Let us continue. Battle begin!

Ash clenched his five PokeBalls in his small backpack and prepared to free his friends once and for all. Gary did the same with an evil smile on his face.

"Well, Ashy-boy! Let's begin! The sooner I get rid of you, the sooner I'll achieve satisfaction. And that'll also be the end of your friends!"

"Everyone! Let's do this!"

Ash threw his PokeBalls and revealed Greninja, Noivern, Hawlucha, Talonflame, Pikachu, and his recently returned Charizard.

"Well, well, well. This is a new one on me! Four new, two old. My turn to astound you! My team! Let's show Ashy-boy a good time."

Blue threw his six PokeBalls, and revealed a team consisted of shadow Pokemon. His Shadow Lugia, Shadow Suicune, Shadow Zapdos, Shadow Ho-Oh, Shadow Deoxys, and Shadow Rayquaza all faced their opponents.

"All right, everyone! We have to win this! Not only for Gary's sake, but for our friends!" All of Ash's Pokemon cried in agreement.

"Allow me to set the stage! We don't want any innocent townsfolk getting hurt, now do we?"

Suddenly, the area got darker than it already was. Everything became misshaped, the gravity was changed. There were now platforms everywhere. They were in the Distortion World. However, Giratina wasn't there.

"I suspect you remember this place."

"The Distortion World! But where's-"

"Your looking at him."

In horror, Ash put the pieces together. Giratina had taken control of Gary's spirit.

"You've-you've-taken control of Gary's soul! Why?!"

"Oh, Ash, you're as dumb as ever! I was attracted by Gary's rage after the death of Raticate. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but he was too angry. He wanted to be freed. So, I freed him. In exchange, well...you'll see!"

"NO! NO!"

"Come on, Ash! Hit me with your best shot! CHARGE!"

With that, all six shadow Pokemon rushed at Ash and his Pokemon. Ash's Pokemon returned the action. Charizard charged the Zapdos, Greninja charged Deoxys, Noivern charged Lugia, Hawlucha charged Rayquaza, and Pikachu charged at Suicune. Ash and Blue stood facing each other.

"Just because I'm in human form doesn't mean I can't use my powers."

Blue suddenly started to float in the air. He then used Ominous Wind to blow Ash off balance.

"WHOOOOAAAA!"

I'VE GOT TO HANG ON! Ash thought.

Ash had been blown back by the force of the attack, straight into Deoxys. Ash turned to face the enraged Pokemon, who prepared to use Hyper Beam, only to be attacked by Greninja.

"So you held on...Interesting..."

Suddenly, a stream of energy departed Blue's mouth. It was Dragon Breath. Ash dodged the attack from left to right, he jumped from platform to platform to avoid the pursuing attack, but he couldn't escape it. He was hit.

"AAAHH!"

"This coming from the soon-to-be Pokemon Master?"

Ash struggled to get up, only for Blue to ram straight into him, with so much force that he slammed straight into a nearby gravestone. He was hurting all over. His spine had been damaged, he had a huge gash on his head, blood was rushing down his face and covering his eyes. However, he wiped his eyes and tried to stand, only to be met with searing pain.

"Looks like I win! Why don't you let me finish the job so you can be at peace?"

Blue gathered orbs of energy to unleash a powerful Hyper Beam. Ash just closed his eyes, and prepared to take the attack.

Serena...Bonnie...Clemont...thank you. For everything! I hope...you find happiness...he thought.

However, Blue was tackled by Charizard, who had left his battle with Zapdos. He picked up Ash and prepared to fight aerially. Enraged, Blue got up.

"Oh, so you intend to use your Pokemon to defeat me? Well, why don't I return the favor? ALL SHADOW POKEMON! GO AFTER THAT BOY!"

All of Blue's Pokemon stopped fighting Ash's and surrounded Ash and his Charizard.

"CHARIZARD! FLY, NOW!"

"Rayquaza! Bring our guests to the ground with Dragon Ascent."

With blinding speed, Rayquaza pursued his target with Dragon Ascent. Charizard and Ash barely outran Rayquaza.

"Suicune, help Rayquaza with Hydro Pump."

Suicune aimed a Hydro Pump at Charizard, but was rammed by Noivern, thus changing Suicune's aim to hit Blue.

"AAAHHH! NO! WE'LL HAVE NONE OF THAT!"

Suddenly, Noivern, Greninja, Hawlucha, Pikachu, and Talonflame were all encased in a bubble similar to that holding his Kalos companions.

"NOW! SUICUNE, HYDRO PUMP! ZAPDOS, THUNDERBOLT! LUGIA, AEROBLAST! DEOXYS, HYPER BEAM! RAYQUAZA, DRAGON PULSE!"

The shadow Pokemon let loose a barrage of attacks, with Charizard weaving in and out of them.

"CHARIZARD! USE FLAMETHROWER ON BLUE!"

"Suicune, protect!"

Suicune protected its trainer.

"Try Lugia, Charizard!"

The Flamethrower scored a direct hit on Lugia, but Deoxys had landed a hit with Hyper Beam.

Charizard and Ash fell to the ground, both in excruciating pain.

"NOW, LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH!"

Suddenly, Blue disappeared while the shadow Pokemon charged. Charizard took the blows of the attacks severely weakening him. Meanwhile, Ash took the opportunity to run. Ash's Pokemon freed themselves by using a combination of their most powerful attacks, and ran to assist Charizard, thus continuing the battle. Ash ran up some steps and found himself on a platform looking over the Distortion World.

