Rayquaza45: Hello there readers! It has been a long road and I can't express how thankful I am to you guys for sticking with me all the way through to the end of this story.
This will be the final chapter and the closing of 'Masters of Johto'. Here, you'll find out about the main characters of this story and what they have been up to since the Battle Spirits Tournament ended two weeks ago. Not just Ash and Leaf, but the characters of May, Brock, Gary, Dawn and Brendan. You'll see who they are with and what they plan to do in the future.
So there's been a relatively small gap between the posting of this chapter after the last one. I mean, it's only been about 9 days. But after that unbearably long 9 and 3/4 month period of no updates, I think you guys deserve to have a chapter posted early. And now, there is only the epilogue which is much smaller than the last two chapters.
I hope all of you enjoy it and review at the end to tell me your (non-biased and non-flaming) thoughts. Not only about this particular chapter but about this story in general. From the beginning to the end, the things you liked and the things you maybe felt could be improved. I'm always open to constructive criticism and I hope I can improve my writing ability in the future.
And although I've thanked him before for what he's done for my story and he's responded "I don't really consider what I do to be work/beta reading.", I want to thank Gerbilftw for everything he has done to help me bring this story to completion. It would not have been as good as it was without his help (I'm sure he won't deny that). Thank you for everything, my friend. All the error point-outs, suggestions and such have helped me as a writer and it's thanks to you, my first beta reader and the best friend I have here on this website. Thanks.
So without further ado, the epilogue to 'Masters of Johto'.
Chapter 21: Epilogue
Down a long and wide path surrounded by long blades of green grass and flowing water leading up to a pokemon centre, a teenage girl walking the path stopped to look up at the sky as she noticed a small formation of clouds resembling the smiling face of a notable raven-haired trainer. The sight in the sky made her giggle as she remembered what it meant.
I can't believe it's been two weeks since the "Battle Spirits Tournament" ended. It feels like it was just yesterday that I showed up at the Battle Tower and put the future winner into silent mode. I learned a lot by entering that tournament, about pokemon and about life. I really wish I could see Ash again but being a pokemon master requires a lot of dedication and the whole reason I was in Johto was to compete in the Silver Conference. I already have seven of the eight badges and I just got to Blackthorn City, which is where the final gym is. I heard from that old man Pryce in Mahogany Town that the leader here was pretty tough, but after battling Gary and Ash, I think I can handle it.
"Welcome to the Blackthorn City pokemon centre." The ever-present Nurse Joy greeted Leaf as she entered the building through the automatic glass doors.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy." Leaf said as she put her bag on the table and took out her pokeballs. "Could I get my pokemon healed up?"
"Certainly." Nurse Joy said as she took the pokeballs and put them on a tray. "Oh, Chansey."
"Chansey, Chansey, Chansey, Chansey, Chansey." A pink egg-like pokemon wearing a nurse's hat chanted as it came along and took the tray with Leaf's pokeballs on it to another room.
"Will you be staying the night?" Nurse Joy asked Leaf after Chansey had gone.
"Yes." Leaf nodded.
"Alright, I'll have a room ready soon, in the mean time, why don't you stay in the reception area or take a walk through Blackthorn City."
"Sounds good." Leaf smiled as she turned around and headed out the door.
Blackthorn City was quite a bit bigger than most other cities in Johto. There were buildings that rivaled the height of most of Goldenrod's though none that came close to the Olivine City Battle Tower. People were walking this way and that in the busy streets, many of them staying away from the gym.
A few minutes later, Leaf had arrived at the Blackthorn Gym. It resembled a fancy old-style building with a red roof and two dragon statues at the entrance. As Leaf was admiring the architecture, the doors opened and a boy was frantically running away, carrying what appeared to be an injured Sandslash on his back.
As he ran further down, Leaf approached him.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"The gym leader here…she's a total killer." The boy frantically panted. "I gotta get to the pokemon centre."
As the boy ran past her and down the road she had taken, Leaf began thinking that this final gym challenge may not be as easy as she thought.
Still, she wasn't going to let that get to her as she turned around and went back to the pokemon centre, now having realized that she needed to rethink her strategy before she challenged the gym tomorrow.
Late that night, Leaf lay in her bed, staring up at the night sky through her window. It was on a night like this that's she'd seen Ash again for the first time in years. Thoughts of her time competing in the Battle Spirits Tournament filled her head.
