Their Victory

The entire stadium erupted with loud cheers. There was no doubt that the crowd was captivated by the power shown by all of the Pokemon on show, but Darkrai had excited them in a different manner entirely. They were finally able to witness someone who was not only putting up a fight against Tobias' gang of Legendary Pokemon, but who was also matching them in terms of sheer power.

Cheers of "Darkrai!" echoed as everyone waited for the epic showdown between the two Pokemon to begin.

Tobias cursed under his breath as he pointed Genesect's Pokeball forward. As the fallen Pokemon was sucked into the ball, he slipped it into his pocket before unveiling the Pokeball that contained his final Pokemon.

On the other side of the field, Ash breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't as if he doubted the ability of his own Darkrai, but defeating another one of Tobias' Pokemon and getting on even terms with him was a cause of relief. He trusted his Pokemon, however, he knew more than anyone that trust and willingness could only get him so far in Pokemon battles.

In the midst of all this, Darkrai remained calm. He glanced at Ash for a moment before turning his attention towards his foe. Tobias pointed his final Pokeball towards the battlefield and his very own Darkrai emerged.

The cheers turned into silence as both Darkrai glared at one another. A grunt from Tobias' Darkrai followed. Ash's Darkrai stared back without reacting to his opponent's aggressive approach.

"Begin!"

As soon as the referee raised his flag and called for the match to begin, Ash narrowed his eyes. "Dark Pulse!" he commanded. He'd simulated the fight between the two Darkrai multiple times over the last few days. There was no guarantee that the match-up would come to pass, yet he couldn't keep his mind off of thinking about it.

Tobias sneered uneasily, a sight which was rare over the course of the Sinnoh League. "Fight back with your own Dark Pulse." His voice sounded calm, but his clenched fists gave away the fact that this wasn't as simple a battle as he probably thought it'd be.

Chains of black energy clashed in the middle of the field as both Darkrai unleashed their Dark-type moves. The first round of Dark Pulses cancelled out, but Ash's Darkrai unleashed another one immediately. Tobias' Dark-type responded in kind as it moved its body back and fired its own.

Both Dark Pulses collided again, however, this time, Ash's Darkrai growled, fluttering his hands as he unleashed more power into his attack. The stalemate lasted for mere moments as Ash's Darkrai's power overwhelmed Tobias'. Even though it was a Dark-type move, it still appeared to have done significant damage to Tobias' Darkrai.

Tobias looked nervous, gritting his teeth. He hastily gave out another order. "Brick Break!"

Ash noted that this was the first time that he'd seen Tobias order his Darkrai to use Brick Break. He'd imagined that it would have an attack that could counter his Darkrai, so this move wasn't totally out of his consideration.

Ash remained undeterred as he watched his Darkrai hovering in the air, unfazed by his foe charging at him with a shining fist that could potentially do serious damage because of the type advantage. In the brief time he'd known Darkrai, Ash had come to know that he was extremely sharp. Without having to utter a word, Darkrai showed off his superior speed, sliding out of the way of the attack, almost akin to a ghost.

"Focus Blast while it's close!" Ash yelled at the opportune moment.

"Out of the way and then Dark Void!" came the counter from Tobias.

Ash's Darkrai turned around and immediately charged a blast of fighting energy between his hands. Before the opposing Darkrai could charge its own attack, Darkrai had already sent the Focus Blast in its direction.

By the barest of margins, Tobias' Darkrai managed to evade the incoming move which whistled past it and crashed into the boundary of the battlefield. Reinforced as it was, the Focus Blast still managed to make a massive dent into it as it crashed with a loud thud, making the ground tremble.

Ash scowled. Focus Blast was an attack that had a high chance of missing. But even though it'd missed this time, he knew that it would only take one good hit of Focus Blast to have Tobias' Darkrai in trouble. Such was the power of the attack, and more so, such was the power of his own Darkrai.

Tobias focused his eyes on his Darkrai before he spoke. "Nasty Plot."

