Infinite Conquest

by Shadow1001

Ash has made his claim to fame and is one step closer to becoming a Pokémon Master. The next step is defeating every Champion to be the strongest. Years of training is involved and he won't allow anything to hold him back, even his friends. All of this while also trying to live up to the title of Champion. Remix of Infinite Battles

In a stadium in a faraway region shaped like a star, in a stadium filled with thousands of people, there were two trainers standing in the center of the stadium. One had a red hat with sunglasses, a blue zip-up hoodie, and jeans. He had brown, short hair. The other trainer across from him had a red hat, a blue t-shirt, and jeans. He had long, messy, raven coloured hair. Sitting next to him was an injured, exhausted mouse. There was a large screen to the side that showed the two trainers faces along with their Pokémon. All of them were blackened out, except for one on the sunglasses trainer's side and two on the raven-haired trainer's side.

"Absol!" Shouted the sunglasses trainer.

"Garchomp, I choose you!" Shouted the raven-haired trainer. The crowd stared in awe at the beautiful Absol and the powerful Garchomp.

"I had no idea you had a Garchomp, Ash," the sunglasses trainer said, impressed.

Ash Ketchum was the trainer with the Garchomp. Ash Ketchum was a 16 year old Pokémon Trainer who has achieved many accomplishments over the past 6 years and at long last he has reached the finals of the Kalos Pokémon League.

"I'm full of surprises, Calem!" Ash said right back at him. Calem was Ash's rival throughout the Kalos Region. Kalos was where Ash decided to travel alone and Calem and Ash would always battle whenever they meet, either winning, losing, or even getting a draw. And now they are both fighting for the Kalos Championship title.

"However, you won't be able…" Calem rolled up his left sleeve, revealing a wristband of sorts. "…To defeat my Mega Absol!" Calem touched the center of the wristband and suddenly the necklace the Absol was wearing started to glow along with Absol. Absol's form began to change and very quickly Absol had changed its form, looking more majestic and beautiful than before.

Gasps were heard from the crowd as the new Mega Absol prepared for battle. Ash and Garchomp remained unfazed however.

Ash put his arm in front of him and gave Garchomp a command. "Garchomp, use Dragon-"

Ash was cut off by Calem's own command. "Sucker Punch." Before Garchomp could do anything, Absol moved so fast you could only see a blur and delivered a powerful blow to Garchomp, sending him to the ground.

Ash looked at Garchomp in shock then back at the Absol. The power of Mega Absol was much greater than he had originally thought. "Garchomp! Get up and use Sandstorm!" This way Absol's vision will be hindered and won't be able to land any more Sucker Punch attacks while also increasing Garchomp's speed thanks to his ability Sand Veil.

Garchomp conjured up a Sandstorm and disappeared within the sandstorm while Calem and Absol were struggling to locate Garchomp within the sandstorm. The crowd were protected from the sandstorm by invisible barriers that were introduced when Ash won the quarter-finals of the Sinnoh League where his opponent used Hail, causing some problems for the spectators.

"I'm impressed Ash," Calem's voice was heard but Ash couldn't see him due to the sandstorm. "I haven't seen a Sandstorm this powerful before. Not even a Tyranitar can conjure up one like this."

Ash grinned as he received praise. He trained like no other for this league and he was not going to lose now. "I appreciate the praise Calem, but you should worry about your Absol more than the Sandstorm!" Just as Ash said that, he heard the cry of Absol.

"Absol!" Calem shouted at Absol's cry. If Ash knew his Garchomp well enough, then Garchomp most likely used Dig.

"Dragon Claw!" Ash shouted. If Garchomp used Dig, then Garchomp was in close proximity to Absol.

Without the ability to see, Calem was in a predicament. Sucker Punch and Detect would be useless in this situation if he couldn't see the opponent. As soon as he heard Ash command Garchomp to use Dragon Claw, Calem saw a way out. "Me First!"

Ash's eyes widened at the command and heard Garchomp shout in pain. Absol used Dragon Claw, which would be super effective against Garchomp. Absol had Sucker Punch for attacking if he used a move and Me First to use the opponent's move first. "Garchomp, Dig!"

"Detect!" Calem shouted, in hopes that Absol would be able to detect the attack. But Calem was unaware of Garchomp's ability and heard his Absol cry in pain. "So fast…?"

"That's Garchomp's ability, Sand Veil!" Ash explained. "Dragon Rush!"

Absol cried in pain again and Calem was worried. He needed to figure out a way to remove the Sandstorm. "Razor Wind!" With any luck, Razor Wind would remove the sandstorm. Calem cursed himself for having not thought of this idea sooner.

Absol used Razor Wind and sent out blades of white energy to clear the Sandstorm and in seconds the sandstorm was gone, at least on his side of the battlefield. The other side, Ash's side, was still in a sandstorm and Garchomp was nowhere to be seen.

"What now Calem?" Calem heard Ash's voice then out of nowhere, Garchomp dug out of the ground beneath Absol and dealt a deadly attack. Garchomp then quickly went back into the hole and Calem saw the solution and victory.

"Absol! Follow Garchomp!" Calem exclaimed. Absol stood up and jumped in the hole, in pursuit of Garchomp. "We have to get dirty to win against Ash. When you run into Garchomp, use consecutive Night Slash!"

Ash was surprised by the command Calem made, and got worried when he heard the attack. "Garchomp! If you run into Absol, fight with consecutive Dual Chop!" There was no sound, until the continuous cries of both Absol and Garchomp were made.

Ash and Calem waited in eagerness for the result. Calem was more worried because if Absol faints, or is weakened greatly, then he will still have trouble against Ash's second Pokemon.

"Absol! Future Sight!" Ash's eyes widened in surprise and quickly looked at the ground that was shaking with the battle occurring underground.

"Garchomp! Bring Absol above ground!" A loud rumble was heard before something shot out of the ground into the sky. The sandstorm cleared just then and in the sky was Garchomp holding Absol.

"Absol! Get out of there!" Calem called out. Absol slashed at Garchomp, loosening Garchomp's grip and landed back on the ground safely.

Calem was not expecting Garchomp to charge straight at Absol however. "Dragon Rush!" Ash called out and it was too late for Calem to call an attack and Absol was sent flying to the edge of the stadium.

"Absol!" Calem called out, hoping Absol was alright. Absol shakily stood up and glared at Garchomp.

"Garchomp, we need to end this!" Ash shouted, worried that Absol would end up fighting past its limit. "Hyper Beam!"

"Detect, Absol!" Calem shouted. Absol, however, was too weak and was struggling to even stand, while Garchomp fired the Hyper Beam.

Two explosions were made, one was at Absol who was hit by the Hyper Beam and once again sent flying into the same indent it made when it was hit by the Dragon Rush. The other explosion was from Garchomp, as the Future Sight had finally hit.

Both trainers stared in shock at their Pokémon who were surrounded by smoke. When the smoke cleared, Garchomp was crouching, but still conscious. Absol on the other hand was unconscious and had reverted to its original form. The crowd was silent until Garchomp let out a loud roar and the crowd erupted in cheers.

"Absol is unable to battle! Garchomp is the winner! With two Pokémon remaining, Ash Ketchum is now the Kalos League Champion!" The announcer exclaimed with a flag towards Ash raised.

Meanwhile, Ash and Calem were staring at their Pokémon, still trying to comprehend what just occurred and when the realization hit them, who won and who lost, both grew a smile on their faces and walked over to their respective Pokémon. Ash hugged Garchomp, thanking him for all his hard work. Calem also hugged Absol, thanking him as well and returned him. He walked over to Ash and Garchomp and held out his hand.

"That was a great battle Ash. Thank you for making this journey a memorable one," Calem said.

"Thank you too Calem, for giving me the best final battle ever," Ash said, gripping Calem's hand. Inside though, Ash was extremely ecstatic, as he had become a champion and one step closer to his dream.

Ash held his trophy up high with his partners standing next to him. Behind him was Garchomp, roaring proudly. Tyrantrum was standing tall next to Garchomp, looking as happy as the fearsome beast could look. Infernape was standing on the other side of Garchomp doing a fist bump. Greninja and Talonflame were standing on both sides of Ash and last, but not least, Pikachu was on his usual perch of Ash's shoulder.

---

Ash walked alongside the Kalos Champion, Diantha. They were heading to a conference room where Ash would be interviewed. Diantha was giving Ash advice on how to deal with the upcoming reporters. "So Ash, I hope you are ready to deal with the pain of every celebrity."

Ash laughed nervously at that. "It can't be that bad, right?"

The moment they entered the conference room, Ash was blinded by all the camera flashes. There was nothing but noise around him and he did all he could to not cover his ears and shout. Instead, he did just as Diantha told him to and walk straight to his seat behind a long table. Diantha sat on one side of him and Elite 4 Member Malva sat on the other side of him. Elite 4 Members Siebold and Wikstrom were standing at the side of the table and Drasna was absent at that moment.

"You may ask the Kalos League Champion any questions. If they, however, are out of line or pointless, your question will be skipped and you may be escorted out," Wikstrom stated with a strong voice that silenced the crowd of news reporters.

"Now please, one at a time, begin," Siebold said calmly contrasting Wikstrom completely.

"You are from the Kanto Region, correct?" Ash confirmed this with a nod. "How long have you been training?"

"Six years from last month," Ash answered and watched as the reporter wrote that down at an incredible speed.

"Who is your inspiration?" Another reporter asked.

"Inspiration? Hm," Ash looked at Pikachu before back at the reporter. "I guess my Pokémon. Seeing them work so hard, I can't help but be inspired!"

---

Ash collapsed on his bed without a second thought. He had finished his interview and was back in his hotel room. Ash stared at the ceiling fan, exhausted from the last few days. Pikachu soon came into view. Ash reached up and scratched Pikachu behind the ears. "What a crazy last few days this has been, huh Pikachu? Champion to interviews. Even an invitation to take on the Kalos Elite 4!"

Ash grinned as he, for the first time in a long time, felt accomplished. "That's one step closer buddy." Ash thought back to his journey before frowning. "It's kind of weird though…I would have thought Brock and the rest of our friends would have congratulated me by now. But only mom, Gary, and Professor Oak called."

"They must be busy. They each have their own dream as well. I should probably check what they've done, Max is now a Pokémon Trainer I think!" Ash sat up and was about to reach for the phone when someone knocked on his hotel room door.

"Ash?" Recognizing the voice as Elite 4 Malva, Ash went over and opened the door to see the pink-haired woman step inside his room. She looked over the hotel room before looking back at Ash with disgust. "Our Kalos League Victor is staying in this pathetic room? Shall I have a chat with the hotel manager?"

Ash waved his hands and shook his head. "No, this room is perfectly fine! I'm the champion but I don't need much."

"You aren't the champion, boy." Ash blinked and was surprised at the sudden coldness in the fire expert's voice. "To become the champion you must defeat the Elite 4 and Diantha herself. You are just the winner of a children tournament. Nothing more."

Ash frowned, trying to not to lash out. "Well that definitely ruins everything."

Malva closed her eyes and smirked. "I expect you to take us on. I want to crush you myself."

Ash furrowed his brow. "Do you not like me or something? I don't remember meeting you before the league…"

Malva opened her eyes but kept her smirk. "Perhaps I'll tell you. If you defeat me in the challenge." Before Ash made a decision, Malva continued. "But if I win, you will give me those visors you found in Geosenge Town."

