Pokemon: The Champion's Revenge

Prologue

"It's been too long, hasn't it buddy?" Ash asked.

Pikachu cried out in agreeance before running ahead to the town he called home.

"Pallet," Ash smiled, stopping to take in the view of the small town. "Hasn't changed a bit." He finished before noticing the lack of a yellow mouse on his shoulder. "Pikachu? Wait up!"

With that, the frantic form of Ash Ketchum took off in pursuit of his partner. Ash Ketchum, the Champion of Alola. But to Ash, it hardly mattered. Alola was relatively unheard of and therefore had a lack of quality trainers. Becoming the first champion of Alola was like winning the Orange Islands League to him. A minor accomplishment in his path to becoming a Pokemon Master. Though Ash was now thirteen, he was still a child by spirit and heart. He loved Pokemon and wanted to be the best there ever was. But his brain was slowly changing, growing. Second at the Kalos League would be considered good, even great by some, but Ash knew that, for his goal, it wasn't enough. He started planning out his battles more often. Training harder and more efficiently. Without his change in demeanor, he doubted that he would have been able to become the Champion of Alola, but he declined. Ash was offered to start up the Alola League. Build stadiums, take challengers, train elites, and gym leaders. But Ash knew he wasn't ready. Another, stronger trainer could easily dethrone him. So Ash opted to continue his journey. Considering his options, Galar would be the best choice, but Ash didn't feel it for some reason. Deciding to look further into his options once he got home, Ash arrived at this moment in time that would change him forever.

Having glimpsed Pikachu in front of the Oak Laboratory, Ash decided to stop by before going home.

"Hello?" Ash asked, opening the door. "Anyone home?"

"Ashy-boy," A voice piped up. "It's been too long!"

"Gary?" Ash asked.

"The one and only," Gary said, popping out of a hallway. "C'mere." Ash obliged, stepping into the bro-hug. "We've got so much to talk about. But first, Gramps wants to see you."

"Okay," Ash said, as he was led into Professor Oak's room.

"Ash, my boy," The Professor exclaimed. "It is great to see you. I'm glad Gary found you when he did. I know your mom must be eagerly awaiting your return, so I won't keep you for too long, but I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it, Professor,?" Ash asked.

"I'd like to study your championship team, so could you leave all your Pokemon with me for the day?" Professor Oak asked.

"Sure," Ash replied, taking off the belt containing his Pokeballs and handing them to the professor.

"Let's go, Ash," Gary said. "Mrs. Ketchum must be waiting. We can eat the malasadas you bought me there. You did buy me the malasadas, right?"

"Uhm, yeah," Ash said scratching the back of his head, nervously. "How could I forget?"

"Great!" Gary said marching out the door.

"Professor?" Ash asked.

"Sorry, my boy," Professor Oak said. "You are Gary's best friend, yet you forgot that he loves malasadas."

"I was never informed of this romance," Ash said.

"Romance is an understatement," Professor Oak said laughing. "If he was allowed, Gary would make my future daughter-in-law a malasada."

"Crap," Ash said.

"Come on already, the malasadas are calling to me," Gary shouted from outside.

"Go, now, you don't want to keep your disastrous fate waiting for too long," Professor Oak said with a chuckle.

Ash sighed and walked out the door with one last wave to the professor.

"Mom?" Ash said stepping into the home.

"Malasadas?" Gary said stepping in behind him.

"Ash! Delia's voice called. "You're finally home! It's been so long since I've seen you! I have to finish taking care of something upstairs so I'll be down in a minute. And you have some guests in the living room!"

"Okay, mom!" Ash called walking to the living room with Gary behind him following suit.

The sight that followed for Ash was a pleasant surprise. Congregated around the living room in many mini-conversations were all of Ash's past traveling companions, friends, and rivals. Ash noticed that a couple of his friends were missing. Brock, Paul, and Dawn were the main ones who popped out to his as missing.

"Oh, hey Ash," Serena said awkwardly

All conversations stopped as everyone turned to Ash. Something felt off, but Ash couldn't pin it down. The eerie silence sent a shiver down his spine as his friends stared him down.

"Hey, guys," Ash tried.

"Ash, we came here to talk," Drew said.

"Um, okay?" Ash said, confused.

Cilan took a deep breath. "We feel that you should quit being a trainer."

"Excuse me?" Ash said

"You're a shitty trainer that acts like a kid," Iris said.

"Watch your mouth," Gary said. "You're talking to a Champion, you pathetic excuse for a dragon master."

"Why are you defending such a loser, Gary?" Misty asked.

"And even I could be the Champion of Alola," Max said cockily.

"This is a joke right?" Ash asked.

"No," May said.

"If you don't quit, I'll fine you ten million Pokedollars," Barry said

"Ash you will only get yourself and your Pokemon hurt," Clemont said.

"And you never won a single league in three years of training," Bonnie added.

A chorus of 'yeah's were said by the rest of his friends.

"You've got to be kidding me," Gary said, pissed. "He's twice the trainer all of you combined are and he's saved the world and your asses multiple times."

