Chapter 15: Wake Up, Sunshine
"Ash!"
To everyone's surprise, it was Lillie who made the first move and broke the tension. She turned to Ash and threw a Pokéball his way. Ash shot a quick glance to his right and caught it easily, a big grin on his face.
"Thanks, Lillie!"
"Metagross, Salamence, come out!"
Chi led the charge of the opposing side. Following his lead, the 40 or so Team Sigma grunts released their Pokémon to surround the group.
"Lillie, we'll take care of them! Use this!" Serena shouted, keeping her words precise. She tossed her cell phone to the blonde girl. She figured that Lillie, with all that brain power, would know what she meant.
Lillie nodded, catching the phone with both hands. "Right!"
"Watch over Altaria for a moment, please?" Lillie turned to Mallow. The green-haired girl nodded seriously, as Lillie diverted her attention away from their opponents and on to the phone in her hands. She quickly dialed a number and after a moment, she spoke again. "Hello, Sootopolis police? We are engaging Team Sigma outside of the Cave of Origin-"
"Let's do this, you guys!" Kiawe called loudly. The rest of the group rallied with those words, beginning to call commands to their partners. The fighting immediately broke out on a huge scale, with all of Ash's friends facing down more than a few Team Sigma grunts and their Pokémon. It was overwhelming, but the feeling of comradery was ever-present in a group with Ash, so morale remained high. They all knew they could do this.
Ash faced down Chi, holding on to what Lillie had thrown to him and taking out another Pokéball as well. He shot a sideways glance at his first partner. "Pikachu, I want you to go and help the others, okay? Watch their backs. We'll take of care of this one."
Pikachu nodded seriously, leaping off of Ash's shoulder and running off to assist his friends. Ash once again turned his attention to Chi, a grin beginning to break out on his face.
"Lycanroc, Gallade, you're up!" Ash called, improvising a bit.
The bright green eyes of Ash's brilliant orange Lycanroc appeared on to the battlefield, followed by a strange purple-pink colored flash before a Gallade appeared as well.
"Not sure what you were thinking with a double battle, but ain't no way you're gettin' past me." Ash grinned. "Your pals don't have a chance against mine, either. Groudon and Kyogre have both calmed down. The storm is gone. We've got you cornered. The upper hand is ours. Don't make this harder than it has to be."
"You insolent...!" Chi muttered under his breath. "It's certainly true that you kids have put us into an unfortunate position. Without the Blue and Red orbs, all we can do and sit here and watch the ancient Pokémon return to their slumber. However, no matter how much may think you've outwitted us, we proud Team Sigma members are not so uncouth as to give up without a fight."
"I can appreciate that much, at least." Ash nodded, understanding. "But all we have to do is run the clock, now. Your time is running out, and quick."
Chi snarled. "As if I'd let the bantering of a child deter me. Salamence, Flamethrower!"
"Block it with Stone Edge, Lycanroc!"
Chi's Salamence reared its neck back before firing a powerful Flamethrower toward Ash's partners, but Lycanroc slammed its front paws into the ground, which erupted into a wall of massive stones that kept the fire at bay.
"Go, Gallade! Night Slash! And Lycanroc, Rock Throw!"
Almost as if it had teleported, Gallade ran past the wall of rocks and took off towards Metagross, its blades at the ready. Lycanroc leapt into the air, forming a barrier of small rocks around itself before launching them at Salamence. The dragon-type was able to dodge swiftly, but a few of the rocks nicked its wings.
"Metagross, Meteor Mash!"
The Iron Leg Pokémon tucked in all four of said iron legs to face forward and compress its massive form a bit before taking off towards Gallade to deter its attack. But - again, almost as if it moved instantly - Gallade's form seemed to vanish and reappear just to the side of Metagross, where, in the split second it was open, it slashed its elbow swords across its opponents metal casing in a X-formation before retreating safely back to Ash's side of the battle. Chi did not fail to notice that the actual size of the cuts that Gallade had left behind were much smaller than its swords appeared to be. Metagross recoiled in pain from the super-effective attack, but didn't seem like it lost much strength. Back to square one.
Ash didn't waste time with the standoff. "Accelerock!"
In the blink of an eye, Lycanroc launched itself with unbelievable acceleration right at Salamence, crashing into it with huge velocity, causing it to recoil in pain with no time to react.
"Strike Metagross again, Gallade! Night Slash, once more!"
Gallade took off running towards Metagross once again. Chi narrowed his eyes, letting it approach a bit. "Use Psychic."
