A/N: Chapter 3 (and chapter 2's epilogue) are up! Again, I hope you enjoy!

INFERNAPE — EPILOGUE.

"And Infernape is DOWN!" the announcer howled, voice high with excitement. Infernape hit the dirt hard, dust erupting in clouds around him."That electivire is a real powerhouse — I'd not want to be on the receiving end of one of those thunders! We could feel it all the way up in the stands! Is this the end for Ash Ketchum?"

Infernape's body convulsed, fingers twitching, and then he was still. Ash could barely hear the crowd over the pounding of blood in his ears. Infernape was down. Infernape was down. Maybe he'd misjudged. Maybe Electivire was too strong after all. Maybe–

"C'mon, Infernape," he whispered. "Get up. You can do it, I know you can."

"Is that it?" he heard Paul sneer. "You really are weak. You disappoint me time after time — to think I actually hoped you'd be stronger now. Guess I was wrong."

Ash watched, heart heavy, as the referee stepped towards Infernape, flag at half mast.

"Infernape i–" he began, but Electivire extended an arm in his direction, cutting him off.

"Vire! Electivire!" The hulking electric type turned on Infernape, taunting him with a wagging finger. "Electi– vire! Electivire!"

"Give it up, Electivire," Paul snorted. "There's no way–"

Infernape's eyes refocused. Ash felt it deep in his bones, an ancient fire diffusing through his veins. It felt like rebirth, like dying all over again. Like the beginning of the end.

"Not yet," he snarled, grinning at Paul. "We're not done yet!"

Infernape screamed, crown twisting into a column of burning flame. The ground trembled with it, a rage that dug into Ash's core. Distantly, he was aware of the announcers shouting over the comms, of the thunderous howls of the crowd.

None of that mattered. Infernape was awake, heart beating in sync with his trainer's. They'd never felt more alive.

"Infernape," Ash yelled, but his eyes were on his rival. "It's time to show Paul how strong you've become!"

The flamethrower that followed blazed hotter than the sun, and all the battlefield burned with it.

CHAPTER THREE — TEPIG.

Since joining Ash on his travels back in Kanto, Brock had scarcely left his side, save for their brief vacations from journeying about the world. From gym leader to wannabe breeder to budding doctor, his goal in life had leapt to and fro unpredictably; every new experience brought with it a new dream, even as Ash stayed steadfast and unwavering. He powered through a region, battled fiercely through its league and spent barely two months at home before being struck by wanderlust.

It was only on that fifth new region — six, if he was counting by leagues and included the Orange Islands — that it occurred to him that such a hectic, impermanent lifestyle wasn't for him. Not for now, anyway. If he truly wanted to become a doctor, he couldn't explore new places in the shadow of a child.

So when Ash said he was going to Unova, Brock said he'd have to be left behind. Ash had wrestled with that for weeks, sulked inconsolably, half convinced it was his fault, as though Sinnoh had put Brock off the concept of adventure.

"It's not what I did with Infernape, is it?" Ash asked him one day, studying his newest scars.

Brock shook his head with such force he felt like it'd fall off. "No! No, not at all. Ash, what you did with Infernape– it was amazing. You made him… more than he could've ever been with Paul. It was incredible. You are incredible."

Ash smiled at that, small and sad but relieved, and he didn't bring up Brock's refusal to follow him to Unova until he was at the airport.

"You sure you aren't coming?" he breathed, eyes wide and hopeful, as though Brock had changed his mind. When Brock gently declined the offer, his face fell, but he put on a brave front and crushed him in a hug so tight Brock thought his ribs would fracture under the pressure.

"I'm gonna miss you, big guy," he said quietly. Ash nodded into his shirt. "Try not to get killed without me, okay?"

Ash laughed, a wet, hiccuping sound, like he was trying hold back tears. "Yeah," he said. "I'd never leave you out of something like that."

"I'm glad," Brock said dryly, prompting another pained laugh. "Now go, else you'll miss your flight."

Ash nodded, wiping at his face, and after one last squeeze, he dashed off to board the plane. Brock didn't look away until he'd disappeared round the corner.

/

Ash called after a mere five days. The videophone lit up blue, ringing in a high, insistent, repetitive tone until Brock decided that his dissertation wasn't as important as shutting it up and answered.

"Hey, Brock!" Ash greeted, tone effervescent. He sounded more like the kid Brock remembered agreeing to follow halfway across the world, smile as bright as the sun.

"Ash, it's 11 pm." Brock said, as if he minded.

"Sorry! I keep forgetting that you're behind me." Ash had the decency to look apologetic. "I just wanted to see you, is all."

"Don't worry about it; I'm glad you called. I needed a break from my essay, anyway."

"Oh, phew. Essays suck."

"They sure do," Brock agreed, leaning back in his chair. "How's Unova? Any cool pokémon?"

Ash's eyes lit up, brimming with a familiar passion. "Man, you wouldn't even believe! I already caught three!"

"You work fast," Brock laughed.

"Uh-huh! I caught one today, even. Tepig–" Ash scratched the side of his face and Brock realised, abruptly, that he was sheepish. "C'mere, come say hi to Brock!"

A small pokémon — Tepig, Brock presumed — poked his head into view, peering at the videophone screen. Brock gaped at the still-raw rope marks around his snout, then at Ash, jaw tightening.

"What happened to it?"

