Ash continued to stare at his friends, each one a shadow of their former selves. Alder, Cynthia, Lance and- that's when it clicked in Ash's mind. 

"Where is Diantha?" Ash said out loud, asking himself because no one was listening. 

Surprisingly enough, no one attacked him with their Pokemon.

"Ash?" Serena's sweet, innocent voice called out, making Ash feel hopeful. He looked up, to see a scowl on her face, her voice changing. "Do you honestly think anyone actually loves you? Not even your Mom loves you"

"You think we was your friends?" Gary mock laughed and then folded his arms. "You're just someone who is going to be all alone for the rest of their life. We was here because we took pity on you"

"You're a worthless trainer with no potential, no skills. You may as well just give up" Serena continued her verbal assault, making Ash feel different compared to his usual emotions. 

Ash didn't understand how he felt, because his emotions were all mixed up. Subconsciously, he kind of believed what they said, but he knew none of it was true, that it was just the control they was under. Ash tensed his head and focused hard, to stop them from polluting his mind, his Pokemon waiting in a semi-circle. 

"I may not have any friends, who even knows if that is true?" Ash spoke to the air, because the empty shells of his friends were not interested in his words.  Just before any of them could get really close, Ash took a few steps back, a little smile on his face. "Of course I know it isn't true. You guys have been by my side through thick and thin. This whole journey right here has been a roller coaster of a ride and I will be damned if you guys don't get through it with me"

With that, Ash returned his Pokemon, Pikachu sitting on his shoulder, sparks of electricity still showing up every so often. He then turned on one heel and took off into the forest. 

Ash continued to run until his feet burned, to make sure he was away from his friends. He ran through mud, splashed through puddles and clambered up hills in seconds, until he reached his peak and stopped to regain his breath. But, there was no breaks in dark places.

"You know, we could capture you at any time, right?" Parker, the most casual person Ash knew on the planet appeared next to him, hanging upside down on a thick branch. 

"You can try all you want" Ash challenged, instantly hopping back onto his feet, preparing to move. 

"Well then, let us try our very best" Parker clapped his hands twice and Lance came out of the clearing, like he had been there the whole time. 

"Charizard, I choose you!" Ash instantly decided, having no time to lose. One wrong decision and this is all over. I have to help my friends and my home. Ash hopped onto Charizard's back and Charizard took to the skies, flying high. Lance called out Dragonite and the aerial battle began. Ash made sure it ended quickly. "Charizard, dragon tail!" 

Charizard's tail became purple in colour and he stopped moving, making Dragonite catch up. Just at that moment, like a baseball bat to a baseball, Charizard smashed his tail into Dragonite, sending it plummeting back down into the ground, within seconds. 

Ash stayed on Charizard as they continued to search the skies. 

"We need to find that aircraft again, maybe we can do something to save everyone" Ash told Charizard, who grunted in response and swooped to the left, to review the landscape. Then, another Dragonite appeared.

"Flamethrower!" a basic response from Iris rang out. Although her command sounded like there was no energy in it, Dragonite sent a huge flamethrower Ash's way. 

"Charzard, flamethrower!" Ash knew Charizard was stronger, so overpowering the flamethrower was quite easy in his eyes.

He was very wrong.

Dragonite's flamethrower looked so big, that it engulfed Charizard's and hit the flying Pokemon hard, the heat causing Ash to shield his eyes and move back slightly.

"Charizard, we need to get away!" Ash sensed the real danger and power of Dragonite and chose to avoid it at all costs, while they was trying to complete their objective. From the ground, like a cannon, a large spray of water hit Charizard, causing him to sway to the side a little bit. Then, several hyrdo cannons hit Charizard at the same time, each move being to much. Ash urged him on for as long as possible, until finally, Charizard crashed into the ground. Ash returned Charizard quickly and then pulled out another pokeball. 

"Greninja, I choose you!"

Greninja still hadn't changed, continuing to be in its Ash-Greninja form. 

"We need to be quiet and stay right here" Ash whispered to Ash-Greninja, who nodded and then instantly blended in to the darkness, like a natural born hider. A few silhouettes passed and then silence continued again. 

The words from before echoed in Ash's head, causing him to feel pain.

"Not even your Mom loves you"

Ash felt his head beat, like his brain had the potential to explode, straight through his skull. Ash felt a sudden wave of nausea on top of his headache, trying his best to keep himself steady, so they could stay silent. 