Ash raised an eyebrow at that. He hadn't come across many Pokemon who'd used that particular move in battle. As far as his knowledge, Nasty Plot was a move in which a Pokemon concentrated all its power in its mind to increase the power of their ranged attacks. In the case of a Pokemon like Darkrai, who primarily used such types of attacks, it could prove to be a terrifying weapon. His Darkrai didn't know the move, at least as far as he understood. But then again, he hadn't really asked his Darkrai about his moveset. Darkrai had shown him his wares and he'd just gone with that.

Tobias' Darkrai closed its eyes as dark energy surrounded its ghost-like body. It almost seemed as if some kind of black fog had appeared, and it suddenly began twisting viciously before getting sucked into Darkrai's body.

"Focus Blast!" Ash shouted out. It was too dangerous for him to let that move go through without retaliating.

Darkrai formed a concentrated ball of energy between his slender hands before throwing it towards his foe who appeared in the middle of its concentration to strengthen itself. It also meant that it was left defenseless and the attack struck. The opposing Darkrailet out a grunt as it was pushed back several metres and made to open its eyes in the process. It placed a hand on its head, closing one of its eyes as the pain surged through its body.

Tobias maintained a neutral expression on his face. He seemed more confident than a minute ago, even though his Darkrai appeared to be struggling after taking the brunt of the Focus Blast. "Thunderbolt!"

Ash couldn't tell whether Nasty Plot had been completed or not at first. However, the way electricity surged out of Tobias' Darkrai's hands, chugging some of the ground beneath as it gushed towards his Darkrai, made him think that it probably did.

Darkrai himself seemed surprised that the Thunderbolt headed towards him had so much power. He narrowly slid out of the way of the beam of electricity, but not before it had managed to scrape his arm and send a stinging sensation throughout his body.

"Nasty Plot during the battle is quite a risky strategy," Wallace began as he smiled at the grand battle that he'd witnessed thus far. "However, if a Pokemon is successful in completing it during a battle, then its victory is all but assured in most cases."

"Using an attack strengthening move in itself is not the biggest challenge in a battle," Lance said. "But the trainer and their Pokemon must have confidence that they would be able to sustain any attack that could come their way while using such a move."

"Ash was taken by surprise," said Cynthia as the others turned to look at her. "If Ash had responded instantly to the Nasty Plot and had his Darkrai attack with something as strong as Focus Blast, maybe this battle would've ended there."

"Indeed," Lance confirmed as he turned his attention back to the battlefield. "There's a difference of experience between Ash and Tobias."

"Was I wrong about thinking Ash's Darkrai was stronger?" Alder thought out loud, hands folded. He'd made a statement earlier that one of the Darkrai was clearly a level above the other, and he'd meant that for Ash's.

"Regardless, the battle's not over yet," Wallace commented. "At the end of it all, age, experience, or anything of that sort doesn't matter if you win."

For the first time while battling with him, Ash had heard his Darkrai let out a cry of agony of such magnitude. He grimaced as he saw black blood drip out of Darkrai's right arm. "Are you okay, Darkrai?"

'Do not worry. It is but a scratch.' He successfully evaded another incoming bolt of electricity after reassuring his trainer.

Hearing the tone in which Darkrai spoke, Ash sighed in relief. He narrowed his eyes the next second as he thought of a way to end the battle. With its powered-up moves, Tobias' Darkrai was more of a threat than any of his other Pokemon. Until now, Ash had thought that his Hydreigon was Tobias' strongest Pokemon, but having witnessed the power up Darkrai's moves had received after that Nasty Plot, Ash considered himself somewhat mistaken.

Focus Blast would be too risky a move at this point due to its low hit rate. It was great in usual circumstances, but not in a battle against a Pokemon as naturally fast as Darkrai. Their ghost-like movements allowed them to evade even attacks that would normally successfully hit, so a low accuracy move would be child's play for them to dodge.

Regardless of that though, Tobias' Darkrai had taken more hits than his, and it would only take a couple or so direct attacks for his own Darkrai to defeat it.

Ash's Darkrai scowled at Tobias'. 'Know your place!' Those words were heard by no one but his foe.

"Shadow Ball!" Ash ordered.

"Dark Pulse!" Tobias' voice was a lot more confident after those last two attacks of his Darkrai, as if he was certain that he had the upper hand in the battle now.

The two attacks were fired almost simultaneously and both clashed in the middle.

