Author's Note:
Here it is, the final part to the Orange League. Will Aerodactyl be able to Dragonite on a one on one battle? Will Ash win the Orange League and go down in the hall of fame? Will I stop asking you these questions and get on with the actual chapter? (wow, that was like a joke Haunter would make, guess it wouldn't be Ash's biggest battle yet without her somewhere in here). Anyway, remember to vote in the poll, which will change when Johto starts and with that, let's begin...
Chapter 24: Orange League - Hall of Fame
"Dragonite VS Aerodactyl..." The ref declared. "Begin!".
As soon as the battle started, the two Pokemon let out mighty battle cries and shot into the air at high speeds. Quickly flying over the stadium, the two Pokemon started crashing into each other. Aerodactyl coated his head in metal, slamming it into the dragon, as Dragonite countered by slamming his wings into the dinosaur.
They trade three blows as they ascended high into the air, matching evenly in terms of power. While it is true a pseudo legendary would technically be strong as that is why it received the class in the first place, you can't deny the advantage literal billions of years of experience and training gives to Aerodactyl, meaning it makes complete sense that they are evenly matched.
After testing each other's strength by trading these blows back and forth, the two Pokemon came to a stop mid-air facing off against each other. Now that they have confirmed they are evenly matched, this will be unique opportunity for the two of them to test both themselves and their opponent.
"Extreme speed." Drake instructed.
Dragonite shot off from his current position and tackled Aerodactyl with great speed. Dragonite preformed a loop with Aerodactyl in a tight hold, which almost doubled their height as a result of the speed before they were shooting straight down towards the ground.
Aerodactyl was able to remain calm under the pressure he found himself in. He was the king of the sky back in the prehistoric time and he didn't earn that title for no reason. Opening his mouth, his fangs were covered in ice and he bite down hard on Dragonite's shoulder.
The super effective move momentarily made Dragonite loosen his grip, of course it was far from powerful enough for him to be taken down but never has an opponent been able to attack while using this move, which is why he was taken by surprise.
Although the surprise only lasted for a moment at most, it was enough for Aerodactyl to wiggle out of the grip to avoid the collision. Dragonite was also skilled enough to avoid the crash landing by using his wings as a sort of parachute, landing on the sand bed with a heavy thud on one knee.
Using Dragonite's emergency landing as an opening, two rings of rocks appeared around Aerodactyl before he shot them down on the Dragon Pokemon like a machine gun spewing bullets. He was using Stone Edge.
Dragonite didn't like the idea of getting hit by the rock type move and took a deep breath. The Dragon Pokemon breathed out a burning hot breath, beam-like attack dark blue dragon type energy. He used Dragon Breath. The dragon type move burnt the Stone Edge down into little more than a powder of dust.
Growling in anger, Dragonite clenched both his fists they were coated in electricity. The dragon flying type shot up towards Aerodactyl, aiming to land a powerful Thunder Punch. Dragonite knew this would be one of his strongest attacks against the dinosaur.
Being the experienced flier that he is, Aerodactyl was able to swipe to the left and avoid Dragonite's first attempt. Not being one to be disheartened, Dragonite quickly turned towards the rock flying type and charged once more. He continued to swing his Thunder Punch's at the dinosaur but Aerodactyl proved to have impressive dodging skills as he moved back.
Knowing he couldn't win by only dodging, Aerodactyl came up with a plan. After dodging the fourth consecutive Thunder Punch, Aerodactyl gave a few quick but mighty flaps of his wings and shot up out of Dragonite's reach.
The Dragon Pokemon roared before cancelling his Thunder Punch and shooting up towards Aerodactyl. After watching the two Pokemon battle some more, something interesting has been revealed. It appears that Aerodactyl is slightly faster than Dragonite but Dragonite is much more aggressive and packs more of a punch.
Although the two differences seem to balance each other out, Aerodactyl on the other hand has noticed a much more important difference. The fact that Dragonite is very much young and impulsive, that is his biggest weakness. Along with the advantage that Aerodactyl has with his experience.
Aerodactyl came to a stop directly above Dragonite who is flying directly below. He has a plan. Spreading his wings, the wind resistance which was built up around the Dragon proved just enough to push Aerodactyl out of the way slightly.