Ash's eyes widened and his eyes narrowed. "How do you-" He was cut off as Malva put a finger on his lip.

"Don't think I don't know who you are, boy. I've done my research. You were at the heart of many conflicts in many regions, interfering with many organizations, Team Flare being your most recent. So? Is that a deal?"

Ash hesitated, having no idea why Malva wanted the visor of Team Flare's boss, and he didn't exactly want to give it up as they were the last thing he had of Team Flare's boss as he had fallen with his weapon. Ash didn't even hate the man either, as while his actions were evil, his intentions were sort of pure.

"If I refuse?" Ash asked, cautiously taking a step back.

Malva didn't seem to notice Ash's hesitance and kept her smirk. "That's a pretty big if. What, you want something more? Is the title of champion that insignificant to you?"

Ash was angry at the assumption. "No! I respect Champions! All right, I was going to accept the challenge sooner or later anyways!"

Malva let out a laugh. "Good. I'll go share the news with Diantha and all of Kalos. See you in a week, you better not disappoint."

With that, Malva exited the hotel room, closing the door behind her. Ash blinked before turning to Pikachu. "A week…Pikachu, what did I just do?"

---

"End it Charizard! Overheat!" Charizard let out a powerful blast of fire, hitting his opponent directly, knocking it out.

Ash watched as his training partner returned his Absol, who transformed back from its Mega form. Calem looked at Charizard with amazement. "I never knew you had such a powerful Pokémon, Ash! I thought your Garchomp was strong."

Ash grinned and rubbed Charizard's neck. "You haven't seen anything yet Calem." Calem's eyes widened at that, wondering how strong Charizard was. Ash returned Charizard and stretched. "Thanks though. I got some good training in for tomorrow!"

"I'm surprised you took the challenge, so soon even! If you win, this will be huge!" Ash looked at Calem confused. Noticing this, Calem explained. "Usually victors of the League wait at least a month before challenging the Elite 4! This is the first time in history that someone is challenging it almost immediately after!"

Ash smiled nervously as he recalled how he ended up in this situation before shaking his head, ridding those thoughts. The battles came first, and they would be tough. The Elite 4 only use four Pokémon and the Champion uses six and you have to use the same six Pokémon for all the matches. Ash would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. He was willing to forfeit if things got dire, but with all the training he did, he seriously doubted that would happen.

"Only time will tell, I should go try and contact my friends," Ash said and began walking back to the hotel.

Calem frowned. "You've been trying all week. What are they doing that's more important than your League Battles?"

Ash shrugged. "They've got their own goals. Two of my friends have a Grand Festival that also starts tomorrow. I'd rather not distract them. They've worked hard for this."

Calem released a small laugh. "You care about them a lot, huh?" Ash nodded and Calem looked to the sky. "Must be nice, having someone you can depend on."

Ash tilted his head, wondering what Calem was talking about. "You've got your Pokémon, and me too! You've helped me out a lot here in Kalos. Especially against Team Flare!"

Calem looked back at Ash to see him smiling warmly at him. Calem couldn't resist a smile of his own and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I wouldn't change anything that happened on this journey…well, except one thing."

Ash raised a brow. "Really? What?"

Calem smirked. "The results of the Kalos League Tournament."

Ash rolled his eyes but smirked as well. "Nothing would have changed that outcome."

---

Ash panted as he picked up Pikachu from the battlefield, unconscious and injured. Ash placed Pikachu gently near the referee, who agreed to look after the electric mouse until the battle ended.

It was Day 3 of Ash's challenge, having defeated Wikstorm and Malva on Day 1 and Drasna and Siebold on Day 2. Now he was fighting the Champion herself, Diantha.

Defeating Malva earned respect from the woman as well as a revelation that she was a former Team Flare Member, one of the executives even, shocking Ash. She gave Ash her Team Flare Medallion as a symbol that she is no longer dedicated to Team Flare and will carry out her duties as a Holo Caster Reporter and Elite 4 Member.

Back to the Champion battle, Ash had thought he was doing quite well in the beginning, being able to defeat three of Diantha's Pokémon without losing a single one. When Tyrantrum appeared things started to get messy, as it defeated both Infernape and Snorlax with relative ease and nearly knocked out Sceptile, which her Aurorus did almost immediately after it was sent out. Pikachu was able to defeat the ancient Pokémon and last but not least was Gardevoir. Gardevoir took out his Garchomp and then Mega Evolved and defeated Pikachu.

Charizard appeared from its Poké Ball and let out a roar, and was ready to battle. The changes in Pokémon types had confused Ash for a while, but now he thinks he's got them mastered. And he knew Fire Types resisted Fairy Type attacks so the Moonblast that ended Garchomp and Pikachu won't be useful against his Charizard.

"Flamethrower!" Charizard quickly let out a blast of fire towards Gardevoir, who teleported out of the way with dazzling effects.

"Thunderbolt!" Gardevoir raised its arm and shot out powerful bolts of electricity in many directions, surprising Ash. The bolts of electricity made loud cackles as they struck various parts of the plain battlefield.

"Fly to dodge!" With a flap of his wings, Charizard was in the air, manoeuvering between the bolts of electricity surprising everyone watching. Diantha remained calm and made a hand signal.

Despite not facing Diantha to see the hand signal, Gardevoir still understood and used Psychic to disperse the Thunderbolt even more and guide it to Charizard.

Ash clenched his fists, knowing that was the result of the tight bond they share influenced even further by the powers of Mega Evolution. "Fire Blast!" Charizard shot another blast of fire to counter the Thunderbolt. The blast of fire soon transformed into the shape of a daimonji and overpowered the Thunderbolt, eventually hitting Gardevoir.

Ash heard the commentator speak but was too focused to listen. "Steel Wing!" Charizard's wing glowed and soon turned into solid steel before Charizard charged straight towards Gardevoir. Steel Wing enhanced Charizard's manoeuverability and power while slowing his flying speed.

"Thunderbolt!" Gardevoir fired the powerful bolt again, Charizard narrowly dodging one but got hit by another one and crashed into the ground, roaring in pain as electricity coursed through his body, the Steel Wing ending up conducting the electricity. "Shadow Ball!" Following up the Thunderbolt, Gardevoir sent a dark energy ball straight to the fallen Charizard.

"Grab it, Charizard!" Charizard quickly got up and grabbed the Shadow Ball, wincing as the dark energy hurt his claws before tossing it straight back to Gardevoir. "Steel Wing!" Wings steel once again, Charizard suddenly made a burst from his original position and charged at a great speed and was about to hit Gardevoir before Gardevoir teleported in less than a second, appearing behind Charizard and sent another powerful stream of electricity at Charizard.

"Keep up the Thunderbolt," Diantha called out, watching as Charizard roared in pain from the powerful super effective attack. Electricity streams began to appear from all around Gardevoir and had struck Charizard, making him immobile.

"Charizard! This is nothing! Come on! Overheat!" Using all of his willpower, Charizard turned around painfully and slowly as he continued to be struck by the large amounts of electricity that made Pikachu's Thunderbolt pale in comparison. Charizard summoned the power within him and fired an incredibly large blast of fire, larger than Overheat ever was and easily overpowered the Thunderbolt. The blast continued to become larger as it neared Gardevoir, soon making contact and resulted in an extremely loud explosion with smoke blocking the vision of all.

When the smoke had cleared, Gardevoir was back in its original form, sprawled across the ground in a large crater. Charizard's attack had left its mark, as even behind Gardevoir there was debris from the stadium wall.

With that, the victor was clear.

The explosion was so loud that Ash's ears were ringing but he could still hear his Charizard roar in victory and that was all Ash needed to run up to his partner and give him a hug, ignoring the static surrounding his Pokémon. "You did it Charizard! You were awesome!" Charizard roared even more, proud of its victory as well as having avenged his defeated comrades.

Ash looked up and saw Diantha walk up to Ash, having already recalled Gardevoir. "Congratulations Ash. I am proud to say this, you are the new Kalos Champion!" Somehow her voice was loud enough to be heard and cheers erupted from the stands like never before. Diantha turned to Charizard and rubbed his snout, making the fire dragon slightly uncomfortable, causing Diantha to laugh. "You and Charizard are close. You even learned the ultimate Fire Type move, Blast Burn."

Ash listened as he received Pikachu from the referee, Pikachu having woken up to Charizard's roars. "Blast Burn huh? You sure know how to keep getting stronger!" Ash exclaimed, his heart threatening to burst out of happiness. His heart may had already exploded when Diantha spoke the words he wanted to hear for so long.

"Now come on, let's register you in the Hall of Fame, Champion."

---

Again, Ash collapsed on his hotel bed. Though this time it was a much bigger and comfortable bed as he was in a fancier room suited for a Champion.

Ash quickly learned that being a Champion wasn't exactly easy. There were interviews and fans. Fangirls in particular he found to be, well not annoying. He actually didn't mind them but they were a bit invasive. One listed every single one of his Pokémon. Some even knew about the events from the Orange Islands with Lugia. Fangirls were an experience that Ash could live with, but would rather not.

Ash took off three Poké Balls from his belt, Snorlax, Garchomp, and Charizard's. "You three fought really hard. I'll send you guys back to Professor Oak's. I'll keep Infernape and Sceptile, just in case." Ash walked over to the video phone and contacted Professor Oak and sent him the three Pokémon.

While talking to Oak, Ash learned about what his friends were up to and how they were all coming to Pallet Town for a group reunion. "I wish I could go, but I have some stuff to do as the official Champion of Kalos."

Professor Oak laughed. "You're already maturing my boy! I'm sure your Elite 4 friends will allow you to take a break home, don't you? You deserve the rest."

Ash nodded. "I'll ask them then. Thanks Professor."

"No problem Ash." The call ended and Ash mentally reviewed what the Professor told him.

Brock had finished his second year in medical school.
Misty was fulfilling her Gym Leader duties admirably while also becoming a well-known Water Trainer, having went back to compete in the Whirl Cup in Johto sometimes.
Max had become a trainer while he was travelling in Unova and came in the Top 16 of the Hoenn League during his travels in Kalos.
May had won the Johto Grand Festival that took place the same time as his Elite 4 Challenge.
Dawn had made it to the finals of the Johto Grand Festival, losing against May.
Iris began training in Blackthorn City under Clair to become a stronger Dragon Trainer.
Cilan was just travelling, becoming a better connoisseur as he battled more trainers. He was apparently becoming a very formidable trainer.

"They sure have been busy, huh?" Ash asked aloud looking at Pikachu was lying upside down on his bed. Ash rolled his eyes and walked over to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. "But so have we."

Ash didn't want to admit it, but it could have been his friends who have been holding him back. Not his Pokémon but rather his travelling companions. Sure there were times he won like the Orange Islands or Battle Frontier but those were times where he won by himself with almost no help from his friends. Maybe he was limited when travelling them, Brock and Cilan literally helping him with any problem involving survival and the other member who was usually a girl by coincidence who did…nothing really. They would often distract him from his goal.

"They may have been the reason I didn't win, but I don't regret anything! My journey would have been nowhere near as fun without them!" Ash nodded to himself as he sat in the bathtub but then looked at a floating bubble seriously. "Though I'm at the point where I'll have to focus on my dream. If I don't accomplish that, then all of this would have been for nothing."

