When a Dream is Done

by Erebos Brando

Where do we go when we reach the top of the world? To who do we turn when all there are, are those we have forsaken? Who do we fight when there's no-one left to defeat? What do we do when our dreams are done? When this is his life, what can Ash do?

6. Counting the Changes

Author's Notes:

Took a lot longer than I'd original intended, but here you go. It's another long one. You know the drill, have something with caffeine in it handy. Expect this a lot in future chapters.

Enjoy.

Minor note: To help differentiate between Author's notes and the actual chapter, I'll be putting in bold the X's which separate the two. Will also do it for the chapter ends as well. You know, for the benefit of those who don't actually read the author's notes. But now I think about it, those who don't read the notes probably wont read this part either...

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Not for the first time, Ash's dreams that night were of no help to him.

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Ash walked out into a familiar arena, but he was not alone. This time Pikachu was with him, perched as ever upon his shoulder. Neither said anything, the only company with them being Ash's footsteps, as was all too common.

As was their current norm. The arena was again dark, empty. The darkness was vast, he could not even see the stands of his arena, only darkness. There was no-one else here, save only for the other occupant. Ash took his place, standing at his side of the immense field that was the Grandmaster Championship Stadium battleground. His opponent across from him.

His opponent, himself, another look back in time at his ten year old self. Had Ash been concious, he'd have been able to grasp the difference this time. This time the ten year old was not angry, nor looking to settle a vendetta. A familiar but long lost smile greeted the older Ash. "Alright! I'm gonna beat you and become Pokémon Grandmaster!"

"Bring it on!"

The trainer and the Grandmaster took a stance, and like two gun slingers waiting for the signal to draw their hands shifted just a bit closer to their belts.

The silent signal to begin battle sounded, and both Ash's reached for their first combatants.

"Bulbasaur!"

"Sceptile!"

"Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur emerged with his name and a serious expression, but his eyes were happy. He found his opponent instantly.

Sceptile emerged silently, already in a battle stance. Sceptile lightly shifted the small stick in his mouth, ready to discard it at a seconds' notice.

The moment dragged on, neither making a move, neither trainer giving a command.

At least not to a Pokémon. Ash's voice betrayed his impatience as he spoke to his younger self. "Make a move already will ya?"

The trainer smiled. He reached up for his hat. He grasped the front and with a swift pull turned the hat backwards.

He was ready to go. "Bulbasaur, use razor leaf!"

"Bulba!" From under the bud on his back, Bulbasaur sprang forth dozens of leaves in a funnel formation. The barrage of leaves quickly closed in on Sceptile, and unless his trainer gave an order they were going to hit.

"Block 'em all with Leaf Blade." The barrage of leaves were cut down by glowing green blades quick as a flash, and leaf halves floated to the ground, utterly nullified.

The trainer blinked for just a second, quickly composing a plan. "Rush him and use Vine Whip!"

"Saur!" Bulabsaur rushed forward, springing forth his vines and sending them ahead of himself at Sceptile as he continued running. The vines quickly closed in.

The older Ash's eyes narrowed. "What's he up to?" "Grap 'em, Sceptile!" Sceptile raised his claws, snatching the vines out of the air easily, negating the first attack.

The second however. "Take down!" Bulbasaur jumped, slamming head-first into Sceptile stomach. "Alright!" The Hoenn-native Pokémon was pushed back slightly by the force of the blow, but wasn't even the slightest bit fazed. Sceptile grabbed Bulbasaur by the head and threw him back half-heartedly, letting him land on his feet.

"Clever move. Now hit harder!"

The younger Ash was silent for a moment as a bead of sweat made its way down his face, he'd obviously expected Take Down to do at least some damage. He grinned, he'd try something else then. "Bulbasaur, use Solarbeam!"

The tip of Bulbasaur's bud was briefly shrouded in light before-"Saurrr!" The tip fired it's white stream of energy, with only a single target in mind.

Ash's hand twitched. "This can't-" "Deflect it!" The beam of white light quickly approached Sceptile, who batted out an arm almost lazily. The beam bounced right off, being directed far closer to his own trainer, who didn't even seem to noticed as the blast detonated near him. "He can't be-!" "Leaf Storm!" Sceptile's back was alight as his seeds started to glow, then each started to release green leaves, each the same number, in sync as the numbers grew.

One.

Ten.

One hundred.

The storm reached Bulbasaur before any response command could be given. The air was filled with the sounds of Bulbasaur's cries as the attack cut into him at every angle, the force of them throwing him off his feet. Soon the seed Pokémon was swept off his feet, being carried through the air and continuously attacked by hundreds of leaves. Sceptile jumped after his target, and both vanished into the darkness at the edges of the arena.

Silence fell, for a moment. A moment before-

"Go, Squritle!"

"Feraligatr!"

The two water Pokémon emerged at the exact same time.

"Squirtle!" Squirtle was grinning from the second he appeared.

"Torrr." Feraligatr lightly waved his tail. He was ready. There was no crowd to dance for, so he kept still.

The younger Ash didn't need prompting this time. "Squirtle, Water Gun!" Squirtle released a stream of water at Feraligatr, who danced out of the way without an order. Squirtle tried three more times, but each were evaded. One by raising his foot, the next by shifting his head, the third by twirling.

Still Ash gave no order.

The younger Ash on the other hand, had an idea. "Jump into the sky! Try attacking from the air!" Squirtle nodded, running forward to start building up speed before kicking himself up into the air, blasting Water Gun blasts as he went. Once more they were all evaded, even from the various angles the blasts came from Feraligatr gracefully, almost artfully evaded them. Still he received no order.

He assumed he'd never receive one, so he'd fight on his own, it's something Ash did from time to time. He shifted himself close to where Squirtle was going to land, twirling his tail around...

The trainer had to make some very quick thinking. "Use Water Gun on the tail! Blast yourself away!"

The blast hit the tail, and he was pushed just out of the range of the swing. Squritle landed closer to the older version of his trainer.

He'd ran out of patience. "Slash!"

Feraligatr flexed a claw, steeping forward and preparing to slash. He struck the claw down.

"Squirtle! Use your Water Gun to propel yourself past him!" Quick as a flash Squirtle turned around, aiming his mouth to the ground before blasting off a stream of water and evading the claw completely. Squirtle, via the use of 'Water Gun jet-pack' passed Feraligatr by. Feraligatr turned to look where Squirtle had landed behind him, and shifted his body, raising his tail to deliver a crushing (literally) blow. "Blast yourself through his legs!" The tail missed, Squirtle landing right under Feraligatr's nose (almost literally). "Now propel yourself upward!" He did, and before Feraligatr could react Squirtle had slammed himself in his jaw, knocking it shut and Feraligatr's head upwards, with Squirtle still rising. "Good job, Squirtle!"

Feraligatr blinked, that was...something. He snapped out of it as his trainer gave what would be his last command for this round.

"Grab him and use Iron Tail."

Feraligatr jumped, snatching Squirtle out of the air, to a distressed cry of his trainer. He landed, briefly letting go of Squirtle go before smashing a metal tail into the side of Squirtle's face, sending it sailing through the air into the darkness.

Feraligatr pursued, and no more was to be heard from either.

Ash looked at his younger self, who was grinning. "Wow, you're strong. How did you get so good?"

He smiled, sadly. "Lots of training." His smile faded. "Now come on. You can do better than what you've shown me so far."

The younger Ash grabbed a Pokémon. "Go, Pidgeotto!"

Pigeotto emerged with an excited cry, flapping its wings as it hovered in the air, taking a glance at the arena around it. Pidgeotto would in the air, and would not come down until ordered to.

Ash took a couple of seconds to decide. "Got you an opponent, Scrafty!"

