Masters of Johto Chapter 20: Till we meet again, a pokémon fanfic

Rayquaza45: Hey there, readers! Ready for the penultimate chapter in this fanfic!

I would hope so because it has been a long road to get here and we still have a little further to go before we're done.

When we left off, Ash had regained his composure and ability in battling and put himself back in the lead in his battle with Leaf, for a while. However, Venusaur has knocked out Pikachu and Sceptile and now Ash is down to his last pokémon: Charizard! The battle started off with Venusaur giving Charizard a hard time but now the flame pokémon has its opponent in a seismic toss and is ready for the final showdown!

So I hope you guys'll read the chapter and take the time to review at the end. It's been a long road and I really wanna know what you guys think about my writing.

Let's get going with it! It's on!

Chapter 20: Till we meet again

The large orange dragon began roaring viciously into the sky as its trainer shouted his command. Its wings were flapping at an intense speed, sending dust flying all around the field, forcing both Ash and Leaf to cover their mouths to prevent themselves from inhaling it. Even the cameras on the bottom of the field were blocked by the sheer amount of dust flying around.

"What the heck are you thinking, Ash?" Leaf wondered to herself.

The seed pokémon was quite startled as it could feel its big hulking body being lifted into the air, inch by inch, as Charizard continued to roar and flap, attempting to do everything it could to gain altitude for the attack. The sight was one to behold. Charizard managed to lift Venusaur into the air a little more by now by just grabbing onto its flower petals, subtly reaching closer to its body to get a better hold.

"Venusaur!" Leaf shouted as the dust had partially subsided enough for her to uncover her mouth. "Use vine whip!"

"Saur!" The seed pokémon bellowed as it took out its green vines and began whipping its opponent in the face. One after the other, the attack violently smashing into Charizard's eyes and nose, causing it to wobble just after it had managed to get Venusaur a few feet into the air.

Up in the stand, the entire audience's jaw had dropped at what they were seeing. The type difference between the two users was apparent enough for anyone to see that what appeared to a seismic toss attack was, at best, illogical and yet, Ash was trying it.

"I think he's really lost it." Gary commented. "Seismic toss isn't gonna do much damage to Venusaur."

"Yeah, Venusaur's a poison-type pokémon; this move won't have much effect." Brendan pointed out.

"Why would Ash order a fighting-type move?" May wondered.

"He could have a plan." Brock suggested, sitting with his arms crossed.

"Zaar!" The flame pokémon shouted as it kept flying upwards with the massive seed pokémon in its claws, still enduring the beating from the vine whips.

"Keep going, Charizard." Ash called out to it.

"Pika?" The electric rodent next to Ash asked aloud as it looked on in confusion.

"Venusaur can't use solar beam with its petals blocked off." Leaf angrily reasoned. "And frenzy plant won't work in the air; I'll have to try something else."

"Saur!" The seed pokémon bellowed as it continued hitting the unrelenting flame pokémon carrying it, now at a height of roughly 30 feet in the air.

"Come on, just a little bit higher, Charizard!" Ash shouted. "We can make it!"

"Venusaur, keep up the vine whip, and make it faster!" Leaf shouted.

"Zaaaaar!" The flame pokémon grunted as the vine whips became more and more intense as it got higher and higher. The increasing speed seemed to double the damage taken from a move with normally average strength, added to that, the fact that Charizard had twice the resistance to grass-type moves since it was both a fire-type and a flying-type.

The seed pokémon was now roughly forty feet above the ground. Leaf didn't know how high Ash was planning to take it; but she knew it wouldn't be good.

"Venusaur!" Leaf called out. "You have to keep going at it!"

"This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen Ash do." Brendan commented.

"Even more ridiculous than-" May started before she was cut off.

"Let's not open that book." Brock suggested, putting his hand over May's mouth.

"Forget about opposition, Ash. If you believe Charizard can beat Venusaur, it will." Gary communicated to his rival through his mind in a joking attempt at telepathy. "You're in control."

Try as it might, the seed pokémon could not get free of the flame pokémon's grip no matter what it tried. It was now being held by its skin by its opponent. Slash after slash, the vine whip wasn't working and Charizard had managed to carry Venusaur over fifty feet into the air by this point, suspending the audience's belief that it could not happen.

"We're almost there!" Ash cheered.

"Venusaur, seed bomb!" Leaf commanded.

"Saur!" The seed pokémon boomed as seed-shaped items were fired from its plant and into Charizard's stomach.

"Zaaar!" The flame pokémon roared in pain as it started getting hurt even worse, stumbling in its flight.

"How's it doing that?" Ash asked aloud.

"The sun's rays may be blocked off from Venusaur's petals, but it can still fire seed bombs from its flower!" Leaf explained.

"Sauuuuuur!" Leaf's pokémon shouted as it continued firing on Charizard. Nobody could actually see the seeds, but since they exploded on contact, the dust was visible between the two pokémon. The seed pokémon was now roughly fifty five feet above the ground but the flame pokémon was in danger of being knocked out and dropping back to the ground, making its attempts useless. Finally, the raven haired trainer decided to enact his final plan.

"Alright, Charizard!" Ash shouted. "It's time! Toss him into the air!"

"What did he just say!?" Brendan exclaimed, nearly jumping out of his seat.

"Toss Venusaur into the air?" Dawn questioned. "That's ridiculous!"

"Zaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrr!" The flame pokémon roared with all its might as it lifted its massive opponent and chucked it into the air above in what appeared to be an impossible feat.

The entire audience's jaw dropped at what had happened. Charizard threw Venusaur, a pokémon weighing much more than itself, up into the air. Even Lance, Wallace and Tucker were flabbergasted by the technique.

"Venusaur, your petals are free!" Leaf shouted as loud as she could to her partner who had been thrown up into the air. "Finish off Charizard with SOLAR BEAM!"

"Saurrrrrr…!" The seed pokémon shouted as it began charging energy inside its petals on the way up. Soon it would be able to fire the energy and hopefully crush Charizard.

But that wasn't where it ended, Charizard flew up and above Venusaur almost like a rocket before it got above the seed pokémon and though its opponent kept going upwards, Charizard still managed to stay ahead of it.

"Charizard, it's time for our finishing move! One nobody's ever seen before!" Ash shouted. "Use BLAST BURN!"

