Edit: Added on to the Butterfree scene to make it more emotional.

AN: Hey, it's Primordial Soul with the ninth chapter of Blessed By Victory!

Ah, it's good to be back writing the first story I've every attempted. Makes me feel so nostalgic even though others stories hold my attention.

Horsea had so much potential that I had to give it to Ash after considering the benefits she could provide Ash and the sheer waste of its talent when Misty had.

All right, this is the Gastly episode, an original scene, and the Butterfree episode. Things will obviously be different as he is alone.

I realized that I accidentally committed blasphemy again and returned Pikachu to his ball. The consequences of that decision are at the beginning of this chapter.

I've also managed to get baseline personalities set for all of Ash's Pokemon. Some are revealed now and others will be revealed later.

His current roster has been changed from last chapter. He now is holding Pikachu, Victini, Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur.

Review Responses:

Magicalfan18; Uranium235: We've discussed your response already. Moving on.

Vampireharry the 2: It will evolve. When? That, my reader, is a secret.

LightningBlade49: Maybe. I'll think about all your questions.

RandomGuy8: I definitely wasn't going to spam the teleport option. That would ruin the whole story! Besides, I'm making it so that Victini doesn't like teleporting and will only use it to travel extremely long distances when they feel like it.

Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Talk"- English

'Talk'- Pokemon speech

"Talk"- Telepathy

I don't own anything!

'NEVER PUT ME IN MY BALL AGAIN, YOU HUMAN!'

Ash whimpered as he hung from a tree by his ankle, fried by carefully regulated Thundershocks, clothes dirtied from his attempted escape, his body feeling completely exhausted from his retreat. Ten feet below him, his pokemon cowered behind a furious Pikachu, whose maniacal gleam in his eyes and snarl on his face terrified Ash. Ash gulped as Pikachu's cheeks sparked while the mouse continued to rage at the foolish human who broke a commandment, a sacred line between them.

In his eagerness to get to Porta Vista the day before, Ash had returned a sleeping Pikachu to his ball, not wanting to wake the Pokemon just for some traveling. However, Ash was only ten and so he forgot that one thing worse than waking Pikachu was returning Pikachu to his ball.

When he had let out Pikachu for some training in a clearing after leaving Porta Vista, the Mouse had just stood there, slowing shaking in fury. Ash, thinking that Pikachu was thinking about his brother, attempted to console him. Novice mistake and it was one that cost him. Pikachu had started ranting and yelling at Ash for his actions the day before. The rest of his Pokemon had ran from the furious Pikachu, abandoning their trainer to his fate.

Using his newly gained smarts that he received from Victini, he had wisely decided to run as fast as he could. However, Pikachu cheated and coerced the aid of all of his pokemon. He had been caught by the old classic foot trap and was victim to Pikachu's violent outbursts and raging rant.

As he was hit with another bolt of lighting, Ash swore never to return Pikachu to his ball again. Never again.

Thankfully, Pikachu appeared to be calming down as he took deep breathes and closed his eyes to calm himself. Ash let out a brief sigh of relief. Thank Arceus that torture was over.

'You got the message, punk?' Pikachu yelled, raising an eyebrow in anticipation.

"YES, YES YOU HAVE! I WILL NEVER RETURN YOU TO YOUR BALL AGAIN! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" Ash quickly screamed in fright, not wanting a repeat of his two hour experience.

'I predict that our Master has learned the folly of his actions?' Pidgeotto said, preening his wings in a bored expression now that the main event was over. Pidgetto was the oldest of the group and was prone to using fancy words when talking. Pidgeotto liked to impress others and was always showing his word knowledge to the group

'Yep, I definitely think so! Get him down so I can start making great things again!" Squirtle eagerly said, eyes shining with anticipation. The rest of the team gulped at his words. Squirtle, besides being a prankster, was also apparently a mad scientist, addicted to running experiments to create new pranking materials. However, he had a nasty tendency to blow things up while working. The team still had no idea how he managed to blow up Ash's tent with a frying pain, mustard and several Sitrus Berries when he tried to make some sort of paint. They didn't want to know.

'You've blown up enough stuff Squirtle. I mean, you incinerated my special flower when you wanted to create that one fragrance.' Bulbasaur said slowly and peacefully. Bulbasaur was the peacemaker of the group, having solved several disputes between Pokemon when he was still wild.

'Don't forget you burned my beautiful wings when you wanted to take a small sample of them! I was dirty for hours!' Butterfree complained, his eyes glancing fearfully at the cackling Squirtle. He was the vain one of the group, obsessing over every small aspect of his body. Butterfree loved his appearance very much and couldn't stand for less than perfection.

