As Ash walked next to Red out onto the battlefield behind the pokemon centre. He tried to think about the way he would do things. He would of course listen to Red, he was very experienced with the way that champions battle and the easiest ways to defeat them. However Ash was the one who was battling Diantha and so it was his decision.
Red stopped and turned to Ash and asked. "How many pokemon do you have with you at this moment?"
"Four." Ash answered.
"I'm guessing that you have more."
"Yes, at Professor Oak's lab." Ash answered.
Red checked his watch. "Call him tomorrow. Have you thought about which pokemon to use?"
Ash had given it some thought. He knew that he didn't want to send any of the four he had with him home. He thought about what his team needed. All the pokemon he had with him were quick and powerful, however he lacked a tank, a pokemon that could take hits an dish out some heavy damage. Ash's mind jolted through the collection of pokemon he had amassed. Torterra. His Sinnoh partner was ideal for that job.
"I will use the four I have, Torterra and…" While Ash thought about the final member of his hall of fame contending team, he saw Red considering Ash's choice. A few seconds later, Ash's train of thought was interrupted by Red asking.
"Do you have your own Charizard?"
"Yes."
"Is it strong?"
Ash thought about the strength of his pokemon. He remembered how he had managed to hold his own against legendary pokemon like Articuno and Entei. He remembered how, on more than one occasion he had gotten Ash out of a sticky situation.
Ash simply replied. "Yes."
"Use Charizard." While Red was saying this he put his left hand into the pocket of the black jacket he was wearing. At the same time, with his right hand he ripped the necklace of from around his neck. Ash thought he had broken it, however he saw that the two ends had magnets on them so, in fact, that was the easiest way to remove it. He held the two of them out in front of him and looked at Ash. When he saw the confused look on Ash's face he said. "To give you a boost." Ash then remembered what Red was offering him. He was giving Ash everything he needed to mega-evolve his Charizard.
"Red I can't."
"Ash, I have to tell you. The main reason I came to the league this year was so that I could deliver something to Diantha. It is supposed to be a secret, that she will reveal during her battle with the winner. So all I'm doing is evening the playing field." Ash then held out his hand and took the gifts from his father and placed them in the pocket of his jeans. "If you can, wait for Diantha to use hers first. When she sees that her big advantageous surprise isn't there, hopefully she will be knocked off her game a little." After a moments pause he then added. "That is of course as long as you can hold your own long enough so that Diantha feels the need to use her extra power." That thought lingered with Ash. While Ash and Red were training, Ash's mind kept coming back to that sentence. He kept thinking that his pokemon may have managed to win him the league, however it would be very different against a champion. He thought that he might embarrass himself by losing horribly. When Red finally let Ash return to his room, he asked. "Are you nervous?"
"Yes." Ash said
"Good. This won't be easy, so don't go into it expecting to win. Or with a feeling that you deserve a win. If you want to win you'll have to earn it, you have to show every single person inside that stadium that you have a right to be in the Kalos hall of fame."
"I will." Ash tried to sound a sure as he could be deep down the nerves were still ticking away at him. The two of them spent the next two hours going over stratergies and information, by which time it was getting dark. When he got back to the room he found Serena lying on the bed. At first he thought she was asleep. However when he closed the door she sat up.
"How was your training session?" She asked.
Ash let out a a sigh that had been building for a few hours then said. "Win or lose, when this is over I want to just put battling out of my mind for a while. Just us spending a week without any distractions." Ash sat down on the edge of the bed.
Seeing the look on Ash's face, Serena had no choice but to say. "Yes." She good see that the competition was draining Ash. Her fiance was usually so full of life, yet after almost two weeks of intense battling and training Ash looked like he was ready to climb into bed and sleep for a month. "However, in the mean time, I'll just have to help you wind down." Serena scooted herself so she was sitting directly behind Ash. She started massaging his shoulders gently.
