Ash's Power Trip

by PrinceAsmo

Seven years ago, Alola was raided by Team Rainbow Rocket. Champion Ash Ketchum lost his partner Pokemon in an attempt to save the day. Hell bent on gaining power to never feel the pain of loss again,, 25yo Ash is aiming to sit at the top of the Pokemon World. Will he succeed, or will he become drunk in his own power? What happens when a good heart becomes tainted?

3. Chapter 2: Power Play

Hello again!

.

Too soon? Well, there is no such thing in my vocabulary. It's been two days since "Chapter 1", and here is "Chapter 2", not counting the Aether Archives. I said next chapter coming within two weeks last time, and two days is indeed, within two weeks!

The Championship Defense Match is here! An oc fights our protagonist! Old faces come back! Ash makes a power-play!

Enjoy the chapter!

---

September 18, 2022
Maple Residence, Petalburg City

Life in the Maple residence was always quiet and relaxed. The family members would always just relax on the couch, make small tank and watch TV, mostly competitive battles and Contests. The home next to the Petalburg Gym was especially quiet since the offsprings of Norman and Caroline were always travelling. Max was going around the regions challenging the gyms and Conferences, just like his old idol. May on the other hand, was travelling around Hoenn just for the sake of travelling. She gave up contests a couple of years ago, ever since she broke up with Drew Shu.

But today. Today was an unusual day for the Maple Residence. Both May and Max were at their home, and today was the legendary Alola Championship Defense match. As such, the hustle and bustle, the preparations to sit down as a family and enjoy a high caliber match were especially loud.

"I can't wait to see what Champion Hadrian is like! I need this knowledge if I am to challenge the Manalo Conference next year!" Max gleefully exclaimed while carrying food to the living room table.

"Yeah, sure, I bet you'll fare well down at the islands" May whispered, carrying the drinks

"Oh don't be like that. Your brother is strong May" Norman retorted, sitting down on the couch as he started swapping the channels to find the one playing the match. Fortunately for everyone, the match was being broadcasted everywhere. Every TV channel was showing the Alola Coliseum, which was filled beyond the 150.000 capacity.

"This really is a legendary match huh" Caroline chimed sitting next to Norman, elbows resting on her legs, and her beautiful face resting on the palms of her hands. Her face was a matured version of May's, and it showed years of happiness and content aging. Laugh lines accentuated her face, and her eyes hid years of a happy marriage and pride of the family they brought to the world together.

"Well, just think of it this way. Even us Gym leaders don't know squat about him. Only Wallace and Steven know him, maybe the Elites too, but our Champions avoid questions about Hadrian like the plague. We only know he is 25, he is not an Alolan native, but is now an Alola citizen, and he is very strong"

"Well Mark, it's almost time, in 5 minutes the Champion will appear on the field. The stadium is burning hotter than Wela Volcano!"

"It's only natural Captain Kiawe. If you think this is hot, you can't even imagine the sheer amount of people watching the event live from their homes! People are going crazy about the first public reveal of Champion Hadrian, and I can't blame them. The news we got about him is some next level craziness! I never imagined that hewas Champion Hadrian! Did you know this?"

"Take it easy Mark, this isn't yet the time for the reveal, hold your horses for 2 more minutes! But yes, I know him personally. He is a great friend, a brother to me"

"This is even better than I thought" Norman commented nonchalantly.

"I'm getting the rest of the drinks" May quietly announced and walked to the kitchen. She had a weird relationship with the region of Alola. She has never been there, but she was supposed to be at one point. Drew never let her leave during Contest period... Also, Alola was the last region Ash Ketchum was sighted in. She was supposed to visit him when he called for her, needing her. At the time, she paid too little mind to the message since... Well, she was on a situation that didn't allow for much thought that night. After that, a couple months passed, and she tried to contact him, but nothing came out. He no longer had the same numbers, messenger Swellow couldn't find him, and he never contacted her himself. How was he now? Was he well? She hoped he was, she couldn't stand the thought of her sweet Ash being hurt or sad, or worse.

Her thoughts are quite ironic, aren't they? Especially since Ash was hurt and sad and worse. He tried to get her with him, he needed her. But she didn't know that.

"Here, he, IS! Alola Champion Hadrian has entered. But wait, that's not his full name, is it? What say you, Mark?"

The Maple residence was awfully quiet at this point. The man walking in the stadium, with confidence beyond normal levels and a smile hiding danger and a lot of power was vaguely familiar. His appearance was one they felt they knew, but his outfit, attitude, expression, and the cold eyes scanning the field with frightening precision, obviously analyzing even the dust particles as variables were all foreign to them.

"Everyone knows him as Champion Hadrian of Alola. But that, is NOT his real name! He is a man with a long list of achievements since his early years as a trainer, having ended minimum Top 16 in every single conference!"

"Damn, the only man I know with records like that in every conference... Wait" Max started but his eyes were slowly widening. Norman has turned whiter than the snow, and Caroline's hands were shaking a bit. There was no way.

"He has also conquered the infamous Kanto Battle Frontier!"

May froze on her way to the table, the tray in her hands shaking with increasing intensity.

"Look at this man stoically standing on the Champion's Side of the Coliseum. I can feel the air of mystery and power from here!"

The tray in May's hands crashed on the floor, sending broken glass shards and liquids everywhere.

"So, without further ado-"

Everyone turned to look at May behind them. She was white, shaking, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"-give it up for your Champion, the uncontested-"

"There is no way..." May whispered

"-Ashton Hadrian Ketchum!"

Every head in the Maple family snapped back to the screen at speeds high enough to break their neck. Ash Ketchum, the beloved trainer from Pallet town, Max's long time idol, Norman's favorite rookie, and May's long gone love. Well, that is not entirely accurate. She still has feelings for him. Even while she was with Drew she had feelings for him. She was with Drew in an attempt to get over him, but she failed. And it became worse when she broke up, spending days and weeks thinking 'What would it be like if I was with Ash instead? What would it be like if Ash loved me too?' That was the whole problem. She always believed that Ash never had such feelings for her. That's why she never tried to get him. As for Caroline, she secretly wished Ash Ketchum would become her son-in-law. In her eyes, Ash was strong, caring, loving, smart, handsome, just perfect for her daughter. And he would be approved by Norman too. Although these days, Norman would rather see her daughter grow old alone after the Drew fiasco.

"Hey, where's Pikachu?" Max cocked his head looking at the screen. Caroline and Norman also looked at the screen, wondering the same thing, while May was already rushing to leave the house.

Pikachu would never leave Ash alone on a stage like this.

---

At the same time,
Berlitz Residence, Twinleaf Town

"Everyone knows him as Champion Hadrian of Alola. But that, is NOT his real name! He is a man with a long list of achievements since his early years as a trainer, having ended minimum Top 16 in every single conference! He has also conquered the infamous Kanto Battle Frontier!"

"Pol! Pol! Pol! Poleon!" A massive, blue royal penguin was causing a mad ruckus in front of the TV, very excited to see a huge battle like this. In the meantime, Empoleon's trainer Dawn was having a shower upstairs and her mother, Johanna was making some food. Everyone in the house was aware of the monumental battle taking place, but being Contest enthusiasts, they didn't care too much to glue themselves on the TV screen, like Empoleon has been doing.

Dawn in particular once had an insane notion in her head. And she still has it, 10 years later. No battle was worth watching if it didn't feature Ash Ketchum. And she honored that notion. She had not watched a battle attentively in the last 7 years, the last match she watched fully being a 3 on 3 match Ash sent her between him and some blonde dude named Gladion.

"Look at this man stoically standing on the Champion's Side of the Coliseum. I can feel the air of mystery and power from here!"

"Poleon?" The penguin cocked it's head watching the screen. Wasn't that trainer...

"So, without further ado, give it up for your Champion, the uncontested, Ashton Hadrian Ketchum!"

"POL! POL! EMPOLEON! EM-POL-LE-ON!" it started 'shouting' and tried to fumble with the TV remote, failing miserably. Getting very irritated, it grabbed the remote and ran to Johanna, cutting in front of her path "Empoleon, pol pol EMPOLEON" it said, trying to gesture to the TV with it's massive... fins? Wings? Hands?

"What's wrong Empoleon, what happened?" Johanna asked flustered while she walked to the TV to see for herself. She witnessed a close shot of Ash Ketchum's chiseled mug.

"You know Mark, Ash is one of my best friends. We are brothers since he came to Alola 7 and a half years ago, enrolling into the Pokemon School with us. A lot has-"

"After being nowhere to be found, Ash is challenging Champion Hadrian?" An amused Johanna chided, and Empoleon cut in front of the screen, trying to gesture wildly for her to go back on the footage. After a moment Johanna got it and re-winded the broadcast to the bit where he was announced by his full name.

Now, she got it. "Call Dawn" she whispered and took the footage a bit earlier and paused it.

Empoleon rushed like a maniac upstairs, breaking 2 wooden steps in the process and he broke in Dawn's room, unhinging the door in the process.

"Wha- WHAT THE FUCK EMPOLEON" Dawn screeched, trying to cover herself with her towel while Empoleon was screaming gibberish at this point, madly waving his massive flippers in bad attempts to make understandable gestures. He stopped promptly when Dawn threw a shoe at him. "What the fuck you want Empoleon, can't it fucking wait? I just-"

"Empol-Pol-Leon-Le-On" the desperate penguin called while trying to point down the stairs. Dawn sighed, tightened the towel around her and walked down the broken stairs.

"I swear to Arceus, Empoleon, if you want to show me another advertisement about Pokeblocks I will send you swimming in the Lavaridge hot springs" Dawn sneered and looked at her mother holding the remote in front of a frozen frame on the TV. The frame in question was a faraway shot of a random stadium. It did look massive though. "Mom what...?"

Johanna hit the play button and the footage started again, and answered all questions Dawn might have had.

"So, without further ado, give it up for your Champion, the uncontested, Ashton Hadrian Ketchum!"

"Who.. What... Mom? Is this edited?" A trembling Dawn inquired, refusing to believe the announced. But Johanna shook her head, shock evident in her eyes. Dawn kept staring at the TV, Empoleon by her side finally silent. A minute passed with everyone more still than statues, observing the Ash they thought they knew, but this Ash was significantly colder. A second minute passed, and no one has moved yet. The third minute came, and-

"Lucario, battle time" the line was heard in a voice they all knew, but it was a very off-putting version of it. Just the tone of the voice screamed multiple things. Power, authority, confidence, a hint of cold rage and yet it felt devoid of feeling, all at the same time.

"This motherfucker" Dawn bit and she ran upstairs, returning Empoleon in her Pokeball. Two minutes later, that same Dawn came rushing down, wearing her usual attire, but she was wearing one sock and no shoes. Her hat was awkwardly hanging from the side of her head and her shirt was inside out. She burst through the front door, jumped high, released a Togekiss and mounted it mid-jump. Before she could even regain her bearings, Togekiss launched itself in the air and disappeared.

"You.. Forgot your pack..." Johanna whispered, catching Dawn's hat that fell the moment Togekiss flew away.

---

Meanwhile,
Lumiose City, Central Plaza

A massive stage was set up in the Plaza, in front of Prism Tower. As many seats as physically possible were filled to capacity, with just as many people standing between the seats. Cars were parked all around, with people sitting on the roofs and hoods and inside them. The reason? An absolutely massive screen on Prism Tower, broadcasting the First ever Alola Championship Defense match. Before the event, there was a Pokemon Showcase outdoors to celebrate the end of summer. The winner of the Showcase was elected to host the Alolan battle to the people attending. Said winner, of course, was the Jewel of Kalos, Serena Yvonne Gabena.

"This will be a massive event, and I am so happy to share it with all of you!" She announced on a microphone, people loudly clapping and whistling in response. The beautiful honey-blonde woman smiled warmly to the crowd and turned to the screen.

