Jason Creight awoke in room 512 of the Indigo Plateau Hotel.
He didn't have time to check the clock.
He knew the minute he woke up, he'd have to get up and start reviewing.
He grabbed the remote and got to it.
***
Three hours later, Kelly awoke to the sight of the sun shining against the curtain, and Jason with his eyes glued to the TV.
She knew he'd do it. She'd known it the night before. It was how he'd managed to find Jennifer Carlson's weakness. Though hours of study, he'd found her theme.
And now he was doing it with Eric Davids.
Today was the day.
Kelly searched Jason's face. She could see that either it hadn't impacted him, or he simply didn't care. She finally chose to attribute it to both reasons.
She closed her eyes again.
***
At about 9:00 in the morning, Kelly again was awakened, this time to someone knocking on the door. She chose to keep her eyes closed; maybe Jason would get off his butt (like that could happen with someone in a wheelchair) and go get it.
She heard Jason groan. "Just a sec!"
Then she heard shuffling. She guessed that he'd not gotten off the bed yet; the thought was barely complete when she felt a great *BOOM!* rumble under her bed.
"Ow! God!" she heard Jason groan.
"You okay in there?" asked a voice from the other side of the door.
"Yeah, hold on!"
She finally opened her eyes and got up to the sound of a dragging noise. She saw Jason crawling along the floor with only his hands and arms; obviously, his legs were in no shape to help him.
"What happened to you?" she asked, already suspecting the answer.
"What do you think?" he responded. "But if you're gonna get up, could you get the door?"
She sighed and opened the door.
She was greeted by none other than Eric Davids himself.
"Oops," he said. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"Nah," she responded. "Jason's been awake for a while, I'd imagine."
"Yeah, I have," Jason announced from his position on the floor. "Now could you please help me out over here?"
"Come on in," she said to Davids, who thanked her and promptly stepped over to Jason.
Jason realized who it was. "Oh. Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm on the floor because I'm not worthy."
Davids chuckled. "More like you fell over the bed, right?"
"Something like that. I won't hurry next time. Since you're here, could you help me out?"
"No problem." Davids turned Jason onto his back and helped him into a sitting position. Then he took Jason under the arms and got him back onto the bed.
"Thanks," said Jason, bracing himself to stay sitting upright.
Davids noticed the TV. "Been checking me out, huh?"
"Yeah. Can you blame me?"
"Not at all. I use it myself."
Jason nodded. "So, to what do I owe the honor?"
"Well, I've been hearing from several people that you convinced trainers like Jennifer Carlson and Travis Johnson to throw their matches against you, and that's how you've managed your shutout. They say you can't possibly have kept a shutout this entire time otherwise."
Jason thought for a moment. "Who have you been hearing this from?"
"People on the streets. They insisted I talk to them, and when I did, that's what they said."
"And have they said anything about it to the media?"
"No. They wanted me to."
Jason snorted and smiled thinly. "And do you believe them?"
"I don't know. I came here to ask you if it's true. And so far, I've seen you're rather truthful."
Jason steepled his fingers. "Travis Johnson was prejudiced against me, no doubt of that. There's no way he could have been bribed by someone in a wheelchair, much less me. And as far as Jennifer Carlson goes, well... She realized that the battling was friendly competition. She's a good sport, but she's also determined. She gave it her all."
"Then why would these people say otherwise?"
Jason sighed. "I've found that since I've been restricted to a wheelchair, there's a good number of people who just flat out don't like me for being what I am. It doesn't matter to me that they don't like me; I can deal with it. But they can't. It infuriates them and makes them lash out. And they lash out at me."
Davids smiled. "Well, I realize it's friendly competition, too. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to fight as best I can."
"You wouldn't be a true trainer if you did otherwise."
"I suppose not." Davids stood up. "Well, I should go. I have to study you so I can find out your methods."
"So do I." Jason offered his hand. "I'll see you on the field tonight."
Davids took the proffered hand. "Count on it."
He left.
***
Half an hour later, Jason had his solution.
***
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is it! The final battle of the Indigo League championship is upon us! Are you pumped? I hope you are, because I am! And so are your prospective champions! Tonight, we will find out who will take the most risk, become the most dangerous, and leave his opponent behind as he takes a huge step on the road to becoming a Pokemon master!
"And here come the stars of the show! Ladies and gentlemen, Eric Davids and Jason Creight!"
