A True Champion Never Gives Up
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. All rights belong to Nintendo and Game Freak.
Hello, and welcome to my first fanfic! This will be a AshxHarem story, taking place after the events of XYZ. In this story, Ash will have ACTUALLY aged and will be 18 years old. There will not only be characters from the anime, but from the games and manga as well. Some characters Ash will already have met in his previous adventures, like Leaf and Crystal, who are also going to be the other main characters in the story.
There will also be times where Ash will get some new Pokemon as well as reunite with old ones. And there will be legendaries. Alot. Not to mention the use of "aura".
Also, despite it being a harem title, the main pairing will AshxLeafxCrystalxDawn. And yes, there will be lemons.
As for the update schedule, I won't be able to put up a new chapter fast, so you might have to wait a while for the next chapter everytime. And for a LONG while.
Enjoy! R&R please!
-Silver Conference, Johto-
This was it. The crowd was roaring wildly at intense battle taking place in the stadium. It had been a long, tough match but now one person would emerge as the victor.
In the middle of the stadium facing off stood two trainers behind their Pokemon, giving their respective commands.
One of them was the young energetic Ash Ketchum. The boy had a big smile on his face as the battle had been breathtaking and strong. His Pokemon, a Pikachu, stood on all fours panting in exhaustion as he stared at his opponent who towered over him, also in the same condition.
Yes, the fight had been long and difficult, but now it all came down to this. Both trainers had only one Pokemon left and they were nearing their limits. Ash strengthened his red league cap on his head, which pressed down on his messy raven hair. He had a blue jacket with white stripes on, black skinny pants, and red shoes that added up (AN: His Kalos clothes).
On his right hand he wore an advanced looking bracelet that had a neon glow to it. This was his Mega Ring, which he obviously couldn't use anymore as he had used it on his previous Pokemon (AN: In this story, Ash could Mega Evolve his Pokemon) so Pikachu was only left.
Not that he minded, as the Electric Mouse had been his partner from the very start, so it was natural to come down to this.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. The Electric Mouse Pokemon obeyed without hesitation, firing a strong bolt of electricity at his opponent. Of course Pikachu knew better than to doubt Ash. After all, the two had been through so much and right now was the moment they had been waiting for.
"Typhlosion, Flamethrower!" Ash's opponent called out. The trainer with the Typhlosion had a red hoodie, black shorts, white and red shoes, and a black and yellow league cap that was worn backwards on his head.
"Use Quick Attack!" the trainer called out. What was his name again? Ethan? Yes, that was it. Ash quickly shouted at Pikachu to dodge, which the mouse did much to his relief. He sighed. This battle had been raging on for a long time. The boy called Ethan had put up a damn well fight, as his Pokemon were extremely powerful.
But now, both were down to one Pokemon. Which meant this battle was close to wrapping up. Ash felt a pang of excitement pound his heart. He was finally going to win the Silver Conference, his first official league. Sure, he had won the Orange League a few years ago, but that was one of the minor leagues.
This was the REAL deal here.
"Pikachu, get in there with Quick Attack and let him have it with a solid Iron Tail!" Ash shouted out.
With a loud cry, Pikachu shot forward at Typhlosion, a white trail forming behind him as he ran faster than ever. Typhlosion tried to swipe at the mouse with his paws, but Pikachu ducked under and front flipped so his metal coated tail struck the badger in the face.
Typhlosion cried out as he was knocked onto his back, hitting the stadium;s dirt floor with a thud and giving Pikachu an opportunity for another attack.
"Quickly, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pikapiiiiii!" Pikachu's shout was came before a big bolt of electricity flew forward and struck Typhlosion directly, electrocuting the Volcano Pokemon greatly and earning a loud scream from him.
"YES!"
Ash's loud victorious cry sounded as he pumped his fist in the air, proud of his victory. Pikachu joined him, jumping up and down in glee, despite the numerous cuts and bruises on him, feeling joy for his trainer.
"Pika!"
"We finally did it! We won! We actually won! Can you believe it?!" Ash shouted in excitement. The crowd cheered loudly as Ethan said nothing and silently waited for the smoke to clear.
Finally, he had done it. Ash had finally won his first major Pokemon league. A childhood dream finally becoming a reality after trekking through six different regions.
His friends were also in the stands cheering out loud. His mom would be cheering him on. Professor Oak would be proud. Everyone would be happy for him. And now he was moving on to the Elite Four to keep the title. Oh, how exciting this would be-
"Typhlosion, Fire Blast!" What?
Ash turned around and saw to his horror that Typhlosion wasn't knocked out, but was hurt pretty badly. Apparently the Thunderbolt hadn't knocked him out, but had certainly left him dazed. Too bad he was up again.
"Pikachu, watch out!" Ash called out. Luckily, Pikachu was able to hear his trainer's warning and jump to the side, avoiding the huge ball of fire being hurled at him, which sooned exploded.