Scrafty emerged with a thud, his feet slamming into the ground in excitement. Scrafty's head shot in all directions, where was his opponent, where was it? Where was it!? He wanted to fight! Now! The sound of flapping caught his attention. Scrafty took one look at his opponent and sighed. He didn't seem that tough. He bashed his fists together. Oh well, a fight was a fight.

Pigeotto's trainer grinned. "Alright! I got the type advantage! Pigeotto, use Gust!" Pigeotto gave one brief cry, before rapidly flapping his wings, his wings creating the potent breeze meant to blow Scrafty away.

"Hold your ground." One at a time, Scrafty raised his legs, slamming them into the ground with enough force to indent them. He simple stood there after that, not caring even as his 'clothes' were battered by the winds. It was almost half a minute before Pigeotto gave up.

His trainer on the other hand; "Quick attack!"

Pigeotto dived, tucking in his wings and spiralling as he precise aim at Scrafty, shooting through the air with great speed. A couple of seconds was all it took for him to get close.

Pigeotto was so close..."Mach Punch!"

There was a blur, and Pigeotto was blasted away by the sheer force of the sudden punch. He was sent sailing into the darkness. Scrafty took a second to pull himself out of the ground before pursuing his opponent with a scowl. Silence fell again.

"He is...but..." "Ash, surrender! You can't win!"

The younger Ash wasn't disheartened in the least. "I'm not giving up! Go, Butterfree!"

"Fine! Be awake, Snorlax!"

Snorlax emerged with a yawn. He was awake, luckily. "This will be quick!"

The trainer was quicker to the draw. "Butterfree, Sleep Powder!"

"Freeee!" The insect Pokémon flew high, spreading sparkling blue powder all over the arena where his foe stood. Snorlax yawned, before falling back, shaking the world as he landed. Butterfree descended, his wings flapping faster as he laughed.

The older Ash just blinked. "Sleep Talk."

Snorlax sprang to his feet, setting his fist alight with a blue glow. As fast as one could blink the fist slammed into a target.

"Buttefree!"

Butterfree was frozen instantly, sent flying away as if gravity no longer existed, into the shadows of the arena. With a grunt of his name Snorlax followed, leaving the two Ash's in silence.

The silence lasted only an instant, both breaking it at the same time.

Both reached for their Pokémon at the same time.

Both gave the same command at the same time.

"Charizard!"

The older Charizard appeared with a heavy growl, quickly glancing around and finding his opponent. After a few seconds of glancing he merely blinked; not worthy.

Otherwise he'd have already gone on the assault.

The younger Charizard arced his neck up slightly to get a better look at his opponent's face. This was a first, another Charizard, a lot bigger too, but size wasn't always a marker of power, and his opponent didn't exactly act any kind of intimidating. He didn't even seem to be paying attention. Charizard shook his head; not interested.

When was he ever?

His trainer on the other hand; "Alright, Charizard, we can take him!" He gave a small, unimpressed grunt, before shaking his head. He started to flap his wings, removing his feet from the ground. "Charizard, listen to me!"

There wasn't a chance of that. The younger Ash ducked a flamethrower before its caster flew up into the sky, flying in the sky above. He flew around and around for a moment, creating an impressive/unimpressive (depends which Ash you asked) whirlwind below.

The older Ash knew what to do. "Get his attention." The older Charizard opened his jaw and cast his own flamethrower, deliberately missing his opponent. A direct hit would have ended the battle. The flying Charizard looked down, he'd been challenged. He flew down, target in his sights.

The younger Ash was ecstatic. "Alright! Get him Charizard! Try using take down!" The descending Charizard opened his jaw, sending down his own pitiful (by comparison to what his target was capable of) stream of fire, disregarding the command he'd been given.

"Block it." The older and bigger Charizard stretched out a wing, angling it and himself to block the blaze. The caster growled, but still kept coming at his opponent. Charizard jumped from the ground, it cracking like glass as the sheer force of the jump that shot him high into the sky, the flapping of his wings sending him far higher than his opponent had been. Without order from either Ash the battle took place in the skies.

The younger Charizard turned flamethowers on his older self, each one being effortlessly evaded. He tried to fly closer, but every effort was met with more distance, every stream of fire met with evasion, every roar met with a smirk.

Far below two Ash's watched. Charizard on Charizard aerial combat...seemed very familiar somehow.

One Ash watched with worry in his eyes, the other...

Ash raised an arm to the skies, before pointing downwards.

Suddenly the larger Charizard was a slave to gravity again, and he went sailing down. His adversary pursued, and he deliberately slowed down, to let his target catch up, he knew what was coming, somehow, and his guess was right, hearing his trainer's voice

"Steel wing."

Charizard's wings glowed, he let his counterpart come closer to him and lightly batted his target with his right wing. 'Lightly' being hard enough to knock him out of the air, sending him spiralling down. The younger Charizard slammed into the ground, his assailant landing softly quickly after next to his fallen form.

The younger Ash cried out. "Charizard! Stop fighting, you're hurt!"

Out of a bruised pride, the younger Charizard turned his flamethrower on his older self, engulfing the target's face in the blaze instantly. For all the good it did, he might as well have just breathed on him instead. This was a hopeless battle, but he would not back down.

So the older Ash would put him down. "Charizard is your strongest and that's all you have." He clenched a fist. "Inferno."

The older Charizard roared, opening his jaw as his tail, mouth and even his eyes were suddenly aglow with immense fire. From Charizard it was like a new sun was born and exploded all at once, both were almost instantly devoured by the fires that spread out from his mouth and tail, and went only further. From the center of the ring the fires spread out, covering the arena like a tidal wave, and the blazes shot upwards, like a geyser into the sky. The younger Ash screamed, him and his Pikachu trying to shield themselves from the sheer heat the fires emitted. The older Ash didn't even blink, and stood like a statue as the fires came as close as they ever would. Eventually the explosion calmed, but the fires remained, burning across the entire arena.

Ash walked forward, between the walls of fire that was scattered over the arena. The cause, and victim of the inferno were already gone, leaving Ash walking towards his younger self through an empty field. The fires around did not even begin to match that burning within him. "How..." He passed through the center of the blaze, loose traces of flame lightly burning parts of his clothes but still he continued walking, his fists, and face growing tighter. "How?"

The younger Ash took a step back, before, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" The younger Pikachu leapt into the air "PikaCHUUU!"

The older Ash did not even glance at him. "Skull Bash."

The older Pikachu leapt from his Ash's shoulder, taking the force of the thunderbolt without stopping or flinching. He angled his head, shrouded in a golden aura, and slammed into his younger self, sending them both flying into the darkness beyond their trainers. Whatever would happen from there was not something either version of Ash would to see, but it was clear.

The battle was over. "How?!"

Still Ash advanced on his younger counterpart. He grabbed his younger self by the throat as he screamed at himself, "How are you so weak!?" He raised the boy up, right off his feet, as high as his arm could reach. The younger Ash gripped at his arm in vain, he was not strong enough to throw off his older, enraged self. "Tell me!" Both gripped tighter. "TELL ME!"

The younger Ash laughed, before his eyes opened, once again the venom was within them, as his voice turned cruel, cold, and full of laughter.

"Because I'm not like you! I'm not alone!"

His laughter was silenced as Ash's grip turned to that of a vice. His chocolate eyes saw only a bloody red. His grip continued to grow tighter as his shoulders began to shake. He raised a hand, snarling as his eyes glowed with a burning rage that made the surrounding fires seem little more than dying candlelight.

The rage struck.

