To Be More Than I Can Be
By Trish.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I wish I did. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes and not for profit. The title of the story is taken from the lyrics to 'You Raise Me Up". The chapter title is from the song "One Night In Bangkok" from the musical Chess.
Chapter One: The World's Your Oyster
The stadium was silent as the smoke and debris settled from the massive fireball from the last attack.
Who would be the last pokémon standing?
When visibility was restored to the arena, the Charizard was still standing, battered, bruised and breathing heavily. Its opponent, Infernape lay at its feet, out cold.
The referee raised the green flag. "Infernape is eliminated. This championship match goes to the Green Trainer, Ash Ketchum!"
There was an explosion of joy from the announcer's booth high above the stadium. "HE'S WON!!! ASH KETCHUM IS THE NEW POKÉMON GRAND MASTER!!!
Charizard gave a weak roar of victory as he turned to his trainer.
The tall young man stood stunned, before rushing over to the Fire Pokémon and throwing his arms around the saurian. Pikachu sat her master's feet and looked on with pride at her fellow pokémon.
"Thank you, Charizard," Ash whispered. "We finally did it."
The dragon rumbled happily in response as the announcer kept on yelling how Ash was the youngest ever Grand Master at sixteen.
Ash straightened up and acknowledged the cheering crowds with a wave and a smile. His younger self would have been jumping up and down with sheer abandonment over his triumph. Now he was too emotionally spent from the battle to do anything but wave a few times.
The Championship for the title of Grand Master consisted of battles amongst all Gym Leaders, League Champions and Pokémon Masters. As the trainers were the elite of the Pokémon League, the standard of battle was of the highest excellence. Ash and his Pokémon friends had managed to battle through to this, the final round.
It had been a close battle, he thought. Never a sure thing that we would win. But we prevailed and I'd rather get out of here as quick as possible to the Pokémon Centre to heal my team. It is all because of them that I am now here.
The presentation and any celebrations could wait until his Pokémon were okay. They deserved to be there as much as he did, if not more.
A slight breeze ruffled his hair and he glanced up at the sky, eyes opening wide.
An enormous and gloriously tricoloured bird glided over the stadium, a rainbow of colours trailing in its wake.
"Ho-Oh", Ash breathed. "The day I left Pallet to begin my Pokémon journey, I saw Ho-Oh."
"Pika," the electric mouse nodded.
"I wonder why its decided to appear again today?"
:To congratulate you on your achievements, Grand Master,: a feminine voice chimed in his mind. :I appeared on the first day of your journey and I have done so again on the last day. Now, another, greater adventure begins, Chosen One.:
The newly anointed Grand Master's eyes widened. Ho-Oh had just spoken to him telepathically and she had called him a name he had not heard for four years. Chosen One.
What does that mean?.
Ash shook his head and Pikachu leapt up onto his shoulder. He walked over to his defeated opponent, Pokémon Master and Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia and held out his hand.
"That was a fantastic match, Cynthia! You had me on the ropes quite a few times that I honestly didn't think I could win."
"Rubbish," the tall blonde Master grinned and shook his hand. "You never gave up no matter what I threw at you. If that's how you battle when you think you might be defeated, then I don't want to see how you battle when you know you can win!"
"I guess you're right."
"You really are something special, Ash," Cynthia smiled. "I heard that from so many other Gym Leaders and when I finally met you, I could see it was true. Destiny smiles favourably on you."
"You think?"
"Of course it does! I have never met anyone with such an affinity with their Pokémon, and such strong bonds. You don't just battle as a team, you manage to become one with them. And that is the rarest talent of all."
"Thanks."
***
Ding Ding. The flashing neon sign outside the theatre in the Pokémon Centre blinked off, alerting Ash to the imminent arrival of Nurse Joy with his healed Pokémon.
The strawberry-haired nurse came out with Chansey at her side wheeling a small trolley containing his Pokéballs and Pikachu. The electric mouse chirped and leapt onto his shoulder.
"Your Pokémon are all healed now, Grand Master," Joy smiled. "Congratulations on such a fantastic match!"
"Thank you."