The applause was deafening, the cheering brainshattering. Jason wheeled himself onto the track, taking deep breaths as he did so. *I have to make sure I concentrate.*
When the two trainers reached the ref, standing in the middle of the track, the roar reached a decibel range that would have opened garage doors across Kanto.
*Who knows?* Jason wondered. *If people are watching, the screech alone has to be enough to blow out the speakers even when the volume's down to 1.*
He and Davids both felt fortunate to be wearing earplugs, allowing them to hear only the referee and the events on the battlefield.
"Shake hands," said the ref, speaking clearly into his lapel mike.
Jason and Davids both shook hands without hesitation.
"Good luck," said Jason.
"You, too," Davids responded.
"Gentlemen, to your platforms."
Jason and Davids turned and headed to their platforms.
For the last time, the platforms raised to about fifteen feet.
Jason and Davids both heard the announcer yakking, but it sounded far, far away.
And then a *DING!* prompted them to begin.
"Go, Snorlax!" Davids shouted, releasing his first Pokemon.
Jason pulled out a Great ball and tossed it. "Go, Clefable!"
"Snorlax, body slam!"
"Clefable, agility!"
Clefable managed to dodge the crushing blow just in time.
"Clefable, metronome!"
"Another body slam, Snorlax!"
But Clefable's fingers were already moving.
A huge bolt of lightning came blasting out of the sky, striking Snorlax directly in its flabby chest. It didn't do much damage.
And Snorlax almost literally rolled on top of Clefable.
Davids grinned.
Clefable managed to pull itself out from under Snorlax, but it was injured. Jason could only hope it could stay up long enough to do what he wanted it to do. "Clefable, sing to it!"
And Clefable began to sing to Snorlax.
"Snorlax, quickly, rest!"
But it was too late. Snorlax was already asleep.
"Clefable, return! Get out there, Gengar!"
Gengar made its way out to Snorlax.
"Snorlax, wake up!"
"Gengar, dream eater!"
Snorlax wouldn't wake up.
And Gengar caught Snorlax's head in its mouth.
It chewed.
Then it pulled away and grinned.
Snorlax was almost out of the match.
"Snorlax, wake up!"
And it did.
But it was too late.
"Quick, Gengar, psybeam!"
The multicolored energy blast was enough.
"Snorlax is unable to battle!"
Jason Creight 1, Eric Davids 0.
Davids groaned. "Snorlax, return. Golduck, show me your stuff!"
Jason kept Gengar in the match. "Gengar, another psybeam!"
"Golduck, hyper beam!"
The two beams caught each other in midair. The energy mounted up within a round, spherical form; Gengar and Golduck were desperately trying to contain the energy without endangering themselves, while at the same time still adding energy to the sphere.
"Ohh, no," Jason muttered, knowing what would come soon. "Gengar, forget the beam and just concentrate on blocking the energy!"
Gengar was already straining; it was thankful to its master for allowing it to stop shooting.
"Gengar, can you pull off a night shade attack?"
It nodded, then leapt into the air and dazzled Golduck for a moment with its ordered attack.
Golduck was so blinded by the combination of darkness followed by a huge flash that it lost control of its barrier against the energy globe. All the energy that had mounted within blasted unavoidably toward Golduck.
And when it was over, Golduck was down for the count.
"Golduck is unable to battle!"
Jason Creight 2, Eric Davids 0.
Jason frowned. He couldn't be winning the battle this easily. Either Davids was truly throwing the game, or he had an ace up his sleeve.
And then Jason saw the same confusion he was feeling appear on Davids' face.
Maybe Davids was giving in to pressure?
No. He was recalling Golduck, and he was grinning as he threw his last ball.
His last Pokemon.
Jason gaped.
It was a Dragonite.
Davids *did* have an ace up his sleeve.
Suddenly, Jason wasn't sure if he should keep Gengar in the match or not. It looked tired. And against an actual Dragonite...
*Oh, what the heck...*
"Let's take it, Gengar! Psybeam, one more time!"
"Dragonite, fly!"
The multicolored beam caught Dragonite on the way up, but Dragonite wasn't slowed much by the blast.
"Gengar, return! Go, Gyarados!"
And Gyarados was ready for battle.
"Gyarados, brace yourself! When it's on the ground, use thunder!"
Dragonite struck. It dive-bombed straight at Gyarados and caught it full force in the center of its snake-like body.
"Now, Gyarados!"
Lightning crackled down from the sky once again and forced Dragonite into convulsions.
Dragonite shook it off.
"Okay, then, Gyarados, return! Come back out, Clefable!"
