I really didn't think this story would get such a good reception from the first chapter, I really appreciate each and every one of you who read and left a comment.
And now let's answer the questions.
Simpledude: Thanks for the support. I'm glad you liked the plot of this and other stories. As they are not common plots, I write my stories without high expectations, so every positive comment is welcome.
Guest 1: As for the pairing, I'll be honest, it won't be the focus at the beginning of the story. Ash could end up being paired with one girl, several, or none at all. Reason to Fight is about dealing with a dark past and facing the future, not necessarily about romantic relationships. It can happen, but it's not a priority.
Guest 2: Well, here's the chapter *-*
But about the update frequency, I'll be honest, it will depend on the inspiration and time to write. I can't make a schedule, I prefer to do things on my own time and maintain quality.
Kirito3229sao: Who knows? It could happen, but as I answered earlier, at least in the early part of the story the focus will not be on relationships.
Simpledude (2): All characters necessary for the plot will appear when necessary. Something I don't like is forcing character X or Y just because he's part of the original work. Many characters will only be mentioned, I believe that when there is an exaggeration in the number of characters, it is impossible to manage a well-made story.
Xavier Arias Golsalves: The past that transformed Ash's personality is a fundamental part of the plot, and making a cliché story of betrayal would be extremely easy, which I don't like. Betrayal doesn't always have to come from Ash's friends, as countless stories portray, sometimes people hurt others without knowing it. I like to play around with the variables this story gives me. And as for what actually happened, this chapter has set out to answer a small part of that.
UltimateCCC: It's not hate directed at Serena or any 'main' character in the plot. The story deals with the evolution of Ash's personality from a remarkable event in his past, and his personality portrayed at the beginning of this story is a consequence of that. As the story progresses, everything will be explained.
Well, after answering the comments, enjoy the second chapter of A Reason to Fight.
Time seemed to stop, the world boiled down to those two people who confronted each other after so many years without any contact. Pikachu lowered his ears, as much as he liked Serena, he couldn't stay by her side, Pikapi has his reasons, and as his first Pokémon, he would stay by her side until the end.
But that didn't change the fact that it was painful to see this scene before her eyes.
Serena was shocked by Ash's words. What happened to make him be so rude to her? The Ash she met is a sweet and pure-hearted boy, even if he was impulsive and naive, he was still an admirable person.
But the person standing before her is someone completely different, the only similarities being her name and the Pikachu on her shoulder.
Ash narrowed his eyes, of all the things that could happen, he didn't expect to have to face one of these fools on his first day at this school. "Miss Yvone, forgive me for the initial reaction, this is not befitting someone in my position. How can I help you?" He didn't speak in a way that showed revulsion, the phrase came out in such a natural tone, and it hurt Serena even more.
"I don't understand! Why are you acting this way with me?! You disappeared for over 5 years and didn't even bother to report back! How do you think I felt? All your friends did their best to try to find you, and when we couldn't find you, we believed you were dead!" Serena started to cry and Ash looked on impassively. He couldn't bring himself to feel guilt for what was happening before him, he had no right to have those kind of feelings, not after everything he had faced in the last few years of his life.
Ash crossed his arms, showing no emotion at the girl's collapse before him. Some people who passed by the place observed with curiosity that unusual scene. The infamous Serena Yvone crying over the boy who came back from the dead, this was sure to become the main news at school for the next few days.
"Miss Yvone, I'm taking advantage of the time granted to me to get to know the facilities of this educational institution better, so, if you don't have a real reason to request my attention, I ask that you leave me free to continue what I was doing previously. " Serena flinched at the look she received, it didn't contain hate, what was there was something far worse.
It was apathy.
Ash turned and started to leave the room, but Serena wouldn't let that happen, if Ash walked away one more time, something inside her told her it would be permanent.
"Ash Ketchum, I challenge you to battle!" Everyone who was watching that scene was even more surprised, a Pokémon battle on the first day at this school? That would certainly be interesting. Ash stopped in his tracks and glared at the girl before him, who gave him her best determined look.
