So sorry for the delay, everyone, but it's finally here: the epilogue! And, to reward you all for your patience, it's the longest chapter to date!

Chapter 7: Epilogue

Ash sat in the locker room of Indigo Plateau Stadium, trying to get himself to relax.

Battles always managed to hype him up, and this one was no different. In fact, it might have gotten him even more excited. At least, that's why he assumed he had so many knots in his stomach.

Pikachu, who had been quietly sitting beside him, seemed to sense his trainer's nerves flare up, as he quickly leapt into the young man's lap and rubbed against him. Ash looked down and smiled, scratching the mouse between his ears. "Thanks, buddy. I'll be alright!"

He had already beaten two of the Elite Four members and was halfway to facing off with the champion. But he couldn't let that distract him; he still needed to focus on getting through the final two Elite Four trainers.

Lorelei and Bruno hadn't been easy tasks by any stretch of the imagination. Ash had always imagined what it would be like to battle the Elite Four in an official match, and he had quickly learned it was just as difficult, if not more so, than the unofficial ones he'd had before in his youth. The fervor of the crowd definitely added to the challenge, and after each of his last two battles, Ash was sure he and his Pokémon had never been so exhausted.

It was crazy to think that from here on out, things would only get more difficult.

"Knock, knock!"

Ash looked over his shoulder, his eyes widening. "H-hey! Are…are you even supposed to be here?"

His visitor giggled and slunk into the locker room. "Probably not, but who's going to stop me? You would never tattle on me, would you, Mr. Pokémon Master?"

His lips curled up into a smile. "Of course not, Mist."

She laughed again, this time much more strongly. Pikachu hopped right off of his trainer's lap and into Misty's arms instead, much to her delight and his chagrin.

"Even before one of my biggest battles, you're still the popular one," Ash scoffed, indignantly turning his head away.

"Don't be jealous," Misty teased, nuzzling the top of Pikachu's head. "Besides, it's a big battle for me too!"

"Yeah, I know," Ash conceded, his smile becoming droller. "You nervous?"

Misty winked at him. "A lady never tells!"

Ash groaned and rolled his eyes. "Misty!"

"Okay, okay," Misty laughed, taking a seat next to Ash. "Yeah, I'm nervous. Really nervous. After all, it's not every day you get to battle your best friend in front of a giant audience."

Ash couldn't help but to smirk and raise an eyebrow. "Best friend?"

Blushing a bit, Misty asked, "I thought 'boyfriend' freaked you out."

"What?!" Ash gasped. "No, it doesn't! Who said that?!"

"Your face," Misty teased, gently poking Ash's cheek. "Every time someone says it, you look like you're going to pass out!"

Now Ash was sporting a blush that deeply rivaled Misty's. "I don't have control over that…"

"I know," Misty giggled. "That's why it's funny! Don't worry; you'll get used to it eventually."

"I hope so," Ash murmured, casting his eyes downward.

Misty smirked and leaned in closer to him. "Maybe this will help."

Ash couldn't ask what she had meant before her lips were locked against his. Almost instantly, Ash closed his eyes and kissed her right back, raising his hand and gently placing it on Misty's shoulder.

That had taken some getting used to for Ash in the beginning, but now, he quite enjoyed it. Misty even told him he was a good kisser, which definitely didn't hurt. His only hesitation was kissing in front of people, which Misty understood and had been very patient with. If they were alone, however, Ash never wavered, and that was more than fine by her.

When she pulled away, Ash pouted, causing her to snicker. "If we keep that up any longer, we'll miss the match."

"I could live with that…" Ash sheepishly murmured.

Misty's eyes widened. "No way! Thinking about missing a battle to make out? Who are you and what have you done with the real Ash?"

Ash blushed and gently nudged Misty with his elbow. "Come on, quit it!"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Misty giggled, giving Ash one more kiss on the cheek before getting to her feet. "Guess I should be heading back to my own holding room now. If Zanna realizes I'm missing, she'll probably freak out."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Is she that hard on you? She seems so nice."

"No, she is," Misty confirmed. "She's just always so busy. If one thing is out of place, she notices. Seriously, I wish I had my life together the way she does!"

"I don't know, your life seems pretty together to me," Ash mused. "I'm in it, after all!"

Misty just smirked and dramatically rolled her eyes. "Okay, now I'm definitely going. I've given you room to boost your ego, and that's never a good thing."

As she approached the doorway, preparing to leave, Ash looked over his shoulder with a mischievous smile on his face and called, "good luck!"

