The only reason Ash had opened his eyes was because he had felt an appalling pull in his gut. Something tugged at his mind, like the world was reminding him of unfinished business. He slowly raised his back from the ground, feeling pain spike up his spine as he did so. Using his arms for support seemed pointless, considering how each and every one of his muscles seemed cramped up to the point of numbness. The Creator was perched on the edge of Pyre, looking down at the carnage below, and even from his faraway angle, Ash could see a maniacal smile on his face.
His breaths less labored than before, Ash realized how tattered and torn his entire body looked, with cuts and bruises enveloping him. His black t-shirt, the one he had originally bought from Lavaridge Town's Mart, was faded and smoking at the edges. The fabric looked as if it would dissipate on contact. He looked up at the sky all of a sudden- he had seen movement. But the clouds betrayed nothing. He had thought he had seen a Pokemon- and the last time he had seen a Pokemon that high up in the sky, it had been Ho-oh. If the rainbow bird had decided to come to their aid, Ash would welcome it with open arms. But it seemed hardly likely that in his deteriorated, exhausted state, he understood his own senses. Shaking his head to rid it of its fuzziness, he struggled to his feet, only to topple backwards onto hard rock. The impact winded him.
But the impact helped him as well. His mind seemed a little clearer, now that he could feel pain. He could hear faint voices in his head, voices that seemed to only grow louder, voices that weren't his. And when he closed his eyes, he could see moving pictures of the battle at the base of Mount Pyre- pictures through the eyes of a creature that blasted water around it. These pictures faded into an aerial view of his own body, and when he opened his eyes quickly, he saw him. Hovering in the sky, permanently covered in the shades of darkness, and gazing intently at Ash, was Charizard. Flames licked his maw, and his tail swung from side to side restlessly. Ash's sight began to shift and change, his view changing from Charizard's to his own again and again. He was feeling the very same connection he had felt with Absol, though this one resounded in every pore. This was a connection that contained so much time and hardship, so much pain and training. Charizard had truly been there…from the beginning. And this was the end, and he had come again, renewed. Energy filling his veins once more, Ash Ketchum got to his feet, tendrils of fire snaking up his body, giving it the heat it needed.
He hit the Creator with the speed of lightning, striking with precise force. The resounding crunch sent him, robes all awhirl, toppling into the crevices below. The explosion of Ash's power sent a mighty tremor down the mountain, and the rocks from the peak began to tumble downwards. Soon, the entire mountain was falling, a gigantic mess of sharp edges spinning wildly. Charizard whipped him onto his back as fast as the rocks tumbled, and his fire-breathing friend rose into the air. The Sage disappeared from the avalanche that Ash was closely watching- but Charizard and Ash were together prepared for the attack. A punch that would have broken a plateau in two collided squarely in Ash's palm, and before his enemy could strike again, Charizard blazed flames out of his mouth, and the Sage was forced to evade.
The forces met again, and this time the impact sent shockwaves into the air like invisible arcs of energy that flattened the trees around the valley. Ash truly understood who he was fighting- this was not the Creator from his memories. The real Creator had perhaps been flawed, but they were different men. The existence of such power had made the Creator not simply a Creator but a greed-soaked devil, and it had driven him insane, to the point that Ash questioned if any of this was stoppable by human beings.
Ash did not give any ground, no matter how hard he was hit. Charizard took a beating better than most Pokemon, but he too was reaching his limit. Ash felt incomplete- like he needed something more to finish this battle that he knew could be won. In any darkness, however suffocating, light illuminated. He had lived by this theory all his life- and he had forgotten it in the heat of his losses. His father lay dead at the base of Mount Pyre, and his mother had long since been taken. He still had family- he still had friends. He felt their collective energy build up inside him, and he knew he was strong and prepared. When the Sage struck with a bright white bolt of energy, Ash avoided it skillfully, counting on Charizard for his maneuverability in the air.
