"Uuurgh..."
Ash grunted, covering his face as Charizard finally emerged from underneath the clouds. His hair, now long devoid of any cap, was soaked through. His clothes clung to his body, likewise soaked, either still from the earlier Rain Dance or from flying through all the condensed water vapour. The Pallet trainer took a moment to catch his breath, a task more difficult than usual with all the fast-moving air whipping past his face.
Underneath him, his fire pokémon gave a low grumble, then soared lower, skimming the water's surface below them. Noticing this, Ash looked all around, scanning his surroundings and to his surprise seeing nothing but ocean in every direction.
Ash frowned, surprised that the chase had somehow sent them both so far off course. Lily Of the Valley Island wasn't even in sight anymore, and he'd been far too caught up in the fight to even notice which way they might have gone after leaving the stadium.
Better be careful. If Charizard falls into this water, it's game over...
"Mewwww!"
Ash snapped his face back up to the sky.
The clouds above them reformed as the legendary pink psychic type emerged again, flying through the centre. Ash shouted out a warning to his friend as the next attack closed in from above, this one taking the form of huge yellow lightning bolts.
"Charizard, fly to one side, quickly!"
Charizard span left, then right, narrowly avoiding each Thunder, then with a powerful flap of his large wings, launched himself back up high, his trainer still clinging on for dear life.
...
"Pikachupi?"
Misty looked back down to the yellow mouse pokémon in her arms. Around her, the stadium remained in a state of utter confusion. Crowds of officials flocked in the arena floor, each trying to decide what the best course of action would be, the main one being the referee, who had run the length of the battlefield twice now, cursing loudly.
Above, the stands had begun to mutter ominously, the thousands of empty seats slowly refilling as those who had fled the stadium in droves before slowly returned after seeing the coast was seemingly clear.
Misty forced a smile as she stared down at the electric type.
"I'm sure Ash will be fine Pikachu."
He better be...
Her eyes widened in surprise as Pikachu suddenly jumped out on her arms, landing lightly on the cracked floor to her front.
"Pika pikapi pikachu pika pikachu!"
Misty gave a small smile, nodding just once as she returned her gaze to the empty sky above.
"I hope you're right..."
...
"Use Flamethrower!"
As both pokémon span around each other again, still high up in the air, Ash yelled out his fire type's next move.
Charizard snarled as he launched another tornado of flames forward. To both fire type and trainer's horror however, Mew simply flew into the centre of the attack, protected once again by its pink shield as it drove through the flames towards thier originator with apparent ease.
"Quick, Overheat, now!"
Charizard broke off his attack, then howled as his entire body began to glow bright red. Ash gritted his teeth as his pokémon's skin grew to an almost unbearable temperature underneath his exposed skin.
Thirty metres away in the sky, Mew halted its advance, hovering for a moment as its own eyes suddenly glowed a fluorescent pink. Charizard roared furiously as he unleashed all his fire power in the psychic type's direction.
The sound of rushing water re-directed Ash's attention.
"Charizard, look out!"
Both trainer and pokémon gave an involuntary shout of shock as the ocean beneath them suddenly leapt up into the sky, swallowing them both in a large cloud of steam. For a moment, Ash found himself underwater, almost two hundred metres above sea level.
"RAARRGGHHH!"
With a bellow, Charizard broke free and burst out the water's grasp, shaking himself furiously. Mew gave a little cry of surprise as it dodged round another vengeful Flamethrower, loosing its concentration and resulting in the floating tidal wave falling back to the sea with an almighty crash. Ash frantically rubbed his eyes clear as his pokémon dived forwards, the wind tearing at and instantly drying his clothes again as they both now pursued Mew back in return. Frantically scanning ahead, Ash again spotted Mew as the legendary flew back down low.
"No Charizard stop! Don't go near the water again, get high now!"
The Flame pokémon gave another grunt of frustration in confirmation to his trainer's words. Ash's stomach lurched as his Charizard performed a sudden one-eighty, powering his way back towards the stratosphere.
I've got to keep Charizard well away from the water, I'm not sure how much more it can take! If we take a hit like that again...
"Keep going! Get as high as you can!"
Ash fought a sense of nausea and apprehension as thier altitude increased rapidly. He couldn't allow himself to be afraid anymore.
Ash couldn't help but also begin to notice signs of his pokémon's fatigue. The fire type was starting to take longer to react to commands than usual, and the flame burning at the base of his tail had now fallen to almost half its usual size. Ash twisted back round to look behind him, staring back down low and spotting Mew as it raced up after them again, its gleeful laugh clearly heard despite the distance and the wind howling in his ears.
It was too fast to escape, and too powerful to fight.
No! We're not done yet!
"Charizard, charge your best Dragon Rage now! Enough running, we're gonna take Mew head on!"
Charizard immediately spread his wings out wide, instantly halting his assent and nearly throwing his trainer off his back, then tucked them into his body, plummeting back earthwards at full speed. As he fell, the fire pokémon opened his jaws wide, revealing an ever-growing ball of crackling energy. Ash gave an involuntary shout of terror and exhilaration as his feet trailed in the air behind and above him, his arms refusing to unlock the bear-hug around his pokémon's neck as they fell thought the air.
Mew continued shooting up towards them like a rocket. Using all the strength in his arms, Ash pulled himself forwards and down along his pokémon's back until their cheeks almost touched, both trainer and pokémon glaring down together at their foe.