'Guys, we've gotten a little off topic. Pikachu, free Ash, will you?' Victini asked, concerned over Ash's well being. Victini was the leader of the team no matter who was present and was the member who had least changed in personality. She was the calmest and the sanest member of Ash's pokemon. However, she had a thirst to prove herself and was possessive over her time with Ash. Victini had years over these newcomers; they could wait, she thought.

'Fine. But if he does it again, I'm going to fry his ass a lot harder. He better have a good battle and ketchup waiting for me' Pikachu grumbled as he reluctantly released the rope holding Ash up. After his battle against Lt. Surge, Pikachu had somehow developed an small addiction to adrenaline, making him far more violent and battle hungry than he was before. His language had become much more crude and was now the one who cursed the most. Still, he was Ash's second strongest battler after Victini. That was to be expected however as she was Victory incarnate.

Ash slowly got to his feet, his body protesting every movement he had. Victini used her psychic abilities to help him up, which Ash sent a thankful glance in return.

"All right. So it seems like you guys have had enough work for today. Everybody..." Ash gulped as Pikachu stared him down, "I mean, everyone but Pikachu and 'Tini, return."

The rest of his team returned to their balls and Pikachu and Victini jumped on Ash's shoulders. Ash sighed at their exuberance and began walking towards Maiden's Peak, their next destination. Ash was curious about the Summer Ending Festival there and wanted to experience it before they continued on to Saffron City.

Ash and company managed to make it to the city around nightfall, just in time to participate in the festival. Because this town was small enough to make Ash feel comfortable, he let Victini remain visible and do whatever she wanted. She absolutely loved the chance to interact with others and eagerly flew around the city. Multiple people commented on her cuteness and playfulness which Victini ate up.

Some people attempted to scan her with the Pokedex, trying to find out more about her, but they all registered as unknown as Victini was an Unovan pokemon. One idiot attempted to try and catch her, which Victini responded by bashing the Machoke's face in and returning to Ash, gripping his hat in a possessive manner.

Ash chuckled slowly at seeing Victini act like this. With a single motion, he moved Victini off his head and into his hands. "It looks like you were having fun, 'Tini!" he commented.

'I was! Until that idiot thought I was a free catch. Stupid human." Victini huffed, crossing her arms in a petulant manner.

"Well, he obviously lacked a few brain cells. Come on, I wanted to check this shrine out." Ash said, walking towards a cliff overlooking the waterfront.

'What shrine?' Victini asked, confused over what Ash was referring to.

"Apparently, there is a shrine dedicated to a maiden who supposedly waited for her lover for so long that she turned to stone. The shrine was built to dedicate her and I wanted to see what it was before we leave town."

"All right..." Victini said hesitantly. "Be careful. I'm getting a bad feeling here..."

Ash slowly straightened as they reached the shrine, eyes observing everything around them. "How bad are we feeling?" he asked slowly, his body reacting to Victini's worries.

'Small amount, although I feel as pale as a Ghost,' Victini replied, her blue eyes staring around the shrine while her psychic senses probed their surroundings. Something wasn't right.

"Then probe it. I want it where we can see it." Ash said. Victini responded by sending out a small psychic pulse, capable of causing any Ghost's nearby to appear.

A cry emerged from their right. As the two turned, they saw the ghost of the maiden, which had apparently been stalking them, slowly disperse and reform into a Gastly. It cried out its native tongue again, pissed off at their move.

"All right, we've got a Ghost. Victini, you've got this. Use Confusion on Gastly!" Ash ordered, falling into the normal rush of battle. He loved this feeling.

Victini glowed blue and sent a Confusion pulse at Gastly who managed to avoid the attack. Gastly cried out again and transformed into … a stone tower? He had never seen such a thing before. Ash wondered why it would do such a thing before Victini screamed in terror.

Victini's eyes were wide, her breath hyperventilating at the sight. No... No... the memories... Memories long repressed escaped from the abysses of her brain, filling her with mind numbing terror. Emotional pain crushed her conscious mind, sending her into darkness. She cried out and fell to the ground, moving into a fetal position.

Ash was shocked at her actions; what was going on that would terrify Victini into such a state? Ash threw out Pikachu and yelled, "Take care of the Gastly now!"

Pikachu grinned in delight as he fired a Thundershock at Gastly, whose attempted transformation into a mouse trap proved useless in the face of a battle hungry Pikachu. Gastly was fried and he fell off the cliff, unconscious.

'That's what I'm talking about!' Pikachu yelled. He turned to face his trainer and raised an eyebrow at Victini, 'What the - is with her?'

Ash paid no attention to Pikachu; his focus was on the whimpering Victini in his arms, nearly catatonic from terror and pain. He didn't know what happened to her, but he would whatever it took to make her feel better. She was worth it to him.