Metagross' eyes lit up bright blue, attempting to focus its psychic power on Gallade, which should have stopped it in place. However, Gallade didn't stop its approach, and landed two consecutive Night Slash cuts on top of Metagross.
"That settles it."
Psychic had failed to work entirely.
"You thought you could fool me?"
Ash grit his teeth. He saw Chi's expression change; he knew his opponent must've caught on to what he was doing. But he didn't have much choice but to keep firing away.
"Salamence, Dragon Rush!"
"Stagger it with Stone Edge! Gallade, strike, one more time! Night Slash!"
Salamence did something of a nosedive and just as it nearly reached the ground, tucked its wings inward and began speeding towards Lycanroc with a blue-purple glow surrounding it. Lycanroc slammed its front two paws into the ground once again, stones erupting from the ground to block the trajectory Salamene was taking. Salamence had managed to break through the massive rocks with what seemed like relative ease, but did manage to substantially slow its velocity before it slammed into Lycanroc, sending it flying back towards Ash.
Meanwhile, Gallade once again charged towards Metagross, who awaited its attack patiently. Ash had figured it could avoid any potential counters from Metagross by leaping around to its backside and striking its blind spot. Such was the approach Gallade took, as it once again seemed to vanish and reappear behind Metagross. It leaped upward, striking with Night Slash on top of Metagross. But Metagross had not attempted a counter whatsoever, and Chi smirked with confidence.
"I've got you this time. Metagross, Bullet Punch!"
Metagross reacted quickly, lifting one of its back arms and twisting it around to face forward, and slammed the attack at high velocity right into Gallade - or, what had appeared to be Gallade - and sent it flying back in Ash's direction as the illusion wore off, and with another flash of pink-tinted light, Zorua lay collapsed on the ground at Ash's feet.
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"Doesn't this remind you of our days fighting against Team Galactic, Dawn?"
"A little bit, yeah. Though these guys are even tougher." She grit her teeth, though she was grinning all the same. She and Brock had been through many battles just like this, alongside Ash. Brock even more so than she had. Ash's fiery spirit had rubbed off on her; not to mention all of her allies and friends that she battled alongside. "All we gotta do is hold 'em off."
"That's right. Let's keep at it. Swampert, Muddy Water, let's go!"
"Mamoswine, Take Down!"
The others were holding their own as well, but commands from Team Sigma opponents were being called out one after another, and it was all they could do to react in time and keep their own Pokémon from getting hit repeatedly. It was tricky to find an opening to fight back unless they could simply charge through enemy moves and deal damage of their own. However, this was a fight they did not need to win.
Lillie's call to the police made it so that they simply had to bide their time until they arrived at the scene. When that happened, it would be all over. But they absolutely could not afford to let their guards down until that happened, lest their opponents make a quick escape or even invade the Cave of Origin again. The had to go all in while that option was still on the table.
Team Sigma did not know that Lillie had contacted the police. Of course, their orders from Shadow had instructed them to attempt to salvage the situation, but Chi had been aware that those orders would very well leave them in the hands of the enemy. It was a sacrifice that needed to be made for the benefit of their leader and his ideals.
"Sylveon, defend with Fairy Wind! And Roserade, use Petal Dance!"
Serena turned off to one side slightly to issue commands to her partners. Before she even realized, a Tyrantrum rampaged right behind her and easily knocked aside a fast-moving Graveler that had been heading her way, and Serena was caught by surprise and looked over in shock. Someone approached her, tapping her on her shoulder. "I got your back, girly."
Serena looked back to see Zinnia standing behind her, with a small grin on her face. Serena didn't have time to ponder anything, she quickly recomposed herself and nodded. "Thanks. I'll have yours, too."
They shouted out a couple more commands to their partners before Zinnia addressed her again. "It was Serena, right? You're Ash's not-girlfriend?"
Serena sweatdropped. As much as she didn't want to admit it, that title was pretty spot-on. She wasn't sure how she felt actually hearing it, though. "Uh, yes?"
"S' nice to actually get to talk to ya, though I can't help but feel like our circumstances are less than ideal for it." Zinnia remarked matter-of-factly.
'She didn't seem like the type for sarcasm...?' Serena immediately picked up on this. Even compared to just a few short hours before, Zinnia seemed infinitely more relaxed now than she did earlier. Even the way she spoke was less rigid than it had been.