The blow landed. The younger Ash...became ash, his form breaking and falling to the wind, slipping through the older Ash's fingertips like sand. The fires continued to burn around him, the rhythmic sound of burning all he could hear. The blazes all he could see. The feeling of isolation and heat all he knew. The fires grew, wider and higher, and soon he was left in a world on fire. He was quite alone now, still enraged, still dissatisfied, still so confused about so much and all he could see anywhere was the fire.

All he could see...

"You took him from me."

He's head snapped around. That voice-!

"Misty..."

His body followed. There she was, standing at the end of a suddenly open pathway between two blazes, gazing at him with-no, it couldn't be... "He was my best friend. And you took him from me!"

He took a step forward. "I am your best friend! I'm Ash!"

Her eyes flared. "No you're not! Ash was nice! He was kind! He was good! He cared about his friends. He cared about me!"

He took that step back, stricken. Before, "I do care about you! I care about you more than anyone!"

"No you don't! You abandoned me! You'd never have done that if you cared about me, and I don't care about you!" The fires around them grew, but all Ash could see was her, and hear only her words.

"I hate you!"

Even with all the fire, his insides became like ice. "No..." He shook, suddenly it was like he couldn't breathe, "No!"

He ran forward, into the inferno, running down the pathway as quick as he could, but no matter how fast he moved, how far he ran she never seemed to grow closer. Instead her voice emanated from the blaze like an echo. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you."

Still he ran, never faltering even as the fires grew hotter still. "Misty!" The fries started to close in, reaching closer and closer, the fire almost seeming like it wanted to devour him as he too somehow got closer. But even those fires could not match that within her eyes...

"I HATE YOU!"

The fires grasped him.

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"NO!"

Ash was sitting up, bordering hyperventilation as his mind was still processing those words, the only sound still echoing through his head. "I hate you!" "Misty, no..." "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" It wouldn't stop! She wouldn't stop! He grabbed his head, oblivious to the world as he shut his eyes. "Please don't hate me. Misty, please don't...please..." "I HATE YOU!" "Misty!" He didn't realize he was crying.

Pikachu did. He'd been woken by Ash's weeping, but trying to get his attention proved futile. He didn't want to shock him, so where did that leave him? Ash was still muttering the same thing, begging Misty not to hate him.

He was going to ask just what the hell had happened yesterday when he next had Ash alone. Pikachu turned, rushing towards the door that was Delia's room in the apartment. Jumping up to operate the door, he rushed in, lighting tapping Delia awake.

She stirred, opening her eyes. "Pikachu?" Then she heard it.

"Pikapi."

Even she knew when Pikachu was saying "Ash", she got to her feet, and moved so quickly Pikachu was forced to run to keep up with her. She found Ash sat up, clutching his head, still muttering to himself, "Please...please don't..." Something caused him to flinch, and he curled up just a little more.

She made her way over to his bed, following her instincts as she clasped him to her. She raised a hand to his head, lightly stroking his hair. "Shh, Ash, it's okay. It's okay." His hands reacted, parting from his head to near his chest, they were shaking. What had gotten him like this?

"...don't hate me, Misty..." He flinched again.

She pulled him a little closer, continuing her efforts to calm him. "It's okay Ash, it was just a dream. She doesn't hate you. She doesn't. Misty would never hate you."

With every attempt at convincing him, he'd only flinch and weep again.

"I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!"

Delia continued stroking his hair, gently trying to calm him, but the worry in her eyes was starting to build. He was only getting worse. She looked to a worried Pikachu, her eyes silently pleading for something, anything which might help.

Pikachu jumped from the bed, quickly locating something. He carried it over, placing it in the bed before reaching into it and dragging out two familiar items and presenting them to Delia. She gave them a shocked look for a second, before placing them in Ash's shaking hands.

They stopped shaking. He grasped them tightly, the screaming in his head was starting to quiet down. "Misty..." "I hate you..." He pulled them closer to himself. "Please..." "...I hate you..." "Please don't hate me, Misty..." He pulled them to his heart.

"...I need you." Finally, she stopped.

Ash's breathing finally calmed down, the tears stopped coming. After a moment Delia was satisfied, Ash had fallen back to sleep. She lay him down again, placing the blanket over him before kissing his forehead. She bid goodnight to Pikachu before departing for her own room again, making sure to keep the door open a little this time, but she'd not be going to sleep just yet.

She'd been, thoroughly disappointed when not only did Ash fail to return with Misty, he'd returned in a very interesting mood, and not in a good way. Something was bothering him, and what struck her is how he went to the trouble of hiding it. Normally she could easily get things out of him, but yesterday; not a chance, and she'd tried every trick in her book. He'd put up quite a façade, and she couldn't get a thing out of him. She'd tried to ask Pikachu, but even with the communication barrier, she knew he didn't know much of anything either. Whatever Ash was not speaking about was obviously affecting him deeply.

Tomorrow she was going to find Misty.

"Just let it have been a dream..."

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Misty awoke with a start, needing a moment to realize to fully realize she was in the real world. That dream, it'd been so long since she'd had it she'd nearly forgotten it. Though when she thought about it, it was surprising that it hadn't returned before tonight.

The dream. The dream that seemed to reflect reality, now it almost seemed the reflection was only getting clearer.

In the dream, she'd told him what she'd known for the longest time.

In the dream, he'd given her the answer she'd always feared...always suspected.

In the dream, how things felt between them...were not so different from how they felt now.

He seemed so far away.

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Pikachu was making his way back to the apartment that he (as well as Ash and Delia) were staying at, sucking down a bottle of ketchup as he did. Delia and he had left rather early that morning, Pikachu having gone with her just for something to do (Ash was still asleep). He'd gotten a bottle of ketchup out of the deal, but with a key attached to his neck he'd been sent back. The trip home had been an interesting ordeal, one trainer had spotted him, and fresh from the hype of Ash's battle yesterday decided he wanted a Pikachu.

Pikachu guessed he and his Pokémon would be coming to just about now. A random journalist had figured out exactly whose Pikachu he was after that, but following this particular Pikachu was just not going to happen unless he wanted you to. He felt a little guilty leaving Delia (she was the Grandmaster's mother, she'd be swamped if someone realized that, which considering Ash was the biggest topic in the world right now, it was odd no-one had), but she'd said he could go back to the apartment, practically insisted upon it, actually. She was polite about it, but Pikachu knew she wanted to do something alone.

He had a sneaking suspicion what it was.

He threw the finished bottle in the trash "Should have asked for two, or more. Actually do they sell Ketchup in boxes of bottles?" He latched onto the door, and with expert movement he operated the key and opened the door, pulled out the key and had it shut in no time. He threw the key onto a stand, walking into Ash's bedroom.

Empty bed. His ear's perked up, listening for something. Now where was...

He walked out, heading for the bathroom. The door was open, so there was a big give-away. He walked in to find...he sighed.

Currently Ash was in the shower, but instead of washing he was sitting down, apparently unaware of anything around him. Pikachu quickly approached, opening the shower door to take a closer look at Ash's face.

He wasn't here. Not really. His eyes were looking forward, but his mind was who knows where. He didn't seem to notice anything, not Pikachu, not the fact the door had been opened, and not of the water running down his body.

Pikachu's cheeks crackled slightly "Pika Pikapi." Sorry Ash.

The bathroom was full of light and screaming as Pikachu performed the action he'd apologized for. When he was finished Ash turned on him with murder in his eyes. "You little-come here!" He reached out for Pikachu as quick as a flash.

Not quite as fast as the flash that signified Pikachu disappeared. He was at the other side of the bathroom now, smiling as his ear twitched slightly (his signature "not taking you seriously" annoyance tactic. Often super effective). Alas Ash's own idea had been turned on him. Opponent's couldn't catch Pikachu now. Neither could he.

He could still yell though. "What was that for?!"

"Pikachu, ka pi pika?" Got you up, didn't it?