I've changed so much after the tournament…and now I'm gonna be entering another big one. They say the entries for this years Silver Conference are even larger than the ones of previous years. Needless to say, the next little while is gonna be crazy. But I still need one more badge before getting to the conference. After it's done though, I really just wanna meet up with Ash again…and everyone else too. But first Blackthorn City, then the Johto league. I'm so excited!
Walking up the stairs leading to the entrance of the Sinnoh Battle Tower and looking out into the sky was Brendan Birch, the 4th placing contestant in the Battle Spirits Tournament. He had now arrived at the Sinnoh Battle Tower with the intention of challenging it and setting a new record.
"Man." He said to himself in exhaust as he got up the last step.
As he looked up at the massive building, thoughts filled his head about the similar one in Olivine City and the time he'd spent there and the friends he had made.
Hey there, Brendan Birch, son of Hoenn's leading researcher here. It's been two whole weeks since the Battle Spirits Tournament ended. Overall, I came in 4th out of the 258 trainers who entered, not bad really. In the end, it was Ash who won the whole thing when his Charizard beat Leaf's Venusaur. I still can't believe what a fight that grass pokemon put up though; Leaf's trained it really well. After the tournament I visited my parents back in Littleroot Town and now I'm out here in Sinnoh to set another record in the Battle Tower. They just recently fixed it up after this long haired guy's Darkrai and Latios trashed three of the battle fields a few months ago, so everything's set for me now.
As Brendan entered the tall building, he walked over to the reception desk to get signed up to take the challenge. For some reason, no other person was in the line.
"Excuse me." He said to the receptionist.
"Hello." She smiled at him. "Welcome to the Sinnoh Battle Tower. How may I assist you?"
"I'm here to participate in a single battle match." Brendan told her.
"Very well then." She told him as she gave him a pass with the number '1' written on it. "Please take the elevator to the seventh floor."
"Thanks." He said as he took the pass and headed for the elevator.
A few minutes later, Brendan entered the field and looked around, only to see that the only one there was the referee who was standing on his podium with a flag in each of his hands.
"Excuse me!" Brendan called out. "I'm here for the single battle match."
"Yes, well, your opponent had to go briefly." The referee explained. "But he will be returning soon."
All of a sudden, the door on the other side of the field opened and out came a teenager the same age as Brendan. He had long dark-blue hair and wore a red cover over his clothes. He took his position on the field and looked over at Brendan as a smirk formed on his face.
"Speak of the devil." Brendan commented.
"Welcome back, Brendan." The boy said. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon after your last defeat."
"You're not gonna beat me this time, Tobias!" Brendan exclaimed as he took out a pokeball and threw it into the air. "Go!"
The pokeball opened up while in the air and released a flash of light. It soon took form in front of Brendan on the field and revealed itself to be Swampert, the fully evolved water-type starter from the Hoenn region.
"I'm gonna win it this time!" He proclaimed.
"Swampert!" The mud fish pokemon bellowed, supporting its trainer in his statement.
"Don't bet on it." Tobias responded as he threw a pokeball in the air, which opened up and created a flash of light. Down zoomed a blue and white dragon-type pokemon known as Latios which hovered above the field, ready to battle Brendan.
"Let's go!"
Fifteen minutes later, Brendan was sitting in the lobby of the pokemon centre alone. There were many Chansey running around, taking care of the injured pokemon.
Okay…so he won. But at least this time I was able to put up more of a fight than before. How exactly is a guy supposed to beat a legendary pokemon like Latios anyway? At least the battle field is still in one piece. I really can't imagine what May would say if she found out about this. After going our separate ways after the end of the tournament, May stayed in Johto to compete in the Grand Festival. I've really begun to miss her more than ever, I wonder if she's thinking about me now. One thing's for sure, I'll bet she's thinking about me. And as for me, well…I sure could go for some lemonade right about now.
In the small southwest corner of the Sinnoh region, in her home of Twinleaf Town, Dawn Berlitz awoke from her sleep one morning. Dressed in her normal pink pajamas, she stood up and stretched her arms out while yawning, her long blue hair flowing wildly.
After Dawn got dressed in her usual outfit, she proceeded downstairs. Upon looking around, she noticed that her mother was not there, which was unusual. Her faithful Glameow and Umbreon were missing as well. The smell of eggs and bacon filled the room as her faithful pokemon companion, Piplup, came from around the corner.