"Challenge accepted." No further words were needed. Both walked to their respective sides of the battlefield and Ash put a hand to his chest.
"I give you the honor of the first move." Serena blinked twice and began to feel embarrassed as she saw that the people who had gathered around the arena began to have the wrong idea of what was really going on.
While the battle was about to start, the news had already spread around the school, and some people looking for the whereabouts of the mysterious trainer immediately headed to the battle arena. May darted through the crowd practically dragging Drew who tried futilely to calm his girlfriend, Misty started to push her way through the crowd and Dawn blushed with embarrassment watching her friend live up to her reputation as a woman with a volatile temper, and others were already in the place where the battle would take place, with Paul who looked with total intensity at the arena, and Gary who was beside the purple haired man looking at Ash's face as if he had just seen a ghost.
May saw Paul in the distance and ran towards him, unfortunately for Drew, luck was not on his side, as he was bumping into anyone in his girlfriend's way. Her reputation was already being destroyed on her first day at this school full of influential people.
"Paul! Where is Ash?!" The brunette screamed, and Paul looked towards her, seeing that girl dragging Drew like a rag doll. It was an internal struggle to hold in a good laugh, but he wouldn't spoil his ruthless trainer character for May's antics. He pointed his finger at the arena and May directed her gaze where it was indicated as she came to stand beside Paul.
May's eyes widened when she saw her old friend's appearance. Is 'this' the same Ash she met in Hoenn? He doesn't even look like the same person. Drew finally managed to pull himself together and glared at his girlfriend.
"Damn May! Why did you do that?! Our reputation was tarnished on the very first day, why not walk like a normal person? I bumped into at least 30 people!" May turned to Drew and looked up with a sweet smile, and tilted her head to the side in an adorable way.
"Be quiet or I'll kill you." Drew gasped in shock and broke into a sweat, Paul felt a shiver run down his spine looking at that girl. How the hell did Ash attract so many strange people into his life?
Misty spotted her friends and had no trouble getting there, staying beside Gary who was still in shock, not even noticing the people who had arrived around him. Dawn stopped beside Paul and let out a relieved sigh that her friend had finally stopped wading through the crowd. Sinnoh's coordinator was surprised by Ash's new appearance. He finally has a good fashion sense! And she has to admit, time has done a lot of good to his appearance. She already thought he was cute when they traveled together, but now he has become a very handsome man.
Misty saw Ash and managed not to walk into that arena and talk some sense into her friend's head. That idiot disappeared for over 5 years and the first thing he does is have a pokemon battle. But something other than Ash caught her eye, and it was Gary who was holding back her tears.
"You're alive, by Arceus, you're alive, I thought you and Delia didn't survive..." Gary whispered to himself, but Misty heard, and intended to question him, but the battle was about to begin.
Ash looked at the crowd that had gathered around the arena and groaned inwardly, but he had put himself in this situation and had to deal with the consequences. "Pikachu, let's get this over with." His trusty yellow rat jumped off his shoulder and got into a battle stance, sparks shooting from his cheeks.
When she saw Ash's main Pokémon in the arena, Serena immediately got serious and grabbed her first Poké Ball. "Go Pancham, we have a battle to win!" Serena's first Pokémon stood before Pikachu, slightly surprised to see it again after so many years, but soon adopted a fighting stance.
"Pancham, use Tackle!" Serena's Pokémon advanced towards Pikachu, who remained motionless. She expected Ash to move, but nothing prepared her for what happened next.
"Just accept the move Pikachu" no one could believe what they just heard, Ash deliberately accepted that his Pokémon would suffer damage, and worse, Pikachu didn't even flinch from this order. None of Ash's former friends believed what they were hearing, this is something he would never have felt, Paul was the only one who understood what would happen, but it was still surprising. This strategy goes against everything Ash preached as his Pokémon trainer style.
