Chapter 3
As the smoke clears, Pikachu and Wobbuffet appear to have been blown to opposite sides of the battle field. Pikachu, standing in front of Ash, and Wobbuffet, standing in front of Goliath, are both exhausted but still standing.
"Pikachu!" Ash yells as he sees his Pokémon barely able to keep conscious.
"Wobbuffet, can you continue?" Goliath says calmly yet with concern in his voice. Wobbuffet tries to stand straight up in its usual stance but cannot. "Hmmm… It seems you'll be going down soon. Alright then, Destiny Bond!"
"What?!" a black aura appears around Wobbuffet and a pitch black shadow appears underneath it. The shadow begins to slowly move towards Pikachu. "Pikachu! You've got to stay away from it!" Pikachu tries to run out of its path but cannot move because of its injuries. It drops to its knees and is immobilized. "No!"
"So… It seems that this is it. If my Wobbuffet can hold out long enough to reach your Pikachu with Destiny Bond it will be a tie and by default I will win. However, if my Wobbuffet falls before the Destiny Bond reaches Pikachu… You will be the winner."
"Pikachu! We've got to stop Wobbuffet! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu tenses up and tries to release energy but fails to do so from its exhaustion. Ash's face goes from concerned to horrified. "Pikachu!" Pikachu, now nearly unconscious uses all its might to stay standing. Ash calms down. "Then we wait."
The shadow moves very slowly across the field. When the shadow reaches the center of the field, and half way between Wobbuffet and Pikachu, Wobbuffet begins to tremble violently. Pikachu, Ash, Goliath, and all Ash's companions watch intently as the shadow continues to move towards Pikachu.
As the shadow comes to three fourths of the way there, Wobbuffet starts the fall to the ground. Its face smacks into the ground but the shadow continues to move towards Pikachu.
"That's one powerful Wobbuffet. Even while unable to stand, it is able to continue to focus its attack." Ash grits his teeth in the tension. "Pikachu, are you doing alright? How much strength have you gained back from waiting?" Pikachu, breathing hard, nods to Ash in confidence. "Alright then… Try a small Thunder Bolt and see if you can slow it down!" Pikachu produces a small amount of electricity and shoots it in a bolt towards Wobbuffet. Wobbuffet is impacted by the attack and the shadow slows down a little, however Pikachu uses up nearly all its energy and now cannot move, attack, or even speak.
The shadow is now right in front of Pikachu, only inches away.
"This looks like the end." Goliath says calmly. Ash lowers his head.
"Don't give up Ash! We're all here cheering for you!" Misty screams at the top of her lungs from the stands.
"Pikachu, don't forget all the work you've done!" Brock yells in support.
"You can't lose! You just can't!" May screams in her dramatic voice.
"Come on Pikachu! I've seen you get out of tougher situations than this!" Max yells with excitement and frustration in his voice.
"Ash, you can do it! Besides, I'm counting on getting a sketch of you as the champion!" Tracey yells excitedly.
"You won against Cynthia! You can win against this guy!" Dawn screeches.
"Ash, Pikachu! I'm so proud of you both and I know you can do it!" Mrs. Ketchum yells. "Your father is proud to!"
"Hey Ashy boy!" Gary yells in his nasally and cocky voice. "If you don't win this, I'll never be able to forgive myself for losing to you!" Ash gets angry.
"Why you!" Ash, now supercharged with confidence, and Pikachu, also supercharged spring up. "Pikachu! Give it everything you got! Thunder!" Pikachu lets out a vicious cry and the sky begins to churn with dark clouds in the night sky. Sparks of electricity pulsate in the sky; the shadow of Destiny Bond is almost completely underneath Pikachu.
"Piiiiiiiiiii… Kaaaaaaaaaa… Chuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" a massive bolt of lighting falls from the sky at incredible speeds and impacts Wobbuffet. The light fills all of Indigo Plateau and the spectators, who escaped the stadium, watch in awe of the raw power. The shadow disappears right before it reaches its target. Wobbuffet, now at the bottom of around seven foot crater, is completely and utterly unconscious.
"Wobbuffet is unable to battle! The winner and new champion of the Pokémon world is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" the referee yells. Spectators, now interested to see how that small Pikachu performed that massive Thunder, cheer as they fill back into the stadium. Ash's companions come running down into the field as fast as they could. Ash runs over to Pikachu and picks it up.
"You did amazing Pikachu." Ash says softly, tears coming to his eyes. "You… You are my best friend." Pikachu chirps happily and falls asleep. Goliath recalls Wobbuffet into its Pokéball and smiles.
