Hello! My name is LaneFlames and this is the beginning of my first ever Fanfic! For the longest time now, I've always had a desire to write several different stories, and some I have stored away, just waiting to be brought onto the site, while others I only have the idea for! I'm very excited to finally start one and I'm looking towards to how it all plays out! Your constructive criticism, advice, and tips are always welcome and I appreciate them greatly!

I know that this story idea isn't the first of its kind, as there are tons of stories about Ash being betrayed. However, I have read many different versions and had my own ideas that I decided to use as inspiration to write my own! There may be some ideas or scenes that seem similar to what others have done, those of which are my own adaptations.

I do hope you enjoy so far!

Note: Pokemon and everything related to it is not my property. Nintendo, I love you; thank you for not suing me.

Sitting alone at the top of the world was a young man. He sat silently and focused on his own separate world, even with the raging snowstorm occurring all around him, threatening to swallow him into the night. But it didn't scare him; at this point in his life, nothing scared him, not even the concept of fear itself. He had risked his own life saving the world numerous times, so why should he be afraid of anything now?

If once could see his features, they would be amazed and in shock at his appearance. Dark, raven hair stuck out in all directions of his head, his hazel eyes that were once filled with love and cheerfulness now replaced with bitter truth of reality and a spark dying that kept failing to ignite. Considering the harsh and frigid temperatures Mount Silver was known to possess, it would seem impossible to have color in someone's skin, but the man had neat tanned skin from his travels, having visited exotic places and different regions all over the world.

This man was named Ash Ketchum, a Pokemon Trainer missing for nearly eight years now and known to few as the Chosen One. Hailing from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region, he had accomplished tasks that some people could only dream about. Since he turned ten, the young man had competed in almost every single League, encountered many different Legendary Pokemon, caught and trained an impressive team of Pokemon he saw as family, saved the world more times than he could count, and helped out thousands of people on his adventures. Surprisingly enough, despite all of these wonderful tasks and moments of vigor and heroism under his belt, Ash wasn't a Pokemon Master. Yes, he had never won a single League-minus the Orange Islands, but that was more of a de facto League. Yes, he had lost plenty of times to different Trainers, failed, and made careless mistakes. Yes, he was seen as a nuisance and foolish to some. But with every challenge along the way, he had his friends to back him up under any circumstance.

Until eight years ago, when the man felt the pain of being stabbed in the back by those he loved, tearing his heart into pieces.

Even with the burden he carried on his back, Ash was still alive and fighting. Well, he was to a certain extent. Time has a funny way of playing tricks on people as he knew from his experiences; pain still existed, thriving in certain forms.

Memories were being re-winded in his head from some of those instances, as he frowned upwards at the night sky, stars blinking here and there when not blocked by the raging snow. He could feel his gloved fists tremble with rage at a few faces, his body heating up and threatening to act violently. Ash wanted to scream at the world and Arceus for the cruelties he had endured, only to bite back his tongue and sigh, refusing to allow rage to win over calmness. He exhaled, a small cloud of his breath visible from the coldness of the mountain's environment, as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. The t-shirt he had on exhibited quite a few snowflakes, but he wasn't cold-rather, he was just trying to contain some of the emotions he still had.

"Ash, you really should not be pushing yourself like this. This will tear you apart both physically and mentally," a familiar voice said inside of his head.

The twenty-four-year-old snorted sarcastically at the voice before chuckling lightly to himself. Usually, Pikachu, Greninja, Latias, Zoroark, Charizard, or Sceptile would attempt to make him stop his 'meditation' and get him inside one of the natural hot springs located inside the interior of Mount Silver or to the cabin he had built for himself. Ash and the individuals that still stayed with him knew he needed to keep pushing himself, but sometimes it could be a bit overloaded. "I know I shouldn't be. I'm just... I'm just struggling with some feelings that I have. And perhaps always will," he muttered out loud to the night, knowing he could be heard.

Not amused with his answer, the voice replied sharply, "I don't blame you. Your entire world was relentlessly torn away from you, leaving you vulnerable and weaker than you have ever been in your life. Even if eight years have passed by, you are still as human as the day you were born. Arceus knows how even I struggle with these problems at times, understanding the concepts of emotion and pain." The voice cut off, almost humming in Ash's mind. He knew that it was waiting for the appropriate choice of words that would satisfy it.

He sighed, not continuing the conversation and deciding to rather return his focus back on watching the winds swirl around, snowflakes hitting the ground. With the time that had passed, Ash's character had developed new changes, but some specific characteristics remained an essential part of who he was. Stubbornness, undying bravery, and a strong sense of justice were still tremendous aspects of his identity. The empathy he had for other people, sadly, had died on the same day he recognized his new goals.