"This isn't over yet", Ethan said, his gaze on Ash. "I've come a long way for this. You're really strong , I'll give you that. But now...". He suddenly pulled out a billiard cue, which had something attached to it.
"...it's my turn!" With a loud cry, Ethan swung the billiard cue and threw the obect, a Potion, forward. Typhlosion caught the medicine and immediatly healed himself from the beating he had taken.
A horrible realization came to Ash, as he had used all of his Potions on his other Pokemon, one on Pikachu as well. And now his opponent was undoing all of his hard work.
Ash had to admit it, Ethan was a definitly a skilled trainer. The guy was friendly and brash, but was utterly ruthless in battle. It was no wonder that the trainer had managed to gain all the Johto and Kanto Gym Badges in just one month, something Ash could never do.
But he knew he couldn't let this go. He had worked so hard over the past year in training his Pokemon, that they managed to sweep through the previous rounds and leaving him in the finals where he met with Ethan.
And this wasn't their first meeting. Back in Sinnoh when he was travelling to Crown City, he had met the brash trainer from New Bark Town and had defeated his Donphan with Pikachu. Even then, Ethan had put up a good fight.
And now here he was, dominating Ash completly. Typhlosion was obviously Ethan's strongest Pokemon that had given quite the beating to Pikachu. However Pikachu was also Ash's strongest Pokemon who never let his trainer down and had thus given an equal amount of beating to Typhlosion.
He knew he couldn't give up here. He had worked so hard for this.
"Pikachu, come on, let's show 'em what we're made of! Volt Tackle!" Ash shouted Pikachu's most powerful move and the one that almost everytime guaranteed them victory.
Pikachu grinned and charged up electricity as he ran towards Typhlosion at incredible speed, leaving a yellow electric trail behind and shielding himself in electricity.
"Typhlosion, fight that back with Flare Blitz!" Ethan countered. He would not give up as well. Typhlosion growled and shrouded himself in a fiery inferno before launching himself at Pikachu.
The two shouted battle cries as they met in the middle of the stadium headfirst on all fours. Both pushed forward, trying to overcome each other in the stalemate, even though they were feeling the fatigue from the recoil effect from both attacks.
Eventually, all the power behind the full force of the attacks caused a large explosion in the middle, covering both Pokemon in smoke and almost half the stadium.
Ash coughed, waving his arms to clear the smoke and see better. Everyone was having the same problem as well.
The smoke got thinner and thinner until there was little left covering the two Pokemon. Everyone grit their teeth and waited.
Ash grew more and more anxious as the smoke cleared, revealing the two Pokemon who were laid sprawled out on the battlefield. For a moment, neither of them moved and the referee was about to call a tie before a low groan suddenly escaped and slowly rose a battered, but conscious Typhlosion.
"YES" Ethan shouted as Typhlosion let out a mighty roar, despite his beaten state. Ash could only stare in shock as the other trainer ran forward and wrapped his arms around the Volcano Pokemon, both pulling in for a bear hug.
"Pikachu is unable to battle. Ash Ketchum has no more available Pokemon which means the winner of this year's Silver Conference Finals is Ethan Gold of New Bark Town, who will be moving onto the Elite Four!"
The crowd wildly cheered and clapped as confetti blew on Ethan's side of the stadium while Ash sank to his knees, staring at the unconscious Pikachu. He couldn't believe it.
He had lost yet again. "Pikachu...", Ash said looking at his beloved Pokemon. "...I'm sorry".
Ash glanced up to see Ethan approaching him with a grin. He waited for the trainer to start taunting him and telling him how weak he was, but instead Ethan held his hand out.
Almost robotically, Ash grabbed it and let Ethan pull him up. The grin never left the Johto trainer's face as he looked at Ash.
"Heh, that was one hell of a battle. You really are a good trainer Ash. Thanks for the awesome match".
"Phlosion!" Ethan's Typhlosion roared in agreement. Ash didn't say anything, except sadly nod his head before turning around and returning Pikachu to his Poke Ball, something he normally did when the mouse was knocked out even though he hated being in the ball.
He began to walk towards the exit of the stadium when a loud voice stopped him.
"Yo, Ash!" Said trainer turned around and saw Ethan grinning still.
"Next time we meet, how about a rematch?" Ethan's cockiness remained in his voice. Ash merely forced a weak smile.
"I'll look forward to it". With that, Ash turned around and walked out the exit of the stadium, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.
I lost again. I can't believe it. After all that hard work, I still am not good enough!
The thoughts on Ash's head kept repeating themselves, as if reminding him of how he was. He wiped the tears with his right hand and continued walking down the corridor.
...Am I even destined to be a Pokemon Master? Am I even good enough?