He almost glared, but then he guessed the odds of him moving from his previous position on his own. This was an improvement. "I suppose. Thanks, Pikachu."

Pikachu grinned. "Pi chu!" Any time!

Ash quickly turned the shower off, before collecting a towel and starting to dry himself with it. In a few minutes he'd finished, and went into his room to pick out some clothing. It wasn't until he was put on a shirt he spoke up. "Have you seen Mom anywhere?"

"Pi kachu pi ka, ka pi pikachu pika chu. Pika chupipi ka pikachu pi pika pikachu pika." I went out with her, but then she asked to be left alone. She's up to something and she didn't want company. He took a few seconds to consider how to ask, but decided upon, "Ka pikachu pika, ka chu?" You don't remember last night, do you?

Ash put on a sock with a slight frown. Honestly, those details were very, very vague. He knew he'd woken up, but beyond that drawing details was like finding water in a dry well. All he could remember was a feeling, a feeling caused by Misty...he forced the sock on. All he could recall was begging, praying with all of his being that it wasn't true. He shook his head. "How bad was I?"

"Ka. Chu pi pikachu pi Pikachupi. Chu ka kakapi pi pi ka." Bad. You were muttering about Misty. You had a nightmare by the looks of it.

Now that he could remember perfectly. He guessed that's why he found himself waking up with the handkerchief and lure (which he'd since put back, he wanted them close, but actually touching them awoke too many emotions for him to process right now), someone had done some very quick thinking (Pikachu, no doubt). No doubt his Delia had witnessed it in person, and once again had to deal with his faults. He seethed, silently cursing himself. "I shouldn't have come home. Mom doesn't deserve to deal with this." Now she'd gone out again, likely to find some way to deal with how much of a wreck he was-"Oh crap. She's gone to see Misty, hasn't she?"

Pikachu nodded, awkwardly. "Pi kaka pi, ka..." She didn't say, but... He took a close look at Ash, well now was a good enough time as any to ask. "Ka pikachu kakachu? Pikachupi chupi pikachu chu pika pi..." What happened yesterday? Misty went in and when she left you were... He didn't like thinking about that.

Apparently neither did Ash, he blinked once before continuing with his dressing routine. "Can we not talk about this?"

Pikachu's ears drooped. "Kachu. Pika chu chu pika chu." Okay. But I really think you should.

Ash shrugged. "Maybe. But not today."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Delia was a very patient woman. She was quite capable of waiting for something even for immense amounts of time. All those times Ash went out on his adventures, she waited for his return, knowing that someday he'd stroll right through her door, fresh with new tales to share and laundry in need of cleaning (she wondered if he actually did change his you-know-whats every day). It was only Ash's tour in Unova that had tried her patience, because it was the one she'd worried he'd never come back from as time went on. She'd watched him at the championship, more thrilled that the fact he was actually alive than that he won the title of Grandmaster (though that was a very big thrill). She'd hoped he'd finally come home right after that, but he didn't call her, and quickly she fell into worry. Those few days after the championship had been hard, even with his dream fulfilled...what if he never came home? What if she never saw him again? What if he spent the rest of his life out there in the world? Never calling, never even visiting. Just wandering who knows where, doing who knows what, all on his own? What if she never saw her baby again?

Then came the sound of her Pidgey-shaped knocker and there he was. Even if he wasn't as whole as she'd have wanted him, her son was home. Her patience had paid off, rather handsomely. Ash's dream had been fulfilled, he had nothing to strive for right now, so he'd been home for quite a while. A long while most likely.

Now she really could be sure if she changed his you-know-whats every day.

She'd waited all that time for him to come home, so waiting a single morning for an opportunity was nothing. She'd looked around the local town/miniature city carefully, using all the little titbits of information she knew about Misty to her aid. She'd overheard the previous day that there was some kind of Pokémon League meeting that all Gym leaders were to attend (the exact time however was unknown to her, but she assumed early morning, that was typical according to Misty), so for a portion of the day finding Misty was going to be impossible. So she waited. She had a suspicion that had she tried to call Misty and request a meeting the effort would fail. To avoid her or to avoid Ash, or perhaps both, she wasn't sure, there was a likely possibility that Misty would not want to talk about whatever happened yesterday, but Delia would be damned long before she'd let those two be separate themselves forever.

But she would not fix things either. She would not come out and say what Ash should for him. Ash was not the kind of boy who wanted people doing his work for him, even his own mother. It was one of his best qualities in her eyes. He'd never let anyone else fix his mistakes, even if he couldn't do it himself.

She would not help Ash move any closer to Misty, or spill his heart out, that would be his job. She would not try to move Misty closer to him either, she just had to try to keep Misty from moving further away. Their current emotional distance, though far from ideal (or even pleasant), was at least repairable.

It was either she did something or somewhere along the line Ash could end up with someone else, and giving her son's position in the world right now, it was very possible it would be someone who didn't want to be with him for him, just the title he held. While she didn't have any right in choosing Ash's girlfriends for him, she had a right to her preferences. She preferred Misty, even if she had beat her son's brains in now and then (with good reason, well, passable, okay she didn't like that part but nothing's perfect).

She at least truly cared about him.

Actually, she'd prefer her hitting him with that mallet over the current state of things, and she knew Ash would too.

Speaking of the current state of things, it was time to address it.

Her waiting had once again paid off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Misty sighed, well that was pretty pointless. She loved battling, she loved Pokémon, but damn did she hate the politics of the league. Yes there were some changes in the regulations, but strangely they didn't seem to have directly been related to her, but they were still suspect (well part of all politics was hiding some kind of agenda). The most notable change was the number of Pokémon a Gym Leader could use. While it was never a rule beforehand, most leaders tended to use three Pokémon or less for official battles, now four was the absolute maximum (the previous being the traditional six). Fortunately there was nothing official about using weaker Pokémon/holding back during official matches, but there was some crap about "encouraging aspiring new trainers" and how beating them into the ground would be a detriment to that end. She'd had to repress a snort at that, as well as berate herself for thinking of him.

Ash wouldn't have been disheartened by a harsh beating. He'd just come back the next day (usually) and be the one dishing out said beating. She sighed to herself, trying to remove Ash from her mind. Thinking about him didn't help, not after...

She shook her head, dismissing him from her thoughts, or trying to at least. She was picking between shopping or going to get something to eat, to distract herself in enjoying something. None of her hobbies could make her think of Ash, and by Arceus she was going to have an Ash-thought-free day.

"Misty."

Damn.

Misty stopped walking, and turned to face Delia. She wasn't sure if she should be feeling glad or dread. When her eyes darted around, looking for Ash and finding nothing she decided on something closer to glad.

Closer to glad, but not quite separate from dread.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shoes. Check.

Jacket. Check.

Pants. Check.

Hat. Check.

Cloak. Check. He pulled the hood over his head.

Shield from the world. Check.

Pikachu affixed himself to his shoulder and they were off. He'd left a note affixed to the fridge, so Delia wouldn't worry. It wasn't that he wanted to go out, really, but it was going out, or staying in. In with his thoughts...thoughts of her. He slammed the door shut.

Out was the better option.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Delia and Misty had taken refuge in the privacy of the shade of a tree. Around them the various sounds of people were dulled by the distance they had put between themselves and them. Azurill was sitting on the ground quietly, the baby's eyes watching a couple of dancing Butterfree with interest. They'd been silent for a moment, Delia waiting for Misty to say something, hoping she would, but for the first time in memory, Misty was trying to avoid her eyes.

So Delia would speak up first. "Misty, if you don't want to tell me what happened between the two of you yesterday, I won't ask. But I know it's bothering Ash, and I know you." Misty finally met her eyes, and Delia had a suspicion what that flash of worry was. "I won't say anything to him, even if he asks."

