Ash's POV
I stood, looking around in darkness.
Where am I? I thought.
A light appeared and it slowly began to change its form. The form took the shape of Arceus. Then Dialga appeared, followed by Palkia. Before I knew it, all of the Legendary Pokemon had appeared before me!
"Chosen One, you have acquired a rare and powerful ability. That mark on your hand signifies that you are the Master of Legends, controller of all Legendary Pokemon. Humans may have already recognized you as a Pokemon Master, but now, you are a true master of ALL Pokemon, including us. If you are ever in need of our power, you may summon us and we will fight for you. We can sense that you will not use our power for evil, for your heart is pure and strong. We are proud to call you our master." Arceus said, its voice echoing.
All of the Legendary Pokemon bowed respectfully before me and slowly disappeared.
I blinked and woke up in a hospital room. "It was all just a dream." I muttered.
I was staying at the Viridian City hospital until I got my strength back. I leaned back against the pillow and looked at the ceiling, but then looked at the marking on my right hand.
I never imagined that I would ever gain the ability to summon the Legendary Pokemon. When I was on Shamouti Island, I could barely believe that I was the Chosen One...and now I'm the Master of Legends. I've come a long way and it's an honor that all of the Legendary Pokemon that I've met on my journey trust me enough for this. This shows how far I've come and how strong I've become.
I looked up from my hand and looked at the window. I saw that it was morning and I gently shook Pikachu awake. A knock was made on the door and it opened. A young nurse with honey blonde hair tied in a bun and blue eyes walked in with a tray of food. Breakfast time!
"Here's your breakfast. How do you feel?" she asked, placing the tray on the table.
"Better than I've felt in a while." I replied.
She slid the table over to me. "That's good. If you need anything, just call for us." she said and left.
I looked at the food and even though it was hospital food, which usually isn't that good, it was still food. And it was a lot more than I had eaten while in captivity. I started eating and before I knew it, my food was gone. I ate a second plate because I was still really hungry and needed to regain some weight that I had lost.
When that was finished, I pushed the table away as far as I could. Another knock was made at the door and it opened to reveal Lance and the Elite Four.
"How are you feeling?" Lance asked as he closed the door.
"A lot better." I said.
"That's good. We thought that we should explain what's happened while you were missing."
"Okay, that's fine. I'm curious to know how you found me." I said.
"Well, then we'll start there." Bruno said.
"It all started when your son and his friends came to the gym in Fuchsia City. I secretly watched his battle and once your son had finished, I revealed myself. I spoke of a tournament, which Lance will tell you more about afterwards. Adam told me that he had encountered Team Rocket and said that you were alive because he believed that your disappearance and Team Rocket's supposed return couldn't be a coincidence. He told me that they had run into Team Rocket and he mentioned that they spoke of the Temple of Legends." Koga explained. "I could tell that he was telling the truth because of his tone of voice and eye contact."
"So Koga requested a meeting and he told us what your son had told him. We started researching about the Temple of Legends. Then we found it, but at the same time as Team Rocket." Bruno finished.
"Okay...so about this tournament?" I questioned.
"Right, the tournament." Lance said.
"Well, we planned to have a tournament to determine a new Pokemon Master. We only did this due to the fact that we had no leads as to how you had vanished. A poll that was put up to the public was voted on and declared you to be dead. We had no choice but to have a backup plan in case the worst had happened to you. But we're going to call the tournament off, since you're back now." Lance explained.
"Don't let anyone else know that I'm back or else they'll broadcast it on television and the news will have a field day. I want to see my family first and I want them to know first...in person." I said.
"We understand. Don't worry, Ash. We won't say anything until you return home and then the whole world will know of your return."
"Thank you. Any information from the Pokemon Hunters that the police captured?"
"We learned their names and how many there are and where their base is, but that's it. We've captured Hunters Oliver, Mya, and Darien, but Michael and the Team Rocket boss are still out there somewhere."
"But they have nowhere to run." said Karen. "We investigated the place where their base is supposed to be, but we only found the remains of Team Rocket's base."
"The remains of the base...but that makes no sense! Why would Team Rocket blow up their own headquarters with their own members inside?" Ash asked.
"We have one theory. There was a traitor in Team Rocket who sabotaged them. We have no leads or ideas about who it could be or if they're even alive. They may have died when they set off the bomb."
