Well, here it is, guys. The moment you've all been waiting for! How many of you guessed the Hooded Man's identity correctly? Let's find out! :) Enjoy!
~Naruto: Great chapter. Keep it up! I'm sad to see this story ending.
I think that's a sign I did very well on this one. It's about time I wrapped this story up and move on to different things, as fun as it was to write. :)
~Anon Omega: Nice chap. Can't wait for the next one.
Thank you! You don't have to wait any longer. Here it is!
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon! If I did, the Hooded Man would be who the Hooded Man is in this story.
''Meloetta!'' Speech
'Meloetta!' Thoughts
''Meloetta'' Telepathy
Like Ash had expected, Gary was a tough opponent. While his rival had trouble dealing with his Sylveon in the past, he had prepared so well this time that Ash found himself losing four against two.
'Well,' Ash thought, 'it's time to bring out the big gun once more.' He grabbed his pokeball containing his ancient Dragonite and threw it on the battlefield. Needless to say, it looked almost absurd how he was taller than the stadium he was standing in.
The league actually had made special preparations for Ash's ancient so nobody would be possibly injured. Moreover, Dragonite's power training was largely complete. He could focus the strength of his attacks pretty easily now, so he was guaranteed not to destroy anything.
Gary grumbled. 'As expected. I don't know who's scarier, this humongous Dragonite or that petite Meloetta sitting on Ash's shoulder. In the end, I have to defeat both if I want to battle the Hooded Man in the finals.'
He decided to keep battling with his Umbreon for the time being. He wanted to try out a strategy he'd been working on. ''All right, Umbreon, use Toxic!'' Gary suggested smartly.
Instead of dodging, Ash countered by making his Dragonite use Dragon Claw. Gary cursed. He'd hoped Ash would try to dodge, but instead he opted to let his Dragonite get poisoned.
The result was his Umbreon being knocked out in one hit, but it meant it wasn't going to be too long before this massive giant was about to go down. 'And here I wanted to go for Foul Play too,' Gary thought, mildly annoyed because Ash probably saw through his ploy. With Dragonite's massive attack stat, the move would've been devastating.
Next, Gary sent out his Exeggutor. His game plan was simple: let the poison do its job while he was stalling time. ''Exeggutor, use Substitute!''
Ash realized with growing worry that Gary had an effective way of shutting down his Dragonite: use Substitute and Protect on the following turn. Too bad Dragonite had a priority move Gary's Exeggutor had no answer for.
''Extreme Speed,'' Ash ordered simply when he had broken the Sub. Gary tried to make Exeggutor Protect again in panic, but fortunately for Ash, it failed. The result was that he had tied up the score very quickly, but Gary still had two very strong pokemon in the back.
In the bleachers, Ash's mom was cheering for her son while making pictures whenever she could. Professor Oak chuckled at her antics. ''Honestly, Delia,'' he said, ''What are you going to do when your son reaches the finals?''
She knew what he meant with that, since Ash's opponent would be the Hooded Man. She put a finger to her chin thoughtfully while humming slightly. ''I guess I have to stay neutral then,'' she admitted. ''Though I would love to see Ash win, I doubt he's ready for what is to come.''
Professor Oak laughed. ''I'm actually surprised. I would've assumed you would give the edge to Ash.''
''How could I?'' Delia responded, smiling knowingly. Professor Oak grinned and nodded at that. ''It'll be an epic finals for sure.''
Meanwhile, Gary's Nidoqueen had severely hurt Dragonite with her Ice Beam. Coupled with the poison damage, Ash actually opted to switch him out. 'He actually crippled my Dragonite,' Ash thought with newfound respect. 'Gary really trained hard for this battle. But will he be ready for this?'
When Meloetta took the field, Gary didn't hesitate to switch out his Nidoqueen and use his starter pokemon, now fully evolved into a strong and bulky Blastoise.
Maybe a bit surprising, but Meloetta actually had a lot of trouble dealing with the water-type wall. It tanked hits like he was eating them for breakfast. Eventually, Ash was fed up and used his Z-move, Shattered Psyche, to knock Blastoise out cold, much to the shock of Gary.
''Interesting,'' professor Oak commented, lightly teasing Delia. ''Your son has a Z-move.''
''The Hooded Man has mega-evolution,'' she countered quickly, her eyes burning with passion.
Professor Oak chuckled again. ''Do you think that will be enough to win from Ash?'' he asked curiously, knowing what kind of pokemon the Hooded Man had. ''Using a mono-type team will put you severely in the disadvantage,'' Oak added, idly wondering what he would do in the Hooded Man's shoes.
''Don't forget what kind of mono-type team,'' she remembered Oak. ''Ash has no good pokemon to deal with the specific typing.''
''That's true. Besides,'' he continued with a smirk, ''the Hooded Man has reached the finals with using just three pokemon. Congrats.''
''Had you expected anything differently?'' she said competitively, a giggle escaping her lips. ''You know how the Hooded Man is.''
''That I do, Delia,'' he admitted. ''It's great to see the Hooded Man back in action after so long. I really missed seeing it.''
''I missed it too,'' Delia whispered. ''It's really been over ten years.'' She continued to watch the end of the battle with a fond smile on her face, reminiscing about all the good times she had with the Hooded Man. 'You'd be really proud of him,' she thought, a single tear rolling down her cheek while her lips trembled.
At the same time, Meloetta had hit Nidoqueen with a potent Psychic, the super-effective attack knocking out Gary's last pokemon and giving Ash a narrow two-nothing victory. The raven haired trainer praised his Meloetta with a warm hug while Gary wordlessly returned his fallen ground and poison type back into her ball.
