Chapter 9
March On
Ash and Pikachu continued down the road. "Kanto's close. I can feel it." Ash said. Pikachu nodded. "There's only one gate left to cross, The Final Gate. After that, we're home." Pikachu said. "Home…" Ash said. He remembered the world that he used to live in. He remembered the colorful creatures that he knew, the places that he saw, and the people he met. "I'm coming." Ash said.
As Ash and Pikachu approached The Final Gate, he saw shadows fill the sky. An eerie feeling swept over him, like there was something that should not be there, a piece that did not fit, a being that should not exist, the other. "They're coming." Ash said. Pikachu turned to Ash. "Who?" "The Hopenol Units."
A gust of wind swept The Boundary Lands. The first Hopenol Unit landed with a thunderous crash. It shook the ground when it arrived. It was followed by four other robots, all looking the same. Their penis-like needles dripped with green ooze. Their leader spoke. "Ash Ketchum, you should not be here. You should be awake." He said. Ash smiled. Deep down, he was afraid, but he could not let it show. "I am awake." He said. "No, you are unconscious. Your mind has been separated from your body. We must unify them and destroy your phylactery." "Are you talking about Pikachu? If you are, I'm not going to let that happen, not this time." The Hopenol leader was silent. Another spoke up. "You have killed our brother, Ash Ketchum. We fight not for our duty to our master, but for revenge. You shall be excised from this world never to return." "I'll kill all of you. Just like how I killed your brother." Ash said. He turned to Pikachu. "Are you ready?" He said. "I was reborn ready." Pikachu said with sparks flying from his cheeks.
Pikachu shot a bolt of lightning at the lead Hopenol Unit, but it put up a barrier to stop the attack. Two of the other Hopenols flew behind the electric mouse pokemon and grabbed him with their psychic hold. The leader flew in and brandished is needle penis. "This will be over quickly." He said. Ash saw what was about to happen. Pikachu didn't stand a chance against five Hopenol Units at once. He had to join in. He could feel his inner strength burning. Voices in his head spoke to him. "Ash, you can't have your pokemon fight every battle for you." It was Brock. "You have to believe in yourself. Believe in your strength. Use that power I gave you. Don't let it go to waste." Misty added. Ash clenched his fist. "I will. For everyone."
The lead Hopenol Unit moved closer to Pikachu. Green ooze dripped from its needle like sperm from a penis. "Get away from my friend!" Ash shouted. One of the Hopenol Units laughed. "You think you can stop us? You're only a human. You have human limitations, no powers whatsoever." "Maybe being a human means more than you think." Ash said. He charged toward the lead Hopenol Unit and slammed his fist into the robot's face. The metal crunched from the impact. The other Hopenol Units were stunned. Pikachu took this opportunity to shoot a burst of electricity at the robot's needle. It exploded from the attack, spreading the green ooze everywhere. Its body fell down, limp.
"Who's next?" Ash said. Another Hopenol Unit charged at Ash, but he jumped out of the way. He grabbed it by the head and twisted it off. Another tried to shoot a beam, but Ash rolled out of the way. Pikachu blasted electricity at another, but it was all useless. All of them regenerated. Ash even saw their leader reconstructing, like the ooze could pull its parts back together even when its need was broken.
Ash started to run toward one of the Hopenol Units, but it dashed away. They all dashed away and formed a circle around Pikachu. "Ash?" Pikachu said. He watched in horror as the robots charged their psychic beams. He tried to get ready for a counter attack. He charged himself and got ready for a volt tackle, but it was too late. The robots all fired their beams at once. Pikachu tried his best to resist. He tried to charge himself and break free from the pain, but instead, he fell down. "Pikachu!" Ash shouted. The Hopenol leader turned to him. "Your phylactery is no more. You shall return to your life, your real life, where you belong."
Ash thought that his world would be destroyed again, but he didn't feel anything leaving him. Nothing faded into nothingness. His body did not return to being a vegetable. He stood there, with fury in his heart and a single tear in his eye. "I am going to kill every last fucking one of you." Ash growled. Before any of the Hopenol Units could respond, he ran up to their leader and snapped its penis off with his bare hands. The ooze inside tried to pull it back, but Ash tore it away and jammed the need straight into the robot's eye. He heard a sound, the sound of the other Hopenols readying their beams. He jumped back and dodged them. "Is that all you've got?" Ash taunted.