With them still being close enough, Aerodactyl grabbed hold of Dragonite's shoulders before the force blew him away. Using the momentum, the two Pokemon preformed a loop in the air although Aerodactyl was in full control. Using Dragonite's superior strength against himself. After doing a ninety-degree spin, Aerodactyl let go and Dragonite went falling towards the ground. Dragonite had enough time to adjust his flight partly and landed with the sand absorbing most of the force.
Drake saw the look in his Dragonite's eyes. They both know Aerodactyl is strong and skilled enough to handle any of their normal battle techniques, so the only option is to have a battle of pure power. This will be the true final showdown between the dinosaur and the Dragon.
"Dragonite... Use Hyper Beam." Drake instructed.
The crowd cheered as the heard the command for Dragonite's most powerful attack. The Dragon took a deep breath and dug deep as he built up for his most powerful attack. Both Ash and Aerodactyl realised those two wanted and were more than happy to take on this new challenge. The good thing about this showdown will be the battle will be decided quicker. Both the dragon and the dinosaur could battle like they have been all day.
"Giga Impact!" Ash shouted.
Aerodactyl roared as a power barrier formed around him. Acting quickly, he shot down towards Dragonite, who had just finished building up his power. With a mighty roar, the Dragon Pokemon unleashed a massive power beam out of his mouth.
It appeared that the Hyper Beam struck the Giga Impact head on, but the collision caused a blinding light which caused everyone to look away and shield their eyes to avoid being blinded. Ash took a look at Drake in this moment and for the first time in this battle he looked scared, as if now he truly wasn't sure he would win.
If someone dared to look towards the blinding light which was the collision point between the two powerful attacks, they would notice that it was slowing moving downwards towards the battle field. Although neither Pokemon were visible to make out if either were close to exhaustion.
An ear-piercing roar echoed throughout the stadium, but it was impossible to make out which of the battling brutes was the source of it. In all likely hood, both the dinosaur and the dragon roared at the same time, this was because the blinding light seemed to somehow get even brighter as it moved quicker towards the battlefield. The only fitting name to describe what it looked like was a shooting star.
As the light closed in on the ground, a powerful wind hit all those nearby. Sand was being blown everywhere as the wind travelled far, even those seated three rows in from the stadium centre had to protect against the hazard. Both Ash and Drake were unable to even look close to the battlefield to protect their eyes. Ash picked up Pikachu to help shield him from the sand. This was a true battle of wills and power.
In a flash of light, the brightly finally touched down and a massive explosion was the result. The shock wave caused by this was spread across the entire stadium and even further. It was even strong enough to crack some of the glass on the spectator box's windows.
Following the explosion was a deafening silence as everyone turned to look towards the battlefield in hopes of seeing who, if either Pokemon, were left standing. All that could be seen was a field of black smoke which just barely didn't cover both Ash and Drake as well. Speaking of the two trainers, both their feet and lower legs were now buried within the sand which was blown off the battlefield.
After about a minute the smoke filling the battlefield began to fade and revealed the silhouette of a Pokemon standing on the battlefield, slightly hunched over and clearly panting heavily. While the second silhouette was lying flat on the ground. Due to the smoke still being quite thick, no-body could make out which silhouette belongs to which Pokemon. Ever way, one thing was confirmed, one Pokemon was definitely able to battle while the other was out for the count.
As more time passed, the Pokemon who won was revealed. It was Aerodactyl. The dinosaur was smart enough back when using Giga Impact to not try a head on collision. If it was a head on collision than the explosion would've happened mid-air. Aerodactyl made it so the Hyper Beam was able to scrap the top of his attack which was still powerful enough to slow the Fossil Pokemon down.
Some might've thought completely avoiding the Dragon's attack would've been safer but that would've also have alerted Dragonite to his disadvantage and make him redirect his attack which would've lead to another issue. The Giga Impact completely covers Aerodactyl which means his flying skills are limited when using the move and he didn't want to risk Dragonite redirecting the Hyper Beam to the centre of his attack by trying to avoid it altogether.
As the rest of the smoke cleared, it revealed that Dragonite was on his back with swirls covering his eyes. Drake looked at his partner sadly, before a small smile appeared on his face as he looked at Ash, who seemed to be in shock. Now that both Pokemon's fates had been proven, the ref made his call.
"Dragonite is unable to battle, meaning the winner of this battle is the challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." The ref declared.