She was right. Misty visibly relaxed, but it was still a moment before she spoke what was on her mind. "It was never perfect, Delia. After I left him." Her mouth shifted, forming half a smile, but it did not reach her eyes. "But it worked, you know? He was always going off somewhere, but we still talked a lot, and even though he didn't even consider..." She took a breath before continuing. "It was okay. Things were okay." Another moment of silence passed, as Misty leaned back, staring at the sky through the branches of the trees. "Then it just...started. We started talking less and less, and less. I tried, I did. But nothing worked. He just kept, getting further and further from me. Then he went to Unova, and..." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I used to be wanted in his life, Delia. I almost felt needed at times. But now..."

"...I need you." "If only you knew."

Misty took a few seconds before, "...now he wont even face me." She lowered his head once more, looking to the ground, but not before Delia caught one brief flash of her eyes. She prayed she hadn't seen what she thought she did.

"H-he doesn't..."

Misty wasn't looking, so she missed it. She missed how Delia's eyes widened, she missed the fear and shock. She missed the thoughts her expression betrayed.

How powerless she felt to stop what was happening before her.

Another moment passed, neither looking at the other, each, unknown to the other, trying to compose themselves. Misty had something to say, Delia something to hide, one was sure of the truth, one knew it was a lie.

Delia composed herself first, which she was thankful for.

Misty sighed, and finally she looked up to meet Delia's eyes. "Delia. No matter what I decide to do, you won't hold it against me, right?"

Only the greatest limits of her will managed to prevent Delia from cracking, from coming out and saying what Misty wanted, perhaps needed to hear at this point. She so wished she could stop this, but even if she did betray her vow not to help Ash, she was sure Misty would simply not believe her.

It was then Delia finally realized, maybe it wasn't so much that she wouldn't help, it's that she couldn't. She knew the truth, but Misty was stubborn, and right now, hurt. The truth could have done so much, and Delia could have told her, but it'd perhaps have done more harm than good if she were the one to say it. Misty would believe the truth, but she'd only believe it from one person. Were Delia to say it, Misty would just think she was just being kind. Now it had come to this, to Misty asking one question Delia never wanted to have presented to her. Misty was asking it, and it was clear why.

Misty didn't want to lose her, and if she felt she to ask it, need she had to be sure...

Delia knew the answer the second Misty had finished asking. She couldn't hold it against her. She'd have no reason to. Misty would have perfectly fair reasons if she did what Delia feared. Besides, Misty was the closest thing she had to a daughter, and for better or for worse, she wanted to keep it that way.

For better or for worse, she would accept whatever Misty did. "I wont." She smiled. "I promise."

That didn't mean she'd have to like Misty's choice.

Misty gave Delia a grateful, honest smile. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Delia."

With that, the conversation was over. They didn't need to say it, it was just clear. Misty picked up Azurill in her arms, giving Delia one last smile before she walked away. Delia on the other hand remained, leaning back under the shade of the tree and taking her own turn to gaze to the sky.

She frowned. Ash was on his own from here. She felt a chill of fear creep down her spine. She loved Ash, she really did, but she knew that when it came to matters like love...

It was in an odd way somewhat funny, Ash could raise the strongest Pokémon, and defeat the strongest trainers in the entire world and come out with a grin. He could do the one thing countless aspired to do, but could not, but when it came to something like love, which countless could do...she sighed.

Misty was at a breaking point, Delia knew that. She wasn't all the way there yet, but she was starting to just give up on Ash. Delia couldn't blame her, she'd waited years, years of her life for Ash to notice her, and in the end he'd-

Delia shook her head, she didn't need reminding of that. Misty was right, Ash wasn't facing her, which didn't even begin to help matters. Still, Delia took solace in the fact that Ash's dream was just that, a very bad dream, but what was coming was perhaps just as bad.

If Ash didn't realize how he felt, and if he didn't move quickly enough...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How are you so weak!?"

Since Ash was evading 'problem number 1' in his life, 'number 2' had decided to pounce on him, and like Scrafty in a rage (or Misty's mallet, but the idea was to not be thinking of her right now, and even thinking of that mallet was painful), it was bashing his head in.

Yesterday's battle had been...well Ash didn't have a word for it. There was so much that seemed wrong with it. So much had been missing from it. Harrison was strong, yes, and he probably would pose a serious challenge to the Elite Four of Kanto with some hard training, but to someone like him...

Finding a good battle used to be so easy, but even at the championship, very few had been able to truly push him beyond what he'd call 'sparring'. Ash could count on his fingers the number of people who posed a real challenge, and on a single hand those who could force him and his team to go fight with everything they had. He knew becoming Grandmaster meant being the strongest, unmatched in the entire world, but seeing how far he was above so many, even ones who once upon a time had been able to outmatch him, even those who'd once done so with ease...

He sighed. "When did this happen? When did what I'm best at become so..." He didn't have a word for it. Battling used to be so simple. Just go out, find some random trainer and go from there. Win, loss, no matter, most tended to be good battles, most of them fun too.

He suddenly stopped. "Fun...when was the last time I had fun in a battle?" He continued walking again, passing a small pond. He turned his head to catch his reflection. He thought back to that dream again. His younger self, though he lacked the ability that he did now, had something more about him. Even as he was getting beaten (brutally at that), he was enjoying the battle.

He was having fun.

A good battle was still a thrill, still something he'd do every single day if he could, but fun didn't quite seem to fit it any more. It was something else now, about something else. Every battle, was about something else, and if he didn't find it. "I don't battle like...him, anymore." He couldn't see that little boy and himself as the same person, now. He wasn't sure why. His eyes turned to his best friend, who was glancing ahead of them. "Wonder if you do?" He took note of that expression Pikachu looked at the world with, realizing, "You didn't change, much. So why did I?"

He continued walking.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Pikachu had been paying close attention to Ash since they'd left. He'd turned away when he knew Ash was taking a glance at him, but he'd continued paying attention.

It was only really now, now they were back home, now their goals were over with that he could take the time to pay look at Ash closely. On the road a lot of days required a lot of the same thing, training, and since that was all Pikachu really saw, and since training was his focus he never took in how much else changed. Yes, Ash avoided people as best he could, but it was worse than that. It was only when they got home did he really notice it.

Ash wasn't quite Ash anymore. He'd lost something. Pikachu saw it, and though she tried to pretend not to notice, Delia noticed it too. Ash used to have something, something unique, something that as in him that was just so good, something that marked him as 'Ash'. Pikachu was sure it was that which used to so easily draw people and Pokémon alike to him. It was a light, a spark in his eyes. Pikachu would admit, with a degree of shame that he'd failed to truly notice it until they got home, but now he finally did.

That light. That spark...

When had it gone out?

A sudden 'boom' snapped Pikachu from his thoughts, and caught Ash's attention, and they both turned to look at a small crowd, near which a small pillar of dust was rising up. "Looks like someone's battling." Pikachu nodded, and Ash walked off in the direction of the battle. He carefully moved around the crowd of people that were watching, making sure to draw no attention to himself, which wasn't too hard, people were watching the show too intently. Ash moved to the front of the crowd with minimum effort, and both he and Pikachu took a close look at what the big deal was.

They found a pair of children, one was currently kneeling by his defeated Pokémon, a Hitmonchan. The other was standing, pointing a Pokémon at his own Pokémon. "Conkeldurr, return!" The large, red-nosed Pokémon was absorbed by a flash of red light, quickly taking back into his Pokémon. His eyes turned to his defeated opponent. "Just what'd I'd expect from someone from a dump like Kanto. You can't even win your own conferences!"