The Alola Coliseum was shown in all of its glory. Masterfully crafted and built, with a seating capacity of 150.000 people. While the building looked classic, perhaps ancient, the field itself was a shining diamond of modern engineering, capable of rotating between 10 different fields and being the biggest official battlefield in the world. In fact, it was a brand new building. The original stadium hosting the Manalo Conference was the Manalo Stadium, a stadium created on an artificial island erected and sponsored by the Aether Foundation, and eventually the Stadium hosted the First Manalo Conference. During Champion Hadrian's rule, the Manalo Stadium Island was expanded, eventually become the island known as Manalo Island. The former Stadium was practically demolished, it's battlefield becoming what is now known as Culture Square. At the former middle dot of the battlefield, was erected a monument in honor of the First Champion, right on the spiritual site of his big win. The island itself had three points of interest on it. Manalo City, covering almost ninety percent of the island, while the other ten percent belonged to the Alola League Mansion, more commonly referred to as Manalo Mansion. Between the areas of the City and the Mansion, was a moderately wide patch of land connecting Manalo Island to yet another, but significantly smaller island that housed the Alola Coliseum.

Back to the Coliseum's field, while painted lines decorated the middle part of the open center of the Coliseum, the actual accessible field was the whole Coliseum, the boundaries being the 10 meter walls where the spectator seats started. The walls were reinforced with top quality invisible psychic boundaries, technologically enhanced to withstand everything except berserk Legendaries. Originally, the allowed battlefield was supposed to be the painted square box in the middle, but Champion Hadrian quickly changed that. The only reason it's still painted is to determine the trainer boxes which were inside the allowed battlefield. Champion Hadrian once commented on this to Aether Foundation President Lusamine personally, and she relayed it to the press, saying 'Being a trainer isn't just battling. You don't send your Pokemon to war. You join the war with them'.

Serena noticed the ruckus caused by the spectators on-site, and the raised the volume of the broadcast. The beginning of the battle was near.

"Everyone knows him as Champion Hadrian of Alola. But that, is NOT his real name!"

Audible gasps of shock were heard across Central Plaza with that statement. Serena however, was too busy observing said Champion on the screen.

"He is a man with a long list of achievements since his early years as a trainer, having ended minimum Top 16 in every single conference! He has also conquered the infamous Kanto Battle Frontier!"

"HEY WHO THE FUCK CARES, ANNOUNCER?" some random yelled to the screen, but he failed to notice everyone was dead silent. What was wrong with all of them?

"Look at this man stoically standing on the Champion's Side of the Coliseum. I can feel the air of mystery and power from here!"

Even Serena could feel the power from her spot on the stage of Central Plaza. She could also feel the frozen gaze of her childhood crush, piercing the Rotom Drone recording him.

"So, without further ado, give it up for your Champion, the uncontested, Ashton Hadrian Ketchum!"

"IT'S KETCHUM! IT'S KALOS' SAVIOR" some girl screamed, and pandemonium ensued. People were yelling, screaming, celebrating. Of course, almost all of Kalos, especially the citizens of Lumiose City knew the deeds carried by Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, the man that stopped Team Flare, the man that saved the region from destruction from a berserk Zygarde. They knew that he didn't do it alone, not by a longshot, but he was the forefront fighter, ready to protect them. A man from a whole different region, being there just to compete in the Lumiose Conference of 2014 in which he finished as a runner-up. Yet, he did everything to save them.

This mattered nothing to the frozen Serena Yvonne Gabena, who was still trying to process the fact that her long lost lover, the man she rejected everyone for, the man she was searching these last few years, was the 7-year long Champion of the Alola Region.

After a few minutes, she ran. She jumped off-stage and gave every ounce of her strength trying to sprint to the nearest cab, in which she practically jumped in.

"Yvonne-Gabena Residence, Vaniville Town. Fast."

---

September 18, 2022
14:00 (2:00 pm)
Alola Coliseum

Ash eyed his opponent, filtering out all the words of the announcers. This guy looked like a normal teen, around 17 years old. No notable features, just plain brown hair, and a nasty, cocky grin on his face.

"So you're the almighty Champion of Alola? You look weak as fuck dude. Just like your pathetic Elite Four, imagine the 'crew of the Champion' backing out from a challenge and letting their daddy clean up for them" The cocky brunette spat on the ground, before continuing his tirade. "I bet they just saw my skill in the Manalo Conference and shit their pants. I don't worry, you're probably shit too. Too embarrassed to show your ugly mug on camera for 7 years. Time to rid of you Hadrian" he announced, riling up the crowd with all the shit talking.

Ash simply stared at him, dead still and silent. Only his trench coat and hair moving in the wind. After a few moments, he finally spoke, gracing the world with his chilly, emotionless voice. "You might act and speak based on delusional, pride filled thoughts. My Elites served you to me, claiming that I will being the one to handle you. I don't know why. I don't even know who you are little man, the last Manalo Conference was a weak enough showing to discard my attention" Audible gasps were heard across 150.000 spectators, along with shocked remarks from the announcers. The man across from the Champion grew red with anger, and tried to retort, but he was cut off by the referee.

"This battle is an official Pokemon League battle for the title of Champion of the Alola Region. This will be a full six on-"

"I will stop you there, respectable referee" Said the Champion, causing everyone's curiosity to spike. The words of the referee, the Champion and the challenger were being broadcasted, so everyone was hanging from Ash's words. "I want to change some of the rules to the benefit of the challenger. I believe you will find that my authority as the Defending Champion is enough to cause such changes"

"What are you playing at dipshit?" The challenger bit, but Ash ignored him.

After the referee confirmed the Champion's claims, he continued. "I will give the opportunity to the challenger to select the number of Pokemon I will use in this battle, from one to six"

"What is this? Champion Ash Ketchum is giving a Championship title to his challenger?" the announcer shouted on the mic.

The challenger laughed like this was a joke, and ridiculed the champ "You can't be that pathetic. You know you'll lose and want to use a disadvantage as an excuse? Well, I was never one to deny free food. You will battle with one Pokemon" He said triumphantly, thinking he already won.

Yet, failing the test. Only a weak man and a weaker trainer would pick the easy way out of a battle. Unfortunately, each of the six ways out were all impossible to cross. None was easy.

"Very well" Ash stated flatly, and released a beautiful yet massive Pidgeot. He then put all of his Pokeballs except one in a bag he took out of a pocket on his trench coat. The majestic bird promptly grabbed the package and flew away.

"The Champion is serious! He gave up his whole team and stayed with one Pokeball! This has never happened before! But one thing we know is, we will be welcoming a new Champion soon!"

"I wouldn't be that sure of the situation if I were you, Mark"

"Wha-"

"ALSO. I will pick first, and you are allowed 3 moves for free before I make mine. You will chose the battlefield. Items are forbidden, and you are allowed to use any of the two gimmicks in your disposal. There will be no time limit. Ref, you may restart your announcement" Ash finally said, and he primed a Pokeball in his hand.

The stadium got dead silent. Who could blame them? Their First Champion was literally throwing their First Championship Defense match, and sending their pride as a region free-falling into the darkest pits of the Distortion. The brunette laughed like a maniac before getting cut off by the referee.

"This battle is an official Pokemon League battle between Defending Champion Ashton Hadrian Ketchum versus Tim Howard, for the title of Champion of the Alola Region. The Challenger will use a full team of six Pokemon, while the Defending Champion will only use one, and the battle will be over when one of the trainers have lost all their available Pokemon. Challenger, chose the field"

"I want the battlefield we are standing on" he cockily responded, thinking battlefield advantage had no effect on the sure win.

"The Battlefield the match will be held on will be the 'Plain Dirt Battlefield'. Item usage outside of held berries and held Mega-Stones during battle is strictly prohibited, resulting in immediate disqualification should any participant be caught in the act. Mega-Evolution and Z-Moves are allowed. There will be no time limit. Champion Ashton Ketchum will choose first Pokemon, and the Challenger will have the first three moves"

The time has come. Ash held his primed Pokeball and waited until-

"Battle, begin!"

"Lucario, battle time" Ash called, lobbing the first ball in the field, releasing a beautiful, blue canine. It looked extremely well built, obviously trained to maximum. It was quite a bit taller than the average Lucario and its spikes were polished, sharp and shiny under the sunlight. It's pristine fur was shiny and smooth, looking like it never battled once. Its feelers were already in the air, soft blue light smoothly being emitted from them. It made no sound. It just observed his father's opponent. It was not impressed.

"Looks pathetic, just like you" Tim sneered "Machamp, time to win" he hollered, and the four armed beast landed on the ground, sneering at Lucario. The Lucario in question, didn't give a fuck. "Brick Break, let's go!" Was the first command of the match. The crowd was still silent. As was Ash. Lucario simply put up it's arm, receiving the full-force Brick Break. People gasped when dust was lifted from the ground as a result of the impact. Lucario was standing, having stopped the attack with just it's palm. With a wave, it sent the Machamp skidding back to it's side of the field. Lucario didn't even blink, steadily staring at the hulk in front of it.

"What the fuck... Machamp, Close Combat!" he yelled, getting impatient that Lucario wasn't still down. Machamp rushed back in, and started launching all four of its arms, with a few kicks between the punches for good measure. Lucario, however, was dancing around the hands, narrowly dodging every single hit. Its eyes had a faint blue sheen. "ARE YOU USING MOVES MOTHERFUCKER?" Tim screamed at his opponent, thinking he was cheating.

"First of all, I don't need to use Aura telepathy to beat you, 'motherfucker'. You'll hear all of my commands, loud and clear" Ash retorted, holding a hand up. "And as I said, Aura. You know what a Lucario is, right? You know it can use Aura to enhance vision, right? Now, use your third move"

Tim didn't answer. He just held a hand up and shouted "MACH PUNCH", to which Machamp complied. It launched itself towards Lucario in frightening speeds. Closing in, closing in...

"That's his third move Lucario" Ash said, and Lucario finally showed expression. It grinned. "Counter" Ash commanded the moment Machamp connected it's punch to Lucario's face, wanting to take the defiant canine's head off. The Mach Punch landed true, accompanied by a loud clapping sound and Lucario slid along with Machamp one inch, two inches... And suddenly, Lucario's glowing fist slammed on the side of Machamp's head, sending the hulking humanoid flying to the side of the Coliseum. Lucario looked like it never received a hit, getting wild cheers from the crowd as a response.

"Stand up Machamp, now! Use Power-Up-Punch!" the brunette called.

"Dodge with Swords Dance, thrice" Ash coolly responded

"Dodge with what? Swords Dance isn't that kind of move dumbass" Tim scoffed, but choked when he witnessed Lucario literally dancing around Machamp's punch "Keep hitting it!" the challenger yelled. The worst mistake he ever did.

Lucario dodged the first punch with elegant dancing, and so he did the second, and the third. But the damage was already done. Lucario used Swords Dance successfully 3 times, fully boosting it's Attack to 4 times the normal amount. When the fourth Power-Up-Punch came, Lucario grabbed Machamp's offending arm and threw the hulking monstrosity straight to its cocky owner.

"The time has come to show you what attacks feel like" Ash cockily said, with an amused look in his eyes and a small grin. "Lucario, use Mach Crash"

"Mach what?!"

"What in the hell is a Mach Crash? Captain Kiawe, any inputs?"

"All I can say is that Ash Ketchum loves creating powerful combinations, taking full advantage of his team's move pools"

The moment Ash called the combination to be used, Lucario became enveloped in pale pink-blue light, and its eyes turned fully blue. At least, these changes were noticeable to anyone who managed to actually see Lucario before it blinked into Machamp, sending the monstrosity flying at insane speeds straight into the Coliseum walls. Lucario remained in Machamp's spot, arm raised in a glowing fist that restored its miniscule loss of health, and an apathetic look in its blue eyes. The trained eye could see Lucario's footprints on the dirt, proving that it rushed into Machamp at a speed that could very well be a Teleport.

