Sorry for my lack of content. I posted my last story, then ran full speed into Worm. Which led me kicking and screaming to Spacebattles and Sufficient Velocity. Finally fought my way out and managed to get this finished off. I'll try to stick around better, but no promises. I like the Worm fandom at SB significantly more than any fandom over here on FF.

Welcome to my story. Post-Kalos. AU. A completely different take on Alola. More Ultra than not. Also, expect more game inspiration than Anime, as the anime has a tendency to make things a little too kid-friendly for my tastes.

This first chapter is fairly drabbley, that is only for this chapter and is to setup the world and explore some of what I'm setting up. Future chapters will be Ash-centric.

For (fairly useless) reference, Japan is 19 hours ahead of Hawaii. Or five hours ago tomorrow.

I'm going to play with some people's ages. Get over it.

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Laying back on his rough cot, Ash let his exhaustion wash through him. The past six months had been a downward spiral of misery until it finally reached its inevitable conclusion a week prior.

Sitting behind the defendants table, he could only listen in despair as the judge sentenced him.

"Ash Ketchum," came the iron voice, "you have been found guilty of 23 counts of conspiracy, three counts of domestic terrorism, 12 counts of international terrorism, and seven counts of attempt to instigate conflict with a Legendary pokémon. While your youth protects you from the harshest of penalties, you are hereby sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole."

Utterly drained from half a year of investigation and trial, the soothing waves rocking the boat helped his mind to relax. He'd always known chaos seemed to follow him. Barely able to go a week without finding some form of trouble, he'd always done what he thought was right in trying to solve the conflicts. Helping people, pokémon, towns, cities, regions, legends, whatever might be being put at risk. While he knew it was unusual to run into so much chaos, he'd not given it much thought beyond that. Apparently to his own detriment.

The prosecution's argument was simple: once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times forms a pattern. And there'd been hundreds of incidents. Clearly there must be a conspiracy of some kind, no other explanation could fit. Throw in the scale of some of the incidents and his inability to win any league tournament, and, well…

"Ladies and gentleman of the jury, time after time we have been led to believe that this criminal was capable of solving conflicts in which legendary beings were threatening all of our lives, and yet whenever he had a chance to show that strength to the world, he struggled to simply progress through a league tournament and never won a single one. Combine that with the number of incidents – both major and minor – he just happened to solve and it should be clear: Ash Ketchum has conspired repeatedly against every town in every region he has visited in order to make himself famous, make himself loved, at the expense of the rest of us. He has broken laws, violated trusts, even endangered the world through his antagonization of the legends. You've been shown the financial transactions, the transcripts of secret meetings, and heard the eye-witness testimony. There is no longer a question of guilt… "

Rolling over, he let out a bitter snort, evidence, ha. Still, knowing it was false didn't mean he was able to refute it. Whatever was really going on, the case had been ironclad. The verdict never in question. The only thing saving him from a traitors death was his age. No matter how much it had been pushed for, the Pokémon League didn't execute minors, no matter the offense. They did, however, ship them across the world to the maximum security desert hellhole prison in Orre.

With nothing but misery to look forward to for the rest of his life, Ash tried to get one last relaxing sleep, rocked to sleep by the ocean.

\ [] / \ [] /

"What will become of my son's pokémon?"

Professor Oak looked in sorrow at the distraught visage of Delia Ketchum. The trial and conviction of her son had not been kind to her. Wrinkles and gray hairs were beginning to become noticeable and she was clearly not sleeping well. Still, while there was nothing she could do anymore for Ash, she'd turned her efforts elsewhere.

He sighed, "I don't know. With the terrorism convictions and the known strength of bond between him and his pokémon, the League is pushing for euthanasia. Put them down before they do any more harm to the world."

Delia's expression turned ugly and the professor quickly pushed on, "I know they're bogus. I know Ash did nothing wrong, but that doesn't change the current situation."

Relaxing her clenched fists and taking a deep breath, Delia spoke, "No. Ash loved his pokémon more than anything. I might not have been able to help him during his trial, but I will not let his friends die for the sake of this witch hunt."

"I know, still…," shaking his head the professor continued, "That's a lot easier said than done. However, I also agree with you: I won't let them be killed. I've known this was coming ever since it became clear how the trial was going to end and I've spent that time planning. My only real worry is Pikachu, but here's what I have so fa-"

Professor Oak broke off as an emergency alert went off. Checking his computer, he paled before grabbing a remote and turning on a TV in the room.

Startled at the sudden action, Delia could only blink as the TV started up, before falling to the ground in agony as she heard the reporter.

"That's right, the league transport ship carrying the notorious criminal Ash Ketchum ran afoul a school of Gyarados and was lost with all hands. League personnel have managed to recover two bodies and their psychic pokémon confirm no survivors-"

\ [] / \ [] /

In a luxurious office, a well dressed middle aged man inhaled on his cigar as he looked at the younger man standing across from him, "Report."