Ash then reached a door that read "EXIT" in big red letters. With a sigh, he pushed the doors open and walked out of the stadium.
Meanwhile, Ash's friends had also seen the battle play out. They all gasped in shock once Typhlosion had risen back to his feet and defeated Pikachu after. Normally, this wouldn't have been a big deal as Ash had lost many leagues before and he was used to taking the losses by now.
But this time he was so close. Just one more hit and he could have won. Not to mention he had trained really hard last year before he came to challenge the Silver Conference.
All of that hard work gone must have been a huge dissapointment for Ash and his friends definitly knew that.
Sitting in the stands were six of Ash's friends: Brock, Misty, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie and Gary. All had seen the whole battle play out and were shocked to see him lose like that.
"Wow, that Ethan kid has some skill", Gary whistled. Even though he had decided to give up on being a trainer and be a researcher, Gary was very well impressed with Ethan. Though he did feel sympathy for Ash.
"I'll say. That was a really close call right there. I didn't know that kid had it in him", Brock said, remembering how Ash and Ethan first battled when they were going to Crown City.
"He must be feeling really bad right now! Where is he?" Serena asked, concerned. Being one of Ash's best friends from childhood, Serena was the most concerned out of anyone for Ash's current condition.
"You're right about that. Come on, let's find him and cheer him up", Misty said.
"Yeah, right behind you!" Bonnie commented, getting up along with Misty and Serena. The others got up as well and proceeded to follow the girls toward the exit.
"Man, I hope Ash is okay. He looked like he took that really hard", Clemont said, concern in his voice obvious.
"Don't worry. I know Ashy-boy and he'll get over it. He should be used to it by now", Gary said with a wave of his hand. I hope. He really looked like he wanted to cry right there.
The group left the stadium and walked towards the Pokemon Center, where Ash would be healing his Pokemon.
They all walked inside and sure enough there was Ash, standing at the counter with a solemn expression on his face.
"Your Pokemon will be healed in thirty minutes", Nurse Joy informed. Ash nodded and turned around to walk away from the counter only to bump into his friends.
"Oh uh, hey guys", Ash sheepishly said. He didn't know how his friends would react to him losing again.
Surprisingly, Gary put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, don't sweat it. You did great out there man. My brother would also say the same", Gary assured. Ash felt slightly better at this. He knew Gary's older brother Blue was not one to be impressed so easily, and if he thought Ash did well, then he definitly must have.
"Thanks Gary", Ash said. Serena was next. She looked at him and smiled warmly, making Ash's face slightly heat up. He knew the girl had a crush on him, but he tended to be clueless just to avoid embarassment. He wasn't really into getting in a relationship right now, but Serena was still very attractive.
"Ash, don't be moody. That was probably the best battle I have ever seen. You did great out there, so don't feel discouraged".
She then opened her arms out, gesturing for a hug which Ash gladly pulled in. Serena definitly had that comforting nature.
"Aww, so cute. You two should just hook up already", Misty teased. Ash felt his face heating up as everbody laughed. Serena just looked at him and blushed.
"But seriously, Ash out of all the battles you've had, this was by far your best one", Brock said.
"Totally! Even though you didn't win, it was still even better than when you beat Drake on the Orange Islands!", Misty exclaimed.
"So don't feel bad. You did great out there", Clemont said offering a kind smile to the boy.
"I'm such a fan now!" Bonnie squealed, making everyone laugh. Ash smiled as he looked at his friends who were still laughing at Bonnie's remark. Oh, how lucky he was to know such people. He already felt better. But something inside told him otherwise.
Why do I feel like someone's missing? Ash thought. Then he remembered. Dawn. He had not seen the girl since they departed ways in Sinnoh after his loss to Tobias. He knew he had a crush on her, but was too shy to admit it at first. And now he greatly missed her, when she would be around cheering for him at any battle.
"Hello? Earth to Ash? You there?"
Gary's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, as he looked around to see his friends staring at him like he was crazy.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm good! Thanks for cheering me up guys!" Ash quickly exclaimed. The others smiled and told him it was alright while Gary looked at him suspiscously. Ash knew Gary was sharp and there was almost nothing he could hide from his rival.
"So, we were just asking what are you going to do next", Brock said.
"Yeah, any plans?" Serena asked. Ash thought for a minute.
Hmm, now that he thought about it, he did need to find out what he was going to do next. Normally, he would just return home and wait for Professor Oak to tell him about another region to travel to.
But something this time told him not to. He wanted to do something different. He had heard about how the Alola Region was holding a tournament, so he would go there. But that was in one year, so he needed to do something now.
And he had just the thing in mind.
"I think I know what I'm going to do. No, I KNOW what I'm going to do. I'm going to take all my Pokemon and travel through every region I have travelled so far and win each league!" Ash exclaimed.
Just as he expected, everyone gave him shocked looks.