"What just happened down there?" The announcer incredulously yelled into his microphone.

Meanwhile, Tim rushed into Machamp to check its condition, hoping it could still fight to weaken that teleporting Lucario. Alas, that wouldn't be happening soon. Machamp was cleanly passed out on the dirt, with a crater on it's abs, signifying the sheer power Lucario delivered. Tim started burning from the inside, full of rage that his pathetic Pokemon couldn't even scratch the stupid blue dog.

"Machamp is unable to battle! The winner of this round is Lucario!" The referee announced, causing the crowd to go wild, but it immediately went silent. The reason was the challenger.

"Stupid weakling" he spat to his unconscious partner before promptly kicking its head. That sealed his fate.

The crowd froze, and the announcers went dead silent at the show of Trainer-to-Pokemon brutality. Disgusted yells and negative remarks started boiling in the crowd almost immediately, but the one affected the worst was the Defending Champion.

His eyes burned with righteous fury. Wrath and hate burning under a frozen flame, and an expression turning into a marble visage of disgust. Lucario was the same, ready to destroy the arrogant brunette that abused his Pokemon. Ash tugged on the chain of his coat, in a show of impatience to lash out on the pathetic little human.

"Training a single Pokemon your whole life to be a one-trick pony, you disgusting fuck?" The challenger spat, provoking Ash's rage further. It was okay. Reckoning was coming.

"Now I see why I am battling you, Tim Howard. For the opportunity, I need to thank my Elite Four. You see, there is one thing I hate in this world. I am not usually a calm man, but I only get dangerous against sub-humans like you. Pokemon abusers disgust me, and you just proved what you are in front of the whole world. So, prepare to get destroyed cleanly, and make sure to enjoy your humiliation, as this will be the last time you touch a Pokeball" Ash coldly stated, ripping of the chain and taking off his coat, letting it land on the dirt battlefield. The black tee was tightly wrapping his upper body, cleanly showing the results of years of physical training. In one swift motion he wrapped the chain, adorned by a shiny multi-colored crystal around his belt. "As for how I train, let me show you a real power play" Ash turned to the sky, head held up high and arms stretched down at his sides, right hand tightly holding the Key Stone hanging from the end of his chain. The Key Stone started glowing, and a mighty war cry shook the crowd.

"IT'S SHOWTIME, GENTLEMEN AND GENTLEWOMEN"

Lucario swiftly responded to its trainer's feelings, and from both individuals came shiny streams of energy, connecting with each other and covering Lucario in a blinding, rainbow light. Its streamlined tail became a wild, thick and significantly bigger tail, turning to the color of the cream fur of its midsection. Its feelers elongated to great size, turning into something resembling ribbons, black with red ends. Additional spikes grew out of its shoulders, fists and hind legs. The ends of its arms and legs turned red, and the black parts of its body turned into intricate, erratic patterns. The cream fur of the canine's chest grew thicker and more wild, covering Lucario's neck like a scarf. Finally, its already fierce eyes became sharper and the Aura Pokemon's red irises grew a bit in size. The light died down, revealing a fierce Mega-Lucario in the place of the Champion's Pokemon. The crowd started cheering wildly, simply awe-struck at the sight of Mega Evolution.

"Challenger, choose your next Pokemon"

"Houndoom, you're up!" He yelled. The mad-looking dog appeared, and sneered at it's opponent, but...

"Mach Crash" Ash coolly commanded, and before the Houndoom could enjoy the light of day, it was suddenly inside a crater on the walls of the Coliseum, no longer seeing any kind of light while unconscious

"Houndoom is unable to battle, Lucario is the winner of the round!" the ref announced

"Return" Tim murmured, looking at the fierce Aura Pokemon in shock. How did this thing one-tap his fully healthy Houndoom? There is no Pokemon that can do this normally.

"But what about a Triple Swords Dance Mega-Lucario? It can one tap Pokemon, can it not? Especially if properly trained" The champion chided, reading his opponents mind. Not literally, but Ash could gather the poor kid's thoughts just by the shock. "Forfeit this battle. You lost it when you let Lucario use Swords Dance thrice"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP" the challenger screamed, throwing another Pokeball, revealing a Golem that landed with a mighty roar, that would normally make any normal trainer anxious. Ash, however-

"Mach Crash" The fierce Golem was swiftly sent flying into a spot next to Houndoom's crater, creating yet another, but this time deeper crater.

In the meantime, the only thing the spectators could see of the Mega Evolved powerhouse was it blinking to its opponent, said opponent getting launched, then it walking back to the Champion's side to repeat the absurd combination.

"Golem is unable to battle! Lucario wins another round!"

"Why are you still trying? Just forfeit, I have business to finish" Ash said sternly, waiting to deliver punishment to the brunette.

"DON'T DISSAPOINT ME GENGAR" was the response to Ash's 'plea' for surrender. Surely, the fighting type combo technique would be useless against the ghost, right?

"Mach Crash, Meteor style" Ash calmly commanded the moment the flag was waved, clearly not intimidated by the ghost. Lucario slammed into the purple shadow, fist covered in grey light with stars flowing out of it. The Gengar blew up the moment of impact, shadow particles flowing around Lucario. Gengar's face landed in front of its trainer, eyes wide open but frozen in shock, with its crooked grin also frozen in place. Gengar's owner yelped in terror at the detached sheet of face in front of him.

Ghost-types could take unreal amounts of damage. If they didn't possess a physical object like Chandelure, they could be brutalized beyond recognition with no fear of death or long lasting impact. The damage dealt to this Gengar, for reference, would leave the poor ghost dazed and lost in place for at least a week.

"Gengar is unable to continue! Lucario is keeping its streak!" the referee announced in glee.

"The Champion is dispatching everything the challenger throws! The challenger didn't get a chance to call a single command since Machamp's Power-Up-Punch! This a massacre, a never before seen massacre!"

"At least I will help these poor Pokemon heal and live happily" The Champion stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Most surprisingly, he sounded happy for the first time in live TV.

"You will stay away from my Pokemon you sick fuck" The challenger screamed in defiance, throwing yet another Pokeball revealing a massive Chesnaught. At the sight of its trainer it flinched, but quickly focused for battle.

Ash was silent for a bit. He noticed Chesnaught's reaction, but he couldn't spare mercy. He would help them later. For now, they were in the way. "This one can survive Mach Crash. So let's go with something different" he called nonchalantly. "Let's go with Tag Destruction"

Tim gulped. This didn't sound good. "Spiky Shield" he called, not sure if it would work.

"Stop" Ash sternly commanded, and Lucario froze. "Wait it out and then execute Tag Destruction"

And thus, they waited. And waited. And waited, until suddenly, the grass-type knight twitched. Lucario burst into action, multiplying into 6 identical canines, rushing into the Chesnaught, which by now released Spiky Shield, not being able to hold it anymore. One Lucario suddenly appeared in front of it, landing a massive kick in its abdomen, sending it skidding back. Before it could stop moving though, another Lucario punched the hulking mass of spikes in the face, sending it skidding in another direction. Then, yet another Lucario kicked its flying form high up in the air. While in the air, the fourth Lucario jumped on it, sending it straight back to the ground with an axe-kick, where the fifth Lucario was waiting with a fist slamming against the crying form of the spikey hulk, just to keep it hovering in the air. While the Chesnaught was hovering in the air from the fifth iteration of the Mega Evolved monstrosity, the clones got retracted into the real Lucario, which was already rushing into the falling Pokemon, landing a thunderous kick on its spikey back, letting loose a disgusting crack of armor and bone breaking under the force. The grass juggernaut was sent flying into the walls of the Coliseum, clearly out for the count. Lucario returned to its side of the field, mildly panting from the non-stop beating it was delivering.

"Chesnaught is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your last Pokemon!"

"Ho-ly moly! Tim Howard's Pokemon are dropping like Cutiefly! And Lucario barely looks tired! Just what has Arceus brought upon this world in Ash Ketchum?" The announcer yelled in the mic, provoking cheers and uproar from the spectators, both on-site and through the broadcasts.

Speaking of Tim, he had lost his marbles by now. His hands were lightly shaking, and he was staring at the mighty canine with shock, awe and most importantly, fear. He knew he would never win. The man in front of him was a monster. His one-track, delusion-infested mind still believed that the Alola Champion was training a single Pokemon, with stat boosting drugs as well. He had no idea...

"You see, little Tim. You can never win. And believe me, your defeat is not the product of my superior power and skill" Ash stated cockily "Every single one of the current Champions and Elite Four members of every region could wipe the floor with your pathetically trained team. Which is a shame, your Pokemon are strong, great examples of their species. Alas, you are scum. I will help them. And you, will rot" a genuine smile decorated Ash's features, completely contrasting his statements, as if he was enjoying the humiliation and pain he was delivering. And indeed, he was.

Tim withdrew his last Pokeball. Currently oblivious to his future, he didn't know that this would be the last time he would ever release a Pokemon in battle. The champion opposite from him was ready to deliver the finishing command, certain of his win. Tim gulped, and looked at his Pokeball. Coincidentally, the Pokemon he hated the most was laying in this ball. That Pokemon denied him greatness.

"Blaziken, go" he half-heartedly called, releasing a bipedal, humanoid bird, which looked tired mentally, but ready. "I would win here. But this chicken can't perform Mega Evolution, no matter how strong I become. This, is my greatest failure"

But he was ignored. Right then and there, the Champion froze. Eyes locked on the flaming chicken, looking like time stop moving specifically for him. He wasn't even breathing, holding the air in. His mouth was locked in a thin slit, and his eyes looked like glass globes. He looked fake at that moment, a realistic structure of a human.

"Blaze Kick" the challenger commanded, and Blaziken's fiery leg crashed on Lucario's face, sending it skidding a couple inches.

Meanwhile, Ash wasn't even in the match at the moment.

"Sky Uppercut" The brunette called next, and Blaziken sent Lucario flying high in the air. The canine in question, was not reacting, looking at its trainer with a sad look in its eyes, feeling exactly what was happening inside his father. Fortunately, the Aura Pokemon was still relatively healthy.

Ash's mind was in a certain sea-side town near Pewter City back in Kanto. A vivid image of happiness, and beautiful memories. A loud "Flamethrower!" was heard somewhere in his mind, not sure if it was an arrogant, hated male voice, or a beautiful, gleeful female voice. He saw his beloved Sceptile dodging a pillar of fire from a Blaziken, but in reality, a Lucario was burning within that same pillar. Who knows how long he was daydreaming. He looked at his opponent, but an image of a brunette, familiar beauty overlapped with the hated visage of Tim Howard. "Overheat." A mixed male and female voice was heard in Ash's head, and a white torrent of condensed flames rushed towards his side.

"Sceptile, dodge" he whispered unconsciously, completely gone in long lost and forgotten glee of a friendly, fun, and precious to him battle, a beautiful memory of times brighter, times easier.

Lucario, however, since Sceptile was nowhere near this battle, got blasted straight into the wall of the Coliseum. The announcer was yelling in the microphone, tone laced with panic and fear. Ash, however, didn't even hear him. He didn't hear the "Finish it, Sky Uppercut!" from his pathetic challenger. He turned around, and saw the battered Lucario trying stand back up. Ash saw a grass-type reptile in his daze, and a medal modeled after a sunflower, cut in half, filled his vision.

"Ash, wake up"

Ash suddenly saw clearly. He slowly exhaled a breath he never noticed he was holding. He saw a battered Lucario, panting and holding on its feet, just barely. He realized just how lost he had become in his own mind. Even now, while conscious, he was still a bit shaken. The blurred form of the Blaziken blazed past him, making his hair flail wildly in the turbulent wind. The Blaze Pokemon neared Lucario, ready to finish it, and then...

