Hi there, welcome to my first fanfiction. This is a betrayal story of sorts. Anyways, I don't own Pokemon. Enjoy!


Rain falls on the man looking at the grave of his mother. But it doesn't annoy him or make him cold. He sits down in the mud, thinking about how far he has come, and what he's achieved in life. But he also regrets not being there for his mom when she needed him most.


"Lost again. Maybe I should try my luck at a casino since I'm unlucky in Pokemon battling..." Ash muttered as he held a knocked out Pikachu in his arms. He felt guilty, because Pikachu had given his all for Ash all these years and he never won a championship or league.

Ashs opponent, Tobias, came over to shake his hand. "Good battle Ash. Most people don't defeat two of my Pokemon. Anywho, thank you for the battle." Tobias could see the sadness on Ash's face, but didn't know what to say. Not wanting to be awkward, Tobias quietly walked off to the celebration party.

"Right...bye." Ash walked to the Pokemon center to heal his Pokemon. As he did, he thought about all he had been through. And why he couldn't win just one championship. Maybe I'm not training my Pokemon right...or just not using the right Pokemon I should be using. What am I doing wrong?

Nurse Joy was standing at the front desk when Ash walked in. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center! What can I do for you?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Please heal all my Pokemon, Nurse Joy." Ash handed Pikachu and the five Pokeballs over the counter to her. As he handed Pikachu over he saw him squint his eyes in pain. Ash felt like a completely evil person. You tried your hardest for me, and I failed you. I won't let this happen again to you or the others, Pikachu

"Okay! Your Pokemon will be ready for pickup in an hour." She turned and walked to a back room. Ash walked out of the Pokemon center to go on a walk to clear his head. And to avoid the looks from people he was getting.

A few minutes later, Ash found himself in the woods by a lake that turned into a river that eventually went into the ocean. Just over the river the sun was setting. It was a pretty place, and Ash couldn't help but be captivated by its peacefulness. What he didn't know was someone was following him.

A stick breaking broke the silence. SNAP!

Ash turned around in surprise "Who's there? Show yourself." A woman with blond hair and black pants and coat walked out of the trees. She had a slight blush on her face from embarrassment.

Sinnoh Champion Cythina.

"Hello Ash, it's been awhile. Sorry if I scared you, I lost sight of you and you were so far away." She walked over to where he was still standing in slight shock. His face looked tired and sad.

"Good to see you too. Not to sound rude, but why were you following me through the woods?"

"I wanted to talk to you about your battle with Tobias." Oh. Why did it have to be that? Please, anything but that nightmare Cynthia.

Ash looked down, closing his eyes to try and stop the tears trying to fall. "What about it?" Please don't tell me how crappy I did, please...

"You did a good job. Your team, which didn't have a whole lot of experience in fighting, were able to hold out against two legendaries that have been made even more powerful by a trainer. Not everyone can do that, even with a team they've used for years." she replied in admiration. Why did he still look so sad? He should be proud of himself.

Upon hearing this from such a powerful trainer, Ash's mood lightened a little. But he still felt like he failed all of his friends and Pokemon. "Maybe, but I didn't think enough about this match." That's a major understatement you idiot.

"How so?" She was genuinely curious. But she felt like she knew the answer. He realizes now that he didn't think this through entirely. And that he failed his team...

"I should have used Pokemon that I have had for years, instead of new and growing Pokemon. For example, my Charizard, who beat Articuno by the skin of his teeth, is the strongest in the Charific Valley." Oh look Ash, there's another mistake. You never went back to see how Charizard was doing, Primeape was doing...how do they feel about you now?

Ash had a Charizard that beat a legendary? "I never heard about that before, that's pretty good. You should have used him in your battle."

"Exactly. And that's where I messed up big time. Charizard might have been able to take out two legendaries before fainting."

The woods were slowly getting darker as the two talked. The birds stopped chirping, and the stars were starting to enter the night sky. Neither didn't feel like getting mauled by a wild Pokemon.

