Failure Hero
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
Sometimes Ash loses his drive after losing a big match. Failures can catch up to you, after all, and Ash is sick of being second best. Hopefully Dawn can pull him out of this, because he's going to be needed in the fight against Team Plasma.
This is my shot at a longer adventure story. I'm going to try and keep this a good balance of seriousness, grittiness, but I want to keep the lighthearted feel of the series as well. So I'll try to keep a good balance of angst, goofiness, romance, darkness adventure. A lot of the adventure stories I see tend to go into darker territory – which I love, for sure, don't get me wrong – but I also want to keep a good feel for the core, goofy show.
There was a party in Pewter City that night, and it had the whole town buzzing. All except for the one person who the party was thrown for.
Ash Ketchum, age ten, sighed as he stared himself down in the mirror. He had escaped into Brock's restroom, tired of being congratulated by people he didn't even know, who had only seen him from his televised League matches.
What's worse, he wasn't even sure why they were congratulating him in the first place. It's not like I won…
Sure, he knew the reason Brock threw the party, it just didn't make much sense in his mind. Ash had made it to the finals of the Unova League. He had come in second, which was the highest ranking Ash had ever managed to achieve in an official League Tournament.
It's no reason to celebrate. Ash thought, as he stared at the black-haired boy reflected in the glass. No reason to have to put on a stupid suit, and get embarrassed in front of all my friends, not to mention half of Kanto, and pretend I actually accomplished anything.
Pikachu sat on the ledge of the sink, looking up at Ash, confused. He tilted his head and asked his trainer, "Pika?"
Ash forced a smile at his companion. "Sorry buddy, just thinking. You probably want to get out there and get more food." He paused, before adding in a teasing tone, "Or maybe you just want to see Dawn's Buneary again?"
"Chu! Chu Pi!" Pikachu responded angrily, shaking its head vigorously.
Ash laughed. No matter what, Pikachu was always there to help him out, and he had to admit, it made getting through the party all that much better.
Not that Ash didn't like seeing all his friends again, especially considering it had been ages since he had seen some of them…but he just didn't feel up to it. Not after losing in the finals of the Unova League, to some mysterious trainer named N. And once again, his defeat had come at the hands of a legendary Pokemon, the Fire Dragon Reshiram. It had hit him particularly hard. He had returned home not long after, just wanting to be alone for awhile. Five official league tournaments. Five failures.
So one could imagine his shock and his dismay when Brock was waiting for Ash at his house, to inform him of the party he was throwing in Ash's honor the next night.
It's not like I could say no, though. Ash reasoned to himself, as he walked back out into the gym, Brock put a lot of thought into this.
Pikachu followed Ash at his heels, until something caught his eye on the food table. He pulled at Ash's pant-legs, causing the trainer to look down at his buddy. "What's up?"
Pikachu pointed frantically to the table. Ash looked up following his gaze, and sighed when he realized Pikachu was actually pointing at some ketchup bottles. Ash looked down to see the electric mouse Pokemon staring up at him with pleading eyes.
"…fine, just save some for everyone else." Ash said, facepalming.
"PIKA!" Pikachu cried in ecstasy as it bolted towards the red, tomato-flavored treasure.
"Some things never change, huh Ash?" He heard a feminine voice behind him.
He turned around to see a familiar mop of red hair. Misty was there with Tracey.
"No, guess not. How have you two been?" Ash asked, happy to see them. I can't believe they got together. I never saw that coming.
"We've been great, Ash! But clearly not as great as you. You've come a long way since placing in the top sixteen at your first League Tournament!" Misty said encouragingly while she gave him a quick hug.
I doubt it. I still always fail to reach the top. Ash thought. But everyone was here to have a good time, so instead, he forced a smile and said, "Thanks guys. Means a lot to me. Glad you could make it."
Suddenly, a new song came on over the speakers, causing Misty to perk up. "Come on Tracey, I love this song! Let's go dance." She grabbed his hand and began dragging him away.
Tracey just sighed and followed the Gym Leader, turning back and yelling, "Catch you later, Ash!"
Ash chuckled slightly. "Man, that guy is Vine Whipped. Ah well, long as they're happy."
The young man's stomach gurgled slightly. Looks like I should go join Pikachu at the food table before my gut gets louder than the music.
Ash walked over to his Pokemon, guzzling down his second bottle of ketchup. "Buddy, I think I'm going to have to cut you off."
Pikachu looked up sadly, and pointed at the ten other bottles left.
