"The winner of the battle and the new Pokemon League Champion is...ADAM KETCHUM!" the announcer cried. The stadium filled with loud cheers as the crowd started to scream.
I won...I'VE WON! I was able to win my first-ever Pokemon League Tournament, something that dad hadn't even been able to do. I thought to myself in complete shock. I'm one step closer to my dream. One challenge is over, but many more still await me.
I shook my head and heard the deafening cheers and smiled and laughed happily. I had triumphed!
"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu cried, jumping onto my shoulder, saying his name happily. He was so happy for me.
"Thank you, Venusaur. You were great. Take a well-deserved rest for helping win the tournament. Thank you." I said, rubbing his head and returning him.
After I attached my Pokeball back to my belt and looked up, I saw Jason walking across the field.
"Congratulations, Adam. You did it. You won. That was the greatest battle that I've ever had, I'll never forget it." he said.
"Thanks, Jason. It was my greatest battle, too." I said to him.
He shook his head and smiled. "I still can't believe that you were able to beat Charizard, my strongest Pokemon. And you did it in a way that I never would've thought possible." he said, shaking his head.
"Yes, Charizard is your strongest Pokemon. There was no single Pokemon that I had which could beat it one-on-one, so I had to come up with a special strategy to beat it by using teamwork."
"Well, I clearly have a lot to learn about my Pokemon and about battling. But I'm still better than you in one area."
"And what's that?"
"Remember when we left Pallet Town and we each had a Charmander? We started a little contest of who could raise the stronger Fire Pokemon. Well, it looks like my Charizard is stronger than your Charmeleon."
"Don't worry, he'll catch up to Charizard soon. And then we'll see who's stronger."
"Yes, we will. But for now, enjoy your moment in the spotlight. Congratulations." Jason said, smiling and holding his hand up.
I smiled and met his hand with my own, giving him a high-five.
A short time later, every Pokemon League participant was back, standing together in the Indigo Stadium. The rain outside had stopped by now and the stadium's roof was open. I was standing on a stage with the League President and my dad, and I received the Pokemon League trophy.
"Congratulations, Adam. By winning the tournament, you now have the right to challenge the Kanto Elite Four: Karen, Bruno, Koga, and Prima. Will you challenge them?" my dad asked.
"Not right now, my Pokemon aren't THAT strong just yet." I replied.
"I understand. You can challenge them any time that you want."
"And with this, we close this year's Pokemon League Tournament. Thanks to everyone who competed and congratulations to have made it here. We hope to see you again." the announcer said.
I raised the trophy over my head and the crowd cheered and fireworks went off in the sky, signaling the end of the Pokemon League for this year.
That night, after a long day of countless interviews and questions, I was finally heading back to the hotel with my dad. I had never been asked that many questions and it was often the same ones, too. "What was it like, winning the tournament?" "What are you going to do next?" And so on.
"Hey, dad?" I asked.
"Yeah?"
"Did you ever have to go through that many interviews?"
He nodded his head. "When I won my first Pokemon League Tournament, I had to go through just as many interviews as you did. Every tournament that you win, you go through many interviews. I still have interviews to this day that I have to go to, but not as many as before. It's all just a part of becoming a Pokemon Master and winning in the Pokemon League. You get used to it over time, and you will, too." he replied.
We were now heading up the stairs to the second floor. My dad opened the door and allowed me to walk into the room first. Upon entering, I was knocked to the floor by an excited Michelle. She was hugging me and laughing happily.
"You did great, Adam! That was the most intense battle that I've ever seen you and Jason have!" she exclaimed. "So how does it feel to have won the Pokemon League?"
"Thanks, Michelle. It was my most challenging battle ever. I still can't believe that I won, it's so surreal." I replied.
"You know, that's very similar to how your mom reacted when I won my first Pokemon League Tournament." my dad said to me, causing my mom to laugh.
After we had gotten up off of the floor, my mom and Brittany walked over to me.