"He… was abandoned by his trainer. For being too weak," Ash admitted. Tepig oinked mournfully, prompting the boy to rub gently behind his ears. "But he was wrong. Tepig's a real fighter, I can feel it! He's gonna do so great… he just needs a few good meals and he'll be fine."

"Ash–"

"Yeah, I know, I know. Another abandoned fire type." Tepig snuffled questioningly. "But I think I know what I'm doing now. And Tepig doesn't seem like the others! He was just scared at first, is all."

"Different baggage, eh?"

"I can handle it!"

Brock scratched his head. "I'm not so sure about that," he said wryly. "You know what they say– third time's the charm."

A slow grin spread across Ash's face and he ducked his head, petting Tepig affectionately. The piglet snorted happily, pushing against the boy and wiggling its rump.

"You want me to repeat the speech for old time's sake?"

"I'm good. I've got it memorised, anyway. Up here," he laughed, tapping his knuckles against his temples.

"I'm surprised your brain still works, what with all the damage it's taken."

"And all the times I've died." Ash's voice was deceptively casual, but Brock and Tepig still flinched. "The professor did always say I have a thick skull, anyway."

"You're incorrigible," Brock breathed.

Ash brightened. "I dunno what that means, but it sounds cool."

Brock rolled his eyes fondly, watching Ash pacify Tepig in silence.

"Where'd you find Tepig, anyway?" he asked eventually, hoping to maintain levity, but Ash immediately folded in on himself, eyes shuttering and shoulders tense with bitter memory.

"Oh, that." The boy's expression soured, but he kept soothingly petting the fire type, whose ears drooped at the question. "Well, y'see, they've got these things called fight clubs in Unova, and I was in one, and I was in the middle of a battle against this dewott, when an alarm went off, so we went outside, and…"

Ash's voice faded into white noise. His arms moved emphatically, hands shaping the story more than his words ever could, but Brock nodded along attentively anyway.

It occurred to him that he missed this, the chaos and the excitement of never knowing what would come next. Close brushes with death be damned, there was something special about Ash, something that made travelling alongside him a privilege.

"… and then Iris — she's the one who told me about fight clubs — scared Tepig off, but I managed to corner him and get those ropes off him. He was able to eat, then, and he let me clean him up, since he was covered in dirt." Ash wrinkled his nose. "Don George said–" he covered Tepig's ears– "Don George said he thinks Tepig's old trainer does this sort of thing all the time, but they can't do anything about it because there's no 'concrete evidence'."

Brock hummed sympathetically. "That's awful!"

"I know! Anyway, then Team Rocket came outta nowhere and got involved, and they tried to take Pikachu–"

"As usual," Brock muttered.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't anything special, just a regular ambush. But what was special was how Tepig here managed to save Pikachu all by himself!" He beamed at the piglet, who snuffled bashfully. "Nah, don't be like that! You were awesome. Anyway, Iris was gonna catch him after that, 'cause who wouldn't want a pokémon like that on their team? But Tepig said he wanted to go with me, and I wasn't gonna pass that up, so here we are! And we're gonna go all the way to the league together."

"You're going all the way to the league again?" Brock said, as though it was a question that needed to be asked, as though Ash would ever say anything but yes.

But Ash just shrugged. "Yeah, of course. But– I mean– I'm gonna try to do my best, 'cause my pokémon deserve it, but it's not… it's not the end of the world if I don't win, y'know? It's just– in Sinnoh, it was like winning was all that mattered to me. I wanted to get all eight badges, beat Paul in a full battle, and win the league. And… that was all I could think about, like I was going crazy! 'Specially towards the end. I felt like it was the only thing I ever wanted, and that nothing else was even worth thinkin' about. And I don't wanna do that again."

Brock thought about how Ash had looked in Sinnoh, haunted eyes and a perpetually clenched jaw. Driven and calculated, thinking about battle no matter what he was doing. "Yeah, I know what you mean," he agreed. Sinnoh had drained Ash of his enthusiasm and high spirits and turned him into someone else. "You look a lot more relaxed now you're in Unova."

"I feel more relaxed!" Ash laughed and stretched his arms above his head. "Unova's gonna be great, I can feel it. And with pokémon like Tepig by my side, how can I go wrong?"

Brock looked at Tepig, really looked, and shook his head. "I don't think you can," he said, snorting at Ash's surprise. "I think you'll be good for each other. Call it… a doctor's intuition."

"Oh, right, 'cause you're an intellectual now."

"I'm impressed you even know what an intellectual is. I'm impressed you can even say intellectual."

"Shut up!" Ash laughed, and they both grinned. "… you really think Tepig and me are good for each other? You're not just saying it 'cause you know you can't stop me?"

"I mean it," Brock promised. Ash relaxed, slumping with a relieved sigh. "Besides, you've never given me a reason to doubt you. Not with Charizard, and definitely not with Infernape. Okay, maybe a little with Charizard–"

"Hey!"

"– but you pulled through in the end. If any trainer can bring out Tepig's true potential, it's you. And I'll be watching for you at the league."

"Oh man, don't you know it! Me and Tepig are gonna be the best ever, just you wait! Right, Tepig?"

"Pig!" Tepig enthused.

(Ash didn't call again for a long time, but Brock wasn't worried. He knew they'd all be fine without him.)

A/N: Reviews/comments are always appreciated! I try to take all constructive criticism into account so I can improve any future writing I do. :)