It finally happened: as Charizard and the Sage connected once again, the explosion caused recoil that struck him in the center of his chest, blinding Ash for a moment. The explosion brought the fire-dragon down crashing, his wings flailing helplessly before hitting the ground. Ash and Charizard hit the ground with a loud thump, and groaning, Charizard spread his wings, letting his trainer see the ruptured nerves and veins spreading out like webs all over the thin film-like body part. The Pokemon turned a great eye to Ash, unblinking. In one look, Charizard conveyed not simply his apology at not being able to do more, but his confidence in Ash as well. With a flash of white light, he disappeared, minimizing into a Pokeball. The white light was instantaneously replaced by the sleek black fur that Ash had grown accustomed to running his hands through. Absol stood proudly by his side, her eyes filled with Charizard's confidence. Her body glowed with black energy that emanated in wisps.
"You will never win!" came the powerful voice. Feet away, the Creator stood, his robes burnt and singed, torn and tattered. "You think you know everything, boy? There's one crucial piece of information you seem to have not been told. Your information source seems to have kept one piece of the puzzle from you. You can stand there in your power, but you will fall before me without your other half! Your father tried, he did, he tried very hard! He even came back to Aryon one last time, tried to sneak in and sneak out without me noticing to grab a few souls, but I see and hear everything, especially a power-hungry groveling creature like him. You are just like him, but you will fall harder."
Ash stood and faced the Creator, understanding his words. In that moment, he could only stare as the clouds parted behind the Sage, and an object hurtled towards them, only seen by Ash.
"You may be the Destroyer, the Warrior of Darkness, but without the Light, you cannot touch me, BOY. You are alone." said the Creator, pointing a finger at Ash.
The object in the sky grew larger as it came closer, and it was with an inward smile that Ash recognized the Magikarp flying-craft, though with many modifications, specifically the engine that puffed away behind it. He wondered if Jesse, James, and Meowth looked the same as they had years ago. And he understood everything as he recognized the young man hanging from the bottom of the craft, his body thrumming with the same aura Ash had felt around himself ever since the Sky Pillar.
"I am not alone." Ash said, a smile curving his lips as Gary Oak dropped from the sky beside him. There was an end to every rivalry, and it seemed like it was fitting to end theirs here, not by fighting, but by joining together. The two smirked at each other- like battling side by side to save the world was surprising but simply perfect all the same. On cue, Ash felt his powers multiplying, and Absol took her place on his left.
Gary ran a hand through his hair and stared at the enemy with a viciousness that would splinter hearts. Umbreon appeared, three times bigger than usual, glowing with yellow light, and hissed on Gary's right.
"No…" the Sage muttered under his breath.
"Yes." Ash said. "You stand before Day and Night."
"IMPOSSIBLE!" the Sage screeched, hurling bolt after bolt of energy at the four standing before him. The bolts turned into nothing- a mixture of light and darkness, harming none.
"Do not underestimate the power of Two." Ash said, and the four leaned forward as one.
With a blast of yellow and silver, of white and black, of the Destroyer and his one great rival, the final attack hit its target. The world shook as the Creator's shock turned into emptiness- as Day and Night shattered the Sage of Fortree and Aryon. His body crumbled into dust that slowly rose into the sky.
There was a blank silence that followed his death, a moment where the entire world seemed to take a breath. The corruption in the Pokemon world had finally seen its last. Absol and Umbreon pawed the ground anxiously, before disappearing. Ash felt the joining of his and Absol's soul yet again, and he supposed Gary felt the same with Umbreon. Gary stumbled suddenly, putting his hand on Ash's shoulder before the mountain rumbled again. Attempting to support his friend, Ash tried to force some strength into his own legs, but his knees buckled under the small extra weight. Soon, both of them lay sprawled on the ground, stretching their limbs and simply staring up at the sky- which had now turned a bright and beautiful blue. Ash smiled. Gary made a noise that seemed to be attempted laughter, but it came out as a strangled cough.
"Do you remember the beginning?" Gary asked.
The 'beginning' had to be that fishing trip, Ash thought, a grin spreading on his face. How childish they had been.