Ash shook her off, then turned round. "I appreciate the gesture but I just want to go to bed." Ash went into the bathroom.
Serena understood. She had seen the way that Red made Ash train, it was most of the day, hard work for Ash as well as his pokemon, Red tended to rely on carefully pre-planned strategies, practised many times. He had little care for Ash's tendency to walk onto the battlefield prepared to wing it. When Ash emerged from the bathroom Serena said to him. "You know, if you don't like the way that Red's making you train you can tell him you want to train on your own."
Ash pulled something out of his pocket and placed it on the bed. Serena saw that it was a small pearl set into a necklace and a much larger sphere.
"Ash what are these?" She picked up the larger stone, it fitted comfortably into her hand. She saw that it was a dark black yet had a blueish aura around it. It felt strange in Serena's somehow she knew that she wasn't meant to be handling it.
"That is a present from Red. He gave them to me to allow me to mega-evolve my Charizard."
Serena placed the stone back down on the bed and held Ash's hands in her own. "Ash you shouldn't let something like this affect your decision. If you want to train by yourself, you should."
Ash simply nodded. In truth he had no idea what he would do, he wanted to sleep on it so that's what he did. Or at least tried to. When Ash tried to go to bed he learnt very soon that he would have trouble sleeping. Once he was sure that Serena was fast asleep he got changed back into his clothes and walked out into the night. The cool air on his face was a refreshing. He had no set destination he just wanted to think, which he always seemed to do better while he was moving. Soon he found himself in the Arena. The place was deserted, but open. He walked into the Hall of Fame. He took a look around at the previous winners of the tournament. He had wanted to avoid coming here, he thought it might be tempting fate. However he thought this would be the best place to make his decision. The room was covered in screens showing pictures of the winners with their pokemon, some with their entire teams others with just one or two. They all looked so happy, yet also under the elation Ash could see relief on each face. Ash looked closer at one of the pictures. It was of a woman about twenty, her brown hair tied back in a tight pony tail that sat over her left shoulder. She stood back to back with a Gardevoir. It took a while for Ash to realise, without the expensive hairdo or the designer clothes but he was looking at Diantha's winners portrait.
"Trying to read up on me?" A familiar female voice said from behind him. Ash span round to see the champion herself standing there.
"No, I just…"
"Couldn't sleep?" She asked,Ash nodded. " Don't worry, it means that you're nervous."
"Gee, thanks." Ash said sarcastically.
"No, that's a good thing. It shows me that this means a lot to you. I like that in a challenger."
Ash didn't know how to respond so he asked her. "Why are you still awake, couldn't sleep either?"
"Oh, I never sleep much when the competition's going on. Do you want to watch it?"
"Watch what?" Ash asked confused.
"My win, of course." Diantha walked over to the picture a pressed on the screen and two red boxes appeared with white text in the that read.
Champion Battle
Full Challenge
Diantha pressed the first option and the screen went dark for half a second then a video started. Ash watched as a very nervous looking Diantha stepped out onto the battlefield, so different to the confident movie star she was today. She was joined on the battlefield by the then champion. Ash didn't know his name but he was a chubby man in his mid forties. Ash watched for the next couple of minutes as Diantha and her opponent battled. Finally Ash saw Diantha's Gardevoir single handedly defeat three of her opponents pokemon to win her the match. The screen then returned back to the picture of Diantha and her partner.
"So has that done anything for your nerves?"
"Yes, yes it has." Ash replied.
"I thought it might."
Ash now knew what he needed to do. He needed to train with Red, he needed to get all the help he could if he was to stand any chance against Diantha. Ash then thanked her for her help then walked back to the pokemon centre. He got changed as quietly as he could then climbed back into bed. Unfortunately he was unable to do so without stirring Serena.
"Did you go somewhere?" She asked, still half asleep.
"Just for a walk. I was trying not to wake you." Ash whispered.
"Good job." Serena remarked sarcastically.
"I'm so lucky to have such an understanding fiancé."