"Piplup?" The penguin pokemon asked its trainer.
"Piplup, did you see mom anywhere?" Dawn asked it, hoping that it would have some clue as to her whereabouts.
The small blue penguin just pointed to the refrigerator. "Pip."
The blue haired coordinator followed the directions of her pokemon and approached the refrigerator and noticed something taken a few weeks ago.
It was a picture of her, Gary, May, Brendan, Brock, Leaf and Ash. It had been taken on the night of the celebration held in the Olivine City Battle Tower after the tournament had ended.
I guess that means it's my turn. Hey there, Dawn here. The "Battle Spirits Tournament" is over and I've returned to Twinleaf Town. I know I was gonna go to Kanto for pokemon contests but Buneary got the opportunity to participate in a pokemon fashion shoot and I just couldn't let that go to waste. Spending time with my friends during the tournament was just what I needed to psych myself up for the road to come and now that they're all off doing their own thing, I'm gonna do mine.
As Dawn continued to look over the picture on the refrigerator, she noticed that beneath it there was a note addressed to her:
Dawn,
I went to Professor Rowan's lab.
Come meet me there as soon as you can.
Mom
"I guess I'd better get going." Dawn said. "Come on, Piplup."
"Piplup!" The penguin pokemon happily cheered as it left.
After a quick bike ride with Piplup sitting in the basket, Dawn arrived in Sandgem Town and spotted Professor Rowan's lab off the corner of the road.
"There it is, Piplup!" Dawn exclaimed.
Dawn quickly took a turn and parked her bike outside of the building as Piplup hopped out of the basket and walked alongside his trainer. She then opened up the door and opened her eyes to a huge surprise.
"CONGRATULATIONS!" A large group of people shouted at the same time.
A large banner written "CONGRATULATIONS" was hanging from the ceiling and beneath it, her mom, Professor Rowan and his many assistants were gathered.
"Mom…Professor Rowan…what is all this?" Dawn was completely stunned at the display.
"Pip?" The blue penguin pokemon questioned.
"Hermione the designer called and said that it isn't just Buneary, but all of your pokemon which have been offered spreads in this months 'Pokemon Fashion Monthly' magazine." Johanna explained.
"And when your mother called the professor, he let her set up this celebration here." One of the assistants stated.
"It is truly amazing how much you have accomplished since you first got your pokemon, Dawn." Professor Rowan said. "You've grown up so much."
"Wow." Dawn blurted in a state of amazement. "Thank you so much, everyone."
It isn't very often that you catch a lucky break. After getting knocked out in the top 16 round of the tournament I was really depressed but then Gary helped me get through it. He came to Sinnoh as well, he had to do his research on the local pokemon, but it's been a while since I saw him. I still keep in contact with May and Brendan and Brock too, they're all off somewhere else having fun and last I heard, Ash as in a region called Unova. I don't know where that is, but I get the feeling that I'll be seeing him again someday. And as for Gary, I'm sure I'll be seeing him again soon.
In the region of Johto, in the centre of the bustling city of Goldenrod, a brown-haired coordinator wearing an outfit consisting of a green bandanna, a red orange sleeveless T-shirt with a black collar, black bike shorts, black socks, and red and white sneakers walked with three other people by her side.
As she strolled along the sidewalk, she looked to her right and noticed a small television playing the final battle between Ash and Leaf from the 'Battle Spirits Tournament'.
Hi there, it's me, May. The 'Battle Spirits Tournament' is over. I've returned to Goldenrod City to compete in the Johto Grand Festival. Drew, Harley and Soledad are competing as well. The appeal round starts tomorrow and if I make it past that, I get to enter the actual battles. Soledad may have beaten me in the Kanto Grand Festival but I'm sure I can win this time. Harley's been acting his usual self and Drew was pretty mad when he heard about me staying in Leaf's vacation house with Ash, but more specifically, Brendan. Personally, I say he's just in denial…and he refuses to believe that Brendan's hair is really black.
"The Grand Festival is gonna be held at the contest hall near the radio tower so I say we get rooms at the pokemon centre." Soledad suggested.
"I find it strange that they're having it here in the city rather than at Mt. Silver." Harley said.
