Chapter 5 (continued…) ~ The Forgiving

"A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was." Joseph Hall

Extract from the Diary of Cynthia…Champion of Sinnoh…

It's been a year since the legends healed Ash. Since then he's changed. He had changed already but this change was…better.

He recovered the statues from the lorry they had been driven off in. Thankfully it hadn't had a chance to make it to the ship. He never spoke a word, but his eyes were so trouble, so dark… I don't want to know what was going on in his mind.

They cleared things up at Indigo pretty promptly. Once Lance retrieved his beloved Gyrados and Agatha had her Gengar back they set up a story. They used Ash's appearance from before to make him out to be a hero that saved the day. The villain was killed accidently and no names were released, allowing Raven to disappear and for Ash to go unnoticed. He seemed nervous when everyone started asking him questions and it took several death-like glares and Raichu's thunder shocks before they stopped pestering him.

If looks could kill there would have been several more deaths that day.

He seemed to be comforted by that co-ordinator's presence. She stuck close to him, although truthfully I think it was the other way round. Raven seemed so lost, so confused by what had happened. He refused to speak, refused to tell anyone anything. When Misty and Dawn tried to apologise he turned away, not wanting to hear it. I've never seen anyone so broken before.

Raichu stays on his shoulder at all times. He's pretty big for an evolved mouse but still he somehow manages to maintain his old perch. I don't know how he does it, especially as he pigs it out on ketchup all the time. Seems like some habits die hard. Rai looks troubled too, like his master. They've both been through so much, I don't think anything could separate them now. That Lucario of his knows what his master is feeling, you can see it mirrored in those blood, red eyes. Nobody dares to look, no one wants to see the pain, the sadness, the anger, the guilt…

He refuses to tell anyone anything. Consequently nobody knows what the Alpha Pokémon told him or what he went through in those years he was away. He doesn't talk to anyone much, but you'll catch him now and then, chatting to Raichu or Espeon as if it is something he does all the time. He shuts up when you notice, although I think they can still understand each other, communicating with methods I wouldn't know of. Maybe talking just feels more natural…

I don't think he has forgiven his old friends. I don't think he had forgiven himself.

Misty and Gary are running the Viridian gym together and Brock is taking on a course in breeding. He still fails to find a girlfriend yet continues to hit on me every time I see him. Dawn had grown up a lot. She and Paul tried going out but I don't think it worked out and they gave it up. The blunette is now with Kenny. Max failed to win the Indigo league during his rematch, and Richie won. The poor boy was then beaten terribly by the elites though and he went off somewhere to nurse his injured pride.

Then Ash challenged them.

He used a fake name, a name he still uses now. People know of him as Red, the strongest trainer who trains on Mount Silver.

He beat the Kanto Elites and the Champion as easily as he beat me.

He's the champion now, officially. He never turns up for any meetings though and Lance takes his place. Ash remains at Mount Silver, alone with his twelve remaining Pokémon and others that he reunited with.

Did I say alone?

May's with him. She's the only one he has let in close, let through his hard shell that has been set up. You can see it in his eyes when he looks at her, see the warmth shine through the darkness, see the faint reflection of the boy that he once was.

That brunette managed to win two grand festivals and beat Wallace. I guess it's true that Champions hang around together. She, the champion co-ordinator. Him, the master Pokémon trainer.

It seems ironic that the title he had wanted for so long only is rewarded at the end of his ordeal.

You can still see it in his eyes, see the pain written there. I don't think he will ever forget. This is something that will stay with him forever, through thick or thin. He spoke to me once, before we left. It was only brief, a few fleet passing words. They seemed to echo the shattered pieces of his mind as he told me that the Pokémon Hunter Raven was dead.

He prefers to be called Red now but we all still call him Ash. He doesn't complain but you can see that it brings back memories. He flinches slightly every time someone addresses him. The only time he doesn't react is when she says it, but then it's pretty obvious how they have always felt for each other. I think she's the only one who will manage to heal him, the only one that will help him to recover. I don't think he'll ever get over it completely but he will move on because that it how he has lived his life.

He is Arceus's chosen one.

He is the only one who could have survived what he did and still live through it. He came through it on top, and now has found something worth living for. No matter how small, no matter how tiny. He was shattered, broken, torn apart with no will left to fight. He was manipulated, fed on darkness, trapped without hope. Somehow he came through that with one blue eye and a scar across his chest.

Oh, wait, Barry want to write something.

"I still say we fine him."

Well Cynthia says this. "Shut up Barry! Why must you always have the last say? Just because you were given a position on the Sinnoh Elite Four… I could kick you off just as easily…"

I can picture Ash snapping this to him, his eyes dark but with a hint of humour. In fact I can picture him on Mount Silver right now, Espeon frolicking at his heels and Lucario leaning against a warm rock, red eyes closed. Floatzel and Lapras are swimming while Pidgeot and Garchomp fly through the sky. Infernape slumbers down below, besides a Munchlax that eats far too much for his own good.

In a tree a Beautifly and Butterfree flutter their elegant wings. Below them two Venusaurs nuzzle each other gently, this action mirrored by a pair of Blastoise that are standing half in, half out of the mountain stream. Behind them Blaziken can't decide whether she want to join them or not, wishing to get away from the small pink cat that is chasing her tail in circles. Above her a Charizard flaps his orange wings while perched on a large rock, long neck extended and fangs bared. Nearer to the lush green grass a Meganium, Typhlosion and Feraligatr chase each other, revelling in the joys of play.

He stands there, on the mountain side beside her. She is wearing her emerald outfit with her usual green bandana in her hair. Their hands are linked and Raichu and Glaceon sit at their feet. They stare out over the silver mountainside, touched with frost and snow. They don't speak; no words are needed. They simply have each other, and their lifelong friends.

I should ask Brock's friend Tracey to draw that picture for them. Although I think Garchomp would eat it. Honestly, that dragon has a bigger appetite than my dragon sometimes…and I thought she was a big eater!

I think that's what Pokémon are all about. No not eating but being there to keep you company. Because as Red discovered, you really are alone in the world, without your friends, without your family. And without that…there isn't really much to live for.

Guess that's what friends are for.

Yep, an ending chapter... Sorry, just had to add that thing in about Barry…he's great as a character, provided he's acting all rush-about or as his normal craziness. I don't think seriousness + Barry go together. I just worked out that if he needs to be paired with someone he should go with Bianca from Black and White, the anime one. Cos' she is always rushing around, just like him!

Thank you everyone who reviewed! Thank you for the support. I promise if I ever revamp this…rewrite it or extend it I will post it for everyone who enjoyed this story. Just to confirm a few facts…

I made Ash and Dawn siblings because…well…that's what they seemed like to me. They also both lacked a father and voila…! It was also an excuse for Ash to go with May. Misty has to sharp a temper to help Ash and May and Dawn are more compassionate. I chose May because Dawn I could more easily knock aside. So that's for all you advance shippers out there!

And sorry for the diary format. I wanted it to be opinionated from the view of someone who was compassionate and understood.

Again, thanks for the reviews!