Serena let a soft smile cross her face. She knew what that meant. Ash must've gotten to her. Figures.
"I'd have to agree, though I do appreciate the sentiment." Serena quickly returned her attention to the battle. "Ash didn't give you too much trouble, did he?"
"Well, he certainly didn't make things easy." Zinnia admitted readily. "But we got it done."
"I'm glad to hear it, though I'm sorry for the trouble." Serena sweatdropped. "That's usually how it goes. He never goes any other way but his."
"I learned that firsthand. You've got your work cut out for you."
"Tell me about it."
With that exchange, they grinned at each other, letting out small laughs. They hadn't know, but their Pokémon partners had almost been caught off guard but some of their many opponents, but, to their surprise, a Quick Attack in the form of a zig-zag knocked all of the approaching opponents off of their courses, followed by an Electroweb that trapped and neutralized the long-range attacks. Pikachu landed safely in front of Sylveon and Roserade, glaring down at their opponents, his cheeks sparking.
"Pikachu!"
Pikachu looked back at Serena and smiled happily, crying out to her in affirmation. Serena couldn't help but blush a little; it was so like Ash to let Pikachu on his own to help everyone. She grinned as well. "It's our turn!"
"Lillie, are you holding up okay?" Mallow shouted to her blonde companion.
"I am, thanks Mallow! Altaria and I will be just fine! Even Snowy wants to help!" Lillie looked on with pride as her partner froze a Vibrava in place with Powder Snow. Altaria was much more powerful, but Lillie loved that she could see her own resolve reflected in her partner's attitude.
Mallow smiled. Her friend really had grown so much in so little time.
Sophocles grinned sideways at Lana. "Hanging in there, Lana?"
She grinned back smugly. "Better than you are."
"Please. You wish you could hang like I can."
"THE FLAMES OF WELA VOLCANO ARE RAGING INSIDE M-"
Kiawe certainly was fired up, but his voice gave out before he could finish his battle cry. Kiawe coughed violently, recoiling a bit. Lana sweatdropped. "Maybe that's enough of that for today."
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"Lycanroc! Zorua!"
Both of Ash's partners lay on the ground by his feet. Lycanroc was fighting to stand back up on all four of its legs; the Dragon Rush had hit it hard but likely at only around half of the power it could have hit with if the rocks from its Stone Edge attack hadn't been there to slow it down. Lycanroc was able to stand up and shake itself, clearing its vision and regaining its balance.
Zorua was in much worse shape. Metagross' Bullet Punch had hit it hard and fast, when it hadn't been expecting it. Metagross had such mass and velocity behind the attack that it had left the much smaller Zorua with significant injuries.
"Zorua, are you okay?? Say something, please!"
Chi cackled proudly. "As if you could fool me with that illusion for any longer! The ability certainly is formidable, though. The illusion had me fooled, visually. A perfect recreation of Gallade, and with a move that it can learn, as well. A clever tactic. Both of your partners are certainly strong and well-raised. But it won't be enough."
Ash knelt down to Zorua, shaking it lightly, desperation in his eyes. Lycanroc pranced over and nudged his friend lightly as well. "Hey, Zorua... please be okay."
Zorua opened an eye, seemingly finding and focusing on its trainer after a moment of brief moment of confusion. It managed to force a sad smile to its trainer, before reeling in pain again, doing everything it could to maintain consciousness.
"Zorua, can you still fight?" Ash asked gently.
Zorua's eyes opened again, slowly. It managed to flash its trainer one more smile, as if to say that it wanted to continue, but Ash could tell that it may not have the strength. Ash closed his eyes for a brief moment, placing a hand on Lycanroc's back and standing back up, once again facing Chi.
Ash looked down to Zorua, giving his partner an encouraging smile. "You've got this. We'll wait for you!"
Zorua's eyes widened at this.
"Ha! Don't make me laugh. Is that really what you've chosen to depend on? Your feelings? There is no situation in which you can reliably depend on your emotions to accomplish anything. But feel free to continue amusing me." The purple haired man said, cocky.
"That's fine with me, because my determination and spirit will reach Zorua, no matter how long it takes! And not just mine, either. Lycanroc's, too. Pikachu's, and all of my friends', too!" Ash grinned. "Until then, we'll hold you off just fine."
"Hmph. You've certainly got a big mouth, boy. But the fact is, you can only trust what you can sense for yourself. See, hear, touch... there is nothing that can possibly be gained from an 'idea'. The fabrication of 'believing' in someone. It's utterly pointless, and relying on such flimsy ideals will only bring you pain and failure." Chi continued. "Such is what Shadow taught us. Science and observation provides concrete evidence, and your skill and adaptability decide the outcome of a battle."
