Hey all, this is yet another Pokemon story that I've had running in my head for a while and I decided to go with it. This story was made because I've become highly disappointed with the Pokemon anime (Black and White was just God awful and they made Ash go from the peak of his training career to a complete noob-tard) So I decided to do this story in place of it. This takes place a month after the Lily of the Valley Conference and Ash is having some doubts about his training career. This is an OC acceptance story, I'll have info at the bottom about that.

Chapter Summary: Ash is once again back home with another journey behind him and is now having thoughts about his training career. Doubt has been creeping into his mind after his defeat by Tobias in the Lily of the Valley Conference and he starts to wonder what he should do next.

Opening 1: Let's rock n roll-Charm City Devils

Ending 1: Higher-P.O.D.

Key:

Bold- PA system/Message Bulletins

Bold Italic- Radio/TV/Pokedex descriptions

Italics-Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks

Ash Ketchum was sitting in his room and watching a rerun of the Lily of the Valley Conference. He reminisced about his performance in the league and knew that was his best run he had in a regional league. He knew that he had the potential to win the Lily of the Conference but a cruel twist of fate pitted him against Tobias, who was without a doubt the toughest opponent he fought since Brandon, the Pyramid King. His fists clenched as he looked at the screen which just started to show his and Tobias' battle. Sitting beside Ash was his first pokémon and partner, Pikachu. Sensing his friend's frustration, Pikachu turned and looked up at him with concern.

"Pika pi?" Pikachu asked.

"Hey buddy, I'm okay," Ash said scratching him on his head.

"Pika."

Ash sighed as he watched Sceptile take out Darkrai with a well-placed Leaf Blade and felt a grin spread across his face. Even though he lost against Tobias, he tried to look at the positives of his battle against him. The biggest thing that he took pride in that fight was that his pokémon gave it their all and he managed to take out two strong legendary pokémon, one of them had a record of being undefeated. The battle ended on the TV and Ash sighed once again changing the channel.

"Ash, honey, dinner is ready!" Delia called from downstairs.

"Alright Mom, I'll be right down!" Ash replied.

Ash turned off his TV, stood up and gave a long stretch. Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder and they began their march downstairs to eat. As he descended the stairs, Ash looked at the pictures hanging on the wall. A bunch of them were pictures of his journeys past and his friends. He stopped at the last picture that was at the base of the stairs. The photo was of him, Brock and Dawn at the end of their journey in Sinnoh.

"Brocko, Dawn, I hope you're both doing well," Ash thought as he entered the kitchen.

He sat down at the table and Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and sat on the table. Delia placed Ash's dinner in front of him that consisted of roast, mashed potatoes, biscuits and peas. Ash scooped up a spoonful of food and placed it in his mouth. Brock may be an excellent cook, but Ash had to admit he had nothing on his mom. Pikachu snagged one of the biscuits from Ash's plate and began to nibble on it. Delia sat down across from Ash and was about to dig in to her dinner but noticed Ash seemed lost in thought.

"Ash, is everything alright?" Delia asked.

"Oh, yeah, I'm okay Mom," Ash said smiling sheepishly.

"Are you sure? You hardly touched your dinner."

"I'm okay, I've just been thinking about some things."

"What kind of things?"

Ash had been thinking about a lot of things, but there were a few key thoughts that remained stuck in his head ever since he completed his Sinnoh journey. His first thought was going on another journey in the Unova region to try his luck in another league. Another thought was possibly taking up Scott on his offer to become a frontier brain, but he wasn't sure he would be able to commit since he enjoyed being on the road and traveling. However, the biggest thought on his mind and he could not understand why, was what his father would think of him.

"Mom, where is dad?" Ash asked.

Delia almost dropped her fork in surprise at Ash's question and she looked at her son to try and figure out what caused him to ask. She could see a quizzical look on Ash's face and she gave a sigh. Delia had no idea where her husband was and the closest thing that she had of him was an occasional letter. She and Ash have not seen her husband in almost ten years and she remembered how devastated Ash was when he left.

"I don't know honey, I don't know," Delia said shaking her head.

"I was just wondering what he would think of me and how far I've come as a trainer," Ash said eating taking another bite.

"Ash, I may not know where your father is, but I do know he's very proud of you."

Ash gave a small nod at his mother's words and took another bite of his dinner. He could see Pikachu was looking at him with concern again but he was determined to assure his partner he was fine. He rubbed Pikachu's head again and earned a purr from him.

"So is there anything else on your mind?" Delia asked.

"The other thought I've had lately is going on another journey in the Unova region," Ash replied resting his chin on his hand.

"I feel a but coming."

"But I'm not sure if it's worth it now. I mean, can I really progress any further than I did at the Lily of the Valley Conference? I just feel I might be disappointed and stopped in my tracks again."

