This is part two of a two-part special episode dedicated to the anime's 20th anniversary.

Episode 76: Ashes to Ashes Part 2

Ash and Pikachu, along with their time-traveling companions Cinder and Ember, have been trapped in some sort of energy field. Laying helplessly bound by a similar energy field on the ground next to them is the Legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh. The villain Fenghuang is savoring his victory. He declares, "I have finally obtained the ultimate prize! I have at long last acquired Ho-Oh!"

Ho-Oh screeches in ager.

Ash demands, "Why are you doing this!?"

Fenghuang looks to him with hatred and answers, "Oh, you naïve runt! You are one of the select few to ever gaze upon Ho-Oh, and you don't even understand its significance! There is a reason that Ho-Oh will only show itself to a scarce few chosen ones! It is a source of eternal happiness and rebirth! It is one of the greatest powers to exist on this mortal world, and its gifts are wasted on the likes of you! Well they are wasted no more! I now control them! And completely changing your history only makes this victory all the sweeter!"

Cinder accuses, "I see your play now! You used Celebi to travel back in time because you knew this is exactly where Ho-Oh would appear! Knowing Ho-Oh would never willingly show itself to you, you forced it to!"
Fenghuang smiles devilishly. "Guilty as charged. I've spent my entire life hunting for Ho-Oh, but not once did I even come close to encountering it! In my searches, I came across stories of others seeing it, including yours, and every one of the so called 'chosen ones' all had one trait in common! They weren't worthy in the slightest of accepting Ho-Oh's gifts! But then, only recently, in my pursuit of Ho-Oh, I came across another treasure. I found this." He pulls out something from his pocket and reveals it. It's a gold and silver Pokéball.

Ash is completely shocked by this. "That's the GS Ball!"

Cinder is surprised to hear this. "The GS Ball? Are you certain?"

Ash nods. "Absolutely. I held on to that thing for a while." He looks back to Fenghuang and demands, "How did you get the GS Ball! Kurt should still be studying it!"

Fenghuang laughs. "You have no grasp of time travel, do you? Kurt is history in my time! He was never been able to learn a single thing about it, and as time went on, the GS Ball was completely forgotten! Except for by me, that is, as my research of Ho-Oh lead me to discover secrets of it that no one had ever known before. I found a century old account describing the creation of Pokéball made of gold and silver, infused with the power of Ho-Oh and its counterpart Lugia, that could hold even the most elusive and hard to contain Pokémon. It was designed to hold Celebi!"

Ash's eyes widen. "There was a Celebi in the GS Ball!?" He looks to the unconscious Celebi in Ember's arms.

Fenghuang declares, "Your suspicions are correct! That very Celebi was sealed away within the GS Ball for over 150 years!"

Ash makes the connection, "That must be why Celebi acted like it knew me…it must have been able to perceive what was going on around it while it was in the GS Ball…it remembered me from when I had the GS Ball…"

Ember realizes with horror, "But that means that Celebi was completely conscious for all 150 of those years it was sealed away. That's horrible." She looks down to it. "You poor thing. No wonder you were so happy to be able to fly freely."

Fenghuang continues his story, "And once I procured the GS Ball from the museum that had absolutely no clue of its true value, I managed to release Celebi from it and subvert its powers to my will. Now all of time was accessible to me. No longer did I have to figure out where Ho-Oh would show up, because all I had to do was travel to where I knew it already was. I knew immediately that this would be my destination. And now I control what is rightfully mine!"

Ash accuses, "You're a madman! Nobody rightfully owns Ho-Oh!"

"You may be right on the first account, but you could not be more wrong on the second! Ho-Oh is my birthright!" He walks over towards the fallen Ho-Oh and strokes its feathers. Ho-Oh glares at him with abhorrence. "And now all is right in the world at last."

Ash can't stand it anymore. "You're disgusting!" He hurdles himself into the barrier in an attempt to escape, but is only thrown back by the recoil of hitting the barrier. He looks to Pikachu and declares, "There's no way he can hold us! Pikachu, use Thunder!"

Pikachu attacks with all the might it can muster. "Pikaaaaa chuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" It does nothing.