When Ash got to the Pokemon Center and after Nurse Joy checked up on Victini, she said that Victini was physically fine and was simply undergoing emotional stress and experiencing a repressed phobia. She would be fine after some rest. Ash thanked Nurse Joy and grabbed a room, unwilling to leave until Victini was all right. He sat there for hours, watching Victini's unconscious form, pleading silently for her to wake up. Finally, at three in the morning, Victini's form stirred and Ash let out a sigh of relief as Vicitini's beautiful blue eyes opened again.

'What … happened? Ugh..." Victini moaned, cradling her head. 'It feels like I was trampled by a herd of Tauros...'

"Well, I'm glad you're fine after that incident with the Gastly," Ash said, grabbing the small Victory pokemon. "However, what happened back there? Why did you react in such a way?"

Victini hesitated, trying to say the right thing. 'Ash... I lived a lot longer than you and I have experienced some things that … were not good. That just made me remember the worst of them.'

Ash blinked at Victini's words, 'You haven't told me everything?' Ash said, his voice bitter for the first time in a while. She wasn't honest with him? After all the time they had been together?

'Ash, please don't take this badly. You're the greatest thing that has ever happened to me,' Victini pleaded, snuggling his body as tears came to her eyes. 'But... there are things so painful to me, things that have effected me so much... I can't tell you about them even after being together for as long as we have. We might have been together for a long time to you, but this is barely the blink of an eye to me. It's just... hard … to be completely honest... to someone who you will have so little time with.'

Ash's bitterness slowly turned into understanding. She didn't want to tell him her past because of how short of a time they had been together to her. Why would she spill her life's secrets to a person who she would hardly spare any time with? Ash resolved to give her as much time as she needed.

"Take as much time as you need," Ash stated firmly, earning a surprised look from Victini, "It's obvious that you aren't ready to open up and I won't push you. Just... make sure you tell me eventually okay?"

Victini jumped on his face, hugging it so hardly that Ash started to feel slight pain. 'Thank you for this! I'll make sure I do! You're the best thing that has ever happened to me!' Ash took a few steps back, running into the bed. He toppled over onto the bed, Victini sitting on his head.

Victini blinked as she took in Ash's tired eyes, 'You stayed up all night for me?' she asked, honored by his commitment.

When Ash nodded, Victini's eyes grew fierce before she responded sternly, 'Ash Ketchum! You need your sleep! Bed, now!'

Her trainer laughed and cheekily replied, "Yes, mother!" He got under the covers, a warm Victini in his arms and quickly fell asleep.

After receiving a good nights sleep, Ash and company continued on to Saffron City where his fourth gym battle awaited him. Ash expected for the trip to take three more days for them to reach. Therefore, Ash wanted to take some time to train before they reached the city.

They had been working on their endurance for several hours before a small explosion could be heard behind them near Ash's tent. Everyone groaned and turned to see a charred Squirtle on the ground, thrown by the explosion.

'What did you do this time, turtle?' Pikachu growled, still working on improving his tail muscles for future battles. 'I swear, if you blew something important up, I'll...'

'I wanted to create a edible substance that would be drastically better than the horrible stuff from the markets. I was about to make a breakthrough, but hm... did I add too much ketchup? Or did I not stir it enough? So many questions!' Squirtle pondered, hand resting on his chin. He had no concern over the explosion he had just created.

'YOU TOUCHED MY KETCUHP, SQUIRT! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!' Pikachu roared, throwing himself at Squirtle. Only the timely intervention of Bulbasaur and Victini managed to save the oblivious Squirtle from annihilation.

'Pikachu, calm down. It's okay, everything is going to be okay...' Bulbasaur soothed, trying to calm Pikachu down.

''STOP IT, YOU DINOSAUR! HE'S GONNA PAY!' Pikachu raged, squirming.

Ash sighed at Pikachu's exuberance and provocative nature as Butterfree floated next to him. Although he would never give them up for anything, they did at times prove to be tiring. Thank Arceus Bulbasaur and Victini were around. They were always able to calm the rest of them down.

"Hey, Butterfree. What are you doing?" Ash asked, turning towards the floating Butterfly pokemon. Butterfree didn't respond as he was focused on an dark cloud slowly approaching them.

Ash squinted at the cloud, trying to observe it in more detail. It wasn't long before Ash realized that the cloud was a swarm of Pokemon. Butterfree in fact.

A lightbulb went off in Ash's head. He smiled widely and turned back to Butterfree, a mischievous smirk on his face, "Don't worry, Butterfree! We'll get you a lady friend!"

'Really!' Butterfree exclaimed, surprise and happiness in his voice. His wings fluttered excitedly at Ash's approval to get a mate.

"Everything we're doing shouldn't stand in the way of life. Of course you can go ahead. We'll wait." Ash said, turning his attention back to an angry Pikachu who still hadn't been calmed down yet.