"Excellent job Wobbuffet." Goliath calmly says and starts to walk over to Ash. Misty gets to him first and embraces him in a massive hug.
"I'm so proud of you Ash! I can't believe you're the same kid I meant ten years ago!" Misty says in a high voice, crying. She lets go and smiles at Ash. Brock gets to him next.
"Ash!" Brock yells as he runs up to his friend. "You did it man! You did it!" Brock gives Ash a high five and puts his hand on Ash's shoulder. "All these years of hard work and sweat have totally paid off." May and Max run up at the same time and get right up next to Ash, Ash has to back off a little, almost dropping Pikachu.
"Wow Ash! You're awesome I want to be just like you someday!" Max yells like he'd just met his childhood hero. "I can't wait until I get good enough to take over my dad's gym!"
"Oh, Ash! You were awesome! That battle was amazing!" May screeches like an excited school girl. "I can't believe you really won!" Dawn gets there next.
"First May wins the Grand Festival and now you become champion! I'm totally winning it all this year!" Dawn yells with excitement and anticipation.
"Hold on Ash. I want to get a sketch of this." Tracey starts to scribble in his sketch book.
"Wow, Ashy Boy. You really did it. You really have become a talented trainer. It almost makes me want to take up training again just so I can battle you." Gary smirks but still reflects major respect towards Ash. "My Grandpa would be proud Ash." Ash nods confidently and happily.
"Hey… where'd my mom go?" Ash asks starting to search for his mother. They all look around and notice Mrs. Ketchum walking over to Goliath, who was walking towards Ash. "What's she doing?" Mrs. Ketchum and Goliath stop when they meat each other and seem to start talking. Finally, they start moving over towards the rest of them.
"Ash! I'm so very proud of you; you're the best boy a mother could have!" Mrs. Ketchum runs over and embraces Ash and Pikachu in a vicious and, by the look of Ash's face, painful hug. She releases him and looks into his eyes with happiness. "I've got someone to introduce you to." Goliath walks up.
"That was an excellent battle. I'm proud to give you this medallion." Goliath pulls a medallion out of his cloak. The medallion is designed like a Master Ball. "This is the medallion that proves you are the Pokémon World Champion." He places it around Ash's neck and the audience roars. "Congratulations."
"Thank you. I promise I will uphold your reputation!" Ash replies confidently. Ash turns to his mother. "So who did you want to introduce me to Mom?"
"Oh yes." Mrs. Ketchum turns to Goliath. "Please remove your hood."
"Delia… Are you sure?" Goliath says a little nervous.
"What?! You know my mom?!" Mrs. Ketchum scowls at Goliath.
"Alright." Goliath turns to Ash. "I ought to know your mother." He pulls his hood off. Ash and his friends gasp.
"He… He looks just like…" Misty gasps as she says. However, Gary seems unsurprised. Goliath looked exactly like an older version of Ash, except he had a small goatee and much less hair.
"Wait a minute… I know you… You're my dad!" Ash says in disbelief. "I knew you were a Pokémon trainer but… I didn't know you were the champion! Then, the Pokémon match I was watching ten years ago the night before I started my journey… That was you?!" Goliath nods. "Mom, why didn't you ever tell me?!"
"I couldn't Ash. We have our reasons." Delia replies calmly. "Now everyone, let's all go back to Pallet town for a party!" Nobody says anything; they are all still stunned from the knowledge of Goliath. Finally, Ash snaps out of it.
"Oh, I forgot!" Ash hands Pikachu to Mrs. Ketchum and Pikachu squirms in its sleep. Ash shuffles through his pocket and pulls out a small black box. He walks up to Misty. "Misty, I have a very important question to ask you… We've been friends for a long time. The first time we ever really got separated was when you had to go back to Cerulean. It took for ever for me to get over that and I missed you everyday. When we started journeying together again, it was the happiest day of my life and during that time I realized that I want to spend my entire life with you." Ash kneels to the ground, Misty begins to tear up. "Misty… would you marry me?" He opens the box and a small, very shiny ring lay inside. He holds the ring up to her and tenses up in anticipation.
"Ash… I… I will!" Misty softly says. "I… I've never been able to say this to you openly before Ash but… I love you." Ash's friends all start to tear up, even Gary. Ash's mother burst into tears of happiness and clamps on to Goliath, who is having trouble breathing. Ash stands up excitedly with tears in his eyes he and Misty kiss. The kiss lasted a long time and the entire audience is crying and cheering through it all. Misty and Ash are going to be married.