The guest straightened, "Mega-Charizard's blast burn destroyed the ship. The forced evolution device created a massive school of enraged Gyarados who proceeded to destroy the remains. Alakazam confirmed it. No survivors. Problem solved."

Giovanni reached down and scratched his Persian's head with a darkly satisfied smirk, "And with the political upheaval we engineered through the trial, the League is ours." Leaning back in his chair, he took a few seconds to savor his victory before looking back at the man across from him. "Good work, Archer. With the split of the Indigo League into Silver and Quartz, Kanto needs a Champion. Congratulations on your promotion."

\ [] / \ [] /

On Poni island, an old lady awoke with a feeling of purpose. As she got up, she let out a sigh and shook her head, "Oh, very well."

As she left her house she called out, "Come on Machamp, the Tapu needs something and we don't have a new Kahuna yet."

Arriving in the early afternoon, she made her way into the depths of the shrine, only to pause at what she found in the back chamber. A person. Unconscious and terribly injured. The body seemed to be severely burned in multiple locations and there appeared to be several major lacerations and gashes.

And, floating above the body, was the reason the person was also still breathing. With a black body, purple shoulders, light blue hair, and inside an ornately decorated purple shell, Tapu Fini released a final heal pulse before disappearing in a swirl of pink mist, leaving behind the person and a Sparkling Stone.

The old lady quickly rushed to the persons side and assessed the situation. Male, probably a teenager, and somehow miraculously alive. Turning to her companion, she called out, "Grab him Machamp and lets hurry back home. He might not be about to die, but he is still going to take a lot of healing."

Grabbing the Sparkling Stone, she helped position the boy comfortably in Machamp's arms before heading back to her home.

\ [] / \ [] /

Samson Oak had been having a fairly relaxing day, taking a break from his research to just enjoy the tropical lands when he'd received a call from an old friend of his. Looking through the vid screen, he briefly frowned at the stressed face of his caller before giving a smile, "Alola! What's going on?"

On the other end, his friend gave a small smile of her own before regaining her more serious look, "Alola Samson. Sorry for calling you out of the blue but Tapu Fini called me for something and now I have an injured person to take care of. The Tapu healed everything life threatening, but I still don't have the right supplies to take care of this. I was hoping you could get what I need and bring it here."

"Of course I can," he said with a decisive nod. "What do you need and do you know who it is?"

Giving a thoughtful hum, she moved the camera so it showed the boy on a bed, covered in bandages. "I don't know who he is, but he's covered in burns and has some fairly major cuts. I need more bandages, burn ointment, and sterile thread."

Samson barely heard her as he recognized the boy. Injured, unconscious, and covered in bandages, Samson still recognized the boy his cousin had bragged to him about repeatedly over the past six plus years. All that was missing was the Pikachu.

"Noelani," at the seriousness of his tone, she looked up with a frown. "you said Tapu Fini healed him and called for you to take care of him?" At her nod he frowned, "I see. In that case, make sure you don't mention him to anyone else. That's Ash Ketchum." At her startled look he shook his head, "Samuel always assured me he was innocent, that the trial was a sham. If the Tapu saved him, that's just further confirmation. I'll be there by dinner."

\ [] / \ [] /

Pikachu was just finishing lunch after his morning anger release when he overheard the professor having an interesting conversation. Sneaking into his private office, he saw the vid screen the professor was talking through and froze.

Asleep and injured.

And alive.

"Chu!"

Mind whirling, he came to a decision. The time had come. The pack needed him to step up, to defend, to protect. To lead.

To be more than Pikachu.

Turning tail and running to his destination only reinforced his choice. The past six months had been a cavalcade of weakness. A never-ending reminder that he hadn't been strong enough. In power, body, and mind. He'd failed and thought the pack was finished.

But it wasn't.

By some miracle a second chance had been given. And he'd be damned before he failed again. Reaching his destination, he opened the cabinet, took a deep breath, and reached forward.

As the blinding white glow overtook him, he made a vow. His friends. His family. He'd never fail them again.

\ [] / \ [] /

When big bro had been betrayed by the world, he'd taken his wrath out on training. As a dragon, he'd always been powerful, but fueled by his anger he'd grown devastating. Upon learning of big bro's death, the fury had caused him to evolve on the spot and he'd taken to pitting himself against Pikachu day in and out, as the boss was the only one who could handle his power. It helped that he was the only one who could truly survive boss's anger as well.

Five days in, he was growing accustomed to the new normal when things changed again. Boss came out after his lunch, less angry and more focused. And evolved. Before making a beeline for the professor's Charizard.

Frowning, he made his way over as quickly as he could to hear an argument. Butting in, he found himself being electrocuted. Good thing it didn't effect him.

Before things could escalate any further, the professor made his way outside and quickly took in the situation. Looking at boss he spoke up, "You're trying to reach Alola?"

Boss nodded and Oak continued, "And you evolved."

When boss nodded again the professor seemed to lose himself in thought for a few moments before glancing at the scene once more and speaking up. "Good idea, but I've got a better one. Put Gabite in his ball and take my Charizard to the Charicific Valley. Find your Charizard and have him fly the three of you to Poni island in Alola. My cousin will find you outside the Seafolk Village and take you to Ash."