My mom hugged me and said, "Good job, sweetie. Congratulations on winning, I'm so proud of you. You and your Pokemon were great. That was the most exciting battle that I've seen in a while."
"You did great, Adam. It was awesome to watch you and your Pokemon battle." Brittany said as she hugged me.
Michelle seemed to be the most excited about me winning. I wonder why that is? I thought as I remembered her earlier reaction.
After a few days of traveling, my mom, Brittany, and I walked through Pallet Town, heading to our house. Jason and his parents had left us when we passed the lab. Michelle had left us back at the Indigo Plateau to go back home to Cerulean City, since our journey was over.
We walked into the house and my grandmothers were standing in the hall, waiting for me. "Welcome home. Adam, you did a fantastic job throughout the tournament. Congratulations on winning." my grandmothers said.
"Ash had to stay behind for a conference with the Elite Four about the tournament this year." my mom explained as she closed the door.
That night, we were all sitting in the living room, talking. Dad still wasn't home, but we all knew that he was fine and that his conferences could take a long time.
Then the door was heard opening and we stopped talking. I heard my dad's voice, talking. But who was he talking to? He then walked into the living room and a man dressed in jeans, a black and red shirt, and sneakers walked into the room behind him. He had sapphire blue hair and red eyes. It was Darien!
"At the conference with the Elite Four, I was finally able to convince them to let him go." my dad said to us.
Brittany's eyes widened and she jumped off of the couch and ran over to her dad, hugging his waist. She had her face pressed against his stomach. Darien knelt down and wrapped his arms around her and allowed Brittany to put head on his shoulder. You could easily see that he had really missed Brittany and she had missed her dad, too.
"I missed you, Daddy..." she said softly.
"I missed you, too. How have you been doing?" he asked as she pulled away and he stood up.
"Everything has been going great! Aunt Dawn, uncle Ash, Adam, and grandma have been very kind and welcoming to me."
Looking at Darien, I could see that he had changed from the first time that I had met him on my journey. He was like how he was when I last saw him at the Temple of Legends, but he wasn't as tense now. He was more relaxed, being free from his father and his control, he could let down the walls that he had built around him.
Darien had his hands in his pockets and was looking slightly uncomfortable and nervous. After all, this was his first time seeing my mom and his mom.
My mom walked over to him, a shocked expression on her face. "So...you're my long lost brother?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm your twin brother." he replied nervously, having not met my mom before.
My mom then put her arms around him, hugging him. His eyes widened in surprise. She had accepted him just like that!
"Wh-why? What's this for?" he asked in surprise.
"You're family and families are supposed to love and accept each other. I want you to feel welcomed and loved." she said, pulling back.
"Ash was right about you. You are so caring and accepting of everyone, even if you've just met them." Darien said, smiling at his sister.
Darien walked over to where my grandma was sitting. "Hi, mom." he said.
She stood up and hugged him, crying. "That's the first time that I've heard you call me 'mom.'" she said between sobs. "I haven't seen you in over thirty years. The last time that I saw you, you were still just a baby in diapers, and now here you are; a handsome, full-grown man. My little boy is all grown up."
Darien sat down on the couch and Brittany sat down next to him.
"I can't thank you enough for looking after Brittany for me." he said.
"You're welcome. She's changed a lot while living here." my dad replied.
"She even plans to be a coordinator someday. She saw some of the past contests that I had competed in and even went to the Grand Festival with us." my mom added.
"Are you okay with that?" Brittany asked.
"Yes, I want you to have dreams and goals to strive for. I'm proud of you." he said.
"So what's happened to you over all of these years?" my grandma asked.
"My father raised me to be a Pokemon Hunter and I've spent my entire life capturing and stealing Pokemon and killing people and Pokemon, too. What's worse is that I had no conscience and no remorse when doing it." Darien said, starting to explain his story.