Misty stopped, placing her hand on the doorframe. Turning slightly, she returned a soft smile of her own. "Thanks. You too."

XXX

"I don't think I've ever been so nervous for one of Ash's battles before."

Brock looked over at Delia and smiled. The woman indeed had an anxious look on her face, bouncing her knee up and down as her amber eyes shifted around the packed stadium.

"It's funny," Brock commented. "In the Champions League, every battle is more important than the last, but I think this one might actually be the most important of all, even though there could be two more after it."

Delia nodded mindlessly. Brock wasn't sure if she had heard anything he'd said, but he didn't hold it against her. After all, he knew this battle was about more than just Ash, even if she wasn't saying it.

"This should be an interesting battle indeed," Professor Oak mused from Brock's other side. "After all, getting to watch childhood friends battle each other on such a large scale isn't exactly commonplace."

"Or partners…" Delia sighed, finally acknowledging the actual Donphan in the room.

Brock hummed and rubbed his chin. "True. But I think they'll be just fine! They've both been working hard for this moment, after all."

Delia finally smiled herself and nodded more vigorously than she had before. She knew she was probably worrying too much. Both Ash and Misty were very confident and self-assured; it was why they butted heads so much, but also why they were a perfect match for each other. Delia had always held out hope that Ash would realize it. She'd never worried about Misty; she knew of the girl's feelings for her son, even if she never told her outright. And it made Delia very happy. After all, she thought Misty was a beautiful, strong, and intelligent woman; perfect for her dear son. But Ash had always seemed to be blind to love that wasn't meant for his family and friends, and Delia was never quite sure that would ever change.

But on that fateful sunny day, when Ash and Misty had waltzed into her kitchen and Ash had (very awkwardly) announced that they were dating, Delia couldn't help but to shriek with excitement. For a split second, she had thought maybe her son had been replaced with someone else, but him stumbling over his own words and blushing like a tomato had assured her it was really her boy.

It had taken so long for him to get to that point, however, that Delia now feared the battle ahead. The confidence and self-assurance were good things, but maybe not so much when things got competitive between the two. She didn't want this one battle to cause any harm to Ash and Misty's fledgling relationship, for both of their sakes. Neither of them, however, had seemed overly concerned about it.

"We talked a lot about it," Ash had assured her over dinner the night before. "That fear was the whole reason she didn't want to take the Elite Four job in the first place. But she was finally able to see it as a good challenge, not one that she should be afraid of. I really respect Misty as a trainer, and I know that she respects me, too. No matter what happens tomorrow, we both care about each other a whole lot. We're going to give it our all, but win or lose, we'll never take it out on one another. Misty and I made that promise, and we mean it!"

Delia's smile widened as the conversation replayed itself in her head. Ash really was growing up. And it was more wonderful than she could've possibly imagined.

"Like…sorry we're late!"

"Um, we're not late. The battle hasn't even started yet."

"Oh, you're right. Should we leave again until it actually starts? Being early is so not cool."

"No! Would the two of you go sit down?"

Professor Oak, Brock, and Delia all turned their heads towards the stairway beside their seats. Lily was the one who had announced their arrival and had then proceeded to suggest walking out again once Violet had burst her bubble. Daisy had been straggling behind them, arm in arm with Tracey, but quickly caught up with her sisters and scolded them for their behavior. While no one else who was there with Ash said it out loud, they were all silently impressed with how Daisy had seemingly matured and managed to shut down her still unruly sisters.

Clearing her throat, Daisy turned towards the others and showed off a pearly white smile while Violet and Lily slunk into the row behind the already seated trio. "Hi, everyone!"

While Professor Oak and Brock still seemed stunned, Delia was quick to return the woman's grin and greet her, "hello, Daisy! Tracey, Violet, and Lily too. Lovely to see you all!"

"You as well!" Tracey cheerfully returned, following after Violet and Lily while still linked up with Daisy. "Today's battle ought to be a great one, huh?"

"Should be!" Brock agreed with a laugh. "Those two have been training nonstop! At least, that's what they've told me."

"Yeah, they've been doing a lot more than just training," Lily drawled suggestively, smirking at a slightly intimated Brock.

"Unless you mean training their lips," Violet added, both of them snickering together.

"Ugh," Daisy groaned, reaching over to lightly tug at both of her sisters' hair. "Would you guys quit it?! Ash's mom is sitting right there!"