Gabite startled, "Bite!?"

With a smile the professor continued, "Yes, Ash is still alive. However, you three are the only of his pokémon that can join him." At boss's growl he continued, "The more of you that leave, the more suspicious the League will be. If they suspect Ash is alive, they'll just hunt him down. However, if his survival can remain a secret, he can find a way to prove his innocence and bring down whoever framed him."

Boss nodded.

Gabite nodded.

Five minutes later they were on their way to Johto.

\ [] / \ [] /

Life in the Valley had been great. His trainer, his friend, had rescued him from death and helped him grow strong. They'd had a falling out and a coming together. He'd been forgiven his obstinance and grown stronger for it. But when they'd passed the Valley, he'd known. He wanted – needed – to be the strongest, but his friend was still too busy enjoying his travels to truly push himself to that level. So they'd parted as friends with the promise to always help each other if needed and with the knowledge that one day, when he was ready to do more than travel, he'd call Charizard back and they'd take on the world together and prove their strength.

While he'd conquered the Valley, his friend had been betrayed and killed. Or so he'd thought. When Pikachu had arrived as a Raichu and announced his presence with a thunderbolt that grounded the dozen Charizard that had tried to challenge him, he'd known something was up.

Arriving outside the floating village, he was quickly met by a man who was clearly the professor's cousin they were supposed to meet. Upon acknowledging them, he climbed on Charizard's back and led them inland at high speed to a lone house at the entrance to a massive canyon. Raichu and Gabite immediately made their way inside to Ash. Charizard, knowing he wouldn't fit, found the window to Ash's room, acknowledged his friends survival, and set himself.

He'd conquered the valley. Now, with his friends, they'd conquer the world.

\ [] / \ [] /

Ariana of the Elite Four called Professor Oak. When he picked up, she gave him an apologetic smile, "Hello Professor. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's been decided that Ash's Pikachu needs to be put down."

The professor nodded, "I see. I was afraid it would come to that. However, it seems you're too late. Pikachu died in his sleep just last night."

Ariana blinked and tilted her head, "Really? Isn't that, I don't know, unusual?"

Oak shook his head, "Not really. For most trainers, their strongest bond is to their starter, but that bond goes both ways. While not tremendously common, it's not particularly rare either for a starter pokémon to die shortly after their trainer. In this case, it probably wasn't helped by Pikachu's age."

"Age?" Ariana asked. "Was Pikachu really that old?"

He answered with a shrug, "Hard to say. He wasn't young, but Pikachu don't typically show their age until they're nearly thirty. In the wild, they might live to see 35. A trainer's Pikachu could conceivably see 45. With his sudden death, I suspect he must have at least been in his twenties when Ash began his journey, helping to explain the poor relationship they started with. With Ash's death, his depression combined with his advancing age simply caused him to sleep forever."

"I see." With a frown she continued, "Very well then, I suppose that settles that issue. Do you have anything else to report?"

"Yes," Oak said with a sigh. "Ash's Gible ran away." Seeing Ariana's frown deepen, he continued, "Not too surprising really, he only had Gible for a couple months before leaving him at the ranch. The lack of time combined with Gible's draconic nature led to him simply not really caring too deeply for Ash and now with him dead, Gible probably just decided to move on with his life elsewhere."

\ [] / \ [] /

As the plane took off, Selene looked down with a sneer, "Good riddance."

From beside her, her mother let out a sigh, "Don't worry, you never have to come back here and the League can't hurt us any more."

With a frown, Selene sat back and closed her eyes, but all she saw was destruction.

Standing on the moving walkway, she was the happiest she'd ever been. Ten years old and on an awesome vacation to Larousse City with her parents. With her mom on her left and dad on the right, she was looking forward to a week of fun and excitement.

Squeezing her fathers hand, she jumped and pointed, "Look! The sky is lighting up!"

Clenching her hands into fists, she squeezed her eyes tighter. Dad was dead. He was never coming back. And her greatest regret is that she once thought Ash Ketchum was a hero for stopping the catastrophe before her mother died as well.

Instead it turns out he was simply a terrorist, sponsored by influential members of the League to further their own agendas. He'd not saved anyone, only killed them.

Seeing her daughter's distress, the mother spoke up, "Don't worry. Alola isn't affiliated with the League and the terrorist is dead. We'll make a new start and find our happiness again."

\ [] / \ [] /

Gladion patted Type: Null on the shoulder, "Good work."

In front of them, the last of their opponents recalled his fainted pokémon. Working for Team Skull wasn't glamorous, but it kept him off Aether's radar and allowed him to grow stronger and search for a way to free Null from his helmet.

"Hey," sneered a voice from behind him, "don't think that you're a real Team Skull member just because you won a fight or two. You're still just the hired help."

