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

So a few of the fans of this story may have noticed that's it has been a little while since I last posted a chapter. I'd like to apologise for that and for not even giving you updates as to why I wasn't uploading new chapters. The last 6-8 months have been tough, and I simply haven't had any time or motivation to write

Also can you all do me a big favour and go check out a YouTube channel named RockinRobbo; he's a mate of mine and does a variety of content from Pokemon Soul Links to Dark Souls. I highly recommend his Noob's guide to Dark Souls if you really want a laugh. He's been a big help to me over the past few months and I want to help his channel grow since he is a great guy and deserves it.

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!

Oblivious to Sabrina following him Scott was walking along the path his Frontier Brains had taken to pursue Anabel. When he finally caught up with them his heart broke at the sight Greta hugging a sobbing Anabel. He sat next to Anabel and pulled the sobbing girl to him, trying to calm her down which gradually worked. Sabrina peeked out from behind a nearby building and she watched as Anabel looked up at Scott and gave him a sad smile that broke her heart.

"Anabel, I know you feel awful after what Norman said but if it makes you feel any better, Norman is licking his wounds as we speak." Scott said.

"What are talking about Scott?" Greta asked.

"Well after you all left Thanatos decided to rile up Norman."

"Why?" Brandon queried.

"There's two reasons, the first was what he said about Ash and the more important reason was well he respects Anabel and didn't like seeing her so upset. He told me he wanted to apologise to you as well. He was worried that he had contributed to upsetting you due to what he said at the Kanto meeting."

"He didn't do anything wrong, I wish I could thank him for his words and for defending Ash."

Scott smirked at the Salon Maiden and took out his Pokenav, he quickly changed the name of Ash's contact to Thanatos, so the others wouldn't know it's Ash and then called the number. The Pokenav started ringing and Anabel's eyes widened as Scott pushed the Pokenav in her hands, she desperately tried to give the device back, but Scott shook his head. She looked at him pleading for him to take it back, but Scott merely smiled at her in response.

"You wanted to thank him and here's your chance. You're not going to get a better one for a while."

"Scott please I... I don't know what to say to him."

A panicked look appeared on Anabel's face as she saw the call had been accepted, she shakily held the Pokenav up to her ear and tried to think of something to say but her mind was blank. Luckily for her Thanatos was not the kind of person who waited around for whoever called to get to the point, so he was the first to speak.

"Scott I'm really not in the mood right now."

"Um I… It's Anabel not Scott."

Ash sighed as he heard Anabel stutter the response to him, he felt guilty that he snapped at Anabel since she was probably still upset by what happened earlier with Norman. It was obvious that she was still shook up by what Norman had said in the meeting. A combination of guilt and sympathy filled Ash when he thought about Anabel, her empathic powers made her emotions much stronger, so she'd been put through a lot just, so he could take a cheap shot at Brock.

"I apologise for my response Miss Anabel, Scott was the only one who had this number, so I naturally assumed it would be him."

"That's okay Thanatos, I'm using his Pokenav. I just wanted to thank you for what you for the message Scott gave me from you and I wasn't honestly sure how else to contact you." Anabel replied feeling quite comfortable talking with Thanatos.

"Well I hope you're feeling better now and there's really no need to thank me. I only did what I thought was right."

Scott was reassured by Ash's words, it was another example to him of how the old Ash was still in there beneath the anger, bitterness and distrust. He just had to figure out how he could draw the old Ash out more and get him to eventually reunite with at least a few people who had always believed in him. The thoughts of Ash quickly vanished when he looked at Anabel and watched a smile gradually form on Anabel's face, a sight that had been incredibly rare since Ash's 'death'. Scott wasn't the only one to notice the smile as the rest of the Frontier Brains all saw it and were happy to see the youngest member of their little family smiling again.

"I am feeling better now thanks to you and well we're just going to have to disagree on the second part of your statement."

"I need to speak to Thanatos when you're done." Scott interrupted.

Anabel nodded even though she was disappointed to end her conversation with Thanatos which was strange as before the conversation she had dreaded speaking to him and now she just wanted to talk with him as much as possible. He had defended Ash when very few others had, and he had been much nicer to her than she had expected given what she had heard of him before. She vowed to herself that she would try to spend some time with him the next time she could.