Ash was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Gary defending him was the only thing keeping him from losing it. All of his friends were fake.

The room fell silent once again, as a man started laughing.

"You all are being to light on him," The man said, stepping up to the middle of the room, in front of Ash.

"Tobias?" Ash asked.

"Yes," Tobias said cockily. "I'm the one and only me. Now, if you don't quit, you will die from the bomb in front of you exploding in your face."

Ash looked down to see that a bomb ticking down in front of him, currently at ten seconds. "WHAT!" He screamed looking up at his friends. Judging by their scared and frantic expressions, they hadn't known about this.

"Everyone behind me is protected by Darkrai's dark shield," Tobias said. "You will be saved if you quit. So what will it be?"

"Ash!" Delia's voice rang from behind him.

"Mom!" Ash turned to see Delia running to him.

"Ohhh!" Tobias said with fake pity. "Too late, bye-bye!"

"I love y..." Delia said to Ash as she threw herself in front of the bomb.

"NOOOO!" Ash screamed as the bomb exploded, throwing Ash back and turning his world to black.

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Ash's eyes snapped open. Pain filled his body. Ash gasped for breath, taking in the surroundings. He looked up to see some sort of town he wasn't familiar with in front of him. His head started to spin. Ash looked back down to see him lying in a pool of his own blood. 'I'm losing blood fast,' Ash thought. 'I can't last long like this.'

"Help-" Ash tried to croak, but the sound barely escaped his lips. Not one to give up easily, Ash tried to push himself up, but couldn't. "I guess this is where it ends," Ash thought sadly.

"Vee!" A scream came from nearby.

Ash slowly looked back up to see an Eevee running toward him. "Help?" He tried again, calling to the Eevee. But the Eevee didn't look worried, it looked scared as if it was running away from something. The 'something' that it was running away from soon showed itself. A feral black and neon green chipmunk ran at the Eevee with a clear intent to kill. Ash cursed at himself. How could he be so cowardly, to ask for help from a Pokemon that needed help? A look of determination appeared on Ash's face. He slowly felt the strength return to his body. Ash looked down at his body. Blood gushed from all over his body like he was in a cheesy horror movie. "This is the end of the line for me," Ash said. "But I'm gonna go out swinging!"

Letting loose a guttural scream, Ash used all of his remaining strength to leap at and tackle the feral chipmunk. As Ash and the chipmunk rolled to a stop, he noticed the Eevee had stopped and was staring at him.

"Vee?" It asked.

"Go!" Ash screamed. "Run!"

But the Eevee remained in its place. The chipmunk got off Ash and turned back to its prey. With a roar, it leaped at the Eevee.

"No!" Ash screamed but it seemed too late.

"Vee!" The Eevee screamed as a white light filled the area. Ash closed his eyes, unable to bear the bright light. Ash opened his eyes once more, to see a peculiar looking creature With a black body and green shards floating around it trying to shake him awake, and a pretty brunette about his age running toward him screaming for help, before passing out for good.

Ash slowly opened his eyes before shutting them to block out the bright light. "Is this what heaven looks like?" He said to no one in particular.

"No," A female voice rang out. "This is what Tandor looks like."

"Now, now, be nicer, he just came to." Another voice said, this one coming from a middle-aged man.

Ash shot awake. "Tandor?" He said, sitting up before grunting and laying back down, due to the lingering pain.

"Yes," The man said. He was wearing a lab coat, so Ash guessed that he was a professor.

"So we're in a new region?" Ash asked.

"Not new." This time the girl answered. "Remote, secluded, take your pick." She said playing with a lolipop in her mouth.

"Why?" Ash asked.

"Well," The man started, before pausing. "We have certain problems."

"Oh," Ash said, not wanting to pry further.

"Eon!" A cry came from elsewhere in the room.

"Oh," the man said. "Before I forget, she wanted to see you."

The peculiar creature from before crawled onto Ash's bed, looking at him intently.

"This is the Eevee you rescued, but she seems to have evolved into a new pokemon." The professor stated. "This peculiar creature seems to be really taken with you. Like the other peculiar creature in this room," He said gesturing to the girl with the lolipop.

"Hey!" She protested.

"Anyways," The man said. "What's your name?"

Ash paused. Ash Ketchum died in his house along with his mother. It was time to be reborn. "Red," He said.

"Nice name!" The man said. "I'm Professor Bamb'o, and this is-"

The girl interjected. "I'm..."

"So, how does it feel to win your first gym battle, Red?"

Ash looked at her, amused. 'First?' he thought. 'If only she knew'

"Too easy," Ash said. "I could have just dropped Volchik off for the battle and trained my other Pokemon during it."

The tiny yellow and black chick Pokemon standing beside him cried in agreement.

"Don't get cocky, though," The brunette girl said. "I've got seven badges so I could whoop your butt easily."

"Yeah, whatever," Ash said. "Let's get to the next town as fast as we can."