Not bothering to hold in a sneer of his own, Gladion began walking off, "Tch, who'd want to join your joke of a group. I only bother to bail you out because your boss pays well. Anyways, you should probably scurry off before reinforcements show up. I've done my job, don't expect me to save you again."

Once he'd made it out of sight, he clenched his fist, "Damn, still too weak." Turning to his partner, he led the way further into the forest, "Come on, we still have a lot of work to do in order to stop mother and free you."

Pushing forward, he paused when he heard a weak cry of distress, "Zor…"

\ [] / \ [] /

Waking to an explosion was becoming a distressingly familiar event. With a groan, Lillie crawled out of her bed and got ready for the day. Descending from the loft, she saw Professor Kukui bandaging a cut on his arm. Looking around, she saw glass fragments on the ground and a broken window.

Giving the professor a look she deadpanned, "Really? Again?"

He chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry for waking you." At her continued look he rubbed the back of his neck, "Again." When Lillie only rolled her eyes, he grinned, "There's just so much more to learn! I think I'm on the verge of a breakthrough on the difference between a bite and a crunch! I just need to do some more research, run a few more experiments!"

Shaking her head, Lillie couldn't quite hide her smile, "Still, Professor, how long until I can visit the shrines and ruins around the region? You know Nebby's getting impatient."

Kukui paused for a moment before answering, "Lillie, I've told you before, the Totem's and Tapu don't allow just anyone to enter their domains. You need to earn their respect. Plus, with all the wild pokémon it becomes rather dangerous. Since you don't like battling and don't want to become a trainer, I figured I'd have you join up with one of the people starting their island challenge in a few weeks, that would take you to all the various shrines around the region and allow you to explore them to yours and Nebby's hearts' content. Just be patient for a little longer."

\ [] / \ [] /

Hapu looked at the sleeping figure in her house before turning to face her companion, "Grandma, he's looking better, but how much longer do you think he'll be out for?"

Noelani considered that for a moment. She'd brought Ash here nearly two months prior. He'd healed considerably and even woken on occasion, but he'd yet to regain coherence or lucidity, simply waking up for a moment before passing out again. Then again, he'd been in the heart of an exploding ship, his mere survival was a miracle. "I suspect he'll wake up for good any time now. The Tapu ensured his survival, treating the life threatening injuries, but he still took a lot of damage. I suspect, though, his healing is almost complete. The real challenge will be his mental state."

"Don't worry about that," Hapu stated. "You've seen how much his pokémon care for him. They won't let him break. And we'll help as well."

Reaching over to pet the sleeping Raichu, she smiled as it let out a sleepy "Cha…"

As if responding to a familiar cue, the person in the bed began waking up.

\ [] / \ [] /

Lethargic.

That's what he felt. Lethargic, and surprisingly well rested. Clearly his sleep on the transport ship had gone better than he'd expected.

Except, wait… Was that Pikachu?

Blinking his eyes, he saw his surroundings were blurry. Trying to rub his eyes failed as well, since his arms didn't seem to want to move. Frowning, he tried stretching his body only to feel he was completely stiff and his muscles didn't seem to want to work.

And hadn't he fallen alseep on top of the cot? Why was he under blankets? And why was his bed so much softer? And-

His eyes shot open as his entire body jerked. The explosion!

He'd been trying to sleep when the whole ship shook and seemed to explode. Fire had surrounded and consumed him before he was hit by what felt like flying shrapnel and his burnt and broken body was deposited in the ocean. That had hurt. The pain had fully woken him, in time to see a Gyarados facing him with a malevolent golden orb forming in its mouth.

And then nothing.

Managing to gain some semblance of control over his arms, he was finally able to rub his eyes and take in his surroundings. A homely feeling room with colors of brown and purple, a little girl standing by his bed, a Gabite staring intently at him from beside her and a Raichu on the bed. In fact, a closer look at the Raichu left him equal parts confused and stunned. Trying to voice his thoughts, his voice cracked horribly and no real sound came out.

Luckily, right after that an old lady entered the room with a glass of water and handed it to him, "Here, this should help your throat. When I saw you waking I figured you need it."

Taking it carefully with his incredibly weak arms, he gratefully drained it. Gaining some equilibrium, he tried voicing his thoughts again, "Pikachu?"

On his bed, the orange rodent simply grinned and rubbed its head against his stomach, "Chu…"

With a gobsmacked look, he went back to his inspection, "Gible…?" Receiving a nod, he finally noticed the open window and the large orange head trying to stick its way through. "...And Charizard?"

Looking back at the two other humans in the room, he shook his head, "Who are… how… what…?"

Taking pity on him, Noelani spoke up, "I'm Noelani and this is my granddaughter Hapu. After your ship was destroyed, you were rescued by this island's guardian deity Tapu Fini. Upon healing your most severe wounds, the Tapu called for me to finish healing you. You've spent the past two months recovering here. As you've already noticed, the two months of inactivity have caused your muscles to atrophy a bit. As for the location, this is Poni Island in the region of Alola. We aren't members of the Pokémon League and our Tapu's trust in you is all the validation of your character we need. Of course, it also helps that a good friend of mine is named Samson Oak, a cousin to your Samuel Oak, and they have vouched for you as well."

