Author's note: Time for a new story. Btw this is post XYZ so no Alola or Galar Regions. Sorry, but I needed to limit how many regions there were just a bit to make it a little less complex. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Chapter 1: Tragedy

In Team Rocket Headquarters, Giovanni had called all her loyal members for a meeting. He was furious with how his plans were going lately and decided to finally do something about it

"I am sick of these failures. I am sick of people getting involved with our plans. It is time. It is time to launch a full-scale attack on each region. We have enough strong Pokemon to do this" Giovanni says to all his grunt, including Jessie, James and Meowth

"But Sir. Even if we are able to defeat the gym leaders of each region, how are we going to deal with the Elite Four and the Champions" One grunt asks

"We have gotten ready for this day for years. We have 100s of Pokemon strong enough to take them down. For now, we are starting with Kanto. If Kanto does not surrender, then we will burn it to the ground to send a message. Team Rocket will rule the world" Giovanni declares. His grunts all yell in unison

Meanwhile, with Ash who is at Professor Oak's Laboratory visiting his Pokemon

"Hey, Professor Oak. How are my Pokemon?" He asks

"They are great. Tracey has been taking care of them very well" Oak replies. Ash smiles

"Hey Ash" Ash turns and see Misty and Brock coming inside

"Hey, guys. Long time no see. What are you guys doing here?" Ash greets them

"We decided to come and visit. It has been a while since we all have seen each other. Plus I can use a break from studying to be a doctor and Misty could use a break from running her Gym" Brock replies

"Well, whatever the case, it is nice to see you guys again" Ash replies. Pikachu also greets the two old friends. The trio capture up a bit until Ash hears a familiar voice

"Hey Ashy Boy" Ash looks and sees Gary with Tracey following

"Hello, Gary. Good to see you too. You too Tracey" Ash says

"Well tell us about Kalos. I heard you made it to the finals of the Pokémon League" Brock says. Ash rubs his head

"Yeah. So close. Oh well. Can't do anything about it now except train and become stronger. I have a feeling the next League I enter will end in my victory" He says

"Well don't jinx it. Where are you going next?" Tracey asks

"Not sure but wherever it is, I know I will have a lot of fun and meet some new strong Pokémon" Ash replies

"Always optimistic" Misty says. The group starts to laugh and catch up a bit. Suddenly, they hear an explosion outside

"What was that?" The group then go outside. They look up to see a bunch of Team Rocket ships

"What the?" Ash says

3 years later

We see Ash sitting in a cave alone. No Pikachu. No friends. All alone. He sits by a fire he made as he eats his dinner. After eating, he sits by the fire and then closes his eyes for a bit. While he has his eyes closed, he sees fire and dead bodies everywhere. He then sees Misty, Brock, Gary, Tracey, Oak, Pikachu, and his Mom lying dead on the ground with him looking in horror. He quickly opens his eyes again. He gets both mad and depressed

"Giovanni. You will pay" He says under his breath. He then turns on a radio he had to see what is going on in the world

"Breaking news. The region of Unova has surrendered to Team Rocket. This leaves Kalos the only region that has not surrendered. In response, Giovanni has sent over a recording with a message" We hear the reporter say

"Kalos?" Ash mutters

"Dear Kalos. You are the only region that has not surrendered. Kanto was burnt to the ground while Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova all surrendered. I warn you. If you do not surrender, you will face the same fate as Kanto did. I declare this war to begin" Giovanni says.

Ash becomes disturbed. He looks back at his time in Kalos but when looking back at everything, there is only one thing that he remembers the most, or should we say someone; Serena. Before Ash had left Kalos, Serena had kissed him at the airport before leaving for Hoenn. He had heard she had gone back to Kalos in the request of her mother when Hoenn became under attack(we will find out how he heard this later). In fact, all his friends, including the champions of each region had gone to Kalos when their respective regions started to surrender. Ash didn't want any of his remaining friends to die as his Kanto friends did but if there was anyone he couldn't afford to lose, it was Serena. He then remembers the last time he talked to her

Flashback

Ash had gotten back to from Kalos a week prior and decided to catch up on his friends from Kalos. He had called Clemont and Bonnie, the Kalos trio, Sawyer, and Alain and Mairin. The last person he had to call was Serena. After finding out which city she was in, Ash called her up. As the videophone rang, he thought of the moment at the airport and blushed slightly.

