It's the main event! The moment you've all been waiting for! Father and Son Showdown!

12: Salamence Vs. Charizard!

Pallet down was quiet as the evening came, and the Ketchum household was moving through the day as per usual since Ash's departure nearly a week prior. Domino, coming home from her shift at the lab, made the rounds of the ranch, making sure everyone was fed and healthy. Houndour proved to be a loyal Pokemon after he was captured, though it took the twins a little time to get used to the larger canine Pokemon, the two little Eevee warmed up to Houndour when the Dark type played with them.

Domino loved watching them play, the little male Eevee that belonged to Ash would often try to bowl the larger Pokemon over in failure. Her Ponyta was missing its companion, a fact which the young stallion came to her for comfort. At the moment, as she was feeding everyone, the blue-flamed Ponyta came up to her and nudged her shoulder.

Domino turned and smiled at him, "Missing her?" She asked the Pokemon, who dipped his head in a nod. She reached out and ran her hand through the mane, the flames warm to her hand. "Don't worry, they'll be back soon."

She giggled when the Ponyta whinnied at her and dashed off into the pasture where Ash's Tauros was having yet another headbutting contest with Delia's Bouffalant. The two bull Pokemon just couldn't seem to put their rivalry aside.

Delia herself was sitting near the fence with the Mareep, sheering off the necessary wool, much to the Mareeps' delight. Domino figured that they liked having the access weight off of them.

Domino smiled as the last Mareep gave happy bleet and trotted off to rejoin the rest of the small herd. The Miltank were doing better than Delia had ever hoped. the milk production was already bringing in much needed revenue to the family, and Domino's work at the lab was helping out as well. "Need some help?" Domino asked as she moved over to the Ketchum matriarch when she started gathering up the wool.

"Please," Delia smiled at her.

The four bags of wool produced by the Mareep were slightly heavier than either woman figured, and the pair ended up carrying one bag in between them toward the barn for storage until it could be sold to a buyer. Mimey came out of the house, dressed in his apron, and saw the pair struggling then relieved them of the burden using his Psychic to levitate the bags into the barn.

Delia giggled and thanked her loyal Pokemon. "We've been outdone." She remarked the to girl, sitting down at the table she'd set up outside for a much needed break. "Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without Mr. Mime sometimes."

"Probably have more back problems." Domino giggled, taking a seat across from her, and looking off toward the massive mountain range to the North. "Do you think he's okay?" She asked, referring to Ash.

Delia sighed, placing her hands in her lap as she too looked toward the mountains. "I think so." She said, though she was just as worried as the blonde girl, "If something had happened to him, I think I would know, somehow."

Domino bit her lip, "I don't know..he's said he'd only be gone for a couple of days."

"Or a week at the most," Delia said, giving the girl a small, knowing smile, "You really do care for him, don't you?"

Domino blushed, no longer denying it. What was the point? Even though she wanted to believe it was only a slight crush on the young man, she was painfully wrong. She missed him too much, and it almost hurt to not wake up to nearly trodding on him every morning in her haste to prepare for the day. And she missed the little arguments he'd get into with Pikachu, and the translations afterward.

Domino gave the woman a sheepish look, "Well, I don't...not?" Domino blushed.

Delia rolled her eyes, grinning, "That's as close to an admission as I'll ever get, I suppose."

=|Mt. Silver|=

Tobias flexed his arm stiffly, "I think that's as good as I'm going to get without a doctor's approval, Ash." He said to the young man, standing beside the massive Moltres. "How goes your training with Scar?"

"Don't call him that," Ash chided halfheartedly as Moltres growled at the man, "He doesn't like it. Besides, he told me he got that scar fighting off a rival." He stroked the giant bird's wing, "And the training's going fine. Charizard's gotten a lot faster while sparring with Moltres these past few days."

Tobias nodded, "That's a good thing. Your opponent is a known Master class trainer, so having your best Pokemon come out roaring wouldn't be a mistake."

Ash nodded at this. During the time he'd captured the Moltres, he'd transferred him to a different Pokeball, or at least he had attempted to do so, except that the Master Ball was the only Pokeball powerful enough to contain him. He'd even tried an Ultra Ball he had on hand, but the thing had shattered almost a minute after returning the Pokemon.

Not that it mattered. Ash had trained incredibly hard during the week, and Charizard was as strong as ever thanks to Moltres, and his methods. Ash looked up at the mountain, pulling his gloves tight, "Well, I guess this is it." He looked back at the veteran trainer, "You know you don't have to come along, right?"