"...okay, just one more." Ash sighed.
"CHAAA!" Pikachu cried happily.
Ash chuckled.
"Hey, there's the guest of honor!" He heard a familiar voice call out from behind him.
Ash turned around and was promptly glomped by May and Dawn. Of course, he turned beat red as the two beautiful girls hugged him. "H-hey you two. What's up?"
The two girls giggled to each other, as it was rather cute to see Ash blushing over a hug. "Well we wanted to congratulate you, of course!" May exclaimed.
Ash once again forced himself to smile and thank them for the kind words. "Thanks guys, I appreciate that you came out for this."
May beamed, but Dawn frowned slightly. She could have sworn that she could hear a hint of sadness in Ash's voice, and a bit of pain in his brown eyes.
"So Ash," Dawn began, trying to confirm if there was something the boy was hiding, "what are you going to do now that your Unova adventure is done?"
Ash paused. She was the first one not to dole out a standard "congratulations" or "good job" that night. And to be honest, he wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do next. "I uh...guess I haven't really thought about it..." This time as well, a little more of his despair leaked through his words, that both May and Dawn were able to catch.
Something is bothering him...Dawn concluded, I wonder what he's hiding?
Dawn herself knew a bit about self-esteem issues. Growing up in her mother's shadow, Ash had been able to cheer her up a few times when she had quit on herself. She would always be grateful for giving her strength on their journey, and over time, she had developed some feelings for the boy. Even as she had traveled to Hoenn, she always reminisced of her time spent traveling with Ash, and how different it was going it alone. For all that he had done for her, she felt a sense of devotion to repay his kindness.
May broke the momentary silence with, "Well, Dawn and I were thinking about traveling together to maybe compete in a contest circuit. We aren't sure where yet, though. Was there a contest circuit in Unova?"
Ash shook his head. "No, contests are new to them. It's coming around in popularity on TV, but I doubt they'll have one for awhile."
May's face fell. "Well, we'll have to figure something out. No rush, I guess - oh." She paused, craning her neck to see around Ash. He politely stepped to the side, causing her to blush as he and Dawn realized what she was doing.
She had spotted Drew across the gym in a suit. Ash and Dawn glanced at each other and snickered. "Be a little more obvious there, May." Ash taunted.
May's blushed got a little worse. "Oh, hardy har har. Well, unlike SOME people, I'm going to do something about my crush." She shot a pointed look at Dawn that luckily Ash didn't notice, but it did cause the blue-haired coordinator to blush as well. "Now, if you'll excuse me." May finished, leaving the two as she pursued the green-haired coordinator.
"What the heck is she talking about now?" Ash asked while laughing. He looked back at Dawn. "You feeling warm Dawn? You look a little red."
Dawn sighed in relief. "Oh, I'm fine. But...how about you? Are you okay?"
Ash paused briefly. He had always had a crush on Dawn, and he appreciated everything she had done for him. Somehow, she always knew how to cheer him up, or encourage him. But right now, even the pretty girl that he had feelings for couldn't bring him around. She somehow always manages to see right through me, he thought nervously. "Yeah...no need to worry, right Dawn?" He said, once again faking cheerfulness.
Dawn jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow, leaning up on the table next to him. "Hey now, you keep stealing my catchphrase, I'll have to fine you for it."
Ash smirked. "Been hanging around Barry?"
Dawn shook her head. "Are you kidding? To hang out, one has to sit still for a little while."
"Good one." Ash remarked, looking down to his feet. Dawn noticed he had a faraway look in his eyes.
"Ash..." she started, but he cut her off.
"Hey, look...it's great seeing you Dawn, but maybe we could talk more later...I need to take a walk, get some air." He said, trying to act nonchalant about the whole thing.
"Do you want some company?" Dawn asked hopefully. She would love to have some alone time with the young trainer. Maybe find out what's got you looking so down...
Unfortunately for her, Ash shook his head. "No...I don't really feel like talking right now. Come on Pikachu."
Pikachu reluctantly dropped his ketchup bottle and hopped up onto Ash's shoulder. Dawn frowned at his retreating back. That doesn't sound like the Ash I know... She thought worriedly. The last time he had gotten that way was...after his loss to Paul.
Of course, she rationalized to herself, this was another big loss, to another legendary-wielding trainer. Maybe he isn't feeling up to this? I should have known. He only ever gets like this if he feels like he failed.
She felt rather conflicted. She wanted to follow after him, but she didn't want to upset him anymore than he already was.