Davids was becoming confused. Jason had always shown a tendency to keep his Pokemon with him after he'd used them once.
Jason's grim smile clued him in.
His study of Jason had become his weakness.
And Jason had found it.
Jason had been looking for Davids' toughest Pokemon to confuse.
Dragonite was it.
"Clefable, sing to Dragonite, just like you sang to Snorlax!"
Clefable was, of course, only too happy to do so.
"Dragonite, hyper beam!"
Just as Dragonite was powered up, Clefable's song began to affect it.
The beam went wild and took out an array of strobe lights.
The lights went haywire, sparking and exploding.
The array began to fall.
Jason knew the rules; if he sent another Pokemon out, he'd be automatically expelled.
But he didn't care. Obeying the rules wasn't worth the lives of dozens of innocent people.
He was about to send Gengar into the stands to take care of the problem, but then he saw another trainer near the array send out a Pokemon of their own to catch it; a Jynx, by the looks of it.
And he suddenly realized it was Kelly.
She gave him a quick thumbs-up.
He tossed off a salute to her, then returned his attention to the match.
Clefable was still singing to Dragonite, who was by this time sleeping deeply.
"Clefable, return! Go, Gengar!"
"Dragonite, wake up!"
Dragonite wasn't waking up.
"Gengar, you're having a feast tonight! Dream eater!"
Gengar chewed on the dreams of Dragonite.
"Gengar, return! Go, Gyarados!"
Once more, the terrifying image of the leviathan Pokemon graced the battlefield.
"Gyarados, hydro pump!"
Dragonite woke up the moment Gyarados began to blast it with water.
"Good, now that we've got its attention, thunder!"
Lightning caught Dragonite once again.
Dragonite went down.
And it didn't get back up.
Seconds passed.
And then, slowly, Jason's flag was raised.
"Dragonite is unable to battle! The match goes to Jason Creight!"
Jason Creight 3, Eric Davids 0.
Jason's mouth hung open.
He couldn't believe it.
Had it truly been that easy?
It couldn't have.
He couldn't be the winner.
No, winning was for someone else. Not him. It had to be a joke.
Davids looked shocked, as well.
Finally, Jason's shaking hand, holding Gyarados' Poke ball, rose high enough for the vacuum to catch Gyarados. "G--Gyarados, return."
Davids did likewise with his Dragonite. And he looked up at Jason.
And his face broke into a grin.
"Congratulations," he said into his mike. "You're the Indigo League champion."
Jason shook his head. "That can't be right. I can't have beaten you that easily."
Davids shrugged. "Fine. Disbelieve it if you want, but that's the way it is. Can't turn back time, as you well know."
"If I'm the champion, how am I the one frowning, and you the one grinning?"
"Because I'm more ready to believe I'm the loser than you are to believe you're the winner. It's a psychological thing."
"Gentlemen, to the track, please," said the ref.
The platforms had already been lowered. Neither Jason nor Davids had noticed.
"Well," Davids finally said, "you coming?"
"I guess so," Jason answered.
They approached the ref.
"Shake hands, gentlemen."
As Jason and Davids shook hands, they realized that the crowd's cheering and applause had reached the point to where they were beyond deafening and brainshattering. There were no words that could describe the volume level of the crowd. they were more thankful than ever now for their earplugs.
In fact, they could hear the announcer louder than before. Apparently, they'd had to raise the volume of the announcer's speakers in order to get his messages across.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the runner-up for the Indigo League championship, Eric Davids! Give him a big hand!"
There was much cheering and applause.
"And this year's Indigo League champion is Jason Creight, down there in his humble wheelchair! Jason Creight! How about it?"
Jason abruptly realized that he didn't know how the heck he was supposed to feel. Smug? Should he be feeling a great swell of pride in his chest over having defeated Davids?
Should he be wheeling around in ecstasy over the fact that he'd turned the championship into a shutout?
He wasn't doing any of those.
Instead, he was sitting here in front of the crowd with no expression. *I look like an idiot.*
He snorted in amusement of the thought.
And he smiled.
***
The post-championship proceedings and awards ceremony took place that night. The trainers who had competed all graced the battlefield once more in front of a packed stadium. Jason and Davids got to stand in front of the reputed Moltres flame at the eastward bend in the stadium's track and design.
Even as far away from the flame as they were, Jason couldn't help but notice its heat. It made the back of his neck sweat. *Heck, it's making the front of my neck sweat, too!*
Davids received a silver trophy consisting of a silver capture ball with quartz wings. The base of the trophy was cherrywood, with his name and ranking engraved in it.