"Not yet Charizard!" Ash yelled directly into Charizard's ear.
Mew closed in, a fresh ball of dark energy already held in its grip.
"Wait for it..."
The psychic type cackled, then wound up its Shadow Ball like a bowler would pitch a ball, then at the very last moment before throwing it, cried out in pain as sparks suddenly re-coated its body.
"Now!" Ash cried.
The Dragon Rage smashed into the psychic type head on, propelling it in the opposite direction all the way back down until both legendary pokémon and dragon attack crashed into the ocean's surface with an explosive splash.
"Yes!"
Ash shouted out his jubilation. Charizard gave a dull roar of victory as he swept down low circled his opponent's last seen position, hovering carefully a couple of metres above the blue water. Ash's expression of triumph slowly faded into caution as he scanned the ocean's surface, looking for any sign.
No way it's that easy...
The sea exploded beneath them. Both trainer and pokémon yelled out, leaping back upwards into the sky as Kyogre emerged, breaking the water's surface with a deafening crash.
...
Tobias stared into the sky, feeling lost.
How has it come to this...
The trainer lowered his eyes back to stare at the empty pokéball in his hand, then looked around, for the first time truly noticing the battlefield around him. The stadium was in near ruins, the battlefield was almost completely over-turned. All around the arena, pokémon league officials mingled around, each with similar expressions of confusion on their faces. Off to one side, Tobias could feel the match referee staring at him with daggers in his eyes, an expression not so different from the one the orange-haired girl was wearing, who had taken the Champion's place at the far side of the field with his pikachu stood by her feet.
Tobias looked away, finding himself unable to maintain eye contact, instead looking back at the empty pokéball in his hand. This had always been the plan, he'd planned on using Mew for the final battle from the very start. So why was he feeling so...
Hollow.
It was too easy. His dream was fulfilled, yet not by his doing. He'd spent over a decade of his life searching for the most powerful creatures the world had to offer, yet in the end, it had fallen to the pokémon he'd been given to win this match for him.
Using the power of legendary pokémon to overwhelm his opponents had never bothered him in the past. Some trainer's chose to capture ordinary pokémon, then spend years training and bonding with them so they would become extraordinary. Tobias simply chose to spent those same years tracking down and capturing pokémon who were already extraordinary. And who was to say which method held greater morality, or was the better way?
Yet, that was what this battle was deciding before thier very eyes, Tobias realised slowly. It seemed he and the Champion were both at opposite ends of that spectrum. So which method produced greater results in the end?
But even if, when, Mew claimed victory, Tobias could never truly claim it has his own. Mew was not his, not captured by him. His final victory would be a hollow one in the end. While the world would call him a Champion, Tobias realised with a flash of sudden remorse and regret that he would never be able to call himself one.
What happened to me?
Had he really been so blinded with the thought of victory, he'd been prepared to cheat in order to win?
Capturing legendary pokémon and using them in battle wasn't cheating. He'd spent just as much time searching for those creatures as other trainer had spent training theirs. Even using Cobalion's power to gain mastery over them wasn't cheating, it was simply good strategy.
But using a pokémon he hadn't sought out himself, who was obeying his commands simply at the order of another trainer?
I just wanted to win, to be Champion...
But would it be worth it in the end?
Tobias shook his head, angry with himself.
...
Rayquaza raced in behind them, its long body snaking through the air. Ash looked upwards in horror and utter disbelief as the emperor of the sky soared overhead, then twisted back to face them like a coiled spring. The Sky High pokémon opened its jaws wide, revealing the huge orb of orange growing between its teeth, already larger in size than both Ash and Charizard combined.
"Charizard, down, now!"
The Flame pokémon nose-dived an instant before the unparalleled Hyper Beam made contact, just fast enough to avoid the collision, but not fast enough to avoid the immediate follow-up Blizzard attack which sent the Kanto starter spiralling out of control. Ash yelled in pain as the frigid wave of ice and snow struck his body, Charizard groaned in pain as he spread his wings out wide, halting his fall inches above the ocean's surface.
Shaking free of the white flakes of snow, Ash twisted round from his position on the fire pokémon's back, his eyes frantically searching above before spotting Mew, now back to its usual form, reappearing with another flash of white light.
I've got to think of something!
Ash racked his brain frantically even as fresh balls of pulsating darkness descended on their position. Charizard narrowly dodged each one with desperate twists and lunges, each missed attack pummelling the ocean's surface and covering them both in constant white spray.
Mew seemed unbeatable. But even as Ash thought that again, even accepted it like he had done back at the stadium, there was a part of him, a growing part, that still refused to give in.
Tobias thinks Mew's invincible. But I've met more legendary pokémon than anyone, even Tobias!
"There's always a way, Ash."
...Was there?
Mew swooped in closer. Another flash of white light later, Ash and Charizard suddenly found themselves lost in a huge shadow as they raced across the ocean's surface. With a start of fresh amazement and fear, Ash recognised the pokémon of his childhood as Ho-Oh launched a torrent of fire downwards.
"Charizard, give it everything you've got! Flamethrower, let's go!"
Charizard twisted, angling upwards until he drew level with the bird of legend, then matched Ho-Oh's fire with his own. Both monsters sounded their own individual cries, one shrieking, the other roaring as the air around the two grew hotter and hotter. Ash watched through a blurry haze as the epicentre of the collision struggled for a moment, then slowly pushed back towards him and his friend.