"ooooooh." Was all that Ash could say as he stared blankly at his Rock Flying type.
"The challenger wins the match! The challenger wins the match! The challenger wins the match! The challenger wins the match!" The announcers cheered with excitement as the crowd joined in. "The challenger wins the match!".
On the screen which was showing the two trainers and keeping the audience up to-date on which Pokemon were and were not able to battle, a massive image of Ash appeared as pictures of all the Pokemon he used during the league also appeared. Ash was a little sad some of his other Pokemon who didn't get the chance to battle, like Primeape or Blastoise didn't show up but no matter what, he couldn't have used all of them.
"He actually did it." Misty uttered.
"They all did it." Leaf corrected.
"What do ya know." Drake added.
Serena was the only one to remain silent as she looked at her boyfriend with her eyes shining. She could almost laugh at his stunned look. He is so amazing. It may seem a little childish, but she has always seen Ash as some sort of cool hero, ever since he saved her in the Summer camp. Right now, she has to admit that he looks so cool and she couldn't be prouder of him.
"We won..." Ash uttered in total shock.
"Yeah, we did." Pikachu added in the same shocked state.
Ash continued to look at the battlefield with shock as Aerodactyl let out another powerful roar to demonstrate the power he currently has over his opponent, which is sort of a trait he picked up back in the prehistoric time, as it was proper battle educate, although granted he wouldn't leave his opponents alive but sometimes it is best to change with the times.
This roar snapped Ash out of his amazement and the raven-haired boy bolted out onto the field. Aerodactyl was too tired to really do anything considering the strain that power battle puts on the old timer, so he couldn't really do anything to stop Ash from giving him a big hug. He simply let out a small smile and rolled his eyes, he is anything but the affectionate type. He was sent to help prepare the kid for his role as the chosen one, which is why he has never had any disobedience problems but after spending all this time together, he has to admit Ash has grown on him.
Drake smiled at the sight of Ash and Aerodactyl, in a lot of ways Aerodactyl is like his Dragonite in terms of personality although Aerodactyl is clearly older and wiser as a result of that age. A Pokemon doesn't need to be openly affectionate to truly show off the bond between them and their trainer. During all of this league, Ash has shown to have strong relationships with all of his Pokemon, which is why he deserves this victory. Pulling the Pokeball off his neckless, Drake turned towards his fallen partner. Dragonite had regained consciousness but struggling to push himself up off the sandy field.
"Thank you, old friend. Take a nice long rest." Drake told his Dragonite as he recalled it to its Pokeball.
With the mighty dragon safe in his Pokeball, Drake went over to the referee and received a golden statue, the Orange League trophy, he then walked over to Ash with one final duty to perform on this field today. Upon seeing him approaching, Ash ended his celebration with Aerodactyl and Pikachu, turning towards the champion.
"After defeating the Orange League champion, Ash not only receives the Orange League winner's trophy but also goes down in the Pummelo Hall of Fame." The announcer informed as the crowd calmed down slightly, despite losing Drake still holds a lot of authority as he is still the champion after all.
"Ash, as proof of your victory here in the Orange League. It is my pleasure to present you with this." Drake told the raven-haired boy as he handed the golden trophy over. Ash smiled and gladly accepted the prize for his victory.
"Thank you, Drake." Ash thanked as he marvelled at the trophy in his hands.
"Unfortunately, Ash. I can't offer you the second prize. Normally you would be given the chance to take my place as the champion but to take on the role you need to be eighteen or older." Drake informed. "But you could be offered the place once you turn eighteen.".
"That's okay, Drake. I guessed the champion role has an age limit considering gym leader roles do as well." Ash replied. "And even if I could, I'd have to turn it down. We still have many more journeys to go on and friends to meet after all.".
"Hehehe, ya know Ash. You remind me a lot of myself at your age." Drake smiled at the young boy's enthusiasm. "I know you'll do great things wherever you go next.".
"Thanks Drake, it means a lot." Ash replied honestly.
"Now, before we go to the Hall of Fame. We need a photo of you and your team on the field." Drake informed.
"Sure thing." Ash replied. "But, do you mind if all my Pokemon can be in it? I couldn't have made it here without all of them, even though a few couldn't battle in the league itself.". Do to the removal of a carry limit during a league, Ash does have everyone with him still.
