(A/N: Okay, before we start this chapter, I want to make one thing clear. Some people may be confused about the difference between Zion and Tamamo-no-Mae. Let me break it down as easy as I can:

Tamamo-no-Mae = Evil spirit that has lived on for centuries. (You'll learn what she really is very soon.)

Zion = The host that Tamamo-no-Mae uses to make herself more powerful. Without Zion, Tamamo-no-Mae is much weaker and more vulnerable.

Hope that clears everything up. Now let's finish this story with a bang! But before that, I already have a song coming up. This song is rather... sad. The name of it is "Sweet Escape" by Paul Cardall.)

Chapter 20: A New Dawn

"Tadashi!" Dawn cried out, running towards the fallen Pokemon. She knelt beside him and lifted his head gently. He was breathing slightly but he was still. "Please Tadashi, you have to wake up," Dawn said. Tears were once again forming in her eyes. "I've already lost dad, I can't lose you too!"

Tadashi then opened his eyes slowly and looked up to Dawn. "Dawn..." he said slowly. "Do you remember... back in Twinleaf Town... when you were little. The day we went into the forest by ourselves. We were foolish, since we ran into dozens of Beedrill that day."

Flashback

*"Come on Tadashi," Dawn said as they continued through the forest. "You're too slow."

"Dawn, are you sure about this?" the Vulpix said. "We really shouldn't be here by ourselves."

"Hey, no need to worry," Dawn said, giving him a wink. "We'll be back home before Mom and Dad do."

"When you say that, that's when I do tend to worry," Tadashi said.

There was then the sound of buzzing and all of a sudden, dozens of Beedrill filled the sky, staring at the two of them.

"Ahh!" Dawn cried out. "Tadashi, what are we going to do!?"

The Beedrill then charged right at Dawn and she closed her eyes in fear. However, nothing came and once she opened her eyes and saw Tadashi in front of her, while many Beedrill surrounded them, all knocked out.

Tadashi looked back to her with a smile on his face. "Don't worry Dawn, as long as I'm with you, you'll always be safe..."

"But, I still took them head-on, just to protect you. And I knew, after that, I had to protect you, always. Because you are my friend, and I love you," Tadashi said.

"Tadashi...." Dawn said, moved by this. She then smiled. "I love you too, and thank you for all you've done for me."

Tadashi then got up slowly. "I'll be fine," he said, licking Dawn on the cheek. "But I think my battle is over."

(A/N: Okay, here's the other sad song. The reason, I think you may know why. This song is called "Embraced," also by Paul Cardall.)

Dawn then noticed something in front of her. She then saw that her father was lying on the ground. *"Dad!" she cried out, going over to him. He didn't appear hurt, but Dawn knew what was going to happen now.

Jak then opened his eyes and looked at Dawn with a smile. "Dawn..." he said. "You did well. Both of you. Thanks to you, I can finally go on and rest in peace."

"Wait, I'm sure you can still be saved," Dawn said.

Jak just chuckled. "Dawn," he said, placing a hand against her face. "I've been dead for almost ten years. Besides, you already did." He then looked to Tadashi, who limped over. "Tadashi my friend, I now know it was fate when we first met that day in the forest. I'm glad to have met you, but I'm also glad to have had you as a friend."

"Be at peace, Jak," Tadashi said. "You deserve a nice long rest."

"That I do," Jak said, smiling. He looked back to Dawn and saw that she was crying silently.

Dawn then noticed something out of the corner of her eye and looked over to see what appeared to be a dark cloud-like object hovering above them. Dawn knew very well what it had to be. "You stay away from him!" Dawn cried out angrily. "You will never hurt him again!"

"Wait!" Jak then took hold of Dawn's hands. "There is one other thing. When I was... Zion, I remember she always talked to me... Tamamo-no-Mae. She's not what you think she is."

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked.

"She used to be a Pokemon goddess," Jak said. "But she was hunted down, and abused by humans long ago who feared her and in her anger, her darkness took control of her. Now she has to be free of it and only you can do it. You and your friends."

Dawn somehow found pity for the Pokemon, despite the hatred she previously had for it. "I will then. I will free her."

"Thank you Dawn," Jak said. "The only thing I ask now is that you can forgive me. Forgive me for leaving you behind and never telling you what happened." He managed to utter one last thing. "I love you Dawn." And then, his body started to glow and in a flash, he was gone.

Dawn lowered her head in sadness as Tadashi howled into the heavens, his way of saying goodbye. "You are forgiven Dad," Dawn said. "And I will always love you."