No good! Charizard's just not strong enough to take on Mew head to head like this!
"Charizard, stop the attack! Just... just try to dodge it!"
Charizard broke off his attack, then heaved himself to one side in a futile attempt to dodge. The fire pokémon yelped in pain as Ho-Oh's huge fireball crashed into his side, sending him spinning backwards once more through the air.
Charizard roared in agony, writhing from the pain mid-flight, while his trainer continued to cling onto his back in desperation.
There's... Just... No... Way...
"Charizard! Just keep flying! Get back above land... I'll think of something!"
...
Barry sighed impatiently at the television to his front. Around him, the other occupants of the Sunyshore Pokémon Centre continued to shriek and shout wildly at what they had just seen on screen, but he paid them no attention, simply closing his eyes and grimacing at the continuing enforced wait.
"Rrrrraaaaaagggghhhhh!"
"What the...?"
As all other co-inhabitants of the centre screamed their surprise, Barry sprinted to a window, looking out just in time to see what looked like a large red dragon with something that almost looked like a person sat on its back swoop overhead, closely followed through the air by what looked like a ginormous dark and grey coloured serpent with large black and red ghostly-looking wings and six legs.
"Hey, whataya know... It's Ash..."
...
Charizard bounced from one skyscraper to the next, leaving a trail of destruction behind as Giratina's attacks repeatedly slammed into the spaces he had occupied moments before. Ash looked behind him, the wind blowing his hair in all directions as he spotted Mew, still in the Renegade's guise, circle round the edge of another multi-story building and smash straight through a wall of gleaming solar panels fixed onto the roof of a smaller building. The panels shattered into a thousand pieces with a deafening smash and rained down in all directions. Ash gulped slightly as he watched the dark-coloured shards and the iron girders that had held them up fall down to the streets far below.
Chaos was erupting in the city below. Terrified screams were ringing though the air from every direction at the appearance of the other-worldly monster that had invaded thier city. Ash winced. Even though all the terrified people and crashing cars appeared as nothing more than small toys at this distance, he could well imagine the panicked scene below.
Oh man! I shouldn't have told Charizard to fly back inland! I'm going to get into so much trouble for this...
As soon as the thought hit him, Ash shook his head, laughing to thin air.
Who cares? Stop worrying about that, worry about surviving this first!
Instead, Ash forced himself to close his eyes, completely trusting his well-being to his pokémon and pushing away all other thoughts. Charizard knew full well how to dodge his opponent's attacks without his help. If, when time eventually came when Charizard no longer could, then no last minute inspiration would save them. Instead, Ash forced himself to focus on the battle itself, despite the wind screaming in his ears and the rolling of his stomach due to his fire-type's mid-air manoeuvres.
Mew's still paralysed...
It was true. Despite all the legendary's power, it was still paralysed from its very first battle with Pikachu. Ash had seen for himself, Mew had succumbed to its effects several times during the chase through the air, often allowing Ash and Charizard to escape a powerful attack in the nick of time.
Dodge and wait, wait until it freezes from Static again, then attack. It's not much, but it's all we can do right now.
Ash yelled out, snapping his eyes back open as what looked like yet another Hyper Beam rushed by, inches from his face. Charizard yelped, dropping a couple of feet in his surprise. Ash winced slightly as he followed the beam's path, watching as it crashed into the ground near the outskirts of the city.
Better get out of here before we get someone hurt...
It could be him. Although it should have been obvious from the moment he'd leapt on his creature's back, it was only now Ash realised he was in exactly the same amount of danger as Charizard was. A Hyper Beam of that intensity would almost certainly prove fatal, and even if the attack didn't kill him outright, the several hundred metre fall down to the city below certainly would.
Good.
He'd had enough of being safe, of being sat on the sidelines. He and his pokémon were partners after all, it was only fair they shared the same risks.
Ash leaned forward. "Charizard! Time to get out of the city buddy!" he shouted as loud as he could into his pokémon's ears.
The fire type gave a sharp nod in confirmation as he cornered another tall building, heading back north as fast as his tiring wings would allow.
...
"I can't believe it, I can't..." Norman stammered helplessly. "Mew, in my life-time..."
"Ash'll handle it," Max stated firmly. "He can handle anything."
...
Once again, the ocean raced by. Charizard flew along its surface, just skimming the top, the air currents beneath his wings sending up a sheet of white spray behind. Even in-spite of everything, Ash found himself just marvelling at his pokémon's speed and endurance.
We've flown from Lily of the Valley to Sunyshore and nearly back, battling all the way, and Charizard's still going! I definitely did the right thing by leaving him in the Charicific Valley, there's no way I could have trained him to be this strong on my own.
Ash cut his thoughts off with a start as his pokémon suddenly growled another warning. Mew reappeared at the corner of his vision, now floating sideways in its usual form, effortlessly keeping up with the pair and giggling loudly once again. Ash yelled out wildly to his partner as he watched the legendary's eyes glow the same fluorescent pink again.
"Climb Charizard, go go go!"
The Flame pokémon banked back into the air just in time, weaving frantically around the new up-burst of water that reached after them in the shape of two coiling vipers, seeking to ensnare them and drag them back to their watery finish. Ash growled loudly as Charizard skimmed between them with inches to spare, suddenly finding himself furious.