"Zzzzzzzz…" The flame pokémon growled as the fire on its tail began to grow bigger and brighter than ever before. Soon, the fire from its tail erupted into a ring of fire around Charizard's body as it looked up to see that Venusaur was just about ready to fire the solar beam. With its fire burning brighter than ever, Charizard took in one last deep breath. "…AAAAAARRRRD!"

With amazing intensity, the powerful and massive stream of fire erupted from Charizard's mouth almost like a volcano and spiraled downwards to where Venusaur was making its approach.

"SAUUUUURRR!" The seed pokémon bellowed loudly as it released a white beam from its flower, the force of which went straight up and collided with Charizard's blast burn.

The two attacks met with each other in mid-air and released a huge amount of energy. For Brock, May and the rest of Ash's friends, it was their first time seeing the fire-type variation of hyper beam. The force of the grass-type move it was using was sending Venusaur plummeting downwards to the ground. Charizard kept breathing the fire-type move as hard as it could while it flew down along with Venusaur, allowing gravity to help it with overpowering the solar beam.

Almost like a show of fireworks, small splatters of the elements were fizzing around from the attack and dissipating in the air or upon contact with the ground. The entire arena was illuminated with the bright flashes of lights from the attacks themselves as well as the cameras covering Venusaur's angle, Charizard's angle, the faces of their trainers and the collision between the attacks.

"This is the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen!" Dawn exclaimed as she covered her eyes with her hand due to the bright flashes of light.

"I've never seen anything like this." Gary commented as he narrowed his eyes. "They're both giving it all they've got."

"Regardless of who wins, this is gonna be a fight for the ages." Brock expressed as he concentrated on the clash of powers.

"Zaaaar!" "Sauuur!" The two pokémon shouted with all their might as they kept up their attacks, neither one giving way to the other. Despite Charizard's type advantage, Venusaur was giving it the fight of its life with effective tactics by Leaf. Gary had been right all along, if Ash had battled her and expected to win on type advantages alone, he'd have had another thing coming.

Both of them were down to their last pokémon and if either Venusaur or Charizard gave out, it would spell the end for either of their trainers. Both had been with Ash and Leaf for the better part of their lives, for Charizard the emphasis was on better, and were determined to fight to the end for their trainers.

"This isn't the end, not by a long shot!" Leaf shouted. "I'm never going to give up on my pokémon!"

Just then, Venusaur landed on the field with a huge *thud* and firmly planted its legs into the ground. It raised the flower on its back as high as it could and kept firing its attack, hoping to overpower Charizard's blast burn. The cameras took notice and began zooming closer to Venusaur.

"I'm staking everything on me and my pokémon!" Ash announced to the whole arena. "I'll keep on going till I can't go anymore!"

"This is the most intense battle I've ever seen." Tucker thought to himself. In all his days at the Kanto Battle Frontier, no other battle had come close to the sheer epic nature of this one!

"Whatever the outcome, these two will go far in the future." Lance, the Johto region champion thought to himself.

Charizard could be seen still flapping its wings intensely, spewing the massive spiral of fire from its mouth as its tail burned brightly. The flame pokémon flew down foot by foot, closer and closer to Venusaur hoping to use its blast burn to stop the solar beam at the core and seize victory.

However antagonistic its feelings were for the seed pokémon at the beginning, it seemed that Charizard now viewed it as worthy opponent and wished to battle it to the final outcome.

"I can't believe all this power!" Dawn exclaimed.

"It isn't gonna be long, now." Brendan said, with his eyes focused only on the battle.

"They look so evenly matched." May pointed out, motioning to the centre of the collision which was seemingly in the middle between Venusaur on the ground and Charizard in the air, but closer inspection through the cameras revealed Charizard to have a longer stream going in comparison to Venusaur.

Brendan nodded. "For now."

On the battlefield, Ash and Leaf were looking at their pokémon, hoping that they would be able to outlast their opponent and claim victory.

"VENUSAUR, DON'T LET UP!" Leaf yelled, doing her best to encourage her pokémon. "YOU'RE STRONG!"

"CHARIZARD, GIVE IT ALL YOU'VE GOT!" Ash shouted at the top of his voice. "NOBODY CAN BEAT YOU!"

"Pika, Pi PikaPi!" The electric rodent next to Ash cheered for its party member.

"ZAAAAR!" "SAUUUR!" The two pokémon shouted louder than ever. Charizard was pushing itself to its absolute limits and pushing back Venusaur as best it could. The spiral of fire was finally beginning to overpower the solar beam, much to Ash's delight and Leaf's dismay. The flame pokémon's wings were flapping harder than ever, almost like a humming bird's despite their size, as Charizard got closer and closer to Venusaur, whose attack began failing as the beam got more and more visibly weaker.

"Venusaur, no!" Leaf cried out. "Don't give in!"

"It's our chance, Charizard!" Ash shouted. "Get in there and show 'em why we'll never lose!"

"AAAAAR!" The flame pokémon snarled in its fury as it glided down and pushed back the weakening solar beam with its blast burn. Venusaur was visibly struggling with the attack, doing its best to increase its own power and push back Charizard but failed to do so as Ash's pokémon came down on it.

Within a matter of moments, Charizard was right on top of Venusaur, its blast burn attack mere feet away from overpowering the solar beam and burning the seed pokémon to a crisp and ending Leaf's hopes of winning.

"Just a little bit more, Charizard!" Ash shouted to his pokémon. "Just a little more and it's all ours!"

"Sauuur!" The seed Pokémon boomed as it kept up its solar beam as best it could. But try as it did, its power was waning as Charizard came down even closer, now mere moments away from obtaining victory.

"YES, YES, YES!" Ash yelled at the top of his voice. "You can make it!"

"Venusaur, NO!" Leaf cried. "It can't end yet!"

At this point, there was absolutely nothing to save Venusaur. The solar beam was only hanging on by a thread and just barely keeping back the flames. The intense heat was getting to the seed pokémon and making it unbearable to withstand. As the raven haired trainer looked on at the scene, and at his girlfriend, he came up with the final words he wanted to convey.

"Leaf…this is the best battle I've ever had." Ash proclaimed. "I've been dreaming about a moment like this all my life and after all the time we've spent together, I've learned so much from you."

"No…no."

"I can't tell you how happy I am to have met you." He stated.

"This…can't be…"

"But now…IT'S OVER!" Ash shouted as loud as he could while clenching his fist. "CHARIZARD, BLAST BURN FULL POWER!"

"ZZZZAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!" The final evolution of the Kanto region fire-type started roared as loud as possible. With one motion of its head backwards and then a powerful shot forward, Charizard's blast burn attack became even more massive than ever before.

The spiral of fire burned as brightly as its trainer's determination and his pokémon's fierce battle spirit. The orange and red flames were an amazing sight to behold as they grew and grew, totally encompassing Venusaur's solar beam inside and covering the seed pokémon in what resembled a dome of fire.

"VENUSAUR!" Leaf cried out at the top of her voice.

The spiral stream of fire from Charizard's mouth kept feeding the dome of fire covering Venusaur for a few moments till the flame pokémon started getting the feeling that its opponent wasn't fighting back anymore.

With one breath, Ash's strongest pokémon ended its use of the fire-type variation of hyper beam and glided down to the ground in front of Ash as the flames around Venusaur began dissipating.

The entire audience looked on as the flames were finally gone from the field and revealed what had become of Venusaur. The seed pokémon had been knocked unconscious and suffered a great number of burns from the flames. Leaf looked on in shock as her last hopes for winning the tournament were crushed. Almost all the cameras around the field depicted its lack of movements.

"ZAAAARD!" The flame pokémon roared proudly as it saw its opponent, utterly defeated after the long, grueling battle.

Brock, May, Brendan, Dawn and Gary stared at the defeated Leaf in a state of disbelief.

Lance, Wallace and Tucker took notice of the result as well.

"Venusaur is no longer able to battle, Charizard wins!" Lance announced to the world. "The red trainer is out of pokémon. The winner of the match and of the Battle Spirits Tournament is ASH KETCHUM OF PALLET TOWN!"

The entire audience erupted in cheers which could make a weaker man go deaf. Louder than ever before, they were cheering for Ash, which was a surprise considering their behavior at start of the tournament. The cameras focused on Ash's amazed expression, Charizard's triumphant grin and Pikachu's smile as the three of them relished in their victory.

After a long and winding road, Ash won the Battle Spirits Tournament. He stood triumphantly with Charizard in front of him and his Pikachu next to him. Whistles, cheers and applause were heard from every corner of the stadium.

"I really can't believe it…Ash won!" May exclaimed.

"That was the best match I've ever seen!" Dawn shouted in excitement. "Amazing! Totally amazing!"

"Sure was." Gary said. "Good going, Ashy boy."

"And so it began…" Brendan started.

"…and so it ends." Brock finished.

"I…lost." Leaf thought to herself in disbelief as her knees crashed into the ground. "It's…all over."

As she looked at the ground, trying not to look up for fear of letting everyone see the tears beginning to form in her eyes, she noticed a pair of shoes standing before her.

As she wiped her eyes and looked up, she saw Ash with Pikachu on his shoulder, smiling down at her.

"Ash?" Leaf asked the boy.

"That was the best battle I've ever had, Leaf." He told her as he extended his hand to her. "Getting to battle against you was what I've wanted for a long time."

"I know we promised that we'd battle each other here, but…" Leaf started. "but…I never thought about how hard it'd be to lose, least of all to you."

"If I had lost, I'd feel just the same as you." Ash told her. "But we both just fought the match of our lives…so far."

"Ok, Ash…you win." She sadly responded as she wiped her eyes and took out a pokéball. "Venusaur, return."

A red beam came out of her pokéball and covered the defeated seed pokémon, bringing it back inside its catching device.

"Thank you for everything, Venusaur. You did great." Leaf thought, holding the pokéball to her heart before she took Ash's hand and got to her feet.

As she put the pokéball back into her bag, she was caught by surprise as she was embraced in a hug from Ash. She was confused for a brief moment before smiling and hugging him back as everyone smiled at their affection. Their faces and hug were quickly picked up on by the cameramen who focused on them, playing to the audiences sensitive side.

"And with this, the Battle Spirits Tournament is officially OVER!" Lance announced. "Congratulations to ASH KETCHUM OF PALLET TOWN! The world of pokémon salutes you!"

Ash then motioned that he wanted to break his and Leaf's embrace to acknowledge the audience for a moment, which Leaf allowed him to do.

With a big smile on his face and his hands in the air, Ash Ketchum, the winner of the Battle Spirits Tournament waved to the audience.

"With this, we can now begin our crowning of the tournament champions!" Lance announced. "Will our top 3 contenders join us on stage, please."

Hand in hand, Ash and Leaf approached the referee podium which had just set up an Olympic-style stand to commemorate and award the prizes to the 3rd, 2nd and 1st place winners of the tournament. From his seat in the audience, Gary Oak also got up so he could join Ash and Leaf.

A few minutes later, the three teens were standing on the steps which represented their positions, Gary on the lowest reading '3rd', Leaf on the middle one reading '2nd' and Ash on the top one reading '1st'. Lance, Wallace and Tucker were standing by as well.

"And now, dearest audience and viewers," Lance started, trying to butter them up. "I present to you, the winners of the BATTLE SPIRITS TOURNAMENT!"

Everyone in the audience started cheering their heads off for the trainers. Since they started their pokémon journeys, they had all made great accomplishments and now they had one more to talk about.

"Before we present the awards, I would like to hand the microphone to my colleague, Hoenn region champion, Wallace!" Lance said.

"Thank you, Lance." Wallace said as he accepted the microphone. "As you all know, only trainers eighteen and younger were allowed to put forth their names to enter this tournament. We would like to explain why the decision was made."

There was no speech in the audience as they were all eager to find out the reason behind the restriction. It was likely that many notable and strong trainers were upset at the fact that they couldn't enter since they were older than eighteen.

"Though there are many trainers in this would over the age of eighteen with amazing skill, having passed said age, they were adults and had thus become the current generation of adult trainers." Wallace explained. "The goal of the Battle Spirits Tournament was to encourage younger trainers to take up the mantle and carry the torch once the current generation ends its prime."

Admittedly, the explanation did make sense to a lot of people. A fairly good amount of trainers eighteen and under could and were recruited for the Battle Spirits Tournament and in truth, of all the elite four members in all of the regions, there was not a single one who was under nineteen. The idea of promoting pokémon battling to the younger generation in order to raise the next groups of elite four members was understandable. Even Gary, as a future researcher, knew it was up to him to take the mantle from his grandfather.

"Ash Ketchum, Leaf Green and Gary Oak." Wallace said, not directly to the trainers themselves, but to everyone present and watching on TV. "All of them are fourteen years of age and will go far as they continue their pokémon journeys, no matter which path they take."