Fenghuang laughs. "The technology that creates this forcefield is of a caliber that you couldn't even dream of! It's impossible to break out!"

"We'll see about that!" In one swift swoop, Ash pulls all four Pokéballs off his belt and throws into the air. "Everybody help out!"

Eagladiator, Turtsol, Dashilisk, and Arborrior all appear in front of him. They all instantly realize that something serious is going on and await orders.

Ash declares, "Everyone attack one point! Go!" The Pokémon all acknowledge and turn to the shield. Pikachu gives it another Thunder, Eagladiator attacks with Gust, Turtsol sends a Flamethrower, Dashilisk uses Scald, and Arborrior unleashes a continuous volley of Razor Leaf. All five attacks collide at the same spot, but seem to do little.

Ember turns to Cinder and encourages, "We can help, too!"

Cinder nods. "Let's do it."

They both pull out their futuristic Pokéballs and send out their Dragonite and Alakazam. Ember orders, "Alakazam, use Shadow Ball!" Alakazam begins to attack with a rapid fire series of Shadow Balls.

Cinder commands, "Dragonite, lend them your Hyper Beam!" Dragonite unleashes a powerful and continuous orange beam.

Fenghuang isn't in the least bit worried. He is actually amused by their effort and he laughs at them all some more. "Go ahead! Waste all of your energy! You're all doomed regardless! I will have the power of Ho-Oh, and your very timeline will cease to exist! Everything you know and love will be completely changed! It makes no difference to me if you struggle!"

Completely ignoring Fenghuang's taunts, Ash encourages, "Keep it up, everyone! We will break through!" Deciding to take matters into his own hands, and help however he can, Ash then rams himself once more into the barrier. He is flung away and thrown to the floor just as before, but he gets back up and tries it again. And again. And again. And so on.

Cinder can't believe his eyes. "That idiot, what is he doing!?"

Seeing how badly he's hurting himself, Ember shouts, "You have to stop this! It's pointless! You'll only hurt yourself!"

Ash gets back up after another failed attempt. Without looking back to Ember, he says with the utmost fortitude, "No, we will break free of here. I refuse to believe that any attempt to save Ho-Oh is pointless." He then rams himself into the wall once more.

Cinder shakes his head with further disbelief. He says under his breath, "He would never do this…and yet there's something about his actions…"

Ash cries out in pain as he is thrown back once more. Pikachu stops its attack and looks to Ash with worry. "Pikapik!"

Ash asserts, "Don't worry about me, Pikachu! Keep on attacking!" Pikachu obeys, but it, as well as Ash's other Pokémon, all watch him with worry as unsuccessfully hurls himself at the barrier once more, causing him to cry out in pain once more.

Celebi, still passed out in Ember's arms, squirms a bit, as if it heard Ash's cry. Ash then shouts again, and suddenly Celebi's eyes snap open. "Bi!" It flies up and out of Ember's arms.

Ember yells with surprise, "Celebi!"

Celebi's eyes widen as it watches Ash hurt himself once again. It then cries out fiercely, "Biiiiiiii!" as it begins to gather its power. Then a massive horde of leaves manifest themselves around Celebi. "Biiii!" They are all sent hurtling towards the same spot that everyone else is attacking.

Cinder exclaims, "That's Leaf Storm, Celebi's most powerful attack!"

The attack hits the barrier just as Ash is ramming into it once more. The combined forces of Ash's, Celebi's, and all the other Pokémon's attacks causes the entire barrier to shatter as if it where glass, and then collapse into nothingness.

Fenghuang freezes up and then his clenched fists begin to shake with an uncontrollable rage. "Why you…!"

Ash runs over to Ho-Oh. After taking a moment to overcome the shock of finally seeing Ho-Oh up close, Ash asks, "Ho-Oh, are you alright?"

Ho-Oh's eyes look to Ash. While it does not respond directly, the look it gives Ash is enough. It is in pain, but it will persevere.

Ash nods in understanding. "Don't worry Ho-Oh, I'll free you." He moves over to one of the field-projecting orbs, grabs ahold of it, and pulls. He is instantly electrocuted, forcing him to let go.