"Stop there," A voice called from in front of them. Ash looked up to see a black-haired kid about two years older than them standing on a wall with a Pokemon that looked like an orange Rapidash. "Red, right?"

"What is it to you?" Ash asked coldly.

"Your girlfriend was right," The boy said. "You're awfully cocky. If you're lucky enough to get the rest of the gym badges, you won't make it far in the tournament. And you need someone to knock that sense into you."

"Thanks, but I'll pass for this time," Ash said, calmly. "Let's go." Ash scooped up his Volchik and started to walk away.

Ash felt a slight shift in the wind. No sooner had he whipped around to see the gazelle Pokemon charging at him. Ash whipped out a Pokeball and pressed the button on it. The eeveelution jumped out and charged a shadow ball in a flash. Ash grunted as he lifted an arm to protect himself from the explosion. As the smoke cleared, Ash saw the gazelle lying fainted in front of a black unicorn. Ash smiled. It seemed that his traveling companion wasn't all talk after all. 'She would've been a good ally,' he thought. Ash looked up to see the black-haired kid staring at him.

"Let's go, Red." The girl said recalling her Pokemon

Ash looked at her before looking back at the boy with a calculating gaze.

"Impressive." The boy said. "That's a well trained Nucleon, for someone with only one badge." He returned his fainted Pokemon. "You might actually have a chance at the tournament."

"Nucleon, huh?" Ash said.

"Yeah," The boy said. "The theorized Nuclear Eeveelution. This is the first one I've ever seen. And to do that to my Inflagetah, it's well trained."

"She took it out," Ash said.

"Your Nucleon stopped the Flame Impact and managed to damage it quite a bit," The boy said. "And I apologize for being rude earlier, I saw your battle earlier and thought of traveling with y'all. I just wanted to test you. I thought that having six badges and all, I could mentor you or something, but as I know now, you definitely don't need it." The boy added sheepishly.

"The more, the merrier?" The girl next to Ash shrugged.

"Sure," Ash, said. "Time to sweep the next gym."

Ash walked through the relatively empty halls of the sea-bound vessel that he was in beside his black-haired companion with his Nucleon in tow. The atmosphere was quite gloomy, and most of the passengers on board were missing a usual spring in their step.

"Good thing you got your badge already, right?" The boy asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah," Ash responded, half-heartedly.

"Wait up!" A voice called from behind them.

Ash slowly turned to see an unfamiliar blonde girl running up to them.

"It's you!" The boy said.

Ash turned to him with an eyebrow raised.

"We've known each other since we were kids," He explained to Ash before turning to the girl who had just caught up to them. "This is a new friend that I've met. We've been traveling together for a month."

"Oh!" The girl exclaimed. She held a hand out. "My name's ... nice to meet you! What's your's?"

"Red," Ash said. He took hold of the girl's hand and gently kissed it. "The pleasure is all mine."

"What a gentleman," She said smiling. "What's got you so down in the dumps?"

Ash paused for a second.

'Don't open up again,' A voice called in his head.

Ash had promised himself that he wouldn't make the same mistakes again. His mother's death was caused by his misplaced trust. But a little bit couldn't hurt, right?

"I hate feeling helpless," Ash said. "Usually I'm the one that's out there risking my life to help other people. I don't like watching while the rangers and officers risk their lives at the plant while we just sail away. I'm too weak right now, to help others or myself."

"That's because it's their job," The girl said. "They're adults and we're kids."

"And you're really strong for being a trainer for how long you've been training," The boy added. "But what do you mean risking your life? Aren't you too young for that?"

"I did it with my Pokemon and my ... friends," Ash said.

"But you haven't even had Nucleon and your other Pokemon for more than two months. The boy said.

"I'm not talking about them," Ash said. "I'm talking about the ones I had when I wasn't strong enough to protect myself or the ones I loved."

"What?" The boy said.

"Don't bother asking more," Ash said, turning around. "You won't find out. And if you want her to join us, I'm cool. She seems nice. See you in a bit." Ash said, walking away leaving a boy deep in thought and an utterly confused girl in his wake.

Ash sighed. He had been walking for the past hour, clearly lost in the huge city. He was also starting to regret keeping his team out for so long. Not only, were they all drowsy and tired, but apparently, his team was pretty rare even for this new region. Ash was being gawked at like a martian. Knowing he couldn't do anything about it Ash kept his head straight and kept on walking.

"For the record, this isn't my fault," Ash said to no one in particular. He turned to his team. "It's their fault. Insisting that I train. 'You've been slacking Red,' 'You need to train your team if you want a chance at the tournament.' Sheesh. What do they think we're doing every night?"

"Um... excuse me?" A quiet voice came from behind Ash.

"Yes?" Ash turned, a bit irritated. Before him was a pink-haired girl, that looked about his age.

"You look lost," The girl said.

"Really?" Ash said sarcastically. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

The girl flinched from Ash's harsh words. "Sorry. If you would like I could help you find your friends."

Now it was Ash's turn to flinch. "I don't have any friends."

"Then who were the people you were with when you came to Venesi City?" She asked.