Tobias just smiled at the boy, "Someone must bare witness to this battle." He said, also looking up at the mountain peak, "Also, I have long wished to meet the man that was declared a Master without even earning a single badge."

Ash gulped nervously, "Yeah, I always knew my dad was someone I should be proud of...but it's time for him to come home." He said, and recalled Moltres, and called out to Charizard. The pseudo-Dragon lumbered over to them and Ash vaulted onto his back, holding his arm out for Tobias. "Pikachu!" Ash yelled, and his oldest friend came bounding out of the trees, his mouth stained with berry juice.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu squeaked as he clambered up Charizard's back to get to Ash's shoulder.

Ash grinned, "Being a glutton again?"

"Chuuu," the little rodent pouted, licking his paws to clean himself.

"Yeah, yeah, tell me about it later," he said, "Now hold on, everybody!"

Charizard took that as the single to lift off, and Tobias and Pikachu now held on for dear life as the large Fire type lifted into the air with a roar. "Woah! Not even Latios is this fast!" Tobias roared over the wind as they sped into the sky.

"CHAAA! Pika pi chu pikachu!"

Ash laughed at that while Charizard looked over his shoulder at his old teammate, growling. "Oh, quit complaining, Pikachu, this isn't like last time he went all out!"

"Chu pika cha!"

"Don't be a wise ass!" Ash said to the Electric Mouse.

Tobias shook his head, "I wish I knew how you did that, Ash," he said in envy, "It would make it much easier for me if I could talk to my Pokemon like that."

Ash shrugged, "It comes with listening to your Pokemon day in and day out. If I didn't, I wouldn't be half the trainer I am right now." Ash said, smiling, "The first time I actually tried it, I tried reading a human heart, but I failed. Annabelle said it took loads of time to completely master."

Tobias laughed as Charizard ascended the mountain slopes, "I dare say that you've succeeded in mastering it."

Ash shook his head, "Not really," he said, much to the veteran's surprise, "The idea is to read the heart of the person or Pokemon. All I can do is understand the speech since I've been living with my Pokemon for so long. I'm still terrible at looking into the hearts of others."

Tobias would have asked how that was possible, but he was stopped. As Charizard neared the peak, a powerful beam of dark purple energy was unleashed toward them. Charizard performed a rapid barrel role to avoid the Hyper Beam, coming dangerously close to unsettling his passengers, and roared out a challenge to their attacker.

The culprit stood out against the snowy grounds of the mountains with its wings spread wide, standing on its hindlegs, issuing a challenge of its own. A very large, and very upset Salamence.

Ash, for a moment, thought the Dragon type to be wild, and extremely rare in this area, but the sight of the band around its neck set those thoughts aside as he caught sight of the gleaming Salamencite around its neck. And the man standing behind it.

He was a tall man with tanned skin, and long, wild silver-grey hair, wearing a long green trench coat.

"Dad."

"Brother!?"

Ash whipped around and looked back at the stunned face of Tobias as his gaze locked onto the man below them. Charizard roared again, circling around to land a good twenty yards away from the pair for the sake of his trainer.

Silver Ketchum gave a weary smile toward the massive beast, and then to his son. "Hello, Ash, good to see you alive, Tobias."

Tobias slid off Charizard's back and strode toward the man angrily, "Glad to see me alive?!" Tobias roared, "Where in all of creation have you been these past thirty years?!"

"Here and there," Silver said cryptically, "Believe me, Tobias, if I'd known you were alive, I'd have come for you right away." Silver hung his head, "And with all that's been going on these last few years, I can honestly say that I'm surprised that I'm even alive."

Ash strode up next to Tobias, "Hang on a sec," the young man snapped, "You're telling me you two are brothers?!"

Silver nodded his head, "We were separated well over thirty years ago when things were a little more tense around the world."

"I was only six," Tobias said, looking at Ash, "Back then, things were far less advanced. It's only recently that we're at peace. It's only people like Team Rocket and Galactic that want things to go back to that."

Silver nodded and started a slow walk toward them, "He's right. War was only a hair's breath away back when we were children. Young men like me were brought in as soldiers, and trainers for fighting Pokemon. Tobias was too young, and left for dead. I was forced to fight."

"I wouldn't die so easily, though," Tobias put in as Silver neared them, "I kept moving to avoid getting picked up, and made my way to Hoenn."

"And I see you've become a good man," Silver said as he reached them, looking down at his son, "And so have you, Ash."

Without warning, Ash's fist balled up, and lashed out, striking Silver right in the jaw, and knocking him flat on his back. Salamence roared in fury as its trainer was downed, and took wing at Ash. Charizard roared and intercepted it, grasping it by the wings and hurling it against the ground with his tremendous strength. The Dragon was up in a moment, and baring its fangs at the Fire type.