"You are."
Ash ran his hand down Serena's back and held her as she slowly fell back into a deep sleep and Ash soon followed.
The next morning Ash woke up and his entire body wanted to stay in bed, however what he had seen last night made him tear himself away. He soon got dressed and walked outside but Red wasn't anywhere to be seen. He checked the courtyard and the surrounding forest in case Red wanted to get a bit of peace and quiet but when Ash couldn't find him he went to as Nurse Joy in the pokemon centre.
"Excuse me, Nurse Joy. Have you seen Red?"
"Yes he left a few hours ago. He left this for you." She leant under the counter and pulled out a small envelope.
"Okay, thank you."
Ash opened the envelope.
Ash
Please know that if I could have stayed with you, I would have. However I have been asked by Steven Stone to help him investigate rumours of Teams Aqua and Magma resurfacing with the aim of tapping into the ancient power that lies within legendary pokemon. Again I am sorry to miss you battling Diantha. I have just one last piece of advice for you. Trust your instincts. I have seen where they have got you. They CAN win you the battle. Know this I will be following your battle, and I will always be proud of you.
Red.
Ash then walked back up to the room where Serena was waking up.
"I thought you'd be training." She said
"So did I." Ash showed the letter to Serena.
She smiled when she finished. "Good."
"Good?" Ash asked with raised eyebrows
"It gives you the morning with me." She tapped the bed prompting Ash to sit down. Serena sat in his lap looking at him. She hugged him tightly. Then after a few moments silence, she asked. "When's the ceremony?"
"Not 'till three."
The two of the spent the morning lying in bed enjoying each others company, which hadn't been able to do as much as they would have liked. They had a late breakfast in bed and before they knew it was time to get ready.
Ash started to get out of bed and walked over to his suitcase.
"Are you getting changed?" Serena asked.
"Yes."
"Why?" Serena could see nothing wrong with the simple navy blue t-shirt and light blue jeans he was wearing at the moment.
"There's going to be a lot of people there. Probably. I don't really know what to expect. But I've got to make some sort of effort."
Serena got out of bed and walked over to his suitcase. She immediately took out a dark green polo shirt and a pair of black jeans.
"There put these on." She told him. Ash changed quickly. "Perfect." She told him.
"You think so?" Ash said not convinced.
"Yes. Now stop being such a girl." Serena then changed into a bright red dress with white flowers then the two of them walked to the the ceremony.
Diantha greeted them when they reached the Arena.
"Good afternoon you two." She said with a smile.
"Good afternoon, Diantha." Ash replied
"Hello." Serena added.
"So, Ash. The way this will work is I will say a few words congratulating you on your achievements on getting this far, then I will present you with the medal. Are you okay with public speaking?"
Ash nodded, although in truth he didn't know. He'd never been daunted by crowds in the past however they had either been ten to twenty people. Either that or it was during a battle when he was full of adrenaline and could focus on something other than the masses of people watching him.
"Good, all you have to do is say a couple of sentences on what it's like and how you're feeling about tomorrow. That sort of thing. However feel free to say more if you want to."
"Okay." Ash said as calmly as he could.
Diantha then turned to Serena. "Serena there is a seat reserved for you in the front row." She then turned around a waved to a tall man in a plain black t-shirt. "Marcus will show you the way."
Marcus extended his arm and said. "Miss Yvonne this way."
Serena quickly turned to Ash and kissed him. "Good luck. You'll do great." With that she followed him to her seat.
Diantha then led Ash into the small room where competitors waited before their battles. Ash realised that he was starting to feel sick.
As if reading his mind Diantha asked. "Nervous?"
Ash gave a small nod.
"Don't be."
"How do you do it? How do you stay so calm in front of so many people?"
"I don't think about them. I imagine I'm just talking to my best friend, then everything feels natural." Diantha then checked her watch. "Time to go." With that she stood up and motioned for Ash to follow her.