"That's shouldn't be an issue at all." Drake smiled, even now he is showing the bond between those that didn't even get a chance to battle with him.
"Allow me." Haunter appeared in front of Ash with a scarily large smile.
"Gwaa! Haunter, don't do that!" Ash commanded while in shock from her surprise appearance.
Haunter, being Haunter, didn't pay him any attention though and clicked her fingers. Suddenly, the tune from the Pokemon centre to tell trainers that their Pokemon have been fully healed and ready to be picked up, played. The psychotic ghost next used Psychic and released: Pidgeot, Ivysaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Gyarados, Muk, Primeape, Sandslash, Tauros, Dragonair, Lapras and Snorlax. Even those that had just been knocked out in the battle looked as good as knew.
"What sort of photo would it be if five of the Pokemon were injured?" Haunter asked the readers. "Now we just gotta get in the right placement.".
Somehow, she was able to triple her hands in size and quickly used them to pick up and move her fellow teammates, somehow even being able to move Snorlax with ease. How she can just disobey the laws of physics is anyone's guess. With the Pokemon lined up in three rows, the largest Pokemon like: Snorlax, Gyarados, Blastoise, Charizard, Aerodactyl and Pidgeot being at the back. Ash was in the middle row, directly in the centre with Pikachu on his shoulder, with the medium sized Pokemon, like: Primeape, Tauros, Lapras and Dragonair on either side of him to make up the middle row. Finally, the shorter Pokemon took the front row with: Ivysaur, Muk and Sandslash (who was keeping his distance from the other Pokemon).
Haunter decided to float above the group just in frame of the shot but she also decided to make the image a little more interesting by doing the 'draw me like one of your Kalos girls' pose.
"Ya see, the term is normally draw me like one of your French girls but because Kalos was based on France, this is keeping it in-universe." Haunter explained. "Plus, considering who Ash's mate is in this fic series, the 'Kalos girl' just makes things even funnier.".
"Haunter!" Ash shouted in a scolding voice.
Mumbling to herself, she floated down and joined the front row since it was the smallest of all the rows, not doing anything to 'improve' the image in anyway, or at least what she considers an improvement. Smiled at the ghost type, his own Gengar has been a handful from time to time but Haunter seems to be on a completely different level. Chuckling to himself, he took a camera out and took the photo of the latest Orange League victor.
"Let's hear it once more for the Orange League victor, Ash Ketchum!" The announcer shouted.
Ash looked around at all the people cheering for him. He had actually done it. No. They did it. He and his Pokemon worked extremely hard to make it this far and they succeeded. This was definitely one of the happiest moments of Ash's life right now. He knew it was cliché, but he almost felt like crying because he was so happy. He knew his mum probably was actually crying right now after seeing him win. He just did Pallet Town proud by winning the league. Ms. Yvonne, Mrs Green, Professor Oak, Daisy and Aunt Yellow had all probably watched and were cheering them on as well. It was possible Gary watched it too, but because he hasn't been answering his Pokegear number since leaving, it is just as likely that he didn't know Ash was competing. In the back of his mind, Ash briefly wondered if his dad had managed to see the battle, too. Ash sure hoped. Although it doesn't really matter, this was his time to shine. He breathed a sigh of contentment. It hardly got better than this.
To say leaving the stadium was difficult, was a massive understatement. As soon as Ash stepped foot outside of the trainer tunnel, he was bombarded with hundreds of new fans and news reporters for both TV and newspapers. One reporter had pushed her way to the front and shoved a microphone in Ash's face.
"Please, our views are dying to know. How did you win the tournament?!" The reporter asked.
"Umm, well. I guess I couldn't have done it without my amazing Pokemon or friends." Ash stuttered, not being used to all the attention he was receiving. Did all league winners have to go through this? In all honestly, it is a little overwhelming.
"Can I shock them?" Pikachu asked hopefully. All of the attention was getting on his nerve. One look from Ash gave Pikachu his answer. Pikachu pouted in response to the answer he got and groaned. "Your no fun.".
"How often do you train your Pokemon?" The report asked, seeing as she can't understand what Pikachu was saying.
"Umm, at least three hours on the days we are travelling but we take travelling breaks where we can train for most of the day." Ash replied with a little more confidence. "I also make sure to regularly rotate my team so they all get the right amount of attention and care.".
