All right! We're into the primaries now! I know I keep saying this, but I think this is where things really kick into high gear. The voting is now in full swing!

I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or even just clicked on this story. Every interaction means the world to me. I can't wait to see what you all think about this chapter!

Current music: Mockingbird - Rob Thomas

It had been a long day.

For many hours, Ash had fueled himself on coffee, donuts, and anxiety. He'd been required to rise early that morning so that the watch party could be prepared in Nimbasa City. He'd flown there that morning (commercially, not private; the campaign didn't have that much money yet), and then headed to the venue, an opulent eatery known as the Chauntecleer.

The candidate shook side to side, shivering and sweating at the same time. The crash was coming. There was no doubt about that; the only question was when.

All day, from the restaurant's conference room, volunteers were hard at work decorating the hall so that it looked festive. Of course, sooner or later, they'd learn whether the event would feel more like a high school prom or a funeral.

Even though it was the primary, not the general election, the volunteers still found themselves having to field numerous calls from voters. The voter protection hotline was put to good use, not that this was a good sign. (Well, it was in that plenty of people wanted to vote, but would they be able to vote?)

Late in the afternoon, Ash consulted with Mr. Cannon, the restaurant's owner and (apparently) a day-one supporter of his. The tall, thin man, wearing what looked like a green windsock for a hat, smiled as the candidate described what he wanted catered to the event.

"You've already made the order, haven't you?" Mr. Cannon asked.

Ash nodded. "Hey, pizza makes everything more bearable. And if it gives me a heart attack, it is only hastening the inevitable."

Mr. Cannon snorted. "I can tell you're nervous. That's perfectly normal, of course; I felt that way when I first started a business all those years ago, and now we're one of the top-rated restaurants in Nimbasa City!"

Ash didn't have the guts to tell him that running a business was very different from running a sovereign region. Moreover, he could only worry about getting into the Crimson Chamber now; contemplating the job of governing would have to wait.

As the minutes ticked by, more and more people trickled into the restaurant's ballroom. In order to attend the watch party, anyone of voting age needed to present their "I Voted" sticker as proof that they had, well, voted.

"Good evening" Ash found himself saying a lot, shaking hands with many of his supporters. He couldn't even begin to think about all the germs he might be giving himself, but like with so many other things, the ends justified the means.

"Thirty minutes until poll closing," Serena told her boyfriend when the couple got a moment to themselves in one of the back rooms. "How are you feeling, Ash?"

Uh… pretty freaking terrified!

"I'm okay, I guess" were Ash's actual words. The candidate didn't know what else to say that would be accurate, yet would not alarm his girlfriend too much.

"It'll be alright, honey," Serena promised him. "Win or lose, I still love you. Whatever happens tonight, we'll still be best friends - more than friends."

Ash smiled awkwardly, picturing the small box atop his dresser back in Crown City. He had still not disclosed its contents to his mother, Pikachu, or least of all Serena. It needed to be a surprise, because that made everything more fun.

"I know, Serena," Ash replied. And then the two shared a hug before returning to the ballroom.

Not long after that, the polls in Nimbasa Province closed. Despite this, numbers could not be released right away, because those in line at 7 PM were still allowed to vote. The Ketchum campaign was aware of this, and knew to expect a "massive dump" of results at first, followed by a slow trickle afterwards.

"Kodai's home turf, the exurbs of Nimbasa City, are usually the first to report," Brock told the couple. "Assuming it's between yourself and Kodai, you probably want to be within ten percentage points of him when the first dump comes."

"How do you know it's ten?" a bespectacled, freckled boy, probably in his mid-to-late teens, jumped in. "I've heard it's more like seven."

"Well, these are very rough benchmarks," Brock admitted. "The number-crunching gets a lot harder when there are four candidates."

"I guess so," the younger boy replied. "Also, exit polls are useless. They're like online dating profiles. Not everything is as it appears, and they will break your heart."

"How would you know that?" Ash asked with a smirk. "Is it from personal experience?"

The nerdy-looking teenager's face turned bright red. He immediately scurried away, probably off to join his data-obsessed friends, if he had any.

"Ash, that was kinda rude," Serena pointed out. "That's not the reputation you want - you want the voters to see you as relatable."

"Don't beat him up too hard about it," Brock told her. "He's got plenty of distractions. Look, the first numbers just came in!"

Ash's stomach fell faster than a freight elevator whose chains had been cut. He turned his attention to the projector, where the electoral map of Nimbasa Province had been displayed, its source being the Unova Times.