Feeling some of the tension leave his body, Ash allowed himself to relax back into the pillows on the bed. "I see, and that's how my pokémon got here. What about the rest of them though? And my mother?"

Noelani shook her head, "I'm not as caught up on that situation. From what I understand, the political situation back in Kanto and with the rest of the Pokémon League makes it hard to get any more of your pokémon here. When Samson shows up tomorrow he'll be able to answer those questions better. I also don't know too much about your mother. From what I understand, she's been spending her time protecting and caring for the rest of your pokémon back at the ranch in Pallet Town."

\ [] / \ [] /

With a face of stone, Brock threw his pack on his back and made his way to the exit. Opening the door, he began stepping out only to pause at a sound from behind him. Turning his head he saw his father and sighed, "What do you want?"

The old man shrugged, "It's three in the morning and I heard noise from downstairs, figured I should make sure it wasn't intruders." At Brock's flinch, he just shrugged again, "You leaving? Like this?"

Turning fully, Brock nodded, "Yeah. I lied. Ensured my best friend was sent to prison for crimes he didn't commit. My career is over before it could begin. My name is synonymous with betrayal. With greed. With cowardice. But my family is safe. And it will be safer when I'm no longer here."

"I see," Flint gave a brief frown as he contemplated his son's words. "Leaving your family out of some sense of guilt in some misguided attempt at making things right. You really are my son."

Hiding his grimace by turning back around, Brock walked out the door, "That trial was only going to end one way, I simply did what I had to in order to protect what I could. Now with no career prospects, no friends, a family that won't even look at me, and a dead best friend, I'm doing the only thing I can. I don't want forgiveness and I don't want revenge. I simply want to carry on Ash's legacy and make the world a better place. Even if the world hates me for it."

\ [] / \ [] /

Misty didn't smile as the last challenger of the day fled her Gym. Pursing her lips, she glanced at her pokémon, "Still not enough. We still have a ways to go."

Leaving the battle area, she was surprised to run into Daisy, "That was a pretty brutal battle Misty."

"So what?" Misty snapped, "He wasn't good enough to earn a badge, that's all that matters."

"Uh huh," Daisy rolled her eyes. "Pull the other one." Seeing her sister glare at her, Daisy just waved her hand, "Oooh, so scary. What are you going to do? Send me to prison?" At Misty's flinch, Daisy sighed, "Sorry, that was cruel. Still, no one's ever accused me of being a genius and I still find it blindingly obvious that something is bothering you. We might not always get along, but we are family. So what's up?"

Taking a moment to gather her composure, Misty ordered her thoughts. Opening her eyes and unclenching her fists, she looked to her oldest sister, "I've always dreamt of being a master of water pokémon. The best in the world. Except there's always been something missing, some indefinable barrier preventing me from progressing. I've traveled all over the world and seen trainers younger than me accomplish more and it only frustrates me more."

Sitting at a bench in the hallway, she turned her head to look out a window, "And then at the height of my frustrations, Ash's trial happened. It took me all of three days to realize what was going on and just how wrong it was. I tried to find some way to stop it, but just like with pokémon, I simply wasn't good enough. And so I was the first to turn. I sung their tune, danced on their strings, and helped ensure Ash went down burning.

"Because I'm not stupid. I didn't even need to look to know who's behind this travesty. And Team Rocket would hurt far more than Ash if I didn't play ball."

Turning to face Daisy, Misty gave a bitter, twisted smile, "And now I'm trapped. But that's okay. I might be trapped, but I only retained my position of Gym Leader because Team Rocket believes I turned against Ash for real. So I'm following the only path open to me: Gym Leader to Elite Four. Work from inside to uncover the truth. Ash might be dead, but I'll ensure his memory sees justice.

"Or I'll die trying."

\ [] / \ [] /

"You realize you didn't have to, right?" Ash asked.

Raichu glowered at him, "Rai."

Ash let a wan chuckle, "Ha. I see. Well, as long as you're happy."

Rubbing his starter's head, he turned to the dragon in the room, "Gabite, it's good to see you. You've grown."

Gabite gave a nod and a nudged Ash's shoulder with his head, "Bite bite, gaa."

"I'm just glad to see you're doing alright."

Giving Gabite a head pat, Ash brought his attention to the dragon that wasn't quite in the room. "Charizard," Ash breathed out with a small smile, "it's good to see you again. How was the Valley?"

Charizard poked his head a little further through the window and grunted, a bit of smoke and a few embers puffing out.

Ash shook his head, "No matter what the future holds, I'm glad you're with me." Turning, he looked at Gabite and Raichu, "All of you."

\ [] / \ [] /

Iris watched the screen in her room at the Pokémon Center as Alder's Bouffalant hit the ground and didn't get back up. His opponents Salamence let out a roar of victory as Bouffalant disappeared in a flash of red light.