"Sally, enough!" Silver roared at this Dragon.

"Stand down, Charizard!" Ash yelled.

Both behemoths looked at their respective trainers, then toward each other before backing off, growling. Silver chuckled at the protectiveness of his Pokemon, and rubbed his jaw, "I bet I more than deserved that?"

"Damned right you did." Ash said, nursing his bruised knuckles. "You've got no idea what you put Mom through, and me for that matter. We never knew if you were alive or dead, and I searched for you for the biggest part of my life after I became a trainer."

"I know," Silver said, smiling at the boy and getting back to his feet, "I alway made sure to stay one step ahead of you just to lure you to a new region, and look at you now." He took in his son for a moment. Dressed as a wandering Guardian, Ash filled out his robes well, the muscles in his chest and arms visible beneath the material, and there was a gleam in the young man's eye that told him just how hard he had worked throughout his life. "You've really grown, Son."

Tobias sighed and gave Ash a hard shove, nearly unsettling Pikachu, toward his brother, "Get over here and hug your child, you oaf."

"Pi!" Pikachu yelped and jumped to Charizard's head as Silver came forward and wrapped his son in a powerful hug that rivaled even his mother's, and Ash found himself returning it in full force.

"Hi, Dad."

Silver chuckled, hiding the tears in his eyes with long bangs, "Good to see you again, Son."

Ash pulled back, "Mom's gonna be so glad to see you! Just wait til you see home!"

Silver gave out a booming, "Now hold your Ponyta's, kiddo, if you haven't forgotten, I asked you up here for a battle." His eyes gleamed, "And I ain't goin' anywhere until I get the chance to battle my li'l boy!"

Ash grinned and looked back at his powerhouse, "Charizard?" Charizard stomped the ground, and lumbered forward, glaring at the Salamence.

"Sally, ol' girl?" Silver called out, and Sally hissed at the Charizard in challenge.

Tobias plucked Pikachu off the Fire type's head and placed him on his shoulder, "This should be an excellent battle."

Ash and Silver stepped a respectable distance away as Sally and Charizard squared off.

"Let's make this a one on one, Son," Silver called out, "I know you've got that Moltres, but I think both our best can settle this."

"No arguments here," Ash said, looking at his Pokemon, "you ready, Charizard?"

"RARGH!" Charizard roared with a blast of flames.

"Alright then!" Silver crowed, raising his fist into the air, "Let's start this off the right way!" A ring on his finger that Ash hadn't seen began to glow, "Salamence, time for Mega Evolution!"

"Charizard!" Ash grinned at his Pokemon, holding up his arm, "Ready?"

Charizard dipped his head and held up the Charizardite Y on his arm.

"Alright, Mega Evolution!" Ash yelled out and both Pokemon were cloaked in the familiar pink sphere. Tobias shielded his eyes against the bright flash, and heard the shattering of glass. He looked back only to see the drastic changes both Pokemon had gone through. Charizard was no longer the lumbering brute he had been. He was long and streamlined. The Pokemon now had a single horn atop his head where two once were, and two winglike appendages on his forearms, probably meant to better control his speed.

Salamence also looked to be a more streamline Pokemon, her wings now connected into a crescent moon shape on her back, on her chest was an armored plate with a hollow in the side to tuck her legs in for less resistance during flight.

"First one to get a knock out is the winner," Ash declared.

"Fine by me, Ash, now come on!" Silver roared, "Sally, get into the air!" Sally roared and shot into the air with a single flap of her wings, and was almost a blur to the trainers below her.

"After her, Charizard," Ash yelled with a grin, "Show her what real speed is!"

Charizard roared and shot into the air right on Sally's tail. The two rose into the air, trying to knock the other down with ariel tackles, but neither let the other get a hit in.

"Get in close with Dragon Claw!" Ash yelled out, "Then get as far away as you can!"

"Intercept with Dragon Tail and send him to the ground, and follow up with Dragonbreath!" Silver ordered his Pokemon as Charizard rapidly closed the distance, his claws glowing bright green as he prepared to attack.

The two met in a tangle as Sally whipped her tail around, Charizard dodging the first strike easily, and avoided the Fire type's dangerous claws. Sally's tail still glowed with the attack even as she missed and dodged the Dragon type move that would have dealt serious damage. Charizard was aiming for the Dragon/Steel type's body in favor of her wings as he slashed at her, crisscrossing his attacks across her chest and back when not avoiding her tail. Finally, the two attack collided as Charizard took an opening when the Mega Salamence whipped around to try and catch him across the wings.