"Well, it doesn't matter now. Their base is gone and it's only a matter of time before we find them." said Lance. "Well, that's everything that's happened. Get better soon, Ash."
The five of them walked out and as the door was closing, Adam and the girl who looked like Misty entered.
Adam's POV
Michelle and I were walking to my dad's room and as we arrived at the door, it opened to reveal the Elite Four leaving. We slipped in before the door closed and my dad looked at us.
"Hey, dad." I greeted.
"Hey, Adam. Who are you?" he asked Michelle.
"I'm Michelle Waterflower. I'm Misty's daughter." she replied.
"Ah, yes. I saw the resemblance when I first saw you, but I didn't know for sure."
"Well, you were right. I've been traveling with Adam and Jason. He's told me a lot about you and about the stories that he's heard about your journey. It's an honor to finally meet you in person, Master Ketchum."
"So what kind of trainer are you? What have you been doing on your journey with the boys?"
"I've been competing in contests. I'm a coordinator and Dawn was my inspiration to become a coordinator."
My dad smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Michelle. How many ribbons do you have?"
"I have four and the contest here in Viridian City is my last chance to get my fifth ribbon so that I can enter the Grand Festival. I've lost the last two contests I've entered, though...I've missed out on getting my final ribbon twice."
"Well, Dawn went through the same thing that you went through. She was discouraged and she wanted to quit. But don't give up. Trust me, I know what it feels like to feel like you'll never get what you want or feel like you'll never beat someone in a battle."
I guessed that he was talking about his journey in Sinnoh when he had lost badly to Paul at Lake Acuity.
"So how did you two meet? Did she start traveling with you after Pikachu destroyed her bike?" he asked.
Michelle and I laughed and I shook my head. "Ironically, it was actually Misty's suggestion that we all travel together." I said.
"She said it's better to travel with friends than alone. She was right." Michelle added.
"That it is. Are you scared of Bug Pokemon, like your mom?"
"No, I'm not. I actually find Caterpie cute and my mom thinks I'm crazy for thinking that!" Michelle said, laughing slightly.
"So Adam, how has it been traveling with her? Do you two fight a lot like Misty and I did?"
"No, it's been really easy traveling with her. We haven't fought at all and we're always comforting the other when we're hurt or upset."
A look of confusion came across my dad's face, so I explained.
"I cheered Michelle up after she lost in the Vermillion City and Saffron City contests. She helped me feel better after I first heard that people had said that you were dead and the time when Paul beat me in a battle and said you were dead." I said.
"Honestly, she's like a sister to Jason and I. When we left Pallet Town, we never imagined that anyone else would be joining us on our journey, but now, I can't imagine traveling without her."
My dad smiled at how close we were.
"Adam has also saved my life from Team Rocket, one of the Pokemon Hunters." Michelle said.
"Saved your life?" he asked.
"Yes, we ran into Hunter Oliver and we ran, but I tripped and fell and he caught me. I was almost gone forever, but thanks to Adam's plan, they saved me from being taken prisoner." she explained.
"She saved my life too, from Hunter Mya. She helped get me warmed up after I was freezing and almost dead." I said.
"Wait, did you say freezing?" he asked.
"Yes, she completely froze my body and I almost died from the cold. Michelle held me and warmed me up."
"The Pokemon Hunters caught you more than once?"
"Yes..."
"I'm sorry,"
"It's fine. They never caught all three of us at once. We've been there for each other and helped each other escape. We could trust each other with our lives."
"Well, I'm glad that you two have such a strong relationship. It's better than the relationship that I had with Misty, but we were still friends no matter what. I'm glad that you and Jason have met someone like Michelle." said dad.
"I'm glad that I got to meet them, too." Michelle said.
"Same here. I can't imagine myself going on my journey and not knowing you, Michelle."
"Likewise, Adam. You and Jason are the best thing that's ever happened to me."
We stared at each other with smiles on our faces as we thought about all the times that we shared together. Little did I know that my dad was seeing something else developing between Michelle and I.
A knock was made on the door and it opened. Jason walked in with a bag in his hands.
"I got you some stuff." he said, handing the bag to my dad.
"Thanks, Jason." my dad, said looking into the bag.
My dad removed a razor and a can of shaving cream along with scissors. He had grown long hair and a thick beard in the time he was captured. This would make him look like his old self again.