The attack connected, and Pancham smiled confidently that he had succeeded, but his confidence turned to horror when he saw Pikachu impassive, and sparks took over his body, leaving him immobilized.
Ash looked at Serena with disappointment, and the Kalos woman was left with no reaction to what would happen next. "Pikachu, end this with Iron Tail." Without any remorse, Pikachu landed a powerful Iron Tail on the Pancham's head, knocking it out.
With just one stroke.
Everyone fell silent at the brutal display before them, Misty was outraged at what she had just witnessed, May covered her mouth with her hands in horror, Dawn was in shock with tears threatening to run down her eyes, Gary was surprisingly impassive and Paul , well, he was being 'Paul'. Drew was the first to speak after the anticlimactic battle. "Wow, is it just me, or has Paul found his twin?" The attempt to lighten the mood failed miserably.
"That bastard! How dare he do this to Pikachu? And why was he so brutal against Serena's Pancham? Even for a Pokémon battle this was unnecessary, he was already incapacitated! I'm going to teach that idiot a lesson!" Misty was going to approach the arena, but Gary grabbed the girl's arm and squeezed it hard enough to make her uncomfortable.
"Gary, what the hell, you..." The words died in the redhead's mouth when she saw the look of absolute hatred from the Pokémon researcher.
"Shut the fuck up and watch the battle." She took a few steps back, and everyone in that small group was taken aback by the aggressive reaction of the normally laid-back Gary Oak.
No one dared question the man before them, as attention returned to the arena, where Serena brought Pancham back to her Poké Ball and looked at Ash, walking in shock at the uncharacteristic ending to the battle.
"Why?..." Was all the blonde said, Ash raised an eyebrow not understanding the shock. "It's not Pikachu's fault that you let your emotions override your rational side by choosing me as your opponent without even having any information about my Pokemon, bring the next opponent or give up."
Shock has been replaced by anger, no one, not even Ash, is going to insult her ability as a trainer, that's insulting all the effort she and her Pokémon have put in over the years. "It won't stay like this Ash! Sylveon, let's go to battle!" The Fairy-type fox entered the battlefield, recognizing Pikachu, but felt emotion emanating from its trainer, making her angry.
Ash brought a hand to his chin, analyzing the situation he found himself in. 'This is a dangerous opponent, moves like Tackle or any move that requires direct contact cannot be used. And I have to be careful because normal-type attacks are transformed into fairy-type by Sylveon, unless... that's it!'
'Pikachu, Rain Dance.' The water-type move was something surprising, and the most amazing thing was that Pikachu actually performed the move perfectly, causing a small rain to fall on the battle arena.
"But how..." Serena whispered, Sylveon was also confused, as far as she knew, Pikachu is an electric type.
"One of the duties of a trainer is to know everything your Pokémon can learn. Pikachu can learn Rain Dance, and you made a serious mistake." Nobody who watched the battle understood, the Rain Dance was impressive, but Pikachu doesn't have any abilities that benefit from it.
Ash patiently waited for Serena to figure out what was going to happen, and seeing the look of confusion on the woman before him, he was again disappointed. Is this the 'elite' level? What the hell has she been doing all these years? This strategy is not very difficult to unravel.
Crossing his arms, Ash decided to end this farcical battle call. "Pikachu, use Spark." The sparks on Pikachu's cheek rose and the water on the ground conducted the electricity... straight to Sylveon, who screamed in pain as she was electrocuted mercilessly. Pikachu kept the movement active and Serena panicked.
"Please stop, you are hurting her!" Most people watching the battle agreed that Ash's method, while efficient, was also brutal, and sounds of boos began to echo through the arena.
The relentless coach ignored the sounds coming from the audience. "It's not my fault you guys are naive, I trained my Pokémon to be strong, if you haven't done the same, don't challenge me to a battle. Miss Yvone, find a way out of this situation or give up." Ash's relentless tone made her cringe in fear, but her Pokémon's screams of pain brought her back to reality. With tears falling from her eyes, she said in a shaky voice.