Through the crowd of fans and reporters, Ash's friends were able to push their way to the league winner. Leaf was leading the way through the crowd and once she reached the raven-haired boy, she gave him a bone crushing hug. Misty and Drake each stood behind and said their own congratulation although it was drowned out by the cheering crowd. Some were even surprised to see a boy who looks identical to Ash, apart from the outfit they were wearing.
"We love you, Ash!" A group of fan girls screamed as Serena finally made it to her boyfriend.
Not happy with what was just shouted to her boyfriend she grumbled something under her breath but smiled none the less, she did promise Ash not to get jealous if someone showed him attention after all. Although Ash wasn't fooled.
"I thought we agreed to trust each other." Ash whispered in her ear, as he greeted her with a hug.
"I do, I just didn't get the chance to congratulate you yet." Serena whispered back, pecking his cheek before standing by his side, interlocking their hands and looping her arm around his, this is a subtle but clear message to those fan girls that her boyfriend isn't available. The message was also noticed by the reporters.
"The champion has a girlfriend!" The reporter announced as she shoved the microphone into Serena's face. "What's it like to have a champion as a boyfriend? Give the champion a big kiss for the camera.".
"Urr, what?" Serena muttered, surprised she had become the centre of attention all of a sudden.
As Ash blushed bright red from being told to kiss Serena, not that he has a problem with the gesture in general, it is just doing it in front of all these people. He may have pecked her cheek but that was to calm her down and to shut the new fan girls up because he did promise her to be more supportive on such issues.
Luckily for the couple, help came to the rescue. A hand rested on Ash's shoulder as the person stood on his side opposite to Serena. Turning to the source, they found the Orange League champion, Drake. He probably just took his Pokemon to the medical bay in the stadium and wanted the raven-haired boy to have a taste of fame which comes with being a successful trainer.
Nodding his head at the reporters, they understood the silent message and moved aside, creating a clear walk way for the group to travel down. It appears that Drake holds a level of authority that the elite four and Blue hold back in Kanto. It was very impressive to watch.
Leading the way through the crowd was Drake, as they walked towards the small dome next to the stadium. It was still quite noisy so there was a sort of silent agreement for them to chat once in the building and away from the crowd.
It took the group around ten minutes to finally make it into the dome building next to the stadium. That may seem like a long time but that was because despite the crowd creating a clear walking for them to walk across, they couldn't cut across the grass for a short cut and the reporters still attempted to get some sort of comment from Ash or his friends.
The group sighed in content about finally escaping the crowd. Drake stood in front of the group of five kids and three Pokemon as he waited for their full attention and thanks to his aura which demands a certain level of respect, it didn't take long at all.
"As you can probably tell, this is the Orange League hall of fame." Drake informed. "With this being the lobby of the hall, this would normally be the cut off point for anyone who hasn't won the Orange trophy, but I am willing to make an exception for your friends here.".
"Oh, thank you." Serena thanked first before she realised none of them had been introduced to the champion. "My names Serena.".
"Good to meet you, Serena." Drake replied with a friendly smile. Although it soon faded as he waited for the others to be introduced.
"I'm Leaf." Leaf jumped up next, being the hyper-active girl, she is. She also grabbed Drake and pulled him forward. "This is Ash's twin brother, he's also called Drake and Marowak is his partner.".
"Well it's nice to meet you, Leaf." Drake chuckled at the brunette. Although that also quickly faded as he turned to the other Drake. "And same to you Drake.".
"Thanks." Drake smiled slightly as he waved his hand, if given the chance then he would've introduced himself, but Leaf just had to jump in like an Agility Pikachu high off sugar, does she ever calm down? Of course, he would never ask her in person, she is too scary to ask something like that.
"Guess that leaves me, I'm Misty." Misty introduced herself before things got awkward after the, whatever happened between Drake and Leaf.
"Pleased to meet you, Misty." Drake smiled at her once more. With the introductions over since he already met both Ash and Pikachu back on the battlefield, and Togepi is currently asleep so not in a position to meet someone knew.
With all the introductions done, Drake turned around to a pair of white double doors with some golden engraving to give off a sort of royal design. He walked up to them and took a key out of his pocket. First, he went over to the keypad on the wall to the right of the doors and typed in some sort of code before placing the key into the lock. Guess this place is big on security if it requires both a pass-code and key to enter.