The audience clapped at Wallace's statement in agreement. Having seen them battle, there was no doubt that they'd all be successful in the world of pokémon.

"I now hand the microphone back to Lance so as to begin our awards ceremony." Wallace announced as he passed the device to his Johto region counterpart.

"Thank you, Wallace." Lance said. "And without further ado, we will now proceed."

The audience looked on as Tucker opened a small box, containing what appeared to be a bronze medal and some kind of paper underneath it.

"Third place in the Battle Spirits Tournament is awarded to Gary Oak, of Pallet Town." Lance announced as he put the bronze medal over Gary's head while the young future researcher bowed his head. The cameras around the field showed the reception from varying angles.

"Thank you, Champion Lance." Gary said respectfully, his smile being seen all across in the camera screens.

Lance simply nodded his head at Gary's comment. "Second place in the Battle Spirits Tournament goes to Leaf Green of Pallet Town." He announced.

"Thank you, very much." Leaf said as Lance placed a silver medal over her head.

"And at long last, we have arrived." Lance said as he opened a box containing a gold medal that was shining bright. "First place in the Battle Spirits Tournament goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

Ash's lower jaw had dropped as the words Lance said hit him. After everything he had been through, everything he had experienced, everyone he had met, he was now the Battle Spirits Tournament Champion.

"Congratulations, Ash Ketchum." Lance said as he placed the medal over the raven haired trainer's head, which was frozen in place.

"PikaPi!" The partially recovered electric rodent cheered for its trainer.

"Hey." Leaf whispered, nudging the frozen Ash as she did. "Say 'thank you'."

"Oh…uh…." Ash started as he came back to reality. "Thank you, Lance."

"No Ash, thank you." Lance responded. "Thank you for the amazing battle and thank you for becoming a pokémon trainer."

"It was just what I wanted to do." Ash laughed, scratching the back of his head. "It was really nothing."

"Not nothing, Ash, it was everything." Lance told him. "You were driven by your desires to become a pokémon trainer and make your mark on the world."

"I guess you could say that." Ash responded, now thinking about the reason he started his journey in a different way.

"In becoming a pokémon trainer, you've changed the way you lived your life." Lance explained. "It creates new roads and opportunities, not only for you, not only for trainers, but for all who choose the path of pokémon."

"You're right." Ash smiled.

"The future of our pokémon world is truly brighter than ever!" Lance announced. "And from this day forth, these three shall be known as the first ever placeholders of the Battle Spirits Tournament and henceforth be known as the 'Masters of Johto'!"

The audience reaction was unbelievable. Whistles were as loud as cheers and applause. Numerous spectators were throwing roses and various other items into the arena, thanking them for the show they put on.

"I can't believe it's really all over." Dawn said.

"It almost feels like just yesterday that we all met at Leaf's vacation house." May expressed.

"Still, it's great what those three did for themselves." Brock stated before his face took on a confused look. "But to be known as the 'Masters of Johto'?"

"Rather weird since none of them even live in this region." Brendan commented.

"You know what, you're right." Dawn had realized. "The winners of the top three positions were all Pallet Town Trainers."

"We will now present the additional prizes to our three top contenders." Lance announced as he then looked over to the Dome Ace of the Kanto Battle Frontier. "Tucker, if you will."

"Sure." The Dome Ace responded as he opened a small, golden coloured chest and walked up to the future researcher. "First of all, we issue our congratulations to Gary Oak, the third place competitor."

At this, a high pitched scream was heard from the audience. Nobody other than Gary was able to immediately figure out who it belonged to.

The grandson of the world's most famous pokémon researcher then looked at the item in the box. It was a small card with writing that was illegible from where he was standing.

"This is a pass to ride any sea travelling boat between the regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh." Tucker explained. "The mere presentation of this card at any sea ferry terminal entitles you to ride to any of these four regions free of charge.

"It was something of a hassle to obtain through my Sinnoh region counterpart." Wallace explained. "Hopefully you will put it to good use."

"Thank you very much." Gary said as he bowed his head as Wallace placed a bronze medal over his head and presented the chest and the card it contained to him. "This'll be useful for pokémon research."

"And now, Wallace, if you please." Lance said as he looked towards his Hoenn region counterpart.

The Champion of the Hoenn region then approached Leaf with a gold chest similar the one which contained Gary's prize. Leaf began trembling with excitement as she saw Wallace approach.

"Leaf Green." Tucker said, holding out the chest which he then clicked open with his fingers. "This is in honour of your accomplishment on this day."

Leaf looked down at the opened chest and saw what her prize was. It was a card similar to Gary's prize, but unlike his, it was golden in colour, like the chest.

"This card is one which will permit you to purchase anything from a store in the Johto region at a discounted price." Wallace explained. "In addition to your shopping privileges, it will allow you to enter any and all of the restricted sections of Johto's Mt. Silver."

"Restricted sections?" Leaf asked. "What restricted sections are there in Mt. Silver?"

"There are some areas which the Pokémon League felt were too dangerous for all but the most skilled of pokémon trainers to enter." Wallace explained. "With this pass, you will be able to enter those areas on Mt. Silver, should you desire to do so."

Leaf was silent for a moment, contemplating the options she now had. Though she'd never heard of any areas on Mt. Silver that were not allowing trainers inside, despite the fact that the Silver Conference had always been held there annually, she now had to opportunity to go to those areas and see new types of pokémon.

"Thank you very much, Champion Wallace." Leaf said as she bent her head to allow Wallace to place a silver medal over her head and accepted the chest from the green haired Hoenn champion.

"And finally, your tournament champion, Ash Ketchum." Lance announced as Tucker gave him a gold chest.

This one wasn't much different from the ones Leaf and Gary received but it was was quite a bit larger than theirs.

"Ash Ketchum, for being the winner of the first ever Battle Spirits Tournament, we hereby present you with this prize." Lance said as he put the large chest in Ash's arms. The raven haired trainer opened up the chest, not knowing what to expect.

When he did open it, he found an odd yellow envelope. Clearly, the chest was just for show since the envelope was the same size as Leaf and Gary's cards. He opened it slowly after taking visual permission from Lance. Inside the envelope was a picture of what appeared to be a lighthouse with the title 'Liberty Pass' and had some words written under it:

Use this special pass to take
a ship from Castelia City to
Liberty Garden.