"How do you know whether I came here with people or not. Have you been stalking me?" Ash said, knowing that this girl would probably never think of doing such a thing.

Her face flushed. "No, I just saw you come in."

"And you remembered me of all people?" Ash asked. "Either you have an excellent memory, or..."

"My Espeon seemed to be drawn to you for some reason," She said. "Psychic types have special premonitions so I thought you must be someone special, so I remembered you."

Well, Ash couldn't argue with that. He had been involved in many situations in which the fate of the world had rested on his shoulders. But that didn't mean that he wasn't wary of her.

"So did you argue with someone there or something?" The girl asked.

"They just aren't my friends, because I have none." Ash spat.

She backed up a bit. "Why not?"

"People are selfish. They'd rather save themselves than a friend. I don't need someone like that around me."

"But most people are nicer than that," The girl said.

"If that was true, there wouldn't be any poor people and the world and a lot fewer criminals," Ash said. "There's more than enough food for everyone in the world to be fed, but it isn't like that, because people are selfish. If someone tries to get close to another person, It's always for personal gain."

"But then won't you benefit from the friendship too?" The girl asked. "Battling experience? Anything?"

"If they all jumped me right now, with my Pokemon as tired as they are, I'd still win. Does that answer your question?" Ash asked.

"...Yes," The girl said.

"Then let's go," Ash said.

"What?" She said.

"You said that you'd help me back," Ash said. "So will you, or should I go by myself."

"Oh..." She said. "I'm coming."

Ash started to walk. "I have a question."

"What?" The girl asked.

"I've been a pretty big dick to you," Ash said turning to look at her. "Not that I don't have my reasons, but why are you still following me?"

The girl surprised Ash with a but she quickly replaced it with a genuine smile. "Because I want to find out what your reasons are."

Ash almost smiled. Almost. "Good luck with that."

"Thanks," The girl said. "Let's go."

Ash obliged and followed her forward.

Ash dashed through the dark forest hot in pursuit of a man in a cape. Had to get his energy out before the tournament some way or another. This time it was just a chasing suspicious-looking person had seen loitering around. The nuclear Pokemon logo on the back of his jacket had been a clear giveaway. "This is too easy," he said to the man. "I'm gaining on you and could do this all day. Just give up and give me my info.

"They weren't wrong about you," The man said, hurdling a boulder. "Truly a trainer in the shape of their life, aren't you, Ash Ketchum."

"Ash Ketchum is dead," Ash said leaping over the boulder that the man had just gotten past and sprinting within reach of the man.

"You're quite amusing, I must say. As much as I wish to stay and chat, I should be getting going about now." The man grabbed a box of about 30 Pokeballs and released them all in front of Ash.

Ash leaped back and smirked. 'Perfect practice,' he thought. "That's not very fair, is it?"

The guy laughed maniacally. "All's fair in war and war," he said before resuming his escape.

"That's not what I meant," Ash replied, his five Pokemon appearing beside him. "You should've bought a hundred to at least get in a scratch."

Ash broke into a sprint through the wave of enemy Pokemon in pursuit of his target as his Pokemon started their rampage. Ash quickly turned to get a glimpse at how his team was faring. As if in slow motion, he watched as his Syrendide froze five enemies solid in a flash. She was probably one of the least of Ash's worries, but it was nice to see her in good shape. Ash then turned to see his Fallengel slashing through foes with ease. After a short delay, flames began to burst from his victims. Ash smiled and turned to the next member of his team. His Voltasu flew threw a group of enemies shooting a discharge to anyone that was in range. Ash turned to his Navighast, the newest member of his team, and was pleased to see him sneaking up to enemies through the shadows, and finishing them with an assortment of Shadow Claws, Leaf Blades, Bone Rushes, and Hammer Arms channeled through his sword before they even noticed. 'If it comes to it, I could always become a hitman,' Ash thought. Ash turned to his final Pokemon. Nucleon didn't even look a bit fazed. She strutted through the crowd of Pokemon, blasting any Pokemon within a ten-foot radius with a powered-up Hyper Voice Ash stopped and smiled at the ongoing destruction. His current team hed reached the had almost reached the level of his old team in just under half a year. 'If only I trained this hard before I had to learn my lesson. Probably could've won more leagues too.'

A weak Hyper Voice collided with him, bringing him out of his thoughts. Ash shot a 'what gives?' look to his Nucleon. The feline tilted its head toward the escaping man. "Shit, thanks," Ash said as he dashed off after the man, his Nucleon covering his pursuit.

Apparently the man did have more than a hundred Pokemon. Any time Ash got within ten feet of him he threw out a new batch of Pokemon that bought him another ten feet or so. But luckily he seemed to have run out of Pokemon as Ash was about seven feet behind him. A few more steps and he could tackle him with a leap.

Ash's eyes shifted in front of him to see a fast-approaching cliff. "What?" Ash thought aloud. 'Why would he run himself into a dead-end... unless...'