The two of them walked out to a deafening roar from the stands. They walked up to a small wooden platform with a microphone stand on it. As the champion walked up to the microphone and cleared her throat, the stadium that just moments ago was buzzing with noise was now silent.
"Thank you all for coming today." Diantha's voice resonated through the speakers. " I hope that you all have enjoyed watching the competition as much as I have. I am pleased today to award the winners medal to a young man that I have great admiration for. Someone who from the moment I met him, I knew that he would win this competition. Admittedly I wasn't expecting him to do it this year. But he has shown that just because you are young doesn't mean that you should be ignored. Ladies and gentlemen. Mr Ash Ketchum."
Ash couldn't believe the noise, he had no idea that people supported him so much. He stepped towards the microphone and saw that Diantha was now holding a square red, white and blue box.
"Ash, congratulations on winning this years competition, I am pleased to award you with this medal." She opened to box to reveal a black metal disc with the Kalos league emblem pressed into it. She passed the box to Ash and stepped away from the microphone.
Ash swallowed the lump that had built in his throat. "Thank you Diantha." Ash said pausing for a moment, struck by how strange his voice sounded over the stadium's loudspeakers. "I can't put into words what this truly means to me. Ever since I learned what the Pokemon League was I knew I wanted to win it. So I've travelled across the world training every day to make that happen. For it to finally come true, I…" Ash felt a single tear run down his left cheek as he searched for the right words. "It means the world to me." Ash took a deep breath. "I can't stand here without talking about some people that have helped me on my journey. First are Clemont and his sister Bonnie, they travelled with me and made sure our adventure never had a dull moment. However there is one person who has stood by me, one person who has always told me to remain positive when all I could see before me was failure. She is the most important person in the world to me. I have met a lot of people since I started this journey, and I can say without a doubt that she is the most beautiful, kind and funny person I have ever met. Without her I wouldn't be the man I am today. I love you Serena, I hope to make you proud tomorrow and everyday after that." Ash paused for a moment and looked up at one of the giant screens to see Serena tearing up. " I hope that you all will come watch the match tomorrow. I can't promise that I will win, however I can promise that it will be worth seeing." With that Ash took a step back from the microphone. He looked over at Diantha who gave him a nod of approval before stepping back up to talk to the fans.
"Thank you Ash. I too can promise that tomorrow will be entertaining. I do hope that all of you can join us, whether it be here or at home. The match will begin at noon. See you then." With that Diantha led Ash out of the stadium. When they were out of sight of the crowd she turned to Ash. "You did great."
"Really?"
"Are you kidding me. I sure half that crowd's still crying at your words. Hell, I almost started crying. She really means a lot to you doesn't she?"
"No, she means everything to me. When I started this journey I was in it for the glory, the fame, to say that I was a pokemon master."
"And now?"
"All I want is for her to be proud of me." Diantha placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Ash. I don't know either of you that well. However, I do know that that girl is proud of you. Anyone can see that."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Just don't think that means I'll go easy on you tomorrow."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
When they walked out into the lobby Ash was almost tackled to the ground by his bride-to-be.
"So did you like my little speech?" Ash asked.
"Ash it was so beautiful."
"I thought you might like it." Serena kissed Ash and then the two of them walked back to the pokemon centre. Along the way a few strangers stopped them to wish Ash good luck. One even told Serena she was lucky to have such a loving boyfriend. That made Ash feel fairly smug.
As they walked into the room Ash suddenly slouched and let out a sigh.
"What is it?" Serena asked concerned.
"What if I don't win tomorrow?"
"Then, I guess you'll be the most handsome runner up the competition's ever had." She told him with a smile.
"I don't deserve you."
"Maybe not. Seeing as I'm… What was it? The most kind, beautiful and funny person you've ever met?"
"And I meant every word." Ash pulled her closer and pressed his lips to hers. Their softness taking his mind off the competition but for a second.
"I love you." He said after breaking away.
"I love you too."