Ash smirked at that. His Darkrai had begun to close the distance as soon as he'd released the Shadow Ball and before long, was closing in on his foe. Neither Tobias nor his Darkrai had seen that coming as both their eyes widened. Tobias' hasty shout was followed by his Darkrai retargeting its Dark Pulse towards the incoming Darkrai, who'd already sent a chain of dark power towards it.

Ash had planned this. He'd talked to Darkrai about this beforehand; that if he called for Shadow Ball against Tobias' Darkrai, then it meant throwing the Ghost-type move a distraction before moving in close from the other side and attacking with Dark Pulse. Focus Blast would have been the more powerful choice, but Dark Pulse was the move that Darkrai could use in the least amount of time before his motives were noticed by Tobias or his Darkrai.

Tobias' Darkrai cried out in pain after being struck by the Dark Pulse and pushed backwards again. Ash's Darkrai fired another of the same attack, but its foe, having come back to its senses, managed to narrowly avoid the second attack. Its pumping chest as it huffed was evidence enough that it was at its limit.

Ash realized that this was the moment; the opportunity to finish the battle. "Focus Blast!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. He could no longer maintain his composure with victory in sight.

"Dodge it!" Tobias yelled, equally as impatiently as Ash. One could see the unease on his features as his grin had vanished.

Ash's Darkrai closed in even more while forming an orb of brownish energy between the palms of his hands. Tobias' Darkrai grunted as it flew back as fast as it could manage, but its movements were but it was slower than before, its movements more sluggish.

"Dark Pulse!" bawled Tobias as he watched Ash's Darkrai release the Focus Blast and close in on his own.

Tobias' Darkrai could only manage to make a small ball for its Dark Pulse before the blast of concentrated energy from its foe crashed into it. It slammed into the ground by the force of the blast and, to its horror, Ash's Darkrai wasn't done as it fired another pulsating black beam of darkness. The Dark Pulse struck Tobias' Darkrai at point-blank range, its screams echoing throughout the stadium.

Even through the loud roars of the spectators, the cry of anguish from Tobias' Darkrai slipped into everyone's ears. It lay there, trembling in pain as Ash's Darkrai stood on top of it.

"Is it over?!" Barry hollered, standing up from his seat in the crowd.

The battle had proved to be so exciting that even the usually composed Brock had been made to stand. His hands were dug into the seat in front of him as he awaited the outcome of the battle. Was it really over? His long-time friend, the one he'd seen grow from a trainer who'd just started his journey with his Pikachu with no badges to one that could command Pokemon of the ilk of Darkrai, had come so far. He was battling in the final against a trainer that had managed to sweep through the entire Sinnoh League as if every other trainer was a stepping stone for him.

"It could well be," Brock muttered. "But that's the same Darkrai that has defeated every other trainer on its own."

The others around them didn't speak, too engrossed watching the battle. Delia was simply seated; she didn't move. She only had her hands clasped close to her chest.

Pikachu had dug his hands into Professor Oak's shirt, creasing it in the process as he watched his friends on the verge of victory. He'd have loved to have been out there with Ash, but he understood that Ash had chosen his team on the basis of what he thought Tobias might do and expect.

Tobias yelled out a scream as he watched his Darkrai tremble, writhing on the ground, and eventually, cease to show any movement. It had been knocked out.

The referee didn't call the match right away though. He waited for almost a quarter of a minute before he raised his flag towards Ash. "Tobias' Darkrai is unable to continue the battle. Ash's Darkrai wins!"

As soon as he uttered those words in the microphone, the crowd who'd just gone silent a few seconds ago, exploded. Cheers buzzed through the stadium and they were louder than anything that'd been heard throughout the entire tournament.

Ash's fingers had become cold, his entire body gone numb even before the referee had declared his victory. As soon as his Darkrai's Dark Pulse had landed, he knew that he'd won. Yet, he couldn't believe that he had. All the previous league battles flashed through his head, especially the ones that had eliminated him in previous tournaments. His battle against Ritchie and the way he'd lost because his Charizard refused to battle. Had he been able to control his Charizard better at the time, he was sure that he would advance further. Then, the battle against Harrison in the Silver Conference where the same Charizard took him as far as the Top 8, but lost a close match. Another close loss to the eventual winner of the Ever Grande Conference in Hoenn, Tyson, had cut short his dream of winning the League. But he'd finally won it!