"I give up, Sylveon, go back." Serena returned her Pokemon and looked at Ash who stared at her with no sign of regret for what she had just done. For a moment she considered sending out her Braixen, but the memory of what had happened to her other Pokémon was enough to dissuade her.
"Monster..." Serena said in a low voice, but Ash heard it, and for the first time he laughed, which left Serena in shock.
"This world is teeming with Monsters Miss Yvone. I learned that a long time ago, in order to survive, I needed to become a monster worse than the ones I faced. If I am faced with monsters, I will be the devil himself." Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and the pair retreated from the battle arena, Serena watched Ash leave and something inside her snapped. Crying, she ran towards the school's Pokemon center, not looking at the people who watched everything that happened.
Unfortunately for the Aura Guardian, a group of teenagers weren't going to let him get away with what happened. Six familiar faces stood before him, and Misty angrily strode towards him.
"You bastard!" Misty tried to hit Ash's face with a slap, but was unsuccessful. With one hand, Ash parried the blow, and glared at the redhead before him who didn't know what to do.
"Miss Waterflower, I will treat this attempted aggression as a slight slip on your part simply because of the fact that you represent the Kanto region, which has a strong relationship with the Rota kingdom. But if you try to attack me again, I will be forced to take your actions as a clear statement of hostility." Misty flinched at Ash's words. Seeing her best friend treat her like a complete stranger hurt far more than if he simply offended her.
"What the hell Ash! What got into you? After so many years is this how you greet us? Look what you did to Serena, you made her cry!" Dawn yelled at him, and Ash remained impassive, even though the argument was drawing the attention of an unwanted audience.
"Miss Berlitz, I accepted a legitimate challenge to a battle, by Pokémon League rules, a battle within League-sanctioned facilities carries the same weight as an official match, she should be prepared for the consequences, at no time did I act hostile , I just fulfilled my obligation as a representative of my country and won with flying colors." Dawn burst into tears upon hearing her old friend's unsympathetic tone.
"Stop this!" Ash raised an eyebrow not understanding what the bluenette meant.
"I'm sorry Miss Berlitz, but I don't understand." Dawn grabbed Ash's shoulders and practically yelled at him.
"Stop treating us like we're complete strangers! We're your friends, we'll do our best to find you, it's not fair that you treat us like that Ash, get angry, do anything, but please don't talk to me like that again..." Dawn was getting desperate seeing Ash acting like she was a complete stranger, but when he looked back at his former friend, his hopes were dashed.
Ash didn't even flinch from his words.
"I'm afraid you misunderstand our relationship, Miss Berlitz. I am at this school only as a representative of the kingdom of Rota, and while I do not deny that I know each of you, our relationship is strictly that of members of this school, and nothing more. I would like to ask you to calm down, people around you are having the wrong idea of what is really going on."
May was angry to see her friends being treated this way by Ash, he is acting like an arrogant idiot. "Damn Ash, stop treating us like this! We're your friends, we did everything to find you, and we don't deserve to have you acting like a snobby idiot. I've had enough with Drew, I don't need another one like him!" Drew glared at his girlfriend, why does everything always end up with him involved? As strange as it is for him to think this way, Ash has seen a very positive change in his opinion. Sure, it was a brutal display against Serena, but at least he's gone from being the stupid kid he's always been to someone worthy of respect.
"Leave Ash alone, it's unfair to treat him like an idiot, he at least is a respectable public figure now, Arceus forgive me, but you were a complete clown in the past Ash, no offense." Drew tried to lighten the mood, Ash gave him a small nod.
"No offense taken Mister Hayden." May reached the end of her tether when she saw Drew supporting this change in Ash's attitude. This is not right, your best friend is acting like a complete stranger.
"What the hell Drew! How can you say that? Everyone trying to talk sense into my idiot friend's head and you keep encouraging him!" Drew was angry after being criticized for stating the obvious.
