Good weather + cold beer = faster chapters. :P It's the beginning of the end, people! I hope you'll enjoy this last saga: the Indigo League.
~TheLightWolf16: Love the chapters (...) Is ash gonna face Gary (...)? Will he use Meloetta or Dragonite in the league? Maybe after you're done with the story you should find a good writer who could continue (...)
Thank you! :) Ash is going to face Gary, obviously. He will use Dragonite and Meloetta and whoever is interested in adopting this story can give it a shot.
~Ttg227: #first. Now allow me to say this was a sweet chapter (...)
Thanks a lot! Much appreciated. ^^ I already gave you my thoughts on your ideas in a PM. ;)
~Guest: Would it be possible to add a version of the chapter where Ash and Meloetta lose?
It would be possible, but I'm not going to do it, simply because it'd confuse people and make things go out of order.
~AshSupport: Speechless...And whoah! Pikachu is definitely rolling in love with that one. Like Trainer, like pokemon, gaining the love of a Legend. Keep up the good work (...)
Aren't they a cute couple together? :3 More of them in the next chapters! Also, thanks a lot for your kind words. Unfortunately, I won't continue this story after I'm done with the Kanto arc.
~Guest: So Mew will be Pikachu's girlfriend, I like that. Although I don't like the Ash of now, he almost sounded a little cruel.
Characters grow and develop. I can't have a more mature Ash in this story and still have him be happy-go-lucky and forgive Giovanni for what he did.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon! If I did, Pikachu would have a GF like he has in this story!
''Meloetta'' Speech
'Meloetta' Thoughts
The Indigo League was the culmination of what every aspired pokemon trainer had worked so hard for. People from all over Kanto—even from different regions—came to watch these spectacular battles and festivities unfold. It was an annual tournament that seemed to grow bigger as the years passed. What had once started out with one stadium in the past had grown into five different themed battlefields and the entire fair it brought with them.
Every pokemon trainer far and wide knew that this year it was going to be extremely hard to be victorious. Not only would the prodigious grandson of pokemon professor Samuel Oak—former champion of the Kanto League—be competing, namely Gary Oak, but also young Ash Ketchum who had made a big name for himself as the Hero kid of Kanto.
Gary had been training solidly for over a month at the Indigo Plateau, physically and mentally preparing himself for the inevitable encounter against his rival who he had found so much respect for and even considered his friend.
He'd heard how Ash had unmasked the face of Team Rocket as Giovanni, the Viridian City gym leader. To be honest, Giovanni had always been mysterious, so it came to almost no surprise to Gary, but being the leader of such a notorious organization while keeping it so expertly hidden wasn't something he had expected.
Nobody knew where Giovanni went, either. When Ash had warned the authorities and took his statement, he told that the Team Rocket leader had fled when his plan to control Meloetta had failed. Gary hoped that would be the end of it and that he wouldn't pop up anytime soon. And if he did, well, he was sure Giovanni was going to be arrested in a heartbeat.
He sighed while reminiscing about these events while he waited on the raven haired trainer to finally show up. Next to him was his granddad, professor Oak, and Ash's mom, Delia, who were waiting on him as well. They'd promised to meet up at the entrance of the pokemon center of the Indigo Plateau to officially register for the event together, but as usual, Ash was running late.
''I can't believe Ashy-boy,'' he said while shaking his head, ''he has a massive Dragonite, a legendary and a Rapidash that can run faster than the average scooter can move. How is he still late?''
Delia giggled at Gary's exasperated tone. ''Maybe he's lost? My son has never been good with directions.''
Professor Oak rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ''I don't think with Meloetta at his side he will get lost very soon. Legendary pokemon have an internal compass that are as fine-tuned as the capture mechanism of a Masterball. Give him time, I'm sure he'll show up.''
Soon enough, the professor was proven to be right. On the horizon—like a royal knight—Ash approached the pokemon center on his Rapidash. His Pikachu was on his left shoulder and his Meloetta on his right while a horde of fans followed him in tow.
It was quite a silly sight, but Delia only felt proud as her son waved happily at her, Gary and the professor. ''Ash, honey!'' she said cheerfully, the camera she brought with her in the ready to make as many pictures as she could. ''I've missed you so much!''
Ash couldn't escape the bear-crushing hug his mother gave him once he had dismounted his loyal fire-type. Pikachu and Meloetta both giggled at Ash's somewhat embarrassed groan.
