Ash Ketchum: The one who Caught 'Em All.

Such was the news that preceded him on his journey back to his hometown of Pallet, where already he was beginning to become something of a household name, at least among a certain segment of youngsters who dreamed to Catch 'Em All themselves, as well as a few old fogies who still maintained it was a fool's errand that couldn't be done.

Ash, Misty, and Brock were in no hurry, however. They were walking at a leisurely pace down the grassy trail of Route One, relieved that their adventure was finally at an end.

"Well Ash, that was quite a show back there," said Brock, breaking the silence. "What was it like? It looked like you were under his control for a long time."

"It all happened so fast," Ash answered. "But it almost felt like he was inside my mind for a moment. Real creepy feeling, I don't recommend it."

"Lucky that Pikachu knew to come and save you when he did," Misty remarked.

"Pi-ka!" he chirped at the mention.

"It was weird," Ash continued. "It was like, I didn't know what he was going to do, but at the same time I kinda felt it coming anyway… An instinct, you might say."

"Actually, that kind of makes sense," said Brock, pondering the matter a little. "Psychics can read your thoughts, so a Psychic will always know what you're going to do before you do it. That's why all the other trainers who tried to catch Mewtwo have failed. They think too much. But what about someone who just acts impulsively all the time without thinking about it? What if there is no mind to read?"

"I think I get it," Misty chuckled quietly. "I suppose Mewtwo never stood a chance."

About a minute passed wordlessly.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"


A small crowd had assembled to greet the town's new heroes by the northern gate. Among them were a few of the aforementioned youngsters, armed with autographable memorabilia; front and center were the ones responsible for most of the hubbub – Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak. Even Ash's perennial nemesis, Gary Oak, stood there at the edge of the crowd, albeit with a look of wanting to be somewhere else.

"Ash!" his mother shouted, as soon as he was within range. "Come here and give your mother a hug!" She ran ahead to meet him, leaving him with little choice in the matter.

"Mom!" he reciprocated, as Pikachu jumped out of the way. "Pikapi-ka!"

"Oh Ash, my baby," she squealed, smothering him with maternal kisses. "I missed you so much!"

"All right, that's enough Mom, you're embarrassing me!"

"I say, Ash, I can hardly believe it myself," Oak intervened. "Who would have thought that one of our own would finally go out and complete the Pokédex?"

"How'd you know?" asked Misty.

"Trust me, this type of thing doesn't stay secret very long," answered the professor. "As a matter of fact, we prepared a celebration back at the lab, and we'd be delighted if the three of you could join us."

"Wow, thank you, professor!" said Brock.

"Is there gonna be free food?" exclaimed Ash immediately. "Come on, let's go!"

"Yo, Ketchup." Gary's grating voice was recognizable anywhere. "Yeah you. Whatcha gonna do with all those Pokémon? You think you can handle Mewtwo? Have you even gotten your own Charizard to listen to you yet?"

"Hey, I Caught 'Em All, that's what matters!"

"Well, now that there's no more, I bet your life's gonna be empty and meaningless."

"Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"Don't worry about it brah," he smirked as he walked off. "Smell ya later!"


Dusk came quietly upon the little hamlet. It was the time when the tiny-birds would come back to roost, and the first of the evening stars would shine out towards the east. Brock, Pikachu, and a few others were still back enjoying the remnants of the festivities at Oak's lab. But the guest of honor had snuck out – he sat on a ledge by the shore, dangling his feet, mindlessly tossing rocks into the water, as he stared pensively at the horizon.

"Y'know, they used to take me here to play when I was little," he said, hearing Misty's footsteps behind him. "I would try and collect all the shells on the beach. The other kids would be swimming, or making sand castles, but there I was, collecting, counting, one by one–"

She detected a hint of discomfort in his voice. "Is something the matter, Ash?"

"Something… something doesn't feel right. I just– I don't know…"

"Is it about what Gary said? Because believe me, I know jealousy when I see it."

"No, it's not that… It's just that, y'know, I've been home a few hours, and already, it's like…"

"What's this really about, Ash? Why are you all worried all of a sudden?"

"Do you ever get that feeling, Misty, like there's something else you ought to be doing right now? Like somewhere, someone is waiting, waiting for you to return…"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I– I'm not supposed to be here," he replied, the thought coming into full focus even as he searched for the words. "Gary was wrong. I am not finished. There is still another Pokémon left. And it's waiting for me, somewhere."

"How can you be so sure? We all know there are 150 Pokémon, and Mewtwo is the last. What makes you think you can catch even more?"

"I don't know if you'll ever understand, Misty," he said. "You haven't spent your entire life searching for them. But I know it. I can feel it. I know there's another Pokémon out there, and I can never rest until I find it. And that's why" – he stood up and raised his voice to a defiant shout – "I'm heading out first thing tomorrow morning! We've got Pokémon to catch, and Pokémon wait for no one!"