Each candidate was assigned a different color on the map, and as votes came in, precincts were gradually given the color of the candidate who currently led in that region. And there were a lot of precincts - several thousand of them just in Unova!

"I'll admit that I'm not the most literate person when it comes to maps," Ash said sheepishly. "What does all of this mean?"

Brock narrowed his eyes. "It's not about how many precincts you're winning, Ash. Land doesn't vote; well, it sort of does in the general election, but it's all about getting more votes than the others."

"Oh. I knew that already," Ash told Brock, rubbing the back of his neck and trying to deflect some of the embarrassment that came with such an admission.

By this time, the party was in full swing. There must have been several hundred people in the room, some of them chowing down on pizza, salads, or wraps. Others were staring intently at their phones, monitoring the results (and receiving updates from the media) in real time as they were displayed on the projector.

A few guests, probably somewhat inebriated, had taken to the dance floor already. Ash had delegated the music selection to Serena, who had evidently chosen a Billy Talonflame playlist; the current song was "Ghost Ship of Cannibal Rattatas." Not exactly a cheery way to kick off the evening.

The same nerdy-looking boy from earlier walked over to Ash's side. "It looks like you're losing," the younger boy said simply.

Ash grimaced. As much as it hurt to be told that he wasn't doing well, especially so matter-of-factly like that, he needed proof. So he turned his attention to the screen, where he glanced at the results.

Per Brock's estimate, Ash wanted to be less than ten percentage points behind Kodai when the first set of votes came in. However, he was down by slightly more than that, a margin of 12.3% if he was doing his math right.

Where's Pikachu when you need him?

The candidate cast a wide glance over the ballroom, and he eventually found Pikachu in the Pokémon corner of said room. He was currently sharing a platter of Poké Treats with a meowth, an eevee, and a popplio - the catering had, of course, included food that non-humans could eat.

Ash thought about calling the pikachu over for emotional support, but decided against it. The fact was, if Pikachu was enjoying himself, Ash didn't want to burden him with the knowledge that it may have all been for naught.

Slowly but surely, the mood in the room descended from its peak. At first, the general atmosphere had been one of excitement and awe that their candidate might actually win. Now, however, the crowd was far more subdued. They were no longer eating with such gusto, nor joking around about whatever it was. And, though this may have been only Ash's imagination, it looked as though some of the audience had left the party.

Can't say I blame them. I wouldn't want to attend the sad speech that could be coming in the near future.

Ash slunk off to a side room not long after that. He simply couldn't bear to watch as the percentage reporting climbed rapidly, while Kodai's lead wasn't declining quickly enough to compensate. It was looking pretty bleak, to say the least.

As the candidate ate an oatmeal raisin cookie, he felt a tap on his left shoulder. "I can't talk, I'm eating," Ash mumbled, sniffling slightly.

"The news is good, honey," Serena told her boyfriend. "Very good, in fact."

Ash's ears perked up. "What happened?"

"There was another bunch of votes that got reported. They did another dump of votes; they call them dumps, you see, big massive dumps."

The candidate rolled his eyes. "Could you use a different word? I'm eating!"

"Sorry," Serena said. "Anyway, Kodai's lead is now down to less than one percentage point. We're only at 86 percent reporting right now, and the remaining precincts are expected to be less favorable to Kodai."

Ash took a step back from his girlfriend as he processed this information. He glanced up at the ceiling, pinching himself to make sure he hadn't misheard Serena.

"So you're saying there's a chance?"

"Not just a chance," Serena replied with a smile. "A good chance. In fact, the needle is saying you're slightly favored. You'd better start writing your first victory speech, Ash - there's a strong possibility you'll need it."

Ash leaned in at that very moment and embraced his girlfriend. She blushed at first, but wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's chest in return. In this way, the couple hugged it out for a good minute.

And then she went in for the kiss!

Ash didn't even flinch. The pair had kissed before, of course, but it had previously mostly been pecks on the cheek, which was one thing. Snogging one another on the lips, like they were doing right now? That was quite another!

In those few seconds, that blissful handful of moments, it was like nothing else mattered in the world. In the back of his mind, Ash knew that one of the party's attendees might well walk in on the couple's semi-public display of romance, but he did not care.

"Okay, we'd better get back to the party," Serena told Ash eventually as she pulled herself back. "Like I said, start planning out what you'll say. You can't just stand there tongue-tied forever."

The candidate could have pointed out that the kiss had only served to short-circuit his brain. After such a heavenly moment, coming back down to Nexus was the last thing on his mind.

