Big battle coming up! Who? Just look at the chapter title!
At the stadium
The roar of the crowd was the only thing Ash had been hearing for the last minute. Finally, the announcer spoke.
"Let's go, people! This match of the C division will be between Satoshi from Agate Village and Paul from Veilstone city! It will be a six-one-six double battle with substitutions allowed and no time limit! Now, the automatically random computer will decide who goes first!" shouted the announcer, from his hoverchair, "And also, after three of either trainer's Pokémon is unable to battle, the field will change. Right now, it's normal field! Trainers! The computer has decided! Satoshi will go first!"
Ash smiled. He was going to enjoy this battle even more than his last one.
Paul frowned. "Something about that Satoshi guy reminds me of Ash..."
May, in the stands, thought, "Come on, Satoshi! Win this...for me!"
"Let's go! Lucario! And Gallade!" yelled Ash as he threw out two Pokéballs.
"Magmortar! Honchkrow! Stand by for battle!" shouted Paul as he, too, released two Pokémon.
"Let the battle begin!" bellowed the announcer.
"Magmortar! Flamethrower on Lucario! Honchkrow! Shadow Ball on Gallade!" ordered Paul.
"Lucario, ExtremeSpeed! Gallade! Light Screen!" commanded Ash.
Lucario jumped and disappeared in a blinding flash of speed. Gallade set up a wall of deflective energy that negated the effects of Shadow Ball. Then, Lucario struck Magmortar with its extremely fast physical attack.
"Honchkrow, Night Slash!" yelled Paul.
"Lucario, deflect with Aura Sphere!" urged Ash.
Lucario shot off a crackling blue sphere of aura towards the night slash but then fell to the ground burned by the effects of Magmortar's FlameBody.
"Magmortar, quickly! Fire Punch!" bellowed Paul.
"Gallade! Cover Lucario! Signal Beam!"
Gallade shot off a weird beam of bug energy that collided with Magmortar, throwing it off balance. Even though it was not very effective, Gallade gained a few precious seconds, during which Ash yelled, "Stone Edge, on both of them!"
Gallade moved its arms upwards and sharp stones rose out of the ground and slashed around Magmortar and Honchkrow. Magmortar fell back down to the ground, unable to battle. Lucario stood up and looked ready to fight again.
"Lucario! Dragon Pulse, followed by Close Combat! Gallade, Thunder and Ice Punch!"
Lucario emitted a short pulse of mystic energy that collided with Honchkrow and proceeded to attack Honchkrow with merciless physical attacks. Meanwhile, Gallade's fist glowed yellow and blue-white and simultaneously collided with Honchkrow's back. Both jumped off when Honchkrow fell to the ground, defeated.
"Good job, Magmortar and Honchkrow. Return!" Paul zapped the fire and dark/flying type back into their respective Pokéballs.
"Great work out there, Lucario and Gallade. Take a nice long rest!" complimented Ash as he too zapped the Pokemon back into their Pokéballs.
"Let's keep going! Go, Torterra and Electivire!" shouted Paul. The grass/ground and electric types roared in anticipation.
"Battle stance! Absol and Dragonair! Win this!" yelled Ash, releasing the dark and dragon types.
"Torterra! Seed Bomb! Electivire! Fire Punch on Absol!" yelled Paul.
"Absol, jump and use Perish Song on Torterra! Dragonair, attack Electivire with Slam!" countered Ash.
Absol leaped upwards and emitted a dark red/black wave of deadly energy towards Torterra, which winced upon touching the energy. Dragonair slammed Electivire with the end of its tail, sending it back down to the ground.
"Future Sight on Electivire, Absol! Dragonair, Dragon Rush on Electivire as well!" ordered Ash.
Absol glowed bright white for a brief second then settled back to see Dragonair glow with a light blue aura and plow into Electivire.
"Torterra! Bullet Seed on Dragonair, Electivire, Charge Beam on Absol!" commanded Paul.
"Dragonair, Twister to Counter, and Absol, evade!" shouted Ash.