"I remember when you competed for the first time in the Indigo League," the nurse reminisced. "How things have changed…"
Catching a glimpse of himself from the side in one of the mirrors lining the wall, Ash had to agree. Now sixteen years old, he was no longer the scrawny ten year old with the battered League cap, blue vest, green fingerless gloves and black t-shirt. Tall and slightly muscular, Ash was now clad in black jeans, white shirt and unbuttoned navy blue shirt. Black hair that was once untamed and unruly, was now slightly more tamed, a bit shorter with hair slightly spiked at the front with styling gel. After all, image was so very important for a Pokémon Master.
Not that he had changed his appearance solely upon the acquisition of a major title. Put quite simply, Ash had grown up and as he matured so did his tastes in appearances and clothes change. He had also discovered the allure of the fairer sex, and if that wasn't a wakeup call to a teenage male to take better care of himself, then nothing else would.
He started to dress a bit better, starting eating a little bit healthier and started working out with weights. Brock was delighted in this change in his younger friend, declaring that now Ash had joined the world of Men, the two friends were going to have so much fun chasing girls.
Personality wise, Ash had changed and matured as well. Gone was the hyperactive, impatient, stubborn kid. While still stubborn, the dark haired Trainer was calmer, more patient, and to everyone's surprise (bar his Mom and his Pokémon) wiser and smarter.
"Just what did you do with the real Ash?!" Misty had exclaimed the first time he had shocked all of his friends by saying something smart. His response was that his friends didn't know just how smart he really was.
Sure, he had his moments when he was dense (and didn't everybody) but in reality he was much smarter than his friends thought he was. There was no way that he could have got his Trainer's licence if he was thick as a brick, and no way that he could have made it to the title of Pokémon Master.
However, his friends and strangers merely assumed due to a few mistakes that he was always slow and very dense. No matter, Ash just let them think that way. Easier than trying to persuade them of the truth, and besides he got a real kick out of the shock on people's faces when they realised just how badly they had underestimated him and his Pokémon.
For a strategy, it worked very well. Many a sneering opponent who thought they would teach 'the dumb kid a few lessons' found to their utter astonishment that the 'dumb kid' was in fact their teacher instead.
"Hey Ash!!" A familiar male voice broke into his reverie.
The dark-haired teenager swung around to see his mother, Professor Oak and the rest of the gang standing there.
He grinned and did his now trademark Victory sign. "I did it, guys. I am officially the World's Greatest Pokémon Master!"
"Pi Pikachu!!" Pikachu also did a victory sign.
Misty shook her head. "Something tells me that he's going to be absolutely insufferable for the next few days."
"Not days, but weeks," Gary smirked.
"Oh come on guys," Ash scowled. "I thought I showed great restraint out there in the Stadium. I didn't scream or yell or jump about. I think I'm allowed to be just a little boastful before the award ceremony."
"That's true," Tracey blinked. "You were very reserved out there. Just a few waves and a smile. That's not like you, Ash. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Trace," Ash grinned. "Not only was I shocked that I actually won, but that battle took a lot out of me emotionally. I was so exhausted that I couldn't bring myself to do anything else but wave."
"Well I thought you looked very dignified and grown up out there," Delia stepped forward. "I'm so proud of you, honey."
Ash ran forward and into his mother's arms. "Thanks, Mom," he whispered.
"I always knew you could do it," Delia released him and he could see a glistening of tears in her dark brown eyes. "If only your father was still alive to see this. He'd have been so proud of you."
"He is proud, Mom," Ash assured his mother. "When I was out there battling, I felt like he was there with me." He wasn't just saying that to make his mother feel better. When he first walked out onto the stadium floor, he did feel a spiritual presence keeping step with him. A warm, loving, fatherly spirit, and he knew at once that his beloved dad had come to share in this, his son's most important milestone so far.
"So, Ash," Meowth grinned. "Whatcha gonna do wid yourself now dat youise is da Big Kahuna of da Pokémon World?"
Ash returned the Scratch Cat's grin. That was another change from when he first started out. Two years ago, Jessie, James and Meowth had finally decided to part ways with Team Rocket, after the organisation had split into Team Magma, Team Magma and Team Galactic. Not only was it no longer the same but the trio could not find it in themselves to be as truly heartless and evil as the new bosses demanded.
You could imagine the trio's surprise when the Twerp then invited them to join him and his friends on the side of good.