"We found the Pokeball. Almost broken Pokeball." he said, his laugh as much a cough as Gary's.
"We both wanted it. So we split it. And decided we'd…never be friends again- only Pokemon Training Rivals." The brown haired trainer finished. Both of them looked at each other for hardly a second before they doubled up, laughing and coughing at the same time at their childishness. Their laughter came to an abrupt stop as Mount Pyre shook, this time a quake that spelled the end of the natural structure. The smile on Gary's face contained grief as well as happiness, as they both realized they couldn't get off the mountain.
"We were together at the beginning. Funny, how we're here at the end." Ash said, shaking his head at how they had come full circle.
"Pikachu would've been proud of both of us. Your mom too." Gary said, sitting up, leaning on his elbows. Ash nodded, smiling.
"I'm sure."
"I never thought I'd see Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum groveling on the floor." came a smooth and sleek, feminine voice. Jesse of Team Rocket walked towards them, and by her side was James, and perched on his shoulder, Meowth. Smiles were on their faces. Ash could make out the Magikarp air-craft vaguely behind them. He had not been right- they did not look entirely the same. The good-looking pair had indeed aged quite a bit, but the age had brought them both a different sort of maturity. Jesse's sharp features stood out even more now, and her beautiful red hair had been cut to the elbow. There was a womanly grace in her walk that Ash had to admit he was caught by. It was only when the glitter of gold on James's finger caught Ash's eye that he looked at the blue haired man. The wedding ring matched the one on Jesse's slender hand. James had, with age, grown into his ruggedness. His strong jawline was now lined with a silky beard, and his pleasant straight blue hair hung down to his shoulders. Meowth was much the same, though it seemed that as the years had passed, his legs had become thinner.
"I never thought I'd see Jesse, James, and Meowth ever again." Ash retorted, grinning. "Thank you. If you hadn't brought Gary here the world would have been lost."
"Thank you for saving me from that avalanche. You saved my life." Gary said, nodding.
"Now, now, no thankyou's. We came to help." James said knowingly. Jesse's face turned serious all of a sudden.
"We heard of your movements several regions away where we had been in hiding…We flew into Hoenn a few days ago- and we saw…" Jesse said, but her voice trailed off.
"Saw what?"
"Mount Pyre fall." James completed, sighing. "That was when we knew you guys were here. No one else would be stupid enough to try to break a mountain and no one else was powerful enough to do it."
All five of them laughed, as Jesse bent to assist Ash to his feet, and James put Gary's arm around his strong shoulders. Ash thought they must have made a very funny group- Team Rocket, Ash Ketchum, and Gary Oak, departing arm in arm.
"One question though…" Jesse began as the hatch to the Magikarp hissed open and they began to climb into it. "No cruel intentions, I promise you, our thievery days are behind us…but where is your Pikachu, Ketchum?"
Ash could see Gary attempt to vigorously give Jesse a dirty look to keep her quiet, but he smiled- he had lost too much to allow depressing memories to be rekindled within him. He had moved on from his losses.
"Pikachu died, Jesse. A long while ago." Ash said gently. He was pleasantly surprised to see Team Rocket come to a complete stop, as if Pikachu's death was something that they could grieve for.
"I…am sorry." Jesse said blankly. Ash put a hand on her shoulder.
"We've all lost a lot of things. It's about time we get over them." He said with a sigh. "Let's go."
A faint smile on her lips, Jesse prepared the craft for take-off.
The shockwave that rippled through Hoenn spelled the end of the battle- this was something all of them knew. But the joy of saving the world was rendered moot as the avalanches began to fall. The mountain began exploding in fits and surges, and for now, they had to focus on getting their people to safety. They had only needed to regroup back at their camping site. They could not wait for Ash and Gary. Even from so far away, it had been somewhat easy to make out Gary and Ash turning the Creator to dust. But just before the cheer could fill the air, the mountain began to shake again. Flannery had no more tears left to cry, but she didn't want to. If they had indeed died saving the world, then it was a death that she should remember, but not grieve over. But death was not something she expected of Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak.