"…Do I want to go to the reunion?"

---

Ash was sitting at a table in a restaurant, trying to ignore the stares around him. He was sitting with Elite 4 Member Malva, who invited him here as an apology of sorts. She smirked as she watched Ash trying his best to not show discomfort.

Malva touched her straw that extended from a tall glass. "Just pretend they don't exist, if they're really bothering you."

Ash looked at Malva in surprise before giving a sheepish smile. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'm…not used to this I guess."

Malva laughed and took a sip from her drink. "If you were a bit older, you might have done it for me. But alas, it was not meant to be." Malva laughed again when Ash looked at her confused. "Anyways, I'm actually supposed to brief you on what is going to happen now that you've claimed the Champion title. It would have been boring to do that in some kind of office, don't you think?"

Ash looked around him before back at Malva. "Are you allowed to say that stuff in public though? Isn't it supposed to be confidential?"

Malva shrugged. "What does it matter really? They'll find out somehow anyways. Let's begin. As the new Champion, you have relieved Diantha from her role."

Ash was surprised. "Wait she won't become a member of the Elite 4?"

Malva laughed once again. "How someone who knows so little managed to defeat us is incredible." Ash glared at that. "Anyways, no that only would be the case if the Elite 4 wasn't complete but since it is, Diantha just gets kicked out of the Pokémon League. Don't get me wrong, she still has a major influence but trainers don't have to fight her if they want to seize the Champion title. They have to fight you."

"So I'm going to be busy then?"

"Not really. We haven't had a challenger since Diantha who's managed to even defeat one of us. That's why Diantha and other regional Champions spend so much time travelling. Aside from being called back to Kalos every now and then, you're free to do whatever now that we've gotten all the formalities out of the way."

"Really!?" Ash asked surprised, expecting burdens of responsibilities now that he's a Champion.

"Of course. Although," Malva smirked. "You could challenge other region's Champions."

Ash blinked. "Huh?"

"Champions or Frontier Brains have the power to challenge other Champions. However, never once have we had a Champion manage to defeat every Champion. If you can manage to do that, you will be a Pokémon Master."

Ash's eyes widened at that and took a sip of his drink. He then glanced at Pikachu under the table. "My dream…"

"You still have a long ways to go, however. You may have beaten Diantha, but just barely. Another Champion may challenge you and beat you just barely and you will have disgraced Diantha's name. So you better not become lax with your training."

Ash almost shouted before realizing where he was. "Of course I won't! I'll keep training, I'll have to if I want to beat the other Champions."

Malva nodded. "Good, glad to hear the Elite 4 aren't completely lost. Remember, you may have beaten us but we're still powerful trainers. We can help you train a Pokémon of a specific type better than anyone else. Need to train your Fire Types? I'm your woman. Steel? Wikstrom. Dragon? Drasna. Water? Siebold. You can even ask Diantha for training with any other type."

Ash nodded, taking note of that. "I'll definitely do that. I want to battle you guys again anyways!"

Malva smirked and stood up, extending her hand across the table. Ash saw this and also stood up and shook her hand. "It will be a pleasure working alongside you, Champion Ash."

---

"Well? Did you ask them?" Ash had called Professor Oak once he returned to his hotel room. All his friends were already at Pallet Town, all staying either at his house or at Professor Oak's.

Ash nodded firmly. "My stuff is packed and I'm coming home." Oak smiled at that but before he could speak, Ash continued. "But I can't stay too long. A week at most before I have to return back to Kalos."

Oak raised a brow. "Oh? What is this about?"

"I need to start training so I can become a Pokémon Master! Step one was becoming a Champion, now I need to become a Master!" Ash said with clear determination in his voice, making Oak smile.

"I see you've started to mature, Ash. I'll let your friends know you will be returning." Ash nodded and the Professor signed off. Ash sighed and stared at the black screen.

"I guess we should leave." Ash stepped out of his hotel room and gave it one final glance. "I'll be back soon anyways."

---

Ash stretched his arms as he exited Viridian City to Route 1. After a long plane ride, Ash just wanted to go home and have some of his mother's cooking. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulders and let out a happy cry of his own.

Ash looked over Route 1, where he had made many memories. He tried to catch his first Pokémon here. He met Misty here, 'borrowed' and fried her bike. He bonded with Pikachu. He released Pidgeot here.

"Hey Pikachu, you think Pidgeot will want to come back with us?' Pikachu looked at Ash and shrugged. "Yeah, Pidgeot probably found a family by now. I would hate to separate them." As Ash finished saying that, he saw a mechanical hand extend from a distance.

Ash only sighed as Pikachu quickly jumped and used Iron Tail, destroying the mechanical hand. "Aren't you guys getting tired of this? You couldn't steal Pikachu when I was just starting my journey, what makes you think you can steal him now that he's on Champion level?"

Out of the bushes appeared the classic trio of Team Rocket that Ash actually knew quite well at this point. "Well you aren't the only one who got stronger, twerp! Gourgeist!" Jessie sent out her Kalos companion Gourgeist and James followed with Malamar.

"Yeah, but you still will never beat me and get Pikachu. Why don't you guys start a business or something? You seem like you'd be good at that." While Ash continued to talk, Pikachu avoided the incoming attacks and used Thunder, knocking out both Pokémon instantly.

"You expect us to come this far and just end our dream!?" Jessie shouted angrily before sending out Wobbuffet.

"If your dream is to capture Pikachu, then you'll never accomplish it." Wobbuffet was tough, but having fought against it for years Ash and Pikachu know how to defeat it easily. Pikachu charged at it with Volt Tackle and Wobbuffet used Counter. Seeing that Pikachu stopped, cancelling the Volt Tackle, jumped and used Electro Ball, knocking Wobbuffet out.

Ash's words hit the Rocket trio hard, and they fell silent. Their dream was outright denied so bluntly. Ash had always said they would never catch Pikachu, but they kept believing and trying. Years of their lives they had spent chasing Pikachu, getting somewhat close every time only for something to thwart them.

Meowth retracted his claws and looked down. He turned to his two comrades and nodded. "Guys…this may be da hardest decision of my nine lives, but I think it's time we give up."

Jessie and James looked at Meowth in shock. "What? Meowth! What are you saying! Are you willing to let six years of chasing Pikachu go to waste!?" James looked at Meowth incredulously.

Meowth shook his head. "No way! But I'm not gonna waste more time chasing Pikachu. I mean, what chance do we even have anymore?"

James was about to speak but Jessie spoke first, staring at Ash. "Without his friends to use as distractions, capturing Pikachu will be difficult. I can see where Meowth is coming from." The calmness in Jessie's words surprised both James and Meowth.

Meowth then nodded. "Exactly! Maybe we should do as the twerp says and start a business! We usually make some good dough at tournaments!"

James frowned. "But what would the boss say, Meowth?"

Meowth smirked and crossed his arms. "Good for you three, realizing your true calling. It's going to be lonely without you and we will try to move on but I wish you all the best! …Something like that."

Ash and Pikachu sweat dropped while Jessie and James sniffed and were about to cry. "We're sorry boss, but we must move on!" James exclaimed, looking at the sky as if their boss was looking down at them.

Ash glanced at Pikachu, seeing that they had forgotten about them. Pikachu shrugged and jumped on Ash's shoulder. Ash continued walking to Pallet Town, ignoring the sobs behind him. He wasn't sure if they were really going to quit Team Rocket, but he knew if Pikachu wasn't attacked by a robot in the next few days he'd get his answer.

---

Ash stretched his arms as he made it to the hill that overlooked Pallet Town. Taking in a deep breath, Ash turned towards Pikachu. "Nothing like hometown fresh air, huh Pikachu?' Agreeing with a cry, Pikachu ran then climbed up a tree and picked an apple. Ash stood under a branch and Pikachu cut the stem of another apple with his tail and it fell into Ash's hand. "Thanks Pikachu!" Ash laughed before taking a bite.

Quickly finishing their apples, the two began walking to Ash's house, though at a slower pace than on the way to Pallet Town. "It's been so long, Pikachu. I haven't seen some of them in years, and no doubt they've changed in some way." Pikachu frowned before saying a couple things in his usual dialect but Ash was able to understand. "Yeah, you're right! If they came to this reunion, they must still be the same in some way!"

With Pikachu's assurance, they picked up the pace and soon arrived at Ash's house. Ash gave a nervous glance to Pikachu who nodded and jumped back onto Ash's shoulder. Ash was about to open the door when he heard the sound of glass shattering. Ash blinked before opening the door very slowly.

There was no one visible near the door, which was expected. He placed his bag down next to the stairs and continued walking. "They're probably in the dining room," Ash said to Pikachu before taking off his shoes and walking to the said dining room. "Hello?" Ash called out and then a scream filled the house.

"Oh no, Ash is here!" Ash was worried at the phrase. Normally that would mean that there was a surprise for him, but considering the glass shattering sound he heard earlier he doubted that was the case.

Ash walked around the corner and entered the dining room. There he saw his many travelling companions and childhood rival. They were all seated except a certain blue-haired girl and violet-haired girl. The two glanced at each other and quickly stood next to each other, looking very suspicious to Ash.

The blue-haired girl, Dawn from Sinnoh, waved her hand with a sheepish expression. "Welcome home Ash! How was your journey?"

Instead of answering her, Ash raised a brow and crossed his arms. His other friends sitting at the table were watching them silently. Ash quickly made a mental picture of the house without his friends. Taking away Dawn and the violet-haired girl, Iris from Unova, there would be a stand with a vase on it that his mother got as a gift from his father a long time ago. Ash frowned and looked at the floor and saw a tusk Pokémon and a penguin Pokémon quickly gathering glass shards.

Ash scratched the back of his head with an annoyed expression. "Great, so mom's special vase was broken and you guys are trying to hide it from me." The entire group looked at Ash in shock, especially Iris and Cilan. The Ash they had known would have just shrugged their actions as odd but ignore it. Ash closed his eyes and thought before looking at Pikachu. "Can you go and get Leavanny from the Professor's lab?" Pikachu nodded and quickly ran out of the house. Ash turned back around and saw Dawn lowered her head while Iris was still looking at Ash in surprise.

Dawn then raised her head and looked at Ash directly. "Sorry Ash. Piplup and Axew got carried away…"

Ash could never stay mad at his Sinnoh companion, so he just smiled. "It's fine." Ash turned to the table where the rest of his friends were seated and widened his smile. "Besides, this is supposed to be a happy reunion! I'll worry about the vase when Leavanny and Pikachu get back."

The mood quickly lifted and Ash, Dawn, and Iris sat down at the table with their friends. Ash sat across from his oldest friend, Brock, and in between his Hoenn female companion, May, and his childhood rival, Gary. Brock spoke immediately. "So Ash, you finally did it. You won the Kalos League!"

Gary put an arm around Ash and gave him a grin. "Took ya long enough! Six years, but it was worth it, eh?"

Ash removed Gary's arm and laughed. "Yeah, but man are fangirls crazy! How did you ever deal with them Gary?"

Gary smirked and crossed his arms. "Let's just say I know how to handle women." Gary's smirk quickly disappeared when he noticed all the glares from the females in the group.

"I made sure to watch your battles!" Max exclaimed before pushing up his glasses. "Your final battle against that Calem guy was awesome! Pikachu against Meowstic, Infernape against Clefable, Talonflame against Vaporeon, Tyrantrum against Altaria, Greninja against Chesnaught, and Garchomp against that Mega Absol! You were awesome! You only lost four Pokémon even!"