Ash looked up for a moment and noticed that Lance, Wallace and Tucker were all smiling. He had no idea whatsoever where 'Castelia City' or 'Liberty Garden' were or what the pass was really for but was genuinely grateful to receive it nonetheless

"Thank you, all." Ash said in his most polite tone, which nearly sounded like a joke coming from him.

"We should be thanking you for putting on that amazing show for us." Tucker commented.

Ash bowed his head as Wallace placed a shiny gold medal over his head.

"Ash, you may not know what the Liberty Pass can be used for, but I'm sure that people who live far away may have a clue." Lance told him. "In the Unova region."

"Liberty Pass?" Ash asked. "Unova?"

"Pi?" Ash's faithful electric–type pokémon asked.

"That's right, Ash…and Pikachu." Lance said. "Unova is the name of a region that is very far away from here."

"Not a single one of the pokémon in that region can be found in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn or Sinnoh." Wallace explained. "Nor can any of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn or Sinnoh's pokémon be found there."

"And in regards to technology, it is even more advanced than these four regions." Tucker concluded. "The region blends high-tech cities with natural scenery and beauty which makes it the envy of much of the world."

"Unova?" Ash thought to himself as he held the chest containing the item apparently called the 'Liberty Pass'. "I'm gonna need to talk to Professor Oak about this."

"In addition to the gold medal and the Liberty Pass, Ash, we have one more prize to award you." Lance revealed, surprising everyone.

"One more?" Ash wondered to himself.

Lance then walked up to Ash and presented a large trophy to him. It had a bright golden colour painted on it and featured a humanoid standing on the base of the trophy with his right hand in the air, raising a pokéball to the sky. Ash chuckled to himself for a moment, remembering his first days as a trainer. On the bottom of the trophy, there were words inscribed:

"BATTLE SPIRITS TOURNAMENT CHAMPION"

"Thank you." Ash said subtly before raising his head with his medal dangling around his neck, his golden chest containing the Liberty Pass held in one hand and his trophy held in another. His full form was shown in the camera screens, standing tall and proud. "THANK YOU ALL!"

"We also have some more news we need to share." Tucker said, swiping the microphone away from a distracted Lance. "There will be a commemoratory ball held here on the 70th floor of the Olivine City Battle Tower for all two hundred fifty six of the tournament participants!"

"What?" "Huh?" "Come again?" Those were just a few of the responses heard around the arena and audience stands after Tucker made his announcement.

"A commemoratory dance has been arranged to be held here tonight." Tucker explained. "The two hundred fifty six participants of this tournament are all invited to enter. Entry to this event is restricted to them and them alone."

"Nothing was ever mentioned about a commemoratory dance before." Leaf pointed out.

"The decision was made only recently." Tucker stated. "Just yesterday, in fact."

"Isn't it gonna be pretty much impossible to hold a dance in this floor here?" Gary asked, surveying all the damage done to the arena by Ash and Leaf's battle.

"You needn't worry about that, Gary Oak." Tucker assured him. "The organizing committee has more than enough assets to get the job done."

"Keep in mind that it is a formal dance." Wallace told them.

"Note to self: Get out of this!" Ash urgently reminded himself.

"I should have a dress somewhere in the house." Leaf remembered.

"We hope to see all of the competitors there-" Tucker started.

"And with this….." Lance said as he took the microphone back just as fast as he lost it, leaving Tucker bewildered. "The Battle Spirits Tournament is OFFICIALLY OVER!"

"Pika Pika!"

After this announcement, there was no cheer. It was a bonanza with an applause from a standing audience. Confetti, balloons and streamers began falling from the ceiling and covering everything. Gary, Leaf and Ash got off their stands, carrying their chests and items with them.

Brendan, Brock, Dawn and May got up from their seats to meet them at the bottom so they could leave together.

When the seven friends finally met near the exit, Dawn immediately leapt into the unopened arms of Gary, who struggled to hold on to his golden chest.

"So…it's all over?" May asked.

"Not yet." Leaf smiled as she turned to her raven haired boyfriend. .

"We still have tonight to look forward to." Ash sarcastically grumbled under his breath.

The hours passed like clockwork as Leaf found her dress in the attic. Brock and Gary opened up their suits to check up on how they looked while Dawn and Leaf did the same for their dresses. Brendan, who as expected, didn't have a suit, ended up having to go out and buy one with May at his side, dictating his every choice.

At roughly 10:30pm, the seven teens left Leaf's vacation house and headed off to the Battle Tower. Brendan and Gary both wore black suits with white shirts underneath and a blue and red tie, respectively. Brock wore a white suit with a white shirt and a white tie, hoping to look as unique as possible. They all wore black dress shoes.

Most comically, Ash attempted to get out of the event by faking an illness from the stress of the battle. Leaf, of course, did not fall for it and caught him messing around with a thermometer by using a flashlight. Eventually, he was forced to put on his freshly-ironed black suit, white shirt and green tie, in addition to actually combing his hair for once.

Of the girls, Dawn wore a sky blue dress with long leggings and fancy black shoes. May's dress was pink and she wore brown shoes with it. But what Ash paid attention to most was Leaf's dress. Hers was a fancy green dress with glittered beads down the side which managed to make it look classy and rather elegant. Her hair was flowing down her back and she also wore nice, expensive, white high heel shoes.

Pikachu, being a pokémon, expressed its wishes not to wear clothes. Ash managed to convince Leaf not to dress up the electric rodent in a suit belonging to a toy in the attic.

The group soon arrived at the Battle Tower and proceeded up the elevator to the 70th floor. No tournament entry cards were necessary for Ash, Brendan, Leaf and Gary since everyone knew who they were while May, Brock and Dawn had to present theirs.

After a few minutes, the elevator arrived at the 70th floor and opened everyone's eyes to an amazing sight.

The entire floor had been converted into a dance hall. But not any dance hall, it looked like a ballroom inside a 5-star hotel. The entire area may very well have never been used as the site for a massive battle. Neon lights were placed around the ceiling and some of the walls, adding a flashy, yet elegant aspect to the area. None of the cameras which were in place for the battle were visible, implying their removal.

On a newly built stage were Lance, Wallace and Tucker, all of them in tuxedos, sharing a few laughs over drinks.

"Wow!" Dawn exclaimed as she looked around. "I know they said the organizing committee had the assets to fix the place, but this seems like it would've taken weeks!"

"I know, right?" May agreed. "They did a great job."