Jason also received a trophy, this one of larger proportions. This trophy was gold, sporting the same capture ball with quartz wings. However, the base was mahogany instead of cherrywood, and the font was different.
After the ceremony, of course, Davids and Jason couldn't avoid yet another press conference. Jason didn't like it one bit. It was always questions like, "How do you feel about winning?" or "Now that you're the champion, what will you do?"
He knew what he was going to do. Publicly, of course, he gave the impression that he didn't. But he knew what he was going to do.
Jason finally returned to the hotel just before 10:00 that evening, his trophy sitting on his lap.
Kelly was in the room already. As usual.
And the first thing she said when she opened the door was, "You won."
"Did I?" he asked, as he wheeled himself into the room. "Did I win?"
She didn't know how to respond. She knew what he was referring to; she'd been wondering herself if Davids had thrown the match, despite the man's denials.
He put the trophy on the bedside table, eased himself out of the chair and onto his bed in his sitting position. His useless legs hung over the edge.
Kelly changed the subject. "I watched your press conference. You said you didn't know what you were going to do next."
"Yeah."
"I know you better than that."
He raised his eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yeah. You were so eager about becoming Professor Oak's assistant three months ago. He scolded you for it because you still had a journey to complete."
"It's complete now."
"Exactly."
Jason shook his head, grinning. "If I recall correctly, you were right there, volunteering to be his assistant right alongside me. Not only that, but Oak chewed you out, too."
"Well, what else are you going to do? Go to the Orange Islands?"
"Surely you jest."
"Then we ought to go back to Pallet Town and insist that we help the ol' prof out!"
He smiled. "Okay, you got me. That is, in fact, exactly what I was planning."
"Goody. So when do we leave, and by what means?"
"Early tomorrow morning, by air. I don't want to be hounded by people looking to battle me."
"Sounds good."
"Uh-huh."
Neither of them said anything for a moment.
Kelly broke the silence with, "So, can I see this trophy of yours?"
"Yeah, go ahead." Jason scoffed. "I wonder if it really means anything."
She gave him a strange look as she reached to take it. "It signifies that you've done what so few trainers have done."
"Signifies, yes, but it still seems to have so little actual meaning. Especially when Eric was so easily beaten."
And then she felt a surge of bravery. She put the trophy aside, sat down next to Jason and said, "Then let's see if this has as little meaning as the trophy."
She kissed him.
And he kissed back.
When they pulled away, both of them were left breathless by the encounter.
"No," Jason finally said, "I think it has more."
And they kissed again.
They finally pulled away from each other again.
"We'll head to Pallet Town tomorrow morning," said Jason, "and we'll insist on being assistants."
"Yeah," she said. "I guess we will."
***
Mrs. Ketchum, as usual, was tending her garden when she saw a great shadow descending nearby. She looked over, and found that there was not one shadow, but instead there were two.
A glance upward showed her what the shadows were of.
A Charizard and a Fearow.
She smiled. She knew of only one trainer who used those two Pokemon.
That same trainer had won the Indigo League championship yesterday.
"Hey, Mrs. Ketchum!" said Jason, as his Charizard alighted.
She shook her finger in a mock scold. "You're still growing up on me!"
"I'm sure," he responded, as Gengar helped him into his wheelchair. "Where's Ash?"
"He's off at Professor Oak's lab, no doubt playing video games with Gary." She sighed. "Those two act so immature sometimes. I don't know what to do with them."
Jason grinned, a small part of him hoping that Ash wouldn't inherit all of his mother's ditzy eccentricities. "Is Professor Oak there, as well?"
"Where else would he be?" she responded. "So, have you come back to help him in hs research?"
"In a word, yes," he replied.
"We've come to insist on it," Kelly added.
"Ah. Well, in that case, who am I to stop you?" Mrs. Ketchum smiled. "I'll catch up with you two later; my garden awaits me!"
She scuttled off to another patch in her garden.
Jason shook his head. "Fearow, Charizard, and Gengar, return."
After he tucked the capture balls into his belt, he and Kelly set out for Professor Oak's lab.
*One day, I'm on top of the world, a place I'd never dreamed of being. And the next, I'm headed back to the simple life of a Pokemon researcher in some backwater town. Boy, who'd have expected that?*
Jason breathed deeply. *Ahh. No pollution. No noise. No bumbling tourists. It may not be the Orange Islands, but it might as well be home.*
Jason Creight smiled on.
----------------------------------------
This Is The End Of A Journey.