"At least I don't act like a clown! Grow up May, Ash is no longer a child, remember what I said to you at the end of the great Johto festival? You were being influenced by Ash, and you agreed with me! Don't act like I'm the bad guy here, now that Ash is a decent person are you mad? I'm starting to wonder if it really was Ash that influenced you that way. If he managed to change and you didn't, maybe the problem is you." Even Ash winced at the green haired man's words. As much as he's right, he could leave it to do that in private, though it would be illuminating to find out the real reason May went to Johto at the end of the journey through Kanto.
Tired of wasting his time, Ash glanced at a small watch on his wrist and narrowed his eyes. "I am sorry to inform you, but I have an appointment and I must say goodbye. Goodbye." Ash started to distance himself, and the group was divided because while they wanted to follow him, they also needed to dissuade May from publicly attacking the poor coordinator with the green hair.
But two people thought differently. Paul and Gary faced each other and the young Pokémon researcher followed his old friend, with the enigmatic Veilstone trainer watching the Pokémon researcher go in search of answers. He would have liked to follow along, but all that emotional plotting never sat well with Paul Slide.
"Damn Pikachu, I'm already regretting having accepted this mission, if it wasn't for a direct order from the queen I would be at home taking care of mommy." Ash stood outside the school gates, waiting for his new companion to arrive.
"Pika, pikapi pichu" The yellow mouse gently patted his friend's neck with its paw, making Ash show a small smile, and then immediately started scratching his Pokémon's cheek.
"You always know how to cheer me up, I don't know what I would do without you with me in this place, but..." Instincts warned him that someone was approaching, and when he turned around, his eyes narrowed when he saw Gary standing in front of him.
"Oh, are you approaching me? Instead of running away are you getting closer? For some unknown reason, this phrase made Gary want to talk some sense into the man before him.
"I can't hit you without getting closer…" Gary didn't know why he said that sentence. Pikachu hit his face with a paw, Pikapi is being a jerk again and didn't even notice.
"You owe me an explanation Ash." Gary's neutral tone put Ash on edge, unlike the others, his old friend is smart. Underneath the cocky attitude, Gary Oak maintains a frighteningly sharp intellect.
"I don't owe you anything, now leave me alone." Gary clenched his fists angrily.
"You disappeared for five goddamn years! I was on pallet that day, I did my best to find you. Do you know how my grandfather felt when he got the news that you and Delia were dead? He nearly died of heartbreak! Was it fun Ash? Hide away for so many years while me and all your friends felt guilty for not being there for you?" For the first time Ash's mask of impartiality broke, and he looked away from his old friend.
"Shut up Gary, you don't know anything about what happened." That was the limit for Gary, and he lunged forward with every intention of hitting the asshole in front of him with a punch to the face. For Ash, Gary's movement was telegraphed, and with a single movement, he dodged the blow.
"Stand still so I can hit you, you ungrateful bastard!" Gary launched an onslaught of punches, trying at all costs to land the man in front of him. By some miracle no one was seeing the 'combat', or the Oak family's image would be severely affected.
For two minutes Gary tried to kick and punch Ash in every possible way, without any success. Ash didn't fight back once, and when Gary fell to his knees panting, The Aura Guardian crossed its arms.
"You finished?" Gary responded by throwing a rock at Ash's face, but a small barrier of aura stopped the attack.
"Damn…just wait…I…will show you…what you…deserve." Gary said breathlessly, trying to recover from his failed attempts to hit the man before him. Ash, on the other hand, was in an internal struggle. Unlike the others, Gary was the only one who genuinely tried to help, even in a roundabout way. He is not a fool, though he lives around fools.
Accumulating a large amount of aura in his left hand, Ash closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they glowed an electric blue hue.
"Aura Barrier." A pulse of energy shot out of the hand with the aura sphere, creating a dome of blue energy, keeping Ash and Gary isolated from the world.
"Gary slowly stood up and faced Ash, who glared at him. "What will you do?"