(A/N: Alright, this is it. The real final battle. As such, I reserved this song for such a case since it seems to fit in well with it. Now, I don't have the exact name of it, but I guess I'll just say it's the "Battle Theme" from the long-awaited Final Fantasy XIII. And no, this isn't the same song I once used for the title. This is the actual battle theme.)

Dawn then looked at the black mass, now starting to take shape. *"Alright Tamamo-no-Mae," she said. "It's time for you to be freed from the darkness, once and for all."

"Don't think you're doing this one alone," Eric said, who was now right beside her.

"We're helping you, no matter what," Ash said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"And you can never turn away help," Brock said, who placed a hand on her other shoulder.

Dawn nodded. "You're right," she said. "Let's finish this once and for all." She then took out all her Pokeballs. "Alright everyone, I need your help!" There were multiple flashes of light and all of Dawn's Pokemon appeared.

"You ready for this, Pikachu?" Ash said.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu said, nodding.

"Alright, everyone come on out!" Ash said, calling out his Pokemon.

"Let's help aid these guys, everyone!" Brock said, calling out his as well.

"For Jak's sake, we mustn't fail," Eric said. "Everyone, I need you for one last fight!" There were three more lights and Eric's Pokemon appeared.

Dawn then noticed another Pokemon ready to fight. "You too?" she said to Tadashi.

"You bet," Tadashi said.

The black mass had finally taken shape and now it's resembled a much more normal Ninetales, although still black, and instead of nine tails, it only had one.

"If each of us attack at once, it should be enough," Dawn said. "Alright, Piplup, use BubbleBeam; Buneary, use Ice Beam; Pachirisu, use Discharge; and Mamoswine, use AncientPower!" The attacks then hit the creature and it showed signs of pain.

"Buizel, use Water Pulse; Monferno, use Flamethrower; Grotle, use Energy Ball; Gliscor, use X-Scissor; Staraptor, use Brave Bird," Ash said. "Alright Pikachu, give the biggest Thunderbolt you got!" The second wave hit Tamamo-no-Mae, causing it a great deal of damage, but it still stood.

"Croagunk, use Brick Break; Sudowoodo, use Hammer Arm; and Happiny, use Secret Power!" Brock said.

"We'll join as well!" Eric said. "Lucario, use Aura Sphere; Luxio, Charge Beam; and Pidgeot, use Air Slash!" The combined attacks from both parties struck the creature again and now it was near breaking point.

"It's almost beaten," Dawn said. "Alright Tadashi, let's avenge Dad, once and for all. Use Overheat!" Tadashi then launched the most powerful Overheat attack he could muster against Tamamo-no-Mae and it seemed to be the final strike.

(A/N: Sorry, I couldn't put this anywhere else. One last little song to prove as the "victory theme" I guess you could say. The name of this song is "Adagio Of Life And Death II" from Princess Mononoke. Once again, I say to remember the "II." Oh yeah, and to avoid interrupting again, after the scene break, I will also use "Victory" from Lost Odyssey.)

*The beast, appeared to be critically wounded from all the attacks, started swaying in it's steps. It's eyes started drooping as it came to realize for once that death was approaching it. It then collapsed to the ground, finally defeated. However, it then exploded into small particles that flew up into the air.

Meanwhile, the demons had rushed into the city, with little resistance. Vasquard knew he had to fight until his coming death came. He and the remainder of his soldiers were huddled up against the corner as the demons approached them. However, the strangest thing happened.

The demons all of a sudden stopped in their tracks, going suddenly still. There then came cries of pain as the demons all of a sudden became nothing more than dust on the ground.

There was a shocked silence among the soldiers. *All of a sudden, there came a quick cheer as the others joined in and the cheers rang all over the city. Somehow, the demons had been defeated.

"But, how is this possible?" a soldier said. "It could only mean that someone had finally defeated Zion. But who?"

Vasquard smiled as he looked to the horizon. "Oh, I think I know who may be responsible."

(A/N: Okay, so I sort of lied. I actually have ANOTHER song to do, but I didn't feel like adding that above as well. I'll try to stop this from now on, if I can. Anyway, the name of this song is "Ashitaka and San" from Princess Mononoke. Oh yeah, if you ever have trouble looking for any of these songs, don't worry about it.)

Dawn then found herself on her knees, most likely from exhaustion. "It's over," she said. "It's finally over."

"The question is, what do we do know?" Ash asked.

"Return home and hopefully we weren't too late," Eric said.

However, before they did anything else, particles began to flow in the air, but instead of black, they were white. They then circled around and then began to take shape. Once it did, an all too familiar shape appeared.

*"Is that...?" Dawn began to say.

"Tamamo-no-Mae," Eric said. "As she once was."