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks Ma-"

"But, if you had used Talonflame against Chesnaught you could have lowered that number even more. If I were there, I would have done just that and use Pikachu against Vaporeon and Greninja against Meowstic. If you did that you would have had a perfect victory."

Everyone at the table sweat dropped. "Thanks Max," Ash said, not wanting to continue this subject.

May, who was sitting across from Max, kicked him under the table making him cry out in pain. "Max! Ash did amazing. Besides, it's not like you did any better at the Hoenn League."

That piqued Ash's interest. "Oh yeah! Max, you started your journey while I was in Unova, right? And you were in the Hoenn League recently, how'd you do?" Ash already knew but wanted to help raise Max's spirit.

However, Max was sulking at his sister's comment. "…Top 16."

Ash looked at Max in surprise before giving him a grin. "That's awesome Max! Come on, that's a placing you should be proud of, especially for your first Pokémon League!"

Ash's first travelling companion, Misty, snorted. "I don't remember you being proud of making it to the Top 16 of the Indigo League."

It was Ash's turn to sulk as the bitter memory returned. The Indigo League that took place six years ago was so old and forgotten that out of the travelling companions only Misty and Brock remembered it. Gary tilted his head. "I think I left early. You were praised by all of Pallet Town! What happened that made you so disappointed?"

Ash pulled his cap over his eyes. "I'd…rather not talk about it…" Seeing that, Misty and Brock laughed while the rest of the group were just confused. Seeing that they weren't going to get any more info from the trio, they changed to the next major event that happened.

"So Ash, did you know May and I competed in the Johto Grand Festival?" Dawn asked with a smile but Ash could somehow tell she wasn't exactly happy with starting this subject.

Ash nodded. "Of course! You both did great! I wish I could've seen it myself, but it was at the same time as my challenge. So congrats May!"

Before May could say anything, Max interrupted. "Challenge? But the Kalos League ended before the Grand Festival."

Ash turned to Gary who smirked and shrugged his shoulders. Ash gave him a quick glare before turning back to his friends. "As the winner of the Kalos League Tournament, I got to challenge the Kalos League itself."

Most of his friends were confused, but Cilan quickly realized what that meant. "Wait, you mean you challenged the Elite 4!?"

All of Ash's friends, minus Gary, stared at Ash wide-eyed and it was starting to make Ash uncomfortable. Ash just nodded. "Yup. Elite 4 and Champion."

"No way…How'd you do!?" Max asked, his glasses seemingly shining.

Before Ash could speak, Brock quickly spoke. "My brother was telling me about a new Kalos Champion, but I wasn't too interested in the Kalos Region…"

Ash was pretty sure his friends' eyes were bugging out of their sockets right now. Ash contemplated how to say this. Pumped? Excited? Disappointed? Or calmly? "Yeah, I beat the Kalos Pokémon League."

Ash noticed Gary put his arms around his head, but also had his palms over his ears. Ash soon found out why at the sudden chorus of "WHAT!?"'s. Ash had to rub his head as his ears were now ringing.

"Is it really that surprising?" Ash asked as he waited for each of his friends to calm down.

Misty shook her head. "It's not surprising…just unexpected I guess."

Ash looked annoyed, "Same thing."

Ignoring Ash, Misty continued. "It's strange, y'know? You've been going at it for so long and you've finally done it."

"Yeah, which is why I can't really stay long. I need to go and start my training."

"Training?" Iris asked.

Ash nodded. "I can't just stop training just because I won! I need to keep getting stronger so I don't get beaten!"

Max fist pumped. "Then I'll go to Kalos next! I'll beat the League and beat you Ash!"

The response was another kick from May. "Don't get over-zealous Max. You're still lightyears away from Ash." Max was about to correct May on what lightyears really measured but he saw Gary shake his head and decided to remain quiet.

Ash shook his head. "Max can battle me anytime, May. A trainer never refuses a battle! And who knows? He might actually win."

Max lit up and May looked at Ash with an annoyed expression. "Don't give him false hope Ash." Max was back to being depressed at that. She then gave Ash a bright smile. "But it's great we both managed to take a step towards our dreams, huh?"

Ash glanced at Dawn whose eyes narrowed very slightly at that. "Yeah, we just gotta make sure we reach them, no matter how many times we fall down." Dawn looked up and noticed Ash's quick glance at her, at which she smiled slightly.

Only Gary noticed this and let out a quiet whistle. "Ashy-boy isn't that bad…" Misty raised a brow at Gary which he quickly noticed and turned away, whistling.

"So Brock, how's medical school so far?" Ash was expecting a professional answer, but when he saw Brock's eyes turn into hearts, he sweat dropped.

"It's great! I'm surrounded by such beautiful girls. I think they may need to treat me soon, because my heart is threatening to explode when I lay my eyes upon them!"

Ash blinked when he was hit on the head by Misty, Poison Jabbed by Croagunk, and then pulled off his chair by the ear by Max. "Well you three have a…dynamic." Ash blinked.

Everyone sweat dropped while Iris and Cilan stared at Brock with confused expressions. "Is that…how he usually is?" Iris asked at which received a unison of nods, at which she resisted the urge to say something snarky.

Ash turned to his two Unova companions. "So how about you two?"

Iris fist pumped. "I'm getting closer to become a Dragon Master! Dragonite and I are closer than ever, Axew is close to evolving, and I even caught a Gible of my own!"

Ash grinned. "Really? Then I have to show you a friend!"

"And I have introduced the Kanto Region to the expertise of an A-Rank Connoisseur! At this rate, I'll be an S-Rank Connoisseur in no time!" Cilan exclaimed in a poetic manner.

Ash kept his grin. He never really understood Cilan's profession, as he more often than not compared bonds with food but was accurate. But he was passionate and that was what mattered. "That's great to hear!"

They then heard the front door open and a voice all too familiar to Ash called out. "Ash?"

Ash stood up from his chair and headed to the front where he saw his mother, Mimie the Mr. Mime, Professor Oak, his Orange Island companion: Tracey, Pikachu, and Leavanny. Tracey spoke as he walked over to Ash. "I must say, seeing a Pikachu trying to run off with your Leavanny was definitely an odd occurrence."

The two laughed before Tracey went to sit with the others. Ash's mother was next to greet him. "Oh Ash! I've missed you! My, you've gotten taller!"

Ash scratched his cheek. "Thanks mom, and I've missed you too. Oh right!" Ash went over to the stairs where he placed his bag and pulled out the trophy he won as well as the Hall of Fame certificate. He then handed them to his mom. "That's the one I won from the Tournament and the other is for beating the Elite 4 and Champion."

"Oh my!" His mom took the trophy first and seemed to be analyzing it. "It's perfect! Now I've got a pair of perfect weights!" She began to life the trophy as if it was a dumbbell, making Ash sweat drop but smile. He knew his mom would care for the trophy as she had cared for his Orange Island trophy.

Unlike his friends caring for his mother's vase.

Quickly remembering that, he gave Pikachu a gesture to go. Pikachu nodded and took Leavanny to the dining room. Mimie noticed however and followed, making Ash sigh before turning to the last visitor, Professor Oak.

"Ash, you've done it! Congratulations! I knew from the moment you arrived at my lab you were going far, but to think, the Champion of Kalos! Not even I could have seen this coming!" Professor Oak and Ash laughed, one mirthfully and the other half-heartedly.

"Thanks Professor." Ash turned to his mom and rubbed the back of his head. "Can we eat now? I'm kinda hungry…"

---

Ash tossed two Poké Balls in the air and out appeared Infernape and Sceptile. "We're home!" That was all it took as soon Ash was swamped by all his Pokémon, each glad to see their beloved trainer once again. Ash only laughed at the affection from his Pokémon. Each one of them played a role in his Kalos conquest and he was grateful to each of them. Even his thirty Tauros, each having a different specialty. One can take many hits but not deal much damage while another is a glass cannon. Ash even used two Tauros in one of his battles in the Kalos League Tournament.

Once all his Pokémon stopped showing their affection, they all stood in front of him as a group. "We won and claimed the title of Champion of Kalos, and it's all thanks to you guys. We've worked hard for years and finally I can see our dream getting closer." All his Pokémon cheered. "And now it's time we stop travelling for now and begin some serious training. This may end up taking years, but I'm willing to put in the time and effort if you are!" The cheers were even louder and Ash grinned, happy to have the support of his many Pokémon. Ash dismissed them and all his Pokémon left though generally stayed in a close area, except for Pikachu and Bayleef who stayed by Ash. Ash rubbed Bayleef's head, making her cry out in pleasure.

"Wow you just keep catching more and more Pokémon Ash." Ash turned around to see his friends approach him, May in front and was the one who spoke. Gary wasn't with them as he was probably with his grandfather.

Ash was about to say something about having more friends never hurts, but decided against it. "Yeah, and I think I'll be taking a break from catching any more once I begin training."

"You've become really serious about this, I'm impressed. I would have never thought you could stop being hyper for once," Misty teased making Ash give her a mock glare.

He then remembered something and turned to Iris. "Oh yeah, I wanted you to meet someone Iris! Hey, Garchomp!" Garchomp appeared almost immediately after Ash called him. The giant land shark stood tall, overlooking the group surprising everyone.

"Wow! You have a Garchomp Ash! I guess you're not a kid after all," Iris said, staring at Garchomp in awe.

"I didn't know your Gible evolved Ash!" Dawn exclaimed. "Does he still bite your head?"

Ash laughed. "Of course n-" As soon as he said that Garchomp crouched and bit Ash's head, though made sure not to use his teeth. "Garchomp! Let go!"

After that comedic display, Ash introduced his friends to his new Pokémon he caught in Kalos, as well as Unova to everyone but Iris and Cilan. In Kalos he had caught Greninja, Talonflame, Hawlucha, Goodra, Noivern, Tyrantrum, and Aromatisse.

"Your adventure sounded crazy! Who did you travel with this time?" Tracy asked.

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, no one actually. I travelled across the region alone."

Everyone was surprised at that. "How did you manage?" Brock asked, still thinking of Ash as the kid who barely knew how to cook a meal.

Ash grinned. "Just fine! Don't think I wasn't paying attention to the tips you and Cilan gave me through our journeys! I made sure to use everything you taught me."

Brock smiled and couldn't help but feel proud. Ash was like a brother to him and had affected him much more than he ever thought. He was glad he was able to do the same to an extent.

The day went by and Ash enjoyed his time with his friends and Pokémon greatly. He admitted that he would miss them when he leaves, but they were partly the reason he never reached his maximum potential. Now it was night and everyone managed to find a place to sleep between Ash's house and Professor Oak's lab. However instead of sleeping, Ash decided to sit by the river that ran across Pallet Town. It had been a while since he got peace and quiet in the outdoors with nature. After he beat the Kalos League, he noticed a large amount of people would look at him, some even following him wherever he went.

Looking at the river, Ash remembered the Poké Ball he and Gary fished out of the river, and was a token of not their friendship, but rivalry. Ash and Pikachu closed their eyes, listening to the quiet flow of the river.

"Ash?" Ash opened his eyes and whipped his head around to see May walking towards him, her hands clutching something. She stopped and sat down next to him, staring at the river while Ash continued to stare at her. "What are you doing awake?"