Now, far away and safe at their camp site, all the survivors, Trainers, Rangers, and Pokemon, sat in a large group, silently waiting. They had not given up either, and so it caused an uproar when a strange Magikarp-like object appeared flying from the direction of Mount Pyre. Misty, Brock, and May rose to their feet at once, exclaiming and swearing loudly as the thing began to slowly descend onto their campsite. No one in the camp reacted- there was no movement to intercept an enemy, even. They were all in states of such exhaustion that they could only watch as a door opened.
It was to a stunned crowd that Jesse and James of Team Rocket walked out of their craft, with Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak leaning heavily on them. A resounding cheer rang out through the campsite. Flannery had suddenly forgotten everything- from her strong-girl façade to her exhaustion. She sprinted towards Ash, and she knew he remembered when she saw his eyes light up, and his smile appear. He let go of Jesse and picked her up as she ran into his arms. For that moment, their lips were on fire as he kissed her, and a thousand memories were shared between them.
The hugs went around rapidly, until Ash and Gary were brought to the bench and seated. The Rangers, as they apparently could do all the time, procured food and drink out of nowhere. The sun set slowly, and night began to fall. As the stars began to crawl out of the night sky, the Rangers and Trainers began to depart for their tents, leaving one group sitting in a circle. Flanner could only smile as she heard the warm conversation fill her heart.
Ash, Gary, Flannery, Misty, Brock, May, Wally, Robin, Jesse and James sat as the first two began to tell the tale of their victory. Ash was forced to explain things that he had never spoken about- of his visit to Aryon, how he had met Lugia, and of course, the Sage. He saw wide eyes as he told his friends of his Sky Pillar adventure, but the truth was he felt less proud of those dangerous adventures and more proud of the fact that he had his friends still with him. And it seemed like the group thought the same thing. Even as Jesse, James, and Meowth rose from the table to leave, there was a look of puzzlement. In the short moments of their rescue operation, they had become part of the group whether they liked it or not. Not a soul in the circle wanted them to leave, but they simply smiled.
"It's been a long week for all of us, kids. Don't worry, we will see all of you again. We have a region to rebuild, don't we?" James said, making Ash realize the maturity gap between the Rocket couple and everyone else. Waving and smiling, they departed on their Magikarp ship, and Ash could have sworn they flew in the direction of Littleroot Town and Oldale. Perhaps they would meet again. And James was right- they had a lot of rebuilding and repairing to do.
As the group of picnickers watched the Magikarp fly away with the wind, Ash suddenly remembered a conversation he perhaps should have listened to more intently.
"Your father tried, he did, he tried very hard! He even came back to Aryon one last time, tried to sneak in and sneak out without me noticing to grab a few souls, but I see and hear everything, especially a power-hungry groveling creature like him. You are just like him, but you will fall harder."
The Creator's words washed over him one more time. Ash frowned. Why would Sven go back to Aryon when he had believed so strongly that he had no need for it? He certainly didn't need to 'grab souls'. The man, till his dying breath, had been confident in his own collection of souls and power. Why would he have ventured into such a risky place, the home of souls and the dead, for no reason? The cave was the biggest, most mysterious place on the planet, not even known fully to the Creator who lived there. Had Sven, on his initial visit as a young Ranger, found something that no one else had? All the memories flooded into Ash once more, and it hit him. The love and pain that Sven Ketchum had felt all through his life, all for Delia Ketchum…Had Sven gone back to Aryon not to take something, but rather to…leave something? And suddenly, a voice spoke to him in his own mind.
Garchomp has departed for the Ice Cave, and will return shortly, and he will not be alone. Consider this a gift to you from the Dragons, Ash Ketchum.
Rayquaza's voice drove him to his feet, as he understood what had been said. He stared up at the sky, as his friends exclaimed and asked what was going on, and if Ash was alright. But no, he was certainly not alright. There was a trail in the night sky, a trail that could have only been made by Garchomp's untouchable speed.