"Probably some cheap organizer's way of saving money and getting max media attention." Drew spat, flicking his fringe to the side.
"Well either way, I'm glad we don't have to travel too far to compete." May commented.
"I'm sure you've have enough traveling after going off to Olivine without telling us." Drew snidely commented.
"You mean without telling you." May stressed. "I told Harley and Soledad the day before."
"We wished her good luck and told her to do her best." Harley continued.
"And she did the best she could, coming in the top eight and losing to the guy who'd get to third place." Soledad finished.
"That's not the point!" Drew exclaimed with his hands by his side, in a claw-like manner.
"I think he's just jealous." Harley laughed, putting his hands on Drew's shoulders in a comical, falsely sympathetic manner.
"Get off me." The green haired coordinator shouted, moving his shoulders in such a way that Harley's arms came off.
"Temper, temper." Harley said, smiling.
"Come on Harley, leave him alone." May laughed. "He's had enough."
"Yes, Harley, it's entirely enough." Drew said, dusting off his arms. "Don't you have a meeting with the other losers to get to?"
"Aren't you late for your meeting with the rest of the village people?" Harley asked, eliciting laughter from May and Soledad.
"Hardy-har-har." Drew sarcastically said while turning away from the rest of the group and walking down the street. "I'm going to the Goldenrod Plaza Hotel, feel free to stay in your cramped pokemon centre as long as you like."
"As long as it takes for you to leave Johto." Harley retorted as Drew walked away.
"Oh, come on, Harley." May said.
"I guess he can dish it out, but he can't take it." Harley observed.
"Well it occurs to me that he's not that great at dishing it out either." Soledad laughed.
I'm sure Drew's gonna get over it eventually, it isn't the first time we've done this kind of thing to him. The Grand Festival is gonna be tough and if I do well, I'll probably end up facing off against him. After the 'Battle Spirits Tournament', I think I'm ready to get back into contests again, since it's been a while. I really hope I can see Ash and the others after it's done. I still can't believe how I ran into them that night at Leaf's house by pure coincidence. Brendan and I were really lucky to have that happen to us because without everyone there cheering for us, we may not have done as well as we did. Whenever we do meet again, I'm know I'll be looking forward to it and if we ever end up in that situation again, I'm gonna go above and beyond!
In the Kanto region hub known as Pewter City, the older brother of the town's gym leader and his new lady friend were visiting the museum in hopes of familiarizing themselves with its recent additions as well as spend some time together.
"And this exhibit here is thought to be the fossilized remains of a pokemon called 'Dragonite." The museum guide explained.
"Dragonite isn't an ancient pokemon!" A boy in the back rudely commented. "Lance of the Elite Four uses one!"
"Actually, Dragonite is thought to have lived since the Iron Age and has somehow managed to remain in existence till today." The guide stated, leaving the child speechless as the future breeder with the perpetually shut eyes watched.
Brock here. Life after the end of the 'Battle Spirits Tournament' has been awesome. Wilhelmina and I are visiting the Pewter City museum, they just got some recent fossils in from the Hoenn region, they say they belonged to a Relicanth. She's been staying with my family at our house for the last two weeks but she says she has to go back to her house in the Johto region soon. I'm not sure if I'll be able to go with her though; my parents disappeared again so the house is my responsibility now.
"Just goes to show you what you can learn anywhere, I guess." Brock commented, having listened to the museum guide.
"And from anyone." Wilhelmina finished. "Let's check out the Aerodactyl exhibit on the other end."
"Sure, honey." Brock said in an almost husband-like manner.
As the two of them moved on to the largest exhibit in the museum, they passed by numerous other, smaller and less interesting ones till they finally saw the one they were looking for.
It was a full-scale recreation of the ancient pokemon with everything in place. It was strung from the ceiling to give the visitors an impression of the fearsomeness it displayed as it flew the skies. Brock and Wilhelmina looked up at it with awe, Brock particularly considering that he'd seen it in action before.
"Did you know that Ash was once captured by an Aerodactyl?" Brock asked.
"What?" Wilhelmina replied. How could such a thing be after all, it was an extinct pokemon. "I though Aerodactyl were no more."
"It's just an urban legend." Brock explained. "But Aerodactyl still exists, and Ash was captured by one."
"How did he manage to survive?" She asked.