"Everything changed the day that I met Adam. That led me to change my ways and become who I am now. But despite my evil ways, I had enough sense and control over myself to keep Brittany away from Team Rocket and my evil actions. I didn't want her to see what kind of horrible person that I was and I didn't want her to become like me.
"And despite us being family, I still can't understand how you can all forgive me for everything wrong that I've done."
"Darien, it's all in the past. What's important is who you are now. You're a changed man. You're no longer the same person that you once were." said my dad.
"It's not your fault, it's our father's fault. He was evil and so he raised you to be evil, too. You grew up not knowing better." my mom said.
"I'm sorry for not being there for you two all those years when you needed me." Darien said, looking at my mom and grandma.
"You're here now and we have plenty of time to still be a family." my grandma replied.
"Did you ever mention me to Dawn?" he asked.
"No, not until Adam mentioned you when he talked about his journey and when we met Brittany." my grandma replied.
"I hope that I didn't cause a rift between you two and in your relationship for not being mentioned for all of those years."
"Because it was just me and mom growing up, we were very close and told each other almost everything. It hurt me and hurt my trust in my mom when I learned that she was keeping my father and you a secret from me. But she explained to me why she did it and we're fine now." my mom said.
"Where's Brittany's mother?" my grandma asked.
"I don't know where she is." Darien replied.
I sensed that Darien wasn't being completely honest and was hiding something. But I wouldn't impose...for now.
"Team Rocket is still out there somewhere. What's worse, Hunter Mya and Hunter Oliver have escaped from prison! But their base in Kanto has been destroyed and no one knows where the leader or the rest of the members could be. Do you know if Team Rocket had any other bases?" my dad asked.
"There was only one base in Kanto. There may be more bases in other regions that only my father, Team Rocket's leader, knows about and never told anyone else. I'm sorry," Darien replied.
I wonder if I'll encounter Team Rocket in the next region that I travel through and if I do, what will happen? I thought.
I saw my parents exchange a worried glance with one another. I knew that they were worried, especially with how Team Rocket was now. Team Rocket was no longer the same as they were when they were kids. This new Team Rocket was horrible and they had heard, and my dad had seen, what they were capable of. They had a right to be worried.
"Well, you and Brittany can stay with us as long as you want." my parents said.
"Thank you, that means a lot." Darien replied.
My mom's eyes suddenly lit up. "Why don't we take some time off and relax and be a family? I mean, after all of the danger with Team Rocket and Adam being on his journey, now that we're back together again, why not get to know our new family members? We could have fun and get to know each other better." my mom suggested.
"I could use some time off from traveling." I said.
"Sounds like a perfect plan, Dawn." my grandma said.
"We could all go on a tropical cruise through the Orange Islands and visit each one. Ash and I did that on our honeymoon."
Brittany's eyes were sparkling with excitement. "That sounds like so much fun!" she exclaimed.
I knew that she was excited because she would get to see a lot of new places. Anywhere she went, she was always in awe and excited, since she hadn't been to very many places in her life. Now she was able to see so many different places and it was all fascinating and exciting to her.
"Can I challenge the Orange Island gyms as we go?" I asked.
"Of course," my dad, said smiling at me. "Why don't we leave tomorrow?"
As my family started to talk again and make plans for tomorrow, I tuned out the conversation and thought to myself, I've come so far since my journey began. When I began, I was dead-set on finding dad and I finally did, close to the end of my journey. I helped stop Team Rocket, found and saved dad, reunited my family, and discovered a missing piece of my family, too. I found out that I had Aura, and most of all, I won the Pokemon League, getting one step closer to becoming Pokemon Master. To top my journey off, I'm going to get to see the Orange Islands, face new gyms, and get to know my new family. This is going to be a lot of fun and a great experience.
Author's Note: Adam Ketchum's Pokemon journey has come to an end. He and his family are all going to take a vacation in the Orange Islands to relax after a long, difficult time of their lives.
Stay tuned for the epilogue in the final chapter of Pokemon NG!