Butterfree quickly looked through the cloud and instantly found her. She was a pink Butterfree, one that appeared recently out of her Metapod stage. Her gorgeous eyes, her beautiful wings, her smooth body, everything combined into an instant infatuation. She was his.

He quickly flew up to the lady and flicked his wings in a specific manner. She turned to face his, quickly glanced him over for a second and turned to look at other prospective mates. Butterfree was not afraid by the implicit rejection. He knew that she spent longer than normal looking over his tough body from all the intense training Ash had put him under. Butterfree knew that if Ash had been lazier and not as strict, he would have a much tougher time trying to win her over. With circumstances such as these, it was only a matter of time.

Butterfree narrowed his eyes and prepared for action. Time to impress her.

With a flick of his wings, he created a twister with his Whirlwind attack. After it had gotten big enough, he flew right into it and let out a large quantity of Stun Spore. The twister turned into a beautiful gold color, amazing everyone around it. Pikachu stopped fighting and glanced up at it, followed by the rest of the team.

Ash smiled faintly as he took in the sight.

Go get her, the boy thought.

Butterfree kept a single minded focus on his flying, paying no attention to his observers. If this was going to work, he would need all of his attention. With a mental push, he psychically grabbed hold of the twister surrounding him and forced it to change shape. With a slow movement, the twister changed into a floating heart, one solely directed to the Pink Butterfree he loved.

After several seconds of holding the twister in position, Butterfree let it dissipate, revealing the Butterfly to the rest of the world. His love, who Butterfree noticed with satisfaction had a blush on her face, flew up to him and returned his courtship offer. Butterfree's heart exploded with happiness as he returned the gesture. He had someone to spend the rest of his life with.

Ash and the team were grinning widely as Butterfree returned with his new mate. 'Congratulations!' everyone cheered, proud for Butterfree's success.

"You did good. You did good." Ash said, looking at the pink girl. She was a prime example of her species, one Butterfree should be proud to have.

'Thanks, Ash!' Butterfree said, too happy to really focus. As the two new mates got to know each other, Butterfree's heart began to pull in two. He wanted to stay with his mate, but he had a duty to the dream...

"Go ahead and leave with her." Ash said, correctly reading his Pokemon's thoughts. As Butterfree turned to face him in surprise, Ash continued, "Your happiness means more to me than the dream does. I won't force you to live your life away from the ones you love. Live your life. But make sure you drop by from time to time."

Butterfree was speechless by his trainers generosity. It made it even more painful for him to leave. 'We'll make our home by Pallet Town so we can keep in contact. I owe you that much.'

"Good luck then, Butterfree. See you when we get back to Pallet. Keep her safe." Ash said, slight tears forming in his eyes. He never had to release a pokemon before.

As the rest of the teams said their goodbyes, Ash pressed a button on Butterfree's poke ball, releasing him from service. Ash put the poke ball away and waved to the two Butterfree. "Good bye." Ash whispered.

The two Butterfrees flew away towards the sunset, ready to start their new lives. Memories began flowing through Ash's mind over his time with Butterfree. His body turned numb and he could barely feel the tears sliding down his eyes as he remembered.

He remembered catching Caterpie in Viridian Forest, the excitement he had felt when the poke ball signified its capture. He remembered the joy he had felt as he picked up Caterpie's pokeball, having caught his first ever pokemon through battle.

He remembered Caterpie's evolution into Metapod and the shock of experiencing his first evolution. He remembered laughing at Metapod's dry wit and the humor he brought to their lives.

He remembered the tears he had shed when Metapod had saved his life and remembered the surprise of its spontaneous evolution. He remembered chuckling over Butterfree's vainness and its attempts to always keep itself clean.

He remembered its performance during the Pewter City Gym Battle, its skill in taking down Geodude. He remembered Squirtle trying to take a sample from Butterfree's wings and having it blow up in their face. He remembered the power he had displayed in earning a mate and the pride he felt towards Butterfree's success. He remembered all his memories with Butterfree

He would never have the chance to make new ones.

Victini slowly floated up to Ash's head and whispered, 'Are you going to be okay' Victini knew how painful this was to Ash. It was always hard to say good bye to a friend forever.

Ash was silent for a moment before he replied hoarsely, "I will be, 'Tini. I will be." They remained silent after that, reminiscing their memories of Butterfree with nostalgia. They now owed to accomplish the dream for Butterfree's sake.

Ash vowed that they would. Saffron awaited them.

AN: I hope you enjoyed that chapter of Blessed By Victory!

In the end, I decided for Butterfree to leave. It was an emotional scene, one I thought Ash needed to experience. Butterfree will show up again, but he's now gone for the time being.

Next up, the whole Saffron city debacle! How will Ash handle Sabrina?

That's all folks. See you later!

Primordial Soul