"We should get back. It isn't very safe out here, and I need to get my Pokemon." Ash looked at the sky for a few seconds, and started to walk back to the Pokemon Center. Cynthia hesitated for a moment, and followed him. They continued to talk, this time about some ruins near Mt. Coronet.

-20 Minutes later-

"Well, this is where we part ways. Good luck with your research Cynthia."

"Thank you Ash. What are you going to do now? Train some more?"

"I'm going to head home and take a short break and then I think I will go explore. I dn't want to take on a League for awhile. I've been thinking about going to Mt. Silver."

"Are you sure? From what little I've heard about it, Mt. Silver is extremely cold and the Pokemon there are extremely strong. Plus, isn't that where Moltres lives?" To her it seemed a little too extreme for someone like Ash, but he always kept surprising her.

"Yes, but I'm thinking of staying in the lower parts of the mountain. Just below the snow and ice. Moltres does live there, but it isn't always there. Not that I plan on messing with it."

Cynthia suddenly pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it to him. On it was a number, and her name. "In case you need any help or advice, plus I've always wanted to go to Mt. Silver. Take care, Ash." Cynthia, blushing slightly, turned and walked to one of the arenas where a party was being held.

"She actually did that?" Ash was still surprised. Suddenly he had a thought. Did she just indirectly ask me out...nah, no way. I'm sure she has a guy.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu jumped into Ash's arms. "Hey buddy, glad to see your awake and okay." Ash could see he was tired. So Ash put Pikachu in his backpack where a bottle of ketchup was waiting, and placed his Pokeballs in his pockets.

"They'll need a few days of rest. They were exhausted!" Nurse Joy said.

"Don't I know it..." Ash muttered, the guilt returning in full force. He turned and walked outside.

"Have a good night!" she shouted. Ash put an arm up behind him and waved. Now to Kanto. I can't wait to get in my bed at home.


-Pallet Town, Kanto-

"We're finally here Pikachu! Race you to the house!" Ash and Pikachu, laughing, ran as fast as possible to the house. Pikachu won by a few feet.

"Man I'm starving, hopefully mom has food cooking." Ash knocks on the door and waits. Suddenly a brunette woman opens the door and wraps Ash and Pikachu in a hug strong enough to rival an Aggron's.

"M-Mom I'm suffocating." "Pika!" Ash's mom releases the two and laughs as they flop around like fish out of water.

"Welcome home boys! I have food on the table. It's warm so eat qui-"she is interrupted by two blurs flying into the house. Some things never change...

-A few hours later-

A knocking breaks the silence of the house.

"I'll get it mom!" Ash runs downstairs to answer the door, and opens it to see Brock, Misty, Dawn, May, Max, Drew, Brock, and Paul at the door. "Hey guys! Come on in."

After pleasantries were exchanged, everyone sat down in the living room to talk. But it wasn't going to be a good talk. The group of friends were strangely quiet.

"So, what's up? I'm sorry you had to see me do such a crappy job against Tobias...I didn't think that through very much." Ash started to get worried when no one answered, but instead they looked at each other.

"Ash, you did a pretty good job against Tobias using your Sinnoh team but...you could have won if you put some more thought into it. But that's not the reason we visited. Ash..." Misty said. She knew this would anger him.

"Im starting to get worried...just say it Misty." Ash clenched his fists.

"We think you should move on from being a Pokemon trainer, and start working on your life. You've spent years trying to beat a League, but you fail each time...please Ash." May said in desperation.

"The hell...you're asking me to just throw away what I've been working for after all these years. I'll admit, I have screwed up some times. But that was because I cared more about my Pokemon than winning, and I didn't think things through. Have I told any of you to give up on your dreams?"

"No...but you don't know for sure if you will. And Ash, you have so many opportunities that you shouldn't throw away. How do you think your mom feels when you go off on a journey and come back having not won a league?"

At this point Delia came in from the kitchen, tears in her eyes. "Ash, what they are saying is true. I think you should work towards something you can achieve. Like Gary, he's quickly becoming a top Pokemon researcher. Why can't you do something like that?"