The Dragon Claw would have struck home across her armored chest had she not seen it coming and lowered her tail just in time to catch it, the collision causing a power shockwave, sending both Megas toward the ground, righting themselves mere feet from the ground.

The pair hovered near their trainers, awaiting orders as Ash and Silver grinned at the Pokemon. "You're Charizard's come a long way from the cocky critter that lost you the Indigo League nine years ago. He's strong."

"So is your Salamence," Ash commented, "But that doesn't mean we'll lose; Charizard, Blast Flare!"

Tobias and Silver were a little surprised, but only Tobias knew what was coming, "That must be another combo move, and from the name...oh, shit!"

"Pika!" Pikachu and Tobias did the proper thing and ran to hide themselves behind a large boulder as Charizard prepared for what looked like a Flare Blitz. Silver had seen that enough to know what to do. "Get ready to use Protect, Sally."

But as Charizard was surrounded by the blue flames of Flare Blitz, all of those flames began to sink into the pseudo-Dragon's body, making him glow bright blue for a moment until his chest took it all in, and opened his mouth, the blue flames travelling up his throat, forming a ball of fire at his mouth. A keening not unlike a jet turbine began as Charizard bent down and dug his claws into the earth.

"What on Earth?!" Silver yelped.

"Fire!" Ash roared.

Charizard whipped his head around and hurled the fireball, and unleashing the attack.

"Protect, now!" Silver roared, hoping the green dome would stopped the dual attack. But that was a fool's hope. The power behind the attack clashed against Sally's green sphere, and exploded with the force of a small bomb, shaking the ground they stood on. Sally was thrown from the smoke rising after the explosion, her shield, surprisingly, intact, but cracked in various places. If it had been a moment too late, the dome would have shattered.

"Don't let up," Ash yelled, taking advantage of his father's shock, "Dragon Flare!"

Silver growled, "Now what? Sally, get in close and don't let him touch you, then use a full-powered Hyper Beam, point blank!"

The two Dragons roared and barreled at each other, Charizard's body beginning to glow once more with the power of Flare Blitz. But instead of channeling it into himself this time, he forced the energy of the flames into his claws as he formed the Dragon Claw attack. As Sally got in close, Charizard took a swipe at her with is right claw, missing by a mere fraction as the Dragon barrel rolled out of the way, and popped up behind him, her jaws agape as the dark purple energy of Hyper Beam formed.

Charizard roared in challenge, wheeling about to strike, not caring if he was caught by the attack, just so long as he landed a blow of his own. Charizard struck home as Sally unleashed her Hyper Beam, the explosion of raw power erupting around them and blanketing the area with smoke.

Two figures shot out of the smoke high into the air, Ash and Silver both grinning as their Pokemon emerged, battered, but still roaring for a fight.

"Ha!" Silver laughed, "I am impressed! Ash, that's the most powerful Charizard I've ever seen! Well done!"

Ash's heart swelled with pride at his father's praise, "Thanks, Dad, he worked really hard on those combo moves."

Silver nodded his head toward the beast of a Fire type, "It shows. Now, let's end this. Sally, give all you've got! Draco Meteor!" Sally roared and pointed her jaws straight up.

Ash grinned, "I figured she knew that attack." He said as the Dragon powered up her attack, "Charizard, phase shift to X-form, and use Blastbreath!"

"Phase shift?" Silver wondered aloud, then was stunned to see Charizard once again covered by the pink sphere, "He can change Mega forms?!" The answer came as Charizard burst forth from the sphere in his new form, no longer the sleek speed demon he had been, but a hulking powerhouse with blue flames burning at his mouth like tusks. That same keening Silver had heard before returned as Charizard opened his mouth the exact moment Sally let loose her attack, shooting the ball into the sky, bursting into dozens of smaller attacks that littered the area.

Charizard soared up toward the Salamence, dodging in and around of the spheres, careful not to take a single hit, for in his X-form, he was a true Dragon type, and once strike from a Draco Meteor now would be fatal to his battle. He opened his jaws as he neared Sally, a bright white ball of flames forming in his throat. As he neared her, Sally roared letting loose a desperate Dragonbreath in an attempt to down the lumbering giant, but even in his larger form, Charizard was fast, and easily tipped himself out of harm's way...only to blunder into one of the falling meteors, injuring his wing badly. Charizard roared in pain, and unleashed a blindingly bright burst of flames that resembled a massive Overheat. Weakened from the Draco Meteor, Sally was unable to defend herself against the dual attack this time, and caught the full force of it on her armor plate.