Delia had, in fact, heard every word out of Violet and Lily's mouths (it was hard not to, in her defense) but she was hardly offended. If anything, it only further proved that Ash was truly becoming a young man. And while many other parents might have blushed at such implications, Delia couldn't help but to be quite proud of her son.

"Ladies and gentlemen; welcome to today's Champions League battle!"

Almost as soon as the announcer had begun speaking, the spectators began to cheer wildly. This was already the third battle in the series, of course; they already knew what to expect.

"Allow me to reintroduce you to our current challenger: the newest Indigo League champion, a native of Pallet Town right here in the Kanto region. He's already won his first two Champions League matches and done so in highly entertaining fashion: please welcome to the field, Ash Ketchum!"

The audience went crazy as Ash emerged from the tunnel on his side of the arena, excitedly and animatedly waving both of his arms around. Pikachu sat on his shoulder, looking around with sparkling eyes. He was clearly still in awe of the setting, while Ash had gotten used to it relatively quickly.

No one would have ever been able to guess that his stomach had been doing flips just moments earlier.

While the crowd continued to roar following Ash's introduction, Misty tepidly peered out from her own tunnel, watching the stadium in fascination. She didn't have the same kind of experience battling in this environment that Ash did. While she'd had a few exhibition matches as a member of the Elite Four, this was her first real battle in the position; the first that counted, and easily the most important in her entire life, not just in the job.

She remembered sitting up in those same stands during Ash's final battle of the Indigo League, wondering how he could stand it. She thought that surely, if she were in the same position, she'd probably become too anxious to function, let alone concentrate on a high stakes battle. But now, taking in the sights, letting the noise wash over her, it suddenly all made sense. Why Ash was able to thrive in such conditions, why he never let his nerves get the better of him. It was all so different down here than it was up there.

Because now, Misty wasn't anxious at all. In fact, she was totally fired up.

"And now, his opponent: in her first official match as a member of Kanto's Elite Four, the former Cerulean City gym leader: Misty!"

She wouldn't have been surprised if the crowd noise leveled off between her and Ash. But what she hadn't been expecting was for the volume to somehow be amplified. The audience seemed to have become even more alive as soon as her name was spoken, and Misty couldn't fight the swell of pride that surged in her chest.

She emerged from the passageway, offering a big smile and enthusiastic wave to the elated crowd. Ash watched on from the opposite end of the battlefield, his own face glowing with excitement and adoration. It made him really happy that Misty was getting such a warm reception; one even better than his own. He knew just how amazing she was, but he thought it was awesome that everyone else seemed to see it too.

As soon as Misty stepped foot in her box, however, she changed her expression to one of sheer determination, and set it straight on Ash. His heart skipped a beat, but he swiftly regained his composure and gave Misty a similar look of his own. Ash could've sworn he saw her slip up for just a split second and give off an air of amusement, but even if she had, she was very quick to cover that up.

The referee took his spot, right between the two trainers, and glanced between them. "This will be a five-on-five battle. The first trainers to successfully knock out the other's Pokémon will be the winner. Substitutions are allowed by both sides. Do you both agree to these rules?"

"Yes," Ash and Misty replied simultaneously.

Nodding, the referee instructed, "release your first Pokémon!"

Whipping out one of his poke balls, Ash threw it in front of him and cried, "Sceptile, I choose you!"

Misty smirked as the forest Pokémon materialized on the battlefield.

All of a sudden, he wants to play to type advantage? Interesting.

Unphased by such a tactic, Misty retrieved her own poke ball and tossed it up in the air, cheering, "ready, steady, come on out, Gyarados!"

As the atrocious Pokémon appeared and let out a ferocious roar, Ash seemed visibly surprised.

Misty's sending out her ace already? Interesting.

"Are both trainers ready?" The referee asked.

"Yes," Ash and Misty once again spoke in tandem.

With all of the formalities out of the way, the referee threw his arms up and shouted, "battle begin!"

"Sorry, Mist," Ash called. "Normally I'd let a lady go first, but this is a special case! Sceptile, use leaf storm!"

Misty didn't even flinch as Ash's Pokémon fired off a torrent of leaves. With no urgency behind her voice, Misty calmly ordered, "Gyarados, dodge it."

The water type easily slithered out of the way of the attack, alarming Ash with how quickly it was able to move on dry land. He had watched Gyarados battle a hundred times before this, but more often than not, it was in the water. Ash certainly hadn't been expecting that kind of speed on land.

"You think you're clever, starting off with a grass type," Misty teased, throwing in a playful wink for good measure. "But I think you're forgetting that Gyarados and I are very used to these kinds of match ups; we've got plenty of tricks up our sleeves for dealing with such a disadvantage!"