Fenghuang, having regained his composure, shouts, "No! Ho-Oh is mine! You'll never free it!"

Ash looks to him and avows, "Ho-Oh belongs to nobody! It is a Pokémon of majesty to be respected, not enslaved! What possibly makes you think that you have any right to it!?"

Fenghuang pronounces, "Ho-Oh is mine because it is my birthright! I come from an ancient and powerful family. For over 700 years my family has watched over the Burned and Bell Towers, since they were first built! We were servants of Ho-Oh, and in return Ho-Oh promised to lend us its power! It was an empty promise, though! My family dedicated 700 years of its history to serving and protecting Ho-Oh, but not once did Ho-Oh help us in any way! Hearing these stories as a child made me realize that the debt that Ho-Oh owes us would never be repaid unless I took action into my own hands and collected on that debt!" He beckons to Ho-Oh. "And here I am now, finally able to gain what has always been mine! Ho-Oh can delay its recompense no longer!"

Ash shouts accusingly, "Ho-Oh owes you nothing! You forfeited any reasonable claim you had to Ho-Oh's powers when you decided to take them by force! Ho-Oh gives gifts to those who are worthy! Not those who actively wish to abuse them! If Ho-Oh never appeared to you, it was for a good reason!"

"Maybe that has been the case for the past 700 hundred years, but that is no longer true! For I now possess Ho-Oh, and there is nobody who can stop me!"

Ash, with all his Pokémon surrounding him, declares, "We'll see about that!"

"Indeed we will." Fenghuang pulls out a futuristic Pokéball, but this one is different from Cinder's and Ember's. It is colored reflective chrome on one half and black on the other. He throws it into the air and declares, "Go, Legion Ball!" Once up into the air, the ball transforms into energy like the other futuristic Pokéballs, except once it does so it splits into a myriad of separate bodies of energy. Each one of those bodies solidify into its own Pokémon. It's an army of Unown. "Attack and destroy, my Unown!"

The Unown instantly mobilize and hover around Ash and his Pokémon in all directions.

Ash doesn't look the least bit worried. He says. "Alright everyone, let's do this! Thunderbolt! Brave Bird! Flamethrower! Aqua Jet! And Wood Hammer!" Ash's Pokémon all immediately leap into action, using the corresponding move that Ash ordered.

Some Unown are beaten back by the attack, but even all five of Ash's Pokémon attacking in tandem isn't enough to hit them all. The untouched Unown all attack with Hidden Power, manifesting itself in the form of a red beam shot from their eye.

Ash quickly orders, "Turtsol, protect yourself with Withdraw! Eagladiator, dodge with Aerial Maneuvers! Pikachu, get out of the way with Quick Attack! Dashilisk do the same with Extreme Speed! Arborrior, deflect it with Wood Hammer!" The Pokémon all perfectly follow orders and manage to escape any damage at all. "Great, now attack again!" The Pokémon all launch another round of attacks, further scattering the Unown, this time giving them some more room to work with. Ash turns his cap backwards, gives a confident grin, and declares "Alright everyone, to battle!"

With that, the Pokémon all charge into their own battles against various groups of Unown. Ash watches carefully and shouts the occasional order to coordinate the battles. He turns to look behind him and sees Turtsol just about to be hit with a Hidden Power from behind. "Turtsol, use Rapid Spin now!" Turtsol pulls into its shell and spins in place. The attack causes the Hidden Power to reflect and bounce back to the Unown that sent it.

To his side, Ash notices an Unown dodge out of the way of Eagladiator's Talon Grapple by floating backwards. "Hey Eagladiator! Let the forward momentum of your attack carry you forward! Don't fight against it! Use it!" Eagladiator does so, and it manages to score a direct shot against the Unown.

In the opposite direction, Arborrior has just used Wood Hammer to smack away several Unown. However, they quickly recover. "Arborrior, you've got to launch a follow-up attack! Try Razor Leaf!" Arborrior immediately switches to its ranged attack, and deals further damage before the Unown can fully recover.

