He failed.

He failed.

This was his one chance; all the training and practice over the years was literally put to the test to become an official Pokemon Master. You don't just give out these certificates and titles like that all willy-nilly to someone who walks right in the door and asks for a Master certificate, you have to earn it. And no one had EARNED it in 10 years.

And make that 11 now.

"PikaPi…" Pikachu tried to console his Trainer. But with the 21-year-old's head buried deep into his hands, trying desperately to hold back the sobs. Real men don't cry?

TAUROSSHIT!

He'd worked his entire life for this. And from the scores on the sheet of paper next to him, he'd come OH SO CLOSE. It wasn't hard for him to be on the verge of crying and feeling as if all his efforts had gone to waste. "Sorry Pikachu," Ash choked, "But—" He choked again. He tried to hard not to let himself go, but it was just too painful for him to stop and he broke down.

"Ash?" Misty walked into the waiting room and saw the scene in front of her. Pikachu turned around, giving her the saddest look she'd ever seen on the face of the electric mouse. Who knows what Ash looked like right now? His inelegant sobbing and heart-breaking cries gave her an idea, so she didn't need to see his face.

She had to do something. She walked over to his side and put her arms around him, pulling him into the crook of her neck. "It's okay," she said, "Let it out."

She lost track of time because it went on longer than she expected. But if he was going to cry, he might as well take his time with it. There was no shame in crying over failure. Everyone fails at something at some point and if the only reaction they have is to cry, then so be it. He wasn't weak for crying; in fact, he was stronger for it. He was dealing with his emotions in a more positive manner than bottling them up and putting on a stoic face, suppressing his emotions.

No, this is Ash Ketchum, a person who lives and breathes passion. Stoicism was not his thing.

Eventually, the crying and sobs subsided and he lifted his head up off her shoulders, and she found out her shirt was soaked. Of course, that was the least of her concerns, but it wasn't enjoyable, either. "Feel better?" she asked, rubbing his back.

"Yeah," he said, his voice still wracked with sadness and sniffing loudly. "Thanks, Misty."

"Anything for a friend," she said. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know," he said. "I've worked so much toward this, and I just—it's so—I don't know what to say."

"PikaPiii," said Pikachu.

"I know," she said, "You've worked so hard just to get to this point."

"And it just went to waste," he said.

"Don't say that!" she snapped, "How could it have gone to waste?"

"I didn't become a Master?" he asked.

"Oh, boo-hoo!" she said, "Are you really going to let some stupid test and a meaningless piece of paper determine your self-worth?"

He was silent as she stood up and squatted down in front of him. She took his chin in her hands and made him look at her. "Ash," she said, "What have you learned over the years?"

"That hard work never—"

"WRONG!" she shouted, "What have you really learned?"

"That friends are important?"

"Absolutely!"

"And that you can't get anywhere in life without help from anyone?"

"Good memory," she said.

"And that really caring for your Pokemon is the secret to success as a Trainer?"

"Great!" she said. "Now, what have you done?"

"I've won the Orange League?"

"Uh-huh, and?"

"I stopped Team Rocket more than one time?"

"Keep going."

"I've seen the world."

"You're getting better."

"I've caught a lot of Pokemon."

"That's good."

"I've won races, tournaments, contests, Gym Badges…"

"Aaaaaand?"

"Saved the world?"

"Exactly!" she said. "And have you grown?"

He thought about it. "Yeah."

"And you've become better as a Trainer," she said.

"Yeah, I guess I did!"

"And the fact that you got selected for a Master test at 21 just goes to show how far you've come," she said. She gripped his hand tightly and looked into his eyes tenderly. "Ash, you don't have to derive your self-worth from a silly piece of paper. You've become an amazing Trainer on your own!"

"Pika, Pika!"