"I can't even...I'll be right back." Ash disappeared upstairs. He grabbed a backpack and his wallet, and threw on his socks and shoes. Then, he put a few days worth of outfits in his backpack, along with some energy bars and a ketchup bottle. He walked back downstairs, Pikachu on his shoulder after being woken up.

"Ash? Where are you going?" May asked, worried he was about to do something stupid. the others felt the same way. Ash always did spur of the moment things when he was emotional like this.

"I'm going for a walk...nothing exciting. Just to clear my head and think. Back in an hour or two." Ash went outside while everyone else sat in silence. The tension was thick but slowly eased when May talked about an upcoming contest. They knew Ash would be back, he always came back.


"I'm not going back Pikachu. No way I'm going to quit on my dream. But...I have my doubts." Ash thought it over, and decided to call Cynthia. He pulled the card with her number on it and dialed her number.

"Hello, Cynthia speaking." A female voice announced through the small speaker.

"It's Ash. Cynthia, I have a question. Could you answer it truthfully?"

"Sure. What's up?" Cynthia said uneasily.

"Do you think I could win a league or tournament if I worked hard enough and was smart?" Ash asked worriedly. If anyone had an opinion on his training he trusted, it was Cynthia's. Several seconds went by before she replied.

"Ash, you have potential unlike most trainers I see everyday. I think you could go as far as you wanted if you put your mind to it. Why do you ask?" She was concerned now, he could tell from her tone of voice.

"It's nothing. Thank you Cynthia. Talk to you later."

"No problem. Bye Ash." The heck just happened? Oh well, that's typical Ash...

"Bye." Ash hung up and walked to Proffesor Oak's lab. He knocked on the door and waited a few seconds. A gray haired man answered the door.

"Hi Ash! Welcome back, what can I do for you?" Oak could see the sadness in Ash's eyes and Pikachu's anger. Something had happened to the two.

"I would like to collect all of my Pokemon. Every single one of them." Ash knew it was a weird request, hopefully Oak wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Well..okay. Is something wrong Ash?" Oak brought the two inside and went to go get Ash's Pokemon. Pikachu ran around the lab, carefully not knocking anything over.

"Nothing big, Proffesor. I'm just going somewhere is all." Ash didn't want to reveal too much to anyone. He knew people would ask anyone he knew where he went to once he left. Mt. Silver was dangerous after all.

"Must be a pretty dangerous place if you need all of your Pokemon." Oak said conversationally. What kind of place was he going to? A war zone?

"Somewhat." Was all he got for a reply. Okay, something's seriously wrong...

A few minutes of silence passed, as Oak got his Pokemon and Ash continued thinking about his plan. It was going to be difficult, but he would do what it took to achieve it.

"Well here you go Ash! Thats the last one. Anything else?" Oak asked,

"Could I have some updates added to my Pokedex? I heard some new OS came out."

"Sure thing! I'll be right back." Oak went into a back room with Ash Pokedex and came back 5 minutes later.

"I added some new software and applications. You can get more detailed information on Pokemon like what they eat, the sounds they make, weaknesses, and it determines a Pokemon's gender for you!" Oak boasted. Gary had developed it after all.

"Wow...he really went all out on this. This is just what I need for where I am going." Ash got up and started walking towards the front door.

"Bye Ash! Stay safe, and call me if you need something." Oak went back to work, thinking of where Ash would need to go with all his Pokemon.

Ash walked down to Route 1 and stopped. He turned and look at Pallet as the sun set. It would be his last time seeing it for a long time. He let Charizard out of his Pokeball. After being crisped by a flamethrower, Ash explained what had happened to Charizard. Charizard was angry at them now.

"We'll prove them wrong Charizard. But for now, let's get going. We got a bit of a ways to go." Charizard knelt down to let Ash and Pikachu on, and they flew away to Mt. Silver.

It would be a long time before anyone saw them again.


Well? What do you think? Please review and stay tuned for more chapters!