Delia was now a little surprised at Ash's answer and she could not believe the words that left her son's mouth. All the confidence that he built up when he first started as a trainer upon receiving Pikachu was gone and replaced with doubt. There was no way she would let her son give up on his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master that easily.

"Ash Ketchum, I don't want to hear anything like that from you again!" Delia shouted.

"Mom?" Ash asked in surprise from her outburst.

"I've watched you invest too much time and hard work into becoming the trainer you are today! You will become a Pokémon Master and the only way to do that is to not give up!"

"I still want to be a Pokémon Master, Mom. I've just been questioning my ability after I got crushed by Tobias."

"Ash, that's all part and parcel of being a Pokémon Master. You will face trainers both stronger and weaker than you. I know your father would tell you the same thing."

Ash fell silent and looked down at his dinner again. He knew she was right and his dad would more than likely tell him the same thing.

"To tell you the truth, I think I know just the way to boost your confidence back up," Delia said smiling.

"Really?" Ash asked raising an eyebrow. "What would that be?"

"I'm talking about this. It came for you in the mail today."

Delia handed Ash a small envelope that had an official stamp of the Pokémon League on it. This immediately perked Ash's interest as he took the letter from his mom. He observed it for a moment to see if there was anything else written on it but all he saw was his name and the seal. He gave a shrug and opened the small envelope and pulled out a neatly folded letter. Pikachu climbed on Ash's shoulder and began to read along with him.

Dear Mr. Ketchum,

I would like to extend an offer to you that is only presented to the most prestigious of pokémon trainers in the eyes of the Pokémon League. There is a tournament that takes place during the summer shortly after the Pokémon Leagues of each region come to a close. The Pokémon World Tournament takes place from late May until mid-August and it will be held at the Indigo Plateau this year. If you wish to partake in this event, please arrive at the Indigo Plateau no later than May 25th to register. I truly hope to see you there, Mr. Ketchum.

Sincerely, Charles Goodshow

Ash felt a rush of adrenaline and pride as he read the letter again and again. Charles Goodshow, president of the Pokémon League, invited him to participate in the Pokémon World League which would no doubt give him the chance to become stronger before his next journey. He read the letter again and felt another grin spread across his face. There was no way he was going to pass up an opportunity like this.

"I can see that twinkle in your eye," Delia said smiling broadly.

"I'm going to the Pokémon World Tournament to compete," Ash replied with a nod.

"That's great, honey. When does it begin?"

"May 25th is the latest I can register, so that gives me one week."

"I will always be there to support you, honey."

"Thanks Mom."

Ash set down the letter and began scarfing his food down quickly. Once his plate was clean he took it over to the dishwasher and placed it inside to save his mom some work. He began to hurry upstairs but stopped when his mother called out to him.

"Do you want any dessert?"

"No thanks, Mom! I'm going to go to bed so I can get up early tomorrow to see Professor Oak!" Ash yelled back.

"Okay, be sure to brush your teeth!"

Ash rolled his eyes at one of his mom's oldest catchphrases. He went into his room and changed into his pajamas before heading to the bathroom. After brushing his teeth he went back into his room and held the letter in his hand once again. He looked it over as he closed the door and then set the letter back down on his desk before shutting off the light. He climbed into bed and Pikachu hopped on after him, curling up beside him on the pillow. Once Ash got comfortable, Pikachu climbed onto his chest and began to fall asleep.

"Get some rest, Pikachu," Ash whispered stroking his partner's back. "We got a busy day tomorrow."

"Pika," Pikachu replied closing his eyes.

Ash folded his hands behind his head and looked up at his ceiling. As he started to drift off to sleep, his thoughts began to wander to his dad again. He wished he knew where he was so he could talk with him. He had so many things he wanted to ask him. The questions in his head ranged from his dad's journeys to the pokémon that he caught.

"Dad, where are you?" Ash wondered as he closed his eyes.

Alright that's the intro chapter/prologue, whatever you want to call it. I hope you all enjoyed the start and that Ash didn't seem too OOC. As you can see I've hinted that Ash's father will play big part in this because in all honesty, I believe his dad is crucial for his development as a character and you will see soon enough that there is one more key person that will play a part in his journey to becoming a Pokemon Master. Till next time, see you!- Captain

OC Form/Acceptance Rules

1.) DO NOT send an OC via review, by PM only. All submissions from anonymous viewers and authors alike in the review section will be deleted/ignored.

2.) Only one OC submission per person.

3.) Do not beg for me to give your OC screentime or give them more than one cameo. Doing so will only make me less likely to bring yours in. I will bring characters in when I feel it's appropriate to do so.

4.) All OCs I get will probably be accepted, but only 4-5 will have supporting roles, the rest will be there to fill in time and what not.

5.) FOLLOW THE FORM THE WAY IT IS ON MY PROFILE. Failure to do so is automatic disqualification. It's not hard to follow the form and I was way too lenient on this the last time.

6.) If you have any questions, PM me.