'I really gave it my all,' Gary thought with a growing smirk, 'but in the end, Ash still won. There's simply no stopping his Meloetta and his Dragonite at the same time.' He shook his head and walked respectfully to Ash to give him a hand. ''That was a great battle, Ash. Thank you.''
Ash smiled and shook his rival's hand. ''You certainly had me on my toes. I don't know if Meloetta would've kept up with your Blastoise for long if I didn't have the Z-move,'' he admitted.
''That was certainly a surprise! I should see if gramps can get me some Z-moves! Otherwise, I know what my next destination will be,'' Gary remarked. The two boys left the pitch together, where they met up with Delia and professor Oak in private. The former hugged her son lovingly while the latter gave his grandson encouraging words.
''It's all right, gramps. I'm very satisfied with my result. Ash really pushed me to do my very best. I'm sure that next year I'll be victorious,'' Gary stated confidently.
''That's what I like to hear!'' Oak turned his attention to the raven haired trainer. ''Good job on reaching the finals, Ash. However, your toughest opponent yet will be waiting there.''
''I know,'' Ash responded, ''but I've already figured out who it is,'' he revealed.
''Really?'' Delia said, her smile wide. ''That's so great! I'm sure you're excited then.''
''I really am, mom. After all, I hadn't expected the Hooded Man would be family,'' he replied, his own smile wide as well. ''I had a chat with the Hooded Man's Gardevoir yesterday and she revealed some pretty solid information.''
''Oh, did she?'' Oak muttered with a chuckle. ''She was never good in keeping her mouth shut,'' he admitted. ''Ever since she evolved into a Kirlia she was babbling constantly.''
Ash laughed. ''Well, it wasn't really what she said that made me figure it out, but rather, what she didn't say.''
Now Gary's curiosity piqued as well. ''So? Who is the Hooded Man, Ash? Your father?''
''Gardevoir is definitely my father's pokemon, there's no doubt about that,'' he said, ''but the entire time in our conversation, she refrained from telling the Hooded Man's gender. I mean, why would she when everybody assumes the Hooded Man is a man, anyway? But what if the Hooded Man is actually a woman?
''The last piece of the puzzle fell in its place when I saw the Hooded Man battle her semi finals match earlier today, finally revealing a couple more pokemon. There was no doubting it after that.''
Ash eyed his mom with a look of determination on his face, which she had no trouble returning, her demeanor entirely changed. ''I'm going to do everything in my power to defeat you tomorrow, mom. You'll not win from me!''
Delia's eyes shone with a fire and excitement Ash had never seen before. ''I'm sorry, honey, but I won't allow that to happen. Your mom has had the same dream as you before you were even born. My pokemon will make quick work of yours.'' She winked. ''Just ask Meloetta how strong my Ribombee and Mimikyu really are.''
Gary was shocked beyond comprehension by this revelation, while professor Oak chuckled at the rivalry going on between Delia and Ash. He really was like his mother when it came to battling.
''You were the Hooded Man all along?'' Gary asked incredulously. He couldn't believe he had been so fooled.
''I've been the Hooded Man since the league started, yes,'' she revealed, ''but in the beginning, and then I'm talking about when I was fifteen, Ash's father really was the Hooded Man. I took over in his absence and he left me his Gardevoir under my care.'' To showcase, Delia grabbed a pokeball from her purse and opened it. From it, the familiar Gardevoir appeared who bowed respectfully for Delia.
''Hello, Delia,'' she spoke telepathically. Opening her eyes, she saw an eager Ash Ketchum standing in front of her and an equally as shocked Gary Oak. She smiled and bowed for the boys too. ''It's good to see you too, Gary and Ash.''
''Hi, Gardevoir,'' Ash responded, while his Meloetta and Pikachu waved.
''I see you've figured out the Hooded Man's identity, young master Ketchum,'' she continued, now referring to him how she would speak to his dad minus the young part.
''I have,'' Ash revealed, ignoring the rising embarrassment in his cheeks from how much respect she was showing him. ''You helped me out tremendously, so thank you for that.''
''I'm sure you would've figured it out without my help too. After all, both Meloetta and Pikachu already knew the answer as well.''
The two pokemon snickered as Ash gave them an owlish look and then a smirk. ''I guess so,'' he eventually responded. ''Mom didn't make it easy for me, though.''
''Oh, it was just too much fun to tease you, honey. You probably suspected it'd be anybody but your own mom, right?'' She giggled jovially.
''Well, you told me a bit that you used to be a strong trainer in the past, but not this strong,'' Ash admitted.
''She learned from the best, namely your father and me,'' Professor Oak said with amusement in his voice. ''I wasn't the champion of Kanto for nothing back in the day.''
''I'll still reveal my identity to everybody in the finals, though,'' Delia said with a slight smile, ''and there's a reason for that.'' She looked her son straight into his eyes. ''Ash, honey, no matter who wins or loses tomorrow, how'd you like to travel with your mom in the future?''
The raven haired trainer looked stunned for a moment. ''You want to travel with me?'' He asked, his smile as bright it could get.
''Of course, sweetie! I think we would make a great team! Besides, it's good if my pokemon get some more formal training against different kind of opponents from other regions.''
Ash obviously didn't have to think about this one whatsoever before answering. ''I'd love to, mom! It's going to be so much fun if we traveled together.''
Delia smiled eagerly. ''All right then, honey! Let's do it. But first, I have to show you what a true pokemon master in the making looks like.''
There you have it, people. Honestly, how many of you saw this coming? :D I hope I at least surprised some of you guys! Anyway, did you guys like it, love it, hate it? Review please! I eat them like Gary's Blastoise eats attacks thrown at him! Next chapter the final chapter of this story, people. Hope to see you there. ^^
~Syrup-Waffle