His face held no expression of joy. It was one of shock; lips parted as he muttered some words to himself. "We did it." He spoke in such a low voice that he himself couldn't hear those words. He couldn't tell what he felt. Was it joy? Satisfaction? Relief? His thoughts were so jumbled up that he didn't have a clue. He'd thought that he'd jump up in jubilation if he won the competition; that he wouldn't be able to control himself from showing his excitement to the world, even if thinking about that had made him feel embarrassed at the time.

But there was none of that.

Ash hadn't even noticed that Tobias had already recalled his final Pokemon, nor that his own Darkrai had made his way back to him. Darkrai hovered inches away from Ash, gazing into the eyes of his trainer.

"The winner of this battle as well as the Lily of the Valley Conference is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The referee declared, but his words were lost in the cheers of the crowd.

A few more moments passed, but there was no response from Ash. 'You've won, Ash.'

Those words finally snapped Ash out of his daze as he looked at Darkrai. A jubilant grin that spread from ear to ear made its way on his face. "Yes, we've won!" he muttered. He raised his fist to the skies before he took a deep breath. "We did it!" he finally yelled out.

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Darkrai, warmly embracing the Dark-type Pokemon. "Thank you," Ash said. Darkrai appeared confused for a few moments before he finally tapped on Ash's shoulders with his own slender hands.

"Mr. Ash Ketchum,"

Ash was surprised as he finally let go of Darkrai and turned around to notice two Nurse Joys and two men behind them. He figured they were Pokemon doctors from the way they were dressed.

"Can we please have your Pokemon and get them healed?" One of the Joys asked politely. "The Pokemon League would like for your Pokemon to be with you during the award Ceremony."

"Oh, sure!" Ash immediately unclipped his belt which had 6 Pokeballs. He took five of them out of the belt while keeping one with him. "Please take care of them."

Nurse Joy hesitantly looked at Darkrai, flinching for a brief second. "Would you not like your Darkrai to be treated as well?"

Ash glanced at Darkrai before smiling at Joy. "No," he shook his head. "He's fine for now. I'd like for him to be with me."

"Pika pi!"

Suddenly, Ash felt something crash against his gut. He let out a groan before grinning when he noticed it was Pikachu. The rodent hugged his trainer with his tiny hands, climbed onto his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek against Ash's.

Ash enjoyed the familiar feeling of his Pikachu rubbing against his face. He scratched Pikachu's ears before taking him into his arms. "We won, Pikachu!" he exclaimed.

Nurse Joy, who'd seen the little union of the two friends smiled. "We'll return your Pokemon to you in a few minutes. You can bring them back to us later for a full check-up if needed once the ceremony is over."

"Thanks for that." Ash retained his smile. It hadn't vanished since his victory was confirmed.

Once the doctors left, Ash saw Tobias smile in his direction. Both trainers met in the middle of the field as Tobias offered a handshake to his final opponent.

"That was quite a battle, Ash," Tobias said with a wry smile on his face. "I'll be honest, I did not expect you to be such a challenge, even with your Darkrai."

Ash took the offered hand and shook it, but batted an eye at the comment. Tobias still belittled him, even after he'd been defeated. Ash couldn't deduce whether it was genuine or just another attempt from Tobias to assert his superiority. Nonetheless, he returned the smile. "I can't say the same about you. You were every bit the trainer I thought you'd be."

"It's been a while since I've had a battle as magnificent as that," Tobias continued. "And I thank you for that. I've been shown new possibilities."

"Likewise."

Ash couldn't deny that he learned a lot from that battle. Just from the battle between the two Darkrai, he'd learned that moves such as Nasty Plot could be an amazing weapon if used correctly. Ultimately, it all depended on how the trainers timed it and the confidence they had in their Pokemon. Tobias had proved his quality as a Pokemon trainer, too. Ash might not have appreciated Tobias acting as if he was above the others, but he couldn't deny that it would be true for Tobias in most cases. It might've even been the case during their battle as well had Ash not gone through the rigorous training with all of his Pokemon or had help from Darkrai. Ash considered that he'd come out a better trainer after that battle.