Charizard was not so lucky himself as another meteor came flying at him and rammed into his back. Both Dragons were sent hurtling toward the ground, and crash landed in the center of the frozen peak.

Ash looked on in worry for his old friend as did Silver as the dust began to clear. What it revealed was astounding. Neither Pokemon was in their Mega form anymore, and both were sprawled out on the snow, unconscious. A draw.

"I don't believe it," Tobias commented as he and Pikachu came out from their hiding spot. Silver and Ash recalled their Pokemon, both smiling.

"Good match, Son."

"Thanks, Dad," Ash said, coming forward to meet him and Tobias as the man brought Pikachu, who lept from his shoulder and back to his trainer's. He rubbed his cheek against Ash's cooing happily, making him laugh, "Hey, buddy. You ready to go home?"

"Pi," Pikachu nodded.

Ash grinned, and looked at his father, "What about you? Ready to face the music?"

"Er..." Silver went a little pale at this, "I don't suppose I could - "

"No," Ash grinned, Pikachu grinning right along with him while his cheeks sparked dangerously. "Unless you'd like to know what a Thunderbolt from a cranky Pikachu feels like?"

Silver gulped, "Hm, tough choice..."

Tobias chuckled, "And I once thought you weren't afraid of anything, Brother?"

Silver looked at the younger man, "You don't know my wife."

=|Two Days Later, Pallet Town|=

Domino sighed as she finished up with the afternoon chores around the Ketchum ranch. It was one of her rare days off that she could stay home and help Delia with everything around the ranch with Ash still gone. Both of them were now beginning to worry about him. It had been eight days since he'd left, and there was no word, not even an update from Professor Oak on whether or not he'd captured his Moltres or not.

Delia was out from tending to her flowers with the help of Mimey sweeping the walkway. The woman was usually more attentive, but she was just as distracted as Domino was. If she wasn't, maybe she would have noticed the small gust of wind that picked up, and the thud of something large landing nearby. What she did notice, however, was a small, sharp tug at her skirt, and a small burst of hot breath at the back of her knee that startled her. She turned around, and nearly fell over in fright as she found what could possibly be the biggest Salamence she had ever seen!

"Oh...my..." Delia squeaked as she stepped away from the beast, but the Salamence just let go of her skirt and hung its head low, cocked to the side as if asking to be pet. The motion was...familiar.

"Wait...Sally?" Delia nearly choked as the Salamence dipped her head and butted her head against the woman's stomach in affection. Delia then let out a squeal of joy and hugged the Pokemon's neck. "Oh my goodness, look at you!" She cried, alerting Mimey, "You've gotten so big!"

"Mence," Sally growled happily against the woman's shoulder.

Domino, having heard Delia's yelling, came running around the other side of the house and saw the odd sight of the woman holding onto a gigantic Salamence, "What the hell -?!"

Delia released her old Pokemon, and looked around, tears starting to form in her eyes, "If you're here, then..."

Salamence picked up on what she meant, and stepped aside. There, standing against the tree in the front yard, was her husband, alive, and well. "Hey there, Li'l troublemaker."

Even as Ash and Tobias stepped out from behind the tree, Delia was already rushing at him, and before the man could form a sentence, he was tackled to the ground in the woman's grip.

Silver sat up with a groan, and felt her shaking against him, sobbing. "Delia..."

"You idiot," she mumbled tearfully, "You finally came back to me."

Silver chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, "Yeah, our little boy said I'd been away way too long, and wouldn't leave me alone until I came back home...if you'll still have me?"

Delia nodded against his chest as he began stroking her hair, "Of course, you big ape."

Domino was smiling happily at the reunited couple, a small blush on her face and a few tears in her eyes as she stepped around them toward Ash, and Tobias. The veteran trainer wisely stepped away from the young man as Domino approached.

"Well," Domino said as she came up to him, "did you get your Pokemon?"

Ash smiled and held up the Master Ball, "You bet." He said, replacing it at his belt, "Miss me?"

Domino shook her head, "Not at all," she said, and promptly threw her arms around his neck, "Welcome home, you dummy."

Ash chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her gently against him, "Yeah, I'm home, Domino."

Haha, sorry this took so long, but I had a little trouble hashing out the detail of this chapter, and whatnot. I hope the battle was alright, especially since I ended it in a draw, let's face it, Silver's Pokemon, I.E. Delia's Salamence, was a badass. Anyway, I bet you're all wondering what happens next, right? Well, I'm sure you're wondering about the history of Tobias and Silver, for sure, but I'll get to that soon enough!

Review if you liked the chapter!