"You can think whatever you want, but here's how I see it. In battle, it doesn't matter how strong or weak you are as a trainer, as a Pokémon, or even as a team. There is no point to any of it without trust and comradery. That's the reason all of my friends keep fighting on and don't even give me a second look. Because I trust them to hold out against all your guys, and they all trust me and my friends to take you and your stupid purple noggin outta the equation. We'll never lose hope. Sometimes, that's all we can do."
Ash cast a look downward at the Tricky Fox Pokémon at his feet, who had finally begun to regain some strength, and was struggling to its feet, more determined than ever. "And sometimes, it's all we need to do."
Zorua stood up and howled, a bright blue glow lighting up its whole body. Ash grinned.
Zorua's body grew to multiple times its original size, standing up on two legs instead of four, and its tuft of hair growing to reach down to the floor from its head. Its snout grew, jutting outward. The blue light dissipated, and Zoroark roared proudly, almost seeming to shake the ground with the ferocity of the sound.
"You guys see that...?" Mallow looked on in awe.
"I've never seen a Zoroark in person..." Lillie did the same.
"And this one looks awfully strong." Brock commented with a satisfied grin.
"Not to mention totally pissed." Dawn added, grinning as well.
Ash held out a fist. "I told you we'd wait. Welcome back."
Zoroark looked at Ash with a sense of respect and admiration, nodding and fist bumping its trainer. They all turned back toward Chi, grinning. "We're ready when you are."
"So you knew that would happen, did you...? Well, no matter. You, still, shall fall in the end."
"We'll see about that!"
'We've got to be getting close, right...? Just a little longer!'
In actual time, it had only been about 3 minutes since Lillie had called the police. The Cave or Origin was not easy to get to from the city, especially if you were mobilizing a large force of people who had to travel through the forest in police cars and trucks. There wasn't actually a normal driving path for cars to get to the entrance of the cave itself, so they were going to have to park at least a few hundred feet away and then get all the police officers to this point on the ankle express. Just had to buy time until then.
Before Ash could even call out a command, Zoroark took off, launching itself at Chi's Metagross with frightening speed, its arms beginning to glow a dark red color. It let out a fierce cry as energy seemed to radiate from its arms, and slammed its arms into the ground, creating an expanding ring of pure darkness. The move collided with Metagross, coating it and darkness and causing it to collapse from the force of the energy.
"That must've been Night Daze!" Ash grinned. "That move is no joke."
Chi grit his teeth. He hadn't even seen Zoroark before it was already right in front of Metagross. Luckily, Metagross still had the strength to stand and continue fighting, but it couldn't be ignored that Zorua's evolution had made his opponent much more formidable.
"Salamence, use Hurricane!"
The Dragon Pokémon quickly began flapping its wings, a powerful windstorm began raging around Ash and his partners. Ash had to react quickly; the winds were too strong to withstand for long. "Lycanroc, Stone Edge!"
Once again, Lycanroc slammed its paws into the ground, but this time, massive stones rose from the ground around them in a circle, creating a protective barrier of rocks to keep them out of the wind.
"Metagross, Meteor Mash!"
Before Ash and his Pokémon could tell what was happening, Metagross' compact form easily smashed through their protective wall of rocks, slamming itself into both Lycanroc and Zoroark, who had both managed to react in time, jumping slightly out of its trajectory to avoid the full force of the impact. They both recoiled in pain and had been sent flying backward, but were still ready to fight.
"Zoroark, fire Shadow Ball!"
While it was still flying through the air, Zoroark was able to find its balance and send a Shadow Ball flying towards Metagross, which connected and forced it back to its trainer's side.
"Use Flamethrower!"
"Accelerock, take it down!"
Salamence reared back before firing Flamethrower at Lycanroc as it used one of the big rocks from its last Stone Edge as a launching pad to jump right toward Salamence, who was in the air above Chi. With pure speed and determination, Lycanroc charged through the flames and continue to close in on Salamence.
"Use Psychic to stop it!"
Metagross zoned in on Lycanroc in an attempt to halt its advance toward its partner, but before the move could activate, all it could see in its vision was a black fox-like Pokémon.
Ash grinned. "Night Slash!"