Ash squinted to see an attack chopper flying dangerously close to him. A ladder was thrown out the helicopter which the man Ash was chasing jumped onto. He knew he was screwed the moment the guns trained on him. "Shit," was the only word Ash got out before the guns started blaring.

Ash dashed toward the cliff like a madman and leaped at the ladder. It wasn't like that was the stupidest thing he'd ever done, but Ash had to admit it was close. But it was a makeable jump. Difficult? Definitely. Impossible? No. And it looked like Ash was going to make it. For a second, there was even a grin on his face. But then, everything went wrong. Everything always did. As Ash reached out an arm to grab the rope ladder, a freak gust of wind pushed Ash out of the reach of the ladder.

Ash couldn't help but smile as he fell. Enjoy what were probably the last moments of his life. The night sky was beautiful. Surprisingly, there were many stars out. The forest looked quite serene with the moon and starlight falling on top of it. Ash paused. The forest wasn't getting any further. Ash looked down to see his body surrounded by an ethereal pink glow surrounding his body. Ash looked towards where he had leaped from to see his team and a pink-haired girl with an Espeon standing there.

Never since the fateful incident that had occurred over nine months ago had Ash been as elated to see one of his traveling companions (though Ash would never admit it).

"You're lucky you're loud," The pink-haired girl scolded. "If I hadn't found you when I did, you'd be dead."

"Yeah," Ash said. "Thanks." He turned to his team. "Let's finish this. Syrentide, give me a boost. Voltasu, ready up your strongest Thunder."

Ash smirked. He'd practiced this technique countless times. It was optimized for maximum badassery. His Syrentide shot a waterfall at Ash, which he rode to the end, effectively launching him back up toward the attack chopper. Ash held out his fist which his Voltasu shocked with a strong Thunder. After the attack ended, Ash's fist was glowing a metallic shade of gold. 'Pikachu would be proud,' Ash thought, smiling.

Ash gave a large yell before crashing his fist into the helicopter. "Thunder Armor!"

Ash flew through the helicopter, cutting through it with ease. After a second, a flash and then explosion sent Ash flying higher into the air. This was the feeling he was missing. The rush of actually having fun with his Pokemon. Ash had been so focused on training them, that he didn't let them have fun and relax once in a while. It felt like Ash hadn't let the old Ash out in the longest time. And it wasn't like he was all bad. Ash smiled as he touched the ground and broke his fall with a roll.

Ash looked up to see the pink-haired girl looking at him, passively. Ash couldn't tell what she was thinking. He just braced himself for the worst.

After a second, the girl loosened and sighed. "You owe me."

"Yeah. Thanks. Without you, I'd... well... I wouldn't have been able to have this lovely chat with you." Ash said.

"That's an understatement," The girl replied. "So, would you consider me your friend now?"

It was hard to focus on how much the girl had changed from the shy girl he had met a few months earlier when Ash had an even bigger inner monologue to get through. A year ago, Ash would have been friends with the girl on sight, but now he didn't know what to do anymore. His companions seemed like they would be good friends - not unlike his old traveling companions. But the other side of the remembered what happened a year ago then what was happening now. Friends had gotten Delia Ketchum killed. Friends had gotten his mother killed. He had never wanted the old Ash to surface. But it seemed like he couldn't help it.

"Don't push your luck," Ash said dismissively, but a hint of a smile played at his lips.

"Worth a try," The girl said. She held a finger out. "I'm assuming you need something from him."

"Yeah," Ash said with a smirk. "Navighast." He called. The spectral pirate appeared at his side and the pair walked up to the man laying on the ground.

"You gave me a lot of trouble, you know?" Ash said, his voice emotionless.

"Well I'm glad I gave you an exciting chase," The man said. "But I'm still disappointed that I didn't get to see you fall to your death. All thanks to your stupid friend."

Ash carried on unfazed. He knew that the guy was trying to get under his skin and was not about to let that happen. "So either you talk, or Navighast cuts your soul out with his blade."

"My, threatening to kill me at thirteen, must have had a harsh childhood. I'll comply. What do you want to know?" The man said.

"Where is the next nuclear Pokemon outbreak going to occur?" Ash interrogated.

"At Legen Town's Championship Site," The man said, before laughing with a maniacal grin. "Everyone will be there for the biannual tournament tomorrow so everyone will be killed."

"Legen Town was specifically built to deal with nuclear Pokemon and fallout," Ash said.

"But we will release our ace there. Not even Arceus could beat it. You think some lousy steel could beat it?" The guy asked.

"Who sent you?" Ash asked. "Why are you doing this?"

"Sadly, that's the one question I'm not allowed to answer," The man said, before leaning in. "Especially not to you, Ash Ketchum." He whispered so only Ash could hear that.

