Reconciliation: Ash's Perspective
Reconciliation is a tricky thing. When it comes in to play with a long-standing regret in oneself, you can reconcile it internally and externally. Both hold equally important in the long-term run of life; it's healthy to be able to let things go within yourself and move on, and it's just as important to be able to approach someone and make amends for something you did or failed to do in the past. For regret is a terrible thing, and if it can be dealt with, so it should.
Since adding chapter four, I received a small flurry of emails stating that this was added to a few people's Alert or Favorite list. I just wanted to thank those people, as it really means a lot to me that you like this story enough to subscribe to it. I also want to thank Northern Ranger, who has been reviewing chapters on both this story and my story "Surprises" with kind words (yes, I will continue to "Rock on.") Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone else who has left reviews on both this story and my two other Pearlshipping stories (check my profile is you want to see them, the titles are "Man of Action" and "Surprises").
Now that I've finished my shout outs and shameless self-promotion...
Disclaimer: We all know very well I do not own the Pokemon. This is purely fan-made.
Ash's heart raced inside his chest. This is it. The finals. Me against Trip. Our last Pokemon.
Trip smirked, just as confident as ever. "Finish Pikachu off with a Leaf Blade attack, Serperior!"
Ash only needed a moment before he knew what to do. "Spin dodge it, Pikachu!" Geez, learning that technique from Dawn has saved my butt more times than I can count. Even now, she's still helping me.
Pikachu was just barely able to do so, and Ash grinned and yelled out, "KEEP SPINNING AND HIT HIM WITH IRON TAIL!"
"LEAF BLADE AGAIN, SERPERIOR!" Trip shouted angrily.
The two attacks collided with each other, creating a small explosion and dust cloud. That sure seems to happen a lot in these tournaments. Ash thought to himself. He stared in to the dust cloud, feeling an incredible anxiety. Come on Pikachu...
As Ash waited for what seemed like an eternity, he instinctively reached on to his chest and squeezed Dawn's contest ribbon. He felt oddly comforted when he did this.
And he had done it. Serperior lay on the ground, knocked out. Pikachu wasn't holding up much better, but he was able to barely hold himself up.
"SERPERIOR IS UNABLE TO BATTLE - THE BATTLE BELONGS TO ASH AND PIKACHU!" The referee yelled.
Ash was stunned as the crowd erupted in to cheers. "I...won? I won the League...?"
A wide smile crept upon his face as it began to sink in. I. Won. The League! "PIKACHU! YOU DID IT!" He yelled,
Ash ran out on to the field and scooped his long-time companion up in to a tight hug, "Pikachu! We finally made it!"
"Pika!" Pikachu squeaked, tired but excited.
Ash patted his electric mouse on the head. "Just rest up, buddy. I'm so proud of you."
Trip walked up to Ash. They stared at each other for a long time. Finally, after what seemed like a long period of tension, Trip extended his hand. "You've gotten better."
Ash eagerly shook Trip's hand. "You too! Let's battle again someday!"
Trip smirked. "I'd like that. Peace out."
And with that Trip left. Almost immediately, Ash was tackled to the ground by both Cilan and Iris.
"You did it! A wonderful recipe of action, determination, and passion came together in what could only be a championship-worthy VICTORY PIE!" Cilan exclaimed, helping Ash back up.
"I think a simple 'good job' would have done, Cilan." Iris said, sweatdropping. "But that was awesome Ash! I can't believe you did it!"
Ash looked down at the ribbon pinned to his chest and grinned at his friends. "Thanks guys. I couldn't have done it without your support...and all my other friends." He looked down at Pikachu in his arms once more and added. "And of course, all my awesome Pokemon."
"Chu!" Pikachu chirped happily.
As the cheering died down a little, it was time for the award ceremony. A stage was raised up on the battle arena, complete with cannons of confetti and fireworks. This time...this time it's for me. Ash thought in disbelief.
I never thought I'd make it this far. After all this time, I reached the top. Was all he could think.
He vaguely heard the announcer call him to the stand. He almost felt like he was dreaming as he walked up on to the stage with Pikachu and just grinned stupidly at the crowd. Pikachu, now feeling more recovered from the battle, stood on Ash's head and waved excitedly to the crowd for him.