"Every region you've travelled? But Ash, that's like six regions!" Misty exclaimed.
"And what do you mean win each league? Are you saying you want to challenge every gym and partake in every Pokemon League there again?" Gary asked.
"Yup!" Ash nodded.
"B-but why? I thought you were going to a different region? Why go back?" Serena asked.
"Don't mind us judging Ash, but it sounds like a stupid idea", Clemont said.
"Guys, you may think so. But this is something I want to do. Have you guys noticed that every region I travel to I always lose in the league?" Ash said. When he got nods from everyone, he continued.
"The only way I'm going to win a league and become a Pokemon Master is if I go back and face my past challenges and overcome them again. That way I can become stronger and win every Pokemon League!" Ash said.
"Ash, I understand your point, but is going through every region necessary?" Gary asked.
"It is. Gary, I need to do this. I want to show the world who I am. Alot of people talk so much shit about me losing every league and I'm sick of it! It's time to show the world who Ash Ketchum really is!"
Everyone was quiet after hearing this. They hadn't expected this to come from Ash. After a while, Serena spoke up.
"Ash...what about your brother?" Ash's face suddenly darkened and he looked down in silence. He knew what was coming next.
"If you want to prove to the world who you are, then won't you have to beat your brother? You'll just be known as your brother's shadow". That was true. Ever since his older brother had become the champion of Kanto and the strongest trainer in the world five years ago, Ash wouldn't really be that well known compared to him.
"Then I'll also beat him". Okay, no one expected that response from him.
''Beat him? Ash, you know this isn't some kind of game. You do know how powerful Red is right? No one's beaten him ever! It's easier said than done!" Misty exclaimed.
"I agree. Ash, I support all of your decisions, but are you sure you want to take such a step?" Brock asked.
"Yes I do Brock. This is my dream. And to make my dream become a reality, I have to overcome every obstacle in the way. I have to never give up", Ash said. He then turned around and smiled at them. "Besides, that what everybody has to do in life, right?"
For a moment no one said a word. Then:
"If that's the case, then I'll be waiting for you in Kalos!" Everybody turned to look at Serena, who had a warm smile on her face.
"I'm with you Ash. If you're going to journey through every region again, then I wish you good luck. I know you'll do it".
Ash smiled at his friend. Serena always wished the best for him, just like his mom.
"Then I'll see you at Pewter Gym", Brock said. Ash turned around to see the Gym Leader smiling at him. "My Pokemon will be waiting for you. Don't dissapoint me, Ash".
"I'll see you at my gym also! Can't wait to battle you!" Clemont exclaimed.
"Same! I want to see you kick my brother's butt again!" Bonnie exclaimed, earning a glare from her brother.
"Well, looks like we'll be having a rematch too. Wish you good luck", Misty said smiling. Ash smiled back. He couldn't wait to have a rematch with the tomboy girl. It had been ages since their battle.
"Heh, I guess this is the last time we see you for a while. When are you leaving?" Gary asked.
"Hmm...I'll leave in a few days. Gotta get everything ready and say goodbye", Ash said.
"Heh heh. I don't know what region you'll go to first, but when you come back to Kanto, I'll be waiting for you. Just know, you'll have to fight my brother as well and let me just say, there's a reason why they call him the strongest Gym Leader in the world", Gary said.
Ash smiled. "Definitly".
"Then, I guess this is good bye. Good luck and come back with at least one victory on your shoulders". Gary smiled and then added: "Oh, and smell ya later Ashy-boy".
Ash laughed it off, as he was used to the name calling by now.
"Dude, I'm leaving in a few days. We still have time left".
"I know, but I couldn't help myself", Gary replied with a grin. After that, the group bid their farewells to each other and walked off in separate directions. Serena, Clemont and Bonnie left for Vermilion to catch the nearest boat back to Kalos, while Brock and Misty returned to their respective gyms in Pewter and Cerulean. Ash and Gary both headed off to Pallet Town, after a long week of the Siver Conference.
It would only be soon when the big day would come. Ash had only one goal in his mind and that was to conquer every region he had been to. Little did he know, he was about to get himself into his craziest adventure yet.
And probably, his best.
-TO BE CONTINUED-
So how was it? I think I did pretty well for the first chapter of my first story. There's more to come, so keep in touch! And this chapter introduces our first new character Ethan! Ethan appears as Gold from the Pokemon Special Manga, not his game appearance. He is wearing his HG/SS clothes just so you know. Just know that his team is the same I had in SoulSilver! Also, Red is Ash's older brother who's been the champion for more than five years and Blue is Gary's brother who is the Viridian City Gym Leader. Both Red and Blue are in their manga appearances as well.
Next chapter we will start off Ash's journey into the first region. Which will it be? Feel free to guess! We also meet two of the main characters that are going to be in this harem! Anyone wanna guess?
See you all next time!