Ash blinked at the question before returning his gaze to the river. "Relaxing, I guess," Ash chuckled, unsure himself the reason he was sitting out here. "Enjoying the peace and quie."

May looked at Ash and laughed. "I know how you feel. People have been bothering me so much lately, I never thought winning a Grand Festival was this big of a deal."

Ash turned to her and gave her a smile. "Of course it's a big deal, you were famous after your first Grand Festival! Seeing the Princess of Hoenn claim victory was a day no one would forget!" May blushed and Ash continued. "It probably had more of an impact because you won. If Solidad won, it would have been impressive but she's won before. You winning and managing to beat Dawn and Solidad is an amazing feat that you should be proud of!"

May nodded. "You're right. I guess I've lost so much that it started to lose meaning to me. But when you put it that way, if I gave up I'd just disappoint people. No point ruining the name I made for myself. Thank you Ash."

Ash grinned. "Anytime."

But May shook her head. "Not just for this, but for everything. I don't think I've thanked you enough for what you've done for me. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be who I am." Ash was about to say something but May continued, looking back at the river. "But…I tried so hard to contact you for the past year but I could never get a hold of you."

Ash looked at the grass beneath him. "I'm so-"

"I thought you were avoiding me, or maybe even forgot about me. You make so many friends, what makes me so important?"

"May, you're-"

"So I wanted to get rid of it," May opened her hands and revealed half of a ribbon, making Ash's eyes widen. "I tried. I really did. I even asked Drew to get his Flygon to burn it but immediately took it back. Even if you had forgotten me, I would never forget."

Ash kept his gaze at the ground, suddenly feeling guilty. He had made no effort of contacting any of his friends as he travelled through Kalos, yet he was unafraid of mentioning them. "I don't really have an excuse. I've just been so focused on my dream, I guess I just blocked everything else out. And it kind of…" worked out better.

"Kind of…?"

Ash shook his head. "Nothing, but I really am sorry. But I've always kept the Terracotta Ribbon with me. I've never and will never forget about you or anyone else. You guys are also the reason I am who I am."

May smiled, looking up at the night sky and Ash did the same. "That's what I needed to hear. I wanted to make sure that I had an impact on you, just like you did on me. And that you didn't forget about me."

Ash grinned and looked to his other side where Pikachu had fallen asleep. Ash picked him up carefully and stood up. "Then you can be rest assured that I'll never forget about you, May. Now how about we get some sleep?" May nodded and the two headed back to the house, May being much happier. Maybe even happier than she was when she won the Johto Grand Festival.

---

Most of Ash's friends had reunited back at his house. The one's who weren't there were Gary, Misty, Iris, Cilan, and Tracey as they were still at Professor Oak's Lab and his mother also left to there as well. The group of friends were chatting in Ash's living room while watching television. They weren't able to access footage on Ash's Kalos Conquest as Delia didn't have the ability to watch faraway regions' news so they instead watched the highlights of the Johto Grand Festival. Both May and Dawn were showered in compliments and praises as their matches were shown. Ash in particular was amazed as it had been two years since he last seen either perform and they seemed to have perfected the art of Contests.

The final highlight was the full match between May and Dawn. There they all watched amazed at the battle, Blaziken and Glaceon on May's side and Piplup and Togekiss on Dawn's. They both had called out attacks with perfect timing. They both lost points equally that, despite knowing the results, left the group of friends on the edge of their seat.

Though Ash and Brock glanced at each other before looking at the two Coordinators in question. May was sitting just watching with a smile while Dawn was watching with a similar smile. Anyone would have guessed they were both fine with the outcome, but the two males knew Dawn like she was their sister. That smile she used to cover up any sort of pain. Unlike May, Dawn was afraid of showing her true feelings and always smiled when things got rough.

A bit later and everyone was still in the living room talking, except for Ash who went on the laptop his mother bought recently. He searched up Dawn's contest records, seeing her results. She had entered the Sinnoh Grand Festival, during their journey which Ash already knew. She then entered Hoenn while Ash was in Unova, which she did not tell Ash when she visited. There she made it into the Top 4, having lost to Zoey once again. When he was in Kalos she had went to Johto and had dominated. She won her five ribbons with relative ease, even defeating May twice in two contests. She had lost in the finals against May however.

Then there was the Wallace Cups. First one being in Sinnoh where Dawn met and defeated May for the first time, then Johto where Dawn had defeated Drew in the finals, then Hoenn where Dawn had defeated Zoey for the first time. Dawn is currently the only coordinator to have ever won the Wallace Cup for three years straight. Ash kept note of that information.

"So this is what you were doing…" Ash jumped at the voice and turned around to see Brock.

Ash let out a sigh. "Jeez, don't scare me like that Brock!"

Brock laughed. "Sorry but you were gone for a while so I came to see what you were doing."

"Yeah, I had no idea Dawn had become so strong!" Ash exclaimed, looking through her records again.

Brock nodded. "It's impressive all right. But no doubt she isn't too happy with them."

Ash nodded silently at that. He could say he felt the same, maybe even worse after the Unova League. He had lost rather impressively, only knocking out four Pokémon of a regular trainer. He had wondered what five years of experience was worth when he couldn't even defeat a trainer with one year experience. He had ended up in a depression that he had been able to cover up and while Cilan and Iris were good friends, they simply did not know him as well as say Brock did.

After taking a group photo with the many Pokémon Ash had captured and befriended, Ash's passion reignited and he decided to take his training seriously and went to Kalos but made sure to not travel with any friends. It was hard, to say the least. Several people wanted to travel with him. The Lumiose Gym Leader wanted to see the world and gain experience but Ash said no. The Gym Leader's sister was extremely angry and depressed. Then there was that girl who acted like a stalker but ended up being a childhood friend. She started her journey to return a piece of cloth to him. Ash felt really bad when he told her she couldn't join him. Her expression was heartbreaking and made Ash question if this was really the right decision. But he stuck with it and had become Champion. Ash didn't regret anything.

"I'll talk to her. I have a good idea of what she's going through." Ash closed the laptop. Instead of asking like Ash expected, Brock nodded. Ash turned to him, waiting for an explanation.

"Your loss at the Unova League, you think I didn't notice? There was a zoom in on you…" Ash opened the laptop immediately and searched for his Unova League Tournament challenge and skipped through the video. There was a zoom in on him holding Pikachu, but Ash was confused. He was smiling and Pikachu looked sad. Brock elaborated. "I know that smile. You had it every single time you lost a league. But this one was more obvious, see even Pikachu noticed!"

Ash blinked before laughing. Only Brock would notice something like that. Closing the laptop again Ash turned to Brock. "You know, after I returned to Pallet Town, Tracey suggested to take a group photo of me and all my Pokémon. It was random and completely out of nowhere but…it made me realize that my Pokémon would never give up so why should I? That was thanks to you, wasn't it?"

Brock stared at Ash surprised before grinning. Ash had become a sharp and talented trainer and he couldn't have been any prouder. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ash rolled his eyes and started to head back to the living room. "Sure you don't. Guess I shouldn't expect too much from you, eh Brock?" Before Brock could retaliate, they heard the sound of a loud car engine park outside the house. Turning to each other the two quickly exited to see a long black car parked on the side of the road.

Brock turned to Ash. "Were you expecting anyone?" Ash shook his head and the two watched as one of the doors opened and out came a Coordinator neither have seen in a long time, except on digital devices of course. "Drew!" Brock exclaimed in shock.

Drew flicked his hair before giving the two males a small smirk. "That's Top Coordinator Drew to you…although I suppose I can make an exception."

Ash and Brock stared in shock at the sudden arrival of their friends' rival. Ash scratched his cheek, remembering during his search Drew had won the Johto Grand Festival, the one May was in when he traveled through Sinnoh. "No offense Drew, but what are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd see how my two rivals were doing, congratulate May even. Oh, here." To both male's surprise, Drew tossed Ash a box that was wrapped up. "Thought I'd give congrats to you as well, Kalos Champion."

This time neither could contain themselves. "Eeeh!?" Ash opened the box to reveal a Lax Incense. Ash held it up and looked at Drew. "Wow, thanks Drew!"

Drew flicked his hair once again. "Don't thank me, it was Solidad's idea once she found out. She's got connections in the Kalos Region. Then Harley chose the gift. I'm just the deliverer."

Ash smiled despite Drew's demeanor. "Still, thanks Drew. Tell them I said thanks as well." Drew nodded before walking inside Ash's house. Ash and Brock shared a glance before giving each other a sheepish smile.

The two followed Drew to the living room and saw everyone looking at Drew surprised and with wide eyes. "What are you doing here!?" Max asked, pointing a finger towards Drew.

Drew flicked his hair and shrugged. "Was in the area and I decided to tell May congrats on her win."

May tilted her head and smiled. "You already did that back in Silver Town. Besides, how did you know I would even be here?"

"Harley told me," Drew said casually but Ash raised a brow. "And don't ask me how he knew."

May was visibly creeped out and rubbed her arms. "Even when he's halfway across the globe he still manages to weird me out."

Ash looked over his friends and they were all focused on Drew. But Ash noticed Drew's arrival really didn't help Dawn's mood, in fact it lowered it even. Ash looked towards Brock who had also noticed. Brock nodded and quietly snuck off into the kitchen.

It was a few minutes before Brock suddenly called out from inside the kitchen. "Hey Ash! There's no flour here!"

Ash blinked, not expecting that. "Uh, flower? You want me to pick some from my mom's garden?" It was when everyone face palmed and the sound of Brock dropping a pan that Ash realized what Brock actually said and his face reddened. "O-oh right, uh, what do you need flour for?"

He heard Brock sigh and he appeared with an apron. "I wanted to make something but…"

Ash finally realized what Brock said and nodded. "Right, I'll go get some flour then! I'll go to Viridian's Market."

"All by yourself?" May asked, getting up.

"Uh, May you should stay and, uh, catch up with Drew," Ash said, hoping that May won't press further.

Drew himself raised a brow, having no idea what was going on but could tell Ash wanted May to stay. So he decided to play along. "Yeah, besides I've been meaning to show you my new Pokémon. Two in fact, and they're both beauties."

"Really? Are they strong?" Max asked.

Drew nodded and smirked. "Can take down anyone, even one of your Pokémon Ash."

Ash rolled his eyes. "We'll have to see about that."

All four began to leave the house, until Ash noticed Dawn was with them and turned to Brock. Brock noticed and quickly stopped them, he was going to bank on May's curiosity. "Oh, uh, never mind."

May raised a brow. "What is it Brock?"

"Well, I don't really trust Ash to get it done on his own…"

"Hey!"

Ignoring Ash, Brock continued. "But at the same time I'd hate for you guys to miss out on Drew's new Pokémon."

"I'll go with him then," Dawn said cheerfully. "Besides, just from what he said earlier, I think you're right Brock and he will need some help."

Brock had to suppress his grin. "Thanks Dawn! I know you'll be able to keep Ash in check."

Ash blinked. "Wait a second…"

Dawn grinned. "Yep and I'll get to see what Kanto stores have to offer!"

Ash noticed May get excited and he quickly grabbed Dawn's hand. "Well we should get going, hope you guys have fun, see you Pikachu bye!" Ash pulled Dawn out his house at an incredible speed, making the boys laugh and May puff her cheeks.