One of the remaining Hopenols tried to lift Ash with its mind. Ash could feel his body being taken hold, but broke free. He could feel the strength that his friends and his girlfriend had given him surging through his body. Ash ran forward and impaled the needle straight through one of the Hopenol Unit's chests and tore off its penis. Once again, the green ooze tried to pull the penis back onto the robot's body, but Ash tore it away before it could reach far enough.
Ash looked for his next target and saw a Hopenol charging its beam. He jammed both of the needles into its head and pulled apart its lower body. It thrashed its tail around until Ash broke off its penis and drained all the ooze out onto the ground to dry up. Before he could move on to the last two, he felt another psychic grip on him. It was much stronger and left him completely immobilized. He saw one robot in front of him and heard another behind him. He felt a small prick of a needle on the back of his neck, like he was about to get injected. "It's time for Little Nemo to fall out of bad." The robot said.
Pikachu got up. He saw Ash being held down by one robot and about to get injected by the other. He still had his electric charge. Battered and beaten from the robot onslaught, he stood up and unleashed his ultimate attack. "I'm coming, Ash!" Pikachu shouted. Wish speed so great that neither of the robots could foresee it, Pikachu slammed himself into the robot that was about to inject Ash. The ooze started to reconstruct the Hopenol Unit, but Pikachu shocked the ooze, killing it. The last Hopenol Unit panicked. He started to charge his beam, until Ash broke free from its psychic grasp. He broke the needl off and tore it in half before the ooze could regenerate it. All of the Hopenol Units were destroyed.
Ash turned to Pikachu. He looked beaten up from the fight, like he might pass out at any moment. "Don't worry, Pikachu. The worst is over. We'll be home soon." "I know. Look." Pikachu said. He pointed to a gate in the distance. On the other side, he could see Pallet Town. Ash gazed in wonder as he saw this. He picked up his pokemon and started to run until he heard a familiar voice. "Going somewhere?" It was Giovonni. He materialized in front of him with his Persian. "Dad… How did you get here?" He said. "The same way you got here, Ash. You're dead."
Ash wasn't sure what to make of what his father had just said. "I'm dead?" "Yes. The moment you returned from your true life was the moment you died. Why do you think the Hopenol stopped working on you? You're just like me now, Ash. You're a lich with only your phylactery keeping you conscious." Persian purred when he said this. It didn't take long for Ash to figure out what Giovonni's phylactery was.
"So, why do you want to return to your world of lies? Are you so dead set on avoiding the truth, on escaping from what's really important, that you wish to live out your eternity in a hugbox?" Giovonni said. Ash growled. "Hugbox?" "You are so pathetic to run and hide away like that. I wanted to wake you up because you need to face your problems. Running away from the truth won't make you into a better person. It will only make you into a fucking coward." "I'm not a coward." Ash said. "Really? Cowards hate the truth. Cowards fear and hate reality and hide in their escapist cesspools. You, Ash, and a coward. You disgust me so much that I disown you. I have no son." He said.
Ash wasn't sure what to say at first. Hearing his father disowning him made him feel hurt, like someone who once loved him, albeit in a very peculiar way, had just severed ties. He thought about crying, but shook those thoughts away. "You aren't my father. You don't live here, either. In fact, you don't belong." Ash said in a cold voice. Giovonni sensed resistance in his son. "What, you think you can fight me? I have the strength of reality on my side, Ash. All you have are lies, pathetic lies that will never compare to the truth." Ash set down Pikachu and clenched his fists. "This is my truth."
Ash started to charge toward his father, but Persian jumped in the way. It growled and hissed as it knocked Ash to the ground. Ash tried to get the demon cat off of him, but it held on with its claws and sank its teeth into his neck. Giovonni laughed. "Phylacteries are as strong as their master's will, Ash. My will is greater than yours." The Persian pulled back and bit Ash again. Blood dripped down his neck and into the pokemon's mouth. Ash tried to call upon the strength of his friend and the strength of his love for Misty, but it wasn't enough. He started to see flashbacks of when he was in the hospital. He saw himself covered in red goo. He saw his bags of medicine, his catheter, the frantic nurses, and his lonely mother.
Ash felt like his life was fading, until a sudden burst of lightning knocked Persian off of him. It was Pikachu. He could barely stand, but he could still fight. Giovonni laughed. "Your phylactery can still fight? It has to have barely any life left in it." "We never give up." Ash said. "Then you will suffer! Persian, attack!" The cat pokemon pounced on Pikachu, but Ash pulled it away. He wrapped one hand around the Persian's neck and punched it with his other. He readied himself for another punch, until Persian let out a hiss. In a sudden burst of strength, the demon cat pulled itself out of Ash's grasp and pounced. It knocked Ash to the ground with its force and sunk its teeth into his neck. Ash, thinking fast, bit Persian back. They both drew blood from their attacks.
