Alright, chapter 1! This is my first real chapter ever! Wow, I'm feeling pretty nervous right now! Hope you all like it! :)
Disclaimer: Does Mega evolution exist? Then, I don't own Pokémon.
Chapter 1
*Present Time, Somewhere on Mt. Silver*
"Pikachu, use thunderbolt on that boulder!" ordered a voice.
"Pika!" cried Pikachu as he released an arc of electricity from his body that shattered the boulder to bits. The little yellow mouse-like pokemon looked up at his trainer's face, awaiting the next instructions.
"Thirty boulders in a row, that's a new record! Good job Pikachu!" praised the trainer, grinning from ear to ear at Pikachu's performance.
"Pika," squealed Pikachu, before slumping over in exhaustion.
"I think we're done for now; let's go check on everybody else," said the trainer. Pikachu squeaked a quick "Pika" in agreement before climbing up to his usual resting spot on his trainer's right shoulder.
The boy trudged down a worn-out path back towards the self-made base camp where he'd lived and trained with his pokemon for the past year. As he walked, he remembered the reason he decided to leave his friends and family and train in the mountains these past few months: Tobias.
That one name brought up conflicting feelings in the boy. As a fellow trainer, the boy was impressed by Tobias's strength. He was a very powerful trainer with lots of strong pokemon, and the boy respected him for that, but as a person, he didn't like him one bit. He was arrogant and condescending. Understandable, considering his strength, but it still rubbed the boy the wrong way. He thought back to that day when he lost his semi-finals match to Tobias and how he had almost given up on being a pokemon trainer. He had been ready to throw in the towel on his lifelong dream, until one girl reached out to him and changed his mind. She convinced him to continue working towards his goal and had personally trained him so he and his pokemon could get stronger than he ever thought possible. This girl was now his mentor and his closest friend, the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia Shirone.
*Flashback To A Year Ago, The Night After The Sinnoh League Finals*
The boy sat at the edge of Lake Valor, reminiscing about his adventures in the Sinnoh region. His friends and all his pokemon were sleeping in the Pokemon center. He had gone out for a midnight stroll alone, not even taking Pikachu with him, and decided to sit on a rock overlooking the lake. He started to remember all the fun times he'd had in Sinnoh with Brock and Dawn, all the adventures they'd gone on together, all the times they'd shared, meeting all sorts of people and pokemon alike. He remembered the first time he met Paul. Arceus, he had hated that kid when they first met! But now they were friends; they'd been through a lot together, had many battles with each other, and had eventually come to an understanding. He smirked, remembering the time Paul had been decimated by Cynthia's Garchomp when he'd foolishly challenged her to a battle.
Cynthia.
That thought of her managed to make the boy smile. He liked Cynthia; he respected her. She was strong, confident, a powerful trainer, and graceful in battle. 'I wonder what Cynthia is doing right now? She probably thought I was pathetic in my battle against Tobias,' the boy thought. 'I was barely able to take down just two of his pokemon! Just two pokemon- pathetic!'
All of the sudden he felt the touch of a soft, warm hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see a young blonde woman smiling at him.
"C-C-C-Cynthia! W-w-what are you doing here?" stammered Ash as he stood up to face the Sinnoh Champion.
"I wanted to talk to you Ash. Is that alright with you?" asked Cynthia.
"Of- of course, here, please sit," said Ash, motioning with his hands for her to use the rock he had just been sitting on.
"Thank you Ash," said Cynthia. She sat down on the rock and extended her legs. She put her arms behind her for support and gazed up at the night sky.
Ash's mind started racing at the speed of thought. 'I can't believe it, Cynthia's here. Why is she here? And just when I started thinking about her- wait, she's not wearing her usual black overcoat-'
"Man, Cynthia looks great in her regular outfit, but she's even cuter in normal clothes."
Cynthia immediately sat up straight and turned around to face him. "W-w-w-what are you saying Ash?!" she stammered indignantly, her face as red as a tomato.
"Huh? What are you- oh crap! I said that last part out loud, didn't I?" asked Ash nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
"Uh-huh," said Cynthia.
Ash looked away from her, embarrassed. "Whoops," he said, chuckling awkwardly. "Still, it's not like that was lie or anything. You do look really cute in those clothes." He turned to look at her again. Cynthia's face turned even redder.
'Wow, look at that, Cynthia's blushing! Cute,' thought Ash.
Deciding he had teased her enough, Ash asked, "So Cynthia, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Cynthia took a deep breath. She turned around to face Ash once again, but instead of a blush, she had a serious look on her face.
"I watched your battle with Tobias, Ash."