"Double Tap"

The whispered, emotion packed command was heard clearly to Lucario. The flaming fist of Blaziken connected with the canine's jaw, but this time, Lucario held it's ground. Blaziken's eyes widened, knowing that this was over. It raised its other arm to stop the incoming counter-attack, but it was wasted effort. Lucario's glowing fist pushed through, carrying the Flame Pokemon's hand along with his fist on the way to chicken's face. Counter, the first phase of Double Tap connected despite Blaziken's defense, sending the Blaze Pokemon crashing to the ground so hard it rebounded back up in the air. Lucario released a blazing, orange aura around it. A miniature sun, representing all the damage and exhaustion Lucario was experiencing in this battle, enveloped its other fist, and with a mighty battle cry it connected it to Blaziken's mid section while it was still hovering in the air from the rebound. The moment of contact the world slowed down. A sickening crunch roared around the shocked stadium. Blaziken coughed out blood on Lucario's tired visage. Just then, time resumed, with the Blaze Pokemon flying at breakneck speeds straight into the opposite side of the Coliseum, breaking the reinforced psy-barrier along with the wall of the battlefield where it created an enormous crater at the point of impact. The impact gave life to the silent stadium in the form of a sound reminiscent of shattered glass. There was no way Blaziken was still holding on after that, and the referee knew it.

"Blaziken is unable to continue! Therefore, the winner of this match, keeping his title, is the Defending Champion Ash Ketchum!"

The stadium roared, the people watching from home roared, the announcers roared, the referee grinned, the Champion started walking up to his challenger, and the challenger in question screamed. He couldn't fathom that he was humiliated that hard, and after all the shit talk too. He was strong. He knew it! He was Champion material! So why...? HOW?!

In his mad tirade he stomped his feet down and tossed his Pokeballs on the ground. He never noticed the Champion walking up. He raised his foot above a random Pokeball of his, ready to end one of his useless teammates while in stasis. "Useless, worthless piece of- GAH"

The champion's fist connected straight into Tim's gut, knocking the breath out of the disgusting human being and silencing everything and everyone in the process. The referee attempted to rush into the scene, but the stoic visage of Mega-Lucario appearing in front of him stopped him in his tracks. Ash retracted his left fist from the gut punch and his right hand grabbed him by the neck, lifting him in the air in an Aura-enhanced feat of strength. His voice laced with cold, righteous anger thundered across the battlefield, ear piece or no ear piece. Spectators at home winced a little at the volume.

"My name is Ashton Hadrian Ketchum, the reigning Champion of The Alola Region. As such, I invoke the power held in my title. Under my authority as The Alola League Champion, I hereby place one Tim Howard under arrest on the grounds of Violence Against Pokemon and Abusive Trainer Behavior, enforcing The Act of Manalo of 2017, section 5A. As such, you are hereby under arrest, and I am revoking your right to appeal in a Court of Law under the grounds of your actions being broadcasted on live television world-wide. Your trainer license will be revoked indefinitely, and you are prohibited from approaching any Pokemon for 150 years, condemning you to life-sentence of Pokemon Distancing. Your Pokemon will be unbound from your Trainer Identification prior to it being revoked, and will be placed under the Champion's ownership, where he can either release them in the wild, release them in an institute for Abused and Abandoned Pokemon or take care of them himself. You will be jailed for 50 years without the benefit and privilege of appeal, based on the severity of your violent acts and remarks against your owned Pokemon in the presence of The Champion of Alola, effective immediately. Whether you remain silent or not, is completely irrelevant, unless you are a sucker for pain and wish for me to further enforce my ability to physically subjugate you even harsher. Officers, you may take him away."

Officer Jennys stormed the Coliseum battlefield and cuffed the challenger who was shocked silent, pondering the painful fact that his life had ended for this humiliating match.

While Ash silently observed Tim Howard for one last time, he felt his trusty partner Lucario hanging the discarded coat on his shoulders. Ash turned around and hugged his great friend and son in all but species, who responded in kind. "Thank you, my brother. Your performance was extraordinary. I am very, very proud"

"It was nothing, father. Just what you'd do for us any day of the year" The canine responded warmly in the hug.

At the show of Trainer-Pokemon friendship, the crowd finally broke the dam of silence caused by the impromptu arrest of Tim Howard and roared till their lungs gave out.

"What a show! What a one-sided battle! What a Champion! The First Alola Championship Defense match will go down in history not only as that, but as the first, and maybe the only time an official defense match was conducted as 6 on 1! And ended in a clean sweep of 6-0 for the Champion's favor! And just look at the relationship with his Pokemon! This is the start of a new era! This is the first chapter of Champion Ash Ketchum! What an insane example of a power play!"

"Indeed Mark. Not only that, he proved to the world that he is not afraid to deliver justice to crooked men like Tim Howard. That fight was a statement. He is here, he is ready to serve and protect Alola, and he has been for the last 7 years. His looks and title as The First Champion of Alola were not the reason the Champion Monument was lifted in the middle of Culture Square you know"

"Huh? There is a monument?"

"Yes. Aether Foundation, after request of the people of Alola, erected a monument of The Champion in his honor. You should visit it. The people love him, even without knowing his name. Champion Hadrian made a lot for this region, and he will keep doing so. You have my word on that"

Meanwhile, Ash walked up on the referee's pedestal after sharing a few words with him, and he waited patiently for the crowds to die down before he started speaking. That was way easier said than done, of course. Around 5 minutes passed before the crowds finally noticed the Champion just standing on the pedestal (menacingly, hah), microphone in hand and his Lucario (now regular instead of Mega-Lucario) playing with a rock out of boredom. When the noise finally ceased, Ash took a deep breath and started.

"First of all, I want to thank every single one of you for attending this event. But not only the people here inside the Alola Coliseum. I also want to thank the people across the world, currently sitting in front of their TV screens, enjoying the battle. I don't know and I won't pretend that I know how anyone feels about my newly-revealed identity, but this is me. My name is Ash Ketchum, full name Ashton Hadrian Ketchum, and I come from the small town of Pallet in Kanto. I have been the Champion of this fair region ever since the first Manalo Conference back in 2015, and my title of 'uncontested' is a privilege gifted and earned by my trusty, invaluable Elite Four."

"You probably don't know this - maybe you have gathered and connected the facts from Tim's small talk - but my Elite Four were not challenged, not this time. The challenger was served to me by my Elites, believing that he was a man needed to be handled by me, and that I would prefer it this way. And yes, they were correct. While they knew about him, I did not. I found out that he is the abusive, disgraceful example of a trainer he is together with you, the spectators, right in the heat of the battle. One truth about me as a person is that I absolutely hate abusive trainers. That is the reason The Act of Manalo exists. I have pushed for an objectively harsh law against people like him. They are a plague in society and while some I personally know have reformed, some of them are beyond saving. How I know, you may ask? I implore you to do some research on the concept of Aura and all the answers will be laid bare."

"Alas, I am not wasting your valuable time in order to speak random factuals, dear humans and Pokemon from around the world. I have an important announcement to make, representing the United Regions Pokemon League after direct communication and counsel with the Regional Champions and League President Charles Goodshow. This official Championship Defense match was the spark needed to set something even bigger in motion. Dubbing this event you witnessed as an 'exhibition match', the flag that was waved to signal the end of it is also the flag signaling the beginning of something new, something massive."

"As of this moment, the biggest event the modern world has ever seen has begun. The King's Coronation Tournament is here! One thousand-twenty-four participants! Every region's Gym Leaders, Elite Four Members, Frontier and Facility Brains along with Champions will duke it out, mixed and matched with nine hundred and more rookie trainers, veteran trainers, unseen Masters and prodigies, all of that for a chance to earn the greatest privilege and title. You all know of Pokemon Masters. Champions are Pokemon Masters, Frontier and Facility Brains are Pokemon Masters, legendary trainers and world renowned Type Specialists are Pokemon Masters, but the winner of this event will become the one in this world of Pokemon. By the end of this tournament, a trainer will be crowned as King, the trainer above trainers. By the end of this tournament, the world will have its first ever Pokemon Legend! And this legendary event will be held, right, HERE! In our beautiful region, the exotic Region of Alola!"

The world exploded. No matter where in the world you were sitting - besides Galar, which wasn't under the United Regions - you could hear roars, screams and yells of excitement. Be it Mountain Silver or the middle of the Hoenn Archipelago, the explosion of hype and excitement would be carried over to grace your ear drums. At this point, calling the first ever Alola Championship match a 'big' event was like saying Caterpie is capable of eating Pidgeot. Not only the first Championship battle in Alola, not only the worldwide reveal of Champion Hadrian, not only a massive wipe-out of 6-0 proportions, not only a public showcase of legal authority against abusive trainers that everyone despised, it was also the start of the greatest tournament the world has ever seen. Truly a moment beyond history.

"Details for the tournament's preliminaries will be sent to every League certified Pokedex with a Trainer ID across the Seven Regions and will also be shared with the media the moment I walk out of this Grand Stage. As for the event currently at hand, it is my pleasure and simultaneous sadness to declare it officially over! I want to thank from my heart each and every one of you dear spectators for attending this event. The First Official Champion Defense Match of the Alola Region has ended, and the reigning champion will KEEP, ON, REIGNING!"

No matter how Ash has become over the years, one incredible talent had grown. He know how to touch and rile up the audience, a skill grown by riling up his peers. He had the rare ability to touch the excitement and fire inside people. That carried on to an audience. He knew how to put up a show, at least a post-game one. And he was successful. The crowd's cheers got to unbearable levels, and Lucario was physically wincing. With one last bow, Ash recalled Lucario and slowly walked out of the stage.

If anything, Ash Ketchum could feign happiness in front of prying eyes.

---

Two hours later
Aether Paradise,
Champion Quarters Pokemon Ranch (CQPR)

The CQPR was Ash's favorite piece of work. An absolutely massive patch of lush land, spread on an artificial island erected behind Aether Paradise. In fact, its size was close to half of Poni Island, becoming a full blown island erected from the work of Pokemon able to manipulate land, grass and water, and a specific Legendary capable of creating something like this. It was a complete ecosystem, with trees, immeasurable greens spread across the island. There was a small mountain erected at the north end, and it had a waterfall feeding water into a lake next to the artificial mountain. No one knew how the water never actually ended, except the Legendary that created this place. The lake in question fed water into the sea around the island, through intricate river systems spreading out of it. The island itself had no official name, and it was not recorded in any maps of Alola, for now at least. All in all, this place was a perfect environment for Pokemon. Especially the hard-headed fucks called the Champion's Family.

"FERALIGATR YOU PIECE OF SHIT, WHY COME NEAR ME TO DANCE, WHY" the female voice of Ash's Typholosion screamed at a fleeing blue alligator blaring heavy metal on the boom box on its shoulder. With a grunt of irritation, the badger threw its heavy tree branch in an attempt to knock the croc down. Fortunately, it hit something. Unfortunately, not Feraligatr. The something in question was the poor shiny Noctowl flying towards the man that just landed on the island. It lost it's balance with a grunt of pain, and dived to the ground, landing in front Ash's feet, dazed and confused.

"Why me, every time..." it murmured, getting a stare of amusement from the reigning Champion. Much to Ash's pleasure, ever since he mastered telepathy he could understand everything his Pokemon said to him and each other. That brought them way closer. The only regret he had was that he could never hear Pikachu's voice...

"I'm home, everyone" Ash announced, and a cacophony of grunts, chirps, growls, and every manner of Pokemon sounds rushed straight on him. Then he realized the error of his ways. "Wait- WAIT! NO! Stop! DON'T-"

The Pokemon gave no more than 0 fucks about his pleas. They buried their beloved trainer underneath their masses. Of course, in full discord between them.

"Fuck off Infernape, you are burning everyone, my flower hurts"

"That's not me Venusaur! That's the crybaby Torkoal!"

"Who you callin a crybaby little abused fuck?"