Ash was then slammed into a nearby pillar by Gary.

"LET'S FINISH THIS, KETCHUM!"

Ash rolled out of the way of an incoming Aura Sphere.

"YOU'VE BEEN A PAIN FOR FAR TOO LONG!"

This time, Ash dodged out of the way of a Dragon Pulse, except this time, it followed him. Ash stumbled around the attack, but was again slammed into a pillar. He could barely stand, but managed to rise.

"I-WILL-NOT LET YOU HURT-THEM!"

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO LET ME. YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS WILL NOT LEAVE ALIVE!"

He then prepared a Hyper Beam, but Ash tackled Blue, and they both fell straight into the abyss.

"I will free you, Gary!"

"I'VE TOLD YOU ALREADY! GARY DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE!"

Blue then turned themselves over, now Ash was on the bottom. Blue began a barrage of punches to Ash's face, giving him bruises everywhere. Ash then used some of his remaining strength to get Blue back on the bottom of the falling pair.

"I'm surprised you haven't died yet. It's obvious I'll need help to dispose of you! All shadow Pokemon! Come, and finish this flea off!"

Ash turned around and saw that all of the shadow Pokemon were there and aimed a mix of Hyper Beam, Dragon Pulse, Hydro Pump, and Aeroblast straight at him.

"YOU'RE FINISHED, KETCHUM!"

"Not quite!"

Ash then leaned to the left to turn over the duo once more, and Blue got hit with the combination.

"AAAAHHHH!"

"EVERYONE! LET'S FINISH HIM OFF!"

"Oh, no you don't! That may have been a strong attack, but I still have one card left. Why don't you turn around?"

Ash turned around and saw another shadow Pokemon rise. This was larger than any other Pokemon he had seen. He was staring into the eyes of a shadow Arceus.

"You're in luck! I'm only going to tell this Pokemon to use one move! One that is sure to kill you instantly!"

Ash knew what he was talking about, and braced himself. Arceus aimed Judgment straight at Ash.

"Goodbye, Ketchum! Everyone, add to the attack by using your strongest attack!"

"NO!"

Suddenly, Blue was suddenly hit by a Flamethrower from Charizard. He picked up Ash, and put Blue in his mouth.

"Thanks, Charizard! AIM STRAIGHT FOR THAT JUDGMENT ATTACK!"

Charizard then made a beeline for the oncoming attack with another attack combination by the shadow legendaries following him.

"JUST-A-LITTLE-MORE, CHARIZARD!"

"STOP HIM!"

"LET GO OF BLUE!"

Ash's Charizard released Blue and escaped just as the attacks hit Blue. The result was an explosion that was big enough to destroy both the Kalos and Kanto region instantly.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The shadow Pokemon all disintegrated. Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont woke up. The Distortion World then became an empty void. Ash was floating with Charizard, Ash's Pokemon were getting his friends out of the realm. Ash then saw a familiar sight.

"Ash?"

Ash looked in the face of Gary Oak.

"Gary! You're all right!"

"Thanks to you! I wouldn't be here without you!"

Suddenly, Ash saw a Pokemon run toward Gary and jump on him. It was Gary's Raticate.

"Hey! You got your Raticate back!"

"It's one of the benefits of being-well-gone. I get to see old friends, like Raticate."

"I'm glad for you, Gary Oak. I wish you the best of luck."

"Even though I never became the champion of a region, I hope you make it to the top. Good luck, Ashy-boy."

Ash smiled.

"Now get out of here. Your friends are waiting for you."

Ash mounted Charizard and flew towards the gateway to Lavender Town. He turned around and saw Gary waving at him with a grin from ear to ear. They soon entered the Pokemon graveyard and the portal closed. The clouds were gone. Everything was back to normal. Serena ran to Ash and gave him a hug. She couldn't stop the tears from running down her face.

"ARE YOU OK?! WHAT HAPPENED?"

"I'm fine... I am a little tired though..."

Ash then collapsed, and Serena, Bonnie, Clemont, and his Pokemon surrounded him.

"Ash! Stay awake!"

"COME ON, ASH! STAY WITH US!"

"YOU CAN DO IT!"

However, the drowsiness had overtaken Ash, and everything went black.

In the Pokemon Center...

Ash awoke on a bed. He had a bandage over his head from the gash. He could move his arms, and he sat up. His back didn't hurt. The door opened and Serena stepped in.

"I thought I lost you...don't ever worry me like that again!"

Serena pulled Ash in for a kiss, a kiss that felt better than the one that she had experienced in Terminus Cave. The two then hugged each other before the door opened once more.

Bonnie and Clemont joined Serena in the room. They joined the hug and they left Ash to change.

Twelve minutes later, Ash left the room and Pikachu jumped on his shoulder.

"Now, on to the Pokemon League!"

In the Elite Four room...

"Hmmm...so many doors! Which one should you enter first?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know. How about the Water-type room?"

"Why not?" Serena agreed.

The four entered the room and rode the elevator to the Water-type battlefield. There, a boy was waiting for looked as if he was about eighteen or seventeen years old. He wore glasses, had black hair in a style similar to Clemont's, wore a tie and wore blue pants. He straightened his tie.

"Welcome, challenger. I am Cheren, the Water-type Elite Four member."

TO BE CONTINUED...