It had been an incredible battle, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed in the result. While clearly powerful and well trained, there was an undertone of vicious cruelty in Salamence and the rest of the team that Iris just couldn't approve of. Especially considering the ramifications.

In the battle stadium, the announcer spoke up, "And with that, Bouffalant is unable to battle, Salamence is victorious." Pausing for a moment to raise his voice, he shouted out, "As Alder is out of usable pokémon, the winner of this battle, and your new Unova Region Champion is the beautiful and enigmatic, Lady Jacqueline!"

Short in stature, tall in stance. Jacqueline stood with a quiet confidence and satisfied smile as she returned her final battler. With straight silver hair down to her shoulders and piercing silver eyes, she cut an intimidating appearance, making it clear to the world she knew what she was capable of and willing to do it in order to accomplish her goals.

As the new champion turned towards a camera, Iris turned the TV off. "Damn, I really don't like the look of her. I still can't believe how far the world seems to have fallen since Ash's arrest. And it seems Unova isn't immune to it either. Well, I guess it's just more motivation to become a dragon master and become Champion."

\ [] / \ [] /

Serena looked at her prison jumpsuit in disdain. She felt the shackles on her wrists and couldn't fight back her scowl. Concrete room, wall-to-wall mirror, plain metal desk, poor lighting. She'd spent the past week in a cell and now she'd been dragged here from another night of fitful sleep.

Hearing the door open, she turned towards it only for her scowl to become a snarl, "Traitorous bitch!"

"Ah ah, that's no way to talk to your regional Champion," Malva said with a sly smile. "Here I am, taking time out of my busy day to talk to you, and you treat me with such disrespect."

Serena just kept glaring. "Fuck you!" She spat. "You already won. Hero of Kalos, a double agent who worked from the inside to take down Team Flare. Bullshit. We both know you're full of shit and your traitorous ass just jumped to a new master who got you your promotion. Now are you just here to taunt me, or do you have something of actual substance to say."

Malva just shook her head, "You and your conspiracies. No, I come bearing good news. Your espousal of preposterous ideas without end has had you declared insane. I'm here to transfer you to a mental hospital." Seeing Serena's eyes widen, she grinned, "Yes, no prison time for you, just a nice safe room and medication to keep your delusions under control. Everybody wins." As Serena's horror grew, Malva's grin just widened, "And don't worry about your pokémon, I've personally ensured they wound up in safe, happy homes. With trainers who will care for them properly."

\ [] / \ [] /

It was nearly noon and Ash had decided Samson couldn't be mistaken as anything but a relative of Professor Oak's. He was a little more laid back, but had the same passion for pokémon and studying them. Plus, except for his tan, he looked nearly identical. Still, as friendly as he was Ash was getting impatient, "Can I talk to the Professor and my mom yet?"

Samson sighed, "Time zones can be frustrating, but Kanto is effectively five hours behind us. However, while early, it should be alright to call now."

At the pronouncement, Ash froze. Looking at the vid-phone, he slowly raised a suddenly trembling arm, pausing before he could push call. Blinking a few times, he jolted at a nudge. Looking over, he saw Raichu sitting on Gabite's head, poking him with his tail.

"Chu."

"Bite."

A snort and cloud of smoke came from an open window and Ash looked over to his other pokémon present. Closing his eyes, he took a deep shuddering breathe, "Thanks guys." Opening his eyes, he initiated the call.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Click.

The screen turned on, "Who's calling at this-" the voice cut off as the clearly tired professor got a glimpse of Ash. Frozen in place with his eyes wide, it took a few moments for him to regain his facilities, "Ash, my boy, it's so good to see you."

As the professor began smiling, Ash felt himself tearing up, "Ye-, yeah. It's good to see you too, professor."

\ [] / \ [] /

Max glared at his sister, "How can you just move on like this?"

"Life isn't fair," May shrugged. "Ash was a good friend and a great person. That trial was a sham and a disgrace. What was allowed to happen to him was horrible and unfair. His death truly tragic." Pausing for a few seconds, she eventually gave another shrug, "But I've mourned. And I've accepted my weakness.

"I know exactly what I'm capable of. And what I'm not capable of. I did what I could for him during his trial, but beyond that there was exactly nothing I could do to help him. And now, there's even less. I'm not a master trainer, I'll never be able to become a Gym Leader, let alone Elite 4 or Champion, I'm a pretty good coordinator, but I'm not ignorant to my fairly average intelligence. This situation sucks, but there isn't anything I can do about it."

Giving Max a final shrug, she finished, "And sitting around moping about how unfair the world is won't solve anything. So I've mourned. And now I'm moving on. Trying to find some happiness and joy in this new world."

Max sneered, "So you're just giving up. This travesty of justice, not just against Ash but the entire League, and you're just going to pretend it never happened."

Seeing his words garner no response, he shook his head and walked off, "Fine. If that's how you're going to be, then fuck you. I've got training to do. This mess won't clean itself after all."

May stayed seated on the porch of her house until Max was out of sight. Finally sighing, she grabbed a Poké Ball and whispered to herself, "Ash only wanted us to be happy. I might not be able to do anything about this situation, but if I try, I might be able to accomplish a little happiness."