''I've missed you too, mom,'' he managed to mumble, before she let go of him. He grinned sheepishly. ''Sorry I'm late. Meloetta and I had a lot to discuss.''
When Ash had received all his pokemon back from Nurse Joy after a thorough check up, he finally felt he could relax a little. They were currently eating in the cafeteria, save for Rapidash and Dragonite, who were both a bit too big. It was just a day ago that he had managed to stop Giovanni, and a lot of questions regarding his cute legendary had bubbled up to the surface of his mind.
''I'm telling you, Meloetta!'' Pikachu protested, ''When I saved Mew, she totally said she would like to see me again after she regained some of her strength! We cuddled and everything! I'm not joking!''
''I don't know,'' Meloetta responded playfully, desperately hiding her grin, ''It sounds a bit farfetched to me. The white knight saving the damsel in distress is such an old story told a million times already. Am I really to believe she fell for you the moment you freed her?''
Pikachu gave her a flat look. ''Squirt, tell her that I'm telling the truth!''
Sylveon was happily munching on her berries alongside her little brother when she heard her nickname. ''Uncle Pika is not lying, Auntie Melly,'' Sylveon responded with juice still clinging to her muzzle while moving her feelers this way and that. ''I can't sense any insincerity coming from his emotions.''
Pikachu gave the legendary a victorious grin, only to be shattered in an instant by her response.
''That's because your uncle is desperate, sweetie,'' Meloetta cooed in a teasing way, gently wiping her muzzle clean. ''He's so hopelessly in love that everything he's saying about Mew comes off as sincere.''
''Oh shut it, you,'' he said, blowing her a raspberry. ''You'll see I'm right when she visits me again!''
''If she visits you again,'' Meloetta responded, giggling at Pikachu's frustrated huff. Payback was definitely a dish that tasted sweet. She turned her attention to the young Azumarill, who was oblivious to what they were all talking about. ''Are you enjoying the berries, honey?'' she asked him sweetly.
''Uh-huh!'' he responded with a mouthful! ''These awe dewicious!'' Splatters of juice flew everywhere, which made Pikachu chuckle. ''I can definitely see that, sprout. Don't eat them too fast, otherwise you might get a tummy-ache.''
He nodded his head, but didn't slow down whatsoever. Meloetta's eyes turned warm at the scene; she had missed this.
''Hey, Meloetta?'' Ash's voice suddenly spoke up. ''Can I talk to you privately for a moment?''
She and Pikachu both knew what was on Ash's mind instantly. Nodding her head, she left Pikachu in charge of Sylveon and Azumarill for the time being.
When they were alone, Ash gave her a smile. ''Hey,'' he greeted her, awkwardly fiddling with his fingers. He felt like the hopeless kid when he just started his journey all over again. He knew it was only because of Meloetta he had come so far. So finding the right words was hard.
He cleared his throat a little and then voiced his thoughts. ''You know,'' he began, ''it's been a real blessing that you decided to go with me on my journey. I'd never thought I would end up with a legendary at my side, and such a cute one too.''
Meloetta blushed as he flashed a grateful smile. ''Did you know that today it's exactly a year ago since we met, by the way? I can't believe how time flies so fast.''
Meloetta knew all too well. She had something nice prepared for Ash for the occasion too, but kept silent for the time being and let her trainer do his story. ''Anyway,'' he continued, ''ever since Giovanni revealed you're from the future, a million questions have been going through my head.'' He paused and looked her straight in her gorgeous eyes. ''But then, I realized these questions were all meaningless. It doesn't matter how long you've known me, or why you came back to help me. There's only one thing that matters to me; so I need to know—''
His voice turned soft like in a whisper as he gently cupped her cheeks. ''—Meloetta, was it love?''
The petite legendary didn't even have to think twice. She knew it was love all along that guided her to Arceus' throne, begging him if Ash could make his dream come true with her help. In fact, she would've found another way if Arceus would've declined her request. This silly crush she used to have on the raven haired trainer had bloomed into something so sweet and gorgeous that she'd do anything to make Ash's dream come true.
So, she answered silently and powerfully by pressing her lips against his, enjoying his warm embrace as he deepened the kiss. When she broke away with a cute cry of her name, Ash chuckled. ''That's all I needed to know. Now, let's win this league together so we can challenge the elite four and the champion!''