Ash then looks to Dashilisk, who is fighting right next to Arborrior. It uses Aqua Jet as a way to fly through the air and hit multiple targets all around the battlefield. Ash notices that Dashilisk, in its current trajectory, is about to pass right overhead a large grouping of Unown. He orders, "Dashilisk, drop out of the Aqua Jet and use Dragon Claw as you fall!" Dashilisk does so just in time to fall right into the crowd of Unown. As it falls through them, it slashes at each and every one of them with Dragon Claw. Some of the Unown attempt to attack it, but its falling too quickly, and their Hidden Power only ends up hitting other Unown.

Next to come to his attention is Pikachu, who has just plowed through several Unown with Volt Tackle. Ash looks up and sees all the Unown above his head. This gives him an idea. "Hey Pikachu! Over here!" Pikachu looks to Ash and instantly knows what he's planning. It dashes right at him. Ash lowers an arm, allowing for Pikachu to jump up onto it. Ash then throws Pikachu straight upwards as Pikachu also jumps, sending it high into the air. Ash shouts, "Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaaaaa chuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" A brilliant web of electricity arcs from one Unown to another, dealing massive damage to many of them. Pikachu then lands back down on Ash's shoulder, but quickly jumps back down to rejoin the fight.

Ember watches this sight with complete and utter awe. "He's fighting five different battles against an army of Pokémon all by himself! He really is the best!"

Cinder begs to differ. Deciding not to be outdone, he commands, "Dragonite, let's join the fight! Use Thunderstorm!" Dragonite flies up into the air and roars. Suddenly dark storm clouds begin to fill the area. The sound of thunder can be heard in the distance.

Realizing what her brother is planning, Ember quickly looks to her Alakazam and tells it, "Alakazam, use Magic Field!" Bubbles of purple energy appear around Alakazam, Dragonite, and all of Ash's Pokémon for a moment before they disappear.

Within moments the Thunderstorm gets into full swing and a cascade of rain begins to pour. A deafening boom of thunder is heard, and then multiple bolts of lightning rain down from the sky. Multiple Unown are hit by the various lightning strikes. Some bolts also head for some of Ash's Pokémon, but the purple energy bubbles from Alakazam's Magic Field reappear and protect them from any damage.

Ash looks back to the two of them and grins. "Thanks, guys."

Ember asserts, "We're all in this together."

Cinder adds, "And if I'm going to be a Pokémon Master, then there's no way I can let you show me up!"

Ash grins, accepting the challenge.

Nearby, Past Team Rocket are huddled up once more. James declares, "Okay, I think we've finalized our master plan."

Jessie agrees, "The Viridian City Pokémon Center will never know what hit it."

Drops of rain begin to fall around them from Dragonite's Thunderstorm. Meowth demands, "Hey, what's up with the rain?"

James agrees, "That is quite odd. It was sunny only moments ago."

Jessie adds, "I don't remember the forecast calling for any rain."

Without any warning, a massive thunderbolt strikes the three of them, sending them flying up into the air. They all shout in terror.

As they're flying upwards, Jessie shouts in anger, "That lightning caused us to blast off!"

James posits, "How quaint, we're Team Rocket, and we're blasting off. What irony."

Meowth asserts, "Well you'd better savor your irony now, because there's no way this is ever going to happen again."

Jessie and James say in unison, "Agreed."

Then they all shout, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off!" at the same time as they disappear into the distance with a sparkle of light.

Who's that Pokémon!?

This Pokémon's feathers—which glow in seven colors depending on the angle at which they are struck by light—are thought to bring joy. It is said to live at the foot of a rainbow.

The battle with Fenghuang's army of Unown continues, but it is not going well. There are too many of them. For everyone that gets knocked back, three more take their place. There's just no overcoming their numbers.

Ash can do nothing but watch in terror as his Pokémon begin to fall one-by-one. First its Turtsol. It's using Rapid Spin to plow through several Unown. However, a group of Unown swoop in behind it and attack with a synchronized Hidden Power, throwing Turtsol off course. It lands with a thud and emerges from its shell. The moment it does, another group of Unown all blast it with their Hidden Power, completely overpowering it. It cries out in pain, "Tuuuuurt!" as it falls.