"Piiiiii!" The electric rodent pokémon on Ash's shoulder said in amazement as it looked around.

"It's amazing, isn't it, Pikachu?" Ash admitted to his best friend.

"Shall we go?" Gary asked in a gentleman-like fashion as he held out his elbow.

"Sure." Dawn smiled as she hooked herself on his arm and went with him.

"I think we ought to go too." Brendan said as he held out his hand towards May when he saw Dawn and Gary leave.

"I think you're right." May laughed as she took her boyfriend's hand, waving bye to Ash, Leaf and Brock, who had noticed someone out of the corner of his eye.

"Excuse me, guys." The tall, brown-haired trainer said as he walked away.

His reason for coming to Olivine City was two-fold. On one hand, he'd wanted to compete in the Battle Spirits Tournament and on the other hand, he'd wanted to meet up with a certain girl again.

"Excuse me." Brock said as he approached a light brown haired girl in a silver dress while her back was turned.

"Yes?" She asked as she turned around, noticing Brock standing there in his white suit. "Brock?"

"Hello Jasmine." He said to her. "I guess I could've expected the Olivine City gym leader to be here, even if she didn't compete."

"They hold a tournament in my city, you can be sure I'm gonna be there for the party." She answered back. "What have you been up to?"

Brock decided not to answer her right away and simply began to say what he came up to her to say. "I've heard about you and I want to say, I understand your reasons for turning me down back then."

"So then…you've met Steven?" She asked.

"I have and he's among the nicest guys I've ever met." Brock told her. "But I still feel the need to say that you and I would have gone great together as well."

"I understand where you're coming from, Brock, I do." She told him. "But with Steven and me, there's a spark which always flickers. Just knowing isn't enough, you have to go beyond that and take every possible outcome into consideration."

"I agree." Brock answered as he turned around and walked off.

Moments later, a tall man with silver hair walked up next to Jasmine and handed her a drink. He was wearing what was probably the fanciest tuxedo of all the men present, complete with highly fashionable shoes, a nice tie and a solid gold wristwatch with encrusted diamonds.

"Who was that?" He asked.

"He's a guy I met a while back." Jasmine answered. "You wanna dance, Steven?"

Meanwhile, Leaf was still at the entrance, while Ash had offered to get her a drink, when, just then, a boy in a tuxedo bumped into her. Both of them immediately recognized the other.

"Landon!" "Leaf!"

The two of them exclaimed at the same time. It had been quite a while since they'd seen one another and after the leak to the media about Ash and Leaf's relationship status, the 2nd place winner of the tournament was curious about what he had been up to and wanted to ask him. Until, the gossip girl's ex-boyfriend spoke first, wanting to express his views right away.

"Leaf, I don't know if you saw what happened on TV a few days before the tournament," He started. "But Miranda and I were found by some new reporter and-"

"It's alright." Leaf cut him off. "I was watching it with Ash, we know it was her who leaked the gossip about us to the media. I also know that you dumped her right there and then."

"You're right, I did." He said. "I could never be with someone whom I couldn't trust with the secrets of my friends and I."

"I get where you're coming from, but even then, wasn't dumping her in front of the camera a little harsh, even for that?" Leaf asked.

"Maybe." He shrugged. "Some people just won't listen to you unless you pull out all the stops."

"Alright," Leaf subtly laughed. "I'd have to agree with you there."

At that, Landon curtly nodded and walked off. Miranda was nowhere to be seen; Leaf reasoned that she didn't plan to attend. She was now comparatively happy about having been forced to battle her to get past the second preliminary round.

The brown haired 2nd place competitor of the tournament walked toward the centre of the dance hall as she saw Ash coming back. The beads in her dress began sparkling under the bright, yet delicate neon lights.

Near the tables holding the punch bowl and snacks, Brock was looking down at his cup while he carefully poured himself a drink as some slow song was playing in the background. Unlike his usual smile, his face showed signs of boredom and sadness. After all the things that had happened during the tournament, it seemed he was the only one without a significant other. As he stood there, drinking his punch, a lady with green hair approached him from behind.

"Brock?" She asked him while his back was turned.

"Hello?" He asked aloud, turning around to see who was behind him. When he saw the girl looking at him, he got the strangest feeling of deja-vu.

She was a girl roughly the same age as him wearing a fancy, long red dress with her green hair flowing down. As he looked at her, he suddenly remembered who she was.

"Wilhelmina?"

"Glad to see you haven't forgotten me, Brock." She smiled.

"I never forget a pretty face." He said confidently, hoping to hear a laugh.

"Oh, Brock." She laughed, fulfilling Brock's hope. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Well you're even more beautiful that last time, if that's at all possible." He told her as he handed her a glass of punch.

"I've missed that sense of humor of yours, Brock." She told him as she accepted the glass. "I guess you must've been competing in the tournament?"

"Well I did compete in the preliminaries, but I never made it out of them." He admitted.

"That's unfortunate." She said.

"Hey, wait, did you compete in the tournament too?" Brock asked her, remembering that only people who had entered the tournament were allowed to attend the ball, judges, and referees, Lance, Wallace, Tucker, Steven Stone and Jasmine aside.

"I've never been into competitive battling, to be honest." She answered.

"But I thought only tournament participants were allowed to attend." He inquired.

"Well, I got permission to attend from my uncle." She explained.

"Uncle?"

Just then, a tall man with pink hair approached Brock from behind.

"Hello Brock." He said. "I see you've met my niece."

"Hello?" Brock asked as he turned around and then saw the man standing behind him. It was none other than Tucker, the one who had refereed many of the battles in the tournament and promoted it.

"Tucker?"

"Hi there, Uncle Tucker." Wilhelmina said, surprising Brock as he repeatedly moved his head back and forth between the two.

"Are you telling me your uncle, the one who invited you here, is Dome Ace Tucker of the Kanto Battle Frontier?" He asked frantically.

"That's right." Wilhelmina happily smiled.

"She told me she'd be in Olivine City to watch the tournament after I told her I was there and she decided to come." Tucker explained. "When she found out about the ball, I just couldn't say no after she'd come such a long way."

"And that's why I'm here." Wilhelmina stated.

Seeing Brock and Wilhelmina together, Tucker decided that he'd overstayed his welcome in their conversation and it'd be best if he left since he could do so without worries. After all, she wasn't his daughter.

"So, what'd you think of the tournament?" Brock asked her.