Somewhere in the back of Meloetta's mind—as she was hugging Ash in agreement—a voice cried out to her in panic; a voice of warning about what her father had said: ''If you fail to make the Chosen One keep on traveling, I'll reverse everything back to how it once was.'' She tried to ignore its nagging presence, but it wouldn't go away. So when she broke the hug, her mind started to brew how she could make Ash change his mind about challenging the elite four when they'd won the league without forcing him to.
Gary waved his apologies off. ''It's no problem, Ashy-boy, we still got plenty of time. It looks like you got slowed down by your fans as well. So,'' he spoke with a grin, ''how does it feel to have your own personal 'cheer-leading' squad? Feels pretty amazing, huh?''
Both boys laughed as they entered the center to register while Delia and the professor followed them with amused expression on their faces.
Once they were all set and done, Ash and Gary caught up with each other in the lobby while a couple of other familiar faces came to greet them as well.
''Misty, Brock! It's so good to see you guys again!''
The redhead gave Ash a hug while Brock opted for a firm handshake. ''It's good to see you too, Ash!'' Misty said cutely. ''We wouldn't have missed this event for a lifetime.''
''Yeah,'' Brock agreed, ''especially after we've heard how much Marill has grown! He even evolved, congratulations!''
''Thanks, you guys! I couldn't have done it without your help!''
Ash was also surprised to see AJ, whose Sandshrew had evolved into a Sandlash and a boy around his age with a Pikachu called Ritchie who was a massive fan of him. But what surprised him most was that Sabrina came to greet him as well, stating that she was bored and decided to come see his matches, although she couldn't hide the small blush that crept up her cheeks when Ash gave her a kind smile.
The cherry on top, however, was Ash's first round opponent. It was none other than Damian, the blue-haired jerk that tried to rally the masses on the S.S. Anne behind him so he could get Meloetta for himself.
The moment he spotted Ash, he sneered at him. ''The Hero kid, huh?'' he spat. ''I'll humiliate you in front of all of Kanto for what you've done to me.''
Ash just shrugged his shoulders. ''You're welcome to try.''
As the raven haired trainer had expected, the first round was a one on one match. Normally, he wouldn't have used such a devastating pokemon, but Damian was a guy who had to be put in his place. Needless to say, his Dragonite had no trouble defeating Damian's Ninetales. It was a slaughter that had Damian crying for Ash to be banned for using an ancient, which couldn't be granted since there existed no rules for such pokemon. Most people didn't pity him whatsoever anyway because of his behavior, and instead praised Ash for his ruthlessness.
It was when Ash had walked back into the hallways of the stadium—in a pretty good mood—when he had seen him. He almost looked like a super hero with the way how he was dressed, entirely in black with a hood covering his face. At the moment, almost as many fans that had been following Ash were surrounding him, asking for autographs.
When Ash approached him curiously, the mysterious man stopped what he was doing to give the raven haired trainer his attention. He made some hand gestures Ash didn't understand and then offered him a gloved hand in greeting.
''Uhm… It's nice to meet you too,'' Ash responded, a small smile covering his face as he shook his hand. ''Do I know you?''
He nodded his head, to which the crowd gasped and began to murmur excitedly. This confused Ash even more.
''Can somebody explain to me what's going on?'' he asked. He looked at his Meloetta for help, but she was as clueless as he was.
''I'm sorry, Ash,'' she apologized, ''the hood he's wearing is made of a Dark-type material I can't see through.''
It was at this moment that Gary showed up. ''Ashy-boy,'' he said, ''do you mean to tell me you don't know who the Hooded Man is? He's a legend in Kanto that used to fight crime like Team Rocket. Nobody has heard about him for a long while, and now he suddenly shows up again and decides to compete in the League.''
''Wow, really?'' Ash asked, amazed. When Gary nodded his head, Ash turned back to the Hooded Man again. ''Then, who are you?''
He shook his head, indicating he wasn't going to tell. This left Ash only guessing. ''Well, I'm sure you're a strong trainer, so I'm hoping to meet you in a battle very soon.''
The Hooded Man nodded his head before bowing respectfully to Ash and walking off.
''Well,'' Ash said to his Pikachu and Meloetta after that encounter, ''it seems we're in for quite the treat with all the opponents still remaining.''
That's it for now, people. Did you guys like it, love it, hate it? Review please! They make my day brighter! :D Also, let me know in the comments who you think the Hooded Man is. Whoever guesses it right gets a special shout-out when Ash faces him! Next chapter Ash vs AJ! Until then. ^^
~Syrup-Waffle