"His Charmeleon evolved into a Charizard and rescued him."
"The same Charizard that defeated Leaf Green's Venusaur?"
"The one and only."
Man. I wonder how Ash is doing. This is the first time in a long time that I haven't been traveling with him in some new region. I know he's gonna do well wherever he goes, cause he never ever gives up. Gary, Brendan, Leaf, Dawn and May aren't in the Kanto region anymore either so that makes me the only one here. But I know all of them are doing well at their own thing. As to Wilhelmina and I, I'm just working hard so we can enjoy what time we have left together and remember those moments till we meet up again.
Near the laboratory of Pokemon Professor Rowan, located in Sandgem Town of the Sinnoh region, a cab pulled up and flipped open its trunk. Out of the backseat stepped out a boy with brown hair wearing a black half-sleeved polo shirt and blue jeans.
He took out a suitcase from the open trunk of the cab and passed over a few bills to the driver of said vehicle. Once the cab drove away, he walked up the steps of the building and knocked on the door.
A girl wearing a black sleeveless top and pink shirt with a white hat opened the door and put a surprised look on her face as soon as she saw who was standing there.
"Gary!" She shouted as she leapt off the floor and hugged him as hard as she could, unintentionally knocking him back and her going down with him.
That's right; your favourite researcher is here. Gary Oak's the name and studying's the game. Well, not exactly but it's really important. After the 'Battle Spirits Tournament' ended, I went back to Sinnoh to study a little more about the ancient legends involving Dialga and Palkia as well as the peculiarities of the pokémon like Nosepass that evolve in the Mt. Coronet region.
But yesterday, I got a call from Dawn's mother, Johanna, who mentioned the good news about Dawn's pokemon opportunity and said she was throwing a surprise celebration party at Professor Rowan's lab. Well of course, I had to come but I decided to be fashionably late and create a scene, though maybe I took it a bit too far.
The brown haired future researcher started getting a little embarrassed as Dawn's mom, Professor Rowan and all his assistants saw the two of them lying on the grass, with Dawn on top of Gary.
"Well…uhh…" He nervously started, subtly shifting Dawn off him. "How's everyone been?"
There was silence for a few moments as the adults looked at them but before long, they all started laughing at them. Two assistants came down and got both Dawn and Gary back on their feet. The young coordinator began regretting her actions.
"Uhhh…Gary, how've you been?" Dawn nervously asked.
Seeing her embarrassment after her actions, Gary put on a confident smile and replied. "Well I'm fine, how've you been?"
"I'm fine." She replied, her normal demeanor partially restored. "I'm heading over to Hearthome City tomorrow."
"I heard. Congratulations on your shoot." He said. "Knock 'em dead and bring back the heads."
"Oh, Gary." She giggled. "You never do change."
"I could, but then I wouldn't be that same researcher you met way back when." He shrugged. "Let's go back inside; I think everyone's anxious to get their party on."
When they heard Gary, Johanna and the rest of the adults turned around and proceeded back inside. Fortunately for Gary, this was exactly what he wanted because as soon as all their backs were turned, he took Dawn's hand and spun her into a kiss.
It'd have been impossible if anyone else was watching due to the intensity between them. Both of them had their eyes closed and were pressing up against one another pretty hard for a few seconds until they realized they may have been going on too long and broke. The two of them began staring at one another as Dawn was wondering what Gary was thinking.
"I'm coming with you to Hearthome City." Gary told her.
"Really?" She gleed.
"Really." He smiled. "I wouldn't miss it."
"That's awesome." She said as she started hugging him as hard as she could. "We're gonna have an awesome time together!"
"I know." Gary told her. "But now, we're gonna have an awesome party."
"Race you!" She shouted as she turned around and ran back inside the lab while he walked.
Yeah, life is good. Even in Sinnoh, I've been getting a lot of recognition after coming in 3rd at the 'Battle Spirits Tournament' and a lot of fangirls have been chasing me around. Of course, there's only one girl for me. First Hearthome City, then we'll go wherever the wind takes us.
It's been a little while since I talked to Ash. Last I heard, he was in some place called 'Unova'. I've never heard of it since it's so far away but I guess that's to be expected. Who knows; maybe my research will take me there someday. Ash is a great trainer, that's why I know he's gonna do well wherever he goes.