"But why?" Jessie was dumbfounded. "We've set traps for you, tried to kidnap Pikachu all these years and generally caused havoc and chaos and you still want us to be friends??"
"Because," Ash grinned. "You never were that good at stealing Pikachu, and you helped me out a few times to save the world, so I've never really believed that deep down you were as evil as you pretended to be."
And Ash did find ways to tap into the former Team Rocket's talents for good. When he became a Pokémon Master, he asked Jessie to be his personal stylist and PR agent. There was nothing Jessie loved more than to show off her sense of fashion and to be in front of a camera.
James was so fussy about details that Ash hired him as his personal assistant, in charge of Ash's schedule and arranging meeting documents and answering correspondence. The lavender-haired man had thrown himself wholeheartedly in the role and was so good at it that Ash wondered if James had missed his original calling in life.
As for Meowth, the Cat Pokémon hung out with Pikachu and the rest, acting as interpreter if necessary and looking after any baby Pokémon that joined the team.
"Actually, I've never really thought what I'd do after I became Grand Master," Ash confessed. "Even though it's always been my dream, there's been times when I wasn't sure that I'd ever get there."
"What?!" Misty gasped. "You've got to be kidding me. Ever since I've known you, you've always been going on about how you're going to be the Greatest Pokémon Master. You were always so cocky and sure of yourself!"
"In public, yes," Ash retorted. "A guy has to keep up a level of bravado in public, but in private I had my moments of doubt. I'm only human after all."
"Noit quite," Meowth smirked
"What do you mean 'not quite'," the Grand Master narrowed his gaze at the Scratch Cat. "I don't have horns growing out of my head or a Pikachu tail sprouting from my rear."
"No," Meowth continued grinning. "But did ya forget da moist impoitant ting of all about ya? You are da Chosen One after all."
Ash's eyes widened at the second mention of this long forgotten title in as many hours. What was the meaning of this?
"Ash?" Professor Oak frowned. "What's Meowth going on about? Chosen One?"
The dark-haired Trainer let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh nothing, Professor. Meowth's just remembering that Legend Festival on Shamouti Island all those years ago. Some ancient Legend about a Chosen One, that's all. You know how islanders love to suck in the tourists with some ol' legend."
Pikachu swatted him on the ear with a paw. "Pikapi!!! Being Chosen One is no laughing matter."
"I know, Pik": He whispered into one long ear. "But I didn't want the Professor to ask any more questions. And what's with every Pokémon mentioning the Chosen One incident all of a sudden? That's the third time it's come up."
"You will find out soon enough, Pikapi," Pikachu grinned and her eyes sparkled with mischief.
That made Ash instantly wary. If Pikachu knew something and she wasn't about to tell her best friend then that meant something big. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Meowth frown. Before the Scratch Cat could open his mouth, he shook his head at him, hoping he would get the message.
Meowth saw the movement, then closed his mouth and nodded.
Ash relaxed just a tiny bit.
***
Ash stood in the tunnel leading into the Stadium with a Pokémon League official, waiting for the League President, Mr Goodshow to finish the runner up presentation to Cynthia.
The award ceremony was about to begin, where he would officially assume the title of Pokémon Grand Master. The number one trainer in the world.
He had achieved above and beyond his childhood dreams. He always wanted to be a Pokémon Master, but to become Pokémon Grand Master? Awesome.
As to what would happen after the ceremony? Who knows? He thought he might go back to Pallet for a little rest and relaxation or maybe he'd take his mom on a long tropical holiday somewhere. His mom deserved it.
The official spoke into his headset and turned to Ash. "We're ready to go, Grand Master."
"Thank you," Ash detached his poke balls from his belt and released his team of Pokémon. "Come on out guys and girls. This is your moment as much as mine."
He took a deep breath and patted down his hair. Jessie would have a fit if his photo was splashed across the newspaper with so much as a hair out of place.
As Ash walked down the tunnel towards the roar of the waiting crowd, he had the feeling that his life would never be the same again.
***
Three weeks later, Ash was back in the Pokémon League Headquarters on Indigo Plateau to talk to President Goodshow about his role and duties as Pokémon Grand Master.
Accompanying him was Pikachu, his mom, Professor Oak and Brock as well as two personal bodyguards assigned to him from the League.