"Hey Dawn, good to see you!" An older voice called out to her. She turned around to see Brock.
"Hey Brock, good to see you too!" She replied happily. "Awesome party! Thanks for inviting me!"
"But of course! Wasn't Ash just with you? I've been looking all over for him." Brock asked, looking around, confused.
Dawn frowned. "He...I don't know Brock, he seems kinda down. He went for a walk, said he had to clear his mind."
"Down? What for? Everyone is here for him! He's the star of the party!" Brock questioned.
Dawn shrugged. " He wouldn't say. I want to go after him, but I don't know, maybe that would just make him more upset?"
Brock thought for awhile. "Most of the time, I'd say to just let him cool off on his own. But if being surrounded by my awesome cooking and all his friends isn't doing it, I say go for it, Dawn. Just don't wait too long, I don't want him to miss out. This party is for him, after all."
"Good plan," Dawn answered thoughtfully, "I'm going to go look for him now, or else I may never catch up to him."
Dawn took off out of the gym entrance.
Brock looked over the food table and began to load up for a few minutes. He sat down at a nearby table with May, Max, and Drew, proud of his confectionery talents. As they talked, Brock scanned the gym for some girls to woo, when someone completely unexpected burst in through the gym doors – Lance, the champion of the Kanto and Johto League.
"Brock, where are y- there you are!" He yelled frantically. He ran up to the training Pokemon doctor and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Listen, we've got to get everyone out of here."
Brock tilted his head in confusion. "Lance, what are you doing here?"
"There's no time to explain-" Lance began, before Max cut him off:
"Oh wow, a champion! Can I have your autograph?" Max asked excitedly.
"LISTEN TO ME!" Lance yelled, panic evident in his voice. "We have reason to believe this building will be targeted. EVERYONE NEEDS TO EVACUATE!"
Everyone at the table sprung up. "Targeted for what?" Drew asked.
"There's no time!" Lance replied, running up to where the hired DJ was.
"Yo dawg, get out my business!" The DJ said, before realizing who he was talking to. As he did, he quickly stepped away before meekly adding. "My apologies, sir."
Lance ignored him completely, and grabbed his microphone. "I'm sorry, but by orders of the Kanto Pokemon League, every needs to evacuate this building – NOW. And I need to see Ash Ketchum outside IMMEDIATELY. I repeat, leave this building, it may be-"
As he announced this, a small explosion came from the women's restroom, and a small fireball blew the door off. Everyone in the gym screamed. "OUT! NOW!" Lance screamed, before calling out his Gyarados to try and quell the flames.
Everyone in the gym made a mad dash for the doors, as a few more explosions began to go off in the building...
Dawn was walking through the streets of Pewter City with Piplup by her side, looking for any sign of Ash.
"I should have gone after him sooner, Piplup. I don't see him anywhere. Doesn't help that I have no idea where I'm going." Dawn said with a defeated sigh.
"Piplup..." The penguin Pokemon replied sadly. However, it noticed a weird stain on the ground. It dipped its flipper in it and raised it up to Dawn.
"What's that?" Dawn asked, crouching down next to Piplup. She leaned in close and sniffed. "...ketchup? Well, Pikachu had been drinking ketchup when I was talking to Ash. Let's see if we can find a trail."
"Pip?" Piplup asked.
Dawn shrugged. "I don't know why Pikachu was eating ketchup. But keep it down, I don't want him to hear us and take off or something..."
Scanning the area, Dawn found a few more globs of ketchup down a certain path. Quietly following them, they diverged from the sidewalk into a playground. In the distance she saw what looked like a young man sitting on a swing, with a Pikachu on the swing next to him.
Dawn shot her Piplup a glance, and motioned for them to sneak over behind some bushes that were nearby. As they did, Dawn was able to pick up on what Ash was saying.
"To be honest, Pikachu, I don't even know why I'm here. This whole party just seems stupid." He said to the electric type Pokemon.
"Pi?" Pikachu questioned.
"So I got second place. Big deal. All that means is this time, I was the highest ranked loser in the tournament. I still failed. I always fail. Once a loser, always a loser." Ash explained.
So he thinks he's a failure. Dawn realized. I guess he's been at it for awhile. His loss must have really affected him.
"Pikachu Pi Cha." Pikachu responded in a hopeful tone.