"Never thought Serena would do something like that and what's weirder is I liked it" Ash thought His thoughts are interrupted when Serena answered the call. Serena sees Ash and blushes slightly

"Hey Ash" She greets him. Ash gives her his goofy smile

"Hey, Serena. How is Hoenn?" He asks

"Hoenn is great. I have been watching a few Pokemon contests that have happened this week to get some knowledge of them before I participate in one. They look like so much fun" Serena responds

"I am sure you will do great in them" Ash says. Serena blushes. The two talk for a bit until Ash decided to finally address the Mamoswine in the room

"Serena, can I ask you something?" He asks. Serena nods

"Why did you kiss me at the airport?" Ash asks. Serena blushes massively

"Uh well I uh" She stutters with her response

"Hey. I never said I didn't like it. I just want to know why" Ash says

"Well Ash" Serena starts and then sighs

"Will the kiss affect our friendship?" She asks. Ash thinks for a bit

"Yes, it will" He says. Serena looks shocked

"Let me finish before you react. It will affect our friendship because now I miss you more than every. I have traveled through 6 regions and the orange islands with many friends but I have never missed them as much as I miss you. You kissing me at the airport made me realize that you are special to me" Ash responds. Serena blushes massively and smiles

"You are special to me too Ash. I wish I told you this before but I uh I" Before she can answer, Ash stops her

"You don't have to say it. I may be dense as most say but I know what you are going to say" He says. Serena looks surprised

"Well if you know how I feel, I want to know how you feel" Serena says

"Tell you what. How about I fly to Hoenn next week and we can talk about it?" Ash replies. Serena gets excited

"I'd like that" She replies

"Alright. Well, I actually have to go now. I need to check up on my Pokemon. I will call you next week and we can meet up then" Ash says. Serena nods and they both say their goodbyes before Ash leaves to go to Professor Oak's lab. Before he leaves, he takes out a necklace from him pocket

"Mom always said I will find someone to give grandma's necklace to. I guess I have found that someone" Ash thinks with a smile. He then puts it back in his pocket and heads out. Little does he know, this would the last time he would have a smile on his face

End of Flashback

Ash then goes into his pocket and takes out his Grandma's necklace which is wrapped in a handkerchief, the same one he had given Serena as a kid. He then thinks about what had happened to his mom.

"Not again. Not this time. I won't let you take Kalos. It is time" Ash thinks. He then puts the necklace and handkerchief back in his pocket and walks to the other side of the cave and looks at a picture he had of him, his mom, and Pikachu. He takes out a small candle, lights it, and put the candle in front of the picture. Ash then bows his head to the picture

"This is for you guys. I won't let him hurt my loved ones anymore" He says. Ash then goes into his bag that is in the corner of the cave and takes out a black mask and jacket. He then takes off his iconic hat he was wearing

"No one can know I am alive" Ash says to himself. He put the hat in the bag and put on the jacket and mask. The jacket was long sleeved with a hoody to cover his hair while the mask covered everything on his face except for his mouth. He walked up to a bowl of rainwater he had collected and looked at his reflection

"Good. No one can tell it is me" Ash thinks. He quickly grabs his bag and whatever food he had with him and then takes out a Pokeball and sends out his Charizard. Charizard takes one look at Ash and immediately knows what his trainer is planning. Charizard then gets in position for Ash to get on top of him to fly. Before Ash does, he takes one last look at the cave, gets on Charizard, and the two fly off. While flying, Ash looks back at the place he had stayed the last 3 years; Mount Silver. He then commands Charizard to head for Kalos

"Giovanni. It is time for you to pay for your sins" Ash thinks

Meanwhile with Serena, who is currently at her mother's house

Serena had just heard the report of Giovanni's plan to invade Kalos and decided to finally join her friends in joining the task force to defend the region. She leaves her room and tells her mother her plan

"I forbid it" Grace responds

"I am not asking for your permission mom. I am going whether you like it or not" Serena responds

"Serena it is way too dangerous. Do you want to end up dead like….?" Before Grace can answer, she stops herself

"Like Ash. Is that what you were going to say? Do I want to end up dead like Ash? Well, I don't care if I die. Giovanni burnt Kanto to the ground and Ash died during the attack. I won't let his death be meaningless. I will avenge his death and make sure the same thing does not happen to Kalos. If you don't support my decision, then don't. But I am going whether you like it or not" Serena replies. She starts to leave but before she can, Grace stops her

"Be careful" Grace says. Serena nods and leaves to go join the task force. While she is headed there, she looks back at the time she spent with Ash. Tears start to roll down her face

"Don't think I have cried in the past 3 years. I told myself I wouldn't cry. I need to be strong" Serena thinks. She then smiles

"Okay. Just this once" Serena says to herself. She then bursts into tears

"Why? Why did you have to leave me?" Serena says. She cries for around 5 minutes before finally getting it together. She takes out a cloth and wipes away her tears before continuing her journey