But Not Of *Against All Odds.*
He didn't have time to check the clock.
He knew the minute he woke up, he'd have to get up and start reviewing.
He grabbed the remote and got to it.
***
Three hours later, Kelly awoke to the sight of the sun shining against the curtain, and Jason with his eyes glued to the TV.
She knew he'd do it. She'd known it the night before. It was how he'd managed to find Jennifer Carlson's weakness. Though hours of study, he'd found her theme.
And now he was doing it with Eric Davids.
Today was the day.
Kelly searched Jason's face. She could see that either it hadn't impacted him, or he simply didn't care. She finally chose to attribute it to both reasons.
She closed her eyes again.
***
At about 9:00 in the morning, Kelly again was awakened, this time to someone knocking on the door. She chose to keep her eyes closed; maybe Jason would get off his butt (like that could happen with someone in a wheelchair) and go get it.
She heard Jason groan. "Just a sec!"
Then she heard shuffling. She guessed that he'd not gotten off the bed yet; the thought was barely complete when she felt a great *BOOM!* rumble under her bed.
"Ow! God!" she heard Jason groan.
"You okay in there?" asked a voice from the other side of the door.
"Yeah, hold on!"
She finally opened her eyes and got up to the sound of a dragging noise. She saw Jason crawling along the floor with only his hands and arms; obviously, his legs were in no shape to help him.
"What happened to you?" she asked, already suspecting the answer.
"What do you think?" he responded. "But if you're gonna get up, could you get the door?"
She sighed and opened the door.
She was greeted by none other than Eric Davids himself.
"Oops," he said. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"Nah," she responded. "Jason's been awake for a while, I'd imagine."
"Yeah, I have," Jason announced from his position on the floor. "Now could you please help me out over here?"
"Come on in," she said to Davids, who thanked her and promptly stepped over to Jason.
Jason realized who it was. "Oh. Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm on the floor because I'm not worthy."
Davids chuckled. "More like you fell over the bed, right?"
"Something like that. I won't hurry next time. Since you're here, could you help me out?"
"No problem." Davids turned Jason onto his back and helped him into a sitting position. Then he took Jason under the arms and got him back onto the bed.
"Thanks," said Jason, bracing himself to stay sitting upright.
Davids noticed the TV. "Been checking me out, huh?"
"Yeah. Can you blame me?"
"Not at all. I use it myself."
Jason nodded. "So, to what do I owe the honor?"
"Well, I've been hearing from several people that you convinced trainers like Jennifer Carlson and Travis Johnson to throw their matches against you, and that's how you've managed your shutout. They say you can't possibly have kept a shutout this entire time otherwise."
Jason thought for a moment. "Who have you been hearing this from?"
"People on the streets. They insisted I talk to them, and when I did, that's what they said."
"And have they said anything about it to the media?"
"No. They wanted me to."
Jason snorted and smiled thinly. "And do you believe them?"
"I don't know. I came here to ask you if it's true. And so far, I've seen you're rather truthful."
Jason steepled his fingers. "Travis Johnson was prejudiced against me, no doubt of that. There's no way he could have been bribed by someone in a wheelchair, much less me. And as far as Jennifer Carlson goes, well... She realized that the battling was friendly competition. She's a good sport, but she's also determined. She gave it her all."
"Then why would these people say otherwise?"
Jason sighed. "I've found that since I've been restricted to a wheelchair, there's a good number of people who just flat out don't like me for being what I am. It doesn't matter to me that they don't like me; I can deal with it. But they can't. It infuriates them and makes them lash out. And they lash out at me."
Davids smiled. "Well, I realize it's friendly competition, too. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to fight as best I can."
"You wouldn't be a true trainer if you did otherwise."
"I suppose not." Davids stood up. "Well, I should go. I have to study you so I can find out your methods."
"So do I." Jason offered his hand. "I'll see you on the field tonight."
Davids took the proffered hand. "Count on it."
He left.
***
Half an hour later, Jason had his solution.
***
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is it! The final battle of the Indigo League championship is upon us! Are you pumped? I hope you are, because I am! And so are your prospective champions! Tonight, we will find out who will take the most risk, become the most dangerous, and leave his opponent behind as he takes a huge step on the road to becoming a Pokemon master!
"And here come the stars of the show! Ladies and gentlemen, Eric Davids and Jason Creight!"
The applause was deafening, the cheering brainshattering. Jason wheeled himself onto the track, taking deep breaths as he did so. *I have to make sure I concentrate.*
When the two trainers reached the ref, standing in the middle of the track, the roar reached a decibel range that would have opened garage doors across Kanto.