Ash sighed and scratched the back of his head, something that surprised Gary positively for the first time, as this looks more like the Ash he knew in his childhood. The Aura Guardian looked at Gary and grabbed one of his hands. "I won't tell you with words, but I will show you."
"Show what?" Gary was no longer understanding what Ash wanted to do.
"I will show you what really happened, when the world believed I was killed." And then, Gary Oak's world went dark.
Pallet Town, five years ago, March 0 - Ash and Delia Ketchum Disappearing Day
Finally, after so many years traveling around the world, Ash Ketchum became champion of a Pokémon League. His adventure through the tropical lands and full of mystery of Alola earned him friends and stories that defy logic.
Facing the Ultra Beasts and becoming the region's first champion were defining moments in his life, but he wouldn't trade it for the world. The friendships made during your time in Alola would stick with you for the rest of your life, but as they say, there is no place like home.
And for this reason, Ash returned to Pallet, because he missed his mother, and with the responsibilities that the title of Champion would bring him, perhaps it was the last opportunity in a long period of time, to just sit in the backyard of his house and relax alongside your only family.
In the backyard of the Ketchum residence, Ash finished tending to the garden that had been his mother's pride. The day was about to end giving way to night in the Kanto region, and the smell of the delicious meal prepared by Delia was more than enough reason to motivate the teenager to enter his house.
"Come on Pikachu, Mom made dinner, I'm starving!" Pikachu who was playing with some wild Pichu ran towards its trainer when he was called, and jumped on Ash's shoulder.
"Pika!" To Pikachu's delight, Ash scratched his cheek. The human and Pokémon duo entered the house and soon found themselves in the kitchen, where Delia had finished serving the table. Without thinking twice, Ash ran to sit down, but his mother hit him in the head with the spoon.
"Oh, why did you hit me?" his mother shook her head, her son has never changed even after so many years.
"Ash, I love you, but if you don't learn to wash your hands before you eat, I'm going to have to stop making meals." A look of horror was all Delia saw from her son, who ran like her life depended on it to the bathroom on the second floor of the house with Pikachu in tow.
"This boy, so many years and still the same Ashy I love." Delia said fondly, as much as her son was a disaster when it came to table manners, that's what makes him Ash Ketchum, her only child and the most important thing in her life.
A knock on the door caught Delia's attention, who removed her apron and went to answer the door, surprised to be greeted by several men wearing strange uniforms.
One of them approached and for some reason she felt that something bad was going to happen.
"Good evening, may I help you? I wasn't expecting visitors." The man before her smiled, but that smile was not friendly, it felt wrong, as if it were an omen of tragedy.
"Is this the Ketchum residence?" Was all the uniformed man said. Mr Mime was on high alert, as a Psychic Pokémon, sensing the nature of people's feelings was almost like second nature.
And what emanated from these men was pure hostility.
"Yes, we live here, do you want to talk to Ash? He's in the bathroom now." The man looked at his cronies and with a nod, they began to position themselves around the house. He took something out of his pocket and Delia froze in fear at what she saw.
It was a weapon.
"I have nothing against you, I'm just following orders. You have two choices: The first, and what I think is the smart choice, is that you're going to leave the house, and you're going to be away from the city for a few days. Let's make sure your son's death is reported as an unfortunate attack by Team Rocket, and he will have died a hero, as he always seemed to like to be. And there's also the second option, which I'm hoping you'll choose. Try to save your son and die beside him." Delia can't believe it, why would they want to hurt her son?
But seeing that man's crooked smile, she understood. He had no intention of letting her get out alive. They wanted to kill her and her son, she doesn't understand why this is happening.
But no one messes with your baby and gets away with it!
"Mr Mime, Use Confusion!" The Pokémon adopted by the Ketchum matriarch did not hesitate and made the orderly move, confusing the aggressors. Without pressing twice, Delia ran to the second floor of the house, with Mr Mime following her.