I've had enough of this!
"Charizard, Flamethrower!"
Charizard bellowed as he shot another jet of fire forward. Mew laughed with glee as it deflected the attack with a burst of pink energy.
"Hit it with a Dragon Rage!"
Mew knocked the sparkling orange sphere aside, then closed in once again. crying out in shock as sudden electricity again shook its small body.
Ash pointed forward over his pokémon's shoulder with his free hand as sudden adrenaline took hold as he recognised Mew's symptoms again, strangely unable to articulate another attack as he screamed forward in his excitement.
"Now, get it!"
Charizard arched his neck, then blasted a wave of green fire forward. Mew screamed as the attack hit home, catapulting it backwards.
"Yes! Great work buddy! Now, let's go!" Ash yelled out. The Flame pokémon launched himself forward again, speeding through the sky, climbing higher and higher. As the Pallet trainer craned his neck to look all around, Ash noticed with a start a strip of land in the distance to their front.
Lily of the Valley Island! We're almost back... We're almost home... Misty...
"Mewww!"
Ash and Charizard both snarled, twisting round to stare behind them. The legendary was closing in, burning brightly once again with huge pink flames.
It's no good! These odd attacks aren't doing anything! Charizard's not going to last long enough to try and wear it down!
Looking down at his friend, Ash could see Charizard was now fading out fast, the fire-type's eyelids were beginning to droop and his breathing had become laboured and horse. Charizard was clearly now using up the last of his strength just to keep flying.
We have to hit it with everything we have, right now, before Charizard loses any more energy. It's the only chance we have!
Land replaced sea below. Already Ash could see the small pin-prick of the Championship stadium ahead of them.
And if we can't win, then the very least we can do is to finish this battle with style...
...
Misty stared up at the sky, every part of her hoping, praying that nothing had happened, every fibre begging unknown gods above for the young Champion to return. On her shoulder, Pikachu stood, ears perked, eyes wide and waiting.
Come on Ash! You have to come back, we've been through too much for it to end here. I don't care if you win or lose anymore.
It was true. Despite everything, despite thier tentatively planned whole future, Misty suddenly realised none of it made any difference. Even if Ash lost and choose never to train pokémon again, it made no difference. She would follow him anywhere, her future was with him, no matter where that may be. So long as he was alive and well and with her, everything would work out in the end.
And... You had something you wanted to tell me, remember?
...
Directly above the stadium, too high to be seen, both pokémon circled each other, both meeting each others attacks with increasing force, each collision forming a fresh fire-ball. Ash gripped his pokémon tightly, waiting for the right moment.
It wasn't coming.
Ash swore, his shout unheard in the rushing wind.
I need Mew to get paralysed again!
Mew laughed loudly, tossing one Shadow Ball after another forward. Charizard whimpered as the second caught him on his flank, then the third directly in his torso. Ash yelled out, almost losing his grip as Charizard began to fall, eyelids closing altogether, plummeting lifelessly towards the ground.
...
Flying above a region unknown, a giant pyramid soared. Its captain stood by its wheel, for once paying no attention to the steering of his craft as he stared intently as the large screen above his head. Behind him, Scott gulped loudly, sweat running freely down his face into his thin cotton shirt.
"Come on boy. Show them all your true inner strength."
...
"Charizard, wake up! You just gotta wake up! I know you can do it!"
A pair of orange eyelids fluttered, then Charizard snapped both his eyes open and extended his wings in a flash. Ash gave a shout of shock at the sudden de-acceleration, then an even bigger shout as the flame burning brightly on the Flame pokémon's tail behind him suddenly flared out to over twice its usual size. Charizard hovered in the sky, eyes suddenly burning bright with a fire of their own, then roared with greater volume than ever before, rocking the entire island with an open challenge.
It's Blaze!.
Mew appeared out of thin air to the front. Without even waiting for a command, Charizard opened up.
Psychic met fire, lighting up the sky in a continuous fireball even brighter than the sun. Below, all inhabitants gasped in horror, all over Sinnoh, all heads turned, all staring towards the same point. Through half-closed eyes, Ash watched as the two pokémon strove against each other once again, yet this time equals, neither one suddenly able gain the upper edge on their opponent as each poured all their remaining energy into the attacks.
It's still not enough! Even Blaze won't do it, Mew's just too strong!
Charizard was growing weaker again, Ash could feel them begin to drop in the air again. And once again, the epicentre of the contest between the two competing energies was moving closer and closer.
"Charizard, break it off! Fly back up into the sky one last time!"
With a frustrated cry born from the verges of almost complete exhaustion, the fire type and his trainer shot upwards like a rocket, the remainder of the psychic energy blasting past below them.
I can't wait around for Mew to become paralysed again, it might not happen in time... We have to catch it off guard somehow...
Leaving a unbroken line of pink behind it, Mew shot past the pair, then halted, a hundred feet above. Ash watched with wide eyes as a sphere of bright pink energy formed around their opponent once again, hiding the legendary completely from view.
"Charizard!"
Charizard bared his teeth in rage at the psychic type above. Ash followed his pokémon's gaze into the sky again, then dropped it back down, gritting his teeth, hating himself what he was about to say. But it wasn't his choice to make. They were partners, friends, equals, and this choice would always be, theirs.
