Chapter 1
The moon and stars shine brightly down upon Indigo Plateau on the clear night. The stadium lights begin to flicker on as bustling and excited people file in to their seats. Blindingly, the lights show the soft dirt ground of the battle field. The stadium is filled with children excited to see a Pokémon battle, adults trying to keep their kids from jumping around, and other Pokémon trainers who all are intent on learning something from this battle, all roaring and cheering with anticipation.
"The battle for the Pokémon World Championship title will begin in fifteen minutes." The announcer explains over the loudspeakers. "We ask that you please do not attempt to interfere with the battle in any way. Doing so may cause you and your party to be ejected from the stadium. Thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the battle!"
* * * *
Ash sits in the locker room trying to meditate on his battle. The room is dimly lit and his face is completely stern; his eyes are closed. Pikachu is sitting next to him doing the same. Suddenly, the door opens and Misty walks in.
"Ash, are you all right?" Misty asks innocently as she walks in. Ash opens his eyes and looks over at her. He is almost in tears and his body is completely tensed up. Misty runs over to her with a very concerned look on her face. "You look sick!" She puts her hand to his sweaty head. "You're shaking… you're really nervous aren't you."
Ash manages a nod and Pikachu tries to comfort him by hopping on his lap and rubbing up against him. Ash looks down at Pikachu and Pikachu smiles up at him.
"Pika!" the small Pokémon chirps at him. Ash smiles and loosens up a bit.
Misty sits down next to him and places her arm around his back. They look at each other and both smile. Ash's muscles loosen completely now and he feels much more confident.
"I know you can do it Ash." Misty says softly to Ash. "I've always known you could do it… from the day I met you." Ash nods and pets Pikachu on the head. Pikachu makes a small sound and shakes in happiness from the feeling of Ash's hand. "Oh that's right; I almost forgot!" Misty stands up and runs out the door. Ash looks down at Pikachu in confusion. Misty returns a minute later. "I've got something for you Ash." She reaches into her small orange backpack and pulls out a red and white hat with a green symbol on the front. "It's your old hat. Your mother thought you'd like it for your match today."
Ash takes off the hat he is currently wearing and hands it to Misty. Ash takes the hat remembering the first time he met Pikachu, the first Pokémon he ever caught, the first gym battle he ever fought, and all his friends.
"The battle will begin in five minutes." They hear the announcer say from the main stadium speakers.
"Alright Ash, I'll be cheering for you." Misty happily says as she walks over to Ash. "Everyone is going to be here; May, Max, Brock, Dawn, Tracey, your mom, and even Gary!" Misty says in a reassuring tone. All three of them are silent for a moment.
"Thank you Misty." Misty looks surprised as Ash speaks in a confident tone. "Thank you for everything." Ash embraces Misty in a long but firm hug. Misty, shocked, finally hugs back and a tear comes to her eye. Ash releases her, turning his back to her. Misty continues to look at him and smile… with tears pouring from her eyes.
"Will the challenger, Ash Ketchum, please report to the battle field." The announcer calls through the speakers. Misty walks out the door behind her and runs to her seat in the stadium.
"This is it Pikachu." Ash says staring down the dark hallway. "This is what we've dreamt of for our whole journey; for ten whole years." Pikachu stares down the hallway just as Ash does. "Are you ready?" Pikachu nods his head sharply and confidently. "Then let's go." Ash puts on his hat.
They start walking slowly down the hallway and notice the light from the end of the tunnel. They walk towards the light; as they exit the tunnel, they are blinded by the stadium lights. The stadium roars when Ash and Pikachu walk through the tunnel exit. Stunned for a moment, they freeze as they enter the stadium. Their eyes adjust to the light and they continue walking to the spot specified for them on the battle field. Ash and Pikachu stop at the square on the side of the battle stadium.
"Here he is! Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" the announcer screams over the microphone. "And now… we are honored to have with us the champion of the Pokémon world. For ten long years, this man has never been defeated and has held the title of champion. I am glad to introduce…" a man in a black cloak and hood appears from the tunnel on the opposite side of the stadium. "Goliath!" the crowd bursts into cheering from his appearance. The man waves to his fans for a moment and then turns his attention to Ash. He puts his hand up and the crowd goes silent. He walks towards Ash and Ash walks towards him. They meet in the center of the stadium.
"It's been a long time Ash." Goliath says with wisdom and kindness in his voice.
"Huh? Do we know each other?" Ash asks in a confused voice.
"More than you know." Goliath out stretches his arm and opens his palm. Ash shakes his hand and the crowd goes wild. "Good luck."
Ash and Goliath turn their backs to each other and walk back to their spots. Ash kneels down and pets Pikachu.
"I'm counting on you." Pikachu nods and lets out a small confident cry. The referee walks to his post on the long side of the battle field and raises his flags to gain Ash's and Goliath's attention.
"Here are the rules: both players will use six Pokémon, the player who runs out of Pokémon first loses the match, and there are no substitutions." The referee yells. "Please prepare your Pokéballs." Ash stands up and grabs a Pokéball from his belt. Goliath reaches to his belt and grabs a Pokéball as well. "Begin!"
"Alright Swellow! Let's go!" Ash yells as he throws his Pokéball into the air. The ball opens and a white light flows out; Swellow appears in the air.
"Scizor, it is time." Goliath calmly exclaims as he holds his Pokéball out in front of him. It opens and Scizor appears in a flash of light. Scizor takes an intimidating stance and prepares for battle.
'A Scizor huh? Alright…' Ash thinks to himself. "Aerial Ace!" Swellow flaps its wings and soars towards Scizor with complete precision.