"I hope we can battle again in the future," Ash continued. "I'd like to see the strength of your other Pokemon."

"The thought of that excites me as well." Tobias turned to leave. "I'll just have to catch even stronger Pokemon."

The last statement had Ash shaking his head. Tobias was quite a bemusing personality. He'd have expected him to say that he would work with his Pokemon to make them stronger, not that he'd catch stronger Pokemon. He put it down to different people having different means to get stronger. He'd seen how strong Tobias' Hydreigon was, and that was a Pokemon that he'd apparently raised himself to the level that it was at now.

As a few more minutes passed, the crowd quietened, but most people still remained in the stadium. The sky darkened a fair bit and the stars became visible. Fireworks had been lit, illuminating the dark blue sky with its wondrous colours.

Ash's adrenaline had died down too as he soaked in the glory of his victory. For the past few minutes, he'd done nothing but stand on the battlefield with Pikachu and Darkrai. His mind was still a jumble of thoughts, both of the past and also thoughts about what he'd do in the future.

The stage had been set for the award ceremony which would also mark the close of the year's Sinnoh League. Mr. Goodshow walked on to the stage with a golden trophy which had a Pokeball at its head and Ash Ketchum engraved at the bottom. He was followed by the Champions who'd graced the tournament: Cynthia, Lance, Wallace and Alder.

One of the League officials walked up to Ash and handed him 5 Pokeballs. "Here are your Pokeballs, Mr. Ketchum. If you'd please be kind enough to let out all your Pokemon before going on to the stage…"

Ash gleefully accepted the Pokeballs and then raised all of them at once. Charizard, Garchomp, Sceptile, Infernape and Heatran formed a circle around their trainer as they each gazed into his eyes. Ash did the same, moving from one Pokemon to another.

Ash couldn't put into words how thankful he was to his Pokemon, but words didn't need to be spoken. He petted Heatran's steely head, then fist pumping with Charizard, Sceptile and Infernape. Garchomp didn't want to be left behind as he excitedly jumped onto his trainer and playfully nibbled at his head.

"It hurts more than it did the last time you did that," Ash laughed, managing to get Garchomp off his head. His biting habits could prove dangerous for Ash's health now that he was a fully evolved dragon.

Ash began walking towards the stage where he saw all the Champions smiling at him. He returned the smiles in kind as he stepped onto the stage, shaking each of their hands as he moved from one Champion to another. He could barely feel his body because of the nerves.

"You've gotten truly strong, Ash." Lance was the first of the Champions that Ash shook hands with. "I remember the times we met in Johto and I had no doubt that you'd win the League soon."

"Thanks," Ash said. "I can't express what it means coming from one of my idols growing up, Lance."

"That was a spectacular show that you and your Pokemon put up," Wallace commented as he shook hands with Ash.

"Glad you enjoyed it!"

"Ash," Alder started. "First of all, congratulations on your victory. I've heard that you still haven't been to the Unova region,"

"I haven't, but I plan to go there very soon." Ash said.

"That's great then. It's a faraway place, but there are some Pokemon in Unova that you wouldn't normally find in these parts of the world. I want you to come there and challenge the Elite Four. You'd normally have to defeat all the certified Gyms in the region or win the League but I can make a recommendation for you."

Ash was quite taken aback by that. He knew that a trainer couldn't officially challenge the Elite Four and the Champion without either getting the Gym badges from the 8 certified Gyms of the region or winning the regional conference, but he had no idea that a recommendation could help one skip all of those things and challenge the Champions League of the region directly.

"Directly challenge the Elite Four?" Ash mused at the idea. "I'll think about it, Alder. Thanks!" he said after a few moments of thought.

Alder chuckled at the response that he received. "Of course." He patted Ash's shoulder a couple of times. "You've just competed in the Sinnoh League so you must be worn out. Take your time. But once you decide to challenge the Unova League, be prepared. Each and every one of the Elite Four is strong, extremely strong. The same can be said about the Elite Four of any other region, honestly, but I say this about those 4 because I've seen their strength time and time again. Plenty of strong trainers fall before them."