The great Ninetales stood before them with a smile on her face. "Humans and Pokemon, you have released my spirit from the darkness," she said. "For many generations evil has plagued my heart and soul and against my will I did terrible deeds. I thank you for what you've done." She then looked around and frowned slightly. "This world is not what it used to be. I will bring it back to the way it was."

All of a sudden, the area around them changed dramatically. There were now blue skies instead of dark; there was green grass surrounded by trees, and life had been brought back.

"Now everything is back to the way it was," Tamamo-no-Mae said. She then looked back to the trainers. "Dawn, that is your name, isn't it? You have my deepest gratitude for what you did." She then frowned again. "Unfortunately, because of me, the one you loved dearly is now gone. I am sorry for your loss."

Dawn just shook her head while smiling. "No, it is fine," she said. "I know it was never your true intention to do any of this. I'm just glad I could help."

The Ninetales then looked to Tadashi. She couldn't help but chuckle seeing that he was kneeling before her. "Why do you kneel before me, guardian?"

"I must offer my respects to a goddess," Tadashi said. "It wouldn't be my character not to."

"I see," Tamamo-no-Mae said. "Perhaps I haven't truly explained who I am. Many generations ago, I was a protector of the forests and the Pokemon that lived there. I, along with other gods and goddesses, made sure that the Pokemon world was kept in perfect balance. It was I who made Ninetales guardians of the light and the forest. Peacekeepers, in another sense. Of course, humans at that time feared us and hunted us down. Going against my will, I soon found hatred against them for what they did or tried to do and that was when the darkness became a part of me, turning me into a savage beast. I... regret all I did, but now it is time for me to move on. For all you've done, I wish I could repay you in some way." She then looked to Eric. "Wait, perhaps there is something I can do. Human, you carry a dark curse of the demons. A foul deed they tried to commit, making you one of them. However, I will free you from this curse so that you can live your remaining days in peace." She then blew air out of her mouth and the air surrounded Eric, purifying his body. "Consider it a token of my thanks," she said. "Now, I will return you back to the world you belong. Once again, I thank you and wish good fortune to all of you..."

(A/N: Okay, this should be the last song before I end up doing the credits. This will be a nice and simple song. It's called "Birth Of A Nation" by Immediate Music. I think it's kind of a good song to have the story end to.)

The next day, Ash, Dawn, Brock, Eric, and Tadashi found themselves near the port. They were soon heading onto a ship that would take them back to Sinnoh.

"So Ash, Dawn tells me you're planning on going to Sunnyshore City to get your final badge so that you can enter the Sinnoh League," Eric said.

"Yep, it'll be tough but I think with my team, we're unbeatable," Ash said. "Right Pikachu?"

"Pikachu," Pikachu said, nodding.

Eric chuckled. "Dawn definitely knows how to find her friends." He then looked to her. "It had been awhile since we had seen each other. I'm just sorry it had to end so soon."

"But surely you'll come and visit?" Dawn said.

"We'll see," Eric said. "I'll probably end up being real busy since the new king appointed me as commander of all Cerenia forces." He grinned. "Vasquard must really have faith in me. But, there is one thing left I have to give you." *He then reached into his belt and took out a Pokeball.

"Wait, isn't that Tadashi's?" Dawn asked.

"It is," Eric said. "And I'm giving it to you."

"You mean Tadashi is my Pokemon now?" Dawn said, looking at the Ninetales.

"That's right," Eric said.

"I don't know," Dawn said. "He's been with you longer, I just can't take him from you."

"Dawn, you have no idea how much Tadashi wanted to see you again," Eric said. "Jak would've wanted it this way, seeing as he's your father. Besides, Tadashi has seen enough of me as is."

"I wouldn't say that," Tadashi said, smirking. "We'll surely see each other again."

Dawn then took the Pokeball. "Alright," Dawn said. "I'll make sure to take good care of him."

"Hey, no need to worry, right?" Eric said, giving her a wink.

Dawn just laughed as she gave her godfather one final hug goodbye. "That's my line," she whispered.

Soon, the trio made their way onto the ship and once it took off, they waved one last time to Eric, who was still standing at the port.

"You know, I still can't help but feel bad for Leon," Ash said.

"Yeah, if he didn't do what he had done, maybe he would still be alive," Brock added.

Dawn found a smile on her face and then looked to Tadashi. "No," Dawn said. "Leon may have done the wrong things. But he did it for all the right reasons. I certainly won't forget what he done..."

The ship then continued it's path towards Sinnoh, leaving the peaceful island behind, now finally free of anymore pain.

(A/N: Okay, now for the credits. Or should I say, the first set of credits. That's right, this story isn't completely over yet. Anyway, the name of this song is called "Ending Theme" from Final Fantasy X. So stay tuned to see what happens next!)

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