"Whoa whoa, cut that mouth short or I'll shove my cannon inside it"

"Since when you got balls like that little turtle?"

"Since I erased Mewtwo's arm off, Sceptile"

After a few moments of elemental discomfort, everyone let Ash breath, moments before a painful but gleeful death met his soul. He regained whatever bearings he had left, and gasped. "Just... Please let Latias cover me in a psy-barrier first" he panted some more and Latias giggled.

He huffed and puffed, then straightened his form. "Guys, you know what day it is today. I would like all of you to relax and take it easy and quietly. Feraligatr, please no more metal for just one hour. Please" The alligator in question pouted but nodded along with everyone else. "I'll be at the memorial with Lucario, who was with me for the battle. It went easier than expected, don't worry. If anyone needs me, come and talk to me. I know you have all paid your respects since you woke up." And with that, he started walking, smiling warmly at them.

In the dead center of the island, in an open field covered with beautiful flowers stood a statue of a Pikachu. It was almost 2 meters tall on a marble pedestal. Its tail was bend in front of it, and it had an expression of glee on its face. It wasn't a scene of battle or action. The Pikachu sculpted in the memorial was identical to Ash's Pikachu when it was getting his favorite back scratches. An image of peace, of tranquility, of happiness. Immaculate details on the fur showed the years of Pikachu's life under the life of Ash Ketchum. A patch of fur was missing in its back, where it was scarred by Surge's Raichu in that brutal battle. The fur also wasn't really trimmed, instead being a bit wild and a little bit overgrown. Resting on its head was a perfect sculpting of Ash Ketchum's original League Cap, the one he was wearing through Johto and Kanto, along with the wear and tear that came with it. All in all, the sculpture was like a live picture, capturing a scene of happiness and fulfillment. It was how Ash wanted Pikachu to be remembered. Not as a crazy strong main partner of a Champion, but as a brother to said Champion, a Pokemon that lived a happy, albeit short life. On the marble pedestal was a plaque, quite like the engraved on the Champion Monument in the middle of Culture Square in Manalo City. It had some words written in curved letters, and under it was a Z-Crystal embedded, stealing the spotlight. A certain Pikashunium-Z, the only one of its kind, a gift from Tapu Koko.

In Memory of Pikachu
April 2 2001 - September 18 2015
'Brother, partner and mentor of his peers.
May he look down on us from above,
proud of who we have become'

Ash no longer had anything to say to the memorial. Every year his words became less and less. He poured every single regret, every single piece of a corrupt mind on it each year. He got nothing less anymore. He relayed his news to the memorial every week, so now, he had nothing. He only had his sorrowful silence to give to his long gone partner. Lucario next to him was equally silent, not wanting to break his trainer's moment of sad peace. Someone else, however, had different opinions on the matter.

"Congratulations on your win" a deep, monotone voice oozing with power sounded in Ash's and Lucario's ears. Neither of them turned to look at the arrival. "Of course, as hollow as always, Ash Ketchum. A win without impact, without meaning. You are good at fooling your audience with your fake expressions and feelings, but not me. And that isn't even from my powers. Your friends know it. Both human and Pokemon." The feline owner of the voice hovered next to the sculpture of Pikachu, very carefully grazing it with its three fingers, as if the sculpture was a hollow thin glass creation. "Of course, Pikachu sees it as well. Whether he is down in Distortion with the Ruler of The Opposite or in the upper realms of the Creator, his soul sees his brother." The feline stopped moving and it turned its deep, purple eyes to connect with Ash's auburn ones. "I take that back. Pikachu hasn't seen his brother in the last 7 years. It only sees a hollow caricature of the man known as Ash Ketchum." The feline creature spat and landed its streamlined pearl white body on the ground in front of the source of its ire. Its massive, purple tail was slowly moving left and right, not able to hide the creature's feline nature.

"What do you want right now Mewtwo?" Ash questioned, tired and resigned at this moment. He just cocked his head, staring back at the purple eyes that once caused him a world of pain. Once.

---

Flashback
September 31, 2015
Pallet Harbor

Ash was sitting at the edge of the cliff next to the harbor, feet hanging from the edge and he was staring at the deep ocean that ended on Cinnabar Island in the south. He hasn't spoken for the last two days. Early morning of September 19, he contacted all his friends, asking for help. For a shoulder to cry on. No one showed up on the spot. Brock and Misty visited 8 days after he called for help. Gary was already in Pallet. Bonnie and Clermond could not come, but they were murdering his phone to get him to talk to them, and he did eventually. The Ferrands scheduled a visit in Alola next month. Iris communicated with him, but she was under Gym Leader duty, which was a shock. Iris, a Gym Leader? The world must have burned. Well, in truth, the world almost did burn. Cilan arrived in Pallet a day after Brock and Misty, which was a mighty miracle considering he came from Unova at a moment's notice. As for the rest...

'Hi Ash, sorry, can't come, I got some work in LaRousse City. See ya, give my love to Pikachu - May'

'Hey! Unfortunately, I have some shows these days, so I really can't right now. I'm sorry Ashy, but I'll contact you when I can manage! - Serena'

'Hey Ash, bit impossible right now, I'm in Fiore, carrying some reports for Prof. Rowan. We can talk when I'm back in Sinnoh. Love - Dawn'

As for Max, he actually responded fully, clearly worried by Ash's pleas. And by being in Orre, he was obviously the one less likely to even read the message, yet he did, and responded with a two-page fucking essay. Despite his young protege's response, the newly branded Champion sadly hid the truth from Max, knowing that May would find out from him. Yes, the ones that didn't care enough to visit or at least try to find out what's wrong, would be locked off the truth. He had no space to keep the ones that didn't care about him enough.

"Quite an interesting train of thought, Ash Ketchum. 6 years ago, I would never believe you were capable of words and notions that vile." A hated, monotone male voice chimed. Ash tried to whirl around to look at the disgusting creature, but he found out that he could not move. "Don't try. Even if I did let you move, what could you possibly manage? You have no Pokemon on you. Your feeble human strength is irrelevant in front of my psychic powers, and besides. You have no fight left in you" Ash's muscles could move again, but Mewtwo was speaking the truth. Ash had no fight left.

"Did you come to end the job? Well, feel free. I'm defenseless."

"What an absurd notion. Why in the name of Giratina would I ever harm my benefactor?" Mewtwo chimed nonchalantly, getting a confused look from Ash. Benefactor? To Mewtwo? Him? "Yes. You know, I never expected to see the human child that corrected my outlook on this world in such a dark place. Multiple deaths in your life could not shake you. You died more times than deaths of Legendary Pokemon, and yet you are still alive, with all that knowledge and experience of Death itself inside your feeble human brain. But you never broke. Always just, always virtuous. And yet, a single death, of your closest friend finally broke you. Don't even attempt to voice that thought. 'Why would Pikachu not get revived and I'm still alive?', is it? Probably because the world would be no more without you, Ash Ketchum." The mutated clone of the Forefather of All Pokemon turned it's eyes to look at the teen. "Tell me it isn't so. You stopped me, first of all. You fixed a highly dangerous and broken from Rocket corruption mind. Amusing knowledge that Giovanni repented - almost as amusing as you ordering the brutal murder of my own inter-dimensional doppelganger - although I already knew he was almost no where at fault, especially my own creation. While he may have started the development on me, corrupt scientists corrupted me with their thirst of power" Ash heard the quiet in volume thud of Mewtwo sitting next to him. "After me, you stopped the outrage of the three legendary birds that almost killed the Guardian of The Sea, oh Chosen One. Then, you stopped a universal collapse, courtesy of Unown of all things. Then, you saved the Johto region from an almost berserk catastrophe of Eon proportions. Then, you saved Celebi from the hands of a poacher that had his hands on Orrian Cipher technology. Need I go on?" Mewtwo somehow lifted its non-existent eyebrow. "My point is, these are achievements of courage, selflessness and conviction, as well as mild stupidity. But there is no brave without stupid, Ash Ketchum." Mewtwo wisely informed. As outlandish as this sounded... Ash was relaxing with Mewtwo. He was feeling better thanks to him. "As I keep scanning your memories without your irrelevant consent, I can see you are the Chosen of Arceus. No wonder world-ending events land on you like snowfall. You have the clouds on your shoulders, and yet you kept fighting. Don't even try to blame Arceus, you accepted it. You accepted the position, and you specifically said 'I don't care for any title, I'm just doing what I believe is right, and I will never stop'. Isn't that so, Ash Ketchum?'

"Why are you here, Mewtwo? If not to kill me, surely not to remind me of my past. What is your reason?" Ash inquired with a low voice.

"Simple, really. I want to travel near you." Mewtwo stated nonchalantly, like commenting on the weather, but Ash just thought the clouds Mewtwo mentioned broke like an egg on his head.

"You want WHAT? Cut the shit Mewtwo. You spent your years so far in isolation together with Pokemon, inside an artificial island that you hid with your powers from any kind of vision. You can't be serious about 'traveling near me'. I won't fucking catch you" Ash spat, impatience and ire evident in his voice.

"You heard me correctly. And yes, I spent my life living with Pokemon. But I want to see the life of humans now. Their relationships with each other, the way different people feel and act. Most importantly, their relationships with their fellow Pokemon that inhabit the earth with them. And there is no example of Human-Pokemon relations better than you, Ash Ketchum. And for the love of god, keep the captivity machines away from me. I don't plan on getting inside one in the foreseeable future. I will be travelling with you, in a sense. I will be following, invisible from the naked eye. See your interactions with fellow humans, and I will find somewhere to nest in the region you now govern."

"But... why? What do you gain from this? You are above all and everything, are you not? Oh mighty unmatched unbeatable dangerous crazy Legendary feline Pokemon." Ash rolled his eyes, and he caught a very human emotion in Mewtwo's eyes. Genuine, childish amusement. It was hard to consider the fact that while Mewtwo was one of the smartest creatures on this world, it is also a child in terms of life and experience. Knowledge and intellect, without wisdom gained by exposure and years of experience. Despite his wise moments coming from his extreme intelligence-boosted instinct.

"I gain nothing. Just experience. Who knows, maybe it is actually fun experiencing the complete world first hand. As you humans call it, the foul parkage? Or something along those lines...?" Mewtwo wondered, completely confused. And for the first time in 13 days, Ash let out a genuine, hearty chuckle.

"It's 'full package' Mewtwo..."

---

"Oh, reminiscing, are we? Yes, it was a nice conversation. I was skeptical when you just accepted me back. And yet, I figured out that this is what humans mean by the word 'trust' and the notion of 'second chances'." Mewtwo hovered closer, his face mere inches away from Ash's, purple eyes judging and condemning the raven-haired adult. "Look at us, Hadrian, seven years later. September 31, 2015 I met the broken husk of the man that once discarded life itself to stop destructive, nonsense fighting. Seven years have passed, and every year he gets worse. You are hollow, Hadrian. You are lost. Fortunately for both of us, I cannot help you even a tiny bit. Despite my power, I must admit that I am completely useless in psychology, no matter how close the term is to psychic. And yet, now that I see you, I wouldn't even want to assist you, Hadrian. Besides" Mewtwo then turned its head to stare at the blue canine that refused to join in the discussion. The feline spread its hands and turned back to Ash "Individuals more capable and fitting than my greatness are trying to help you for over 2000 days straight, and you refuse to listen to anyone." The Mewtwo spat in rage and floated up, above the statue of the long gone partner of the Champion. "I was never good or gentle with human words, neither had sentient emotions of my knowledge, Ash Ketchum. And yet, I have been influenced by human emotions these seven years living around your presence. I learned what human feelings are, analyzed them, studied their importance and realized that every living and sentient being possesses them at their full capacity. Alas, I figured out I had them too, and after identifying them, I let them rule alongside my intellect inside my body. I am a living, breathing, sentient being as well, despite the fact my foul existence was born inside a human laboratory. Therefore, let me speak some words before my departure, fueled by the emotions you humans call rage and disgust. I will also decorate my parting speech with a human-patented word that has literal meaning in reproduction, but is more commonly used in emotion-filled discussions. I still can't understand the meaning it holds inside such conversations, but, I digress, since I have figured out how and when they are used" Mewtwo pointed down at the sculpture of Pikachu, and grimaced to Ash in something resembling disgust. "I fucking hope your long diseased brother looks down upon you, disappointed in what you have become" And with that sentence, Mewtwo disappeared from the island in a soft *crack*, leaving behind an amazed and shocked Ash Ketchum gazing at the sky that Mewtwo's visage blocked. He was still processing the over-analyzed speech of his unlikely friend. Something that Lucario did not miss.