Giovonni could tell that his pokemon, his phylactery was starting to lose. He pulled a handgun from his pocket and aimed it at his son. He cocked the pistol, until a spark of eletricity shocked his hand. He dropped the gun and shouted in pain. He started to grab his gun off of the ground, but found that someone else had already grabbed it. It was Pikachu. He held his pistol up to Giovonni's head. "Drop it. Now." Giovonni commanded. "You're not my trainer. I don't have to listen to you." Pikachu fired. Unfortunately, his hands were never meant for aiming and firing a gun, so he missed every time. Giovonni jumped out of the way and kicked Pikachu. He dropped the gun and flew through the air, landing on his face. Ash noticed the gun and slugged Persian in the face. It let go of him. He raced for the gun and tried to get it before his father. With unnatural speed, speed that had to have been given to him from his friends, Ash grabbed the gun and pointed it as his father.
"Don't move. I'll shoot." Ash said. "You wouldn't dare! I made you, you know! A boy killing his father is one of the worst things a man can do!" Giovonni said. Ash smiled. "I know." He turned to Persian, who was ready to pounce on Ash again. When it saw the gun, its eyes grew wide. It started to run, until Ash unloaded three bullets into the cat pokemon. It screamed in pain and fell down. Blood poured out for it.
Giovonni started to try to grab the gun from his son's hands, but Ash turned around and shot him in the chest. His father fell down and held his wound in pain. "Ash… You fool. I tried to show you the truth, but you looked away. You looked into your pathetic, infantile, fantasy world and…" "Shut up." He unloaded the rest of the clip into his father. He fell down, dead in a puddle of his own blood. Ash turned to Pikachu. He was severely beaten, but could still stand. "You okay, Pikachu?" He said. "Pika." "What?" "Oh, sorry. Old habit. I'm fine." Pikachu said. They both turned toward The Final Gate and began their final steps.
As Ash and Pikachu continued walking, they heard another hiss. They turned around and saw Persian. It was barely alive and struggling to stand up, but it was still alive. "I can take care of this." Pikachu said. He let loose a torrent of electricity. The energy coursed through Persian, like a river of thunder was flowing through its body. Persian's fur caught fire. Its skin started to melt. Its eyes turned to liquid. Ash saw a yellow flash come from the demon cat's mouth. It s the phylactery. The phylactery was destroyed. Giovonni was never going to come back to haunt Ash. His ghost was no more.
Pikachu turned away from Persian's disfigured and charred corpse and smiled at Ash. "When you kill someone, be sure to destroy their body all the way. That way, they can't get back up." "If I'm lucky I won't have to kill anyone else. Come on, Pikachu. Let's go home." Ash said. He put his pokemon on his shoulder and walked into The Final Gate. Their wounds all healed. Their bodies were restored. Through the gate, Ash returned to his fantasy. He was lost within his mind. He was happy. For a split second, Ash heard the sound of a loud bird. It was the same bird that he saw at the beginning of his journey, a bird of good fortune, Ho-oh. It disappeared the moment they set foot in Kanto.
Ash and Pikachu arrived in Pallet Town. They saw Delia waiting for them. "Ash!" She called out from he window. She ran out of her house to hug her son. "Oh Ash, you're back! I missed you so much." She said. "I told you I'd return." Ash said. He heard another voice in the distance. "Ash!" It was Misty. Brock was following her. They ran up to him to hug their friend as well. Ash had never felt so much love in his life. He felt like he was finally where he belonged, not in a hospital or in a body that didn't work, but in his world.
Ash thought as his mother and his friends hugged him. He was in a false world, a place that he made for himself to live, a place that was not true. Artificial. Synthetic. Fake. Unnatural. All of those words had negative connotations, yet they were how Ash described his world. His "true" home was in the real world, where his body was destroyed in an accident and the only one who loved him was his mother. Ash shook his head. "This is my home now. Wherever I walk, wherever I go, through the deepest oceans, the simple rolling hills, the lushest green forests, or even the big cities, wherever my journey guides me… That's my home." Welcome home.
Special thanks goes out to the anonymous author of the essay "Pokemon Explained" for the inspiration to write this piece.
Thank you for reading my story.
fin