The bodyguards had been an necessary evil as Ash had found out upon his return to Pallet. The sleepy little country village was swamped by the press, paparazzi and fans all eager to be in the same area as the newly titled Pokémon Grand Master.
Ash could barely poke his nose out the door without hundreds of flashes from cameras and the screaming of young girls wanting to marry him and have his baby. It was crazy, so crazy that he decided that tropical island holiday with his mom couldn't wait. A phone call to Drake Thayer, Leader of the Orange Crew, and President Goodshow, and he, his mom and their friends were soon flying out of Pallet on a private League jet.
Drake had arranged for Ash and his friends to stay at private resort on Hamlin Island. Upon arrival, they were ushered onto the top floor, Ash being given the Presidential Suite and the rest occupying the other palatial rooms on the floor.
"We are under strict orders to not let anyone else onto the floor without your permission," the head concierge informed Ash. "And do not worry about the paparazzi. They are banned from the resort grounds and our security have been ordered to not let them in."
Ash rang up Drake to thank him and the Orange Crew Leader just laughed and said it was no problem.
"But the Presidential Suite and the entire floor?" Ash protested. "I'm not worth that!"
"I have connections," Drake chuckled. "And stop saying you're not worth it, Ash. You're the Grand Master and you'll only get offered the very best of everything from now on. Your life is never going to be the same again, so get used to it."
"Easy for you to say," Ash grumbled.
"It won't be so bad after a while," the Orange Crew Leader reassured him. "You just need to get used to all the attention and the role, then it will become second-nature to you."
"I suppose so."
"Just be yourself and don't try to change yourself into what you think the people want in a Grand Master. No one loses popularity and friends more than an arrogant ass."
The Orange Crew Leader's words came back to Ash now as he listened to President Goodshow.
"As Grand Master, you are responsible for the running and administration of all the Pokémon Leagues – Indigo, Orange, Johto, Hohen and Sinnoh. All Gym Leaders, Elite Four, League Champions and Pokémon Masters will report to you. You will be responsible for ensuring that all Leagues are run responsibly, efficiently and within budget. As the number one Trainer in the entire League, the success of the sport rests on your shoulders."
Ash gulped and felt his stomach sink like a stone. Him? Responsible for the international league? He'd never led nor managed anything in his entire life!! If Misty was here, she'd snigger that Ash's leadership would mean that the League would be hopelessly lost and flat broke in two weeks.
"Wait a minute," he croaked, his throat suddenly very dry. "Do you really think I can do this, because I'm not so sure I can. I'm only sixteen! I've never led or managed anything, much less held down a job yet!"
"I think you can do it," President Goodshow smiled. "In fact, you are more experienced in leadership than you realise."
"What do you mean?"
Think about it, Ash," Professor Oak joined in. "What have you been doing since you were ten?"
"Being a Pokémon Trainer?" the teen was utterly confused.
"To be a Trainer, you must lead your Pokémon by example and by training. The Pokémon trust you to direct them in battle on their own or in partnership with a fellow Pokémon. That, my boy, is leadership."
Ash looked thoughtful. He had never thought of Pokémon Training in that way before. All he had ever viewed it as being friends and partners with your Pokémon and working together as a team. He never thought of himself being his Pokémon's leader, and Charizard was sure to flame him and laugh himself silly over that suggestion. Even Pikachu would snort her amusement over the very idea.
Being friends and partners with his Pokémon was a strategy that worked fine for him so far, even to the end of the Grand Master Championship. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
"I know it must sound overwhelming for you," President Goodshow said kindly, bringing Ash back to the present with a thud.
"Overwhelming?" Ash grinned nervously and raked a hand through his dark hair. "It's the most overwhelming thing I have ever had to face in my entire life!"
"Don't worry, my boy," the Pokémon League President grinned. "I know you will do the title of Grand Master justice and the Pokémon League proud."
"Easy for you to say," Ash mumbled.
"Maybe, I know you got the right stuff in you to do it. You've always dreamed of being the Pokémon Grand Master and doing great things. You've got a fire and passion for Pokémon and Pokémon training, the likes of which I have never seen before. You will want to succeed, for both your Pokémon friends and yourself."