Alder made his way to the stage, to a chorus of cheers from the crowd, and presented Ash with his Unova League Trophy. Ash became aware of all the photographers and reporters snapping pictures and video taping the event as he shook Alder's hand.
"You know kid," Alder said happily, "with this, you can challenge the Elite Four any time you want. And even me, if you get through them. But enough of that...what are you going to do now?"
Ash took his trophy proudly. He glanced down at the ribbon pinned to his chest. "I have a promise to keep to a friend."
Alder rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Dedication AND loyalty. Truly the hallmarks of a great Trainer in the making."
"Then I'm going to train even harder, and come back to challenge YOU, Alder." Ash boasted confidently, giving the older trainer a thumbs-up.
Alder laughed heartily. "Awesome, I'll look forward to it. OUR CHAMPION, Ladies and gentleman!" He announced to the crowd.
The crowd cheered once more. After being navigated through the sea of reporters, photographers, and paparazzi, Ash finally made it backstage where Cilan and Iris were waiting.
"So, you're going to fulfill that promise to Dawn, right?" Iris asked. Ash had reluctantly disclosed his promise to Cilan and Iris when they caught him sending Dawn photographs of himself. He didn't have much of a choice...they wouldn't stop pestering him about it.
Ash grinned triumphantly. He felt like he was on top of the world at that moment. In his mind, he could do anything. "That's right. I told her I was going to see her after I won the tournament. I got to get a plane ticket or a boat or something, so I can see her as soon as possible!"
I'm going to finish what I should have done a long time ago Dawn. I told you I was going to win this. I told myself I was going to win this for you. And now you need to know that. You need to know how I feel.
"That will be a step in this CONFECTIONERY DELICACY OF LOVE that we can skip, for I have prepared a grand dessert for the entree of your victory!" Cilan stated, wagging his finger haughtily.
Ash raised an eyebrow as Iris giggled. "Say what now?"
Cilan whistled. "Your chariot awaits, monsieur."
On cue, Ash's Charizard flew in to the room from behind Ash and licked Ash's face excitedly. "CHARIZARD! Buddy!"
As Ash hugged one of his old friends. He suddenly realized. "You should have told me sooner! I could have used him in the tournament!"
Iris and Cilan sweatdropped. "And ruin the surprise?" Cilan exclaimed, "Ash, Charizard is here to take you to Sinnoh, right now! I arranged for him to get here last night in order for you to get the girl in a big dramatic way! It's the only way to do these things! Go big or go home!"
"Wh-what?" Ash shouted, surprised.
"Pika-Pi!" Pikachu exclaimed as well.
"Don't be such a kid, Ash!" Iris answered, "Cilan and I planned this all out. Trust me, Dawn will think it's uber-romantic if you swoop in on a Pokemon, fresh from your victory. Just tell her you had to see her to share the moment. She'll melt like an ice cream near a Heatmor. You'll have it in the bag."
Ash paused. Am I ready for this? So soon?
He glanced at Pikachu. Pikachu grinned back. "Pika!"
You know what? He thought to himself. I am ready. I've been regretting not telling her since I left her side. It ends today!
Ash grinned to his friends. "Wow, you guys really went out of your way for me on this one!"
"Nonsense! The best dishes of declaring love are grand and exquisite, and I wasn't going to sit around and let this be a second-rate piece!" Cilan replied.
"...what he said." Iris added.
Ash hugged his two friends. "Thank you guys so much. For everything."
They hugged back. "Just come get us when you challenge the Elite Four, we'll definitely want to be there." Iris told him.
Ash stepped back and pumped his fist in the air. "Of course!"
They heard a gaggle of reporters outside, just begging to burst in to the room to maul Ash with questions and praise.
"Better get going, Ash." Cilan advised, pointing to the back entrance just behind them. "We'll handle the paparazzi."
Ash opened the door, stepping in to the sunlight. Pikachu and Charizard followed him. He turned back to face Iris and Cilan once more.