"HEY!" All eyes turned to the cloaked figure that walked out from the crowd. "You're on Kanto soil, brat, I'd watch my mouth if I were you."

The boy smirked. "Or what? You'll challenge me? Please, someone from Hoenn won your own conference, and If he hadn't beaten me I'd have won it all!"

Ash took a look at the kid for a moment, quickly deciding one thing: He didn't like him. "What's your name, brat?"

The boy grinned, his air betraying a heavy feeling of self-importance. "Trip."

Ash didn't respond right away, instead he was thinking. Trip. Trip...he knew that name from somewhere. Didn't someone mention it in passing? Something about a Junior World Champion-"Didn't Alder beat you?"

That struck a nerve, Trip's smug face suddenly flashed with anger. "What's it to you? Like you're so special!"

Under the cloak Ash grinned. "Actually I am. I'm very special, actually. For starters, I, unlike you, have actually beaten Alder."

Trip smirked. "Like anyone from Kanto has the skill to even contend with Alder! If that Ash guy hadn't taken him out at the Championship he would have become Grandmaster."

Now it was Ash's turn to smirk. "Didn't you know?" He grabbed the sides of his hood." Ash Ketchum is from Kanto!" Ash pulled off his hood, not caring in the slightest as the world around him was seized in a sudden gasp. Even Trip had been stunned by Ash's big reveal. Ash walked across the battlefield, taking the place of the trainer who'd just lost, who moved out of the way, awe in his eyes as Ash silently spoke to him, requesting his spot. Ash turned back to face Trip.

"Just for your attitude, I'm gonna kick your ass. Bring out your best, and I'll pulverize it. No-one, no-one insults my homeland in front of me and gets away with it. Especially not a little brat like you!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Misty strolled through the town, free to do whatever she wanted now. The official League business was thankfully finally over, and she had one more night at the hotel on the League's dollar so she figured why not make the most of it?

Despite the reasons for their talk, Misty had left the conversation in a good mood. Over the years she had to grown close to Delia, and no matter the outcome, she just wanted to be sure she wouldn't lose Delia. She needed to be absolutely sure. After yesterday...

She shook her head. She'd worry about all this when she got back home, when she had nothing but time to think. For now she just wanted one free day to herself. Maybe some shopping, fancy meal (her sister's couldn't cook if their lives depended on it, and she wasn't that great, admittedly), treat herself for once. She passed near a growing crowd but she didn't pay attention. Now she'd finally be able to have an Ash-thought-free day.

"No-one, no-one insults my homeland in front of me and gets away with it. Especially not a little brat like you!"

Arceus dammit!

Misty suddenly stopped, cursing her luck again, but what he'd said had caught her attention. She manoeuvred her way through the nearby crowd. She found Ash staring down-she could have sworn she knew that kid from somewhere. She thought for a second, "One of the top 8." She overheard something about Harrison beating some talented-but-rude upstart from Unova, she guessed this was the kid.

Hearing about the kid insulting Kanto annoyed her to hell, how dare that little shit come into her homeland and insult it! Someone needed to beat this kid's ego down a couple dozen (or hundred) pegs.

Oh wait, Ash was gonna do it.

She almost felt conflicted in her sudden rush of feeling. Ash, currently was the most emotional complexed subject in her life. She was still mad at him for what he did to his Mom, still hurt over what he'd done to her, and now she was supposed to be avoiding the topic of Ash, for a while anyway, for her own best interests.

But just for now; screw all that.

"Kick his ass, Ash!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Trip reached for his chosen Pokémon quick as a flash, throwing with the cry of, "Serperior!"

The Pokémon emerged, as was traditional, in a flash of white light. Ash looked the at the appearance of it with minor interest, but mostly he was curious about his eyes.

This creature was full of excessive pride, now that was going to have to changed. Ash glanced at his oldest friend. "All yours if you want him, Pikachu." Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder. A chance to beat a smug Pokémon? He'd take it any time! Pikachu walked a distance from Ash, both Pokémon taking starting positions for the battle to come. Ash smiled again before speaking.

"Alright, brat. Here's how it goes. We fight until someone falls. It'll be a one on one battle. You can take the first move."

A breeze picked this moment to sweep over the battlefield, adding tension to what was already a tense enough situation. Ash stood there, his face passive as his cloak danced in the wind, Pikachu smiling. Serperior looked down at his opponent, both literally and figuratively. Trip on the other hand was apparently thinking, considering what to make for an opening move.

Beneath his exterior Ash smiled. It was good to know the arrogant little brat wasn't so blinded by ego that he'd rush into this battle against him head-first. "But I wish he'd do something. Hmm. I got an idea." He got his partner's attention. "Hey Pikachu, how about we give him a little help?" Curious, Pikachu turned, and nodded. Ash turned to Trip. "Hey, brat. You get one free attack."

"What?"

"You heard me. One free attack. Pikachu wont move, won't block, wont defend himself. So come on, take your best shot." Ash glanced at Pikachu, who nodded. He'd agreed to the idea. "Use any attack you want, try to get a head start. Or better yet, try to end this in with the first strike, because unless either Pikachu or I suddenly drop dead that's about the only real chance you got." He grinned. "Pikachu, arms out, make it easy for him!" With an annoyed sigh Pikachu parted his arms, he was pushing this a bit. A few seconds passed and still Trip did nothing. "You gonna do anything or should I paint a target on Pikachu for you?" Now that did it. If Ash tried painting on him he was ending this battle, or just shocking Ash.

He'd have to ask for a coin. Actually, Misty was around, somewhere. Maybe she'd lend him her mallet. Or better yet use it on him herself, it'd be an improvement over the current state of things.

"Wait."

He sniffed the air. He'd know that smell anywhere. "No way Ash knows." He'd have reacted already if he did. How, he couldn't be sure. Would it be a good idea to tell him? Pikachu decided against it. He did wonder why she was here though.

He swore he was going to get the details of what happened yesterday out of Ash, one way or another.

While Pikachu's mind was elsewhere, his opponent's Trainer was quite focused on the current battle, or to put it another way; what exactly he should do.

Trip looked closely at Pikachu. This had to be a trick, surely. Who'd be nuts enough to let their Pokémon take an attack unguarded? Didn't the Grandmaster know just what kind of attacks there were in the world of Pokémon? Didn't he care what could happen to his Pikachu? There's no way that little thing could take a full powered direct attack and keep going. No, this had to be a trick.

On the other hand..."Frenzy Plant!"

Serperior glowed green for a moment, before ramming his tail into the ground. For a second there was silence, until suddenly huge, spiked roots sprout from the ground, all right where Pikachu was standing.

The roots beat Pikachu from every angle, picking him up as well as slashing at him. He was silent, even as the roots beat at him, even as they eventually stopped rising, and turned around Pikachu, wrapping his body completely. In a moment Pikachu could not be seen, lost inside a sphere of roots.

"Ha! Your Pikachu's trapped now! There's no way he can get out of-"

-crack-

"Wha-"

There was another crack, before the root sphere was parted like shreds of paper, Pikachu jumping down and landing on the ground with a smile.

Completely unscathed.

"And you're the junior world champion?" Ash laughed. "Alright, you've had your shot. Now Pikachu, let's show him some real power!" Pikachu and Ash both took the same pose, their right hand/paw raised in front of their chest, clenched in a fist. "And let's make it interesting. No special attacks, just brawl." Pikachu nodded. "And drag it out as long as you want!"

Pikachu grinned, running on two legs to his target. He'd already taken his opponents strongest attack (he guessed it was anyway) and that'd been nothing. This was a time to really kick back and beat some arrogant asshole slowly; the thing was STILL looking down his nose at him! Pikachu was going to enjoy this...way more than he probably should.

"Cut!"