"Ash, what happened? Ash?" Misty's voice demanded, penetrating the night. All his friends, now frightened, looked up at the starry sky, perhaps wondering what the fiery trail was.
And then the most gorgeous sight Ash Ketchum had ever seen unfolded in front of him. The Dragons suddenly appeared out of thin air, magnificent, massive, and silent. Rayquaza coiled in the center, his green never-ending serpentine body glowing beautifully. Kyurem appeared next, his eyes ice cold, but Ash could feel the dragon inwardly smile. Voices filled the air for everyone to hear- voices so ancient that Ash could feel his friends awestruck. Rayquaza looked directly at Ash when speaking.
Ash Ketchum, it was an honor to fight with you. The Dragons are eternally in your debt for doing what no human has done before. You and Gary Oak have indeed changed the world.
When Kyurem shook his neck before letting loose his cold voice, a frigid wave spread through the entire valley, making even Misty shiver. The Ice Dragon was cold itself.
It has been far too long since I fought with a worthy partner, and the last time that occurred was three hundred years ago. I fought alongside your ancestor, child- the Destroyer of his time. It was a pleasure freezing that small mountain for you.
Ash smiled, and felt a tear slowly drip down his cheek. He felt Flannery take his hand, just as the third and final dragon appeared, black as night, deadly as sin, and faster than lightning itself. Garchomp caused a miniature hurricane as he came to an abrupt stop a few feet above Ash. He was camouflaged against the night sky, his wings spread of like swords.
No human has ever shared in my speed before, boy. You are the first. You are a true warrior- I am proud to have raced the skies for the true Destroyer. We Dragons have this gift for you, a paltry gift considering how you seem to have understood everything already. All I can do is save you weeks with my speed and safety. It would seem that you are not the last to ride me. Your bloodline is indeed special.
Garchomp slowly floated to the ground, landing steadily. And Delia Ketchum slid off his back, pale as a sheet. Before she fell, Ash caught her. Tears now fresh on his cheeks, he held her as the both of them cried.
"Thank you." Ash said, looking at Rayquaza, Kyurem, and Garchomp as one. "For everything." The dragons seemed to nod. They rose into the air, Rayquaza's voice erupting one last time.
Visit us at the Sky Pillar when you feel reckless enough to fight again, child. It will be…fun, as you humans say.
Ash smiled at the departing dragons, hugging his mother, who seemed too confused to understand what was going on.
"How?" Gary asked Ash, who had the answer ready.
"My father. I saw his memories while we fought, and it makes complete sense…he may have been a tyrant, but he loved her till his death. He took her to Aryon, he didn't let her die. He must have found a hiding place, a sort of storage area I'm sure, considering how he was a Ranger, and he must have hid her there. I realized a few minutes ago, and Garchomp went and got her."
Gary punched Ash on his shoulder, grinning at him, and then turning to face everybody, he spread his arms out wide.
"Guess we're complete again!"
Even the prospect of Gary Oak saying anything remotely emotional and family-like had everybody roaring with laughter. They stayed in that warm circle for a few more hours that night, after putting Ash's mother to sleep inside a tent, until all of them curled up and went to bed right next to the fire they had started in the center. Flannery lay in Ash's arms, May in Wally's, Misty in Robin's, and Claire in Brock's. It truly seemed like the family was together again. Ash looked up at the beautiful stars.
The circle was fast asleep, or so Ash thought, as he stargazed as Flannery slumbered. A voice suddenly alerted him.
"Hey. Ashy-boy."
Ash turned to see Gary staring at him, a nostalgic smile on his face, his brown hair messy and ruffled.
"Pokemon Masters till the end." He said, grinning, raising a fist.
Ash smiled, raising his own. Their fists bumped together affectionately.
"Pokemon Masters till the end."
_THE END_
Note: Thank you ALL for reading this story and being with me on this wonderful journey. I have always wanted to recreate my childhood Pokemon stories and I finally got to do it with New Beginnings. And it wouldn't have happened without my followers- it meant the world to me- every view, every review, every follow. THANK YOU SO MUCH!