Brendan, Brock, Leaf, May…and even Lucas. I know where some of them are, some of them I don't. But I do know this: we will meet again. And when we do, whether it's for a tournament or just to hang out, I'll be there.
Far off, in a region called Unova, on a dirt path leading into a forest, a boy with raven-coloured hair sat with his back against a tree staring up at the clouds in the clear blue sky. Next to him was his faithful electric rodent, Pikachu, lying on the ground with its eyes closed as its trainer was deep in thought.
Hey there, this is Ash Ketchum, the winner of the first ever "Battle Spirits Tournament." When I first heard of it, I was just excited about the prospect of going to a competition to win and prove myself to be the best. But after getting there I found so much more. New friends, new rivals and old figures from the past. And Leaf. She's still in Johto, getting ready to compete in the Silver Conference while everyone else went their separate ways after the tournament ended. Me? I'm in a region called Unova. It's really far away from Kanto and it has so many places and Pokemon I've never seen before. I'm gonna compete in the league here like I did in Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto and Kanto before it. It was really hard to separate from Leaf, but we both understood what it takes to become pokemon masters and we've agreed to meet up when we're both finished.
As Ash and Pikachu sat with their backs to the tree, staring up at the sky, Ash was thinking of his brown-eyed girlfriend and wondering if she was thinking of him too at that moment. Suddenly, a girl his age with dark skin and dark purple hair appeared in his face. Next to her was a small olive green pokémon with a fin on its head.
"Ash, what's up?" She asked, surprising him and making him reel backwards and hit his head on the tree trunk.
"Arrgh." He grunted as he stroked his aching head. "What is it Iris?" He asked.
"Pika?" The electric rodent next to Ash asked.
"Axew." The small pokemon muttered to itself in annoyance.
"Cilan says he's found the route to the next city." She told him as she offered her hand to help him up. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah...I guess." He grunted as he took her had and got on his feet.
Far away from them stood a boy wearing a white shirt, a black and gray vest with gold buttons, a green bow tie, black pants, and brown shoes. Next to him was a small, crab-like pokemon. They were both waving to Ash and Iris, gesturing down a long road.
"Come on, you two!" He called out. "The day's a-wastin'."
"Let's go!" Ash enthusiastically shouted as he and Pikachu ran down to the green haired boy.
"Oh, brother." Iris complained, thinking of how silly Ash acted sometimes.
As he ran down the path, the raven haired trainer noticed a formation of clouds high in the sky that somehow resembled the hat worn by a girl he once knew. The yellow rodent on his shoulder noticed it as well. He started looking up at the sky as he remembered his past adventures with his old friends.
The raven haired teen soon stood at the top of the hill looking down at the path with a smile on his face as he thought about his time in the Battle Spirits Tournament.
(Play: 1st English Pokemon Theme)
(Back in Pallet Town, Ash had gotten out of bed only to find that his mother was not there. After heading over to Professor Oak's lab after directions from Pikachu, he found her. After sitting down on the couch for a moment with Gary and Dawn, Ash discovered the upcoming Battle Spirits Tournament being held in the Olivine City Battle Tower in Johto.)
(Though undecided about which pokémon to take at first, Ash eventually settles on Pikachu, Infernape, Torterra, Sceptile, Snorlax and Glalie. Dawn and Gary had also chosen their pokémon. Back at Ash's house while the raven haired trainer packed his stuff, an old friend shows up to accompany them and compete as well. The gang welcomes Brock as they later board a ship.)
(Shortly after registering, Ash and Gary are soon met by a familiar face. A blast from the past from before they went on their journeys. Leaf Green, a girl they grew up with was participating in the tournament as well. Her reappearance makes Ash happy but nervous and quiet at the same time for some unknown reason. She invited them to stay at her vacation house and they soon meet up with Ash's old friend May from Hoenn and her friend Brendan, son of Professor Birch.)
(Thanks to a picture of a kiss on the cheek, Ash ends up revealing his historic crush on Leaf as the reason for his nervousness around her, as well as being the reason why he never showed interest in another girl. The first two preliminary rounds conclude without a hitch but after being romantically rejected by Olivine City's gym leader Jasmine, a heartbroken Brock is knocked out in the third preliminary round while the rest pass.)