Ash took in all that Alder had to say and nodded. The Elite Four were some of the strongest trainers of their region, only below the Champion. They had to be extraordinary, and his various meetings with some of them proved to him as much. He'd never officially challenged them before, and he looked forward to doing so in the near future.

He offered Alder a warm smile and took a stride, finally coming in front of Cynthia.

"Congratulations on winning the Conference, Ash," were the only words that Cynthia said to him with a smile.

Ash nodded his head. He wanted to talk to her a bit more, even challenge her to a battle, in fact. They had gotten much closer during the last month and a half and he thoroughly enjoyed his time spent with her. But that could wait till later. "Thanks, Cynthia!" He said as he moved past her and to the President of the Pokemon League, Mr. Goodshow.

"Congratulations on winning! That was a spectacular battle," Charles Goodshow complimented as he stepped forward.

A few clicking noises caught Ash's attention and made him notice the various cameramen that were around the stage. He was so caught up that he hadn't seen them before now. He waved at one of the cameras, smiling awkwardly. He'd avoided most of the media after his previous battles so he wasn't quite used to this kind of attention. This wasn't something that he could avoid now though. He'd won the League so he'd be facing some of this treatment for a while. And he didn't look forward to it.

"This brings this year's Lily of the Valley Conference to a close," Mr. Goodshow started his speech on the microphone, a formality that was his responsibility as the head of the Pokemon League. "We've seen some incredible battles, exceptional trainers and their amazing Pokemon. It's been another successful Conference of the Sinnoh League and I have no one to thank more than the trainers who participated. First of all, the Champion of the Conference, Ash Ketchum gave us a brilliant display of his skills as a trainer and the power of his Pokemon. Tobias too showed us why he'd been the favorite to win this competition. His team not only had Darkrai but also his other Pokemon which were all top class. Neither of the finalists deserved to go away without the trophy, but such is the nature of the tournament that there can only be one winner. I also thank all of the other incredible trainers who participated. Without you, it wouldn't have been possible for us to witness the battles that we did. And of course, to all the fans who came here to the Lily of the Valley island to cheer on these trainers, your presence made the event what it was." He then turned to look at the Champions that stood next to him. "I show my sincerest thanks to the Champions who graced us with their presence. They're busy people and yet they took the time to be here for the last few rounds. I can't thank them enough. The same goes for all the Elite Four members who joined us."

The previous fireworks hadn't even disappeared when a few more were shot as Mr. Goodshow took a break in his speech.

"And now, your very own Champion of the Sinnoh region will present the Winner's Trophy of the Lily of the Valley Conference to Ash Ketchum all the way from Pallet Town in the Kanto region!"

As another set of fireworks were launched, Mr. Goodshow handed the trophy to Cynthia. The blonde Champion stepped forward and offered it to Ash.

Ash's hands trembled, but he managed to finally grasp the trophy. It was quite cold, he noted. He gazed at it and his name etched into it brought an even bigger smile to his face. "Thank you."

As the scene of Ash holding onto the trophy appeared on the giant screens, the crowd stood up in ovation. Ash glanced around the various corners of the stadium, waving his hands. Soaking in the applause was easier said than done for him. He felt happy yet nervous.

Soon after the applause had died down, Ash was asked to pose with the trophy. He did so, first with all the champions, then with his Pokemon.

Ash stood in the middle, with Pikachu on his left shoulder. He was surrounded by all the Pokemon that he'd used in the final: Charizard, Garchomp and Darkrai to his right, Infernape, Sceptile and Heatran to his left. The Pokemon all roared victoriously as a multitude of photos were clicked by the various cameramen standing at different angles. Charizard, as was tradition, let out a Flamethrower in the air and roared; a roar which reverberated throughout the stadium. It was followed by roars and shrieks from all the other Pokemon apart from Darkrai.

Darkrai stood still close to Ash, his legs extended. It was rare for him to use his legs to physically stand, but he'd decided to do it since it was for the camera. He figured that would be a good thing since he didn't know what else to do. All of this was very alien to him.

Ideally, Ash would have liked to share this moment of glory with each and every one of his Pokemon, but that wasn't a practical possibility at a time like this. He did a victory sign with his fingers as another few clicks sounded.

This could take a while.