Zoroark reared its arms back before slashing across the 'X' on Metagross' face with its claws, and the Iron Leg Pokémon recoiled from the attack, unable to stop Lycanroc's advance. Without that issue, the Wolf Pokémon was able to charge through the Flamethrower attack and collide with Salamence using Accelerock.
"Bite down!"
Just like it had with Altaria, Lycanroc bit down on Salamence while it was in the air, this time on to one of its four legs. Salamence cried out in pain, attempting to flail around and shake off its opponent, to no avail. However, Salamence was much bigger and heavier than Altaria, so while it was still resisting, there was no way Lycanroc would be able to move it on its own.
"Get rid of that pest!"
Before they could, Zoroark seemed to appear out of nowhere just above Salamence. It must have jumped, but they must've been at least 10 yards in the air, and Zoroark had gotten up there with ease.
"What??"
"Night Slash!"
Once more, Zoroark swung its claws downward in an 'X' formation, cutting across Salamence's back and causing it to cry out in pain again, and its wings stopped moving, so it began descending towards the ground. It stopped swinging its legs around, too. Just as this happened, Lycanroc began yanking with its head and teeth, spinning around once to build momentum before letting go and sending Salamence crashing to the ground.
"Now, Stone Edge!"
As it landed back on the ground, Lycanrock slammed its paws into the ground once again, and brig rocks with that familiar blue glow began appearing one by one, closer and closer to Salamence's collapsed body on the ground. Eventually, one appeared right below Salamence, sending it flying upwards and then crashing back to the ground, obviously dealing massage damage.
"Zoroark, Dig!"
In practically the blink of an eye, Zoroark dug deep into the ground and attacked from underneath Metagross. The attack was powerful enough to force it off balance and send it careening backwards towards its trainer. Chi could only look on in shock as both of his ace Pokémon took the powerful attacks, collapsing on the ground, both nearly down and out.
His eyes showed a look of shock and horror, like he wanted to refuse to believe what he was seeing with his own eyes. He looked back to Ash. "Who... are you?"
Ash, with his Pokémon partners - battered and beaten, yet still standing strong - stared their opponents down. Ash looked serious as he began to speak. "You were right about one thing, ability is a necessary thing to win battles, especially at a high level. But we have trust. And I don't trust my Pokémon because they already have ability. Our trust gives us ability."
Chi's eyes widened. Zoroark walked towards them, and stopped once it was close enough. When Chi blinked, what he saw was something he could never have imagined.
He suddenly stood in a field; a perfect embodiment of what Mother Nature would have wanted for her world. The grass was lush and beautiful, the sky was blue and cloudless, and the sun shone down on him, giving the world light. There was not a tree in sight, only lush, green grass as far as the eye could see. The wind blew softly, brushing the grass like a whisper from the sky. This was serene perfection.
Ahead of him, he saw a human, as well as a small, dark, fox-like Pokémon. He could not tell who they were, as the man's face was hidden, and they were a dozen meters away from where he stood. But the human knelt down to be closer to the small Pokémon, reaching his hand out toward it. The Pokémon seemed to hesitate, but eventually, it accepted the gesture, and the human began to pet the small Pokémon, finally letting a smile cross his face.
He heard it only faintly, but he could make it out clearly. The human spoke six simple words to the Pokémon.
"Let's make our dream come true!"
After this, more human forms began slowly fading into his view. Each one had a Pokémon partner. They continued to appear around him until the practically filled his vision. He still could not see any of their faces, but he could clearly tell that, with each pair, there was a quality that was shared among them all. It was love.
As more and more pairs of humans and Pokémon continued to appear, the landscape around him changed. Houses were built, roads were constructed, and he watched as a timelapse of history unfolded before his eyes. He stood in what looked like a town or village from the distant past, where people cultivated farmland and had houses made of raw materials like wood and stone. He frequently saw people walking or working alongside their partner Pokémon.
It quickly began changing, however, and buildings began to form. People moved from houses into buildings. Electric lights began appearing, and dirt roads turned into asphalt roads. Cars and airplanes were used. The world around him became bustling with people; even during the night, people and Pokémon were always moving and finding things to do.
One thing had not changed; people and Pokémon still lived in total harmony with each other. People loved their Pokémon, and their Pokémon loved them back.
'So this is it... this is what the perfect world looks like.' Chi thought as he continued to observe the world around him .'If all humans and Pokémon could love each other, this is the kind of world we'd live in...'
'Love... such a fleeting emotion... and yet...'
Chi's eyes widened, as it seemed like he understood.