---

"Hey Ash, isn't it a few days walk to Viridian City?" Dawn asked, looking at a guidebook she had on her. They were a bit into Route 1 and the only sound was the nearby river flow.

Ash shrugged. "If you jump in the river, let it carry you then bike you can make it to Viridian City in less than a day." Dawn looked at Ash with a flat stare and he quickly coughed. "Or if we use a flying type and fly there."

Dawn grabbed a Poké Ball and stared at it. "I have Togekiss but I've never tried to ride her before."

"Then we'll use Noi-" Ash cut himself off as he reached for his belt, which happened to have no Poké Balls except for Pikachu's.

Dawn put her hands on her hips. "Ash Ketchum, did you really forget to bring your Pokémon?"

Ash pulled down his cap. "Uh, maybe?"

Instead of the lecture he expected, Dawn giggled. "That is so like you." Soon her giggles turned into full blown laughter and tears even appeared. Ash had no idea what was so funny, but smiled nonetheless as Dawn finally looked legitimately happy. "Heehee, sorry. I don't know what's overcome of me."

"Take a deep breath Dawn."

Dawn inhaled, then let out a loud exhale and looked at Ash with a smile. "Sorry Ash. I don't even know why I found that so funny." Ash himself tried to figure out what was funny about that and the two stayed in silence until Dawn broke it. "I guess it's because it's been a long time since we travelled together like this, I just got reminded of Sinnoh. Nostalgia I guess."

Dawn shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal however Ash knew his friend better. Dawn began to walk but Ash stayed still. "Dawn." Dawn turned around and looked at Ash. "When…when was the last time you let it out?"

Dawn blinked. "Huh?"

"You're good, I'll give you that. All you need to do is smile and say your catchphrase and everyone else will believe you. I've seen it, and you've even tried it on me. But the question is, has it ever worked on me? Or even Brock?"

Dawn's eyes widened for a second but Dawn quickly hid any expression showing her surprise and gave a half smile while waving Ash off. "What are you talking about, Ash? I think you're looking into this a bit too much, per usual. There's nothing wrong, so how about we figure out a way to get some flour before sundown."

Ash narrowed his eyes. He couldn't help but feel hurt that his friend who he had travelled through the largest region with didn't trust him enough to express herself. "What about your Pokémon? Have you at least been honest with them?"

Dawn didn't miss a beat. "Of course I have. And I'm very proud of them. What are you insinuating, Ash Ketchum?"

Ash sighed, "Can you just please drop the act? I…know I haven't exactly been the greatest friend. I haven't seen you since you visited in Unova, let alone contact you but I was hoping you'd still consider me a friend."

Dawn gulped. "There's no act, Ash. I'm perfectly fine. No need to worry!"

"That is when I worry the most."

Dawn's eyes widened and she stared at Ash. She stared at Ash and noticed the differences from when she last saw him. He was a whole foot taller now despite being the same height when they met up in Unova. His facial features have matured slightly though no sign of facial hair and he still had those cheek-marks on his cheek. But no matter how much time had passed, he would still be the same boy who travelled with her three years ago and set her on the path she walks on.

"It's all your fault…" Dawn whispered, before growing a huge grin. "And I'm grateful. But let me tell you, my friend, I'm fine!"

Noting her stubbornness, Ash decided to take a different approach. "I looked at your Contest records." Dawn froze and waited for Ash to continue. Ash pulled up his hand and began to speak while raising his fingers. "You won five contests in Hoenn and lost twice and made it to the Semi-Finals of the Grand Festival, where you lost to Nando." Ash noticed Dawn clench her fists but she still smiled.

"Oh, yeah. His Roserade and Altaria were so beautiful and his moves were executed with perfection, it wasn't a surprise he came out on top then."

"Then you went to Johto. It must have been a coincidence, fate, or you knew, but every rival you had went there at the same time. Even May decided to take on Johto again. There you utterly destroyed the competition!" Ash exclaimed with so much enthusiasm it made Dawn laugh. "I read it all, you got top in every appeal round and either knocked out your opponent's Pokémon or beat them by score. I…couldn't help but feel proud."

Dawn was speechless and didn't know what to say this time. She wanted to thank him, before remembering her failure at the Grand Festival, knowing she let Ash down again. "…Thank you."

Ash noted her tone was beginning to lower, meaning she was starting to open up and break down but at this point, she needs it. How long have you been keeping it inside? "And don't even get me started on the Wallace Cup! You beat May in your first one, I was there, Drew in your second, who happened to be May's biggest rival at the time, then Zoey in your third, your own biggest rival. Along with those feats, you managed to maintain the record of winning three Wallace Cup's in a row! This is the first time anyone's done that!"

Dawn just waved her hand, dismissing Ash's compliments. "Yeah, my Pokémon were impressive. But we won by the skin of my teeth, one wrong move and we would have lost."

"Yeah, that's true. But the fact is you didn't make a wrong move and you won! That's plenty to be proud of!" Ash exclaimed and Dawn couldn't rebut that. Ash then looked at Dawn calmly, calming down from his excitement. "Then the Johto Grand Festival. You defeated Kenny and Harley and ended up fighting May in the finals. It was so close, so close that not even the judges could tell if there was a winner. But it ended up being May. By a point."

Dawn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "If you're done reminding me of my journeys and how May's better than me, how about-" Dawn's eyes widened and she quickly clasped her hands over her mouth, making Ash rub below his nose.

"Heh, gotcha."

Dawn suddenly glared at Ash. "So you now know what I think, what are you going to do now? Tell May?"

Ash blinked before shaking his head. "No, Dawn. This was just a step. I want, no, I need you to tell me your thoughts. If you don't, I'm going to start guessing."

"Go ahead and guess then."

Ash nodded. "All right. So you won three Wallace Cup's in a row, yet at the same time you lost three Grand Festival's in a row. You feel discouraged and wonder what has it all been for? Three years and you still can't win. Why do I even try? Why are my Pokémon still fighting for me? Should I just go home and quit?"

Dawn only stared at the ground in shock. Each sentence caused her head to hurt. Somehow, Ash had nailed her inner conflicts. Ash was surprised when Dawn slumped to the ground on her knees and put her face in her hands and started to sob. Ash looked around, wondering what he should do. He hasn't really been in this situation with a human in a long time. Ash thought about releasing Togekiss, as she was able to calm down Piplup when Piplup ran away due to the sadness of their separation but that would only isolate Dawn from him and leave the problem unsolved.

Ash took a deep breath, though silently and crouched down and placed a hand on Dawn's shoulder. Dawn looked up at the touch and saw Ash's sympathetic smile through her wet eyes. Dawn threw herself against Ash and sobbed into his shirt.

Ash had expected the breakdown, but he had no idea it was this bad. "Dawn, I know how hard it is. You've lost and this time it's a bigger deal than ever. The expectations, the fact that it keeps being brought up, it never ends. And…you have to be supportive because your friend won." Ash gritted his teeth. Saying this reminded him of himself when he lost the Unova League. Except no one came to his side to set him straight, not until he returned home. Dawn was in his shoes right now. "It's too early for you to give up, you've had a better start than most, you know? Making it to the finals of your first Grand Festival, winning your first ever Wallace Cup, you've achieved some impressive stuff! And if you don't believe me, or you're not willing to take what I say to heart, then talk with your Pokémon. They believe in you, they want to stay by you, and they will never leave you."

Dawn sniffed and raised her head from Ash's shirt, though continued to stare at the Poké Ball design. "There's more to it than that. People just won't stop talking…about how I'm a sham and it hurts. How can I win the Wallace Cup but never win a Grand Festival? People keep talking and talking."

Ash didn't know what to say to that and thought about himself. Right now, according to Malva, there were some people who were skeptic about his victory against Diantha, after all he was just a teenager. The youngest Champion in the books. Ash knew he was going to have to face those 'haters' soon. "Does it really matter what they think? You know about your accomplishments, and so do we. Isn't that what matters?"

"…Maybe. But it still hurts. Nobody has faith in me and my abilities. So when May wins, no one questions it."

Ash furrowed his brow. "Comparing yourself to May…why?"

Dawn let out a bitter chuckle. "Isn't that what I am, Ash? May 2.0? I met you under the exact same circumstances. Pikachu in trouble, you save Pikachu, and fry my bike. I happen to want to be a coordinator and we travel together. What's different?"

"Dawn, I don't know where you got your weird ideals from, but that's about the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. You're you, not May. How we met may have been…strangely coincidental but that's where it ends. Our journey was completely different and you're nowhere near as similar as May. Your both unique and I wouldn't change anything we've experienced. I'm glad you're my friend."

Dawn laughed again. "I wish you could have told me this during Johto. Maybe it would have given me the boost to win."

Ash tilted his head. "Huh?"

Dawn looked up and made direct eye contact with Ash. "I wanted to make you proud. Whether I want to admit it or not, you influenced me and helped me become as strong as I am now. By losing, I'm letting you down and insulting you as well."

Ash gave Dawn one of his heartwarming smiles. "Dawn, I'll always be proud of your accomplishments. As they are, well, accomplishments! What's not to be proud of? Sure you lost this one, but if you keep at it I'll always be proud of you! If you give up, then I'll be disappointed." Dawn scratched the back of her head. "Besides, don't make it sound like it's a one-way street! You've helped me just as much. Counter Shield? Ice-Aqua Jet? All those combinations were thanks to training with you."

Dawn exhaled and rubbed her eyes. "You know, you didn't really make me feel that much better. I still feel a lot of pressure."

"What!?" Ash looked at Dawn incredulously and felt hurt.

Dawn grinned at his reaction and continued to wipe her eyes. "But it feels good to let it all out."

"It's not good to keep it bottled up inside," Ash said, remembering his journey to Kanto from Unova. "It will just end up eating you and who knows what you'll do after."

"Yeah, you sound like you speak from experience," Dawn said, though gave Ash a stare that meant she wanted the story.

Ash coughed, "Another time."

"You better. I hate the fact that I can never be there for you when you need someone."

Ash sighed, "I was never there for you, or anyone really, when you needed me. I was too busy chasing my dream to notice…"

Dawn smiled and playfully gave Ash a shove. "You worry too much! You're allowed to go after your dreams, you know! You've helped us with ours, I'm glad you're getting closer to yours!"

Ash gave Dawn a warm smile, "Thanks, Dawn."

Dawn shook her head. "No, thank you Ash. Now then." Dawn stood up and Ash followed and Dawn looked at the wet spot in Ash's shirt. "Well, I guess this makes more reason to go shopping, huh?"

"Eh? Oh, uh, I'm sure this can be washed, no problem! Haha…"

Ignoring Ash's comment, Dawn turned around and faced the path to Viridian City and frowned. "Just how are we going to get all this done before night?" Dawn heard the sound of wings flapping and felt a large gust of wind behind her. Dawn spun around to see a giant bird Pokémon land behind Ash, looking menacing as it stared at her. "A-Ash…"

Ash didn't need to turn around to know who it was and gave a huge smile. "Dawn, I'd like you to meet a friend. A dear, old friend."

---

"If you wanted to catch it, you could have borrowed one of my Poké Balls!" Dawn exclaimed, walking by Ash's side as they walked towards the Ketchum Residence. The two were clad in different outfits from when they left. Dawn having a sleeveless top while Ash had a blue sweater with a black undershirt.