Ash scowled, slowly starting to become frustrated. "Oh yeah? And what kind of tricks are those?"

Smirking, Misty slashed her arm in front of her and shouted, "Gyarados, let's show them! Use flamethrower!"

Ash froze as Gyarados immediately pulled back, launching a cannon of blazing fire from his mouth directly towards an equally stunned Sceptile.

"D-dodge!" Ash stammered, barely able to shake off his surprise. He had made the order a little too late, however, and although Sceptile had tried his best, he was unable to escape from the blast, leaving him severely burned.

Okay… Ash thought to himself as he watched Sceptile struggle to stand. I didn't think this battle was gonna be easy, but this is crazy!

Shaking his head, Ash cried, "Sceptile, try and shake it off!" Looking around his Pokémon, Ash locked eyes with Misty, whose smirk had managed to widen. He scowled, and muttered partially to himself, "we're going to need all the help we can get."

XXX

Ash didn't know whether to cry, to cheer, or to pass out.

So, he just stood there.

Motionless.

Expressionless.

Numb.

The crowd around him was still screaming, but at this point, it just sounded like white noise. The announcer was yelling something over the loudspeaker, but Ash couldn't hear it. His ears wouldn't let him. It wasn't until someone approached him and roughly nudged his shoulder that he moved his head, staring the other person right in the eyes.

"Wh-what just happened?" Ash stammered. "Did…did I just…?"

Misty scoffed and playfully rolled her eyes. "Yes, Ash. You won. Congratulations!"

He still didn't react. With an amused giggle, Misty wrapped her arms around Ash's shoulders, giving him a tight squeeze. Although he didn't return the embrace, Ash finally managed to look down at her and ask, "are you upset?"

Misty pulled away and shook her head. "We made a promise not to be mad at each other, and I meant it. Besides, how could I possibly be upset when you gave me such a great battle?"

A smile grew on Ash's lips. "Really? You thought it was great?"

Misty quickly nodded her head. "One of our best ever."

Ash's grin widened. "I think so too."

Becoming acutely aware that she was hugging Ash with thousands of people watching them, Misty released him and lowered her arms to her sides, ever so slightly blushing. She had expected Ash to look even worse, but he was clearly still in too much shock from having won the battle to have processed that aspect of the situation.

So, instead, she offered her hand to Ash, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"This is a little more socially acceptable," Misty explained. "To congratulate you on your victory, I mean."

Ash nodded before reaching out to grab Misty's hand and shake it. That managed to get another cheer out of the crowd, causing both Ash and Misty to laugh.

"You know my mom's gonna want to invite you to dinner after this," Ash informed Misty. "I hope that's okay?"

Misty scoffed and smirked at him. "Of course, it's okay. As if I would ever turn down your mom's cooking!"

XXX

While Ash had been expecting a dinner, he hadn't expecting it to be quite so packed and lively as it ended up being. In addition to Misty, Delia had also insisted that Brock, Professor Oak, Tracey, and Misty's sisters come as well.

"You sure you wouldn't turn down my mom's cooking now?" Ash had quipped.

Misty giggled and shook her head. "I know it sounds impossible, but not even my sisters could get me to do that. I'll probably just need to threaten them to behave in front of her. Violet and Lily, at least. Daisy would never act up in front of Tracey."

Ash had thought she'd been joking about that…until he heard her hissing at them on the ride back to Pallet Town.

"I'm serious," she'd warned her two older sisters. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Stupid?!" Violet had repeated with offense. "Who do you think we are?!"

"I know exactly who you both are," Misty droned. "Hence the warning."

Ash chuckled lowly, but Misty had still heard him. "What're you laughing at?"

He eyed her incredulously, but she didn't change her own questioning expression. "You! I kind of thought you were joking about the whole Violet and Lily thing."

"I don't joke," Misty sighed. "Not about them, at least. Seriously, if I don't say anything, they'll be sitting at your mother's table talking about their latest one-night stands. And I respect your mother way too much to let that happen."

"Hey, don't make us sound like a couple of sluts!" Lily bit. "My last guy was actually a weeklong stint."

Misty shook her head. "Not much better."

Despite the back and forth teasing, however, it seemed that Violet and Lily had heeded their sister's request, as both had been very well-behaved during dinner. Sure, they would still talk your ear off if given the chance, but at least they weren't saying anything questionable. And if they started, they were relatively quick to stop themselves, although Misty's glare certainly didn't hurt either. Fortunately, Professor Oak and Tracey in particular were very good at keeping the conversations on track, so neither of those things happened too often.