Dashilisk is attacking an Unown with Scald. It may successfully hit it, but it quickly notices that several Unown are coming in behind it. They prepare to attack in formation. Dashilisk launches itself into an Aqua Jet in order to avoid the attack. The Unown immediately go into pursuit. They begin to lunch a barrage of attacks. Dashilisk dodges to the side, weaves all around, and does whatever other maneuvers it can to dodge, but it's not enough. More Unown join the original, and the constant onslaught of attacks proves to be too much for Dashilisk. Once the first attack hits, it all goes downhill. Dashilisk is quickly hit by several more in succession, and falls to the ground. "Daaaash!"

Both Eagladiator and Arborrior are also doing their parts to fend off the onslaught. Eagladiator attacks from above with a Talon Grapple attack to any Unown it comes across, while Arborrior knocks away several Unown at once with Wood Hammer. Attacks on both of them from the Unown force the two to lose ground and be forced backwards. The two end up back-to-back with each other, encircled completely by Unown. The two look back at each for a moment and nod to each other, pledging to fight until the end. The Unown the dive in to attack. Eagladiator and Arborrior take their last stand. Using Talon Grapple and Wood Hammer they do their best knock back the incoming horde, but it's too much for them. The sheer number of Unown completely overwhelm them and both of them fall to ground and cry out in pain.

Ash's Pokémon aren't the only ones failing. Both Dragonite and Alakazam are having an impossible time fighting so many opponents, and they too fall. Even Celebi succumbs to the onslaught of Hidden Power attacks.

All that remains now is Pikachu. Pikachu leaps into the air, attacks an Unown with Iron Tail, uses the force from the attack to bounce back, and then attacks several Unown behind it with an Electro Ball, before landing on the ground again. It then turns towards another group of Unown and attacks them with an extremely powerful lightning bolt from the sky, courtesy of a Hallowed Lightning attack combined with the already existing thunderstorm. But even Pikachu is no match for the sheer numbers. A group of Unown floats up behind Pikachu without it noticing.

Ash shouts in horror, "Pikachu!"

Pikachu looks to Ash with worry, and then behind it, but only when it's too late. The Unown attack Pikachu. Pikachu cries out, "Piiiiiiiik!" and falls to the ground.

Fenghuang laughs. "Even the legendary Pikachu falls before my army of Unown! You have lost this battle!" He looks to his Unown and orders, "Finish it!" The Unown prepare to attack the defenseless Pikachu.

Ash's eyes go wide. "Pikachu!" He sprints towards Pikachu.

Ember says with extreme worry, "Oh no, not Pikachu."

Even Cinder appears worried.

Just as the Unown are about to attack with Hidden Power, Ash dives over Pikachu and uses himself as a human shield as the Unown attack. He cries out in intense pain.

Seeing that their attack isn't hitting their target, the Unown stop attacking. Fenghuang orders, "No, keep up your attacks! If Ash wants to feel pain, we'll let him feel it!" The Unown immediately begin their attack once more.

Ash grunts through the pain and vows with determination, "I won't let them hurt you Pikachu, and I won't let him take Ho-Oh."

Fenghuang demands, "And what makes you think you can stop me!? What are you to think you can stand in my way!? You're nothing but a kid with unreachable dreams! You claim you want to be a Pokémon Master, but you know it's worthless! You've lost every single Pokémon League you've entered! What kind of Pokémon Master are you!? You're nothing! Nothing at all! After today, it will be me who becomes the prominent one in history! You will be nobody, just as it should be! Who are you!? What is it that makes you so special!?"

Under his breath, Ash forces out, "I… I… I…" He slowly stands up and turns to face Fenghuang.

Fenghuang shouts, "Keep on attacking him!"

Ash, with determination ringing in his words, continues, "I… I… I want to be the very best, like no one ever was!" He holds a fist up in a show of willpower. "To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause!"

Ember and Cinder look to Ash with a combination of awe, admiration, and surprise.

Ash continues, "I will travel across the land, searching far and wide! I'll teach Pokémon to understand the power that's inside!"

Fenghuang's eyes go wide. "How are you still standing!?"