"Charizard! I know you're tired! And I know you're hurting! I'm sorry I can't do more to help you, but there's only one way I can think of!" Ash paused, hesitating, burying his face into the fire pokémon's back. "The only way we've got a chance, I mean, if you want to beat Mew, then you have to... You have to let it hit you!"
The reaction was immediate. Charizard twisted it's long scaly head almost in a full half-circle to look at his trainer in shock. Ash swallowed hard, meeting his pokémon's gaze fiercely.
"We have to try and catch it off guard Char! And the only way to do that is if it thinks it's beaten you. We have to take a hit! But it's your choice Charizard, you have to decide whether or not you can take one without going down completely. I won't leave you buddy! We'll face this together! It's your call, but I believe in you Charizard!"
For a long moment, both trainer and pokémon stared at each other as the rest of the world faded from view. Even the beaming pink orb above winked out of existence as the pair sized each other up.
Charizard twisted and bellowed at the sky.
In an instant, the universe re-appeared around them as Mew began its rapid descent. Charizard screamed out in pain as Mew's pink shield collided with the pair, driving them earthwards. Ash squeezed his eyes tight, crying out as crackling pink electricity shook every part of his body, then half-opened up one eye. The Championship stadium was below them, growing bigger and bigger.
At least we're back... Ash thought distractedly, his eyes closing again as he began to lose conciousness. At least were back Misty...
As the arena floor raced towards them and for a moment, Ash felt as if they were slowing down. Then everything went dark.
...
"ASH!"
Misty screamed out in horror as league workers ran in all directions, watching as both trainer and pokémon crashed into the arena floor in a huge plume of smoke and fire.
"ASH, NO!"
"PIKAPI!"
Misty and Pikachu sprinted forward into the swirling dust.
...
"Ash..."
Snow howled all around him in all directions. Ash slowly lifted his gaze to stare at the stone archway to his front.
"Ash..."
The Pallet town trainer started as a tall figure emerged the rock-hard doorway, his face half-hidden in shadow under a red-peaked cap.
"Ash."
Ash stared upwards, heart pounding wildly.
"Who are you?"
The man just smiled back, then lifted one arm. Ash gulped without reason as two fingers curled, beckoning him forward.
"It's time Ash. I've been waiting a long time for this."
"Huh?" Ash stared upwards in confusion, then looked around his feet for Pikachu, only to find his electric type was nowhere to be seen. "Time for what?"
"Ash!"
'What!' Ash yelled back. To his surprise and horror, Pikachu had re-appeared, sitting calmly upon the stranger's shoulder. The man grinned, his lip curling upwards to reveal a hint of white.
"ASH! Please wake up!"
"Huh?"
Ash snapped his eyes back open. The face of his girlfriend swam into view, but he pushed her roughly to one side as his brain rapidly caught up to the present.
"No wait, Charizard!"
Ash desperately scanned the arena in all directions, finally spotting his fire type sprawled out at the far side on the battlefield. Charizard lay limp, unmoving, both wings spread out wide across the ruined floor.
Ash stared for what seemed like an eternity, slowly sinking back down to the floor. Above, Mew re-appeared, floating closer, for once unusually quiet as it surveyed the ground below it with an almost sad expression.
We... Lost.
One orange eyelid fluttered.
...
YES!
Ash moved. Charizard pushed himself furiously back to his feet, raising his head to face the startled psychic type as his trainer pointed upwards, still sat on the ground, yelling out for the whole world to hear.
"BLAST BURN!"
Charizard stood tall, his very skin catching fire until Kanto starter became a literal wraith of flames, then poured all his being towards his enemy, an inferno raging from every fibre of his body. Mew's cry of surprise was lost completely as the psychic type found itself once again swallowed by a huge hurricane of fire, this one coming to fast to react to and almost twice as wide as the pokémon which had created it.
"Finish it Charizard!"
Through the roaring flames, Ash could just make out his pokémon's shadow. The heat was sweltering, the Pallet trainer had never seen a greater fire attack that this, even from Moltres earlier. Everything was fire. But even now, something was different.
Sudden white light shone from beneath the flames. Charizard's outline, still barely visible, was glowing and a second later, Ash saw it begin to change. Ash gaped forward, confused and terrified as the shadow of his pokémon in the centre of the inferno reformed into something else, something familiar yet totally alien. And at that very moment, the Blast Burn attack exploded in intensity.
"Arrgh...", Ash grimaced, as he turned and pushed Misty face-down to the ground, leaning over her to try to protect her from the fire, burying his face into her back as the heat became too unbearable on his face. But at the very moment he turned away, it was over.
The flames raged for a moment longer, then faded from view. Ash twisted and blinked at Charizard, who was now just the same as he'd always been. Charizard stared upwards, teeth bared, his blue eyes searched left and right, then slowly lowered them to the floor.
Mew hit the ground, blackened, a weak, faint cry coming from its mouth.
For a long moment, all stared at the legendary, all waiting for some sign. The silence stretched to a minute, then to two.
"We won," Ash muttered in complete disbelief.
A single cheer suddenly rang from the somewhere high in the stands.
We won!?
"Er...Mew is...er..." The referee tried to stutter his decision, but the crowd didn't need him.
The stadium exploded. League officials fought a wild, desperate battle to keep the spectators off the arena floor, each one wanting to capture a part of this victory, this legend that had just occurred to their front. All around Sinnoh and beyond, all leapt into the air and cheered, children flooded the streets, screaming loudly in glee.