For the first time during the interrogation, emotion leaked onto Ash's face. Ash quickly regained his composure, but he was freaking out internally. This was someone who knew or heard about Ash before he had come to Tandor. Probably someone with a vendetta against him. The traitors? No. they thought he was dead. The evil teams? Maybe but how would they know. Unless the trio had managed to somehow follow Ash to another region. But Pikachu was still with Professor Oak. Or at least, Ash hoped. God forsake that Pikachu had ended up with one of the traitors. A pan of guilt hit Ash as he thought about his oldest and most faithful companion, but Ash ushered it away to complete his interrogation. Ash looked down to see that the man that he had found was passed out. Ash put a hand to his head and felt the man's blood run cold. Ash looked at him to see that his pupils had enlarged, before becoming glossy. 'Probably poisoned himself to escape torture,' Ash thought.

The pink-haired girl walked up to him. "What happened, Red?" She asked. "What did he say?"

Ash looked up and met her eyes. It was disguised well, but Ash was scared. "Something big is about to happen," He said. "And if it's as bad as I think it is, we're in big trouble."

"By we you mean..."

"Tandor," Ash said. "All of Tandor is in danger as we speak."

"Look out!"

Ash felt himself being roughly shoved to the side. Ash looked to see his Nucleon putting down a feral looking sheep where he had been standing. Ash looked up to see his pretty brunette companion holding out a hand to him. Ash gratefully accepted it and stood up, brushing himself off.

"Honestly, you have to be more careful," The girl chided. "Especially now."

"Yeah," Ash said. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," The girl said. "It's what friends do."

"Friends," Ash muttered. The past two days had been more emotionally taxing than physically taxing for him. And that word had been the center of that tax.

"Duh," The girl said. "That's what we are," she said poking his forehead with a finger, breaking him out of his trance. "Now, come on. We're really close to it."

Ash shook off his thoughts and followed the girl dashing deeper into the hallway.

A few minutes the pair and Ash's Nucleon stopped in front of a pair of huge doors.

"This is it," The girl said. "The championship site. Who do you have that can still fight?"

"Fallengel and Nucleon," Ash said.

"Crap. I only have Oblivicorn," The girl said. "Three Pokemon against one rumored to be stronger than Arceus. I like out odds." She remarked sarcastically.

"Yeah." Was all that Ash said.

"Come to think of it, how come you only have five Pokemon?" The girl asked letting out her Oblivicorn.

"I like my team the way it is," Ash replied.

"But a sixth one would be useful and don't tell me you were thinking of entering the tournament with five Pokemon," The girl said.

"... I was ..." Ash let out his Fallengel.

The girl shot Ash a look which Ash ignored.

"Whatever," She said. "Oblivicorn will be the main fighter as she's the most experienced Pokemon we have and Fallengel and Nucleon will back her up."

"No," Ash said.

"What?" The girl asked.

"Nucleon's a Nuclear type," Ash said. "She's the only one that can take a powerful nuclear Pokemon's attacks."

"Okay," The girl said. "Makes sense. Let's do this, Red,"

With a sigh, she pushed the door open.

Ash wasn't scared. He was pretty sure that if he let him out, they could win. The problem was that he couldn't be let out. So Ash had to pray with the team he had. Or should he say, what was left of the team he had. Fighting through hordes of Nuclear Pokemon did that to one's Pokemon. If Ash's Pokemon had been at peak shape it would've been an easy win, but fighting nonstop had gotten his team tired and one by one they started to fall out of commission. The loud roar that came from the room didn't help to reassure Ash about two of his banged-up Pokemon fighting a supposedly insanely strong one. Nevertheless, Ash stepped into the room.

Saying that the Pokemon was large, was an understatement. There was good enough room for two Pokemon to battle on its back comfortably. Well, not comfortably, but there was a lot of space there. Its arms were much larger than the largest of tanks. Probably hit much harder than tanks too. Ash shuddered at the thought, but quickly went back to his observation of the massive Pokemon. It had a weird satellite thing on its head with three blue circles on it. Its six eyes bore into Ash as if they were looking into his soul. Its radiant green and black body cemented it as a Nuclear Pokemon. Luckily, Ash managed to grab a Hazmat suit from a previous nuclear plant, and donning it had prevented him from an immediate death from the nuclear fallout surrounding him. Ash turned his head to look at his brunette companion. She too had a Hazmat suit on but it looked...wrong. Ash couldn't explain it, but something about it seemed faulty. Maybe because she just happened to "find" it conveniently before they had entered the Legen Town, allowing her to come with her to the Championship Site. Maybe because it looked like it was made of trash bags and duct tape. Whatever it was, it didn't help to ease Ash's mind from the behemoth of a Pokemon that stood before him. It would have even given some of his hard hitters such as Charizard and Pikachu some trouble.

But Ash wasn't a wuss in the least. He would've gladly given his life to stop the incoming catastrophe. After all that had happened, he didn't have much to live for anyway. But then he thought of his Pokemon. He thought of his companions, his friends. He thought of Gary and the rest of his friends who hadn't betrayed him. He thought of his mom, who had been murdered in cold blood. He thought of the people whom he had once called 'friends'. He had people to live for. And he had people to get revenge on. For his Mom. For Gary who could have been seriously injured after the attack. And most importantly, for himself. Ash Ketchum wouldn't die yet.