In just over a second Serperior had raised a glowing tail tip, and had taken aim at Pikachu.

Pikachu raised his right paw, grasping onto the tail quick as a flash.

It stopped moving. Serperior's jaw clenched, before gritting his teeth, trying in vain to shift the little mouse Pokémon that had dared to grab his tail!

No effect. Pikachu merely held the tail with a smile. "Pika kachupi chu pi ka." I'm stronger than I look. "Chu!" Watch!

Still with a single paw, he raised the tail over his head, picking up Serperior on the process, before slamming him forward into the ground. He raised his again, slamming his victim again, one more raise, one more slam, before he let go, dusting off his paws. "Pi kachu pi pi ka?" You gonna get back up?

Seperior raised his face out of the ground, growling. How dare this little common rat mock a Regal Pokémon like himself?

"Serperior, back away and try Solarbeam!"

Serperior jumped away, before opening his mouth to release a very familiar attack. The white beam's aim was true, and Pikachu was going to take it head-on unless he moved.

Pikachu held out his right paw, the beam colliding with it. He dug his feet in, neither he nor the beam moving. He kept this pose for just a couple of seconds before he suddenly threw his arm to the sky, the beam following the path he had set. It went high into the sky, up into the clouds. Before simply dissipating to nothingness.

Serperior backed away slightly, and so did Trip.

Now they were a little scared. Only a little. Really, only a little.

Both shuddered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Misty watched, but she wasn't watching the battle, she found herself watching Ash this time.

Only years of watching him battle, combined with the borderline obsession that the purest of love brings could make her see what she did; Ash had changed in how he battled, and not only technique and skill. It was his posture, his composure, his body language. Again, only her feelings for him could make him notice these things, most likely wouldn't.

When Pikachu would attack, his features would seem to, well 'flare' might be the way to put it. His entire body awakened, and remained as such until the attack was complete. When Pikachu evaded an attack, his body would shift just slightly. When Frenzy Plant had hit his body had tensed, and during the entire Solarbeam moment his body had only gotten tenser until Pikachu had deflected it. Every little action Pikachu performed and was subjected to enticed a reaction.

It was strange, if she didn't know any better, she'd guessed Ash could feel what Pikachu did.

She wasn't too far from the truth.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ash's body relaxed as the Solarbeam was deflected into the sky. Power struggles, his favourite parts of battle. Over the years he'd gained such an aptitude, such a feel for battle, so much in fact that it felt at times it almost felt like he was actually fighting in them himself. Alder himself had pointed out how Ash almost seemed to feel what his Pokémon did, but he wasn't quite right, it was more he could sense it, and understand it perfectly, so much so that his body reacted to it.

He simply called it his battling instinct, and it was his one of his greatest assets, because with it he felt more alive, got more inventive, and became a far more fierce trainer during a really intense battle. You harder you hit Ash's Pokémon, the harder he could, and would make them hit back. He absolutely loved it when he felt a real battle. The way his heart seemed to beat like a drum of war, the sheer strain in the air, and the way it'd crash on him, force him to react or be crushed by it. The elation, the force, the sheer thrill of it. He'd yet to find anything quite as enthralling as a true battle.

This was not one of those battles.

The way Serperior's attacks couldn't inflict damage. The way he crumbled under even the weakest of attacks. The sheer...unrefined nature of his technique. The way even his strongest attacks were so easy to bat away. A real opponent wouldn't crumble so easily. A real opponent would have a refined technique. A real opponent wouldn't have made it so easy to block their attacks.

A real opponent would have inflicted damage. Which would have forced Ash to give the order to inflict damage in turn, and they in turn, and them him, and so on and so forth, until one would finally fall.

Glorious.

He found missing the Grandmaster Championship, briefly. "Even weaken than Harrison's Blaziken!" "Come on! I've had better fights out of kids who were still sucking pacifiers!"

He technically wasn't lying about that. Way back when, back when Scrafty was a newly-hatched Scraggy, Ash had pit him against other young Pokémon on occasion, and they often wielded by very young trainers. Some perhaps a little too old to be sucking pacifiers but hey, what did Ash care?

Such battles were not particularly pleasant memories, infant Pokémon battles were so...dull. He was grateful that his one Unova-native Pokémon had grown in strength so quickly. His attitude could use some tweaking, but what could you really expect from a hoodlum? He wondered if any of the children who'd beaten Scrafty as a child could believe that same Scraggy was the one who'd turned a very unlucky Heatran into a punching bag at the championship. That Heatran, and many other unlucky Pokémon.

Speaking of unlucky Pokémon, Serperior had yet again tried another direct attack, and Pikachu simply batted it away. "It's easy to see why Harrison kicked your ass, brat." Ash suddenly blinked. Blaizen, Serperior...he'd seen that battle! He'd only flipped to it randomly, seeing only a close-up shot of the final blow: Serperior forced to the ground, quite immobile as Blaziken held a limb firmly to his face.

Never before had Ash seen a more creative and cruel use for a Blaze Kick. Ash had raised an eyebrow at that, morbidly impressed by the method. He'd flipped to another channel before seeing just who gave that torturous command.

He'd never have thought Harrison had it in him.

Himself on the other hand...

While Ash's mind was free to wander, Trip's was focused only on the problem at hand. It became obvious to him that he was going to have to try something else. "He's way too strong to fight directly...maybe I can trick him."

"Leaf Tornado, Serperior! Spread it over the battlefield like a veil!"

Serperior jumped into the air, and with his tail aimed to the sky he began turning, quickly becoming a green blur as more green emerged from his form. Both Ash and Pikachu were silent and still as the green turned into a tornado of leaves, which grew bigger and bigger, parting from its creator and growing in size. Pikachu was covered and lost inside it as it spread over him. The entire battlefield was now almost covered entirely by the spiralling leaves, obscuring all within. Ash and Trip had only a couple of feet in front of them with clear ground. The rest of the arena was drowned in the green wind. Serperior landed right in front of Trip, waiting for an order.

"Now hide yourself in it!"

Serperior dived forward, into the storm of leaves, and was quickly lost.

Pikachu, in the heart of the whirlwind, looked around. All over there was little more than spiralling leaves, giving the world the appearance of being green. The perfect hiding place, seeing Serperior in this would be a tall order.

So Pikachu wouldn't look. His ears twitched. The air was alive with the sounds of wind, but even with the sharp sound of the wind...he smiled.

"Dragon Tail!"

Pikachu rotated on the spot, slamming his (un-enhanced) tail into Serperior's glowing tail, knocking its owner right off the ground and into the air. Serperior flew into the air, and all could see it as the tornado dissipated. What goes up will come down, and Serperior did so with a slam. Yet another failed attempt.

Trip was starting to lose it now. "He's not even giving his Pikachu commands! He's just standing there!" 'Just standing there' wasn't quite right. Ash's eyes bore right into his, like a statue, it was almost like he looked right through Trip. "He's...almost scary."

His pride insisted on the 'almost'.

Serperior managed to force himself to shift with a grunt, the markings of battle all over its body. This fight was almost over, and would be if Ash would just give the say-so, but Pikachu had a feeling Ash wasn't going to give him any more orders from here on out. He decided he'd knock his opponent's ego into the ground. Pikachu and Ash despised those who looked down on others, and they were two individuals who perhaps had the right to. He was going to drag this out, until his opponent learned to have some humility, plus it was a chance to play around in a battle, Ash never really did anything like that anymore. Never let a battle drag out, he just wanted to finish it as soon as possible, and if their opponent could force him to drag it out, all the better in Ash's view. For now, however, Pikachu could just relax and mess around. So what could he do next...

That question would never be answered.