Ash, also carrying a bag, shrugged. "I'll recapture her soon. Not like she's leaving Route 1 anytime soon." Ash opened the door to his house and quickly shouted "We're back!"

The first person to greet him was Misty who simply raised a brow at the two. "I come here after hearing three Pokémaniacs go on and on about Pokémon only to find out you two went out on a date."

Ash and Dawn blinked. "A date?" Ash asked.

Dawn put a hand to her chin. "Huh, I guess it technically could have been a date."

Ash turned to Dawn. "How?"

Dawn shrugged. "Yeah, you're right. The Viridian Market isn't the best dating spot."

"No kidding," Ash mumbled. "If that was a date, then I guess I went on a date with one of the Kalos Elite 4."

Not hearing Ash's mumble, Dawn stepped forward and began chatting with Misty while Brock approached and mouthed something to Ash. Ash had no idea what Brock tried to say, so just nodded and walked to the kitchen and handed Brock the flour. "Well? How'd it go?"

Ash let out a huge sigh and slumped in one of the chairs in the kitchen. "It was a lot more exhausting than May. She had a lot to let out but I think she'll be fine."

Brock nodded. "Good. I should have known May also had some sort of problem. So that leaves Misty."

Ash raised a brow. "Misty?"

Brock nodded once again, starting to make whatever his surprise was. "When was the last time you spoke with her?"

Ash thought about it. "I think I talked with her on the phone after I came back from Sinnoh…Oh."

"A phone call. And in person?"

Ash grimaced as he thought about it. "…During our second journey through Kanto."

Even though Brock saw it coming, he still winced. "I hope you can patch things up soon. Would hate for the reunion to be ruined because someone's in a bad mood."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But…I have no idea how to approach Misty."

Brock thought about it before sighing. "Neither do I. Now if you will, leave here so I can make the surprise an actual surprise!" Ash was then forcibly removed from the kitchen. Shrugging, Ash decided to head to the living room where now Iris, Cilan, Gary and Tracey had joined.

"So what exactly are your two new Pokémon, Drew?" Ash asked, biting one of the cookies Dawn had bought.

Drew flicked his hair. "Nothing less than perfection. Furret and Mismagius if you really want to know."

Kinda why I asked. "That's cool, Drew!"

"But still not as strong as my Pokémon," Max said grinning while Drew just rolled his eyes.

"They aren't as strong as my other Pokémon, they were only recently caught after all," Drew said, trying to wave off Max's comment.

"But you said they could take on Ash's Pokémon!" Max shouted.

"When did I say that?"

Max was hit on the head by his sister. "Calm down Max. You won, but you better train because no doubt Drew will want revenge." Drew nodded and was about to say something. "And can you stop antagonizing my brother, Drew?"

Both Drew and Max sighed but said nothing. May smiled and turned to the rest of her friends. "So what are your guys' plans now?"

"You know me, stay at the lab and help the Professor," Tracey said, leaning back in the couch.

"I think I've done enough research in Sinnoh and Hoenn," Gary said before putting a hand under his chin. "Unova is probably my next destination."

Iris nodded enthusiastically at that. "If you're researching Legendary and Fossil Pokémon, Unova is definitely the place to go! Maybe I'll tag along, it's been a while since I last visited."

Cilan nodded, agreeing with Iris. "That's a good idea. Poor Cress, he's probably been overworked now that Chili and I have left." Ash remembered how Chili has left for his own journey, leaving Cress to be the remaining brother who has to manage not only the Striaton Gym, but also the Striaton Restaurant.

Misty sighed, "Back to the Cerulean Gym for me."

"You don't sound too happy about that," Max noted and Misty chuckled.

"It just gets boring, you rarely get to leave for vacation or anything and the challengers just aren't…challenging."

"That…doesn't sound fun," Max said looking down, slightly disheartened, making Misty confused. She looked towards May.

"Our father is a Gym Leader and he looks up to him. He wants to take over the Gym one day," May explained.

Misty nodded in understanding and gave Max a reassuring smile. "Not every Gym is the same Max, and you seem to be really passionate about the position of a Gym Leader, you'll probably enjoy it much more."

Max looked at Misty with a curious expression. "You're not passionate about your job?"

Misty grew a sheepish smile. "Well, I didn't really ask for it, but…it's a long story. I'll tell you some other time, okay?" Max nodded and Misty smiled. "So what are your plans?"

Max adopted a thoughtful expression. "I don't know. Since I'm here, travel through Kanto I guess. Compete in the Indigo League."

Misty grinned and turned to Ash. "That's a great idea! I'm sure you'll do better than Ash, unless you have a giant fire-breathing Dragon who likes to take naps."

Ash was not amused. "He has to beat your Gym you know Misty. That means you're admitting defeat right now."

Misty eye twitched. "Well, there are more than eight Gyms you know. He doesn't have to challenge mine."

Ash raised a brow. "So you don't deny Max will wipe the floor with you?"

"What!? I didn't say that!"

"Pretty sure you just did."

"I didn't say anything of the sort." Before Ash could say something else, Misty made sure to continue. "But fine! Max, you better come to my Gym!"

Max nodded enthusiastically. "You bet I will! Then I'll show you how much stronger I've become!" With Max and Misty's spirits raised, everyone turned to the three coordinators. "So what are you guys doing?"

May and Dawn looked at each other while Drew flicked his hair. "I plan on returning to Hoenn for a redo." May looked at Drew, shocked at that before looking down. "You coming May?"

"I…" May thought about it. She hasn't competed in any Hoenn contest since…May looked at Ash. "I don't think I'm ready for a homecoming just yet. What about you Dawn?"

"Eh? Uh, I think Kanto for me. It's the one region I haven't challenged yet," Dawn said with uncertainty.

May looked thoughtful. "Hm. Yeah, I think I'll give Kanto another shot."

Drew started blankly before sighing. "Fine, Kanto it is." Everyone looked at Drew surprised. "I'm not going to take on Hoenn until all my rivals are there. That means you too, Ketchum."

Ash blinked. "Me?"

Drew nodded. "You were responsible for May so I want to fight her at her prime, in her home Region with her motivator."

Ash thought about it. He was no doubt going to be extremely busy for the next couple of years, he wasn't sure if he'd have time to go travel around Hoenn again. "I…we'll see Drew." Drew accepted that response and now it was Ash's turn to disclose his plans. "I'm going to be training even harder."

Iris raised a brow. "Huh? No more travelling? Why?"

"I can't slack off, I have to prove that I'm worthy of being the Kalos Champion," Ash didn't want to tell them about his plan to challenge and defeat the other Champions. Not yet. Ash actually felt better without having his friend's expectations on him. Dawn's outburst earlier opened Ash's eyes to many things.

"So that's why you can't stay long, huh?" Tracey said and Ash nodded, though he had told them about this beforehand.

"Well we wish you the best then Ash! But for now, how about we just relax?" Dawn suggested and they all agreed, now talking about many different topics, eventually Brock's surprise being a cake with a Pikachu face on it. Though Pikachu was appalled at first, believing the cake to be made from a live Pikachu.

---

Days have passed and it was now the night before Ash had to leave. He had to leave a day early in order to get back to the Kalos Pokémon League as he had to take the plane from Viridian to Lumiose then get back to the Pokémon League. Right now, Ash was sitting in the same spot where he last spoke with May.

"Huh, May was right. You are out here," Ash turned his head to see his first friend he had ever made on his Pokémon Journey.

"Misty, what are you doing here?" Ash asked, wondering if Misty had something to say to him as well. May and Dawn were upset because of him, maybe Misty was too.

"Just wondering where you were," Misty said, taking a seat. "Hey, is this the place you and Gary found that broken Poké Ball?"

Ash blinked, surprised Misty remembered about that considering he told her about that story back in Johto. Ash looked down the rived and saw the wooden bridge. "Yeah, over there."

There was a silence between the two. "You know Ash, I always believed in you." Ash turned to Misty and saw her staring at her looking at the stars. "You were so ambitious about becoming the best, that I believed you would do it. Hearing about how much you've done, I can't be mad at you. You were only following your dreams."

Ash grimaced, out of everyone, Misty had been there since the very beginning. In a way, she was what he was to Dawn and May. Yet Ash hadn't visited her nor talked to her in so long. "I'm sorry Misty."

Misty shook her head. "That doesn't matter anymore. Ash, I'm glad you're my friend, I'm glad I met you, and I'm proud of what you've done." Ash's eyes widened as he heard that, her words repeating in his mind. He never knew that those simple words meant so much to him. When he said them to Dawn, he didn't understand the impact of them, but hearing them now, from the one who fished him out of the river on his first day, it meant much more than he could have imagined. "Ash?"

"I…" Ash quickly wiped his eyes. "Thank you Misty."

---

"Turns out Misty didn't really have any problems. You were just worried for nothing," Ash said to Brock in the living room of his house. It was the next day and they were standing near Route 1, Pidgeot by Ash's side. They were the only two awake as the sun had only just begun to rise.

"Guess you're right. But you sure seem to be in a better mood." Ash raised a brow and Brock explained. "You just seem all around happier. I guess talking to Misty ended up helping you more, huh?"

Ash laughed. "Yeah, I needed some sort of closure with her. I can finally start training without having to worry about you guys."

Brock nodded before looking at Ash with a frown. "You sure you don't want to say goodbye?"

Ash pulled down his cap and turned to Pidgeot. "Yeah. I may begin to doubt myself if they came."

Brock raised a brow. "Ash, what are you talking about?"

Ash shook his head and gave Brock a grin. "Nothing, I'm just tired of goodbyes. I already said bye to Professor Oak and mom. So, see you later Brock!" Pikachu also cried out his own goodbye.

Brock smiled though still felt uneasy. "Yeah, see you later. You better become the best."

Ash nodded, climbing onto Pidgeot's back. "Like no one ever was." With that, Pidgeot wasted no time taking off into the sky, leaving Brock to watch as Ash flew to Viridian City. Brock clenched his fists, wondering when he will next see his closest friend, his brother.

Brock cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted into the sky "Don't give up Ash! Always remember, we'll be here for you!"

Ash heard Brock's words and gripped Pidgeot's feathers harder. "Brock…Right now, it's either my friends, or my dream."

Brock panted as Pidgeot disappeared over the trees. Nodding to himself, he turned around and returned to the Ketchum residence, waiting for everyone to wake up to tell them of Ash's departure. When he did, he expected angry comments on how Ash left without telling them but instead that only came from Iris and Max.

"I wanted to battle him again!" Max exclaimed. The day before Max and Ash had the battle Ash promised him from when their time in Kanto ended. It was pretty one-sided, Max wasn't able to defeat any of Ash's Pokémon. But Max had learned and grew from it and that was what mattered.

Iris just called him a little kid who couldn't handle saying goodbye, and she wasn't completely wrong this time. Gary and Cilan didn't agree with Ash's decision but accepted it and left, saying it was time they got going, Iris quickly following them. The three girls whom Ash spoke to understood Ash's decision and were confident that they would see Ash soon. Brock felt different. Ash was different, he was always eager to see everyone off before he left. He wondered when they would truly meet Ash again.

---

A few days passed and Brock had just returned to Pewter City and just entered the Pewter Gym, watching his brother defeat a beginner trainer with an Onix. The trainer was using a Voltorb, reminding Brock of when he first met Ash. He watched as Forrest gave the trainer advice on the Type Chart and the trainer left in gratitude. Brock remembered being completely different, criticizing Ash's choice of using Pikachu against him and telling him to give up.