Torterra shot glowing globules of grass energy towards Dragonair, but was sucked into a mysterious energy twister and sent back to Electivire, who was stunned by the attack. Electivire's Charge Beam shot into the sky and Ash had a chance to yell, "Night Slash!" Electivire was brutally slashed by dark energy and fell to its knees, clearly exhausted. At that moment, Torterra fainted from the Perish Song and the sight of Torterra fainting disheartened Electivire so much and caused it to do so as well.
"Great effort, you two," Paul smiled as he returned the two Pokémon.
"Take a nice rest, Dragonair and Absol," said Ash as he too returned his Pokémon.
"Amazing folks! Satoshi has defeated 4 of Paul's Pokémon without losing any of his! At this moment, the field will change and the trainers will get a brief 5-minute respite!"
Five minutes later
"It's time to finish this battle, people! Paul from Veilstone City has only two Pokémon left, but Satoshi from Agate Village has his full team of six in his arsenal! This will now be a sand field!" announced the announcer.
"Stand by for battle! Weavile and Ursaring!"
"Master," Lucario said from its Pokéball.
"Yes, Lucario?" communicated Ash.
"I would suggest using a legendary,"
"Do you think that's necessary?"
"No, but now seems like a good time to use one,"
"Lucario, I don't use them. They're my friends! And what if the others figure it out?"
"How?"
"Good point...all right, I'll do it,"
"Let's go! Salamence...and LUGIA!" roared Ash.
He focused with all his might and summoned Lugia with his aura. (Confused? You should be...but it will all be clear after the end of this battle.)
The blue red dragon Pokémon roared as it waited for the dweller of the oceans. Then, after a few seconds, a great white and blue flying creature burst through the clouds and settled on the stadium field. It reared its head back and opened its mouth. From it came a cry, a bittersweet song of mystery.
The crowd gasped. Brock and Misty looked at each other.
"You have called, O Chosen One?"
"Chosen One? The only Chosen one we know of is...Ash," gasped Brock.
"Hello, my friend. Will you battle with me, today?" asked Ash.
"Of course, Master."
"Heh. Don't call me that Lugia. We're friends. I'm not your master. Now, shall we battle?"
Lugia roared its approval.
Paul stared in awe.
"How the heck am I supposed to beat Lugia?"
"Holy mother of God! Satoshi has summoned Lugia!" yelled the announcer in glee.
"Let's win this! Salamence, Fire Fang on Weavile! Lugia, Weather Ball on Ursaring!"
These commands jolted Paul back to the present.
"Weavile, Dark Pulse! Ursaring, Evade and use Hyper Beam!" snapped Paul.
Weavile shot a black wave of dark energy that threw Salamence off balance. However, Salamence was strong enough to pull through and crunch Weavile with fangs made out of fire and heat. Ursaring tried to avoid the Weather Ball that Lugia had fired but failed. It was buffeted by the gray-white energy ball and pushed back a couple of feet.
"Weavile, fire Dark Pulse at Lugia! Ursaring, Feint Attack on Lugia as well!"
"Salamence! Hit Ursaring with a Zen Headbutt and Lugia, avoid the Dark Pulse and counter with Ancient Power!"
Ursaring charged but was knocked aside by Salamence's powerful psychic headbutt. Lugia flew up high to avoid the Dark Pulse and attacked both of the Pokémon with rocks radiating pure ancient energy.
"Now, finish this! Salamence! Rock Slide on Weavile and Lugia, Aeroblast on Ursaring!"
Salamence conjured falling rocks that fell onto Weavile before it could dodge. Lugia shot a high pressure blast of air and wind energized with its psychic energy towards Ursaring. Both Weavile and Ursaring fell, defeated.
"And that's it! The winner of this match is Satoshi from Agate Village! He will be proceeding to the top 8!" shouted the announcer. "And it is now revealed Satoshi has Lugia as a battling partner!"
"Well done, Satoshi!" congratulated Paul to Ash. "You remind me of an old rival of mine once. He taught me to love my Pokémon...but, oh well, good luck going all the way!"
"Thanks, I kno-" Ash was interrupted by Brock's voice.
"So...Satoshi...where have you been for almost five years?" asked Brock suspiciously.
"I don't know what you mean, um...Brock. Isn't that your name, Brock?" responded Ash, feigning innocence.
"We know who you are. You can't lie about this," Misty said, approaching from the back.
