fighting so I'll ask for Scott's opinion."
"Seriously? You're going to let him decide?" Paige asked.
"Not really, even if he says no I will but I'm pretty sure Scott will permit me to battle Norman."
"Why?"
"Because of Anabel's reaction, Scott won't let what Norman did to her slide."
The trio turned their gaze to Scott who was staring at Norman, they could only guess that he was giving Norman a death stare beneath his sunglasses. After the longest pause, Scott's sights switched from Norman to Ash. He lifted his sunglasses and the siblings were surprised to see just how infuriated Scott was by what Norman had said.
"Go for it Thanatos, crush him." Scott growled.
"With pleasure, I'll see you outside Norman."
Ash and Paige left the room before Norman could answer and waited outside the building where there was an area suitable for battle. Not long after Norman walked out of the building and stood opposite the siblings with a smirk on his face. The Normal Gym Leader couldn't wait to teach this nobody a lesson so he pulled a Pokéball out of his pocket watching as Thanatos did the same.
"Slaking, teach this fool a lesson."
"Sceptile, it's battle time."
The lazy Pokémon appeared on the field first and yawned as he scratched his stomach, feigning having no interest in battle when he was in fact more than ready to fight. He looked at his opponent and was sure the lizard across from him was familiar, Slaking's eyes widened slightly as he realised when he'd seen this Pokémon last. Sceptile saw the realisation hit Slaking and smirked at the lazy Pokémon and just nodded confirming Slaking's suspicion.
"Let's end this quick, Slaking use Focus Punch."
"Really Norman? You're trying to hit an incredibly fast Pokémon with a slow move, I honestly thought you were better than that. Sceptile just dodge for now."
Slaking got to his feet and ran at Sceptile as his fists turned white, when he got close to the lizard he threw a fist forward but only hit thin air as Sceptile had already dashed out of the way. Slaking felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around coming face to face with a smirking Sceptile. The lazy Pokémon roared angrily and threw another punch at Sceptile who easily ducked underneath the strike. A flurry of punches was then thrown but Sceptile was able easily avoid them all.
"Anyone else getting flashbacks to my battle with Brock?"
Pikachu, Froslass, Riolu and Paige all nodded as it was an exact carbon copy of Froslass' battle with Steelix. They watched as Slaking started to sweat from exhaustion after trying so hard to hit Sceptile and after one more failed attack he stumble forward and landed hard on his hands and knees. Slaking tried desperately to regain his breath and using all his strength push himself up only to see Sceptile laid down napping. The combination of irritation and frustration made Slaking throw another punch at Sceptile however the lizard had rolled away from Slaking's attack and he ended up driving his fist into the ground.
"Stop dodging and fight you coward!"
"Okay you asked for it, Sceptile launch him into the air with Leaf Storm."
Sceptile got to his feet and a barrage of green leaves surrounded in a green aura appear around his tail. The leaves then flew at Slaking and surrounded the lazy Pokémon encircling him in a tornado of leaves. Norman looked smug, there was no way that Sceptile would be able to launch a Pokémon as heavy as his Slaking. His smugness faded as he gradually watched Slaking leave the ground, then with a smirk from Sceptile he stared in awe as Slaking was launched high into the sky.
"Alright send him back to the ground with Leaf Blade."
The blades on Sceptile's arms started to glow green and the lizard catapulted himself into the air, chasing after Slaking. He caught up to the large Pokémon in seconds and swung he arm down on Slaking sending him hurtling towards the ground. Sceptile didn't let up, he dived down at Slaking and hit him with a flurry of Leaf Blades creating a multitude of cuts on Slaking. The larger Pokémon roared in pain as a deep gash was created across his gut. The grass type then put all his strength into one final Leaf Blade which drove Slaking into the ground creating a small crater.
"Now let's show them a real Focus Punch
"Bad move Thanatos, now's your chance Slaking send him flying with you Focus Punch."
Sceptile nodded and aimed himself at Slaking who struggled to push himself to his feet and face his oncoming opponent. As their inevitable clash grew closer the fists of both Sceptile and Slaking glowed white. The larger Pokémon timed his attack to what he thought to be perfection and threw his fist at the approaching Sceptile confident that he would send the grass type crashing into the nearby buildings. That confidence was shatter though when Sceptile spun in mid-air to dodge the blow and then struck Slaking with his own Focus Punch which sent him flying towards Norman and he crashed down just in front of his trainer.
"Well we've had our fun, finish him with Solarbeam."