Brandon gave an approving nod as Scott cried out happily. In Petalburg, a family of four jumped up and hugged each other, all laughing and shouting in equal measure. In Veilstone, Reggie yelled out in amazement as his brother looked on over his shoulder, grinning widely despite his best efforts to remain impassive. Ritchie leapt to his feet, knocking over the table to his front, pumping his fist in celebration, Sparky cried out in panic as its ketchup bottle went flying across the room. Tracy began a wild dance around the living room, not even noticing the trampled sketches below his feet. Delia looked on from her position on the couch, tears running freely down her face. In Sinnoh, in the Lily of the Valley Island stadium, Misty lent forward, grasping her boyfriend's collar with both hands, yanking him in close.
"Woaah, Misty, what the..."
"Shut up Ash!"
With that, Misty slammed her lips into her Champion's.
Behind them, Charizard roared wildly despite his exhaustion. Pikachu leapt into the air in celebration, crying out his own name, flashing a victory sign at the sky. Up in the crowd, Dawn launched herself at a surprised Gary, wrapping him up in a tight hug. Stood to one side, both professors high-fived each other. To their front, Piplup danced wildly, shaking its two pompoms with more energy than it ever had done before.
Up in the presidential box, all elites and the former champion roared with delight. Charles Goodshaw just remained where he was, wondering if he should be thankful he didn't now definitely didn't have to deal with a new Champion who owned six legendaries.
"Don't... Ever... Do... That... To... Me... Again!"
Ash slowly opened his eyes again, staring at the pair of luminous green ones inches away.
"If you ever do, I swear..." Misty took a deep breath, looking down. Ash stared forward into her eyes for a moment longer, then finally threw caution to the winds.
"Marry me."
Misty snapped her gaze back to her boyfriend's. "W-what...?"
Ash gulped slightly, not quite believing what he'd just said, or how easy it had been after almost a month of deciding to do it, then repeatedly chickening out at the last moment.
"I mean, do you, want to... marry me? I mean, if you don't want to..."
"Okay."
"W-what?"
"I mean yes, of course I will!"
For a moment, both Ash and Misty just sat there in the centre of the stadium, both beginning to grin widely as the reality slowly sank in.
"Wow..." Ash muttered slowly.
"I know," Misty whispered. The water trainer stared at the Sinnoh champion's face, then in-spite of herself, began to laugh. "You look more scared now than you did before you battled Tobias! I'm not that bad am I?"
"No, of course not, I... Wait, Tobias!"
Ash broke away from Misty, twisting round, but the the far side of the battlefield was empty, both Mew and its trainer had somehow disappeared without a trace. "He's gone..." Ash muttered, confused. Misty followed his gaze, then lent sideways, wrapping both arms tightly around her now-fiancée. Ash stared after his disappeared opponent for a moment longer, then relaxed, looking back round at the Cerulean native.
"Don't tell me you were worried about me, were you Myst?"
"I hate you."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Tobias walked down the empty road, not even noticing as one designer shoe crashed into the depths of a muddy puddle.
It was over.
Almost a lifetime of toil, and it had ended with failure right at the end. Yet Tobias couldn't even muster up the energy to even feel angry about it. He felt burnt out, as if the final attack of the battle had devoured his very spirit.
Without concious thought, the once Sinnoh League tournament winner found himself pulling the five pokéballs from his belt, staring at them with an unreadable expression in his eyes.
One by one, shrunken capsules fell through his fingers, falling unopened into the mud by his feet.
Tobias swore quietly, a single ugly word from his youth thrown into the air. All his dreams, all his work, all his progress over his entire life, all of it had been reduced to tatters around him. And he couldn't even seem to muster the energy to be angry about it. The drive, will that had kept him hunting legendaries for the last ten years was gone.
Had he gotten what he deserved? Was that why he felt so empty?
Laurence would be proud, Tobias thought wryly. They were both failures now. Briefly he wondered if his old master had seen the battle.
"Mewww?"
Tobias jumped, gasping loudly. To his front, impossibly, floated the legendary psychic type. Mew hovered in mid-air, its head tilted to one side, staring back at the trainer with curiosity in its eyes.
"W-w-what are you doing here?"
No answer. Mew looked from Tobias to the pokéballs at his feet, it's long tail swinging casually behind it. Tobias scowled, then fury suddenly reared its head again, flashing up again from nowhere in an instant.
"I said, what are you doing here?! I lost, didn't I? Why did you come back? To torment me further? I thought you left, back to that mountain. What do you WANT FROM ME?!" Tobias finished with a anguished scream.
Mew raised its gaze back to the trainer to its front, its eyes shimmering a faint pink.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Ash sat down heavily. It had been a long time since he'd been here last, yet it still remained one of his most favourite places in the whole world. The grassy hill over-looking the Championship stadium on Lily of the Valley Island offered fantastic views of the whole area. His home now. But the view wasn't what attracted him, it was the sense of quiet. After the chaos of the battle and the noise that had followed, it offered a welcome break.
Ash sighed as he lent backwards, tucking both hands up under his head. He'd done it. He'd finally done it. Ash gave a quiet laugh of amazement as he rubbed his aching bones and numerous bruises. But it didn't matter. He'd beaten Tobias.
So what now?