Ash was tired. He slumped his way through the hallway of the stadium, waving and smiling at a few kids and fans along the way. All of his Pokemon besides Pikachu were back in their Pokeballs. As he finally came to the Pokemon Center attached to the main stadium, he saw all of his friends waiting for him, grins on their faces.

He shot a grin back at them as he walked forward. The first person he walked to was his mother. "Mom," he only had time to say as much before Delia wrapped her arms around her son.

"That was great, son!" She mumbled into his ears and kissed his forehead. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Mom!" Ash let himself be embraced by his mother, and placed his hands on her back. The fact that she was there to witness his first League victory in person brought him great joy. He always wanted her to see his success first hand. And the first step towards his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master had come in her presence.

Neither the son nor the mother spoke any more words before parting. Delia wiped away a tear as she proudly gazed at what her son had become.

"You did it, Ash!" Dawn chimed as she walked forwards and lifted her hand up. Ash high-fived her, something that they had done numerous times during their travels. "I was so nervous when Tobias' Darkrai used Nasty Plot!" She didn't hide her emotions, throwing her arms wide. "But your Darkrai really came through. Congrats!"

"Thanks, Dawn!" Ash said.

"She almost cried," Brock added, stepping forward. Ash turned to look at him and chuckled. "She was probably more worried about your match than anyone else."

Ash furrowed an eyebrow as he turned to look back at Dawn, who flushed furiously. She spun around as if she'd been caught stealing candies as a kid.

"You didn't have to mention that!" The girl bawled.

Ash let loose a laugh. He realized that this victory was not just about him and his Pokemon, but also about his friends and family who'd supported him all the way. He strode to Dawn and stroked her hair gently. "No need to worry anymore," he said softly, recalling Dawn's own catchphrase.

"Anyways," Brock scoffed, getting Ash's attention away from Dawn. "Congratulations, Ash!" The former Pewter Gym Leader smiled. "You and your Pokemon were great out there!"

"Yes, that was wonderfully done, my boy!" said Professor Oak, joining in. "Congratulations!" He patted Ash's shoulder a few times.

Ash glanced at both of them and nodded. "Thanks, Brock, and Professor Oak!"

Later that night, Ash had received a number of calls from his old friends. May, Misty, Tracey and some of the other people whom he'd met and befriended through his journey. They congratulated the trainer on his first ever League victory. It had been a long time since he'd talked to some of them, but he remembered all of them, especially the ones he'd travelled together with. He was fond of the experiences he'd had with them, and the nostalgia he felt made him almost tear up in their conversations.

His last call that night was with Gary, and, if he was to be frank, the conversation the two childhood rivals had was one that left him the most satisfied. They were no longer rivals. Gary was focusing his time on Pokemon research these days, but their days of competing with one another had brought them quite close. He might not freely admit it, but Ash highly valued Gary's opinion. Yes, Paul had been his most recent rival, and maybe, their rivalry during his travels through Sinnoh was even more fierce than with Gary, but Gary was something special to Ash.

"You finally won it, Ash." Gary let a smile make its way to his face which had held a blank expression before.

"Yeah, Gary," Ash spoke in a hard tone. "Finally."

There were a few moments of silence as the two former rivals looked at one another in the eyes.

"You almost seem sad that I did," Ash broke the silence, his lips slowly curling upwards. "Are you jealous?"

Gary remained expressionless before he eventually shook his head in amusement. "As if you could ever do something to make me jealous, Ashy-boy!" he chuckled.

"You haven't changed, even after becoming a Pokemon Researcher." Ash joined his childhood friend in his laughter; it was refreshing. He felt extremely tired, but there was something about Gary; something that made him forget all about the fatigue that he felt and instead stand proudly in front of him without showing the least bit of weakness.

"You seem to have changed somewhat though," Gary said, putting his hands in his pockets. "What happened?"

"I've been getting that a bit." Ash raised his eyebrows and sighed. Had he really changed that much that so many people noticed it? "If I have changed, isn't it for the better? I won the League, after all."

"Even I can't refute that." Gary shook his head. A serious expression appeared on his face as he looked Ash in the eyes. "What do you plan to do next? Knowing you, I'm sure you're not just gonna come to Pallet Town and rest."

