Going Backwards
A/N: This is simply a Reddit comment I put up. I then decided to see if Fanfiction would like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
The intensity within the stadium was threatening to overwhelm me. The pressure was overwhelming. My opponent and I were now down to our last Pokemon.
It didn't matter how much pressure there was though, because I had realized how much I had achieved, how far I had gone in my life. I felt like I was in the games, because I had made it to the Pokemon League so fast! 'I am unstoppable!' I thought, 'I will be the champion!'
Except...
As I stared across towards my opponent, my heart suddenly twisted in pity. Whenever the challenger, the 90 year old, looked back at me with such childish determination, I couldn't help but feel pity towards him. I've known him too well, I've known him for far too long. I don't want to break his heart.
He's been too kind to me. He's been too kind to the world.
His name is Ash Ketchum. Yes, the Ash Ketchum, the man that is generally considered one of the world's most experienced trainers. The man that had challenged people in countless league tournaments, yet lost every single one of them, so close to becoming the Champion each time. It was like Arceus himself was holding him back, yet he had decided to challenge the world for the title of Champion yet again.
But Ash wasn't just another challenger of mine, abet an old one. No, he was first my inspiration, then my idol. As I traveled across the land, he even became my mentor, my friend. I had traveled with him, I had trained with him. I had been with Ash all through his last journey, becoming so close to him, it was like he had become my grandfather. We had become a family, like how Misty, Brock, May, Dawn, Iris, and countless other legends before had bonded with him.
And yet here I was, wondering wether my next decision would destroy him emotionally (And likely physically too), or make him happy. I was lost.
Suddenly, I saw it. I had seen his eyes. I had seen the sparkle within them, how he wanted to win for once in his life, and only once.
At that moment, I knew what to do.
I looked back at Digtrio, and the three headed creature looked back at me. The untold message was passed between us. At the same time, my mentor had commanded his old, frail Pikachu to finally make his move. The crowd around us was now deadly silent, almost as if they knew what was coming.
As if out of nowhere, a young youthful cry came out of his mouth as he commanded his faithful starter Pokemon, "Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"
With the same youthful energy that his master possessed, Pikachu sprang into action, shooting wave after wave of his powerful electricity. My Dugtrio took the shock, tipped his heads over to the side, and fainted.
The crowd was speechless. Ash was shocked, more so then my Dugtrio.
As his faithful starter crawled back to his trainer's side, I could see Ash lean down to receive his Pikachu, lift him up, and finally, strike his victory pose, the one he had been waiting to do for so many decades. The crowd went wild as he did so, finally seeing the old traveler achieve his dream.
When Ash struggled to get up, I went over to him, gave him my hand, and assisted my mentor up the steps in the side of the stadium, so he could receive the words that he had waited for for nearly eighty years, the words of praise from the Professor.
As Gary finally came up to his old friend in the pure white room, you could see Ash eager to hear the words that Gary had remembered his grandfather say to so many other people before Ash. And finally, Ash heard the words.
"Well, my boy, you've finally done it. It's been a long time, but your journey is finally over. What do you have to say?"
Except... that never happened.
As I looked at the sad old man that lay on the bed before me, guilt racked my body in waves that were stronger then any Pikachu's shock. I wondered, 'I have become the Champion, but at what price?'
It had been only two days since I became Champion. Ash's faithful old Pikachu had died in his trainer arms only hours ago, and everyone knew it was a matter of hours before Ash would be gone forever from our lives too. I was the last one in the room, hoping for a chance to apologize, before he died, for making him lose his final chance of achieving his dream, to become a Pokemon Champion.
But the apology never came out of my mouth.
Instead my voice stayed stuck inside me as Ash muttered his final words. "I did it. I'm a Pokemon Master. Thank you. All of you."
And then, his pulse stopped. Ash had reached the end of his journey.
Tears now in my eyes, I sadly got up to notify the Nurse and everyone else of Ash's passing. I suddenly noticed a white device containing something red in his hands. I was curious, so I tried to pry it loose, it came out of Ash's hand very easily. I realized what it was.
It was an ancient toy from so many years ago. It was a DS.
As I opened up the DS to see what it could do, I saw a note attached to the inside of the note. In the shaky but unforgettable handwriting of Ash, it read:
To my last:
This is a DS, and in this is the game Pokemon FireRed. If you have this, you can keep it. You were like a grandson to me, thank you for that, but most importantly of all, thank you for making me become a Pokemon Master. Hey, don't worry, you'll get there someday.
If you want, you can see how I was inspired to journey for my dreams; it all started in this little box.
Farewell,
Ash
As I looked back towards the screen that Ash's note had been covering up, I saw the game that had started it all. There was the legendary Professor Oak, waving cheerfully at the screen as he asked:
"Now then. Are you a boy? Or are you a girl?"
END