"It looks like I need to cut this short as Scott wants to talk to you now, so I'll see you around Thanatos."

Before Ash could reply to Anabel he heard the phone switching hands and had to suppress a sigh at the fact that he would have to talk to Scott presumably about the next meeting he'd have to attend. He had hoped that he would at least get the rest of the day to himself before speaking with Scott again.

"Hello Thanatos, thanks again for what you did. I think I speak for every member of the Battle Frontier when I say thank you."

"It was my pleasure, so I guess you're going to tell me when you've rescheduled the meeting to."

"It's the complete opposite actually. I wanted to tell you that you won't need to come to any more meetings, you will be left alone until the beginning of the tournament."

"Awesome ten days with no disturbances!" Paige cheered.

"Wait, what's the catch?" Ash asked.

"There's no catch, after what you did to Norman I'm happy to leave you alone until the tournament starts."

"Really?" Ash replied still not totally convinced.

"Yes, there's no good reason for you to come to another meeting. However, you will still have to be in the V.I.P box for the first few rounds of the tournament and this time I don't want you walking out just because you want to chat with Tobias. Now go and enjoy your ten days of peace."

"Alright thanks Scott, I'll see you in ten days."

This time it was Scott who didn't get a chance to response as Ash hung up his Pokenav before he could even say bye. The smile on Scott's face grew as he thought about the progress made with Ash today, he hadn't gotten any closer to the young man himself, but more and more of the old Ash was getting through which gave Scott hope, something that he hadn't had a lot of in recent times.

Nearby Sabrina had been waiting patiently for the proper time to make her appearance and seeing that everything had calmed down Sabrina chose to make the others aware of her presence. She stepped out from behind the building and walked over to the members of the Battle Frontier. Anabel was the first to spot the psychic and waved at her, she had come to know Sabrina reasonably well since Ash's death since they had bonded at first over their common desire of helping Ash and later over their abilities.

"Hello Sabrina."

"Hello Anabel, it's nice to see you smiling again, you look so much more beautiful when you do."

The blood rushed to Anabel's cheeks and she buried her face in her hands to hide her embarrassment prompting the Frontier Brains, Scott and even Sabrina to laugh light heartedly at Anabel. Upon hearing the laughs Anabel looked up at them with a pout on her face, Greta quickly pulled the girl into a hug. Try as she might Anabel couldn't keep the pout on her face and smiled again, a sight that everyone was overjoyed to see.

"What are you doing here Sabrina?" Anabel asked.

"Well there is something I must speak with Scott about, it's urgent." Sabrina replied turning her gaze to the large man.

"Can't it wait Sabrina? I need to stay with Anabel."

"It's okay Scott, I'm fine now and Sabrina clearly has something important to discuss with you."

Scott could never bring himself to argue with Anabel, so he hugged her again and then focussed on Sabrina who was wearing a smile similar to Anabel's on her face. This surprised Scott as it was a look that didn't often appear on the psychic, she was known for her almost emotionless stare and for how well guarded she usually kept her emotions. It made Scott become a bit more curious about what Sabrina needed to talk to him about.

"Follow me Sabrina, we'll speak in my office.

"Very well Scott, lead the way."

With a nod Scott start to walk away followed closely by Sabrina who gave Anabel a small wave and then quickly started to walk alongside Scott prompting the larger man to look at her and see an intense look on her face. It was obvious to Scott that whatever Sabrina wished to speak to him about was extremely important, but he couldn't think of what it could be.

"So, what is it you wish to discuss with me Sabrina."

"It is about that man you seem so enamoured with, Thanatos. There are important matters we must discuss, and he is central to those topics."

"Hmm if that's the case then I think it would be best if we wait until my office, so we may speak in private then."

"I agree based on what I heard earlier."

Upon hearing Sabrina utter that Scott stopped in place and looked at Sabrina worriedly, he wasn't entirely sure on several of the things he had said during that conversation with Ash. The one thing that worried him most was whether or not he had used Ash's name. He gulped as he carefully considered his next words as they could be crucial.