But he had to do it.

"Yeah, I'll think about it," Ash promised Serena. "I'll try not to make it too awkward."

A few minutes later, the couple returned to the ballroom, where Mr. Cannon was bouncing up and down as though he stood on a trampoline.

"They're calling it, Ash! They're calling it!"

The candidate's heart sank. Yes, Kodai's advantage had shrunk considerably, but Ash had to actually gain a lead. If they were calling it now, that likely wasn't good news for the Ketchum campaign.

"For whom?" Serena enquired.

"For you, Ash!" Mr. Cannon exclaimed, taking off his hat and tossing it in the air. It got caught in the fan, blowing around like an actual windsock before it was ripped to shreds by the fan's blades.

"I…" the candidate began, but he was quickly cut off by a girl of about twelve leaping upwards, pumping a fist in the air. A woman who must have been her mother was attempting to keep said girl in check, with no success.

"Sorry about that," the girl's mother said, her eyes wide with apology. "She just gets a little excited - she watched a documentary about your journey a few years ago, and ever since then she's been hooked."

Uh… being hooked on one person probably isn't healthy. Ash didn't say that out loud, though he wondered if it now made sense to hire extra security. Maybe the time had come to enlist the Secret Service, if that were possible.

More importantly, though, Ash realized what Mr. Cannon had just told him: He'd won.

Sure, it was only the first primary, but it was pivotal in denying Kodai some extra wind in his sails, so it really made a difference. Of course, it also meant that he'd have to give his victory speech, a speech for which he'd prepared no outline.

"Take the podium, Ash," Serena commanded her boyfriend, though she could hardly be heard over the cacophony of clapping from the attendees. They must have been ecstatic at the candidate's upset victory.

Still, as Ash strode up to the stage, his palms were clenched into fists to keep themselves from sweating too much. He couldn't look nervous - he just couldn't. He had to make both the in-person and remote viewers believe that he'd had this in the bag from the very beginning.

The applause ceased as the candidate grabbed the microphone and pulled it closer to his mouth. And then Ash began his speech, improvising as he went.

"Good evening, everyone. It is an honor and a privilege to be here tonight with so many people who believe in me. Maybe some of you didn't think I could win at first, but gave yourselves over to the prospect later on. Still others, perhaps, went to this party believing I was doomed.

"But let me tell you - I was never among them. I always knew I could win, that I would win, the first primary. But… that's not all.

"For this victory, I have so many people to thank. Most obviously, the people who voted for me, either today or by mail. Those in the Republican Party would like you to believe that mail-in voting is somehow fraudulent, but we all know better, don't we?"

"Yes, we do!" came a chant from the crowd.

Ash chuckled. "I'll extend my thanks to the voters, which did not include Pokémon this year. But when I get into the Crimson Chamber - and I truly believe I will - I aim to become the last President voted in by an electorate that does not include Pokémon. It is an injustice… that they are treated as second-class citizens in our society. It does not have to be this way, and it should not be this way.

"The acknowledgements must include Pikachu, my oldest friend and closest companion. Life was difficult on my journey, but Pikachu made it all manageable and worthwhile. I don't know where I'd be without him - or rather, I don't want to know.

"Now, I would also like to extend gratitude to Brock. He's my best human friend - my best platonic human friend, at least. For those of you who don't know, he's been serving as my campaign manager from day one. And that's not nepotism at play - it's that Brock's a damn good number-cruncher!"

After Brock waved at the crowd, Ash turned to his girlfriend. Serena had been standing right behind the candidate this whole time, but she came into view now, curling her dress upward. (It needs to be said that the dress didn't look natural on the young woman. Ash had never known Serena to adore formal clothing.)

"Last but not least, I want you all to give this woman a standing ovation. My life with Serena Courtland has had its twists and turns, but I wouldn't have it any other way. She's been with me through thick and thin, and that's not going to change anytime soon."

At those words, Serena's face lit up like a Christmas tree. She did a curtsy at the attendees, which, much like her attire, looked more than a little out of place. But any awkwardness was swiftly forgotten as Ash took the podium again.

"Now, our work here is far from over. What's that saying again - oh yeah. We have won the first battle, and what an important battle it is! But we have not yet won the war. We may have the momentum, but this primary is far from over."

Despite the acknowledgement that there was still, in fact, more work to be done, the crowd didn't appear to care. The standing ovation Ash wanted finally came, though it was clearly meant for both him and Serena.

