Sorry guys! Late upload. Going to be totally honest, I forgot today was Tuesday and I was gonna upload a short story today. We don't have one typed, so I'm just posting the first chapter of the betrayal story. Nothing really happened yet. review and let me know what you think. Next update should be in a week as I don't want to promise anything. This week/weekend has been super hectic. Things keep coming up. Sorry. Enjoy :)

Chapter 1: Stolen Dreams

Ash fell to his knees and watched as the last of his Pokemon fell. He felt every blow as his Greninja was pummeled by Mega Charizard X. He winced
as the Charizard's jaws closed around Greninja, and whipped his head to the side, throwing him. Greninja crashed to the ground, as immobile as
Ash's dreams. Ash looked helplessly at his opponent, as the Charizard roared in victory. Across the field, Alan looked at Ash, his opponent… no... his
friend. Although moments ago Alan had been filled with the fires of battle, he felt nothing but pity for his recently beaten opponent. Ash looked up, his
face a mixture of sadness and desperation.
"Return… Greninja…" Ash spoke slowly, raising the Pokeball and withdrawing Greninja. Alan walked slowly over to Ash, as the Charizard reverted
back to its normal form.
"Guess you can't win 'em all, right, Ash?"
Ash looked up at Alan's questioning face. He slowly stood up, his hat shielding his eyes from view. No one spoke for a few seconds. Then, Ash lifted
his head to reveal a bright smile.
"Man, that was a tough fight. Good match, Alan." Ash said cheerfully. He shook his hand with gusto. Alan was taken aback at first by what looked
like a quick change in attitude but he shook it off. He grinned back at Ash.
"Yeah, your Greninja held its own against my Charizard. We've been together for a long time." Alan looked back at his Charizard and winked. The
fire pokemon grinned back. He turned back towards Ash and put his hand on his shoulder.
"There's always next year." Alan reassured Ash. Ash gave a weak smile in return.
They both became aware of the crowd's cheers and their friends shouts at the same moment. The announcer's booming voice echoed throughout
the stadium, making it nearly impossible for the fighters to decipher what he was saying.
Alan recalled his Charizard, giving a short fist pump at his victory. He wanted to celebrate more, but he also didn't want to rub it in Ash's face. He
knew how hard he tried, just to fail. Alan himself had gone through many defeats, and he knew how rough it could be to pour your heart and soul
into a battle, just to lose in the end anyway.
Ash turned towards the trainer's exit and began walking slowly towards it. The crowd was still in a bustle and the announcer was still shouting,
but to Ash it was deathly quiet. His eyes roamed over the stands and found his friends, who waved. Ash raised his arm half-heartedly and motioned
that he was leaving. Without waiting to see their response he began walking into the cool tunnel, away from the battle arena.

Ash sighed. The spectacular view of the rolling valley was a magnificent sight to behold. His legs dangled over the cliff's edge as he brooded.
Pikachu slept next to him and he pet his head slowly and deliberately, deep in thought. His flight was scheduled to leave soon, but he didn't think
he'd be joining his friends. He didn't want to hear them talk excitedly about the battle, didn't want to hear their lamentation about his loss, didn't
want to hear anything. He was sick and tired of losing. Ash had been traveling the world for over ten years, but he'd never actually won an important
league. There were always trainers better, faster, stronger, and smarter than him. Oh, he was happy that his friend got to challenge the league
champion now, but damn if he wasn't a little jealous that it wouldn't be him up there, getting to feel the thrill of the battle, overtaking the champion,
getting to enter his name and team into the hall of fame…
He bowed his head, finally letting emotion overtake him. He'd held it together at the scene of the battle, mostly for Alan. He didn't want to cheapen
his victory, but it had been hard not to scream out in frustration. He definitely wouldn't be joining his friends on the flight. He needed time alone. He'd
entered six leagues, and won none. He'd lost to a trainer who'd just started his journey. A Snivy, who'd never been in a battle in its short life, had
destroyed his Pikachu, as strong as it was. How was that even possible? He was a failure. Not only a failure to his Pokemon, but a failure to himself,
as well. Hundreds of memories of trainers calling him weak flashed across his mind. They never got to him before, but now he had a new perspective.
He was weak. Pikachu stirred, and Ash spared him a glance before determining he was still asleep. Feeling hopelessness for the first time in a long
time time, Ash wept.

It was a bittersweet moment when he crossed the town border into Pallet Town. He hadn't seen his home town since the very beginning of his
journey that he'd just completed a couple days ago. It felt like a great weight was being lifted off of his shoulders as he stepped into his familiar
homeland, but a new one was added just as soon as he thought about facing his mom and admitting to her that for the sixth time in a row he'd failed
to complete the league. She probably already knew from the coverage of the fight, but seeing her face to face was another thing altogether.
He began to get more and more nervous as he got closer to his front door, to the point where he was practically dragging his legs as he reached
the welcome mat. He raised his fist to knock at the door, but before his hand could connect with the wood the door was opened. His eyes met the
shocked ones of his mother.
"Ash! You're back! Welcome home!" His mother cried excitedly, as she gave him a hug. Ash mumbled out a reply, but his mother was already
stampeding over him. "Most of your friends are already here!"
Great, Ash thought, more people to witness my failure. Outwardly, he grinned. "Great." He said with barely passable fake enthusiasm.

Dinner was silent. Ash didn't bring up the ordeal, and neither did any of the others at the table. It seemed like almost everyone he knew from his
journeys through the regions that he had befriended was there, including Professor Oak. They kept stealing glances at him when they thought he
wasn't looking, but he kept catching them with his peripheral vision. When he went to make eye contact, though, they quickly looked back at their
food. Or the wall. Or the potted plant in the corner. Or literally anything else but him.
Ash finally put down his fork and cleared his throat. Instantly, all eyes were on him. Suddenly, the words wouldn't come to his throat. He managed
a weak "So… I didn't win."
"We know, Ash." Oak said gently. "We know. You tried your best."
And my best wasn't enough. I want my best to be the best. Ash thought morosely. I want to be the very best.