"I'll come back soon to face the Elite Four and hang out with you guys. Thanks again...I can't thank you enough for this. Take care, you guys." Ash said.
He hopped on Charizards back. "To Twinleaf Town!" He yelled.
"TAKE CARE, ASH!" Cilan yelled as they took off.
"USE PROTECTION!" Iris added, causing Cilan to sweatdrop.
"Iris..." He sighed.
Iris shrugged. "What?"
"He's TEN!" Cilan laughed. "Come on, I'll get you a soda."
"SODA!" Iris yelled happily.
It took quite some time, but to a very nervous Ash, the hour he spent flying through the air with Charizard and Pikachu flew by. They landed just on the outskirts of Twinleaf town, and Ash recalled Charizard to a Pokeball. "Pikachu, I dunno if I can do this..."
"CHUUU!" Pikachu lightly shocked Ash, knocking him to the ground. Ash sprang back up, completely revitalized.
"YOU'RE RIGHT!" He yelled. "I'm the new Unova League Tournament Champion! I just defeated my long-time rival, and challenged Alder! And like hell I'm going to regret not telling Dawn how I feel about her. I can handle ANYTHING!"
"Pika!" Pikachu yelled triumphantly.
Marching right past a flower garden, Ash scooped up a handful of the flora instinctively. Now. All this time I've beat myself up for not telling her. It comes to an end.
He saw her house directly ahead of him. He hesitated slightly, but mentally slapped himself. No. No more hesitating. Last time you did that, you made the biggest mistake ever.
He walked up to the front door, and took a deep breath. And he knocked.
The moments felt like an eternity. The full thirty seconds before Johanna opened the door felt like an hour.
"Ash...you...the TV...uh...hi?" Johanna stammered, utterly shocked to see the now-champion before her. Ash looked past Johanna to see someone approaching from down the fall.
"Mom, who was at the..." Dawn had walked in to the room and was stunned to see Ash Ketchum, who she had just seen win the Unova League on television standing at her door. "...Ash?"
Ash then realized that he should probably actually say something. "Hey Dawn." He said, grinning like an idiot, and holding the flowers out to her.
Well...not as smooth as I pictured this starting.
But it didn't matter. Dawn charged him and knocked him over with a huge hug."ASH!" The flowers were knocked into the air and fluttered all over the yard. I don 't think she even noticed them. He thought.
Ash's face felt like it was on fire as he lay on the porch. After a moment, Dawn stood up, blushing. "What are you doing here? How did you get here so fast?"
Dawn helped Ash to his feet. Ash clutched a Pokeball in his hand. "I had some help from a friend..."
And then Ash remembered a little bit of advice he had just been given. "And I just knew after I won that I had to see you."
Ash couldn't describe Dawn's reaction with words, but he knew Iris had been right. Dawn grew completely red, wrapped her arms around him once and buried her face into his neck in embarrassment. "Oh...Ash..." She said in to his neck.
Ash glanced over at Johanna, blushing ferociously. Johanna just winked at the young trainer and slowly closed the door.
"Hey Dawn...I want to talk to you about some things." Ash said, happily.
Dawn pulled away. "...what is it Ash?"
Ash stared in to her eyes, and felt that warm, full feeling inside.
I could tell her how she makes everything I've ever been through worth it.
I could tell her that I won the tournament for her.
I could tell her that I regretted leaving her every single day.
I could tell her that her smile was always with me.
I could...
"I don't know how to say this Dawn. I went over this a million times in my head, but it never comes out right. So I'll just say it. I love you. I love you, so I came here, to tell you that." Ash blurted out.
I could probably say it like that, which was THE DUMBEST WAY POSSIBLE. He lamented in his mind.
But before he knew it, Dawn had pressed her lips against his, causing Ash's brain to explode in an array of fireworks. He was barely aware enough to kiss her back. As they pulled away, Dawn just stared in to his eyes some more, smiling.
"You have such a way with words, Ash Ketchum." She teased. "I love you too."
Yeah, I handled that like a champ.
I guess I'm a sucker for happy endings, huh? Don't worry, I'll still do the flip to Dawn's perspective.