"Awww, you're all too nice!" Ash all but squealed. "If I could, I'd give all of you a standing ovation. Because, truth be told, you're the ones who deserve it. I just give speeches. You guys do the grunt work. Anyway…".

The candidate was abruptly cut off by more copious applause. Ash blushed as he realized that he'd run out of things to say - or rather, he no longer had a plan for what he might tell the audience.

Don't faceplant, he told himself. Just think fast!

"The next primary is right around the corner. Tonight, we can celebrate, but tomorrow it's right back to work. I know that's what I'll be doing, at any rate."

Just then, a pinging noise could be heard, much like an alert showing up on a cell phone. However, Ash didn't feel any vibration, probably because he wasn't holding his phone at the moment.

Serena, on the other hand, tapped her boyfriend on the shoulder.

"What is it?" Ash asked Serena in a loud whisper. "Anything important? I'm giving a talk right now!"

"Joe Bidoof dropped out."

"Really!" Ash exclaimed, the microphone amplifying his voice and making it so that the entire room heard him. "Who's reporting it?"

"All the networks, honey," Serena replied.

The candidate raised both his hands in the air, turning towards the ceiling as he opened his eyes wide. "Oh, my goodness!" he announced. "All the networks! All the networks!"

As for the people currently sitting around the tables, as well as those on the dance floor (the music having ceased as soon as the race was called), many of them looked alarmed.

"Don't worry about me," the candidate said as soon as he'd managed to calm himself down. "It's actually good news; or rather, good for my campaign. Joe Bidoof has suspended his campaign."

More clapping ensued, and a few attendees even put their fists in the air to celebrate this small victory. Ash couldn't help but smile as well.

"Four have now become three," the candidate said with a grin on his face. "Now it's time for three to become two, and two to become one. Hopefully, I'm the one."

The initial high of winning the first primary contest didn't wear off for several days. Every hour or so, when it sank in that he'd done it, that he had the early momentum, Ash felt himself grow jubilant.

However, as soon as he woke up the following morning in a Nimbasa City hotel room, it was back to work. Just as he'd promised his audience at that first watch party, there would always be more work to do.

Joe Bidoof was confirmed to have ended his campaign; Ash hadn't noticed any news articles about it while at the podium, but as soon as he'd regained access to the Internet, he'd been able to see that it was indeed true.

The bidoof businessman was rumored to be endorsing one of the three remaining candidates over the next week, and Ash held out hope that it would be him. Didn't it make sense to get on the winning team?

"Perhaps he wants a spot in your Cabinet," Brock speculated a few days after the Nimbasa primary. "If he endorses you, that is."

Ash frowned. "That deal sounds corrupt somehow. Are you sure Unova doesn't have laws against that?"

"Nope, it's perfectly legal. And I know you might not like the system, Ash, but you've got to work within it. Until you become President, that is."

"Huh."

Brock's speculation, however, didn't appear to have much merit. For one long week, the political world waited to see what candidate Joe Bidoof would throw his support behind, with the expectation being that the Pyroar's share of his previous supporters would migrate into the endorsee's camp.

But it didn't come. Perhaps the bidoof was waiting until the nomination was settled, and Ash could understand that if so. There was no reason to divide the party unnecessarily.

After the initial high from the Nimbasa victory wore off, it was right back to the campaign trail. The next primary was two weeks later, and it was held in Driftveil Province. As such, the bulk of Team Ketchum's infrastructure migrated over to that province, and the campaign hired a regional director.

Ash didn't even return to Crown City during these two weeks. On some level, he found himself missing his own bed, though this was something he'd just have to get over.

I didn't mind it when I started traveling the world at age ten. So what's different this time?

Whenever the candidate felt wistful over how much of his previous life was gone, he distracted himself by redoubling his efforts. He held rallies every other day in the province, with the days in between spent writing speeches. And, regardless of whether he was holding an event on any given day, Ash spent plenty of time writing emails to ask for donations. Meanwhile, he enlisted Serena and Brock to send out mass texts to prospective voters, reminding them to do their civic duty.

The more he kept busy, the less he felt homesick. Remaining occupied was key, because if he had nothing to do, his mind drifted to places that he didn't want it to.

In addition to rallies, Ash also attended several dinners with his campaign's donors. Judging by the tuxedos and other opulent attire these people wore, the candidate felt certain these were high-dollar donors who could afford to give the maximum limit of $2,900 apiece many times over.