Ash looks down to Pikachu, fallen at his feet. "It's you and me, I know it's my destiny! You're my best friend, in this world we must defend!"

Pikachu gathers enough strength to look up towards Ash.

Fenghuang accuses, "No one should be able to withstand this much damage! How is this possible!?"

Ash answers, "A heart so true! Our courage will pull us through!" He beckons to his various fallen Pokémon, and then to himself. "They teach me, and I teach them, my Pokémon! I will catch 'em all! Gotta catch 'em all!"

Fenghuang, getting nervous, shouts, "Stop him! Stop him now! Keep on attacking!" The Unown up the intensity of the attack.

At this point, it's as if Ash doesn't even feel the attacks. He continues, "Every challenge along the way, with courage I will face! I will battle every day to claim my rightful place!"

Cinder says under his breath with absolute admiration, "This is how you got so far…this is why you are who you are…and I've always somehow resented you for it… Only now do I realize how wrong I was…"

Ash looks down to his Pokémon strewn around him. "Come with me, the time is right! There's no better team! Arm-in-arm we'll win the fight, it's always been our dream!"

All of his Pokémon manage to just barely lift their heads and look to Ash. His words are obviously inspiring to them.

Ash reiterates, "It's you and me! I know it's our destiny! You're my best friends, in a world we must defend! Your hearts are so true! Our courage will pull us through!" He looks back to Fenghuang once more and reasserts, "They teach me, and I teach them! My Pokémon! I will catch 'em all! Gotta catch 'em all! Pokémon!"

Fenghuang's fists are shaking with anger. "You're no normal human! How could you stand up to such pain!? Destroy him already, my Unown! Destroy him!" The Unown momentarily cease attacking in order to gather their energy so that they may attack even stronger than before.

Ash looks up to the Unown and shouts in defiance, "Unown! Do you know who I am!? I'm Ash, from the Town of Pallet! I'm destined to be the world's number one Pokémon Master! I can't be defeated by the likes of you!"

Pikachu looks to Ash and struggles as it attempts to stand.

Ash continues, "I'm going to defeat you all! You hear me!?" In one last shout of defiance, he proclaims, "Come and get me!"

The Unown are illuminated by a bolt of lightning and they begin to launch their final attack.

Everything seems to go in slow motion now. Ash holds his arms up, as if to block the Unown, and looks up to them with not even a hint of fear in his eyes. Pikachu, inspired by Ash, gets up and runs towards him. Once it reaches Ash's legs, it climbs up and onto Ash's shoulder. For a split moment Ash and Pikachu's eyes meet. Their looks say it all. Pikachu then leaps off of Ash's shoulder and into the air in front of the Unown just as a bolt of lightning is coming down from the sky. The bolt strikes Pikachu, super-charging it. Pikachu then attacks with an incredibly strong electric attack. "Pikaaaaaaaaa chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" The attack is a gigantic bolt of lightning that hits everything around it, utterly defeating each and every Unown. The moment the attack ends, the thunderstorm clears up and the clouds leave the sky.

Ash falls to the ground. Pikachu runs up to him. Ash smiles. "Well, we beat them."

Pikachu nods. "Chu." It licks Ash's cheek.

Fenghuang was also caught in Pikachu's attack. He has fallen to the ground and looks singed all over. He shakes his head in disbelief. "No…nobody can be that powerful…nobody…"

Ember and Alakazam approach him. Ember states, "You're wrong. He's Ash Ketchum, and he is that strong. Your mistake was thinking you could defeat him." Her Alakazam then creates a barrier around Fenghuang, imprisoning him.

Ash suddenly remembers something. He forces himself up and limps over to Ho-Oh. "I'm sorry this took so long Ho-Oh, let us get you out now." He looks behind him to see that all his Pokémon have gathered behind him. He looks to Turtsol and asks, "Turtsol, do you think you could use Molten Slag to melt through theses orbs creating the imprisoning field?"

Turtsol affirms, "Turt." It then walks up next to Ho-Oh and spits a small globule of molten material at one of the orbs. The molten slag melts right through it. As soon as it does, the entire field collapses and Ho-Oh breaks free.