Now both the alarm are turned off and the doors are unlocked, Drake pushed the double doors open with a smirk on his face. As they opened the group was met with an almost blinding light. As soon as it faded, they realised it was so bright because the second room was also completely white, looking closely you'd see that the walls are made out of marble although the outer building is just painted white. Around the outer wall were different stands which showed the different trainers of all ages and their Pokemon teams. A lot of them contained Pokemon from other regions which got Drake curious, so he turned to the champion of the same name.
"Not to sound rude but when Ash and I looked up your team on the league database, we noticed all your Pokemon were native to Kanto." Drake replied. "Why is that, I would've thought a champion would've been too more regions.".
"Huh?" Drake raised an eyebrow at the young man's detective skills, before a light smile fell on his face. "The truth is, I am from Kanto and although I competed in four leagues before the Orange League. All of them were the Indigo League. My dream was to make it as part of Kanto's Elite Four or Champion, so I based all my training in that one region. That was before I was offered the chance to take the Orange League on.".
In the centre of the of the room was a white marble pillar and some sort of computer. With his story over, Drake made his way over to this device before taking his camera out from earlier. He used a small wire to attach the two devices before typing away on the keyboard or using the mouse. After about a minute, he signified for the others to approach, since they had been checking out previous league winners.
"Ash, you are allowed to choose a free place around the edge, which will be your stand." Drake informed the raven-haired boy.
"Hmm, I'll choose over there." Ash pointed to a free space to the North-West.
"Now all we need is your signature." Drake told him as he handed a pen and moved to the side of the computer device.
Ash happily walked up to the device and noticed the layout was the same as the other stands with the image Drake took of all his Pokemon and a gold plate below the image with his name on. Seeing as all the other stands had the signature on the image, Ash also signed his name on the bottom right corner.
"So, do you come here often?" Misty asked the champion.
"I tend to come in maybe once year. I find it is a good place to reflect on how the last year and to get ready for when the league is coming up again." Drake answered honestly. He turned towards Ash as he remembered something else he had to tell the raven-haired boy. "Which reminds me, Ash. Seeing as you are a part of the hall now, you are allowed to visit whenever you like.".
"Cool, so do I get a key and the code?" Ash asked with clear excitement.
"Unfortunately, not, the keys are only for the current league champion and the PLA president." Drake informed. "If you wish to visit, you'll need to get in touch because one of us would have to accompany you. It's to avoid the keys being lost or stolen while you continue travelling.".
"That's okay, I understand." Ash smiled in response.
"Well the crowd should've disputed by now, so it should be clear for you to leave." Drake informed. "Sorry for the short time here but I have a few things to sort out now that the league is over.". Understanding the reasoning completely, the group did as he said and took their leave. Luckily, Drake was right about the crowd.
With still a few hours of the day left, the group split up to do their own thing. Misty took the chance to go and call Rudy now that the battle is over. Leaf dragged Drake off somewhere which could be classed as against his will, which left Ash and Serena together. It was Serena who made the suggestion that completely caught Ash off guard. Although with nothing else to do, and no excuse not to, he had no choice but to agree. Which is why they are currently shopping.
They stopped for an afternoon snack at a cafe and picked up a couple souvenirs for their mothers back in Kanto. Pummelo market was actually quite small, only having one for each type of store, like: jewellery, flower, sports, trainers stop ext. As the couple walked around, almost everyone stopped and took notice of Ash, while not swarming him like earlier, it was still a little embarrassing. Soon Serena came across the store she was looking for, the clothes store.
"Come on Ash, I want to pick out our outfits together for our next journey like we did back in the Indigo League." Serena pleaded as she gave Ash a cute look.
Ash's cheeks turned red before he sighed in defeat nodded to agree with plan. Although this has been much better than previous times they have been shopping, it might be because he is maturing but Ash is actually having quite a bit of fun with this activity. Serena was excited and ran into the store first, with Ash following shortly behind. As he passed through the door, a well-dressed man approached him.
"Good day, Mr Ketchum. May I say what an honour it is to have the league winner in my store." The man greeted Ash. Based on what he said, it is easy to assume that he is the owner of the shop. "Please, take this as a small gift from me and you may have a generous discount on your final order.".