There was one person that kept driving him insane with urges to escape his isolation and to go find them, to tell them every bit of pain he was feeling, seriously certain that they would comfort him and accept him for the person he was. That, however, meant that Ash would have to face some of the challenges and risks that came from disappearing from the world and knowing that those who betrayed him probably still hated him. During the eight years, he had gone down the mountain several times, resulting in no contact with them at all, but also with some unexpected consequences that the world never expected would occur.

Ash smiled at some of the recent memories, ones that offered some relief, albeit temporary. It was tiring to live this lifestyle at specific moments, but he had to in order to emotionally support himself and learn to become stronger than ever before. That smile quickly faded away, and the regular, broken expression faded back onto his face.

FLASHBACK

The thick crowds of people were shocked and astonished at the event they had just witnessed. Cynthia, the powerful and seemingly unstoppable Champion of Sinnoh, had been defeated mercilessly by a challenger. The fact that Cynthia was defeated in battle was enough to cause an uproar, but her opponent caused most of the outrage. For one thing, he had knocked out the blonde's entire team with only one Pokemon. The other factor was that this man could not be identified by the League, had no name, and never spoke a single word at all. If anything, he had came out of nowhere with no record and within minutes, the battle ended.

She, like the masses watching the match, could not fathom the fact that a single Pokemon wiped out her entire team. Milotic was sent in first. Then Roserade. Next, her Spiritomb failed to trap it. Lucario barely made any dents. Togekiss didn't last for a minute. Finally, Cynthia's Garchomp, known for being one of the most powerful of it's kind, having roared onto the field with eyes of deadly and eager bloodthirstiness, had been slammed into the battlefield face first, fainting. All because of one extremely powerful Infernape, blazing with energy that made the other Elite Four flinch.

It wasn't just Cynthia that had been crushed; Aaron, Bertha, Lucian, and Flint all had their teams destroyed with just one Pokemon, but in each match, it was a different creature. The mysterious stranger's Decidueye, Krookodile, Staraptor, and Crawdaunt finished their battles with grace and victory, no mercy given to their opponents.

Having the Elite Four taken down with one Pokemon per battle wasn't what made the headlines, regardless of how impressive and impossible that could be. What did take the cake was the lack of details anyone had on who the unknown stranger was. No one knew him, he kept his face covered with the collar of his dark black jacket and red hat, and most importantly, he didn't speak at all. No, even when this man was battling, his Pokemon had acted in a manner as if a command was shouted, causing much debate about the whole ordeal.

Little did the world know, this was only the beginning of something insane.

The next week after the showdown in Sinnoh, the Indigo League began. The same man appeared there again, taking down opponent after opponent with no mercy. The Elite Four of Kanto? Defeated, with Lance's Dragonite humiliated with a Charizard. Months passed by, Hoenn and Alola begun their respected Leagues each, with both Elite Fours unable to stop the powerful man, Steven's Metagross finished with a Sceptile and the newly crowned Alolan Champion's Lunala beaten by an Incineroar. Johto was not difficult whatsoever. The Orange Islands were a joke to him. Orre's League felt very concerned with his Espeon. He had trampled through Unova with an empty soul, his Samurott speaking for him as it knocked out Alder's Volcarona.

Within this time span, roughly a year had passed. Many suspected that naturally, the mysterious figure would come to Kalos; after all, he did defeat all the other Regions, so why should he stop now?

He delivered his skills spectacularly in the Region, slicing through the competition like a knife cuts through butter. The Elite Four of Kalos were in a panic once they discovered he was competing in the tournament, swiftly preparing to build up their teams to the maximum in one final attempt to see if they could declare victory over the unbeatable stranger.

They failed miserably. Nothing appeared to resemble even a small challenge to his abilities, not even the Mega Evolutions trained for years for a scenario just like this one. In the end, they had fallen and proved to be unsuccessful in their objective of stopping his team. Diantha's Mega Gardevoir, a Pokemon known for it's majestic strength, fell victim to his Greninja, sweeping the floor. While they could not beat him, hey were able to get the man to speak one time:

"You called me weak and a failure before today. I was killed by you, and in return, I reincarnated into a person who can truly wield power. I endured pain and hell that no human or Pokemon should suffer from, and with the lessons learned in my journey, I used them to become the greatest Pokemon Master in the world. Understand that I gave you everything and you stripped my achievements and ousted me as a bastard. Understand that you gave me no mercy, so I shall give you NONE."