The effect of the Psychic movement didn't last long, and the man put a hand to his ear, activating the communicator. "Commander, as planned, targets are isolated in the house, awaiting order to use lethal force."
And the words that would change that family's future echoed from the mysterious man behind all this brutality.
"Permission granted. Eliminate all witnesses, apprehend any Pokémon in the targets' possession, and return to base. Remember, we are not killing innocents, we are just protecting the world, this is for the greater good." The communicator turned off and those men didn't hesitate to comply with the order.
Many of them released powerful fire-type pokémon and started to set the house on fire, while the men entered through the door with the desire to fulfill the order given by their commander.
Delia found Ash coming out of the bathroom, and the desperation on his mother's face worried the boy.
"What is happening?" Delia looked around in panic and was about to say something when the sound of a gunshot echoed down the hall.
Ash's face was streaked with red...the color of his mother's blood as it fell motionless to the ground. Slowly he turned and saw the smiling face of a man with the gun still drawn.
"HEY kid, I don't know what you did, but it looks like this pissed off a lot of people, the kind nobody should piss off. So be a good boy and die with your mother." Another shot echoed through the hall, Ash was standing still, in shock at what was happening.
But Mr Mime wouldn't let anyone else get hurt.
With Reflect, the projectile bounced back to whoever fired it. Hitting the shoulder.
"Ah! You damn brat, I'm going to finish you off! Orders be damned, I'll enjoy breaking you before I end your miserable existence!" Ash paid no attention to the furious man who tried to stop the bleeding from the gunshot he suffered, his attention was on his mother, and the puddle of blood accumulating on the floor.
Kneeling down, he gently shook the woman. "Mom, wake up, we need to go to dinner. I washed my hands like you asked, but it looks like they're going to get dirty again, I'll clean up after you wake up." Pikachu started to cry seeing his best friend falling into despair in front of him, with nothing to do. Pikapi was the kindest human he'd ever met, the one who accepted him even when he did everything he could to screw up the boy's life at the beginning of the journey. And now his mother is dying and nobody can do anything.
"Hey you crazy boy, that bitch died, that's what happens when I shoot someone. Oh, how I wish I could record this, I drove a brat crazy!" Even stanching the wound on his shoulder, that man was laughing at the scene before him. Pikachu listened, and for the first time in his life he felt hate.
For the first time, he really wanted to kill someone.
Utilizing all the energy in its small body, Pikachu launched the strongest thunderbolt of its life, hitting the bastard in front of it squarely. Panicking, the man fired again, but this time his action didn't end well for him.
The intense heat in the weapon's metal, coupled with the massive electrical discharge, caused the ammunition in the weapon's magazine to explode, sending metal shards flying... directly into the Pikachu's target's body.
The electric mouse wasted no time on the result of its attack, its focus is on Pikapi trying to save its mother.
The hallway went up in flames, as did the rest of the house and the body of the man who had tried to kill the Ketchum family members. With determination, Mr Mime looked at Pikachu, and after receiving a wave, he used Teleport, to any place away from Pallet, leaving in that corridor an injured man trying to save himself, and a communicator in the form of a Poké Ball being consumed by the flames.
Mr Mime appeared with Ash, Delia and Pikachu in the middle of the Viridian forest, and the psychic pokémon's movement was enough to bring Ash out of shock.
The poor boy did everything to save his mother, but Delia kept losing blood, and when she stopped breathing, the boy finally broke.
The scream of horror echoed throughout the forest, and a huge pulse of energy flowed from the teenager.
Perhaps it was luck, fate, or the machinations of a higher being, but the moment Ash let go of the energy pulse, a man and his lucario who were camping in the city sensed it, and immediately rushed to the source.
When they arrived, they were faced with a horrifying scene. A bloodied woman on the floor, apparently dead. A Mr Mime and a crying Pikachu, and something that would give you goosebumps until your dying day.
A teenager he knew in the past, with dead eyes and covered in blood, who said just one word, but that was the beginning of a completely different future in his life.