'All these people, working alongside Pokémon to make their dreams come true... the ideal world... each person with a different dream, yet all having something in common...'
'Could we... really live like this?'
However, before he could realize what was really going on, he blinked again, and he was back in reality, facing down Ash in his partners... but the sun was still shining just as bright.
'What just happened to me...? Was that Zoroark's illusion?'
For everyone else, this had happened in the blink of an eye. He had seen all of that, but only a split second had passed for everyone else. Zoroark had created an illusion and forced Chi into a dream-like state to see it. In its evolved form, its Illusion ability was incredibly powerful.
Ash finally heard what he'd been waiting for: the faint sound of police sirens. It was nearly over. "Let's finish this! Zoroark, use Night Daze!"
One more time, Zoroark's arms pulsated with the energy of darkness, and it slammed its arms into the ground to create the field of darkness, which collided cleanly with both Metagross and Salamence, knocking them both out, unable to battle.
Chi covered his eyes with his arms, and when he looked again, both of his Pokémon were down and out. His eyes widened in fury as he growled at Ash. "I'm not finished! I'm-"
"Sootopolis police!! Everyone freeze! Team Sigma, you are all under arrest! Resist, and we will take you in by force!"
"What-"
Officer Jenny was here, and she'd brought the cavalry. There were more police officers with handcuffs than there were members of Team Sigma that had come out to battle.
Ash let out a sigh of relief, kneeling down to pet Lycanroc and Zoroark. "Way to go, you two."
"How did the police get here??" Chi shouted, furious.
"We called them, genius." Ash answered honestly, raising his eyebrows. "That's what trust does for us. We never needed to tell each other to call the police because we trusted one another to know the right thing to do. It's that simple."
Chi growled in frustration. He had been foiled at every turn. Officer Jenny herself had come to Chi to place handcuffs on him. "You the one in charge here? Come quietly, and we'll make this easy for you."
Chi seemed to be frustrated, but he surrendered - almost too easily. He allowed officer Jenny to restrain him and take him into the back of the carrying truck without another word. In fact, he did not speak at all.
The other officers continued to round up each Sigma members individually, who also did not resist, likely because they had seen that their leader hadn't. They all came in quietly, and the big battle royale had finally reached its conclusion.
"Officer Jenny, thank you for coming!"
"And thank you kids for calling us. We've been waiting all day for an opportunity to capture these fiends. Thank you for your help!" Officer Jenny saluted Ash in response.
"Of course! We're glad to help."
With that, Jenny saluted Ash once more and continued to help round up the rest of the members of Team Sigma who were present. They were all restrained and put into a big trailer which was being pulled by a pickup truck. It was big enough for all of the captives to fit inside.
With the tension finally lifted, all of Ash's friends began to relax. Ash looked around at everyone. Mallow put her arms around Lillie, and she leaned into it, both with relieved smiles on their faces. Dawn and Brock high-fived. Lana and Sophocles thanked their Pokémon, and even Kiawe had calmed down, exhausted from today's events. He saw Zinnia and Serena smiling at each other. Pikachu hopped up to perch himself on Serena's shoulder, who looked surprised at first but quickly gave him a loving smile and scratched his head, and he nuzzled her back.
The police were about done rounding everyone up, and as the last few members of Team Sigma were being put into the trailer, Ash looked down and spotted the purple haired commander, narrowing his eyes at the man as the police prepared to shut the doors to the trailer.
Before the doors were shut, Ash saw Chi open his mouth to speak. Ash couldn't hear him, but he saw Chi mouth three words very clearly. A chill went down his spine.
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With the big ordeal behind them, the legendary Pokémon back to sleep, and the sun returned to the sky, it all almost seemed like a bad dream.
Groudon and Kyogre had not shown any signs of movement after returning to their homes and falling back asleep, so that seemed to be peaceful. Team Sigma had gone with the police quietly, which raised Ash and Brock's suspicions, but they decided not to worry about it for now.
Even without Team Rocket's interference from much earlier, the Wallace Cup likely still would have been delayed. But with everything that went down, it seemed only natural. They would have to take a couple days to repair the stadium, but the show would certainly reach its conclusion. They had no reason not to just hold the finals on another day, so that's what would take place. Dawn and Serena could both relax for a while after what they went through.
With that said, the students of the Pokémon school had done a very admirable job today, so they were going to be allowed to stay in Sootopolis until the Wallace Cup concluded to enjoy themselves. After returning to the Pokémon Center, Kukui and Burnet, along with Nurse Joy, had greeted them all happily and thanked them for their good work.