FLASHBACK OVER

The world often wondered where or who that man was, and they never got far, as the League officials themselves had no clue on his identity. He knew who he is and what he is supposed to do. The purpose of his life was solely to avenge himself and declare nothing but supreme victory over his enemies. Of all the titles in the world, the one that shined brightly for him was his rightful seat at the throne as a Pokemon Master. After all was done at the Leagues, the unknown challenger had disappeared off the radar, unable to be tracked down or discovered by anybody since the Kalos League came to a close.

Shockingly enough, for somebody as powerful as Ash Ketchum could be, his conscious persistently had obstacles when it came to healing his mind from the pain. He had done things nobody else could come close to claiming could do. Yet, the idea of finding his peace had not been achieved so far. The thought of being so helpless in a situation like the one he presently was in now worried him with the task of finding alternative routes to walk down in life.

And while he did discover more about himself and searched for answers to questions that could calm him and learn how to cope and understand life better, there were still tons of occasions where Ash needed a break or had to face the truth in the disappointing and loathing way he had to. Eight years had passed on by and most of his important questions were not answered and his challenges not yet reached, sometimes putting him in despair. The anger, rage, depression, and fear that slowly came here and there thankfully could be combated, and much more efficiently over time, as he learned how to teach himself the requirements necessary. Where he was eight years ago, he could have died, had it not been for his willpower and his Pokemon, who continued to assist him everyday in their own unique ways, hoping they could one day see their Trainer and friend finally be happy and free of suffering.

Glancing down the slope of the mountains surrounding the horizon, Ash picked himself up and watched the snow drift around him, the storm beginning to die down. He ran a hand through his hair, content and done with his thinking for the night. He just wished for something that could successfully help him relieve some stress and feel excited, which is why he headed towards the direction opposite of the way he was facing earlier.

For those that have done their research on the mountains of Kanto and Johto, they would have learned that no one lived near the peaks up north. However, the raven-haired hero and his Pokemon called a certain wide-spaced plateau and a few channels of tunnels and caves their home. Every single area served its own purpose and had their own unique names after something Ash had thought would be appropriate to title. The young man would not have preferably chosen to live here for himself, but this was the most secluded and safest place for him to remain for now.

The peak he currently stood on was connected to the monstrous and ominous Mount Silver, to which there was a natural platform that had several layers connected to it. So, while he was making his way back, plenty of space could be provided to glance around the cold, icy environment.

Cold could be used in several different definitions and examples in his life; the air and the atmosphere of the mountains were physically cold. Cold were the hearts of the damned bastards who had abandoned him and left him to die alone. Cold was the way his usually warm eyes saw the world around him, despite a few moments of brief joy or companionship from his Pokemon. In Ash's eyes, his life was very bitter.

Why shouldn't it be for him? For fuck's sake, he had wasted six-edging near seven-years of his life traveling with individuals who rejected him in the matter of seconds. He felt foolish and naive for believing that he trusted all of them and considered them friends.

Moving along the way, he saw the shimmering light of a lantern swaying over what he internally measured as at least a couple of hundred yards away. That was the cabin that he currently called his home. People would be amazed if they were informed that together with his team, they had finished the wooden structure in less than three days of hard work and determination, building a masterpiece of architecture. Modestly, Ash called the building a cabin, but it could be compared to a mansion to some; it was a two-floored wooden structure with thirteen different rooms, running water and plumbing, electricity, and a crazily good internet connection. There were nine rooms on the bottom floor and four on the second level, and even with the area and perimeter of it, the man could feel as if it was crowded at times, which it could be as it was where most of his possessions and supplies were stored.

This was where Ash was heading off to, preparing to obtain something inside and inspect it. He required this item if he wanted to do the exercise he hoped to accomplish and complete, using it as a distraction from his thoughts. Suddenly, as he was halfway across the path from getting into the house, his eyes widened at the sight of a glowing Aura Sphere rushing towards him, only to explode right at his exact position.

And that wraps up Chapter 1! Now, I wanna make a note about future chapters and the progression of this story. While I'm writing this mostly for fun and to have my own piece of fanfiction, I am also trying extremely hard to be correct in grammar and details. I tend to have a good record of that, so hopefully it'll all come out fine. But, along the way, I will come back to edit previous chapters for two reasons: 1) to fix any mistakes I have made and 2) to add details I felt I lacked upon or things I just want to add. That being said, my edits will not affect the main course of the story. Also, some of the canon is changed in here and along with that, chapter length will vary here to there. For the most part, I'm looking at each chapter having at least 3K words, the maximum being 10K if that ever does happen. Also, updating this story will be random and could take anywhere from a few hours to a week, as my schedule is weird. But, I do hope you stick around for it all! Thank you all again!