It's wild how often Ash gets the short end of the stick in those Wattpad fanfics, isn't it? I've fallen down so many rabbit holes reading these angsty twists where his friends turn on him or Pikachu mysteriously sides with Team Rocket. A big theme I've noticed is betrayal for 'character growth'—like authors think destroying his trust is the only way to make him edgier. Some stories frame it as jealousy over his league victories, others as some convoluted secret prophecy where Ash must suffer to save the world. The weirdest one had Misty faking her death to test his resilience—like, who hurt you, writer?
Honestly, though? These plots thrive because Ash's canon personality is so pure-hearted. Watching him get emotionally wrecked hits harder than if, say, Paul from the Sinnoh series got betrayed. There's also this trend of grafting anime tropes onto Pokémon—childhood friends turning vengeful, rivals revealing hidden grudges. It's melodramatic, but weirdly addictive when you stumble upon a well-written version where the betrayal actually ties into deeper lore about the Pokémon world's politics or legendary interventions.