Everyone was exhausted, to say the least. It had been quite the ordeal, and everyone had simply expected to relax and enjoy the Wallace Cup today. The students of the Pokémon school especially hadn't been through an ordeal like that in quite a while, so they were exhausted. Even Dawn and Brock seemed to be noticeably tired out.
The sun was setting, and Ash was outside the Pokémon Center, sitting on the grass and staring up at the sky, just relaxing and taking a mental and physical break after today's events. Pikachu sat on his lap, curled up and half-asleep. He pet and scratched Pikachu every so often. It wasn't long before someone came out of the Pokémon Center and sat next to him. The person who'd sat down lay her head down on his shoulder and sighed contentedly. Ash shot her a brief sideways smile.
"Long day, huh?"
"I'll say. I was ready for a long day of the Wallace Cup anyway, but... nothing like this." Serena looked up at Ash from his shoulder. "Great job today."
"You, too." Ash leaned his head over to rest on hers.
"So many things happened so quickly... it almost feels like a dream, doesn't it?" Serena admitted. "If you'd asked me just yesterday, just running into you by itself would've been about the craziest thing I could think of happening."
"I guess I should've known we couldn't come all the way to Hoenn without something crazy going down. That'd be too easy." Ash couldn't help but chuckle.
"You attract trouble like a magnet, Ash Ketchum."
"Kinda wish I could attract something else for once."
"Haven't you?" Serena looked up at him again, a blush and a teasing smile on her face. She put her arms around his shoulders to show what she meant.
Ash chuckled again. "Guess you're right."
Ash yawned, causing Serena to follow suit. She gave him a look, and he grinned sheepishly. "Well, at least, when I heard we were going to see the Wallace Cup, and it was in Hoenn, I was kind hoping you'd be there and I'd get to surprise you, and I did."
"And surprised, I was."
"But I guess, what I was thinking about, is how we all ended up here, together. All of us were just doing our own things, in totally different places. You, me, Dawn, Brock, even Zinnia, and somehow, we all ended up here, together, and were able to put a stop to all that. It's crazy to think about. We were all just chasing our own dreams, but we still ended up together, all being friends and being able to put a stop to everything." Ash concluded.
"I see what you mean. It's like we were all meant to be here so that we could work together the way we did." Serena agreed. "But now that it's over, we can finally relax."
"That's a relief, huh?" Ash grinned. "I think I could go for a nap, myself."
Serena gave him a loving smile. She brought her face close to his, and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "That sounds perfect."
They both lay down in the grass, and Serena kept her head on top of his shoulder, and she placed a hand on his chest, already feeling the drowsiness begin to take over. Ash was already ready to hit dream land, anyway, so he was nearly out cold as soon as he laid down. Serena relaxed as she felt his heart beat, and his chest rise and fall with his breathing. It comforted her to no end. Pikachu moved off of Ash to lay in the grass between Ash and Serena, and she smiled and scratched Ash's partner happily, who looked content.
A few minutes later, the Pokémon Center door opened, and Dawn and Brock exited, followed by the rest of the students. They saw Ash and Serena, laying in the grass, both asleep. Dawn and Brock gave satisfied smiles, and shot knowing glances at each other. Even the other students smiled at the scene. Brock nodded. "They've definitely earned that."
"No kidding." Dawn agreed.
"Should we join them?"
"I think we've all earned it, wouldn't you say?"
"Absolutely."
Before long, all nine of them were laying in the grass in the backyard of the Pokémon Center, looking up at the dimly lit sky and listening to the bustle of moving people and Pokémon, as the world began to fade from consciousness.
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Chasing Dreams: Epilogue
"Time's up!"
The arena went silent. Everyone turned their attention to the big screen.
"And the winner of this year's Pacifidlog Pokémon Contest is... Serena from Vaniville Town!"
The arena erupted into cheers. They had all just witnessed a wonderful final round of this year's contest.
It had been a long five minutes for a certain honey-blonde performer, but she had managed to win. She breathed a sigh of relief, before running up to meet her exhausted Roserade. She knelt down next to her partner and smiled happily, thanking her for her hard work.
"Off the back of her amazing win at the Wallace Cup last month, Serena keeps up her momentum by winning her fifth and final ribbon right here in Pacifidlog Town! Serena is now qualified to take part in this year's Grand Festival!"