Ash whirled around. "And who may I be?" mocked Ash. He doubted they actually knew, but he was afraid...very afraid.
"Excuse me, what is going on?" Paul inquired, quizzically.
"That, so called Satoshi, is really...Ash Ketchum!" Brock answered as he turned around, "Hey! Where is he?"
"Look! Up there!" said Misty.
They saw Ash flying off into the clouds on Lugia's back.
"What's up Misty?" asked May, who had just dropped down onto the field, followed by Tracey, Dawn, Max, Cynthia, Lance, Brandon, Gary, Drew, Melody, Molly Hale, Bianca, Jackie (from Movie 9), Sheena, Alice, and Tonio, many of whom had just arrived by invitation to watch their friends battle.
"It's Satoshi. We think...we think that he might be Ash," Brock replied, for Misty.
"What? But, he's been gone for almost five years now! If he's actually come back, why wouldn't he want to tell us that he's Ash?" asked May.
"We don't know," replied Misty, shaking her head.
"But how can you be sure that Satoshi is Ash?" asked Max.
"Well, when Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and I were travelling in the Orange Islands, something bad happened. There was a whole episode where Ash had to travel to Ice, Thunder, and Fire islands to calm Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. There was a prophesy that stated Ash as the Chosen One and had to help Lugia calm down the three elemental titans," Brock told the group.
"Hey, I remember that! And then just now, Lugia said...oh my god...it said 'O Chosen One!'" shouted Melody in realization.
"Yes. And that's why we think that Satoshi is Ash," Misty stated.
"But that still doesn't explain why Ash has been hiding himself all this time!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Yeah. And we're going to find out," Brock declared.
With Ash on Lugia's back
"Pikaa. Pikachu!" Pikachu smiled at Ash.
Pikachu had been on Ash's shoulder since the beginning of his battle with Paul and could sense Ash's troubled thoughts.
"What is troubling you, Ash?" asked Lugia.
"I just don't know why I'm not telling the truth to my friends. I think I'm scared that they'll think I'm a coward for running away from Pallet," Ash answered, a little depressed.
"Pikaa! Kachu, chu!" Pikachu shook its head.
"Pikachu is right, young one. It is not cowardly to run away from a death and neither is it cowardly to dismantle four major criminal institutions. Quite the contrary, in fact," Lugia reassured Ash.
"Yeah, but...no, you're right. I'll have to face my fears eventually. I must be strong!" exclaimed Ash.
"That's the spirit!" congratulated Lugia, "Now, let's get you to the Pokémon and get your friends rested up for the next battle, which I believe is in three days."
"How did you know that?" inquired Ash.
"Pikachu looked it up and told me," replied Lugia simply.
Ash looked at Pikachu, who grinned at him.
"No matter what, you'll always be my best friend Pikachu."
"Chaa!" shouted Pikachu as it jumped into Ash's arms.
Later, at the Pokémon Center
Ash stood outside the Pokémon Center, enjoying the fresh air.
"You can't escape, this time Ash," chuckled a malicious voice.
Ash turned around to see Brock standing there with a net.
"Whoa...Brock. What are you doing?" asked Ash, shocked that Brock would take such a drastic action.
Before he could say anything else, a net from behind him caught him and the accomplices blindfolded Ash and carried him away to a nearby clearing. A little boy thought the sight was strange.
At the clearing
"What the fu-" said Ash as he was dumped unceremoniously onto the grass.
"What is wrong with you?!" interjected Ash as he looked up to see Brock and Lance grinning at him.
"Nothing. We just want you to admit that your name is Ash Ketchum and that you're the guy that disappeared almost five years ago when your mom died."
Ash's eyes hardened.
"Did you really have to mention that?" shuddered Ash.
"Yes. Now, confess," snapped Brock.
"What if I'm not the guy you're looking for?" protested Ash.
At that moment, Pikachu, who had been looking for Ash ever since he had been kidnapped ran up to him.
"Pi...pika! Kachu, chu!"
"Are you sure?...okay..."
"Yes...I am Ash Ketchum." (DUN DUN DUN DUN!)
"Yes!!! Pay up!" shouted Brock in joy, looking at Lance.
"All right, fine..." grumbled Lance.
"You fricking bet on me?!" asked Ash in disbelief.