"What did you hear?"

"I heard everything Scott, so I suggest that we move quickly. I don't like to be kept waiting."

Scott couldn't agree with Sabrina more, so he quickly started walking briskly towards his office with Sabrina close behind. After a quick walk through the maing building Scott and Sabrina entered Scott's office, the former sat behind his desk while the latter sat in the chair Ash had sat in when he had met Scott here while she studied the large man who was now rubbing his forehead as if trying to fight off a headache.

"Alright Sabrina you heard everything I spoke with Thanatos about so how can I help you?"

"First of all, what is he allegedly guilty of?"

"I-it's not my place to say Sabrina."

With that Sabrina stood up and slammed her hands on the table, her eyes glowed blue and Scott grunted as he was lifted up and lightly slammed into the wall. He ignored the slight discomfort he was feeling as a light switch was digging into his back and stared at Sabrina who was fixing him with a terrifying glare.

"Now you listen to me Scott, I heard the two of you talking after he defeated that fool Norman and I heard you make a deal with him, you rig the tournament and he gives you a way to prove his innocence. Now I want to know what he did and why you're so desperate to prove him innocent. That man knows something about Ash, in fact I think he knows a lot about him and he may be the key to me proving Ash's innocence."

It was clear to Scott that Sabrina was not going to take no for an answer, but he'd made a promise to Ash and he didn't want to shatter the small amount of trust the young man had in him. In the end he decided that it was in his best interest to comply with Sabrina's demands but only on his terms.

"Okay, okay Sabrina but what I'm about to tell you must stay between the two of us. You must promise to not reveal this to anyone unless I say otherwise."

"Do you really think you're in a position to be making demands?" Sabrina asked in an almost demonic voice.

"I'm sorry Sabrina but those are my terms."

For a moment Scott was worried that he'd made a mistake and a chill ran down his spine as he heard the psychic growl at him while her glare intensified. His fears vanished when he felt Sabrina release him, he managed to stop himself falling from the floor and after letting out a sigh of relief he shakily sat back down in his chair. He looked Sabrina in the eye as he thought about what he was about to say and the repercussions it could have. He took a moment to consider how he'd word his response and once he was sure of a way to word it properly he took a deep breath.

"Okay Sabrina, the truth is that Thanatos is a young man who I once knew. He was set up by the evil teams losing everything he had and forcing himself to go into exile. Since then he has been behind the destruction of Team Rocket and Team Galactic and has foiled the plans of poachers intending to kidnap families of rare Pokémon. He's an incredible man who has done so much for a world that he doesn't want to return to."

"This man sounds a lot like Ash."

"Yes, yes he does but… unfortunately he's not." Scott replied sadly. "Not anymore." Scott whispered to himself

The room fell eerily quiet, theirs head dropped slightly as the pair both thought about the Ash they had lost so long ago. After the brief silence Sabrina looked up again and Scott was looking her straight in the eyes wondering what she would say next.

"Well I wish to help you prove this man's innocence, as I said he may know something about Ash and maybe I can find something to prove Ash's innocence as well."

"I'm glad to hear that Sabrina. Here are the coordinates Thanatos gave me, there are very few people I'd trust more than you to complete this task."

"Thank you, I shall see what I can find."

Sabrina got up and in a flash of light her Alakazam had appeared and Teleported the pair away leaving Scott alone in his office. The large man sat down on his chair with a smug look on his face as he thought about the conversation he'd had with Sabrina. He'd promised Ash he wouldn't tell anyone about his identity, he never said he wouldn't point other people in the right direction. A chuckle escaped from him as he realised how easily he'd managed to find a loophole in Ash's plans. He just wondered how long it would take to find the evidence they needed, he may have said the bases were intact, but Scott knew that Ash will have done some major damage to them.

Meanwhile completely oblivious to Scott and now Sabrina's search for information Ash and Paige had relaxed at their temporary home happy to be left alone until the start of the tournament.

Notes

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Sabrina won't be finding out the truth too soon, it'd be way to easy if she found what she needed in the first place she checked.