*Who knows?* Jason wondered. *If people are watching, the screech alone has to be enough to blow out the speakers even when the volume's down to 1.*
He and Davids both felt fortunate to be wearing earplugs, allowing them to hear only the referee and the events on the battlefield.
"Shake hands," said the ref, speaking clearly into his lapel mike.
Jason and Davids both shook hands without hesitation.
"Good luck," said Jason.
"You, too," Davids responded.
"Gentlemen, to your platforms."
Jason and Davids turned and headed to their platforms.
For the last time, the platforms raised to about fifteen feet.
Jason and Davids both heard the announcer yakking, but it sounded far, far away.
And then a *DING!* prompted them to begin.
"Go, Snorlax!" Davids shouted, releasing his first Pokemon.
Jason pulled out a Great ball and tossed it. "Go, Clefable!"
"Snorlax, body slam!"
"Clefable, agility!"
Clefable managed to dodge the crushing blow just in time.
"Clefable, metronome!"
"Another body slam, Snorlax!"
But Clefable's fingers were already moving.
A huge bolt of lightning came blasting out of the sky, striking Snorlax directly in its flabby chest. It didn't do much damage.
And Snorlax almost literally rolled on top of Clefable.
Davids grinned.
Clefable managed to pull itself out from under Snorlax, but it was injured. Jason could only hope it could stay up long enough to do what he wanted it to do. "Clefable, sing to it!"
And Clefable began to sing to Snorlax.
"Snorlax, quickly, rest!"
But it was too late. Snorlax was already asleep.
"Clefable, return! Get out there, Gengar!"
Gengar made its way out to Snorlax.
"Snorlax, wake up!"
"Gengar, dream eater!"
Snorlax wouldn't wake up.
And Gengar caught Snorlax's head in its mouth.
It chewed.
Then it pulled away and grinned.
Snorlax was almost out of the match.
"Snorlax, wake up!"
And it did.
But it was too late.
"Quick, Gengar, psybeam!"
The multicolored energy blast was enough.
"Snorlax is unable to battle!"
Jason Creight 1, Eric Davids 0.
Davids groaned. "Snorlax, return. Golduck, show me your stuff!"
Jason kept Gengar in the match. "Gengar, another psybeam!"
"Golduck, hyper beam!"
The two beams caught each other in midair. The energy mounted up within a round, spherical form; Gengar and Golduck were desperately trying to contain the energy without endangering themselves, while at the same time still adding energy to the sphere.
"Ohh, no," Jason muttered, knowing what would come soon. "Gengar, forget the beam and just concentrate on blocking the energy!"
Gengar was already straining; it was thankful to its master for allowing it to stop shooting.
"Gengar, can you pull off a night shade attack?"
It nodded, then leapt into the air and dazzled Golduck for a moment with its ordered attack.
Golduck was so blinded by the combination of darkness followed by a huge flash that it lost control of its barrier against the energy globe. All the energy that had mounted within blasted unavoidably toward Golduck.
And when it was over, Golduck was down for the count.
"Golduck is unable to battle!"
Jason Creight 2, Eric Davids 0.
Jason frowned. He couldn't be winning the battle this easily. Either Davids was truly throwing the game, or he had an ace up his sleeve.
And then Jason saw the same confusion he was feeling appear on Davids' face.
Maybe Davids was giving in to pressure?
No. He was recalling Golduck, and he was grinning as he threw his last ball.
His last Pokemon.
Jason gaped.
It was a Dragonite.
Davids *did* have an ace up his sleeve.
Suddenly, Jason wasn't sure if he should keep Gengar in the match or not. It looked tired. And against an actual Dragonite...
*Oh, what the heck...*
"Let's take it, Gengar! Psybeam, one more time!"
"Dragonite, fly!"
The multicolored beam caught Dragonite on the way up, but Dragonite wasn't slowed much by the blast.
"Gengar, return! Go, Gyarados!"
And Gyarados was ready for battle.
"Gyarados, brace yourself! When it's on the ground, use thunder!"
Dragonite struck. It dive-bombed straight at Gyarados and caught it full force in the center of its snake-like body.
"Now, Gyarados!"
Lightning crackled down from the sky once again and forced Dragonite into convulsions.
Dragonite shook it off.
"Okay, then, Gyarados, return! Come back out, Clefable!"
Davids was becoming confused. Jason had always shown a tendency to keep his Pokemon with him after he'd used them once.