"Did he just... Explain what 'fuck' is and why it's used?"

And for the first time in his life, Ash let out a genuinely broken, heartbroken chuckle.

---

That day, 21:00pm
Pokemon Center of Saffron, Saffron City, Kanto Region

"What in the name of Giratina happened in Alola..." Dawn murmured to herself inside the Pokemon Center, drinking some coffee in the lounge area. She finally managed to fix up her attire, but she was still a walking, talking mess. At least she bought some cheap sneakers to wear, that was something at the very least. She was wearing a pair of long black jeans with a black tank top ending just above her navel, covering her upper body. Laid on the tank top was a plain pink vest, just to give the style some color. Her blue hair was falling freely behind her and on her shoulders, no longer contained by the lack of her hat, but it was a very nice, casual look on her. She was wearing a very plain brown trainer belt, kitted with 6 Pokeball slots, all full, and a Pokedex holder. At the age of 23, she was a beautiful woman, slim and of medium height. Her body was not exercised, but it was very clearly taken care of. Her curves were perfectly distributed, neither too large nor lacking.

Laid in front of her on the lounge table, were 5 different gossip magazines - the biggest and most followed to be exact - that issued emergency covers in the span of 6 hours since the Championship match in Alola ended.

'The Teen Trainer' had a picture of Ash during his battle, coat discarded and arm extended against an unseen opponent. The picture itself was an incredibly good frame of the Champion. The muscles of the extended arm were strained from the fierce motion, and his sculpted from training and hardship body was clearly visible on the ash-grey t-shirt. His eyes were alit with a righteous flame full of anger and passion for battle. His raven black hair was waving behind in the wake of the hot wind of the battle, and an eye-catching detail was the shine of the Key Stone hanging from the chain around his belt. The cover title was:

Ash Ketchum
The hottest sensation of the decade?

The cover page was also decorated with 3 minor headlines, 'Find Ash Ketchum's ranking in the list of hottest trainers!', 'HOT: Ash Ketchum's Elites!' and 'Ash Ketchum: Under the radar!'. Dawn cringed at the titles on the tabloid, but she had to agree on something. Ash was hot. Just look at that glow-up. He was already attractive, 10 years ago. But now...

'Nimbasa Snoop', had a picture of Ash in some sort of victory pose, but in reality it was the fan-dubbed 'Showtime Pose' where he Mega Evolved Lucario. Again, his arms stretched wide and lowered to his thighs, his head held high up, with his neck and arm veins fully visible under the strain of the bulging muscles, mouth open in a shout that felt like a war cry. His right hand was holding a miniature sun peeking out of his closed fingers, obviously the Key Stone the moment of activation. Title this time:

The unknown power of
Ashton Hadrian Ketchum

Dawn paid little mind to the headline, scanning the champion depicted instead. She unconsciously bit her lip at the sheer, boiling power of the hot man captured by the Rotom Drone. "Holy fuck..." she whispered to no one in particular.

'The Weekly Trainer' showed the moment of Ash hugging his Lucario, melting Dawn's heart. It was the only among the 5 tabloids showing a tiny hint of some sort of happiness in Ash's expression. The title:

Ash Ketchum
The Greatest Comeback In History

Dawn scoffed. Yeah, took the tabloids 10 years and a surprise appearance to count him in history. His mind boggling records were not enough it seemed. The mere thought of the 'surprise appearance' in question made Dawn steam once more.

Even 'Coordinator Now' had a coverage of Ash Ketchum. The image was Ash standing on the referee's pedestal, head hung slightly low, eyes closed in peace, waiting for the people to calm down. His body this time was relaxed, but the gains of his training were still visible, despite being more subtle. His trench coat hung on his shoulders, not wearing it properly, but it was still fitting on his body, hanging behind him like an impromptu cape. He held the ref's microphone in his relaxed hands. This title:

Enter Champion Ash Ketchum!
The biggest wipe-out in Competitive History!

Dawn still couldn't fathom that the strong yet overachieving and struggling trainer she adored showcased destruction of incomparable levels, melting a Conference Winner with a whopping 6-0 in a 6 on 1 match. The sudden arrest after the finish line was a fact that didn't need commenting. At that point, she wondered what that dirt bag Paul was up to. She knew that he finally understood Ash's view on training and battles at the Lily of The Valley Conference, but who knows...?

The last cover she grabbed was the biggest of them all. 'League Gossip' was the biggest League-covering tabloid. Everything from battles to showcases to contests was covered in it. If 'League Gossip' featured you, you knew you made it big. This specific tabloid gifted big names their titles. 'Princess Of Hoenn' May Maple, 'Rising Sun of Sinnoh' Dawn Berlitz, 'Pop Goddess' Diantha Carne, 'Queen of Sinnoh' Cynthia Shirona, 'Jewel of Kalos' Serena Yvonne-Gabenna and the list goes on and on and on. Thing is, this tabloid specifically was mostly for women and its features were only massive names, and for a man to be featured he needed to cause tremors in the community by walking. And here...

The 'Myth of Alola'
Ashton 'Ash' Hadrian Ketchum
The strongest power play in League history

'League Gossip' also featured a completely exclusive photograph of Ash. Street lights were filtered around him, turning the night cityscape into a bright, lively world of entertainment. Ash Ketchum was there dressed in a black dress shirt, ending tucked inside black suit trousers. Sleeves were neatly folded up to his biceps, and the shirt had a black tie with intricate ash-grey patterns hanging from the collar. His trousers were held by an elegant black leather belt with a silver buckle in the middle. From said belt a short - 5 to 7 centimeters at most - silver chain was hanging, with an incredibly weird blue and yellow Pokeball attached. The champion's hair was lightly combed just to keep it looking neat yet wild, instead of looking like a wake-up look. The picture as a whole was a fantastic moment of natural motion frozen in time, courtesy of camera lens. Left leg in front, obviously in the middle of a light stroll in the center of Manalo, looking like a relaxing walk laced with the purpose and confidence of a man with a destination. Right hand was holding a freshly lit cigarette and from the Champion's lips smoke was leaking in a captivating motion. It was a snapshot capturing the natural, casual beauty of the fresh-born but long overdue celebrity. It was certainly more than enough to cause Dawn to spent near ten minutes soaking up the photograph to its finest detail. How did Ash manage to look so hot? And how the fuck did they get this photograph?

---

"Ash PLEASE let me send this photograph! You will melt the world, I swear to you!" Champion Diantha pleaded to her fellow Champion from The Islands.

"First of all, when did you get this picture? For the love of Arceus, why is a pop-star my fucking paparazzi?" Ash asked with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Ash, you are way too handsome to NOT be your paparazzi, and it was during our first date when Manalo was completed!" Diantha retorted with a faint blush.

"Our- what?" Ash blankly asked, taken aback but not offended or insulted, merely surprised.

Diantha completely ignored his half question. "Just LOOK at it! You are incredible in it!"

"And I'm not incredible in general?" Ash cockily asked, wanting to tease her a bit and it surely worked. He had a rare talent to fluster people, especially females, no matter who it was.

"Wh-what?! I- um- I mean- uh- YES. But yeah. Yes. Indeed. Yep." She sputtered semi-coherently, getting a chuckle out of the raven-haired champion. She found her extremely cute doing that, but he would never say that out loud. Besides, she wasn't the only girl he ever considered cute. She regained whatever bearings she had left after the sudden offense against her, and finally spoke again. "Just please let me send it Ashy! Please please please please plea-"

"Fine fine fine. But that's only because I like you" Ash sighed in fake resignation. To be completely honest, he didn't mind. He didn't seek fame, but he wouldn't get out of his way to avoid it too. Besides, she would send it in the end despite what he said. He was sure she had many pictures of him, being a photography lover. She was always taking pictures of him, of herself, of the highlights of Alola, of them. He just respected the fact that she ask- um, BEGGED- him to send it before she did it. "BUT, you owe me one dear Champion"

"YES!" she howled, bursting Ash's ear drums over the video call. "Thank you Ash! Trust me, whatever you ask of me, its yours. ANYTHING you want." She happily announced with a VERY dangerous statement. Thank god Ash was not dangerous. "Oh yeah, do you want me to suggest a title for you?"

"Wait, you're sending this to 'League Gossip'?!" Ash choked on the thought. Of course he knew the biggest tabloid in the United Regions, Gladion and Lillie wouldn't shut up about it. "Please don't suggest a crazy title, I know you'll try to fucking deify me" Ash exasperated.

"HEY! NOT!" Diantha yelled, feigning offense. "But fine. I really don't have a title unique and cool, all I can think of are half-copies of others. King of Alola, Queen of Sinnoh, same thing... Just, THANK you Ash! Trust me, you'll break the community with this picture. Goodnight Ashy!" she said very happily, waving on the screen and ending the video call shortly after.

---

Anyone would call the title a stretch. The title of 'Myth' was indeed pretty massive. But considering that the Champion of The Four Islands was called Hadrian while in reality he had whole another name and personality hidden under the veil of their beautiful sun, it was pretty fitting. Imagine someone walking up to any Alolan - or any league fan for that matter - and telling him that "Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town of Kanto is Champion Hadrian of Alola". Absolutely no one would believe them. Spread it enough, and it might as well have been a myth, that the champion was a whole other person.

"Myth of Alola, huh... It's very catchy. Uh, how will I put up with his ego now?" she thought to herself, before drinking the last sip of her coffee and standing up. She could very well stay and sleep, but she couldn't waste any more time. She had a Champion to beat the shit out of.

"By the way... Where the hell is Pikachu?"

---

Same time
Port of Castellia, Castelia City, Unova Region

The moment the massive passenger ship from Kalos docked, opened its gates and lowered the bridge to connect it to main land, a honey-blonde babe ran out in a mad rush, rushing over to the ticket booth on the other side of the pier. People started exiting the ship in a steady pace after her. A certain green haired man wearing an expensive black tuxedo was among them, hidden behind a newspaper, sweating bullets as if Giratina itself was looming over him. He gulped slowly and closed the newspaper, eyeing the crazy blonde in high alert. "Why Arceus, why is she in the same fucking boat. And I bet that she will board the first ship to Alola... I have avoided her for 2 whole years, and I will get found and interrogated in the last stretch?" Cilan thought to himself, trying to remain calm. Indeed, he was trying to avoid Serena at all costs. Under strict requests - more like pleas of mercy, really - from Ash, the grand chef tried to never come in contact with her. Both him and Ash knew Serena, and Serena knew them both and how close they were. And they also knew that Serena would squeeze every single drop of information out of Cilan should she meet him, either by annoying questions and non-stop following or by raw torture. Cilan certainly knew better than to provoke a woman mad in undying love and sorrow. The worst part was, Cilan was absolutely dreadful under pressure, and his secrets wouldn't last three minutes at best. Well, it was too late to get anxious. Besides, they were both going to Ash.