Once everyone was finished eating, Ash had offered to help clear the table and wash dishes, much to his mother's appreciation. So, he was surprised when he looked up and found none other than Misty helping out as well.

"Mist, you don't have to," Ash kindly offered. "I've got it!"

Misty shrugged. "It's fine, I want to help! Your mom was nice enough to have us all over for dinner, after all. It's the least I could do to thank her."

Ash smiled meekly but otherwise said nothing. The two continued working in comfortable silence for a period of time, until a question sprung up into Ash's head. "Mist?"

"Mmhm?" Misty hummed, not looking up from the plates she'd collected.

"You're definitely not angry about the battle, right?" Ash asked hesitantly. This got Misty to glance back up at him. "I know I already asked you, but…still. I mean, you don't seem like you are, but I want to make sure you're not keeping it a secret or something. Because I want us to be okay. And not like you feel like you have to pretend when you're not actually happy."

Misty smirked. "Losing's never fun; you know that just as well as I do. It's frustrating, for sure! But I would never hold it against you. I meant what I said before; that battle was amazing. I learned so much from it! Just because I'm a member of the Elite Four doesn't mean I can't still make mistakes or pick up new things. Trust me, if I was really upset, you'd know."

"Good," Ash sighed.

"Besides, now I don't have to worry about us battling anymore!" Misty crowed. "I can just focus on coaching you through your last two battles."

"Coaching me?" Ash repeated incredulously. "You didn't coach me through the first three!"

"I know," Misty breathed. "And look how close they were!"

Ash's skeptical stare melted into a look of pure delight, laughing heartily. "Alright, fine, you've got me there. Maybe I'll take you up on your offer."

"Glad to hear it," Misty murmured, watching Ash's eyes sparkle as he stared at her. As often as he'd been doing it lately, it still sent Misty's heart into a frenzy, and she wasn't sure she'd ever get used to that gaze.

Inclining her head, Misty's smile softened as she continued, "you know, I've thought about this since I was a kid, but…it's almost like we're Pokémon ourselves."

Ash blinked. "What'd you mean?"

"It might not be as obvious, but I think that we evolve too," Misty mused. "Before all of this, when Agatha first wanted to interview me for this position, I really thought there was no way I'd be able to handle battling you on such a big stage, and for something so important to you. It freaked me out way too much. You know that. But today…it was more fun than I could've ever imagined! The big stadium, the loud crowd, watching you from across the field…I really felt like I was right where I belonged. And all of those fears I had before, I just forgot all about them."

Ash couldn't help but to smile. "Well, I'm not surprised! You're an awesome trainer, Misty! Even if you didn't think so, I always knew you'd be great battling in those kinds of conditions. And you really gave me a run for my money!"

Misty giggled softly. "Thanks…that means a lot."

After carrying his plates over to the sink and placing them inside, Ash turned back towards Misty, his face thoughtful. "So, this whole 'we're like Pokémon who evolve' thing…"

"Yeah?" Misty prodded once Ash trailed off.

"Do you think it ever stops?" Ash continued once he'd apparently managed to gather all his thoughts. "I mean, a Pokémon stops evolving eventually. Maybe it evolves once, or twice, but there's a limit. Do you think it's the same for people?"

Misty grinned as she walked over to Ash, pressing up on her toes to give him a quick kiss before lowering herself and resting her head on his shoulder, gazing up at him with her own glittering eyes.

"No. We're not exactly the same. Our evolutions are a lot more subtle, and I think it happens for the rest of their lives. But we reach milestones, and we make personal strides, and those are the moments where we see for ourselves what a Pokémon can see much more clearly when it evolves: that we're growing, and we're learning, and we're becoming stronger. And I think there's real beauty in that."

Ash blushed lightly as he murmured, "not as beautiful as you, but sure."

Misty scoffed and shook her head. "You know, even though it still blows my mind that you've become quite good at flirting, you're very sweet."

Ash laughed; one that was deep and warm and highly amused. "You said it yourself: I'm still evolving!"

Misty's smile widened. "You are. I am too. And we'll keep evolving. Together."

The end!

Thanks to all of you who've come along on this little journey with me. This was a story that I was inspired to write from song lyrics at the end of Pokémon's 22nd movie, and became my major writing project, starting in quarantine and carrying me through all these months later. I truly enjoyed writing it and hope you all enjoyed reading it!