"Brock?" Brock snapped out of his thoughts as his brother approached him. "You all right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just had to say goodbye to Ash, again."

Forrest nodded, remembering the trainer who defeated Brock and helped save the Gym when those Team Rocket people came by. "I'd like to battle him one day."

Brock laughed. "That's a battle I wouldn't miss for the world!" With that, Brock returned to his room and looked at the thick book on his desk. He groaned as he began to study for his third year of Medical School.

---

Four Pokémon Trainers entered the Viridian Pokémon Center and were able to get two rooms. Max had already left to his room. "So Drew, you going off on your own again?" May asked, looking at her rival.

Drew shrugged. "I was actually thinking about joining you this time."

May raised a brow. "What happened to 'learning each other's secrets and techniques'?"

Drew flicked his hair and smirked. "It'll make it all the more interesting, if you ask me. We need to spice things up somehow."

May rolled her eyes. "Of course you'd say that. What about you Dawn?"

Dawn looked up and gave May a grin. "I'm going on my own. All this time I've been travelling with Kenny, time to give myself a fresh start. I can only get better if I depend on myself."

May looked at Dawn concerned. "Are you sure? It's a lot harder than you think, believe me."

Dawn nodded enthusiastically, noting how Ash became a Champion by himself. Maybe it was being by himself that he won, no one else to worry about. Just his own training. "Watch me May, because you won't win next time!"

May laughed. "Well, we'll see about that," and with that, May headed off to her room. Dawn was about to go too when Drew stopped her.

"You know, I thought I was May's biggest rival." Dawn turned around and watched as Drew stared at a rose in his hand. "I was the one who gave her the spark to make her try her best. I was the first person to defeat her. I was the reason she lost in the Hoenn Grand Festival. It was all me. I was the one who she wanted to defeat.

And she did, in Kanto. Ever since, we were equal. One losing, one winning. There was no stronger. But then she met you Dawn, and lost. Ever since she trained so hard to defeat you, but you kept defeating her. Three Wallace Cups and two contests. It was frustrating. You pushed her more than I, Harley, or even Solidad ever did, and you became her biggest rival. Defeating you in the Johto Grand Festival, I don't think she was ever as happy."

Dawn was silent but then gave Drew a smile. "I'm glad, because the feeling is mutual. She's my biggest rival as well, for more than just contests." Drew raised a brow and Dawn grinned. "I'm not saying any more than that, Drew. So, why'd you tell me this?"

"I want you to stay as the rival that can push her. I still would prefer it if she wins over you, but at least give her a fight like the one at the Johto Grand Festival."

Dawn puffed her cheeks. "Well aren't you nice. You sure care about May, huh? Well I hope you enjoy your journey with the two of them!" Dawn began walking away, leaving Drew confused.

"Two?"

Dawn spoke while walking. "Duh! Max will be with you two as well!" Drew could only sigh.

---

In the Unova Region, Striaton City, three people entered a restaurant. "Huh, not a bad restaurant at all," Gary spoke, looking around the restaurant. It was fancier than he expected.

Cilan smiled. "It makes me happy to hear the Grandson of the famous Professor say that. Let me go see if my brothers are here."

Iris rolled her eyes as she took a seat at a table and Gary followed. "The perks of knowing Cilan, great food!" Iris exclaimed suddenly, surprising Gary.

"Y-yeah." Gary wouldn't lie and say he didn't find the two Unova Trainers awkward to be around. He chuckled I guess that's why they get along with Ash.

"So you're Gary Oak?" Gray looked up and saw a male with the same face and clothes as Cilan, but blue hair. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Cress, one of Cilan's brothers."

Gary nodded, shaking Cress's hand. "Gary Oak. Though you knew that already. Cilan spoke a lot about you, very good things."

Cress smiled. "That's good to hear. Your orders then?"

Cilan sat down next to Iris and the three ordered what they wanted before talking. "If you want to learn more about the Legendary Pokémon, Iris's hometown or Professor Juniper's lab are the places to go."

Gary nodded, pulling out a Holo Caster he received when he visited Kalos and Ash last. "I already spoke with Professor Cedric Juniper. He's agreed to show me much on his Legendary Pokémon research. Ash also gave me some insights as well."

"Ash?" Iris asked, surprised and Gary nodded.

"He's probably met every Legendary Pokémon at this point. He's a great source of information," Gary grinned before going back to what he was saying. "But I'll probably head to the Village of Dragons first, as the Professor is currently out at Twist Mountain. Which is also one of my destinations as fossils are found there frequently by the Gym Leader Clay. Obviously I'll also be visiting Nacrene City and speaking with the Museum Curator there. Then afterwards I'll be going to Opelucid City and meet up with Gym Leader Drayden." Iris's eyes widened at that clenched her fists.

"Well, you've certainly prepared well," Cilan said, amazed at Gary's preparations and notes. A complete contrast to Ash when they travelled together. Cilan wondered how the two grew up together.

Gary nodded. "Of course, as a researcher I must not leave any stone unturned. I can't slack off, not when Ash and everyone is giving their all."

Cilan nodded, agreeing with Gary completely. "Yes, if you need assistance give me a call. I have a few acquaintances across the Region."

"Thank you, Cilan," Gary thanked.

It was then Iris spoke up. "Take me with you!" Gary and Cilan stared at Iris in surprise. "I want to see Drayden again, besides I know my way around the Region pretty well! And like Cilan, I have acquaintances around the Region as well!"

Gary rubbed the back of his head. "Well, you see, I can't afford any distractions…"

Iris glared. "I'm not a distraction! I'll be more helpful than anything."

Before Gary could say something, Cilan interrupted. "Iris does actually know how to survive the region. She'd be useful to take with you."

"I'm not some tool!"

Cilan ignored Iris. "She's quite athletic and could even identify what a Pokémon's eating habits are based on the environment. Surely that would come in handy when researching fossilized Pokémon?"

Gary sighed. "Fine, but once we get to Opelucid you leave. This is serious work I have."

"My goal is serious too!" Iris exclaimed and the two glared at each other while Cilan sweat dropped.

"I can see how he and Ash grew up together."

---

Ash stood in front of the large building in front of him. The Kalos Pokémon League. It was now completely empty, except for the four Elite 4 members. Ash rubbed Pidgeot's wing before returning her. He turned to Pikachu who was on his shoulder. "We're back. Time to get stronger and become the best." Pikachu cheered and Ash ran towards the building.

---

EDITS:
MM/DD/YYYY

07/31/2016 - Typos, grammar, tenses, and punctuation mistakes fixed. Special thanks to 0 Jordinio 0 for constructive criticism.

(Also, either and my email is slow but what is with the sudden interest in the story? I've probably gotten almost 70 notifications of favs and follows today alone. Not complaining mind you, really happy! But it's really crazy with how many people are noticing this story today of all days).

---

For those not going to read the long Author's Note, thank you for reading!

Loooong Author's Note:

Sorry for the ridiculously long chapter. This will probably be the longest chapter I ever write, being at almost 17k words without this author's note so don't worry about future chapters being this long in any of my stories. It's just there wasn't a good place to cut it and turn it into several chapters. This is the beginning and I wanted to establish as many things as I can: Dawn and May's journeys while Ash was in Unova and Sinnoh, Ash's depression after Unova, why Ash travelled alone and why Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena weren't with him, Ash's involvement with Team Flare, and Ash's motive for leaving.
I hope it didn't feel rushed. This is something I've wanted to do for a very, very long time and I feel I finally have the ability to do this.

Yes, I know previous readers of mine, ANOTHER STORY. But this one's a bit different.

My first ever complete story was called Infinite Battles. It's somehow well liked for only being 12 Chapters and 25k words. For those who haven't read it, I highly discourage you from going anywhere near that story. It was a huge wreck and really shows how bad of a writer I was all those years ago (Almost three years which is crazy).

So I'll just summarize it briefly.

-Ash gets Meowth on his team after Jessie shoots Ash with a gun. Yep.
-Ash and May confess their feelings then Drew comes by 'cause why not
-Drew confesses to May and she says yes 'cause I apparently thought cheating = great plot device…I must have been a terrible person.
-Misty takes a photo and shows Ash who decides to run away and ends up in the Oblivia Region
-10 Years pass. During those ten years, Ash adopted a kid and defeated Team Rocket
-He enters a Championship Tournament to become Pokémon Master, reuniting with his friends (sound familiar?)
-I make Ash a terrible Gary-Stu
-First two rounds of tournament are against two OC's who Ash beat without losing a single Pokémon.
-Ash gets a Lucario and starts training Aura
-Ash battles Reggie (Paul's brother) and Hoenn Champion Wallace. Spoiler, Ash wins without losing a single Pokémon
-Team Rocket returns and Ash kills Giovanni
-Ash battles Paul and loses only one Pokémon. Paul also has a Heatran 'cause why not apparently.
-Ash and May talk and Ash yells at her or something
-Ash battles and beats Max. Without losing a Pokémon. Then May challenges him and also loses.
-Ash battles Tobias with the original six, and wins without losing a single Pokémon…
-Ash heads back to Oblivia but his friends follow. He gets mad but decides to let them come and cue the sequel.

So yeah, my story Infinite Battles summarized, saving you the 5 minutes you would have spent reading the first chapter before realizing how bad it is.

So what does that have to do with this story? Well this isn't exactly a rewrite but more of a remix/spiritual successor. Going with the same general theme but changing it up so it's actually good.

Just like the original, it will probably be short but will have a definitive end, no sequel! Unless people really want one.

Meowth won't be joining because I got the idea from the story The Champion is Never Forgotten by Gerbilftw (Amazing story. Read if you haven't already. It's Advanceshipping but not until the end so anyone can read it) and I just couldn't do as good a job with Meowth's character.

I respect all Ash shippings, and I want this story to appeal to more than just a certain shipping fandom, so I'm going to try and appeal to everyone by keeping romance to a minimum. The main ships will be: Pokeshipping (Ash x Misty), Advanceshipping (Ash x May), and Pearlshipping (Ash x Dawn).

And if people really want it, Negaishipping (Ash x Iris), and if people reeeeeally want Serena in here, Amourshipping (Ash x Serena).

No, this is not a harem story despite what you may have originally thought from the cover image and title. There will be hints here and there towards each shipping and then I plan on having multiple endings for each shipping. Heck if people wanted you could suggest a random ship and if I can find a way to incorporate it, it can have its own ending too. Example; if people wanted Rayshipping (Ash x Cynthia) I could put Cynthia in and give an ending for her. But one like Ash x Duplica will be harder to incorporate. Also, no homosexual relationships. I have no problem with them, I'm just personally straight. And no Pokémon x Humans either.

I know people tend to stop reading stories when a shipping they dislike is introduced so I'm gonna try and appeal to you all with this. There will be hints, but no actual shippings or romance until the ending chapters.

Anyways, thank you for reading and let me know what you think of this!

Credits for the Cover Image:

Commission IX yxa4evr by KurumiErika on DeviantART (The Dawn image)
May Maple by Tenshi-Miko-No-Vixen on DeviantART
Misty's New Outfit by PinkFireFly on DeviantART
Ash and the Pokémon Logo from Series XY Episode 2 and The Pokémon Company respectively.