Authors Note:

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

If you haven't read the other 65 chapters, what are you doing at Chapter 66? Go back and read them now! This is your only warning. And once you're done with this chapter go back and read the others anyways, a lot of things will make sense. Anyways onto the story!

A few days after the events following Ash's eighth gym badge.

"I can't believe we're all just leaving like this! Team Rocket is still out there!" Cassie argued.

"And we almost died stopping them." Ash said, packing the last of his things back up. "We all decided to take a break from things before the Pokemon League."

"We should be out there finding them, stopping them!" Cassie argued.

"Gary contacted the Champion and Elite Four of Kanto and Jhoto, their faces are known by everyone at this point, if they make a move it will be impossible for them to hide." Ash sighed. "Plus, it seemed like Articuno and the others were stronger than ever when they flew off, and no one knows where Mewtwo went."

"But you were going to show Megan around Pallet Town." Cassie said.

"I still will, but she said she really wants to see her family after everything that happened, and I want to see Mom and Dad." Ash said. "As it is we're running behind, everyone else left already."

"Please Ash, do we really have to go home?" Cassie pled. "One more day, come on! We can go to Pewter! That's fun, right?"

"Cassie, it's the wrong direction, now come on." Ash said, hefting his bag over his shoulder. "If we leave now, we can be home in time for dinner."

"Okay Ash." Cassie relented, following him out of the Pokemon Center.

Even though the battle itself took place on the outskirts of the city, a fair amount of damage had happened to everywhere else. As Ash walked through the streets he could see flashes from that day. His Pokémon in incredible pain, all his friends knocked unconscious, even the other two versions of him. The fact that someone was out there that once looked like him did not make sleeping an easy task.

"We really got lucky this time." Ash said, as they got to the exit of the city. "Mom and Dad are probably worried sick, I was on the front page with everyone else." Ash said, scratching Pikachu's chin.

"Yeah." Cassie said. She looked ahead at her brother, once shy and awkward with not many friends. Now a confident trainer with a large group of friends and rivals, who even stood against Team Rocket, and his hair was finally beginning to grow back to how he normally kept it, the sides just starting to poke out from beneath his hat. "Can there be at least one last battle?"

"If we run into someone wanting to battle, I won't turn it down, but I'm not going to go looking for trouble." Ash said calmly.

Truthfully not many trainers were on the road heading back to Pallet Town, even the Pokemon they came across seemed to be fairly calm in their presence.

"Pidgeotto!" A cry came out swooping at Pikachu, and cleanly knocking him off of Ash's shoulder.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed, turning around to see his partner pinned by a Pidgeotto. "Well, it won't be much of a battle, but I'll take it. Pikachu use Thunderbolt!"

The Pidgeotto flew back into the air, and out of the way of Pikachu's attack, before generating a strong gust of wind.

"Pikachu scare it off with a Thunderbolt!" Ash said.

Pikachu sent out a bolt of electricity just barely missing the wild Pidgeotto, sending it running away.

"Aww, that doesn't count." Cassie argued.

"I didn't need to defeat it, it likely attacked out of instinct." Ash said. "Come on, we're almost at Pallet Town!"

As Ash rushed into Pallet Town, Cassie stayed back at the entrance for a minute, she knew what was coming next.

At the Ketchum Household

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Ash said, taking off his shoes and bag.

"Ash!" Delia said, embracing her son. "When I saw the news report I was so worried, are you okay?"

"I'm fine mom, I promise." Ash said.

"There he is, a hero just like his old man." Richard said with a smile. "So much of a hero, they asked me to come out of retirement."

"Wait what?" Ash exclaimed.

"With Team Rocket clearly a bigger threat than ever, Lance wants to make the search larger, and to do so, recreate the separate champions and elite four for Kanto and Jhoto." Richard said. "I was asked to retake my old position."

"That's amazing Dad!" Ash said.

"Ash, I have to ask, did you go say hi yet…". Richard said.

"I wanted to go as a family, I left kind of quickly after it all happened." Ash sighed.

"Well come on, I'm sure she'd be happy to know of your adventures." Richard said, struggling to keep a smile.

The Ketchum family walked through town, until they arrived at a stone.

Here lies Cassandra Leanne Ketchum.

Daughter, Sister, Friend.

Gone before her time but not forgotten.

"Hey Cassie." Ash said, putting a hand on the tombstone. "I kept my promise, I took you all over Kanto." Ash pulled out the bear and journal that once belonged to his sister. "You would've loved it, we saw so many amazing things, I even caught a legendary, I just wish you could've come with me in the end." Ash said, tears rolling down his face, as the purple glow left his eyes. "I really did it though, just like I promised, and I'll win the league, for you." Ash said, barely holding it together.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked, wiping Ash's tears.

"I'm okay, Pikachu." Ash said, hugging his starter. "Say hi to my little sister, I feel like you two would've gotten along great."

Pikachu was confused, this rock didn't look like Ash, but he was saying it was his sister.

Ash spent a while still talking to Cassie's tombstone before finally walking away.

Character of the day: Cassie

One of the hardest character's I've written as she was planned this way from long before this story even began. The idea had come to me in late Trap Ash part 2 and I began working from there. Originally she was going to be Ash's twin, then I made her his little sister, before finally having her be gone before the story began. If you go back and read her interactions, the only ones who actually interact with Cassie have special abilities, be it able to see ghosts, or strong psychic powers, nothing else actually responds to her, even if it seems like it. Ash responding to her, is his own way of dealing with the grief as he had her journal and teddy bear on his journey, as all the way back in chapter 1, Ash said he was going to keep his promise to bring Cassie along with him on the journey.