"Ash. I promise. I will make Giovanni pay for what he did" Serena thinks, and she continues to the headquarters of the task force

Meanwhile, with Ash, Ash and Charizard had just landed on Kalos after flying for a few hours; it was night time in Kalos. He lands in an area that is isolated to be sure no one sees him

"Thanks, Charizard. Get some rest" Ash recalls Charizard. He then starts to think of his first plan of action

"Giovanni will probably launch is attack in the morning as to get here from Kanto, or whatever's left of it, would take a bit and his troops would need to rest. The first place he would probably attack is the most famous city; Lumiose City" Ash thinks. He checks his map and sees he is about an hour's walk from the city

"Alright better get walking" He thinks. He suddenly then gets a strange feeling. He feels the presence of someone; someone he knew a long time ago.

"I know that presence " Ash exclaims. He quickly runs in the direction of where the presence is coming from. After running for a bit, he encounters what he was looking for; Squishy, the second Zygarde cell, and Greninja. The 3 of them notice him and then get ready to battle him

"Stop. It's me" Ash says before taking off his hood and mask to show his face. The 3 pokemon are surprised. Greninja runs up to Ash and gives him a hug

"It's good to see you too Greninja" Ash says

"So you are still alive" Squishy says

"Alive and well. I have come back to protect Kalos" Ash responds

"You couldn't protect Kanto. What makes you think you can protect Kalos" The second Zygarde cell says. Ash is hurt

"Don't have to be so harsh. He's helped save Kalos before" Squishy says

"No. Zygarde is right. I couldn't protect Kanto. I wasn't strong enough and ran off scared. I've been hiding for 3 years scared. Scared that I will fail again. But note anymore. Now I am back and stronger than ever. Giovanni took everything from me. I have nothing to lose which makes me more dangerous than ever" Ash says

"What about your friends?" Squishy asks. Ash freezes and looks down

"Alright maybe I do have something to lose but that doesn't matter. Giovanni doesn't know I am still alive, and I plan to keep it that way. I have a thirst for revenge and vengeance and that makes me just as dangerous as him. I won't fail this time. Not again. I refuse to hide any longer" He says. After some silence, Z2, the second Zygarde cell, speaks

"Alright. We trust you. We trust you to protect Kalos. But only because we are desperate. Right now, the two of us can't use our full strength" Z2 says

"Wait. Why?" Ash asks

"Giovanni captured most of our cells from other regions. All we have left is the ones in this region and we only have enough to use 10% of our power each. That isn't enough to do anything against the newly powered-up Team Rocket. Ash I'm afraid you are on your own" Z2 says

"Don't worry. I am not alone. I have my Pokemon and I know my friends will help any way they can. I won't let him take Kalos. I will protect it to the very end. But to do that, I could use Greninja's help" Ash says

"Understood. You may take him. Two of us will search Kalos for more cells and try to regain more of our power" Squishy says. Ash nods and takes out a Pokeball. He looks at Greninja who nods. Ash then taps the Pokeball on Greninja's head with sucks him into the Pokeball

"Welcome back Greninja" Ash says

"Ash. It is up to you. Giovanni has 4 other regions under his control and another region that is basically in ruin. The trainers in Kalos are completely outnumbered. You need to turn the tide of this war. We trust you to do what we cannot do right now. Protect Kalos" Squishy says

"Rest assured I won't let you down. Giovanni will pay for what he did to Kanto" Ash says. He then puts back on his mask and hood. Before he leaves, he is stopped by Squishy

"Also Ash? Take care of Bonnie" Squishy adds before the two Zygarde cells runoff. Ash nods

"Haven't seen my friends in 3 years. I wonder how much they have changed" Ash thinks to himself before heading off to Lumiose City

And so Ash's road to retribution has begun, will Ash be able to avenge Kanto? To be continued

Next Chapter Preview

"I won't let you people take my city. Luxray. Bunnelby. Chespin. Let's fight" Clemont says

"BIG BROTHER" Bonnie screams

"LEAVE MY LITTLE SISTER ALONE" Clemont screams. Suddenly, an explosion happens

"Bonnie are you okay?" Clemont says

"Yes, but who saved me?" Bonnie questions

"Looks like you guys need help" Someone says

"Who are you?" Clemont and Bonnie ask

"My name is Aaron and I am here to take down Team Rocket. Next time on Pokemon" Ash/Aaron says

"The war of Kalos begins" Clemont says

"Everyone go Pokemon" Bonnie says

Author's note: Well hope you guys liked it. I plan for this to possibly be my longest story. I don't have many plans for it right now besides how I want it to end so give me some time and I am sure I will create a good story