(Ash and Leaf end up alone on the Olivine Pier together on what appears to be a date, orchestrated by Leaf with everyone's help. Though it goes well, the method of having been separated from Pikachu angers Ash and he holds a grudge against Brendan. In the top 16 round; Ash, Brendan, Leaf, May and Gary are victorious and proceed while Dawn is knocked out of the tournament, having been angered with his remarks towards her pokémon and having been overpowered by his aggressive style of battle.)
(While Dawn contemplates her loss, she thinks a little more about her relationship with Gary. Meanwhile Ash forgives an apologetic Brendan over his hand in orchestrating the date. In the top 8 round, Ash defeats an old friend of Dawn's, Lucas. Brendan and Leaf win their rounds against tough trainers while Gary defeats May to make the semifinals.)
(Ash finally goes on a real date with Leaf and learns some valuable lessons in life from Steven Stone, Jasmine's boyfriend, and even Landon, a boy who he'd beaten in the preliminaries. The story of how the 'kissing' picture was taken is revealed and Ash and Leaf finally become a couple. They promise to meet one another in the tournament finals and make it a huge battle.)
(The semifinals conclude with Ash pulling of a hard-earned win against Brendan while Leaf takes on and defeats Gary in an equally hard battle as the latter ponders his own history with the brunette. May comes to regret some comments she made about Ash in the heat of his battle against Brendan but is undoubtedly forgiven. Her relationship with Brendan also takes another step as she remembers the times he battled and defeated her rival Drew.)
(The relationship status between Ash and Leaf makes the headlines of an Olivine City newspaper, thanks to an anonymous source. The source is revealed to be Miranda, boyfriend of Ash's old partner Landon from the preliminaries and Leaf's former partner as well. After revealing her deception, she is dumped by Landon on live TV. Meanwhile, Ash's 'friend' arrives for the finals.)
(The third place match between Brendan and Gary takes a shocking turn as the grandson of Professor Samuel Oak defeats the son of Professor Birch to take the position of third place in the tournament. However, the Hoenn region trainer is not entirely sad about his loss, having realized there's more to pokémon battles than winning and losing and that learning is important too as he reflects back on his first day as a trainer, how he woke up on time, chose Mudkip and even saw the legendary Kyogre.)
(The finals of the Battle Spirits Tournament do not go well for Ash, initially. He's overly aggressive, gives himself disadvantages intentionally and focuses a lot on attacking, unlike how he normally battles. By the intermission, he is down by three pokémon while Leaf still has five. However, the surprising return of Lucas and his words of encouragement and support remind Ash about where his true strength lies and helps him return to the battle field to face Leaf, full of confidence.)
(Realizing his true abilities, Ash manages to use his last three pokémon to defeat many of Leaf's and when her Venusaur knocks out two of his last three, Ash is forced to pull out his final pokémon and his secret weapon: Charizard! Despite its disadvantage, Venusaur holds its own against the flame pokémon thanks to its own power and Leaf's strategy. Finally, Ash calls out for a seismic toss and has Charizard lift Venusaur into the air.)
(Charizard carried Venusaur high into the air, despite the seed pokémon's repeated attempts to get free. The flame pokémon tossed it high into the air and quickly zoomed past it before launching its blast burn attack. Venusaur attempted to fight back with solar beam and actually managed to hold its own briefly but Charizard proved to be too powerful as the stream of fire engulfed the seed pokémon and knocked it out, ending the battle and making Ash the winner of the Battle Spirits Tournament.)
(After the awards ceremony, where Ash, Leaf and Gary were awarded with their prizes, there was a commemorative dance announced for all the participants of the tournament. Naturally, Ash ended up going as did the read of the gang. It was here at this dance that Ash and Leaf announced their future plans to travel in the Unova region and compete in the Johto League, respectively. Knowing that their paths would separate them but also that they would meet again once more, the two trainers declare their love for one another and share one passionate kiss.)
(End theme)
It may be a while till I see Leaf again, but at least I can meet her knowing that I gave it my all in the Unova league just like I'm sure she's gonna do well in Johto. My new friends Iris and Cilan are pretty interesting people. Iris kinda annoys me a bit here and there and Cilan's a bit eccentric but we're all really good friends who support each other at what we do, just like all the times I travelled with my other friends. Gary...Dawn...May…Brock…Brendan…and even Lucas…all of them are off doing their own thing somewhere, and wherever that is, I know that we're always gonna be the best of friends, cause that's the way we should be.