Ash accepted the small box of the well-dressed man, with embarrassment, he doesn't want to seem rude and reject the gift, but does he really need all of this attention? The store owner took his leave as to not over crowd the league winner, it may seem weird that he is giving both the gift and discount to Ash, but you need to consider the fact that just by having the league winner in his shop, more customers will come in, so he is benefiting in the long run.
"What did you get Ash?" Serena asked. Ash smiled at her opened the small square box, so they could discover what the gift was together. Inside the box was medium length blue ribbon. It may seem small or weird, but it is still nice to be given the gift. After all, it is the thought that counts.
"It's a ribbon." Ash stated obviously.
"Cool, I bet that could make a good accessory." Serena smiled before turning to look around the store. "Come on, we don't have time to find some new outfits.".
Ash chuckled at his girlfriend's excitement, Serena has always been good with fashion, so it is no surprise she is excited to go clothes shopping especially since they need to be careful about how much they bring so their travels aren't slowed down. With a slight smile, he followed the honey-blonde girl into the store.
First thing they decided to do was look for Serena's outfit. After about ten minutes, Serena took what she found into the changing rooms to put her new outfit together. She came out soon after in her new outfit. She had a pink sleeveless dress that went down to her mid-thigh with a red sleeveless vest over it. She still wore her black knee-high socks, but she changed her shoes to brown boots and had changed her hat to a red hat which has a hint of pink to it.
"What do you think?" Serena asked her boyfriend, as she did a spin to show off her full attire.
"You look great Serena." Ash smiled as he took in her new appearance although something seemed a little wrong. "But, I think something is missing.".
"What's missing?" Serena asked sadly but also surprise. Normally when going clothes shopping, Ash would say she looks great even if the outfit makes no sense but while sad that her outfit was missing something, she was surprised that Ash is making more than just a nice comment.
Ash remained thinking for about a minute about what could be missing before he realised what it was. He walked up to his girlfriend and took the ribbon he received earlier. He took the deep sea blue accessory out of its box before he carefully tied it around her neck in a loose bow. Once he was happy with how it looked, he smiled at her and gestured towards the mirror.
"Perfect." Ash smiled as Serena looked at her new accessory. "What do you think?".
Serena looked at the little addition Ash made to her outfit with a happy smile as she placed her hand over her heart, it actually pulls the outfit together and was a great suggestion but the more importantly, Ash was the one to suggest it, proving her boyfriend is truly maturing ever so slightly. She turned towards Ash and planted a small kiss on his cheek, causing his cheeks to turn slightly pink.
"It's perfect, Ash. Thank you." Serena whispered. "I am going to get changed back to my normal clothes, why don't you go and start looking for a new outfit.".
Happy with the arrangement, Ash walked over to a different section of the store as Serena returned to the changing rooms. Searching through the different items on display, Ash was carefully taking his time to choose each item. Before Serena had returned, Ash pulled out several different items to go and try on. When he returned from the changing room in the outfit he put together, he found Serena waiting for him.
The first part of his outfit is the official Orange League hat, which is a similar style to the Indigo League hat just with a different symbol on the front. His jacket was a dark red, similar colour to the one Drake wore in Kanto, along with the medium length sleeves but the sleeves were black instead of white this time and the yellow lining on his Kanto jacket was also black. He had a new pair of gloves which were black red and black with a pair of black jeans and dark red trainers.
"What do you think?" Ash asked.
"It looks great." Serena smiled. While a little upset he will no-longer be wearing the outfit she put together for him, she has to admit it isn't that big of a deal and it is nice to see Ash really is starting to mature.
With both outfits put together, Ash changed back into his normal travelling clothes before going to pay for both outfits. Serena assured Ash she would pay for her outfit but to get the discount on her clothes it would have to go through with Ash's and paid together. Although once paid for, Ash didn't let Serena give some money back because he received a decent sized prize money gift for winning so he thought it would be nice to treat Serena with it.
It was late at night, Ash had just called Professor Oak and sent most of his team back to the lab because his time with the no-carry limit is over since the league is now over. His current team is: Pikachu, Pidgeot, Blastoise, Primeape, Sandslash and Lapras. With Pikachu as the obvious acceptation, Ash wanted to give those who battled today a break.
As he walked through the hotel he grabbed his Pokegear as it started vibrating. It was just after ten at night, who would be calling at that time? The caller ID revealed it was his dad, Red Ketchum. Answering the call, the screen lit up with his dad's face.