"Yup!" Brock replied, seeming very pleased with himself.
"Well, you're jolly today," muttered Ash under his breath.
"All right guys, you can come on out now!" Lance bellowed.
From the trees around them, May, Tracey, Dawn, Max, Cynthia, , Brandon, Gary, Drew, Melody, Molly Hale, Bianca, Jackie, Sheena, Alice, and Tonio emerged.
"Holy crap! It really is you, Ashy Boy!" shouted Gary with glee.
"Why is everyone so happy?" asked Ash curiously.
"Why is everyone so happy? Why is everyone SO HAPPY? What are you retarded?" shouted May. "You've been missing for years and you don't think people would miss you? Come here, you."
May twirled Ash into her arms and pulled him into a passionate kiss, which lasted several seconds. When they finally broke apart, gasping for air, Ash asked, "That was sudden. Why?"
"Because, I liked you before you disappeared, after you disappeared, when you were Satoshi, and now. So, quite frankly, I love you!" exclaimed May.
Ash was stunned. "Really? Oh my god...May...I l-love you too!"
"Aww. What a perfect little moment...except it was a bit sudden and rushed," interrupted Dawn.
"DAWN!" reprimanded Ash and May at the same time.
"Well, this is all nice and good here, but fill us in about what you did during those almost five years you were gone!" Jackie exclaimed.
"Well, settle down people," Ash said, "This is going to be a long story. And don't interrupt me. Got it?"
Everybody nodded.
"Okay...well, I returned home from Sinnoh to see my mom and Mr. Mime dead. I went in and saw Prof. Oak sitting there, and he looked like he had lost a lot of sleep. He was sleeping when I woke him up. He told me that the four criminal organizations, Team Rocket, Team Magma, Team Aqua, and Team Galactic had done this. I was such a fool to believe him. I wanted revenge for my mom's death. So, I took every single Pokémon I had and went to Mt. Silver. There I trained for a while and then set off towards each crime organization's headquarters. At Team Rocket's HQ, I learned that Giovanni was my father. I defeated Giovanni and then took down each other leader individually and got a bunch of money for it. I spent that on an advanced Pokémon storage system that let me store all my Pokémon, new and old, on it and would let them roam around in an environment similar to the real world, when they're actually in a computer. When I was traveling around the world, I befriended every single legendary I knew of and they all said that I could use them in battle whenever I wanted to. After taking down Team Galactic, I knew my job was done, so I went back to Mt. Silver and trained until just a few weeks ago. I received a letter from Professor Oak, asking me to come back to Pallet because of an emergency. When I got to the lab, I met Tracey and he showed me to the Professor. Except for the fact that it wasn't the Professor and that he was the Shadow King. Now, apparently, I am the Prince of Aura, the befriended of the legendaries. The Shadow King is my evil counterpart. We were forever destined to combat each other. Now, this is where the World Cup comes in. He and I battled, with Pikachu losing to his Shadow Pikachu in a matter of minutes. He left me a note which said that he made the World Cup so that I may get a chance to fight him again. The winner of the World Cup gets to fight him, or 'last World Cup's champion.' Now you see why I have to win this competition. The winner of the fight between him and I determines the fate of the world. I win, the world is saved. He wins, the world is doomed."
"Well, then...you won't lose!" reassured May.
Ash stared at her and then slowly grinned.
"I love her simplicity," Ash thought.
"You know what, May?"
"Huh?"
"I will win."
"Don't forget, Ash." Brandon said.
"What?" Ash replied.
"We know you have to save the world and everything. But first, you have to get through us," Cynthia declared, looking at Brandon and Lance.
"Of course! I'm not gonna save the world without beating the crap out of you three, am I? No. I'm going to consider this training," replied Ash.
"Don't get too cocky, Ash," warned Lance.
" 'Course not! I'm not the old Ash I was almost five years ago!" Ash responded cheerfully.
"Well, that's obvious," Tonio muttered.
The group laughed and Ash felt warm inside.
"My life is good, now."
Like it, Love it, Hate it?
Read, Review, and Recommend!
Think the love was a little rushed?
As always, recommend Pokémon and now legendaries for Ash!
See ya next time!
-Legends Almighty