Jason's grim smile clued him in.
His study of Jason had become his weakness.
And Jason had found it.
Jason had been looking for Davids' toughest Pokemon to confuse.
Dragonite was it.
"Clefable, sing to Dragonite, just like you sang to Snorlax!"
Clefable was, of course, only too happy to do so.
"Dragonite, hyper beam!"
Just as Dragonite was powered up, Clefable's song began to affect it.
The beam went wild and took out an array of strobe lights.
The lights went haywire, sparking and exploding.
The array began to fall.
Jason knew the rules; if he sent another Pokemon out, he'd be automatically expelled.
But he didn't care. Obeying the rules wasn't worth the lives of dozens of innocent people.
He was about to send Gengar into the stands to take care of the problem, but then he saw another trainer near the array send out a Pokemon of their own to catch it; a Jynx, by the looks of it.
And he suddenly realized it was Kelly.
She gave him a quick thumbs-up.
He tossed off a salute to her, then returned his attention to the match.
Clefable was still singing to Dragonite, who was by this time sleeping deeply.
"Clefable, return! Go, Gengar!"
"Dragonite, wake up!"
Dragonite wasn't waking up.
"Gengar, you're having a feast tonight! Dream eater!"
Gengar chewed on the dreams of Dragonite.
"Gengar, return! Go, Gyarados!"
Once more, the terrifying image of the leviathan Pokemon graced the battlefield.
"Gyarados, hydro pump!"
Dragonite woke up the moment Gyarados began to blast it with water.
"Good, now that we've got its attention, thunder!"
Lightning caught Dragonite once again.
Dragonite went down.
And it didn't get back up.
Seconds passed.
And then, slowly, Jason's flag was raised.
"Dragonite is unable to battle! The match goes to Jason Creight!"
Jason Creight 3, Eric Davids 0.
Jason's mouth hung open.
He couldn't believe it.
Had it truly been that easy?
It couldn't have.
He couldn't be the winner.
No, winning was for someone else. Not him. It had to be a joke.
Davids looked shocked, as well.
Finally, Jason's shaking hand, holding Gyarados' Poke ball, rose high enough for the vacuum to catch Gyarados. "G--Gyarados, return."
Davids did likewise with his Dragonite. And he looked up at Jason.
And his face broke into a grin.
"Congratulations," he said into his mike. "You're the Indigo League champion."
Jason shook his head. "That can't be right. I can't have beaten you that easily."
Davids shrugged. "Fine. Disbelieve it if you want, but that's the way it is. Can't turn back time, as you well know."
"If I'm the champion, how am I the one frowning, and you the one grinning?"
"Because I'm more ready to believe I'm the loser than you are to believe you're the winner. It's a psychological thing."
"Gentlemen, to the track, please," said the ref.
The platforms had already been lowered. Neither Jason nor Davids had noticed.
"Well," Davids finally said, "you coming?"
"I guess so," Jason answered.
They approached the ref.
"Shake hands, gentlemen."
As Jason and Davids shook hands, they realized that the crowd's cheering and applause had reached the point to where they were beyond deafening and brainshattering. There were no words that could describe the volume level of the crowd. they were more thankful than ever now for their earplugs.
In fact, they could hear the announcer louder than before. Apparently, they'd had to raise the volume of the announcer's speakers in order to get his messages across.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the runner-up for the Indigo League championship, Eric Davids! Give him a big hand!"
There was much cheering and applause.
"And this year's Indigo League champion is Jason Creight, down there in his humble wheelchair! Jason Creight! How about it?"
Jason abruptly realized that he didn't know how the heck he was supposed to feel. Smug? Should he be feeling a great swell of pride in his chest over having defeated Davids?
Should he be wheeling around in ecstasy over the fact that he'd turned the championship into a shutout?
He wasn't doing any of those.
Instead, he was sitting here in front of the crowd with no expression. *I look like an idiot.*
He snorted in amusement of the thought.
And he smiled.
***
The post-championship proceedings and awards ceremony took place that night. The trainers who had competed all graced the battlefield once more in front of a packed stadium. Jason and Davids got to stand in front of the reputed Moltres flame at the eastward bend in the stadium's track and design.
Even as far away from the flame as they were, Jason couldn't help but notice its heat. It made the back of his neck sweat. *Heck, it's making the front of my neck sweat, too!*
Davids received a silver trophy consisting of a silver capture ball with quartz wings. The base of the trophy was cherrywood, with his name and ranking engraved in it.