That much was true. Ash wanted to put as much effort as he could into making his Grand Mastership of the Pokémon League a success. He wanted to make his mom proud, as well as his Pokémon pals proud. A world where Pokémon were treated with respect, love and affection and lived in harmony with humans wasn't too much to ask was it?
"The League will want to help you in any way they can," Goodshow continued. "As head and public face of the League, we have a duty of care to look after you."
"Can I finish school and do a course at university or college?" Ash asked. He felt it was important that as Grand Master, he finish his school education and undertake further education. After all his reign as the Top Trainer could be quite short and he needed to have something to fall back on.
"Of course you can! We can arrange for you to do it via online," the President chuckled. "I'd say there would be no work done in the classroom if you were to turn up in person."
"There is also the matter of your age," Professor Oak said. "As you are under eighteen you are still classified as a minor. Therefore the League has a duty of care to see you are not taken advantage of."
President Goodshow nodded to the secretary, who rose and opened the door to a short, middle aged man in his early fifties, dressed smartly in pinstripe suit and tie.
"Ash, I'd like you to meet Jack Parker, your interim Manager and PR agent," Goodshow introduced. "Jack's legendary around the League for his management and PR skills and he's agreed to come out of early retirement to mentor you."
"Nice to meet you, Ash," Jack shook the teen's hand heartily. "Congratulations on your win by the way. I watched from the stands and let me tell you it was DYNAMITE!!! Pure Television Gold!! And the crowds just LOVED you!!!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Jack noticed Delia was watching him warily. Like a momma bear with her cub. From his earlier briefing with Goodshow and Oak, he knew that this was the Grand Master's mother. It was very important from a manager's perspective to get the family onside.
He offered her his hand. "You must be Mrs Ketchum, and I don't doubt that you must be SO proud of your son and his achievements."
Delia smiled at that and shook his hand in reply. "I am. I've never been so proud in all my life."
"You needn't worry about putting your son into my care, Mrs. Ketchum," Jack smiled. "The press and paparazzi know that I know all their tricks and wily ways, so they won't try them on Ash when I'm around. And of course I will consult you on any major decisions like travel etc."
Ash stifled a groan. While Jack sounded nice and that he knew what he was talking about when dealing with the League, he sounded too much like a babysitter for the teen's taste. He was sixteen AND the Grand Master for crying out loud!
No one could tell him what to do. Well, the exception was his Mom. His mom might seem to be the sweetest thing since baked apple pie but he knew better. Especially when he'd done something potentially dangerous or stupid.
Then it was Momzilla and all of Pallet would be in ruins around her.
"You got potential, real star potential, boy," Jack was once again in front of him. "The crowds love you, the girls love you. And such a story to sell too!"
"Story?" Ash was confused. What story?
"Why the good ol rag to riches story!" the man grinned. "Everyone loves reading those, well, after cute animal stories that is."
"But I wouldn't say that Mom and I were ever badly off for money," the Grand Master shook his head. "In fact I've never wanted for anything."
"No, but the feel good aspects of the rags to riches story are there. Let's see you come from a, pardon me but no offence, a one horse country village that hardly anyone knows, your father died when you were young and you were raised alone by your mother. You missed out on the usual starter pokémon, no one would give you a chance of succeeding and look at you now."
Despite the slight insult at his home town, Ash had to agree with the man's précis of the first part of his pokémon journey. No one except his mom and his pokémon ever really thought that the scrawny lil kid from a backwater village like Pallet could ever succeed at Pokémon Training. Gary Oak, on the other hand; everyone expected him to reach the very top. After all he was the grandson of the world's foremost Pokémon researcher, how could he not succeed?
"We need to push that feel good part of the story. People will lap it up, it gives them hope you see. If you can do it, maybe they can too. And the Pokémon League will be happy as that means more trainers, more revenue."
"I suppose…"
"Don't suppose, Ash m'boy," Jack grinned. "That rags to riches story is what's going to be with you for the rest of your career."
***
Ash sighed and stretched as he stood on the balcony of his townhouse on the Indigo Plateau. As Grand Master, he was entitled to a luxury townhouse for his living quarters when needed at Headquarters. He grinned to himself, how many sixteen year olds could say that they had their own place to live?