"I plan to go to the Unova region," Ash said. "There's so many new things and Pokemon in the Unova region that I haven't seen yet."

Gary nodded. "Yeah, Unova is quite different from the regions you've been to."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "You've been there?"

"I was there for a few days with a Pokemon expert that I was working under for a while," Gary said. He shifted his weight as he looked to his left. Ash noticed that he was trying to avoid eye contact. "I'm kinda interested to know how you caught those two."

Ash's lips curled towards the right. "You mean how I caught my Infernape and Sceptile?" He knew exactly what Gary was talking about, but he wanted to play around a bit. It wasn't always that he got to tease Gary in a way akin to this. "They're incredible, aren't they? Infernape belonged to another trainer as a Chimchar and Sceptile was just a Treeko when I caught him."

A vein popped on Gary's forehead as he glared back at Ash. "I'm asking about how you caught Darkrai and Heatran!" he hollered.

Ash chuckled at the reaction that he received from his oldest rival. "I know, I know," he managed between his laughs. "I don't always get to see you that way, so let me enjoy it." An even harder stare from Gary made Ash sigh. "You've become a lot more serious now that you're a Pokemon Researcher. Catching them was pure luck, if I'm being completely honest. I was at the right place at the right time. I caught Darkrai at a place called Alamos Town, and damn was our visit there eventful." He shook his head as he remembered the events that had happened that day. The conflict between the two Pokemon said to be the creators of the region of Sinnoh had him overwhelmed. Regardless of how many times he came across such incredible Pokemon, he was always amazed by their unbelievable power. "Things happened and Darkrai decided to come with me."

Gary's head jerked back in surprise. "What?" The question seemed more in shock than a real query to Ash. "It just decided to come with you?" He sighed, his lips twitching a moment later. "But since this is you that we're talking about, I'm not that surprised. I mean you're the guy who swam with Lugia and who was lucky enough to see Ho-Oh multiple times."

Ash scratched his head. "I'm glad that I don't have to convince you that that's how I got Darkrai." He'd been tired of getting the same reaction from so many people, saying that there was no way a Legendary Pokemon as strong as his Darkrai would just decide to follow him on a whim.

"And what about Heatran?" Gary asked.

"About him," Ash began. "His capture was more conventional. When I was headed to the Lily of the Valley island, our ship made a stop at Stark Mountain. There was this Pokemon Ranger who was after Heatran so that he could take him to a Pokemon Reserve, but he proved too strong to be captured. So, Darkrai fought it and I got him."

"Must've been quite a battle," Gary mused. "As was your Sinnoh League final match." He gazed into Ash's eyes. "You've become strong, Ash. Very strong."

"I never expected those words from you, Gary."

"What?!" A man shouted, slamming his fists on the table. "He lost?! Even with all the resources we spent to help him?"

"Yes, sir," The man who stood in front of him nodded. "It was a close match in the final, but the other trainer who also had a Darkrai and a Heatran won."

"That incompetent fool!" His angry voice echoed in the room, which had several luxurious couches but no one in the room apart from the two people. "Hasn't the Boss gone to Sinnoh to watch the finals? Have you received any orders from him yet?"

"Sir Ghetsis has indeed gone to the Lily of the Valley island to observe the final match," the man who acted as the subordinate to the seated man said. "However, I've received no word from him as to how to follow up yet. He'd planned to return right after the end of the League."

"Order Tobias to continue with the plan. The Conference doesn't matter. Our goal is the Pokemon League."

"Yes, sir!" The man said with a slight bow before turning around.

"Tell him that another failure will not be tolerated!"

How long has it been? Damn! Thinking about it makes my head ache. I'm sorry for making you guys wait so long for this chapter to come out, and if you've still stuck with this story even after all those years of my inactivity, I really thank you for that.

I hope I didn't disappoint you too much with this chapter. While I was reading the previous chapters, some of the things I did made me laugh at myself. I've revised some small things in a few chapters, mostly related to romance, but otherwise, it's all the same. There are also many typos and errors in those chapters. I'm going to be working on those with my beta so they come off as a bit more polished.

As always, thanks for reading! Tell me what you thought of the chapter in the reviews.