"But, I haven't won everything and I'm still not a Master," he said, "What if people—"

"FUCK those people!" she said, "What do they know? What do they know of all the hard work you've put in? What do they know of all the people you've met? What do they know about what your Pokemon think about you? What do they know about what your friends and family think about you? So you've never caught a Legendary, big deal! Ash, you are an amazing person, regardless of whether you're an 'Official' Master or not."

"What are you saying?" he asked.

"You don't need some silly certificate to prove you're a great person or Trainer," she said, "You already are."

He thought about it. And the widening eyes and smile told her that yes, he did realize it. He WAS a better Trainer. He WAS a better person. And he WAS worth more than what some silly piece of paper said about him. "YEAH!" he said, jumping up enthusiastically, "You're right, Misty! I'm better than this!"

"That's my Ash!" she said.

"Pika, Pika!"

"So what am I going to do now?" he asked. She fell on the floor.

"ARE YOU STILL THAT DENSE!?" she screamed. "Whatever. Do you really need a certificate to become a Pokemon Master?"

"Well, it's official," he said.

"Fuck that," she said.

"You're right!" he said, crumpling up the piece of paper in his hands. "You know what I'm gonna do?"

"What's that?"

"I'm gonna be the best Trainer I can be!" he said, "I don't know if I'll become a Master, but I'm gonna get better and better and better!"

"That's my Ash!" she said. Now she had something else to say and do.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"You're not going to become a better Trainer by yourself, are you?" she asked.

"Uh, no," he said, "I have my Pokemon with me!"

"You really are dense," she said, laying her head on his shoulder and wrapping an arm around to his back.

"Uh, Misty?" he asked.

"Ash, everything I just said, I believe it," she said, "And that's why I want to be your partner."

"But… Pikachu's my partner," he said.

"Pi-KA!" Pikachu sighed.

"You're an idiot," she said.

"Misty, what are you—" Because she wanted him to get a hint, she pulled his face over to hers and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Now do you get it?" she asked.

He paused. And paused. And blushed. And blushed some more. She couldn't help but laugh at him as the realization passed through his dense mind faster than she expected. "You mean, you—"

"I said a long time ago 'I know how you feel about me'," she said, "And now I want you to know how I feel about you."

"Misty, what—" She silenced him with her finger.

"I meant everything I said," she told him, "You really are an amazing person. And you don't need a piece of paper telling you that. And everything I just told you is why I feel this way about you, too."

"But, what about your dream?" he asked.

"Did I say I was going to stop?" she asked, "No, I'm not going to give up on that. I just want to help you realize yours and I want you to help me realize mine."

"Oh," he said, "And what about Brock?"

"We're all in this together," she said, "So yes."

"And Pikachu?"

"Are you being facetious?"

"What does that mean?"

"Okay, maybe you're not," she said, "But yes, Pikachu's part of this, too."

"Pika, Pika!"

"So then," she said, "You know how I feel about you. Just confirm to me, do you feel the same way about me?"

He smiled. "Yeah," he said.

That was all she needed. She stood on her tip-toes and kissed him. And he returned the favor.

They stayed like that for several minutes until they broke apart. He wasn't used to this kind of mushy romantic business, but he could definitely get used to it. He needed to go to the dentist, he was going to get a cavity from all this sweetness. Misty? Come on, she's a sucker for this stuff.

"So what now?" he asked.

"We have three journeys," she said, "Your journey, my journey and our journey."

"Okay," he said. "You know, this is a nice consolation prize."

"Of course it is," she said.

He may not have become a Master, but that wasn't the end of his journey. The journey of life never ends, and there's never one single journey. It's all a series of journeys, after all. And no matter what, he was still dedicated to becoming the very best, like no one ever was.

The end

I set out to attempt to come up with an ending for the Pokemon anime that was better than what happened with Naruto, even if Ash came up short or it was imperfect. I have no idea if I succeeded, but I hope I did. I also set out to let Ash's haters know that his worth as a character is not determined by the battles he's won, but the obstacles he's overcome and the lessons he's learned. Like I said, I don't know if I succeeded, but I wanted to at least try. I hope you like it, though!