Ash blinked in surprise as the thought suddenly occurred to him out of nowhere. Truth be told, he hadn't given any thought to what might happen after the battle, his entire being over the last few weeks had been focused on preparing for this contest, at the time he'd been unable to foresee any future beyond it.
I suppose I just carry on... Defending the title, battling strong trainers. And I suppose, at some point, me and Misty are gonna actually have to get married...
Ash laughed quietly to himself, suddenly feeling the start of a few nervous caterpie crawling around his chest. Misty, the one who even right now was baby-sitting his both Pikachu and Charizard as they recovered, both of which had refused to go to the pokémon centre after the battle, choosing to stay and celebrate their trainer's company instead.
Hey, defending the title is fun. But...
But what was this niggling feeling now? For some reason he felt restless.
"I've beaten Tobias," Ash muttered to himself. But what would be next?
Who could possibly present a challenge to him after Mew? Was this his life now? Defeating weaker trainers one after the other, staying and living in the same place forever?
Maybe that's what happened. Maybe he just got bored.
Ash immediately pushed the ugly thought away. He didn't know the answer, and refused to speculate any longer. He'd spent five years asking that question, and in the end it hadn't made any difference. And it was a part of his life he was determined to leave behind him forever.
"Ash?"
The Pallet trainer quickly twisted around to look behind him, an instant smile appearing and dismissing his previous thoughts. In his sight, Misty stood, one hand on her hip and the other wiping a thin layer of perspiration from her forehead as her breathing slowly returned back to normal. Her long orange hair flowed out in the light breeze behind her, and on her shoulder Pikachu sat, still looking at bit bruised and battered, but still very much alive and happy.
"Pikapi!"
"Hey Pikachu," Ash grinned down at his starter as the small electric type bounded from his girlfriend's, no fiancée's shoulder and ran up to greet him. "How're you feeling?"
"Pikah pikah!"
"You greet Pikachu, yet you don't bother saying hello to your future wife?"
Ash's grin grew even further as he looked back up to the woman behind him. Misty determinedly held her offended expression.
"Hello, future wife."
Ash watched Misty bite her lip, then give in and break out into a grin to match his. They'd been doing a lot of this grinning stuff in the last few days, Ash thought to himself. On her hand, the newly bought ring shone brightly in the fierce Sinnoh sunlight.
"What are you doing up here Ash?"
Ash smiled again as Misty came to sit down beside him, with the electric pokémon now nestled in his lap.
"Just thinking."
Misty rolled her eyes. "Well, this feels familiar..."
"Huh?"
"The night before your Championship battle with Cynthia, remember? You said that then too. Longest night of my life..."
"How do you remember that?" Ash asked, screwing up his face as he tried to remember an event over five years prior. Misty lightly swatted his head.
"I'm a girl, we remember these things. Although I'm not exactly hopeful now about any future anniversaries, with that memory of yours."
"Anniversaries?" Ash yelped. "Don't we need to get married first?"
"And don't you forget it."
Ash just shook his head in reply with another faint smile, looking back over the view to his front. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Misty still studying him intently.
She's not gonna quit until she gets an answer.
"So..."
Knew it.
"What is it you were thin..."
"I was thinking..." Ash hesitated, wondering how to put his sudden feelings into words. "Actually... I was wondering if I made a mistake."
Silence followed. Ash quickly glanced sideways, catching Misty's shocked expression. As he started, he saw the girl's eyes flicker down to her engagement ring and back again.
"You mean..."
"No!" Ash yelped, suddenly realising. "No, I don't mean that, of course not! It's something different!"
"Oh," Misty replied, relief obvious in her voice, before smacking him again around the back of the head. "Don't do that again."
"Oww!"
As Ash took of his cap to rub the back of his head, Misty spoke up again. "So if not that, then..."
"I was wondering if I made a mistake, leaving to train after the Sinnoh League the first time," Ash replied, slightly grumpily as he replaced his cap.
"Wha... Why?"
"I mean, there were so many places I could have gone instead. Unova, Kalos, so many places out there that have pokémon I've never seen before. I didn't have a clue what to do when Cobalion came out, and it's only a matter of time before I end up facing another one like that."
"You still won though Ash."
"But Pikachu lost, and Charizard almost did because I didn't have a clue what I was doing," Ash answered softly. "That's not what a Champion should be like. Even after all this time, I don't know enough. I mean, I swear Misty, I could have sworn I saw Charizard change shape during that last attack. What if something happens to my pokémon, and I can't help them because I don't know what I'm doing?"
"You're the best Champion Sinnoh's ever had," Misty replied, just as softly. Ash could tell from the tone of her voice that this serious conversation was bothering her a little. "You might not know everything, but if it wasn't for your training, you would never have become strong enough to become Champion in the first place."
She had a point, Ash thought. It had taken five years of hard training to reach the point where he'd been able to defeat Cynthia in battle. Suppose he had travelled to a different region at fourteen after Sinnoh, who's to say that would have made him any better in the long run?
"And besides, if you hadn't gone to Mount Silver, you wouldn't have met... him."
Ash's face instantly hardened, his previous thoughts now long gone.
"Then maybe I'm right, maybe I should have kept travelling."
"But Ash, he's your..."
"I don't care," Ash shot back suddenly. "He's-"
"Mewww..."
"WOAH!"