"All the trainers who entered were really skilled." She said. "It's like Lance said; the future of pokémon battling is really bright,"

"I'd have to agree with you there." Brock responded as he looked around at all the trainers he remembered watching.

As the song entered its second-to-last chorus, Brock and Wilhelmina looked at each other and communicated with their eyes and took a few steps towards each other and began dancing.

Away from Brock and Wilhelmina, in a corner of the dance hall, Dawn Berlitz and Gary Oak were slow-dancing while the song finished up and the music for the next one started. They began looking into each others eyes and smiling, Dawn could barely do it since she kept blushing.

You've been such a good friend,
I've known you since I don't know when.
We've got lots of friends but they come and go.

"What's wrong?" The future researcher asked his girlfriend as he noticed that she looked kind of down.

"Oh, it's nothing." She said, putting on a false smile to make his think everything was alright.

Even though we've never said it,
There's something that the two of us both know:

"Come on." Gary said, his eyes narrowing at Dawn's expression. "I know you better than that."

"Well…it's just that…" She paused.

Together forever, no matter how long -
From now until the end of time.
We'll be together, and you can be sure
That forever and a day,
That's how long we'll stay,
Together and forever more.

"Go on." He encouraged her.

"I'm going back to Kanto to compete in pokémon contests." Dawn told him. "But you're going to Sinnoh."

"Yeah, I have to complete my research and meet up with Professor Rowan again." Gary stated.

"It just feels like we're not gonna see each other again for a long time." She explained.

Always gone that extra mile,
Depended on you all the while.
Even in the good and bad times you will see -
From now until our journey's end,
You know you can always count on me.

"Even if it takes a long time, I can work through it, knowing that you're gonna be there." Gary told her.

"Gary…." Dawn responded, acknowledging the sweetness in his words.

"This song kinda describes us, wouldn't you say?" Gary asked Dawn.

"I'm not sure." She smiled. "Nothing was really in our way till now."

No matter where our destiny leads,
I'll be there for you,
Always come through,
And that you can believe.

"Making friends here really was the best part of being here." Gary said. "Aside from being with you."

"How true." Dawn laughed.

Together forever, no matter how long -
From now until the end of time.

"So what are you gonna do?" Dawn asked.

"I'm continuing with my true calling." Gary stated. "I will be the world greatest pokémon researcher one day."

We'll be together, and you can be sure

"Nice to see you're not exchanging reality for a personal fantasy." Dawn said.

That forever and a day,

"Guys think about reality a lot more than girls think they do." He retorted. "Some even plan out their future."

"Is that true?" She questioned, somewhat seriously.

That's how long we'll stay,

"Sure is." He smiled. "But wondering about who I'm gonna be with is something I won't have to do."

"Why's that?" Dawn asked, already suspecting his answer.

"Because I have you." Gary truthfully answered as he pulled her in for a kiss before she even realized it.

Together and forever more!

On the opposite side of the hall were Brendan and May. They had been dancing a lot faster than Brendan was used to so he'd briefly stopped to catch his breath.

"How is it someone like you can't keep up with me?" May asked, handing him a glass of water.

'You'd be surprised what I'm capable of.' He jokingly responded as he thankfully accepted the water as the next song began playing.

Pokémon-mon-mon
Pokémon-mon-mon
Oh yeah!

"Whoa! Brendan exclaimed as he realized what was playing. "I love this song."

Pokémon-mon-mon
Pokémon-mon-mon
Pokémon-mon-mon
Pokémon-mon-mon

"Let's go!" He said excitedly as he put down his glass of water and took May's hand and dragged her to the floor.

"And here I was thinking you were too tired." May laughed.

The journey's just begun
The more the better

"Call me a quick healer." He smirked.

Villains are on the run
We're friends forever

"Check it out." Brendan told her as he cleared some room around them to get ready for his big bang.

You've got the power
Right in your hands

May immediately covered her eyes as she realized what Brendan was about to do. As other former participants looked at Brendan, who took a deep breath and began subtly moving from side to side, one boy in a green tuxedo decided to get out his cellphone and film the spectacle.

They'll evolve before your eyes
A world of magic
At your command
You can be a master if you try

Brendan started dancing various moves originally performed by a couple of well-known performers of the 1980's. While the people around him began to laugh subtly, the 4th place winner couldn't care less, reasoning that it was his last day to do whatever he wanted and so he'd spend the night having fun.

Pokémon-mon-mon
Pokémon-mon-mon
Pokémon-mon-mon

"May, come on!" Brendan called from the centre.

"Oh no." The brunette coordinator worried as other guests were looking around, wondering where she was.

Searching everyday
For the answer
No time to delay
This grand adventure

"Alright then!" Brendan shouted out as he finally realized that May was not coming.

As expected, Brendan began to dance again. But this time, he began performing a move known universally as the 'moonwalk'. The people surrounding him suddenly started cheering as he was actually pulling it off quite well.

Oh yeah
Pokémon, you've got the power
Pokémon, yeah

"Ughh." May grunted as she waded through the crowd around her dancing boyfriend. "Brendan!"

"Wassup!" He called back as he saw her standing in front.

Pokémon, you've got the power
Pokémon, yeah yeah yeah yeah

"What are you doing!" May shouted at the top of her voice over the music.

"Dancing?" He asked her back, hoping he was giving her the right answer.

Team united, we'll always win
Together we stand tall

As Brendan continued his moonwalk in front of the crowd, he turned around, in order to execute the next part of the move as planned, but was surprised to see that May was there as he did and she was looking right into his face. But somehow, she wasn't angry, she looked a little more sad than angry.

"I'm sorry." She told him. "I'm overreacting."

"Whaaaa?" Brendan jokingly exclaimed. "No. It's fine."

"I'm coming."

As she did, Brendan held out his hand to take her into the move. She smiled and took her boyfriends hand and spun herself towards him, smiling at the cheers of the crowd. Brendan continued his moonwalk while May began subtly moving as the music continued.

Unlock the secrets deep within
Learn to be the greatest of them all

Pokémon-mon-mon
Pokémon-mon-mon
Pokémon-mon-mon

"Go Brendan!" A boy in the crowd cheered. "Bust a move!"

Taking the cue, the 4th place winner of the tournament ended his moonwalk when the next line of lyrics began and began performing various hand motions while moving his legs.