Speaking of Serena, after booking the first ship to Alola she went to the Pokemon Center to wait out the next hour before boarding started. Sitting on the table, elegantly drinking her coffee she unwillingly attracted quite a few looks from young men and adults alike. She was wearing an outfit all too familiar, albeit tweaked. A black, sleeve-less sweater, paired by a red short skirt with white, interjecting stripes forming a checkered pattern. Her long legs were covered with thigh-high solid black stockings, with calf-high brown boots. The look was completed by an ash-grey feminine top hat. The years have been extremely good to her, giving her a tiny bit of height and curves everywhere that mattered. She couldn't avoid looks no matter what she did, but she couldn't care less. She was on the last stretch to Alola.

She was trying to follow the most recent news around the world on her phone. Maybe something bad happened? Some natural destruction? Some urban horror crime? Something pretty big to help her relax before getting to Alola?

That's a massive NO.

Every single headline from every news outlet around the world had a title related to the Championship Battle. Not even that, ninety percent of the titles were related to Ash specifically. She huffed in annoyance and decided to press on random link and read something about her long lost love. Unfortunately...

The 'Myth of Alola', Ash Ketchum.
Mysterious, powerful, confident, sexy,
cold, terrifying, and above all, captivating.

Ashton 'Ash' Hadrian Ketchum hailing from the humble Pallet Town of Kanto, born May 22nd 1997, currently aged 25 years old has turned the world upside down and inside out with his public reveal.

Champion Hadrian of The Four Islands was already a mystery that couldn't be cracked, but he shook the community with his real name. He has a very respectable list of achievements, notably, he has every single gym badge from Kanto through Kalos, he has finished minimum Top 16 in all conferences since his first year, notably landing Semi-Finalist in the Lily of The Valley of 2012 and runner-up in Lumiose Conference of 2014.

During the Lumiose Conference, he was also at the forefront of the small army fighting against Team Flare's natural disaster of Zygarde-proportions, his name often laced with the title "Savior of Lumiose" or "Savior of Kalos".

Aside from his Conferences, he has also conquered the Kanto Battle Frontier, defeating Pyramid Head Brandon, a feat only twelve people in the UR can claim. The important little detail setting him apart from the others? He conquered the Legendary team of Pyramid Head Brandon at his third year of being a licensed Pokemon Trainer.

But we have heard the question from the community. How did he conquer one of the toughest Elite Four level trainer in the world and never won a Conference? Well, we have done the research for you, dear readers. Now hang on tight, because it's a crazy ride.

We have studied his conference performances, and we came to one conclusion. Ash Ketchum was battling his Leagues using freshly caught, regional Pokemon! Every region he visited, he caught a new team of Pokemon, while his other Pokemon were living life, training with each other in the famous Pokemon Ranch of Professor Oak.

There is only one exception to this. During the Lily of The Valley Conference, Ash Ketchum used his older, more experienced Pokemon as well, but lost in the Semi-Finals to Mystery Trainer Tobias, who was handling a Mythical Pokemon Darkrai and the Legendary Eon Pokemon Latios, and Ash beat them both in a 6-2 finish, losing in the end. Trainer Tobias never lost his Darkrai in battle, not even in the finals! To put everything into prospective, Ash Ketchum was the only contestant not to only take out the Mythical Darkrai when the finalist couldn't, he also took out the unknown variable named Latios! You know what you're thinking, readers! If Trainer Tobias wasn't in the conference, Ash Ketchum would win his first conference in just his fourth year of official training!

After that, he got increasingly closer to the gold using only fresh regional teams, finally winning the first Manalo Conference in his 8th year, becoming the secret First Champion of The Sunny Islands! If that is not skill and experience, I don't know what is!

Ash Ketchum started his journeys April 1st, 2008, his starter being a Pikachu. Sadly, when we asked about his faithful, Pokeball-hating starter that always stuck with him perched on his shoulder we were informed that Pikachu passed away, September 18, 2015. Today marks the 7th year since his passing. Our condolences are with the reigning Champion of Alola, wishing him the best and we assure him that his partner is looking down on him, happy and proud of the man he has become.

Serena was just a frozen statue after finishing the article. Her phone slid off her sweaty hands and landed with a thud on the floor. The screen cracked but she didn't notice nor care. Pikachu died? Pikachu. Died? Ash's best friend, brother, and partner DIED?! When?! How did she not know?! WHY DID SHE NOT KNOW?!

In a rush she picked the phone up and attempted - knowing it would do nothing - to text Ash and tell him how much she hated him for keeping such a secret. Pikachu was dead for 7 years? Was that why he never showed any signs of life for the last seven... years? Ash last message was a plea for some kind of company, because he wasn't... feeling... well... Wait.

Serena rushed through her messages. She never deleted any message between her and Ash. She started scrolling, and scrolling - thank Arceus her screen just had a surface crack and she could still see clearly and use the touch screen - until she found a short, clear message. The last he ever sent to her. She also saw her tiny response right above. Damn, the next time she 'tried to contact him' as she said was three months later. Her shows weren't even THAT big, she just wanted to complete them to fulfill a contract. Her welling up guilt was her thinking that he just lost some important match... Besides... He called everyone else too from what she gathered. They could console him for a lost match. Just... She hoped the dots she connected were a delusion born of fear.

The sad truth was that when she first read it, it was hastily read and digested. She didn't realize just how serious things were, and he made it pretty clear.

"Hey Serena. I hope you are okay. Congratulations for yet another Showcase win, you know I am very proud of you. But look... Can you come to Pallet Town? I'm... having a hard time you know. I haven't felt like this ever... I need you here. I called all the others. I hope to see you and the others too. I might need everyone more than ever now.
Love, Ash"

Sent:
September 19, 2015
03:43 am

Serena trembled. A lump of pain, grief and regret got stuck in her throat. "Oh no... Ash... What have I done to you..." She whispered to her self, terrified and feeling like the world was collapsing under her.

Alas, the dots she connected this time were worse than correct.

---

September 18, 2022, 22:30pm
Port of HeaHea, Alola Region

A stunning brunette hailing from Petalburg City of Hoenn got off the ship and stood on the dock, enjoying the smell of fresh, pure, salted by the sea wind. She was appropriately dressed for the tropical climate of Alola, sporting an airy sleeve-less top, red in color and a tight black athletic crop top underneath it in an attempt to hide most of the sensitive parts, toning everything about them instead but not in a revealing sense. She was also sporting a pair of black bike shorts. Hanging just below her waist was a green and yellow fanny pack, and a set of six Pokeballs was hanging from the slots integrated in the belt of the fanny. Her classic, red bandana with the white Pokeball design no longer covered the top of her hair, instead being tied loosely around her neck. Her hair still had the same bangs framing her beautiful face, but it had grown long enough to reach the height of her fanny pack. In a completely original fashion in the years that have passed, May Maple grew excellently. Who would have thought? She gained quite a bit of height, landing in the tall range of females, at 1.75 meters tall. Curves were mostly gained in the lower parts of her body, but even that not a lot. She had, by all means a normal body, but that didn't make it any less beautiful in every measure.

She took one last, deep breath and started walking, scanning her surroundings all the while. She was in Alola for 10 minutes at most, but she was already taken aback by the exotic beauty. The city was very advanced and modern, but it was seamlessly blended with the nature around it. Full with trees and wild Pokemon running around, people were living in perfect harmony with their origins. Loud partying noises were heard everywhere, and even the people walking around were in a festive mood. It didn't take long to understand why the situation was so merry.

Hanging from the buildings were prototype Roto-TV's, some sort of a portable plasma screen designed by Ferrand Laboratories. Apparently, with the help of Rotoms or something along those lines. She couldn't fathom it without reading about it. The important thing was that all the screens were showing the same scenes at the same time. In this particular occasion, it was a slow motion close-up on Ash Ketchum's 'Showtime' Mega-Evolution. Of course, the festivities were about their Champion destroying the competition in his first public appearance. She sighed heavily, and she started looking around, looking for the Pokemon Center. She couldn't see any obvious center, so she kept walking, hoping to find it soon.

She missed Ash. She missed him too much. Pikachu too. She couldn't wait to cuddle the little yellow rodent.

---

September 18, 2022, 21:35pm
Champion's Chamber, Manalo Mansion

Ash Ketchum was literally doing nothing. After the one-sided discussion with Mewtwo, he decided to cut the grieving short. It wasn't a matter of disrespect. In the end, he had to ponder quite a lot after that lectical assault he suffered.

So, he was in his room, watching TV praying to Arceus to get some help in his life, but most importantly, at the moment he prayed for a channel that didn't feature his face. But even if he did find a channel without him - which he wouldn't - he couldn't pay any attention. So many questions.

First of all, why the fuck the people close to him started calling him 'Hadrian' these days? First Iris, then Mewtwo. While it was his name, why did it feel offending?

Second, everyone has been claiming that he wasn't Ash. Wait... Did this question answer the previous one..? Whatever. He sure felt like Ash. He couldn't understand their problem. Did his strength make them fear him? He doesn't think that Mewtwo actually fears him. Despite their rocky history, Ash cared about Mewtwo a lot. He knew his origin, and boy was that a sad origin. Mewtwo never wanted to be bad, he was just, in actuality, a toddler with more intellect that it could handle. He couldn't understand the notion of good or bad, especially getting his first interactions with Rocket scientists. The only reason he did what he did was instinct laced with pinch of evil salt. As for Iris, why would she fear him? They went through hell together at one point and he considered her one the closest friends he had. So what was this about "Ash Ketchum touch me, Hadrian get the Distortion away"? He couldn't make heads or tails of these matters.

Third, why was Lucario bipolar these days? One moment he was like always with his father, and another moment he would assault his psyche with words painful enough to lacerate his ears. Puberty? Is that a thing with Pokemon?

And fourth, something he heard twice. Pikachu would hate who he became. He became one of the strongest in the world, maybe the strongest. He is completing their dream. The dream they shared... That was painful. But he needed no one for that. He could do it on his own, people were just obstacles in his life. Causing him more pain, and more pain and even more pain. Like Iris. "Why am I still caring? She just tossed me out. Hadrian, Ash Ketchum, fuck that. I'm both. It seems some people can't handle me. They only like gullible, soft Ash. The Ash that let his partner die while he cheated death way too many times for any normal person. One death was too much for any person. I died six? Seven? Eight times? Who even cares anymore, I lost count when I was swallowed by the Tree of Life"

"And you still, see nothing" The semi-transparent form of Mewtwo said, floating in the balcony.

"Fuck you mean this time?!" Ash yelled in irritation.

"I mean that you have lost who Ash Ketchum was. Your name is Ashton Hadrian Ketchum. Once known to everyone as Ashton, Ash for short, Ketchum. Then, Pikachu died, and you spent 7 years as Hadrian, discarding Ash Ketchum in the process. You carry the name but not the spirit. You split your personality in half, and always lived as Ash with a little Hadrian. Now, you live as Hadrian with no Ash" Mewtwo stated in a tone reminiscing a doctor. Did he go to psychology sessions with Lucario?

"Cut the riddles Mewtwo, I don't have time for this. What is there to see? Iris fucking knocked me around and tossed me like a ragdoll, Diantha is hanging from my rising fame like a desperate leech-"

"That makes zero sense and holds zero truth, and you know it father" Lucario angrily interjected in the conversation, growing tired from his father's nonsense.

"The dog is right" Mewtwo added, getting a bewildered look from the offended Lucario.

"I, DON'T, CARE" Ash screamed in frustration. "Both of you, OUT OF MY FUCKING ROOM. If you're not with me, then you are AGAINST ME" he continued, no longer thinking of his words. With trembling hands he tried to retrieve Lucario's Pokeball to recall him, but didn't find it on his belt. "What..." he murmured, till he saw a shiny, red and white ball floating into the hands of Lucario.

"Ah, thank you psychic cat" He quipped, finally getting back at the Legendary for the 'dog' comment.

"Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. I feel a sudden rush of amusement from your vengeful remark, Aura dog. Is this what humans call 'humor'?" Mewtwo pondered to himself, missing the frustrated eye-roll of the Aura Pokemon. "Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Is this laughter? I sound... wrong. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. I will once again use the verb of reproduction while faced with a strange situation under the guise of confusion. How the fuck do humans do this 'laughter' thing? Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah." And suddenly, the Genetic Pokemon and the Aura Pokemon popped out of existence, leaving a fuming, and incredibly confused Ash Ketchum behind them.