While Ash was following the wall, slowly heading towards an opening, a crossroad leading to 4 ways within the forest, he continued to think about his next part of the plan. As soon as he hit the crossroad, Ash realized he had to make a quick decision. He chose to follow the path ahead, leading to Team Shadow's base, having a feeling some information that was necessary would be there. 

Ash slowly followed across, Greninja leading the way to ensure the coast was clear. 

They got to the cave that led into the base and made their way to the entrance. Ash slowly took a step inside, the tense silence making him feel like something was going to jump out at any moment, that going to the bass was an overall trap. Ash was ready for anything, his eyes darting left and right, his ears twitching at the slightest of sounds.

It took Ash a long time to look around, finding nothing that may prove useful.

"Hello?" a familiar voice called from the stairs. Ash walked down and opened the gate, revealing Diantha in the same position he and Serena were in not too long ago. 

"Diantha! What happened?" Ash asked, kneeling by the gate. "Greninja, cut the bars in half"

The bars were made of hard materials to try and keep Pokemon from opening them, but after a few hard hits, Greninja slashed them in half with easer. 

"It's easier to tell you" Diantha began to explain her story.

Flashback, On The Way Back With Ash (Between Darkness Prevails & Madness and Violence)

"What do you guys think will happen now?" Cynthia asked the other three as they slowly headed back to the empty building in the middle of the field, where they planned to meet Dawn and the others. 

"Well, from what we know, these guys like to cause trouble and will do anything to win" Lance stated his opinion. "So I think, or moreso know, that an all out battle will ensue"

"I haven't had a good battle in a while now!" Alder smiled. "I bet Bouffalant is jumping in his pokeball right now"

"Well, you guys go on ahead" Diantha stopped, making everyone turn to face her. 

"Why?" Cynthia asked, with a confused look on her face.

"I am going to check this way, see if I find anything. Dawn mentioned something about a base?" Diantha asked, receiving a slight nod and then a smile.

"Okay, Diantha, you can do some scouting while we head back" everyone agreed and they all set off to do their jobs. 

Present Day

"Well, you found the base, that's for sure" Ash laughed a little, then his face became serious. 

"How did you find this place?" Diantha asked.

"I have been in that cage before, and here a few times. I know it like the back of my hand now"

"Well then, get me up to speed with everything that is going on" Diantha prepared for the news.

Ash explained, in full detail, the battles that had gone on, his fight against them all on his own and then the big aircraft that caused everyone to go crazy and listen to Team Shadow and everything they say.

"Looks like we need to bring that aircraft down" Diantha looked up into the sky. 

"Ever since the gas started to spread, it has disappeared and won't show itself again" Ash sighed, sitting down against a wall within the bass. "All of my friends..." a tear formed in Ash's eye and started to drop "Serena..."

"Now, now Ash" Diantha's voice was stern, it made Ash snap his head up. "This is no time to be negative and sad. We are fighting a losing battle, but we will fight with everything we have. Even if it takes the rest of the week, we will find that machine and disable it, before any permanent damage is done"

Ash smiled, wiped the tear away and hopped to his feet. "I needed that speech" Ash looked at Pikachu, who was sleeping soundly, the electricity not sparking anymore, nothing seemingly wrong with Pikachu.

"You ready, Ash?" Diantha asked him, holding her Gardevoir pokeball. 

"Of course I am!" a now pumped up Ash prepared himself, Ash-Greninja close by and ready to help.

Ash and Diantha set off, ready to explore the whole Kanto region, turn it inside out and upside down, so they could disable the machine and save their friends.

Both of them knew it wouldn't be easy.

Both knew that many Pokemon would faint, without medical attention available. 

Both knew that if they didn't go all in, they would lose from the get go and Team Shadow's plan would become a reality. They were the only two most reliable people in the region that had a chance of winning, slim or not.

Both knew, for certain, that a life defining result was about to reveal itself, but no one was sure what the final result would be.

The fight continues.

------

Okay I cut it short and this chapter is a little plain/boring.

First of all, I wanted to do a chapter for tonight, so I kind of rushed it.

Second, I just fell asleep and each time I was day(night)dreaming about random things and scenarios, but I was typing out those scenarios into the chapter. It was quite hard.

Hope you enjoyed, for what its worth.