The journey's just begun
The more the better
Team Rocket's on the run
We're friends forever

You've got the power
You've got the power
You've got the power

"Brendan." May said as she stopped dancing and turned to her boyfriend.

"Huh?"

Pokémon, oh yeah..
You can be a master if you try!

"During this tournament…." May started. "I've really enjoyed my time with you."

"So have I." Brendan responded.

"After this…the Johto Grand Festival starts up." She revealed. "I've gotta compete."

"I know." He smiled.

"Being involved in pokémon is one heck of a commitment." Brendan laughed. "But it's the most fun you could ever have, I think"

"My life's never been the same since I went on my journey." May said. "I've had a lot of good and bad times…but I'll never forget the day I met you."

"Me neither." Brendan said. "You were so awesome."

May laughed. "I probably wouldn't have made it out of there if not for you."

"You gave me the will to fight." He said. "No joke. You've given me the best time of my life, May."

May blushed. "So have you."

There's no time to delay, delay, delay, delay...
You've got the power!

In the centre of the dance hall, Ash Ketchum, winner of the 1st annual 'Battle Spirits Tournament' and his girlfriend, Leaf Green, runner up of the 1st annual 'Battle Spirits Tournament', were holding each other closely, subtly moving to the music.

Ash's faithful Pikachu had gone off by itself to eat since the trainers weren't hungry. Furthermore, the electric rodent knew it needed to give Ash and Leaf some time alone together.

They knew that their future goals would have to drive them apart for the time being and this was their last night together since they'd have to go their separate ways soon, because Leaf had to participate in the Johto league and Ash had to keep traveling.

"The Silver Conference starts up soon." Leaf said.

"I know." Ash responded. "And you have to compete, don't you?"

"Well…yeah." She said, somewhat hesitantly. "But…"

"There's no 'buts' Leaf." Ash told her as music began to play in the background. "It's like when we found out we had to compete against each other in the finals. We couldn't let the other get in front of our dreams."

One world: One world: Now and forever, best friends: Best friends: Loyal and true, one dream: One dream: Side by side;

"Today, I found out about a new region far away." Ash continued, lifting up her chin as he continued to talk. "While you're competing here in Johto, I'll be working my way towards the league battles there."

There's nothing we can't do!

"It's just so hard." Leaf complained, he voice slightly cracking.

"I know it is." Ash said, his eyes sadly glistening with the reflection of the neon lights above. "I can't help it."

One hand: One hand: Helping the other: Each heart: Each heart: Beating as one: We live: We live: Always together: Sharing the same bright sun

"Even if we're far away…I'll always be thinking about you." Ash told her, holding her by the waist. "Nothing will stop me."

You & Me & Pokémon!

"Oh, Ash." She sadly replied. "No matter where you are, I'll be thinking about you."

Till the end, I will be with you
We will go where our dreams come true.
All the times that we have been through
You will always be my best friend!

"Make sure you never let anything or anyone stop you, Leaf." Ash told her.

"You too, Ash." She said, lightening up a bit. "Go beyond the impossible."

Till the end, I will be with you
We will go where our dreams come true

"I think I've heard that somewhere before." Ash chuckled, looking towards Brendan in the distance.

All the time, that we have been through
You will always be my best friend!

"I think you're mistaken." Leaf laughed for the first time that night with Ash. "I said it cause if anyone can, it's you."

One world

Half way through the song, Ash held Leaf closer than ever as they gently moved from side to side. Her head was nuzzled up against his chest as they began thinking about the song and they way it related to them and everything they had done together.

A magic feeling

Best friends
It's grown so strong
One dream

Always leads me to the place where I belong
One hand
Won't go away
Each heart
Never let me down!
Best Friends
We got the greatest friends that ever could be found
Across every river, behind every tree, You & Me & Pokémon, Pokémon!

"You made me so much happier than I've been in a long time, Ash." Leaf said, breaking the silence.

One world, one world
Now and forever

"I've met you after such a long time." Ash told her. "That's been the best part of the tournament, for me."

Best friends, best friends
Loyal and true

"So tell me, then…" She started. "…would you wanna compete against me again here?"

One dream, one dream
Side by side, there's nothing we can't do!

"I dunno." Ash shrugged. "There are a lot of other things for us to do in this world aside from fighting in tournaments."

One hand, one hand
Helping the other

"Still, it wouldn't be the worst thing if we all met here again one day." Leaf said. "Competing against one another again."

Each heart, each heart
Beating as one!

"I agree." Ash said, turning on a smile. "But if we ever do compete again, I'm gonna win again."

We live; we live, always together
Sharing the same bright sun

"That's what you say." She smirked. "I say I'm gonna win next time."

You & Me & Pokémon

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Ash smiled as he pulled her closer.

Both of them started kissing with all the passion in their hearts. Passion built from their relationship, their lives so far, their lives during the tournament and their lives to come. They were still young people in this big wide world and the future had many more things for them to be a part of.

You & Me & Pokémon

After 10 seconds of kissing, they finally broke as Ash took Leaf by the shoulders and looked deep into her beautiful brown eyes.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too." She said back.

One world!

Rayquaza45: So there it is. The Battle Spirits Tournament is officially over and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town is the champion. He also gets the girl of his dreams.

Man, this was a hassle to write but I never wanted to stop. I dislike good fanfics that end in the middle abruptly and never have any updates even for years and I adamantly refused to let this story be one. I had that massive 9 3/4 month delay between chapters 17 and 18 and that was hard on both readers and myself. I still feel sorry about that. But now, the great tournament is entirely over. Ash wins, Leaf takes second and Gary Oak holds third. Not a bad run for the Pallet Town trainers.

For the record, the pokémon music is meant to be a tribute to where the show began.

Originally, I planned to have this be the last chapter but after a little thinking, I've decided to have an epilogue so we can see how everyone really went about their business after the tournament concluded. Where's Dawn? Where's Brendan? Where's Brock? I hope you guys will read, find out, enjoy and review it when it's up cause I guarantee it won't take too long to arrive.

So I wanna thank Gerbilftw for all he did as I wrote this story from beginning till now till the end. He's a great writer and a great guy. I kinda hope I'm embarrassing him.

Now I humbly request you to write a review of this chapter if you liked it and even if you did cause I wanna listen to your honest (constructive, non-flaming, non-bashing of anything) thoughts. I'd really appreciate it cause I value all of my readers and friends I've made here on this website.

Thank you and stick around for the epilogue and final chapter. I'm sure you'll like it.

Till then!