"Oh yeah, I think you would like your stuff back." Jason said, removing his backpack from his shoulders.
He removed my dad's stuff that he had taken from Team Rocket's base and gave it to him.
"My Pokeballs, my Pokedex, everything is here. Thanks, Jason."
A knock and the door opened to reveal...Ritchie!
"Well, good to see that the Pokemon Master lives." Ritchie said, closing the door.
"Ritchie, it's good to see you again." my dad said happily. Ritchie and my dad go way back.
"Same here, Ash. Jason told me you were here at the hospital so I thought I would stop by."
Sparky jumped down from Ritchie's shoulder and both my dad's Pikachu and mine ran over to him.
"So how's the gym?"
"It's been doing well. I haven't really had many challengers this month. It's been slow for a while."
"Well, we'll be battling you soon, Ritchie." I said.
"Yeah, real soon." Jason said.
"Well, I look forward to it." Ritchie said.
"Good luck, you'll need it. I've seen how tough Ritchie can be. He even beat me once." said dad.
Then, Michelle remembered something. "When is the contest being held?" she asked. "We've been so busy with Team Rocket that I forgot to check."
"It's, um...this afternoon." Jason answered in a nervous voice.
"What?!" she cried. "The contest is today?"
"Good luck, Michelle. I'll be watching on the TV here in my room." my dad said.
Michelle gave a nod before running out of the room with a panicked look on her face.
Michelle's POV
I couldn't believe that the contest was this afternoon! That only gave me a few hours to prepare for the biggest contest of my life! At least I knew what Pokemon I was going to use. I was going to use Togetic for the appeals and Jolteon for the battles. Togetic was my best performer and Jolteon was my most experienced Pokemon. This was my final chance to win!
So there I was, in my final contest, standing backstage in my contest outfit and waiting. None of my friends were there, since they all had five ribbons already. I went and sat down on one of the benches and waited for the contest to begin or for Adam and Jason to come backstage and talk to me. I fiddled with the beads that rested against my arms.
"You'll do great, Michelle. You're going to win." Adam said, startling me. I looked up and saw that Adam and Jason were there.
"Yeah, you're going to win." Jason added.
"You're wearing some of the perfume that Erika gave you." Adam noted.
I nodded my head. "Yep, I put on a little for good luck." I replied.
"You're gonna do great. You're going to the Grand Festival." Jason said.
"Exactly. Good luck, you've got this." Adam said, giving me an encouraging hug.
The boys left me and I turned my attention to the screen, watching as Jillian took the stage.
"Good afternoon, everybody! It's time for our final contest of the year. Today, the contestants will be competing for the Viridian City Ribbon. This is their final chance to get into the Grand Festival for this is the last contest before the Grand Festival begins! I'm your host, Jillian! Now let's meet our wonderful judges!" Jillian cried.
I watched as the judges said their comments, but I couldn't bother to listen. My stomach was feeling like a pit of Butterfrees at the moment. This was my last chance, no more room for error, and I had had very little preparation. I was so nervous, it felt like I'd jumped back in time to my first contest.
"You can do this." I said to myself. I took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall, watching as the other coordinators did their appeals. Before I knew it, my turn was next. I stood backstage behind the curtains, waiting for my name to be announced. I took a breath and looked at Togetic's Pokeball.
"We can do this, Togetic." I said softly.
"Next up, we have Michelle!" Jillian cried.
The curtains parted. I took a breath and ran out onto the stage jumping over the stairs. I spun and tossed my Pokeball, my skirt twirling.
"Togetic, spotlight!" I cried. Togetic appeared, surrounded by hearts.
"Magical Leaf!" I cried. Sparkles fell from the hearts as the Magical Leaf burst them.
"Not wasting any time, they start the performance right off!" Jillian cried.
"Now Togetic, use Sweet Kiss and twirl!" I cried. Once again, the ribbon illusion was created.
"Now use Wish!" With Sweet Kiss still in affect, the Wish sparkles made a pretty sight. I curtsied and Togetic flew and landed on my head with her head bowed.
After a few more performances, the appeals round was over. I waited backstage with my heart pounding.
"Now to announce the eight coordinators that will be moving on to round two!" Jillian cried. I watched as one by one, pictures were shown, but none being mine until the second last coordinator.
"I made it..." I said softly.