"Slaking I order you to get up now!"
Norman's orders were ignored by Slaking who was too exhausted to stand, the only thing he could do was form a weak Hyper Beam which he fired at Sceptile who swept the attack aside with a swing of his bladed arm. That took the last of Slaking's strength and he slumped over but neither Ash or Sceptile were done, the orbs on Sceptile's back glowed and a green orb formed in his mouth which was gradually increasing in power. Sceptile eventually launched a beam of light from the orb which slammed into Slaking and sent him flying into a nearby tree completely knocking Slaking out. Norman returned Slaking and glared at the hooded people stood across from him.
"You'll get what's coming to you someday."
"Sure Norman, you keep telling yourself that. Now go find your little failures and tell them how I kicked your worthless arse."
Norman scowled at Ash final time before he scuttled off leaving Ash, Scott and Paige alone. The former was brought into a hug by Paige, a small smile graced his face as he returned her embrace. Meanwhile Scott was watching the trio, he couldn't help but feel honoured that he could witness this softer side of Ash. However, that side of Ash quickly vanished once the hug broke and they turned their attention to Scott.
"Well battled Thanatos, it's a shame no one else got watch his crushing defeat."
"Yeah but hopefully I'll get a chance at the tournament, then an entire stadium and the millions watching on TV will see his decimation. That would be a great spectacle right Scott? It's just a shame that there's no way to influence who I would be drawn against isn't it Scott." Ash murmured in a hushed voice.
Scott hadn't been sure at first but by the end of Ash's statement it was obvious what the young man wanted him to do, the problem was rigging the tournament was a lot different to a simple practice day. The consequences were severe if he got caught and while part of him was screaming that he was breaking the rules enough with Ash participating under a fake identity, he couldn't deny that he wanted to see Norman humiliated in front of the world. Regardless of his desire to see Norman thrashed in front of the world it didn't feel like the risk was worth it unless he got something else in exchange.
"I'll make you a deal, you give me a way to get the evidence to prove your innocence and I'll make that match happen as soon as possible."
Ash thought over Scott's offer and while he had no interest in proving his innocence he found himself wanting to humiliate Norman for what he did to Anabel. He took out his pokenav and sent a message to Scott which brought a smile to the man's face as he saw a series of coordinates in the message.
"Very well Scott I agree to your terms. I have sent you coordinates to the locations of a few bases belonging to Team Rocket and Galactic that I didn't destroy. They should still be undiscovered as they were in very obscure locations."
"Alright then, thank you Thanatos. This may not mean anything to you but it will mean the world to some people. i promise I'll keep up my end of the bargain I'm sure you'll be having another encounter with Norman in the second round." Scott whispered.
"Good, oh and do me a favour and tell Anabel I hope she's okay after what Norman said to her in there and tell her I'm sorry for any distress I may have caused her. My comments at the Kanto meeting are the reason this came about so I feel a little responsible. I didn't like seeing Anabel so upset, I still have a deep amount of respect for her."
"Okay I'll tell her as soon as I see her, I'm sure she'll appreciate your words." Scott said.
"Thanks Scott."
"No, thank you Thanatos, I won't forget what you did just now for Anabel. I'll talk to you soon."
Scott turned on his heel and quickly walked away from Ash and Paige, heading back to the hotel his Frontier Brains were staying in eager to pass on Ash's message. The siblings watched Scott walk away and then decided to follow Scott's lead and head to the house he had allowed them to use for the tournament.
What none of them had know was that they were being watched by a certain psychic who had heard every word of their conversation. She hadn't imagined she would learn so much about Thanatos today, she had merely come to speak with the man after the Hoenn meeting and possibly learn a little more about him.
When she saw Anabel run out of the building in tears she had been tempted to go after her but when she saw the rest of Brains chase after her she decided to go with her original plan. She had to admit that the man was very impressive, he had embarrassed a strong gym leader both in battle and verbally and she had to stifle a small laugh as she heard him taunt the fool. The only thing that disappointed her was that he had ended it so quickly.
Her curiosity about the man had only heightened now that she knew he had been falsely accused of something just like Ash had. She watched the siblings walk away and then turned her focus to Scot who was slowly walking in the direction Anabel had ran off. She quickly followed after him intent on getting answers about Thanatos, what he'd been accused of and why Scott was so intent on proving his innocence. This was all getting too suspicious for Sabrina's liking and she was going to get to the bottom of this no matter what.
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.
Here's where a big change is, I didn't do much with Sabrina in the original and this time around that's going to change.