Ho-Oh stretches its wings triumphantly and screeches into the air. It then looks down to Ash and all his Pokémon and smiles at them. It flaps its wing and creates a wind of rainbow sparkles. These sparkles rain down on Ash and his Pokémon, completely healing them of all the damage they sustained.

Ash looks down to himself, and then back up to Ho-Oh. "Wow, I've heard that you're able to grant life, but I never expected to be the recipient before. Thank you, Ho-Oh."

Ho-Oh shakes its head and beckons a wing at Ash. Indicating that it is itself that should be thanking Ash. It then looks off into the sky. After a moment of thought, it turns around and points to its back.

Ash asks, "What is it?"

Ember, sounding extremely impressed, says, "I think Ho-Oh wants to give you a ride."

Ash is surprised. "Is that true Ho-Oh? Do you want to give me a ride?"

Ho-Oh nods.

Ash smiles. "That sounds great. Let's do it." He and Pikachu climb up onto Ho-Oh's back, and with a few powerful wingbeats, Ho-Oh takes off into the sky.

As they fly off, Cinder watches with awe and jealousy. He says to himself, "I grew up hearing your stories, but I always saw them as a reason to resent your shadow over me. Never have I realized how truly worthy of casting that shadow you are…"

It's Ho-Oh!

Ho-Oh flies across the sky, a golden aura enveloping it, and sparkles of light trailing behind it. It flies towards a rainbow off in the distance. Ash and Pikachu sit atop its back, absolutely thrilled.

Ash says with complete disbelief, "As much as I wanted to, I never thought I would actually be able to meet Ho-Oh, let alone fly on its back. This is amazing!"

Pikachu, equally in awe, agrees, "Pik…"

Ash looks down towards the ground and notices something beneath them. "Pikachu, look!" Down below them are two figures lying on the ground. They both seem to have taken heavy damage. One is a boy and the other is a Pikachu. The two of them are looking up towards Ho-Oh in awe.

Ash says with even greater disbelief, "It's us, Pikachu…those two down there are us…" He pauses. "That means that this is it. This is that first time we saw Ho-Oh…"

"Pika…"

"Who would have guessed that all this time, the reason we saw Ho-Oh flying over us all that time ago was because of our actions in the future…wow…" After another moment of taking in the unbelievable scene, Ash says with wonder, "It's hard to believe it's been less than a year since we left Pallet Town for the first time…sometimes it feels more like it's been twenty."

Pikachu nods in agreement. "Pik."

The two best friends spend the rest of their trip just watching everything around them with awe and wonder as Ho-Oh flies in towards the rainbow and disappears from sight.

Ash and Pikachu are back on the ground. They wave goodbye as Ho-Oh flies off. Ash shouts, "Goodbye, Ho-Oh! We'll meet again someday! I promise!"

Ho-Oh screeches a goodbye back as it flies out of sight.

Ash then turns to Cinder and Ember and asks, "So what's next? What do we do now?"

Cinder answers, "There's nothing to do but go back to our own times."

Ember beckons to Fenghuang, who is still trapped in a floating bubble and has given up on any escape attempts. "We'll take him back to our time and put him where he belongs, in jail."

Celebi flies up to Ash and flicks him playfully on the nose again. Ash grins and then asks, "And what about Celebi?"

Cinder answers, "Celebi is free to go where ever it wants again for the first time in almost 200 years. It will go where it wants to go."

Ash nods happily.

Ember then says, "So I suppose that it's now time for us to go our separate ways." She looks to Celebi. "Could you open a portal back to Ash's time for him, Celebi?"

Celebi nods. "Biii!" A time portal opens up in front of them.

Ash smiles and looks to Ember and Cinder. "Thank you both for helping me protect my past."

Cinder shakes his head. "No, it should be us who are thanking you for helping us. I'm not going to lie. When this all started, I did not want you on this mission at all. I thought you would only get in the way, but you proved me wrong so many times over. If it weren't for you, things would have gone a whole lot worse. I really thought I knew you well, but I see now how utterly wrong I was."