Standing up, she began walking off, solidifying her idea, "Yeah, Kanto's contest circuit begins in two weeks. I'll dedicate my victory to Ash's memory. And make sure the world knows it."

\ [] / \ [] /

"Are you sure about this?" Johanna asked her daughter.

Dawn gave a decisive nod, "Yes. Being a coordinator has been fun. Even better than I ever dreamt it could be. But I have loftier goals than helping my pokémon look pretty on stage now. It's unfortunate I never became a Top Coordinator, but Agent Looker has secured my internship."

Johanna sighed, "I know how much this means to you, but a detective for the International Police isn't a safe profession. Not even as an intern." Seeing her daughter's eyes narrow, Johanna continued, "I'm your mother, and it is my duty to protect you. To keep you safe. You can claim you just want to be a law enforcement officer, but I'm not that stupid. You want to investigate an international conspiracy that nearly overturned the entire Pokémon League."

Seeing Dawn blink, she pushed on, "And you don't even realize it. You're so caught up on Ash, you haven't even considered that governors, politicians, and other elected officials were brought down as well. There have been 17 impeachments since the trial. A further 65 people have voluntarily stepped down. The Indigo League was split in half, separating Kanto and Johto for the first time since the Pokémon League itself was founded. There has been at least one new Elite 4 member in every Pokémon League region. There have been three new champions. Embroiling yourself even further in this mess than you already are is not something I can support."

Dawn froze for a second before the words fully registered and a scowl took over her face, but before she could explode, her mother preempted her, "But I don't seem to have a choice. At the end of the day, there isn't really anything I can do to stop you. In which case I have to ensure you're as safe as possible in this inherently dangerous mission you've set yourself. So the professional supervision of Interpol and the restrictions of being an intern are the best I can hope for."

\ [] / \ [] /

"You're pokémon are all doing fine," Oak said with a smile, "You're mother's been helping me to take care of them. The only problem that might have cropped up would have been Pikachu, but between evolving and meeting up with you in Alola, that problem was taken care of."

Ash nodded, "That's good to hear." Pausing for a moment, he hesitated putting forth his next question, "When, um, when can I see them?"

"Ah," the professor sighed, "that's a difficult question. Theoretically, I could transport them to you right now, but that's something the League would notice immediately. Right now, your greatest protection is the fact they all think you're dead. If they learn you're alive, they'll hunt you down. Probably charge you with the destruction of your prison transport and the deaths of the personnel on board."

Ash let out a sigh of his own, "So, what do you think I should do?"

"You should move to the Ranger Union. Or to Andhall. You might be an infamous criminal in the League, but the Ranger Union and the Council of Andhall are not parts of the League. If you ask for political asylum, I could send you the rest of your pokémon and your mother. You could live the rest of your life in peace."

Thinking on the professor's words, Ash shook his head, "No. The League has fallen. Clearly something has gone horribly wrong, I can't just ignore that! I have to try and fix it!"

Oak shook his head, "Ash, you don't owe anyone anything. You're only sixteen yet you've saved the world a dozen times over. You deserve peace. Happiness. The League has repaid your kindness with treachery. You deserve better."

"No." Ash's response was resolute. Frowning, he met the professor's eyes, "I owe you for giving me Pikachu. I owe my mother for being my mom. I owe my friends and my pokémon for standing beside me on my journey." Before the professor could interrupt, Ash pushed on, "But there are no debts between friends. Between family. You're right that I don't owe anyone anything, but that's never been why I do what I do."

Turning his head, Ash looked his three pokémon in the eyes with a resolute grin before turning back to Professor Oak, "I do what I do because it's right. I set out on an adventure to have fun, make friends, and become a Pokémon Master. Along the way, I've stumbled across problem after problem. One after another, they would keep cropping up. And one of the things I learned is that you can't just ignore problems. You can't just move on and pretend they don't exist, because they only get worse. If I'd stayed out of the Shamouti incident, the world would have been devastated. If I'd not gotten involved at the Lake of Life, the Masked Marauder would have devastated the timeline. If I ignore this problem, it will only get worse. And that's not who I am."

Ash paused to let the professor absorb his words before continuing, "So, Professor, what should I do? I want to reunite with my pokémon. With my friends. With my mother. And I want to fix this problem ailing the League. Where do I start?"

Meeting Ash's gaze in silence for nearly a minute, the professor let out a final weary sigh and closed his eyes. Opening them again, he gave a firm nod, "Very well. I know when I'm beaten."

Turning his head, the professor locked eyes with his cousin, Hapu, and Noelani before turning back to Ash, "Truthfully, you're right where you need to be." At Ash's surprised look, Oak shook his head with a slight smile, "Alola is not a member of the League. But the leadership of the region wants to be. They're early in the process of transforming the structure of the region to gain admittance into the League, but they're likely still a couple years away. Your best bet is to assume a new identity as a trainer in Alola, between your facial scarring and growth with age, by the time Alola joins the League, no one will recognize you as a long dead criminal. In the mean time, you should grow as a trainer and gain a position of authority within Alola's power structure which you can use to investigate the League from the inside once Alola joins up."