At each of these dinners, Ash would give a short speech, saying things like, "I am once again asking for your financial support" or "Thank you for everything you've done so far. I couldn't have gotten this far without people like you." But the knowledge that he was cozying up to people in the same tax bracket as Grings Kodai made the filet mignon taste like sandpaper.

Ash never voiced this concern to Serena or Brock. Not even Pikachu, his oldest and closest confidant, knew how he truly felt about bowing down to mega-millionaires, and that was for the best. If he did tell them his true beliefs, they'd more than likely chastise him for not being willing to do what was necessary to win.

Don't you want this?, they'd snarl. You're giving up so much already just to run!

Yeah, but I don't want to give up my integrity too!

In the end, Ash remained in the race, simply because sitting in the Crimson Chamber would be well worth it. He just had to get there first.

Winter soon faded away, time flying faster than a fighter jet at its maximum velocity. What gained velocity at nearly the same rate was the footprint of Ash's campaign. Not only did every subdivision of Unova have a provincial director for the campaign, but many cities also had their own branches.

In short: Team Ketchum might be outspent, but they would never be outworked. Every night, Ash climbed into bed covered in sweat and tears. No doubt blood would be involved at some point, a prospect the candidate dreaded with every fiber of his being.

Ash notched primary win after primary win. Before long, it looked like the nomination was within reach, though only he managed to not choke on this campaign. All he needed was half the total number of delegates, and with Joe Bidoof out of the race, that was a distinct possibility.

"You don't want a contested convention," Brock told his client one afternoon in mid-March. "It's looking good for you now, but if you have anything less than fifty percent, the superdelegates mean all bets are off."

"That's bad," Ash mumbled. "I don't want all bets to be off."

From then on, Ash searched the web every morning for the current delegate counts of each candidate. It did not matter that primaries didn't happen every day; Ash just wanted reassurance that he wasn't missing something. Maybe some of his delegates would defect - but then, who would they defect to?

It certainly wasn't Robbie Chilacoth. The Senator's campaign was floundering, and he no longer qualified for the debates. Sooner or later, it would go under completely, though the man stubbornly refused to drop out of the race, much like a child who doesn't want to go to bed.

I guess he doesn't care about winning, the trainer thought bitterly. I suppose that if I were his age, and thought this was my last chance to run for President, that it was feast or famine, I'd want to cling to that fantasy as long as I could. But it's just that - a fantasy.

Until the end of March, Ash's campaign was on an upward trajectory. Everything that could conceivably break Team Ketchum's way did break their way. Soon, the question seemed to become not whether Chilacoth and Kodai would bow out, but when.

However, the first primary in April, contested in the southern Nuvema Province of Unova, brought this to a screeching halt.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Ash told Brock backstage at that night's watch party. The candidate tried not to lose control of his temper, but it was a losing battle.

Ash's campaign chair sighed. "I'm afraid not, Ash. Kodai has won the Nuvema primary by a comfortable margin."

"Damn it!" Ash exclaimed, banging his fist on a nearby table. His knuckle was bruised as a result of this action, but he didn't care. "How?"

"Reports seem to indicate that he put many of his eggs in this one basket. He's been gradually improving leading up to this, you know - only a percentage point or two at a time. But he's gaining, slowly but surely."

Ash gulped as he remembered his last glance at the previous contest's results. Yes, Kodai's deficits were decreasing, but Ash was still comfortably ahead! Late gains didn't mean nearly as much as early gains, did they?

"That's not much of a surprise when you think about it," Brock continued. "You see, last week Joe Bidoof endorsed Kodai."

"He did?" Ash bellowed, refusing to believe it. This was the first he'd heard of his fallen rival's allegiance to a remaining candidate.

Brock nodded gravely. "It seems many of his supporters have gone to Kodai's side. Uncle Joe apparently told them that Unova needed an outsider businessman, one who wasn't corrupted by the establishment… it seems that may have worked."

"We can't let it work," the candidate replied breathlessly. "Buying elections like that… it's not okay. What does that even mean for Unova?"

Brock sighed, glancing away for a few seconds. When he turned his glance back to Ash, he spoke in a tone of grim determination.

"It means we need to redouble our efforts and get the message out."

For the record, I got the line about exit polls from Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight. I thought it was clever to include here - I just wanted to clarify that it wasn't original.

I had an idea for another story, which I would work on in tandem with this one. Perhaps that's a way for me to slow my writing speed down. Either way, you guys are seeing this chapter when you're seeing it, whether it's the day it was posted or a long time later. Besides, I expect Chapter 9 to be a lot longer than this one was, so I'll allow time for people to catch up.

Until next time, stay safe.