With a fire in his eyes and a newfound purpose in his movement, Ash charged into battle.

The battle was going surprisingly well. The behemoth hadn't managed to land any strong hits on Ash or his team, while they had managed to land many blows on the monstrous being. The problem was that the blows that they landed didn't do much damage, they probably hadn't even managed to take out a third of its health yet. Avoiding all of the Pokemon's attacks also had taken a toll on Ash's Pokemon. His brunette companion's Oblivicorn, having been worn out from the previous hordes of Nuclear Pokemon that they had to face, was low on stamina. Its movements were noticeably sluggish, its attacks weaker than usual. Fallengel was cocky and resilient, not one to show signs of weakness, but Ash could not mistake the looks pain that flashed on its face every once in a while. Nucleon had it the worst. At the forefront of the battle and having to avoid or tank the blows of an extremely strong Pokemon wore her down immensely. Though she wasn't as arrogant as his Fallengel, she was still extremely stubborn, not unlike Ash. Her energy was practically spent but she was still somehow managing to maneuver around attacks.

Ash was thrown back to reality as Nucleon dodged a particularly reckless swing that left it open for a counterattack. Knowing Fallengel was too far away to capitalize on it Ash called out to the only one who could.

"Oblivicorn, hit its left side!" Ash commanded.

A second passed and the Pokemon returned its arm to its side, the counterattack Ash commanded having not happened.

Ash looked back to see why the brunette's Oblivicorn and the answer made him sick to the stomach. Oblivicorn was standing next to the brunette, who was on her hands and knees coughing. Ash was confused for a second before he remembered his previous suspicions. "Fucking trash bag Hazmat suits" Ash muttered, dashing over to the girl.

But the Pokemon was faster. A few steps before he reached her, Ash saw a huge fist flying at her from the corner of his eye. Not giving a second thought, Ash dove in front of the girl and cradled her, shielding her body with his own. Not a second after Ash reached her, a huge fist collided with his back sending his flying through the air, the girl still in his arms. Ash came to a sudden stop as his back collided with a wall, making him involuntarily cough out blood. Head spinning, Ash slid down to the floor, using all of his will power not to pass out. Ash felt a similar pain to the time about year ago, when he had been saved by the girl whom he had just saved.

"Red!" The girl cried before having a coughing fit.

As his head slowly straightened, Ash saw the brunette kneeling over him. Ash tried to form a coherent sentence but found himself unable to. Instead, what came out was: "Why...come...stupid...trash bag."

The girl looked at him, tears starting to form in her eyes. "You're bleeding bad. We need to get out of here. Oblivicorn!"

Ash coughed out a bit more blood as the black unicorn galloped over to them. "Answer...question."

The girl looked at him, eyes wide but relaxed them for a second. "You're my friend. If I let you come here alone, I would have never lived with myself. And," A tint of red appeared on her already red face. "I owe you."

"Me?" Ash asked confused.

"Yeah. I..." The girl started before collapsing into another fit of coughs.

Mustering up the last of his strength, Ash tore off his helmet and jammed it onto the girl's head.

"Ash?" The girl asked. Ash stopped for a second, before looking at the girl. She looked delirious. 'Probably spouting nonsense,' Ash thought, calming himself down. 'But why would she...'

A roar interrupted his confusion. Ash whipped around to see a giant fist flying at him. Ash cursed himself for forgetting about the ongoing battle. Knowing he didn't have enough strength to dodge it yet, Ash closed his eyes, bracing himself for the worst. It didn't come. Ash opened his eyes to see Fallengel struggling to hold the fist back. Ash's eyes widened. He quickly stood up, ignoring the blood and pain, and picked the girl up, carrying her out of harm's way. It took almost all of his energy, but he managed to push the girl onto her Oblivicorn.

Ash flipped his head around. His eyes were immediately filled with a bright white light which, along with the blows and blood loss disoriented him enough to make him fall. After a few seconds, Ash managed to regain his bearing and opened his eyes. The gargantuan's fist was right in front of a wall.

Ash felt his blood run cold. His Fallengel was about to be crushed. Ash struggled to his feet but immediately dropped back to the ground coughing up some more blood. Everything was going wrong and it was about to culminate in his Pokemon getting hurt. Ash couldn't allow that. He had to do something. He had to...stop?

Ash looked at the fist in confusion. It had stopped right before the wall. It didn't budge for a second until it started moving... backward. Ash's worried gaze immediately shifted into one of elation when he saw a bigger, more powerful-looking Fallengel pushing the fist back with all its might.

"Son of a gun did it," Ash muttered with a smile of relief. 'Beliaddon,' He thought.

Beliaddon continued to push the fist backward until, with a roar, he kicked its fist, sending it flying back. Immediately Beliaddon sunk to its knees.

'Shit,' Ash thought, pulling out a Pokeball. "Return," he commanded.

His Beliaddon slowly rose to his feet and lept out of the way of the beam. Immediately after, he let out a cry of pain and fell to the floor.