\ [] / \ [] /

Hau was enjoying the festival. He had a pokémon, a Popplio. And he'd caught a Pichu as well. He had a couple new friends in Lillie and Selene, and he was going to be setting off on the Island Challenge the next day. Sure, he'd lost to Selene again, but that didn't really matter. The battles had been fun and they'd all enjoyed themselves, that's all that mattered. Still, looking around, something was bothering him.

Making his way through the celebratory crowd, he found the professor. "Hey, Kukui," he called, getting the excitable professor's attention. "What happened to Rowlet? I know he wasn't chosen as a starter, but I saw you'd let him out to enjoy the festival with us."

The professor looked around for a moment before frowning. Reaching to his waist he grabbed a Poké Ball and released a Rockruff. "Hey, can you sniff out Rowlet? He seems to have wandered off."

The little dog let out a little bark before sticking his nose to the ground and following a trail no one could see. After following the pokémon for a few minutes, Hau and the professor saw the little bird chirping at a teen sitting on a rock outcropping just outside the town.

Blue jeans, red and white jacket and hat, dark shaggy hair, and a raichu sitting beside him, chattering back at the rowlet. Hau saw the raichu's ears twitch before it looked over at them, its trainer following its lead. Getting a look of the teens face, Hau felt himself flinch back a step at the burn scars covering it. Professor Kukui, on the other hand, perked up.

"Ah, you must be the trainer Samson and Noelani were telling me about."

At that, the trainer stood up and walked over, raichu at his side and the rowlet trailing behind. Giving a small smile, he offered his hand, "Ah, you must be Professor Kukui. I was pointed in this direction, but didn't want to interrupt the festivities looking for you. Figured business could wait for tomorrow."

There was something about this trainer that was niggling at Hau's mind, but it took him a few moments to realize what it was. He reminded him of his grandfather. Something in his voice, in how he held himself, the look in his eye. It was an essence that he couldn't really describe, even to himself, he only knew that it held a certain weight. After the professor released his hand, Hau stepped up and took it, "Hey I'm Hau, it's awesome to meet you!"

The trainer shook his hand and met his gaze, "Hey Hau, nice to meet you.

"I'm Red."

\ [] / \ [] /

And so, the prologue. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

A few things to bring up here:

First, Ash was convicted of stuff. Betrayed by his friends who testified against him. Trumped up charges, forged evidence, all that fun stuff. I gave snippets of some of their thoughts so you can decide whether you believe they deserve forgiveness, or are capable of earning it at all. Killed by Team Rocket to ensure he couldn't do his thing and bring them down. Logically, he's not really a threat to them. However, in a world of super-powers, gods, and other reality warping things, patterns and trends matter, even if they don't seem to make logical sense. Giovanni was just paving the path to his success. The Tapu just wanted him for something else.

Second, Selene is Moon. Native to Kanto, she was on vacation in Larousse city during the whole Deoxys/Rayquaza mess. While Ash did end up saving the day, in a more realistic world, there'd be at least some casualties. In this case, that includes Selene's father. After Ash's criminal conviction as a traitor and terrorist and the complicity of various league officials, she has a burning hatred for them. Her starter is Litten.

Third, timeline. Post-Kalos. Six months of investigation/trial. Three months of healing. End of the prologue. Then, without getting into too many spoilers, the Alola adventures will be two to three years.

Fourth, Ash's pokémon. Ash isn't getting any more of his old ones. Team Rocket might be paranoid, but it's for a good reason. Maybe it's being genre savvy, or maybe it's just how you survive in a supernatural world. Raichu, Gabite, and Charizard are all he's bringing to Alola with him. Professor Oak and his mother will take care of the rest of them in the background of the story.

Fifth, Pikachu/Raichu. It happened, I'm not going to change it. Get over it.

Sixth, ages:

Ash is 16
Selene is 14
Lillie is 13
Hau is 14
Gladion is 16
Plumeria is 19

Seventh, pairing. I'm going to say gen. No one is going to believe me and insist on a pairing, preferably their OTP. In which case, the most likely choices are: Selene, Serena, Gladion, Plumeria, or Dawn. However, if I get annoyed enough, he'll instead discover the beautiful love of a Drampa named Puff.

Eighth, the Council of Andhall. Well, that and the Ranger Union. They serve as rival powers to the Pokémon League. The Ranger Union is based roughly on the Pokémon Ranger games. The Council of Andhall is entirely original. Neither will play a role in this story outside of existing.

Ninth, the new Unova Champion. It's funny how people who die in pokémon created ship crashes survive, isn't it?

And Tenth, Kalos. Malva is the Champion. And Evil. Serena's in a spot of trouble. Her pokémon are somewhere. Most likely not good.

Fun times ahead. Hopefully I'll even move them from my head to your screen.

4/6/2019