"Help me…" Ash whispered, and Riley would never forgive himself for abandoning someone in need.
After all, Aura Guardians exist to protect, not harm.
Back to current time
Gary was in shock when Ash let go of his hand, sweating and shaking at the horrible sight, and fell to the ground. Slowly he got to his feet and his mind had more questions than answers.
"Ash, what the hell was...that." Ash was nowhere to be found, having left while Gary visualized that memory. It took a few minutes for the pokémon researcher to calm down, but he now knows that there is much more behind his friend's change.
And he's going to find out whether or not it's called Gary Oak.
"I'll help you Ash, even if you don't want to. You can hide your secrets, you can hate me, I don't care. I'll find out what happened, it's the least I can do for not being able to help you that horrible night.
Memories of the news he received about an attack on the Ketchum residence flooded his mind.
Gary was the first to arrive at Ash's house when the news spread. The once beautiful house was completely destroyed, and no trace of Ash or his mother was found. That event greatly affected the Pokémon League, as Alola was left without a champion to represent the league. In less than 24 hours they named a new champion, and for some reason Gary didn't understand, little was done to find out what really happened to Ash and his mother.
At first, all of Ash's closest friends joined together to try to find him, in the hope that he was alive, but little by little everyone gave up. Misty accepted the fact that Ash was dead, and embraced her work as a way to forget about the pain. Brock cut contact with everyone, for unknown reasons. May, who seemed to be the most committed to the pursuit, quit abruptly when she won her first major festival and entered into a relationship with her old rival Drew Hayden.
Dawn and Serena began successful careers as coordinators, both winning major festivals in Sinnoh and Kanto respectively. Fame took up a lot of their free time and as the years passed, they gave up on finding Ash.
As fate would have it, the only ones who didn't give up were him and Paul, who teamed up to look for a real justification for the disappearance.
And now that Gary has seen that memory, his mind is filled with doubts.
Why did they try to kill Ash and Delia?
Who were those men?
Why would they try to frame Team Rocket?
And finally, who gave the order to do this horrible act?
Slowly Gary made his way to his quarters, his mind was a mess and nothing good comes from a desperate person. For a moment, Gary thought about telling everyone what he saw, but hardly anyone would believe him.
And frankly, he doesn't know if he can trust anyone anymore until he finds out what actually happened.
"Damn it Ash, what the hell are you in for?" The brown haired man said to himself as he headed towards his quarters, thinking about the endless possibilities of what really happened.
"Do you think I was right to show Gary what happened?" Pikachu jumped onto his lap and nodded.
"PIka, PIkapi Pikachu pi pichu." His friend's words would be indecipherable for anyone but him who lived with Pikachu for almost ten years.
"Do you think I needed to tell someone?"
"Long!"
"And you trust Gary?"
Pikachu landed a weak thunderbolt on Ash's face.
"Okay, I get it! No need to shock me Pikachu!" The little yellow mouse crossed its paws and turned its face to the side, scolding its handler.
Sounds of a powerful motorcycle echoed down the street, and a black sportbike pulled up in front of Ash. A woman piloted it and when she took off her helmet, she smiled at the man who stared at her with his mouth open.
"Hey boss, how long has it been. Get on the bike, the Queen sent me to live with you during your mission." That brown hair in a unique hairstyle, the choice of clothes, everything is as he remembered it, after all, how could he forget his first subordinate?
"Hilda?" The woman winked at him and threw an extra helmet to Ash, who took it and after putting it on his head, sat on the back seat of the motorcycle. Pikachu knew what to expect and stayed in Ash's lap.
"Hold on Ash, our ride is going to be bumpy." Hilda's words brought horror to Ash, who instinctively hugged the waist of the woman riding the motorcycle. And that proved to be a wise decision, as Hilda sped off, breaking every traffic law possible while cackling like a maniac.
And Ash? Well, he and Pikachu screamed for their lives.
"HILDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"PIKAPIIIIIIIIIIII!