"Counter it with Double Edge!" Scizor stands its ground and pulls its arm back and hurls it at Swellow smashing its claw into Swellow's face. Swellow is knocked back, flipping in the air. Scizor doesn't move an inch but does violently flinch from the impact.
"Swellow, use the spinning to your advantage and gain momentum!" Swellow tries to catch air on its wings from the spinning but can't. Its back smashes into the stadium wall causing Swellow to fall to the ground. "Try to get up Swellow!" Ash calls anxiously to his Pokémon. Swellow tries to lift itself up with its wings and stands up shakily. "Can you continue?" Swellow screeches to Ash in assurance. "Alright then, Wing Attack!" Swellow flaps its wings, rising just above the ground and rushes towards Scizor. Scizor stares firmly into the attack.
"Dodge and hit it from beneath with Metal Claw!" Scizor kneels down quickly and punches Swellow in the stomach with its claw as Swellow flies over it. Swellow screeches in pain, its face tenses up. Swellow flaps its wings trying to keep itself in the air but falls to the ground a few feet behind Scizor. Swellow lies there, completely unconscious.
"Swellow is unable to battle!" yells the referee. Ash recalls Swellow in a beam of red light.
'That's a strong Scizor' Ash clenches his teeth and tenses up. He grabs another Pokéball from his belt and inflates it. "Go Heracross!" Heracross appears in a flash of light. "Heracross, use Megahorn!" Heracross charges towards Scizor who still stands its ground ready to take the attack.
"Scizor, Metal Claw again!" Scizor pulls its arm back and hurls its claw towards Heracross.
"Heracross, duck under his claw and hit it in the chest!" Ash yells confidently. Heracross narrowly ducks under the claw and lunges his horn into Scizor's chest. Scizor's eye's widen and it looses its footing. It falls over backward, unconscious.
"Scizor is unable to battle!" the referee dictates. Goliath recalls Scizor to its Pokéball.
"That was impressive Ash. How'd you figure out how to beat my Scizor so easily?"
"It was simple really. I noticed that after that Double Edge, your Scizor was really hurting. Even though a Double Edge wouldn't hurt that much even if it was being used to counter an attack. This meant that your Scizor didn't have much stamina but a lot of strength in its arms and legs. You tried to deceive me into thinking that your Scizor had high stamina by making it stay in one place that whole battle but I saw right through that."
"Good for you. Unfortunately, the rest of the battle won't be that easy." He grabs a Pokéball from his belt and holds it out in front of him. "Tyranitar, it is time." The ball opens and a large Tyranitar emerges and roars with an angry look upon its face. "Tyranitar… Hyper Beam!" Tyranitar opens its mouth and a massive yellow beam of energy appears from its mouth and streaks towards Heracross.
"Dodge it!" Heracross jumps to the side, avoiding the beam but the beam hits the ground and the explosion blows Heracross across the field. Heracross lands and skids on the ground but stands right back up with a determined look on its face. "Heracross, fly towards Tyranitar and use Double Team to surround it!" Heracross flies quickly towards Tyranitar. As he lands; ten images of Heracross spawn from it and surround the massive Pokémon. Tyrantitar begins frantically looking in every direction, getting confused.
"Tyranitar, calm down and focus!" Tyranitar stops flailing and closes its eyes. "Earthquake!" Tyrantitar roars and a shock wave is released from its feet causing the stadium to rumble and the ground underneath them to crack and shake. Goliath, Ash, and the referee stumble to catch their balance while the audience holds tightly onto their chairs. All the images of Heracross disappear. "What?! Where is the real one?!"
"I thought you might do that. Heracross, Megahorn!" Heracross plummets down from above Tyranitar and lands his horn on Tyranitar's head. Tyranitar roars from the pain and flails causing Heracross to get thrown onto the ground. Heracross recovers easily and faces Tyranitar in a battle stance. Tyranitar, still flailing roars loudly and some children in the audience cry in fear.
"Impressive! However, there is one flaw to your plan… my Tyranitar is angry now. Outrage!" Tyranitar roars incredibly loudly and Heracross's face goes from confidence to fear in an instant. Tyranitar charges at Heracross in rampaging fury.
"Heracross! You've got to dodge it!" Heracross, however, cannot move. It is frozen in fear. Tyranitar collides with Heracross, sending it flying towards the wall, but Tyranitar keeps charging towards it. Heracross hits the wall hard and then Tyranitar hits Heracross hard. "Heracross!" Ash yells in fear of his Pokémon being hurt. He notices that Heracross is fighting to stay conscious. Tyranitar continues to pummel it and Heracross can't do anything about it. Suddenly, Tyranitar roars and steps back while holding its head like it's got a headache. "What?" Now flat on its stomach, Heracross tries to get up and is able to stagger to the ground, shaking severely. Tyranitar begins bashing its own head into the wall again and again.
"No! Tyranitar!" Goliath yells concerned.
"He's confused!" Ash yells in excitement. "Now's your chance Heracross, hit him with a Megahorn and aim for his head again!" Heracross flies into the air, still shaking, and lunges towards Tyranitar's head. It hits Tyranitar and Tyranitar flails, throwing Heracross onto the ground hard. Tyrantitar falls, unconscious, to the ground while Heracross also falls unconscious.
"Both Pokémon are unable to battle!" the referee yells. Goliath and Ash recall their Pokémon to their Pokéballs.
"You're a very skilled trainer Ash. I haven't had a battle like this in years." Goliath holds a Pokéball out it front of him and a Tropius appears. "Tropius, it is time."
"Go, Meganium!" Ash yells as he throws a Pokéball in the air and in a flash of light a Meganium appears on the field.
"You may restart the match!"