I looked to see who I would be facing off against. I looked around and caught the eyes of my opponent and he nodded his head at me.
With only a minute left, I was leading in points.
"Jolteon use, Thunder!" I cried.
The buzzer went off.
"The winner and the coordinator who will be moving on to the finals is...Michelle!" Jillian cried.
Yes! I was in the finals. Just one more battle and I would win my final ribbon.
"To my left is Michelle, and to my right is Jace! Five minutes on the clock, and begin!"
"Jolteon, spotlight!" I cried.
"Flareon, show them!" Jace cried.
A battle of Eevee evolutions.
"We have a battle of the Eevee evolutions!" Jillian cried.
"Jolteon, use Thunder!" I cried.
"Flamethrower!"
Both moves battled for dominance.
"Spin!" I cried.
Jolteon lowered herself to the ground and started to spin, keeping Thunder in affect. The two moves merged together, creating a vortex of fire and electricity. Glancing up at the points, I saw that Jace's points lowered by a good amount. Glancing at Jace, I saw that he was shocked.
Jolteon spun out of the spin and waited.
"Fire Spin!"
"Quick Attack!"
Jolteon barely avoided the Fire Spin.
"Use Sand Attack!" yelled Jace. Jolteon was stopped as sand hit her in her eyes. She was pawing at her eyes, trying to clear them. "Now use Bite!" Jolteon cried out as Flareon's teeth bit her leg.
"Discharge!" I cried. Jolteon launched the attack and Flareon released Jolteon. Sparks were lingering on Flareon's body, showing that it had been paralyzed.
"Time's up!"
What? It was over already?
"The winner is...Michelle!"
I won? I WON! Jolteon ran over to me and I thanked her as I held her. I walked across the field and held my hand out.
"Great battle, Jace. Your Flareon is great."
"Thanks, your Jolteon is, too."
I shook his hand and walked to where the judges and Jillian were waiting. I let Togetic out of her Pokeball as I walked. This was her victory just as much as it was Jolteon's.
"Here is the Viridian Ribbon. We understand that this is your final ribbon, correct?" Mr. Contesta asked.
"Yes, it is."
"Well, we'll see you in the Grand Festival."
I took the ribbon and looked at it. I only had hours to prepare and I was still able to get my final ribbon. I did it! All of my past contest losses were forgotten and didn't matter now.
I lifted the ribbon as the crowd cheered and Jolteon jumped for joy and Togetic happily flew around above my head. It was great to have my Pokemon share the experience with me.
I walked backstage and changed after I returned my Pokemon. I pulled my bag onto my shoulder and walked out from backstage. I made my way outside of the contest hall and I spotted Adam and Jason out front.
As soon as I saw them, all my feelings of doubt, fear, and nervousness were gone. It finally hit me, I finally realized what had happened. All of my joy that had been contained suddenly exploded and I ran over to them.
"I did it! I made it!" I cried happily as I jumped, nearly knocking them over as I hugged them. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face, it was the happiest that I had felt in my entire life! They both hugged me back.
"You did great, Michelle." Jason said.
"Great job, Michelle." Adam said.
We stood there for a minute in each others' arms as the boys shared my joy and we all laughed happily.
"You guys were right! I did win! Thank you!" I said.
"You're welcome. But it was all you, Michelle." said Jason.
"Yeah, you and your Pokemon made this happen. You should be very proud of yourself." Adam added.
"I am very proud. Proud of my Pokemon, and proud that I have two great friends like you guys." I said.
"I don't know where the three of us would be if we didn't have each other." Adam said to us.
We walked back to the hospital to visit Ash again. We walked into the room.
"Congrats on your final ribbon, Michelle. You're really talented. I see that you learned the spin technique from Dawn."
"Thank you." I said. It was cool to be praised by someone that I had just met. Someone who also happened to be the husband of my idol and the father of my friend and brotherly figure.
"Now all that's left is for you two to battle Ritchie and get your badges to enter the Pokemon League." I said to Adam and Jason.
"After a big win like that today, we just have to win our battles, too!" Jason said confidently.
Author's Note: After failing to win in the last two contests, Michelle has finally won her fifth ribbon in the biggest contest of her life!
And with Ash quickly recovering his strength and the boys pumped for their gym battles with Ritchie, things are really looking up for our heroes!
Be sure to keep reading and find out how their final gym battles go in the next chapter of Pokemon NG!