"And so…it begins." The raven haired trainer of Pallet Town, Ash Ketchum, thought to himself as he ran down the hill with Pikachu on his shoulder and his two new friends in pursuit, berating him for running away from them as he simply laughed and thought about all the adventures he would have in this brand new, unknown region. He was on his way to being a pokémon master.
Rayquaza45: So there you have it. Ash Ketchum, the winner of the tournament is in the brand new Unova region with his new friends Iris and Cilan. Leaf and May are in the Johto region. Gary, Dawn and Brendan are in Sinnoh while Brock remains in Kanto. The gang has split up but no matter where they go, they will always be connected.
Oh, and for those who were wondering about the series of lemonade jokes that have existed since chapter 4 and usually surrounded Brendan, gear up cause I'm gonna explain it to you:
It was April 2010 and I was watching 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'. In his opening monologue, Jay mentioned a new study that stated that soft drinks such as pepsi reportedly reduced the fertility of a man's...you know. And his lead guitarist, Kevin Eubanks, commented that people should be drinking 'hard lemonade' as an alternative.
Subsequent to this, Jay messed up one of his jokes and Kevin poked fun at him for it. When Jay inquired as to what Kevin said, Kevin merely responded "Nothing, I was drinkin' my lemonade!" I actually found this quite funny since it carried off from the previous joke.
The next hit came during Jay's 'Headlines segment', when Jay showed a headline from a newspaper featuring a 'before' picture of a semi-muscular Caucasian and an 'after' picture of a very muscular African-American (implying that the product can change one's race in addition to one's muscles). Kevin, who happens to be African-American, immediately made a remark regarding the superiority of his (Kevin's) masculinity to Jay's. Jay, irritated, asked Kevin 'Can I get you a soft drink?', much to the delight of the audience and myself to know that the recurring joke would continue.
The final shot came from a later headline. Jay, after reading but not revealing it, simply said "Aww Kevin, here we go again." before showing the headline to the audience which read. "Free massage...with the purchase of a soft drink." This was a good once since it wasn't a joke made up by Jay or Kevin, it was already in the headline pile before the show started.
So overall, a series of jokes was what inspired all the lemonade jokes in the fanfic. I just thought that since we don't have an established personality for Brendan as we do for Ash or May, he'd be a good person to give the lemonade obsession to. I'm sure nobody figured out the origin of the jokes though. There's your answer to the... mystery?
Rayquaza45: Anyways, back to the end of this fanfic...
I want to thank all my prolific reviewers for the constant support as I updated this series. Even after my super-long 9 and 3/4 month period of no updates, they never stopped with encouragement whether it be a PM or thanking me after the series was finally update again. I wish I could name you all but there's a lot of you ;)
Once again, I'm going to thank Gerbilftw for all he's done. He'll say it's unnecessary (though he likes it anyways, I bet) but I still want to do it cause he's been such a help. Also my friend, I hope you now understand the lemonade jokes a little better since you seemed rather confused by them.
I'd like to let you all know that for a little while, I'll be working on my Haruhi Suzumiya-Kaicho wa Maid Sama crossover fic. It's the first of its kind on this website and I hope fans of those two series will check it out cause I've really been working on it. I have a great beta reader and she's a big help. Her name is momoxtoshiro and I suggest you check out her page cause she's quite a good writer.
After some time, I do have a fanfic that I'm going to post. It is a pokemon fanfic and it's kinda romance-based but I promise it won't be overly cheesy. I am not going to tell you the pairing or anything so feel free to guess (Gerbilftw, I request that you keep quiet ;)). Keep checking out my page for details cause I'll be dropping hints there before I actually post the chapter.
Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's my personal favourite time of the year (is that weird?) and I hope your 2011 has been a good year and that 2012 will be even better.
Yeah, the new year has arrived. I hope you all had a good new years eve and partied hard with your buddies (cause parties with family just don't give you as much freedom).
Well, this author notes sections seems to be getting rather long so I am gonna begin ending it here.
So now 'MASTERS OF JOHTO' is truly at an end. I hope you guys will review now that everything is all over. All this time I've been begging you guys to review more but now, as the story finally ends, I'll only ask once again.
Please review.
So this is Rayquaza45, and I wish all of you the best! Work hard at whatever it is you do!
See you again in the future!