Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Be thankful. Or don't. I'd have at least let Ash age.
Happy 25th birthday to the animé. Here's my contribution.
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Misty leaned on the window, looking out at the vast, open sky. Seemed a waste to stay inside on such a nice day, but she'd been outvoted. Their room in the Pokémon Center was mostly quiet, save the sounds of the TV. Brock was busy looking over a map, planning out a route that a certain idiot was certainly going to divert them from.
Speaking of the idiot…
Ash had been stuck in front of the TV for over an hour at this point, Pikachu mirroring his transfixed expression on his shoulder, as Ash sat in a reversed chair. She knew what they were watching, what else would they be? Ash had been waiting to watch this bout for weeks. It was easy to guess who he was betting on to win, it was easy to guess who everyone was betting on. She made way over to watch the show, Ash not seeming to notice anything beyond the broadcast. She should've figured he was a fan. She wondered how long it'd be before-"And that's it! The battle is over!"
Ash...didn't make a sound, Misty had to look at him to be sure she hadn't gone suddenly deaf. This was the point he'd erupt into ranting and raving over what he'd seen, for hours, and hours, and hours. This time, not a sound, only his eyes fixed on the visage of the victor.
"He's so strong."
"Pikaaa."
"We'll get 'em one day, buddy."
Misty put her hand on Ash's other shoulder, smiling. "Keep at it and you'll get there…" Her smile turned sly, "in a hundred years."
Again, silence, and she had to look at him again, and found she couldn't say another word, her own attention transfixed on the fire burning in Ash's eyes, feeling something else ignite inside her. This kid, this inexperienced, reckless, idiotic kid, held the ever-so-common dream of facinghim. A Pokéball for every wanna-be who'd ever uttered the desire, and she could catch every Pokémon in the world, but looking at Ash, she couldn't shake it, shrug it off, or dismiss it, all questions lost in the raging fire.
He'd get there.
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The arena shook with the sound of another explosion, another impact as two combatants were sent back with mutual force. Pikachu's paws dug into ground, scraping him to a halt. The smoke parted before him, his foe still standing, Dragonite meeting Pikachu's fierce glare with mirrored fury. The crowd watched in silence, the battleground scarred by their violence, each Pokémon awaiting instruction or reaction.
Ash looked on, silently, his expression as stone, betraying neither thought nor emotion, save the determination burning in his eyes. Lance took a breath, years of experience holding his composure in place, meeting Ash's stoic gaze in kind. All of Kanto had known for some time this battle was coming, and now the nation watched with bated breath.
She did too. Misty's heart had been racing a mile-a-minute for who-knows how long at this point. She'd much later wonder if her pace mirrored Delia's, but right now the battle was all there was. Recent months had been a blur. Ash's second run at the Indigo Conference, the Elite Four, now this. Years of awaiting a day that never arrived nor seemed to be drawing closer, and in a blink of an eye here he was, fighting to conquer his homeland.
Pikachu heaved in a breath, then another, then one more, his breathing finally evening out. Dirtied, exhausted, ever ready to continue. Dragonite grimaced, his body sparking, Pikachu's cheeks responding in kind, the truth flashing between Pokémon, Trainers, and all eyes upon them. The end was drawing near.
"Dragonite, Rock Slide! Target the entire field!"
With a roar, Dragonite spread his arms, lights forming in the air around him, becoming stones, firing across the ring, their target getting ready to-"Pikachu, Agility!" He was gone, the first barrage missing by what as well been a mile, further shots missing a near-blur.
"Dragonite, close off all his routes!"
Dragonite's arms moved, conducting the rain of stone, stone hailing from the sky in a massive, violent flurry, aiming ahead, behind, everywhere Pikachu wasn't. Like a wall rapidly closing in. A wall, a cage, a tomb, an end to the ambitions of Pokémon and trainer.
Some Pokémon weren't so easily cornered. Some trainers saw walls only as obstacles to be knocked down. "Pick up the pace, Pikachu! Use Extreme Speed!"
His paw touched ground, and the wind pulsed on contact, and a yellow whirlwind suddenly rushed across the field. "Clear the rocks." Pikachu's body shifted with practised precision, his tail beat in the wind, striking a stone as he passed. The stone blasted from the ground, then another strike sent another stone soaring, the arena quickly becoming a hail of stony shards as rock was shot against rock, countless, sharp, tiny shards shooting anywhere and everywhere. Ash raised his arms as the storm passed him, shards nicking at his skin as Lance sought refuge behind his cape.
"Ceasefire, Dragonite!" At Lance's command, Dragonite's barrage ceased, both trainers tracing the path between them.
The shortest distance between two points was clear. "Go for it, Pikachu!" The same between them and victory. "Volt Tackle!" The yellow whirlwind became a storm, a single spark becoming a vortex of power rushing towards his sparking foe.
Nowhere to run. No point in running. There was only one way this ended. "Dragonite, Giga Impact!"
With a mighty roar, Dragonite spread his wings, soaring forth with all the speed he could muster, rushing to the storm with iron will, and harder head. Pikachu leapt, blasting from the ground, the pair meeting in a cataclysmic impact. The pair were thrown back, Dragonite's heavy steps thundering as he staggered, body shifting in desperate search for equilibrium.
Pikachu flipped through the air as he was shot back, his tail jabbing out, piercing the earth, scraping the ground before he flipped backwards once more, finally coming to a stop, standing as high as he could, meeting Dragonite's glare. His cheeks sparking. Sparking yellow, then red, the sparks spreading from his cheeks to the rest of him. Teeth grit, fangs beard, Pikachu stood as the costs of his attack took its toll.
It took its toll, and still, Pikachu stood, breathing heavy, form shifting with every breath, but still, he stood. Dirtied, exhausted, refusing to fall.
Dragonite stared his opponent down, growing as Pikachu's sparking ceased. Dragonite's growl grew longer, growing quieter, before… before fading out, his eyes closing, before he made his final sound, a rumbling thud as he finally hit ground.
"Dragonite is unable to battle, the winner is Pikachu!"
Bated breath gave way to sudden, explosive cheers, sounding to Kanto, and the world the great change that had just happened before them. Delia was already on her feet proclaiming to all who'd hear just whose "baby" Ash was, utterly drowning out Brock's own cheering. Ash had made his way across the field, picking up an exhausted Pikachu. Misty watched Lance approach the pair, speaking words she couldn't hope to make out, words only between them, Lance smiling before parting from a stunned Ash. She'd have to ask about that later. Charles Goodshow had taken to a podium in the stands, microphone in hand, the small man holding the attention of the land.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Kanto's new Pokémon Champion; Ash Ketchum!"
A new chorus of cheering erupted in the stadium, and she couldn't help but be swept up this time, even Ash and Pikachu raising their fists to the heavens. Everyone else was in that moment, Misty was somewhere long ago, looking at a young trainer with a dream, a dream so very far away. That dream he'd walked for so long to reach.
He'd come so far.
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End of Chapter
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Authors notes: Not a one-shot.
Before anyone points out Pikachu knowing Extreme Speed, my policy for attacks is basically this; if they can learn it in-game (in any generation), even under unusual methods, it's fair game to have a given Pokémon know it here.
I'm also not limiting myself to four moves per Pokémon, but even the anime's inconsistent on that one.