The closing ceremony for the Contest took place, and Mister Contesta awarded Serena with the Pacifidlog Ribbon, which she happily accepted, with Roserade at her side. She happily waved to the crowd, who was applauding for her fifth win in the Hoenn Contest circuit.
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Ash grinned.
"Ash, whatcha watching?"
"Oh, hey, Goh! I'm watching a Pokémon Contest in Hoenn."
"You mean like what Dawn said she was into?"
"Yes, Goh, I'm surprised you actually remembered that."
"Give me some credit, Chloe!"
At Professor Sakuragi's lab in Vermillion City, Ash's friends Goh and Chloe leaned over his shoulder and watched as a girl with honey blonde hair and her Roserade awarded her the ribbon. Ash had zoned out of their conversation and was looking on with pride.
Goh noticed this and gave him a confused look. "You know this girl?"
Ash nodded. "Uh-huh. She's a longtime friend. I actually met her at Professor Oak's Summer Camp, you know."
"Whoa, really? I don't remember her at all!!"
"Guess she must've been too shy to talk much back then." Ash recalled how they met and how timid his friend had been.
Chloe seemed to catch on right away. She spoke under her breath. "Hm, a longtime friend, you say? Is that what you're going with?"
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As Serena stepped down off the podium and the crowd began to thin, she called her Roserade back into its Pokeball. She eventually noticed someone standing just inside the hall that led to the backstage area for coordinators. She was leaning back against a wall with her eyes closed, as if she were waiting for something. Serena quietly walked toward the hall, and as she got closer, she recognized the person. She gasped.
"Zinnia?"
The dark-haired girl turned to Serena, opening her eyes and giving the honey-blonde a smile. "Hi, Serena. It's nice to see you. Congratulations on your win."
"Thank you. I appreciate that, but what are you doing here?"
"I've got a gift for you." She answered with a kind smile.
"Oh, really? Zinnia, you shouldn't have."
"Just let me do this much, okay?"
Zinnia held out a small piece of paper to Serena, who blinked for a moment, before realizing what it was.
It was a plane ticket to Vermillion City.
"Really?? But, Zinnia, I-"
"Stop there. I won't hear of repayment. You all helped me back in Sootopolis, so I managed to pull some strings. And you still have a few months until this year's Grand Festival. Go and have fun, okay?" Zinnia smiled again.
After hesitating a moment, Serena sighed and accepted the ticket, holding it close to her heart.
"Thank you, Zinnia. I'm grateful."
Zinnia grinned. Seemed Ash had rubbed off a bit on her, too. "Go get him."
Serena nodded, a big, happy smile on her face. "I will."
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This chapter's song is "Wake Up, Sunshine" from All Time Low's latest album of that title. It was released right at the start of the pandemic and is probably my favorite of their albums. Definitely give it a listen if you're into punk rock stuff.
Thanks for sticking with me, y'all. I really appreciate all the kind words you've sent my way. I'm glad I was able to write something you all enjoy. As it stands right now, I don't have any intention of making a continuation to this story, hence why it ended rather definitively. I wanted to make sure it got finished before the new year started. I know that I said it was gonna have two more chapters, but the final chapter was going to be more of bonus chapter, so I wrapped it up in one.
As far as updating goes, I just have too much on my plate that I'm much more dedicated to working on, what with college as well as my other creative project taking up most of my free time (that's a story for another time). So I just can't update consistently, nor can I afford to actually work on the other projects I've brainstormed. That being said...
If any of you all are writers out there and would be interested in working with me to continue this series or even start a new one, please please PLEASE get in contact with me!! As it is, I just don't have the time to sit down and write out each chapter individually, but I do have a rough outline of the continuations for this story. If someone out there loves writing and would want to do the actual writing part of the continuations for this story (or even one of the other stories I've brainstormed) please contact me through DMs or email me @ lukesilverxy@gmail.com and let's discuss it!! If you email me, please link me to some of your work!!
If there is no response to this, then this story will more than likely just stay isolated. I simply don't have the time to write like this anymore. Though I did promise to complete this story, so I made sure that happened. I won't say that this is the last time you'll see me write something, but I don't have any solid plans right now. Just a few brainstorms here and there. Again, writers, if you're interested, PLEASE get in contact with me! I would love to be able to work with y'all. We can start by writing the bonus chapter of this story, which would show the actual finale of the Wallace Cup and Serena's win over Dawn.
Thanks again everyone, and hopefully I'll see ya soon.