Ash grimaced. "Beliaddon, I know you still want to fight, but you're done for. You've already saved my life today. Take a rest." Ash said, pressing the button on the Pokeball.

Beliaddon didn't dodge the beam this time. Ash doubted he could. Ash turned around and grabbed another three Pokeballs off his belt and then handed them to the girl.

"Ash..." The girl muttered.

"Take them and get out of here," Ash said. "Find the others and get yourself to a hospital. You'll live. Got that Oblivicorn?" Ash asked the dark unicorn.

Oblivicorn met his eyes and a look of understanding passed between them. Ash turned to walk away but found something gripping his hand. Ash turned to see the girl grabbing him.

"Ash don't leave," She said deliriously.

Ash smiled. "I still have some stuff to take care of after this crisis has been averted. I'll never leave until I'm done with that stuff."

"But then you'll leave afterword?" The girl asked. "Please don't leave ever."

Ash smiled. "I'll always come back to you then." Ash shook his head. The multiple blows he had suffered from the battle must have been making him delirious too as he had no idea where that came from. Nevertheless, he kept smiling at the girl.

As the girl looked into his eyes, slowly let go of his hand and the unicorn galloped away, Nucleon stalked up to him, and with a nod, they turned to face the giant Pokemon.

Ash was aware of the fact that he was probably bleeding out at the current moment and yet, for some reason, didn't feel it. As Ash pulled out his last Pokeball, He just felt pure adrenaline rushing through his veins.

"Let's dance," Ash said with a feral grin, tossing his final Pokemon onto the field.

Gary Oak struggled to open his eyes. He was laying in a bed of some kind. A bright white light was seemingly coming from above his head. "Hell is surprisingly bright," He remarked.

"I don't know about that, but Alola is quite bright." A familiar voice rang.

Gary sat up and his eyes flew open. "Samson?"

"Welcome back to Alola, Gary," Samson Oak said.

In front of Gary stood a man that looked like a darker-skinned Samuel Oak.

"Though this wasn't how I had imagined meeting up with you again," Samson continued.

Gary paused for a second. Why was he in Alola ag...

The memories flooded through his mind.

"Ash!" Gary exclaimed. "What happened to Ash and Mrs. Ketchum?!"

Samson looked at Gary.

"Ash's friends came and betrayed them and then Tobias came and planted a bomb and..." Gary started.

"So you didn't kill them?" Samson thought.

"No!" Gary said. "What made you think that?"

"I didn't," Samson said. "That is what the witnesses said."

"Those damn traitors," Gary said. "They framed me. I'm going to find them after I find Ash and they'll be dead!"

"Chill a bit and calm down," Samson said. "You can't do that for two reasons. One, you are technically a fugitive wanted for murder. Your grandfather bought you here while you were out to hide you. And two, you won't be able to find Ash anymore. So why don't we grab some Malasadas and.."

"What do you mean I 'won't be able to find Ash'?" Gary said in a cold tone.

"I'm sorry Gary. Ash is no more," Samson said.

The room went silent. The sun ducked behind a cloud, making the room dark.

Samson started nervously sweating. "Gary just take a minute to calm down and we'll get some Malasadas."

"No," Gary said.

"Okay," Samson said nervously.

"Ash's Alolan friends are here, right?" Gary said monotonously.

"Yes," Samson said. "Why?"

"I'll need some allies to murder all of Ash's past 'friends'," Gary said. "They'll be a good place to start.'

"Okay," Samson said, his eyes slowly gaining a certain determination in them.

"Tobias," Gary said. "Wherever you are, I'll watch the life drain out of your eyes just as you did to Ash and Mrs. Ketchum. That's not a threat. It's a promise."

"Well said, Gary," Samson said. "I'm sure your grandfather will also support you however he can from Kanto."

"By the way," Gary said. How long have I been out?"

"A year."

"A YEAR?!"

Important AN:

Hello everyone and welcome to Pokemon: The Champions Revenge. This story will take place in the Tandor region of the fangame of Pokemon Uranium. If you haven't played it yet, definitely do. Its literally as good as the mainline games, if not better and free. Any questions about the Tandor region or its Pokemon can probably be answered by the Pokemon Uranium wiki (or leave a review and I'll answer it).

This story will not be a solely betrayal story. The betrayal will only be a minor part of the story and will tie into the rest of the story. Spoiler alert: some of the traitors have reasons for what they've done as that's what I didn't like about other's I've read: everyone just turns on him for no reason.

The ocs also have names but I didn't feel like revealing them in the prologue so you'll have to wait for Chapter 1 for them. This did bite me in the back as I forgot one of the ocs names and still am trying to remember it lol.

I am currently working on two other stories and have a very busy life so I'll probably update this story every 1 to 3 months with 8 to 10k long chapters so if you like this story so far, consider following as it is free and you will be notified whenever I manage to finish a chapter. Its past midnight and I'm pretty tired so I won't be able to cover everything I need to in this an so please review for any questions, comments, or just to make my day better (reviews really make me happy :)). Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read my story and I'll see you guys next time. Thanks so much! - Atomic Rush