"Hi dad." Ash smiled.
"Hey Ash, did I wake you?" Red asked.
"No, I just sorted out the team with Professor Oak and heading to bed now." Ash explained.
"Either way, sorry for calling so late. It was the only chance I got to call, and I just finished talking with Drake." Red explained. "Although I did get to watch your battle today.".
"You did?" Ash asked. "How did you know I was even battling?". He had hoped his dad watched but he never got in contact while on Pummelo so how did is dad learn about his battle?
"Drake called me yesterday, he wanted to make sure I knew." Red explained. "Unfortunately, I didn't get to watch your previous battles.".
"That's okay, it's good to know you watched today." Ash replied. "Plus, you'd be glad to know both Drake and I are getting on better than ever. We have both learned a lot from each other.".
"What did I tell you, it has only been three months give or take but you can both see a difference." Red explained. "Your two sides to the same coin.".
"Yeah..." Ash chuckled lightly. "But it might not last forever, we have decided to split up our travels again for our next journey since we will both be competing in whichever regional league it is...".
"And you're scared your relationship will convert back to how it was?" Red guessed.
"... Yeah." Ash admitted.
"I wouldn't worry, Ash. When you split up at the start of your first journey, you and Leaf still maintained your sibling-like friendship." Red explained. "Now that you both understand each other, it would take a lot for you to revert to how you were.".
"Thanks dad, that helps a lot." Ash smiled, followed quickly by a yawn. "Sorry dad, guess I am tired.".
"Its fine, Ash. Sleep well." Red replied before a smirk grew on his face. "You wouldn't want to keep Serena, after all.".
Ash blushed bright red as the screen faded to black. How did his father know about the new sleeping arrangements? Did Drake mention it to him? Probably not, Drake said he would keep it secret and even back when they didn't get along, Drake would stick to his word. Maybe it is something to do with aura.
Walking to the room he shares with Serena, he managed to push the blush away. In all honest, it isn't a massive problem that Red knows as they aren't really doing anything wrong. By the time Ash reached the room, he had managed to get rid of his blush.
He entered the room to find Serena in her nightwear on the bed reading a magazine. Turning to see who just entered, she smiled and closed the magazine. Pikachu was already asleep on the chair with Eevee, and Togepi was asleep on the bedside table.
"There you are, I was being to think you got lost." Serena smiled as she sat up. Ash approached her and planted a small kiss on her cheek before responding.
"Sorry, my dad called on the way back." Ash explained. "You didn't have to wait up, ya know.".
"I know." Serena smiled. "I wanted to.". In all honesty, she would struggle to fall asleep even if she tried as she has gotten used to having Ash to cuddle up to.
"Well give me a couple minutes to get ready and I'll be right back." Ash told her with one more peck before going into the bathroom.
It didn't take him long to change into his nightwear or preform his normal night-time routine. Once done he walked back into the main room and sat on the bed next to Serena who wasted no time in leaning against him and sighing in content.
"Serena..." Ash tried to speak but he was instantly shushed by his girlfriend.
"Don't talk, Ash. This is our last night here, so let's just cuddle and enjoy it." Serena replied with her eyes closed.
Ash smiled at her and pecked her cheek, happy to fulfil her request. He carefully guided her to a lying down position before pulling the quilt over them. Serena made sure to adjust so her head was on Ash's chest as he wrapped his arm around her. This may seem a little childish, but Ash has become like her big cuddly teddy bear at night. Although before either of them could fall to sleep, Serena pushed herself up and crashed her lips into Ash's for a long goodnight kiss.
"Sweet dreams, my champion. Love you." Serena whispered as she returned to the cuddling position.
"Love you too." Ash smiled as he blushed at the 'my champion' part.
Tomorrow they need to set off for Tangelo island to get there cruise back home, it should take about three full days of swimming on Lapras which will be their last chance to look for her family. Despite having a plan in place in case they don't run into her family, it would be nice for the transport Pokemon to get some closure on that part of her life, which is why they will be looking just as hard as they have been. Hopefully everything will turn out for the best for the water ice type.
Thanks for reading... Please Favourite, Follow and Review. Also, feel free to ask any questions through PM, I will answer them all, although don't expect too big of spoilers. I really appreciate the support. Thank you and see ya next time...