Before he could even ponder on what just happened his door practically blew up, and 3 men entered like a ball of madness in the room. Three completely different looking men, with such vibrant personalities that blended with everyone around them seamlessly. Anyone who knew them wonder how they haven't destroyed a whole region yet. They were 3 men Ash considered close friends to him after 7 years of being a regional champion. Before he could speak though, a massive red haired man landed on top of him on the bed, and the bed did not appreciate it if the loud *CRACK* of destroyed wood was any indication. It surely didn't help Ash's mood.

"YOU GINGER HEADED MOTHERFUCKER- YOU OWE ME A BED" he yelled incredulously and the silver haired champion by the door knelt on the floor laughing. The old man next to him with the massive mane of flame colored hair was wheezing, failing to catch his laugh in a timely fashion.

"Get up lazy bitch! You are the hottest celebrity in the world, IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE THE OCCASION!" the insane Indigo Champion yelled as he stood up from the ruined bed, dragging a protesting Ash by the legs in the process.

"Lance I'll- hahahaha- help!" The dying Steven tried to say as he hastily stood and wobbled above Ash's head. "Yo, Champ-in-the-making!" He said, then reconsidered, "Wait no- You are already a made champ. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Steven Stone laughed again to his own mistake. Obviously already drunk. If he wasn't, he would be the first to keep the others from disturbing Ash's saddest anniversary. But, Lance convinced him this time. Ash needed to escape this vicious cycle of pain. Therefore, he grabbed him by the arms, carrying him out of his room along with Lance, while Ash tried to bite at Steven's grip.

Unbeknownst to Steven, just a few inches left to the balcony door, was a certain invisible feline Legendary trying to take mental notes of the human expression of emotion called 'laughter'.

Alder was still trying to properly breath, or laugh. Doing both, like he was doing right now, was nigh impossible.

"What do you guys waaaant" Ash whined, resigned of his fate.

"We're going to celebrate the world knowing you. I bet you have no idea, but you are the hottest gossip in the world. So, we drink all night long and pass out on the streets like disgraces!" Lance happily announced, throwing any type of respect for their titles as Region Champions out of the window. "Alder is paying!"

The Alder in question was just now starting to gather himself and breath, but he choked the next moment. "Mother-" *wheeze* "-fucker" he tried to say, and followed them.

"Fine, fine, FINE! I'LL CELEBRATE. Will you finally PUT, ME, DOWN?" the Aura Guardian all but screamed in an Aura-infused fashion, causing everyone to stagger and wince, unceremoniously dropping him on the floor with a loud thud. He promptly got up and straightened out his casuals, a black t-shirt, jean shorts and summer slippers. If he was being honest with himself, the concept of getting his mind lost once more sounded good enough in the state he was in. The reason he was drinking so much that often was because he wasn't afraid of alcohol addiction. He could stop at any point. Of course, with Aura cleansing. In truth, the power of Aura sounded mighty, but it was really just a god-sent solution to mundane problems. The only strong effects it had were Aura sense, telepathy, affecting those around the user by manipulating his or their aura, and the aspect of Aura cleansing that could calm down berserk Pokemon or humans under intense psychological conditions. Other than that, resisting and cleansing addiction were good, healing the body from viruses inside it at worst and extremely minor cuts at best was also nice.

"Can I at least get a Pokemon with me?" he asked, but Steven waved him off.

"It's ok, I have my Meta-bros"

.

.

.

A deathly silence fell over everyone at the silver haired man's statement. A couple of tense moments later and then everyone started laughing at the terrible joke before continuing their trek towards the exit of the mansion. Ash turned to Alder with a murderous look in his eyes.

"All of this is your fault, grandpa"

"What, why?" He asked flustered. Ash just turned to the front and commented some more after a couple of moments.

"I swear to Arceus, the bill tonight will be 25.000"

---

September 19, 2022, 00:10am
HeaHea City Center, Alola Region

May Maple finally found the Pokemon Center, checked in, then promptly left it. She decided to explore some of this new city. It was still bursting with celebration, and she wasn't surprised at this point. The parties would probably end when the sun was hanging high with its morning call.

The talk on the streets filled her ears above the music and parties, revealing information about some sort of gathering place called 'Wela'. Surely, not the famous Wela Volcano, she didn't have any wishes to lose her life just yet. Maybe some sort of bar? Or an event hall? Either way, she was keeping an eye out for it, walking around the streets as if moved by the threads of fate.

She was following very loud music. Above all other festivities, there was a steady stream of coherent, electronic party music coming from somewhere. She could tell she was getting close, since with every turn the music got louder. Eventually, she could even make out what song was being played, before it seamlessly transitioned into another one. After a couple of minutes, one last turn, and...

She ended up in a pretty open space, probably the entertainment district of the city. Restaurants, bars, cinemas, arcade places and cafes were sprinkled everywhere. But the one thing that stood out, was the massive, seven story building unleashing the unforgivably loud music she was chasing. A place with a massive sign, reading 'Wela Club', with some more words under it. After focusing a bit, she finally read them. 'Dance with the heat of the Volcano'.

"Huh. Look at that" she remarked, clearly amused. She made a move towards the club, but suddenly stopped when she saw a massive Dragonite landing in front of the entrance of the club.

To her complete shock, a very known, a very obviously Johtonian Champion of The Indigo League leaped off the orange dragon, recalling him.

Before she could even respond, a Braviary crashed into Lance, cleanly knocking the champion, itself, and its rider on the road, in a mixture of two laughs and a cackling bird. She attempted to smack some sense into the stupid person assaulting the Champion, but promptly stopped all movement when she saw another celebrity in Former Unovan Champion Alder Adeku.

And yet, the chaos still wasn't over. A metallic screech accompanied by a chrome reflection of light produced by a Skarmory landed smoothly on the ground. Its rider however let a loud "GROUP HUG!" before jumping on top of the still-trying-to-get-up duo on the road, getting grunts of pain and laughter from everyone. She saw Steven Stone's angular face reddened and lit with glee, very obviously under the influence of alcohol. Despite her original shock at seeing gathered celebrities in the most surreal situation, she couldn't help but smile. The Champions were human too. They could indulge in the human pleasures of partying, clubbing and celebrating. She wondered...

A shriek of a Pidgeot pierced the sky before it was recalled mid flight near the ground, its rider smoothly landed on the road next to the bundled mess of Champions.

Her mind promptly wiped of any thought up to this point. The location, the surreal situation, everything was deleted. Only the raven haired man in front of her on the road remained. She couldn't help but see a mirage of a hat and dark blue vest on the young Champion. A Pikachu that didn't exist on his shoulders, a Sceptile next to him, and half of a sunflower ribbon in his hand.

While the brunette girl was day - night - dreaming, the champs had already stood up and discussed with each other for a bit, before making a move towards the entrance after recalling their flying Pokemon.

"Ash?" a female voice called. Three smiling heads of the older champions turned towards her, before blanching when they recognized her.

A moment of freezing, empty silence passed. The champions twitched, until Steven Stone finally spoke first.

"Hiiiiiiii..." He lamely started, before glancing sideways at Ash's frozen visage. He noticed that his expression stopped living quite a bit ago. "I'll... You know... Go inside..." he gulped and walked backwards. "Nice to uhh... Meet you... I hope you're ok... We'll catch up another time, now uh..." He got smacked on the forehead by Ash, who was stilling looking dead on towards the entrance, refusing to look at his former companion. Steven promptly turned around like a rusty machine, followed by...

"At this point, 25.000 dollars feels like charity case. And at this point, I'll gladly pay" Alder whispered while rushing to the door.

"Don't worry, I'll pay the other 25.000 he'll drink" Lance agreed and the trio disappeared.

Silenced returned between the old friends. May was just twitching and waiting for Ash to respond. She was waiting for something from him. A shocked but warm greeting. Tears. Happiness. A hug. She was hopeful. He had no reason to be cold against her. There was no reason. She was sure of it.

Reality, however, is always harsh.

Ash slowly turned around. His auburn eyes devoid of any warmth. A freezing cold gaze laced with slowly building rage pierced through her very soul, his mouth twitched in mild disgust.

And if reality was harsh with just looks, words could be destructive.

"What do you want, Maple?"

---

Aether Foundation Level X Files.

Clearance required for access: President of Aether Foundation (Currently: Lusamine Aether) / Champion of Alola (Currently: Ashton Hadrian Ketchum)

File 0X: Ashton Hadrian Ketchum

Article 5: The Champion's Befriended Pokemon

Compiled and documented by Aether President Lusamine Aether.

---

Mewtwo

Mega Evolution Capabilities: Unknown

Ability: Unknown

Moves: Unknown

Combos: Unknown

Important notes: Universe 0 Mewtwo was also created in Team Rocket Labs by Rocket Leader Giovanni D'Ignazio in 2008. There was a certain event in - March 2009. There, Mewtwo fo- in a fight where Ash -.

Documents from Ash Ketchum's testimonies indicate that Mewtwo lives somewhere in Alola in order to get familiar with humanity, mostly following Ash Ketchum to observe his relationship with Pokemon. According to him, Universe 0 Mewtwo poses no harm to humanity.

From discussions between Lusamine Aether and Mewtwo, Lusamine has deducted that Mewtwo is trying to integrate human notions and mannerisms inside him, but fails hilariously.

---

Nebby the Solgaleo

Ability: Unknown

Moves: Unknown

Combos: Unknown

Important Notes: Nebby was raised since it was a little Cosmog by Lillie Aether and her friends, most notably Alola Champion Ash Ketchum. As such, it has a great friendship with the Champion, helping him in multiple occasions.

Solgaleo and its sister Lunala are the only Legendary Pokemon confirmed to have an evolutionary chain, that being Cosmog, into Cosmoem, branching into either Lunala or Solgaleo.

Apparently, Solgaleo acts like a normal, yet oversized cat when completely relaxed around the Champion. It lays on its back, waiting for belly scratches, letting cosmic, metallic sounding purrs of satisfaction in the process.

---

Suicune

Ability: Unknown

Moves: Unknown

Combos: Unknown

Important Notes: Suicune was apparently present in Ash's life since the champion was a little kid, with minimal direct interaction in his 25 years of life. The only situation of Ash having a proper interaction and discussion with Suicune was during September of 2020. The event was noticed by an Aether worker tending to some business in CQPR, where he saw Ash talking to a Suicune standing on top of the lake. Ash refuses to answer any question regarding his meeting with the Beast of The North Wind.

---

Arceus

Ability: Unknown

Moves: Unknown

Combos: Unknown

Important No-

(Data corrupted. Error code: 0X)

---

If you're here, thank you! For your efforts, I will ask for suggestions! I have 0 idea of what Ship approach I should take here. I have intentionally opened all doors for Ash, but don't know which one to enter.

You can see May Dawn and Serena - Diantha too. Poor Diantha, no one cares about her :( - want him. But their relationship is rocky at best.
This will NOT be a case of "Ah yes, I forgive you babe, let's love each other". No no no.
Ash, especially this Ash, don't be this kind. To put it in the words of everyday adults, and to match the vibe of the fanfic,
Ash will tear these three a new asshole each. Verbal lashing, aggressive, gritty and raw. May being first on the chopping block.

I can, however manage Ash with one of them together. But, I can also give him to Diantha. Or Iris? Or I can bring new players in the ring? The possibilities are endless and road is long.

If you have suggestions, feel free to drop a dm or a review!

Again, I thank you all for sticking to here. The new chapter will come soon! At the rate my fingers been working, it shouldn't be long. 4 days? Maybe 3? Perhaps 2? Who knows? It will be here though, within the week. See you