Ash turned away and stared at the lake. His fingers clenched together and the feeling of being pathetic returned. "Oh, that," he said. "And what did you think of my battle, Sinnoh Champion? It was embarrassing, wasn't it? Tobias completely destroyed me. I was barely able to take out two of his pokemon. I've never lost so badly in my life, not even that time when I lost to Paul at Lake Acuity. I was so pathetic."
"No, Ash I-" Cynthia tried to speak, but Ash didn't let her.
"I trained so hard with my pokemon. We went through so much together and I really believed we could win this time. But I guess that's as far as I'll ever be able to go, isn't it?" Ash's voice cracked, and hot tears starting to trickle down his face. "Four times I've entered a Pokemon League, and four times I've lost! I managed to beat the Orange Island League and the Battle Frontier, so why can't I beat the Pokemon League? Were those victories a fluke? Was it just luck that I managed to win? I guess I'm not as great of a trainer as I thought. Maybe I should just quit now and stop traveling altogether, before I enter another league and embarrass myself when I lose again?! I just feel so worthless! My pokemon worked so hard for my sake, but I let them down. I'm so weak. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all-"
Cynthia leaned over and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "You're wrong Ash- completely wrong," she whispered softly. "You're not weak. If anything your battle with Tobias proves just how strong you are. Nobody else in the entire league, not even the other finalist, managed to get past even his Darkrai. Tobias annihilated all his opponents with just that one pokemon, but you- and you alone- managed to beat not only his Darkrai, but his Latios too. Tobias's entire team consists of legendary pokemon, and you, Ash Ketchum, managed to take down two of them. Two! Two LEGENDARY pokemon! Do you realize how incredible that is, Ash?"
Ash turned to face her and was mesmerized by her smile. Cynthia continued, "You do know why they're called legendary pokemon, right Ash?"
Ash nodded and wiped away his tears. "It's because they're so much stronger than regular pokemon," he said.
"Exactly!" exclaimed Cynthia. "Their strength is legendary, the best of the best, and you managed to beat two of them. Does that sound like something a weakling could manage?"
"No," said Ash, shaking his head.
"You see what I mean Ash?" Cynthia asked. "You're not weak at all. You're actually one of the strongest trainers I know and believe me, I've met a lot of trainers. The way you treat your pokemon with such love and kindness is awe-inspiring. The way you come up with such ingenious battle strategies that nobody expects is incredible. You wouldn't know about this, but Mr. Goodman makes a list for us Champions every year with the names of all the young trainers to look out for. Do you know what you were ranked Ash?!" Ash shook his head again.
"Ash," Cynthia said softly. "You were ranked number one."
Ash's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"I'm completely serious, Ash," answered Cynthia. She gave Ash a huge smile. "You are an amazing trainer, Ash. So please, don't give up on your dreams, ok? You could become so much stronger, strong enough to one day beat Tobias, if you just keep trying and never give up."
Ash looked at Cynthia, mouth slightly agape. 'I knew Cynthia was kind, but for her to do all this for me….' he thought.
"Such a kind Champion," said Ash. "You're right Cynthia, I shouldn't give up from this, I just need to train harder and do better the next time."
"Ash," said Cynthia smiling. Her eyes lit up. "Hey Ash, do you know where you're going to go next?" asked Cynthia.
"No, not really," he replied. "I was planning on going home to Pallet Town, but after that I don't know."
"I see," said Cynthia. "Well then, in that case, why don't you stay here in Sinnoh with me? That way I can help you and your pokemon train and get even stronger."
Ash stared at her for a few seconds, once again shocked. "I'd be honored," he replied.
Cynthia's face lit up as she once again gave Ash a huge smile. Ash smiled back at her. "You're going to get so much stronger Ash, I promise you that."
*End Of Flashback*
Ash smiled out of the corner of his mouth. "Cynthia," he said aloud to nobody in particular.
"Pika?" inquired Pikachu.
"It's nothing buddy. I just miss her. It's been three months after all," explained Ash.
"Pika-Pi," teased Pikachu.
"I am not in love with Cynthia, Pikachu," translated Ash. "I just miss her. You feel the same way too, right bud? After all she's done for us, and it's been three full months since we've seen each other. We just needed some time to train by ourselves."
"Pika," said Pikachu in disbelief.
"Oh, shut up," said Ash, rolling his eyes. "Look we're already back at camp."
Alright, that's it for chapter 1! Wow, that was intense (for me at least). Let me know what you guys think of it. Be gentle please, this is my first time writing fanfiction. Flames will be ignored. Thanks everybody :)