"I know, I know, keep trying, all that stuff...but I mean, it seems ridiculous. Every time I get near the top of the mountain, there is always someone better than me. Someone who has a legendary Pokemon, which they would have had to be strong enough to catch in the first place. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a champion or Pokemon Master. Maybe I'm just weak." He sighed, holding his head in his hands.
"Pika..." his companion replied, sounding sad at his trainer's words.
"I don't know. It's kind of funny, isn't it? I've been the so-called Chosen One, more than once, and yet, I never seem to succeed in anything. Whoever is doing the choosing isn't doing a very good job, are they?" He asked Pikachu, laughing bitterly.
Picking her spot carefully, Dawn quietly walked over to an empty swing next to Ash and sat down. Ash glanced over at her in surprise, but said nothing. Piplup walked over to Pikachu, and the two Pokemon began chattering to each other.
After a few moments of uneasy silence, Dawn turned to him and said. "I disagree. I think whoever chose you made a great decision."
Ash didn't return her gaze, just stared forward into the horizon. "Yeah? What makes you say that?"
"Ash...do you know why I went to Hoenn?" Dawn asked.
Ash glanced over just for a second before turning back to the horizon. "No, why?"
"Because of you." Dawn answered simply.
"I don't follow you, Dawn." He said, confused.
"Ash...there were so many times when we were traveling together in Sinnoh that I wanted to quit, or didn't feel like I was good enough. But I would always watch you train, and raise your Pokemon in the way that no one else could. Every time you fell you got back up, and overcame everything that got you down in the first place. You're an inspiration to me Ash. You made me want to go to Hoenn and be a better coordinator. To keep trying." Dawn replied in earnest.
Ash just looked down at his feet. "You picked a lousy role model then. If I raised my Pokemon as well as you think I do, I would have won."
Dawn stood up out of frustration. "Ash, don't say that. You'll start to sound like Paul. Who else can say they've done the things that you've done at ten-years-old? Who else can say they've looked Dialga and Palkia in the face and came out without a scratch? Who else can say 'oh hey, I knocked out a Darkrai and a Latios with a Pikachu?' Nobody Ash. Nobody."
Ash continued to look at his feet, but couldn't think of a response, so Dawn continued.
"Ash, how many times did you train with me to make sure I got better? How many times did you go out of your way to let me know I could do anything? You never gave up on me. You never gave up on Pikachu. You never gave up on any of your Pokemon – look at what you did with Infernape!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Maybe he was only strong because of Paul..." Ash said weakly.
Dawn couldn't help but laugh. "Are you kidding? If you hadn't been there, Paul would have killed the poor thing! That's one of the things I admire about you, Ash. If you wanted to, you could go out, zap any Pokemon you wanted and catch them, and only use the strong ones. But you don't. Because you actually care. You only take Pokemon that want to go with you, and if they're happy. You don't judge a Pokemon on if it's already strong or weak, but you love them and train them until they're as strong as you can be. And I don't know if you remember, but you BEAT Paul by doing that."
"I...guess you have a point." Ash conceded.
"I know I do." Dawn stated, "You know what I think?"
"What's that?" Ash asked.
"That there's more to being a Pokemon Master than winning tournaments with legendary Pokemon. I've never seen anyone care about his friends and Pokemon as much as you. Every time you lose – even now – you never blame them. Only yourself. Everytime something bad happens, you were always worried more about Brock and I than yourself. You're the greatest trainer I've ever met. You're the greatest person I've ever met. And I'm not going to sit here and let you give up on yourself." Dawn answered.
Ash looked up at her after a few moments, but said nothing. Dawn met his gaze, not wanting to back down. She was rather surprised though, when he stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. "Thank you." He whispered to her.
Dawn hugged him back, blushing slightly. "You're welcome, Ash. Are you going to be okay?"
Ash let go and plopped back down on the swing, looking up at the starry sky. "I...I think so. I'll have to figure out something to do now."
"Can...can I come with you?" Dawn asked.
Ash looked at her, surprised. "I thought you and May were going to go somewhere?"
Dawn just smiled. "Well, someone needs to make sure you don't quit on yourself again, right?" She winked at him for good measure, and they both laughed.
"Of course Dawn. I'd love for you to come with me." He answered sincerely, making Dawn's heart flutter.
They heard a few loud booms in the distance. Startled, the two turned around to see smoke rising into the air.
"What's going on?" Dawn asked.
Ash shook his head. "I'm not sure but it looks like it's coming from...the gym! Crap! We need to get back there! Pikachu, come on!"
The Pokemon obeyed and hopped onto Ash's shoulders.