Ash grins. "You know, speaking of, I really do feel like I know you two. I don't know why, but I can't shake the feeling." After a moment he asks, "Do I know you in the future?"

Ember grins and chuckles. "To tell you that would be a spoiler."

Ash nods. "I don't want any of those." He then steps towards the portal. Before stepping in, he takes one last look towards Cinder and Ember. He says, "Hey Cinder, if we ever meet in the future, I want you to promise me something."

Cinder nods. "Anything."

"I want to have a battle with you."

Cinder nods. "You can count on it. We'll have that battle."

Ash smiles. "Thanks. Goodbye! I hope to see you two again!"

Pikachu adds, "Pika-pi!"

They step into the portal and disappear, leaving Cinder, Ember, and Celebi behind.

They stand speechless for a few moments, and then Cinder says, "We should get going."

Ember nods in agreement. "Celebi, take us home."

"Biii!" It closes Ash's portal and opens another. Cinder and Ember jump through, pulling Fenghuang in with them.

They come back out in the park where they first left their time. There is one major difference this time. A statue stands in the center of the park that wasn't there before. Ember exclaims, "Look Cinder! The statue! It's back! We really did fix time!"

Cinder looks to the statue with a newfound sense of pride over it.

A better look at the statue reveals it is of Ash and Pikachu. He looks not much older than we know him. A plaque on the base of the statue says, "In Honor Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum. This Statue Depicts Him as He Was When He Won His First Pokémon League."

A silhouetted figure appears in the shadow cast by the statue. While Cinder and Ember are admiring the statue, Celebi notices the silhouette and flies happily over to it, flicks it playfully on the nose, and then lands on its shoulder. "Bii!"

The silhouetted man says to it, "Celebi, my old friend. It is great to see you again." He then says to Cinder and Ember, "It would seem that you were successful."

Cinder and Ember turn to him. Ember exclaims, "Dad! You're alright!"

"Thanks to you, my children. I knew you could do it." The silhouette turns to face Cinder. "Now my son, I've been waiting twenty years for that battle you promised me. Are you up for it?" The silhouette of a Pikachu pops its head up on the man's shoulder opposite of Celebi.

Cinder holds up a fist in a ready stance and declares, "I'm ready, Dad."

Ash walks into camp, where Brenda and Brock are sitting at a picnic table. He declares, "Hey guys, I'm back!"

Brock tilts his head in confusion. "What do you mean, Ash?"

Now Ash is confused. "I've been gone all day. I thought you'd be worried."

Brenda questions, "What do you mean? You just left to wash your hands in the river a few minutes ago."

Ash shakes his head in disbelief and mutters under his breath, "Time travel…" He then says aloud, "Never mind, just give me some lunch. I'm famished!" He runs over to the table and begins to pile up food onto a plate.

Even all this time later, this is just the beginning of the amazing adventures of Ash and Pikachu. Their journey is destined to be packed with non-stop action, millions of laughs, heart-stopping perils, and endless excitement. Together they'll encounter fantastic friends, evil enemies, and meet creatures beyond their wildest imagination. And as their story unfolds, we'll unlock the magic and mystery of a most wondrous place, the incredible world of Pokémon!

The scene pans upwards and zooms into the rainbow that Ash and Pikachu saw before their time traveling adventure. Ho-Oh flies over the rainbow, cloaked once more in a brilliant golden aura and trailed by dazzling golden sparkles. Ho-Oh's cry can be heard.

To Be Continued…

It should come as no surprise that the Pokémon anime has played an important part in my life, as evident by the fact that I am even writing this story. Last year, for franchise's anniversary, I explained why the series was so important to me, and how it has been there my entire life. Here's the thing, I only started playing the games half-way through my life. The anime has been there for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories of watching TV consist of watching Ash, Brock, and Misty as they journeyed through Kanto. I also explained last year that the thing I love most about Pokémon is the world itself, and the games only let you see a limited portion of that world. The anime, on the other hand, is a wonderful window into that wonderful, amazing world, and that is the reason that, even given all of its flaws, I do, and always will, love the anime so much.

Do you have any stories or memories to share about the anime? Leave a review and share.

Happy 20th 10th Birthday Ash!