"I can't take this anymore." That was no lie. His body had already decided it was done with this. His hands were twitching, his body restless, his breathing starting to become heavier. Not directly getting involved in the battle had dulled it at first, but quickly it's rising up, and here he was. "Dammit, not this again!"

"Pikachu! Get over here!" Two brief flashes later and Pikachu was right in front of Ash, who'd taken to a knee to converse in secret. "This isn't going anywhere, let's have a little fun."

"Pipi Kapi Pikachu?" Iron Tail Volleyball?

"No." Ash grinned. "Remember the last wake-up call you gave me?"

Pikachu grinned, nodding, and getting what Ash was hinting at.

Ash nodded, standing up again. "Have fun."

Pikachu nodded, and casually started to stroll the distance between himself and his opponent. The tired Serperior was finally up, it was a shame he had to end this now, but at least he'd knock his opponent's ego down a few pegs.

Trip was starting to sweat "Direct attacks don't work. He can't be hidden from. What else can I try? If I try and grab him with vine whip he'll just shock Serperior. Maybe I could try-"

Whatever Trip had in mind would never come to fruition, because Pikachu had already swept in to finish the battle. He vanished in a flash, and Serperior suddenly found himself raised from the ground by his mid-section, being held up by Pikachu's legs. What was he up to?

Pikachu raised his tail. "CHUUUUUU!"

Serperior's eyes rolled into the back of his head as his body was subjected to the cruel shocking. When it was finally over the Regal Pokémon was reduced to something quite common, and collapsed to the ground in a heap. Conscious, but dazed beyond words.

There are certain places shocks are just not meant to be applied.

Ash laughed to himself. Okay, he understood Serperior's pain (both the immediate and that which would come later), but this was still funny to him. He despised those who looked down on others, and knocking them down was always satisfying. His only regret is not setting Pikachu on Trip as well. No matter, he'd shut the brat up. He repressed a snigger when he wondered; How would Serperior react when he next tried to relieve himself? For Ash, it really was one of those days he was glad he was travelling alone. He should have come up with a better revenge than cold water. Maybe if they ended up away from home again for a while...

The Klinks were turning...ketchup (had to involve ketchup, right now was the perfect time, unless Pikachu had already hit the 100 bottle mark. Ash wouldn't be surprised)...something to mix into it...something which will cause utter chaos for Pikachu for a while...

He blinked, now he thought about it, it was this idea that got him that particular shock in the first place. In retrospect, maybe the wake-up call Ash gave before that shock was too harsh as well. He'd lightly poked Pikachu awake, and offered him a bottle of "Ketchup". Not having had the substance in weeks, Pikachu had accepted it happily and downed it almost instantly.

Pikachu learned "Flamethrower"! It's super effective!...at angering wild Pokémon. A cave of sleeping Gigalith had not taken kindly to the sudden disturbance. They'd stopped making a fuss after Ash had set Snorlax onto them. They'd stopped doing pretty much anything that involved being conscious after that as well. To think, Snorlax didn't even wake up for the occasion. He'd woken up to Ash saying "good job" and didn't even know why. A pile of Pokeblocks quickly silenced all thought on the matter. He could have sworn that something sharp was poking him in the butt though, but the food erased that from thought too. He never noticed when the feeling suddenly disappeared, and the sound of something rushing away.

He was still eating, after all.

Ash would feel guilty for the "Ketchup" trick, but then he remembered what Pikachu did before that, then suddenly guilty at what he did before that, then he'd recall what Pikachu did, then what he did..."Things really got out of hand there. Actually, who even started it in the first place?"

He'd wonder about that another time, but maybe a peace offering was in order.

Ash watched as his opponent returned his defeated Pokémon to his Pokémon, utterly silent as he did so. Such a humiliating and crushing defeat, Ash hadn't handed out anything quite like this before, it was a new experience for him. Not something he'd make a habit of, he decided. Only to those who were really asking for it.

Ash made his way over to his defeated foe.

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Misty walked away just after the battle was over, not bothering to wait to see what Ash was going to say or do.

That she'd never seen before. Ash being so...rude in battle. He'd mocked, and then proceeded to pretty much make a laughing stock out of him, and that last attack was just cruel! Her Ash would never have done that. How much had he changed, really? He'd had two years in Unova alone, and she didn't know just how much of him had been altered by it.

How much of her Ash was still in the Ash that was there now.

"Still...that brat was asking for it."

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"And that, brat, is what happens when you shoot your mouth off at your betters. Keep in mind, just because you win one little tournament doesn't make you top of the food chain. There will always, always be someone stronger." He gave a small smile, looking upwards. "Well, unless you're me." He turned around. "Come find me when you can back up that ego of yours, and don't let me catch you bad-mouthing my homeland again."

While Ash had been talking, Pikachu had been watching, carefully. He'd found Misty, and watched as she strolled off, every step until he couldn't see her anymore. He guessed she was avoiding Ash now. "Why do humans have to make things so complicated?"

He'd like to run into Arecus again one day. Just to ask a little question regarding the creation of humans.

"What were you thinking!?"

Ash looked around, people were gathering, and he noticed something making their way towards him with a small notepad. He knew what was to happen if he stayed. Crowds would reach for him, demand his attention and autographs, oh Arceus how they'd demand he'd sign pieces of paper, and the approaching Journalist would hound him for countless petty details. He hadn't tolerated either at the end of the championship more than he'd needed to (the most personal detail he'd given in an interview was what he was planning to do next: "I don't know").

He wanted no part of it now. "Time to go, Pikachu."

Pikachu jumped onto Ash's arm, and sat himself upon his shoulder. He took a look at one of the very few remaining openings in the forming circle that was the crowd.

His cheeks glowed.

They were gone.

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"Ow." Ash shook his head lightly, taking a look behind him, the crowds were still there but a long ways away.

"Ka chu pika?" Are you okay?

Ash nodded. "I'm fine."

"Pi kaka chu ka. Pika chu pi, Kaka Pi pika chu pi ka." But you still got hurt. I told you, Flash Step isn't meant for you.

"I know, I know, but it was just a quick shock, no problem. Besides, would you rather be in the middle of that?"

Pikachu took one look at the crowd. "Ka chu." Good point.

Ash fixed his hood, and with Pikachu on his shoulder once more he was off. To where, who knew? How long, who cared? He just wanted to wander, because no matter how much had changed, this remained the same. Ash could always enjoy the simple feeling of wandering around, even alone. He'd have to make his way back eventually, but 'eventually' left him a considerable amount of time to occupy himself.

He had his thoughts to occupy him. Once again the battle had been like a poison sting in his backside. He'd amused himself with mockery, and deliberately taking an attack but quickly the wall of peace that he'd built crumbled to nothing. Battling...was hard. His mind flashed the image of his younger self again, grinning even against absolutely impossible odds.

He hadn't grinned like that in a battle, hadn't enjoyed a battle like that since..."I don't remember."

Harrison's battle, along with Trip's had failed to be truly fun. There was a moment of it in today's match, but not that kind of fun. He hadn't had that kind of fun in forever. He sighed.

This would require more thought. This, and this alone.

He'd dare not travel down the other line of thought available to him.

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End of Chapter

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Author's Notes:

Hey, I've reached fifty thousand words! I consider that a minor accomplishment worth mentioning.

Not as much angst as normal, sorry. Don't worry, I'll make up for it later.

Yet another phase in the plot line I'm working up to. I bet I can quote most of your thoughts perfectly: "Will he just get on with it already!?".

Patience, people. This is going somewhere good. How much patience, well I only have so many ideas in my arsenal currently, and a not-unlimited amount of time to write, not a great combo, trust me.

Trip's appearance:

I hate the little bastard. Couldn't pass up an opportunity to have Ash kick his ass. Obviously in this story's version of Ash's journey around Unova they never even met.