Jason also received a trophy, this one of larger proportions. This trophy was gold, sporting the same capture ball with quartz wings. However, the base was mahogany instead of cherrywood, and the font was different.
After the ceremony, of course, Davids and Jason couldn't avoid yet another press conference. Jason didn't like it one bit. It was always questions like, "How do you feel about winning?" or "Now that you're the champion, what will you do?"
He knew what he was going to do. Publicly, of course, he gave the impression that he didn't. But he knew what he was going to do.
Jason finally returned to the hotel just before 10:00 that evening, his trophy sitting on his lap.
Kelly was in the room already. As usual.
And the first thing she said when she opened the door was, "You won."
"Did I?" he asked, as he wheeled himself into the room. "Did I win?"
She didn't know how to respond. She knew what he was referring to; she'd been wondering herself if Davids had thrown the match, despite the man's denials.
He put the trophy on the bedside table, eased himself out of the chair and onto his bed in his sitting position. His useless legs hung over the edge.
Kelly changed the subject. "I watched your press conference. You said you didn't know what you were going to do next."
"Yeah."
"I know you better than that."
He raised his eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yeah. You were so eager about becoming Professor Oak's assistant three months ago. He scolded you for it because you still had a journey to complete."
"It's complete now."
"Exactly."
Jason shook his head, grinning. "If I recall correctly, you were right there, volunteering to be his assistant right alongside me. Not only that, but Oak chewed you out, too."
"Well, what else are you going to do? Go to the Orange Islands?"
"Surely you jest."
"Then we ought to go back to Pallet Town and insist that we help the ol' prof out!"
He smiled. "Okay, you got me. That is, in fact, exactly what I was planning."
"Goody. So when do we leave, and by what means?"
"Early tomorrow morning, by air. I don't want to be hounded by people looking to battle me."
"Sounds good."
"Uh-huh."
Neither of them said anything for a moment.
Kelly broke the silence with, "So, can I see this trophy of yours?"
"Yeah, go ahead." Jason scoffed. "I wonder if it really means anything."
She gave him a strange look as she reached to take it. "It signifies that you've done what so few trainers have done."
"Signifies, yes, but it still seems to have so little actual meaning. Especially when Eric was so easily beaten."
And then she felt a surge of bravery. She put the trophy aside, sat down next to Jason and said, "Then let's see if this has as little meaning as the trophy."
She kissed him.
And he kissed back.
When they pulled away, both of them were left breathless by the encounter.
"No," Jason finally said, "I think it has more."
And they kissed again.
They finally pulled away from each other again.
"We'll head to Pallet Town tomorrow morning," said Jason, "and we'll insist on being assistants."
"Yeah," she said. "I guess we will."
***
Mrs. Ketchum, as usual, was tending her garden when she saw a great shadow descending nearby. She looked over, and found that there was not one shadow, but instead there were two.
A glance upward showed her what the shadows were of.
A Charizard and a Fearow.
She smiled. She knew of only one trainer who used those two Pokemon.
That same trainer had won the Indigo League championship yesterday.
"Hey, Mrs. Ketchum!" said Jason, as his Charizard alighted.
She shook her finger in a mock scold. "You're still growing up on me!"
"I'm sure," he responded, as Gengar helped him into his wheelchair. "Where's Ash?"
"He's off at Professor Oak's lab, no doubt playing video games with Gary." She sighed. "Those two act so immature sometimes. I don't know what to do with them."
Jason grinned, a small part of him hoping that Ash wouldn't inherit all of his mother's ditzy eccentricities. "Is Professor Oak there, as well?"
"Where else would he be?" she responded. "So, have you come back to help him in hs research?"
"In a word, yes," he replied.
"We've come to insist on it," Kelly added.
"Ah. Well, in that case, who am I to stop you?" Mrs. Ketchum smiled. "I'll catch up with you two later; my garden awaits me!"
She scuttled off to another patch in her garden.
Jason shook his head. "Fearow, Charizard, and Gengar, return."
After he tucked the capture balls into his belt, he and Kelly set out for Professor Oak's lab.
*One day, I'm on top of the world, a place I'd never dreamed of being. And the next, I'm headed back to the simple life of a Pokemon researcher in some backwater town. Boy, who'd have expected that?*
Jason breathed deeply. *Ahh. No pollution. No noise. No bumbling tourists. It may not be the Orange Islands, but it might as well be home.*
Jason Creight smiled on.
----------------------------------------
This Is The End Of A Journey.
But Not Of *Against All Odds.*
