Risen from Betrayal

Chapter 2 - Betrayal

When Ash, Pikachu and Delia walked to the guest room inside his house, Ash was surprised to see his former travelling companions and rivals waiting for him, consisting of Brock, Misty, Drew, May, Max, Dawn, Paul, Kenny, Trip, Cilan, Iris, Serena, Bonnie, Clemont and Calem.

"Guys, it's been a while since I've last seen you all," Ash said, happy to see all of his friends and rivals he met throughout his journey through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and most recently, Kalos. "How have you been?"

"Ash, where do I start? We think that you should give up on your dream on becoming the Pokemon Master," Misty said.

"What!?" Brock exclaimed in shock and a bit of anger. "You can't do that, Misty. Ash has been there to support you at all times throughout our journey in Kanto and Johto and you just throw away your support on his goals? That's really low of you!" Brock continued.

"Misty is right, Ash. During our journey in Hoenn, you endangered me and Max where all of us got held captive by Team Magma. And to make it worse, you allowed your Pikachu to absorb the Blue Orb and caused a massive battle to break out between Groudon and Kyogre. We can't afford to allow the same sort of incident to occur," May said.

However, Max didn't agree with what his older sister said. "May, you can't blame Ash's Pikachu for absorbing the Blue Orb. We were outnumbered for a start and things would have been worse if Team Magma had successfully controlled the Blue Orb. Plus, have you forgotten that Ash has been there to support your goals in becoming Top Coordinator during our journey in Hoenn & Kanto? I would bet that if Ash wasn't there to support and accompany you in your journey, you wouldn't even know about Pokemon Contests and Coordinators!" Max said angrily at his older sister.

"Max, May is your older sister. Do whatever she tells you to do. Ash, face it, you can't become a Pokemon Master. Not to mention the fact that I still beat you in a 1 on 1 battle at Fallarbor Town despite that you had a type advantage," Drew said in confidence.

"May, I can't believe that you would say that to Ash. And Drew, I bet if Ash was to battle you now, regardless of what type of battle it is, Ash would definitely beat you," Dawn said, disappointed at the duo. "As for what Max said, I completely agree with him. Ash has always been there for me when I journeyed with him throughout Sinnoh and always comforted me when I suffered from my losses at my Pokemon Contests. I'm really grateful what Ash has done for me, and if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have beaten you in the Wallace Cup and won the overall thing. And don't forget May, you haven't won a single Grand Festival either, so what gives you the right to tell Ash to give up his dream? Tell me!" she said furiously, making May angry for what she said.

"Dee-Dee, Drew is right. Don't forget, Ash also lost against me in a 1 on 1 battle. He seriously needs to give up on his dream of becoming Pokemon Master," Kenny said unimpressed at Dawn's words. Dawn then turned to Kenny with a cold look.

"Kenny, I may have known Ash shorter than I've known you, but Ash has proved to be a much better friend than you are and I'm glad that I chose not to travel with you and instead continue travelling with Ash and Brock as well as support Ash in the Sinnoh League. Kenny, the fact that you tried to get Ash to give up on his dream is enough for me to quit my friendship with you!" Dawn said icily.

"But..." Kenny tried to reason with Dawn.

"No buts, Kenny. You had it forced upon yourself," Paul said sternly, leaving Kenny fuming in anger. He then turned to the traitors with a look of contempt. "I may have disliked Ash when we first met at Sandgem Town, but throughout my journey in Sinnoh and the Lily of the Valley Conference, I have learnt a lot from my final battle with Ash and I am thankful to him for making me realize my errors in how I treat and train my Pokemon from the beginning. You guys have quite a lot of nerves to throw away all the support he has given to you. Talk about pathetic."

"Ash, you competed in six leagues in a row, yet you didn't win any one of them. Stop being such a kid and go find yourself another dream, such as becoming a Pokemon researcher like Professor Oak and his grandson Gary," Iris stated.

"Your losses in the past leagues you competed in left a permanent foul taste in my mouth and I'm starting to wonder why I even chose to travel with you in the first place," Cilan said in disgust.

"Ash, give it up, you can't win another league. You need to learn the basics before you bother to try competing in another league. You may have beaten me in the Unova League, but don't forget, I beat you in every other battle," Trip said overconfidently.

"I wouldn't say that if I were you Trip," Clemont said warningly. "Ash has been one of the most amazing and powerful trainers that I have met so far. The fact that you easily underestimate him is what makes you stupid. Plus, I'm willing to bet, if Ash was using some of his old Pokemon against you, you wouldn't even stand a chance against him."

"Ash, the only reason that you beat me in the Kalos League was because that I was going easy on you. If I was using my better Pokemon and went full on against you, you would have had 0% chance of winning against me," Calem said, still annoyed at his loss against Ash in the Kalos League.

Bonnie, who was disgusted at Calem's words, said, "Calem, stop using those typical excuses that other people make when losing in a Pokemon Battle. Plus, if you did go easy against Ash, it's your fault for doing so and even if you had better Pokemon, don't forget, Ash also has his other Pokemon he caught from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova, and can easily beat you with his other Pokemon as well as his Kalos team. Face it Calem, you're just salty from you loss against Ash."

Serena, who was the final one to speak, turned to the traitors and said, "You guys have quite a lot of nerves showing yourselves up here and telling Ash to give up on his dream of becoming Pokemon Master just because he lost 6 Leagues in a row. Don't forget, he has made other incredible achievements such as winning the Orange League and the Battle Frontier. Only very few individuals like Ash have managed to make those achievements. How dare you throw away your friendship with Ash when he has endlessly supported you throughout your journey with him. And Calem, I'm absolutely unimpressed at you for saying such ridiculous things to Ash."

A few seconds of awkward silence broke out after Serena's words, then Ash regained his breath and said to the entire group, "For those who stood by my side, I'm incredibly grateful to have such true friends like you guys. And as for the rest of you, if you think I'm weak and can't win any leagues as well as becoming the Pokemon Master, I'll prove you wrong. And when I finally reach my achievements, don't expect me to forgive you that easily for what you've done to me." 

"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu said angrily, ready to Thunderbolt all of the traitors, but was stopped by Ash.

"Ignore them Pikachu. They're not worth it," he said, and ran out of his house heading to Professor Oak's lab.