"You too, Piplup!" Dawn yelled, and the penguin Pokemon returned to his Pokeball.
Ash and Dawn made it to the outside of the gym to find it had been taped off from the public. The gym was being doused by local Water Pokemon, as it had been intensely burned. Brock and his siblings were outside towards the front.
"BROCK! BROCK!" Ash yelled, pushing through the crowd to his friend. Brock was trying to comfort his younger siblings at the moment, but stepped away to quickly hug Ash, much to Ash's surprise.
"Ash, thank Arceus you're here! I was worried someone got you!" Brock cried. He then hugged Dawn as well. "It's a good thing you two left when you did."
"Brock, what happened?" Dawn asked nervously. "What happened to the gym?"
At this, Brock's younger siblings began crying harder. Brock could only look down as he answered, "I'm not sure. Lance - you know - the Kanto and Johto champion, came in telling everyone to get out, and was looking for you. Then, as everyone was leaving, explosions happened. Everyone has been panicking since. Lance was looking for you, but I haven't seen him lea-"
"Where's my mom?" Ash said, an unusual stillness in his voice. His eyes were darting all over the crowd in desperation.
Dawn gasped. Oh no...
Brock looked around. "I...oh Arceus, Ash, I don't know...she must be in the crowd. ASH, WAIT!"
Ash leapt over the police tape, and was quickly grabbed by Officer Jenny. "Kid, hold on a second, it's not safe!"
Ash struggled against her grip. "I have to find my mom! I don't see her! Please, let me find her!"
Suddenly, a blast came from the side of the gym, causing the building to shake, before finally giving way, and collapsing in a cloud of dust.
Everyone in the crowd ducked out of shock. But Ash was the first to recover. Luckily, the sudden collapse had put out the rest of the flames, as what had been left was crushed under the various debris. Ash hopped onto a pile of rubble and began clearing out what he could, shouting his mother's name as he did.
"Brock...please tell me you can see his mom or Lance in the crowd..." Dawn said, not taking her eyes off the raven-haired trainer.
Brock said nothing. Then gasped loudly, pointed at a shifting piece of stone, and yelled. "Ash, look!"
Ash did as such, and ran over to a quivering slab of concrete, and pulled on it with all his might. Brock quickly ran over to help him, as did Dawn and Officer Jenny. Between the four of them, the slab was toppled over.
Dawn screamed in horror.
The mangled body of Lance was covering Delia Ketchum, who looked to be unconscious. His total lower half had been crushed under the collapsing roof of the gym. His blood was leaking out slowly the underneath the rubble.
"Ash..." The champion grunted, barely breathing, "get your mom to the hospital."
"L...Lance..." Ash stuttered in disbelief.
"No time, kid...I...ugh...I was briefed on you. I didn't want you going on without your mom...I threw my Pokemon belt over there," Lance jerked his head to the side, "...didn't want them to die with me. Take 'em to Oak. Call...Cynthia..." Lance gasped.
"WE NEED MEDICAL ASSISTANCE, STAT!" Officer Jenny yelled into a walky-talky. "One woman unconscious, and...the Champion...the Champion..."
Brock quickly scooped Delia up from Lance's protective grasp. Ash and Dawn crouched down to Lance's side.
"Lance...you...saved my mom..." Ash stated, completely floored.
"...'s my job, kid. Cynthia...need...help."
"Mr. Lance, please hold on!" Dawn cried, tears pouring down her face, "Help is coming."
But Lance looked her in the eye, and she knew. His time on Earth was at an end. It just made her cry harder.
Lance turned to Ash, and with his dying breath, told the boy, "Plasma...it's up to you now, kid."
With that, Lance collapsed onto the ground.
Dawn sobbed. What...what happened...this was just supposed to be a party...I had just gotten through to Ash...why...how can a champion be dead?
Ash wordlessly walked over to where Lance had pointed his head earlier. He brushed some rocks aside, and found Lance's Pokemon belt in tact. He gave his life to save my mom and his Pokemon.
Officer Jenny walked up to the scene after reporting for help. Ambulance sirens could be heard approaching in the distance. She exchanged a look with Brock, before somberly stating, "I have to call this." She lifted up her radio again. "We have a stiff...it's the Champion. Lance. Time of death - 10:04 p.m."
Ash walked over to his mother's body, looking from her, to the Pokemon belt he had in his hands, Lance's words echoing through his mind.
"Plasma... ?"
End Chapter 1.