Ash shouted out in shock, his cap falling from his head as he scrambled backwards rapidly. Misty just stared with an open mouth. And after a small moment of surprise, Pikachu leapt forward, sparks crackling, ready for battle.
But Mew just giggled wildly, holding its small mouth with both hands.
"Mew! What are you doing here?" Ash exclaimed
Mew gave no understandable answer, simply continuing its childish sniggering. Ash rubbed his head nervously, before exchanging nervous glances with Misty. He had no other pokémon on him other than the yellow rodent to his front. Misty might have a couple of water types on her, but none of them save maybe Gyarados would last more than a few seconds against Mew, and despite Pikachu's brave show of strength, Ash knew he still hadn't fully recovered his strength.
But Mew didn't seem to be in any mood to battle. Even as the trio watched, the psychic type slowly floated forward and picked up the fallen cap from the ground, playfully tossing it into the air and catching it again. Ash hesitated a moment longer, then after exchanging another look with Misty, forced himself to relax. Misty he noticed, still remained on guard, a pokéball held tightly in her grip. But really, after the battle he'd just been though, how could he be afraid anything anymore?
"Hey Mew, whatcha doing here? Where's Tobias?"
Mew glanced his way, then with a glow of pink, lifted the cap onto its own head. Ash found another smile working its way into his face as the rim fell well past the legendary's eyes, before trying another question that had been burning at him ever since the battles' outcome.
"How come you ended up battling for Tobias anyway? I don't get it, its not like you'd be easy to capture, from the way you battled out there yesterday. I'm willing to bet you could have taken all of Tobias' other pokémon, Cobalion too, if you wanted to."
Mew tilted its head back, staring at the Pallet trainer from underneath the oversized cap silently. Then after a moment, burst back into giggles.
Ash exchanged a mystified look with Misty, who just shrugged in reply, the grip on her pokéball now relaxing. To his front, Pikachu's cheeks stopped sparking.
"Pikachu pikah?"
Mew gave a small nod of agreement to the electric type as it now began to circle the young couple and thier creature in quick, darting movements. Ash watched it for a moment, then suddenly found himself chuckling a little himself as the legendary's childish nature. Who'd have thought, just a few days ago, he'd feared for his life due to this creature?
"Well, I guess we'll never know then. There's something I was wondering though." Ash lent forward as Mew stopped moving, suddenly taking interest in a small flower blooming below it.
"Right before me and Charizard hit the ground, I felt like we were slowing down. That wasn't... You, was it?"
Mew glanced back up, meeting the trainer's gaze again. Ash hesitated for a moment, hoping again for some kind of reply. Mew however, gave none back. Ash sighed.
"Well if you did, thanks. I still don't know how either of us survived that, but if it had anything to do with you then thanks." Ash smiled again briefly, his eyes wandering until they came across the stadium again, down in the centre of the city below. "I gotta say though Mew, you are pretty tough, I didn't think me and Charizard were going to win that one..."
Ash frowned as a sudden thought struck him.
"Hey! If you did really save us from hitting the ground without us knowing, then you might have known what we were up to. And that means-"
Mew began to snigger quietly again.
"-you might have... Mew." Ash leaned in again, this time even closer. "Did we actually beat you?"
Mew kept a straight face for a moment, then erupted into laughter once more, this time cartwheeling backwards through the air. For some reason, Ash found himself laughing as well, even Misty started laughing when Mew twisted his cap round backwards on it's head with a glow of pink, giggling even more furiously as it did.
"Hey Ash! It's copying you!"
"I'm going to need that back you know..." Ash sighed as he turned back to the horizon, watching as the clouds slowly wandered through the blue sky. Now seemingly sufficiently happy there was no longer a threat to his trainer or his friend, he felt Pikachu climb back onto his lap again. "So, if Tobias didn't really capture you... Why'd you come to battle me in the first place?"
Mew suddenly ceased all noise, floating forwards. Ash started as the psychic type drifted up close, almost until the two touched noses.
"Wha...?"
Mew floated left and right as the red-coated man stood to it's front.
"It's Ash... I want you to go to Sinnoh. There's this trainer inside..." Mew watched as the man glanced to one side, at the small tunnel entrance leading down into the small cavern underneath. "He intends on battling Ash and I want you to be part of it."
Mew tilted it's head in confusion. The trainer just shook his head in response.
"I can't tell you why. I just ask, will you do it?"
Mew remained motionless for a moment, then began to nod gleefully, jumping up and down in the air. It knew the trainer it had to battle well, although it had been a long time since it's seen him.
"Thank you Mew."
...
"Wait, Dad?"
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Well, that's it. I hope you think it's at least an improvement over the last version. I do at least. It's not perfect, and it may need another look at in the future, but for now, it'll work. I want to take a moment to thank my reviewers, especially those who came back to review this version and give thier opinion despite reading the old one too. JJWalker, Vondrakenhof, thanks go to you two especially.
And of course, thanks go to reppad98 too, who was the main motivator for this re-write, despite the fact I make fun of her constantly. Thanks a lot, you :p. And I'd also like to give a special mention to whoever Moonlight blade is, because your review was the motivation I needed to finally finish off this chapter Thanks to you too.
Well, that's it. I can't honestly say when a sequel will come out. Fanfiction doesn't seem to hold the same appeal as it used to unfortunately. But hey, who knows? I might get a random urge to start writing it this weekend haha. I really can't say.
Seeyou, and thanks for reading! :)