A month had passed since his inauguration as Grand Master, and it was a fast, action packed month.
Under President Goodshow's, Professor Oak's and Jack Parker's tutelage, he was gradually learning the ropes of how to be a Grand Master.
Jack Parker was a real godsend. Not only was he a nice guy, but he knew all the tricks of the trade and explained them to Ash so that he too would know.
"You're only a teenager, so some oldies around here aren't gonna like that someone so young could be the Head of the League. They're gonna try and lead you down the wrong path, make the wrong decisions and then the press will be onto you. The press are very fickle, remember that, Ash. They love you now but they can turn on you just like that."
As well as learning the ropes, Ash still had to train as well as accommodate any publicity requests and photo shoots. This meant that he had to be dragged along on one looong clothes shopping expedition by the League stylist, Jessie and his mom.
Image was everything. No longer would he be able to look all sloppy and scruffy and wear any old thing when he went out. The eyes of the world would be on him and any scruffy photo would be splashed through the tabloids as proof the Grand Master was off the rails, had a drinking problem, relationship problems or some problem he was never aware he had.
Nor would he be able to go out on a drunken spree about town when he finally became of legal drinking age in two years. Not that Ash was particularly fussed about that. He'd tried a bit of champagne at a family wedding and didn't like the taste of it.
Drugs were a no no but again Ash didn't have trouble with complying with that directive. He had seen the physical and mental devastation that drug abuse could wreak on the human body, thanks to an older cousin who had fallen in with a bad crowd and started taking ice and other methamphetamines. After a near fatal encounter with a bad batch of the drug, his cousin was now slowly recovering in rehab and had sworn off the drugs forever. Even so, the young man would be left with chronic health problems as a reminder of his mistakes. Ash didn't want to end up like that.
But what was really putting Ash's head in a spin was the power of the position he now held. Now he had the luxury of a car with driver for his personal use wherever he went, a private League jet for his personal use, and a corporate credit card (kept under lock and key by Jack and only given to Ash when necessary).
And the offers he got! Free tickets to shows, free designer clothes, the latest watches and cell phones, you name it. Ash was offered them all because he was the Grand Master and the resulting free publicity he would provide the firms.
Unfortunately, there was no way he could accept them all. Some were inappropriate (free alcohol) and some gifts were conditional (Whaddya mean I only can ever wear one brand of clothing??).
It was not only offers of merchandise that came flooding his way. Everywhere, people crowded around him, offering friendship, support, waving pads of paper with pens. Suddenly, he was the most popular human being on the planet.
People from his past were coming out of the woodwork thick and fast, all claiming to be his friend or to have had some association with the League's newest Grand Master. The mere linkage with Ash's name could mean increased publicity and business. His old primary school already had a massive sign out the front, congratulating him as a former pupil, with the years he attended. Next year's enrolments were sure to skyrocket.
Jack warned his charge to be wary. "There's going to be no shortage of people wanting to flatter you and tell you're the best. They're going to claim to be your friend, but they're not. They're only your friend while you are a celebrity, a big shot. They want part of the power, the limelight, the glory. Then as soon as you lose, they're going to be off like a shot and pretend they never knew you. The friends who have been with you through the good times and bad before you were famous, those you need. The ones who will tell you that you're not such a hotshot after all."
Therefore Ash was not surprised to find that people who had snubbed him in school, were suddenly very nice to him. Much nicer than they had ever been before. He politely rebuffed those.
The teen grinned to himself. Things were going well so far. How hard could it be as the Grand Master??
***
Shamouti Island, Orange Archipelago
Slowking fussed about the small cave, looking in his stores for some suitable refreshments. He had not expected any visitors, when Mew, the most ancient of all Pokémon just appeared out thin air.
"Do not worry about refreshments, Slowking," the gentle cat-like Pokémon smiled as she did a lazy aerial somersault. "I will not stay long."
"You sure? What do you need to speak to me about it?" The portly Pokémon put his paws behind his back.
"The Chosen One has come into his destiny," Mew said solemnly. "It is time he knew everything. You must summon all the Legendaries for a meeting."
***
To be continued.
Author's Note: Celebrating 10 years of fanfiction writing, and I still don't know what I'm doing! While I know that this story has been done before, this is my slant on things.