After losing his match against Ritchie, Ash remained in his room, sulking.
Ash: 'Why did I have to lose?'
Pikachu: Pika Pi. (Ash) Outside the room, Ash's friends all check to see if he's okay.
Oak: So, he's just been lying in there since he lost the match?
Brock: Yeah. He won't even eat or anything.
Delia: Maybe he's coming down with a cold.
Brock: No. He's just depressed.
Niko: Hmm. Niko processes this then walks off.
Duplica: Niko? Aren't you gonna help Ash?
Niko: I don't have to. Niko turns back with a smile. He'll get through this. Anyway, I gotta get ready for my match. He says running off.
Oak: Heh. I could sell bottles of that boy's optimism.
Kota: What's he depressed about?
Delia: About the match?
Duplica: More like how it ended.
Brock: I bet he feels like a total loser since Ritchie beat him.
Misty: He should be happy he made it all the way to the fifth round. I know he feels bad, but he can't just mope around forever. Misty enters Ash's room. Hey, Ash. Let's go get something to eat.
Ash: No thanks.
Misty: Well, how about a walk?
Ash: You can go with the others. I'm not in the mood.
Misty: We can go down to the Pokémon Village and buy some souvenirs. Maybe they'll have some..But before Misty can finish, Ash yanks his arm away.
Ash: Leave me alone, Misty!
Misty: Hey, I'm just trying to help you, Ash!
Ash: Well, I don't want your help! This only made Misty angry.
Misty: Hey, watch it, loser. Don't be such a big baby just because you lost!
Ash: Just get out!
Pikachu: Pika Pika! (Guys, just calm down) Soon, some of the others enter.
Delia: You mustn't be angry with Misty, dear. She thinks you should be very happy.
Ash: Why? I didn't see you out there winning any of those matches!
Misty: When are you going to get over yourself, Ash?!
Ash: Why don't you?!
Misty: Why don't I what?! It was Charizard who's to blame for disobeying you and making you lose the match, you sore loser!--OW!
Duplica: We're here to cheer him up not make him feel worse.
Pikachu: Pika. (Calm down)
Brock: Okay, that's it!
Oak: I'm afraid Misty has a point, Ash. Maybe you could've gone much further if you hadn't been so sure of yourself and you trained your Charizard properly.
Ash: But, I...
Oak: One can only advance so far relying on strength and intuition. Niko made it through his matches because he used strength, quick thinking, and determination. Trainers must learn to battle with a deeper understanding of each Pokémon's natural abilities. But to hear you talk about Charizard, I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that it was better off as a Charmander.
Misty: Relying on more than just strength and intuition and understanding each natural ability of a Pokémon's not easy. Especially for some lazy trainers.
Ash: Are you calling me lazy?!
Misty: I didn't call anybody anything. I was talking to Pikachu.
Duplica: Sounded like you were talking to Ash.
Ash: She's right. I think you called me lazy.
Misty: I said I didn't and I didn't.
Ash: I say you did because you did! Now admit you called me lazy!
Misty: I did not!
Ash: Yes you did!
Pikachu: Pika Pika! (Would you two please stop arguing) Ash and Misty go back and forth, irritating Pikachu to the point that he Thunder Shocks everyone.
Oak: Don't shock us, too! Afterwards, the television comes on to reveal coverage of the sixth round of the competition.
Announcer: Welcome back to our sixth round coverage of the Pokémon League competition!
Ash: Richie!
Announcer: After watching Levi win his latest battle, we can see that only the most tenacious trainers and their Pokémon have made it to this level, so get ready! Some sensational battles are about to begin!
In the locker room, Ritchie is giving a pep talk to his Pokémon.
Ritchie: Well, we made it this far, guys. Let's go, all the way. Happy, Zippo, Sparky, let's all do our best. Soon, our heroes enter the lockeroom.
Ash: Hi, Ritchie. Ready to win?
Ritchie: Hey! What are you all doing here?
Ash: We just wanted to wish you good luck in the match today.
Ritchie: Great. Thanks, guys.
Misty: And make sure you don't choke like Ash did.
Ash: Well, you don't have to put it THAT way. Ritchie chuckles. Ritchie. I know you'll win. Just like Niko, you're an awesome Pokémon trainer.
Ritchie: I'll try to win this for both of us.
Ash: Good luck!
Ritchie: Thanks.
Pikachu: Pika. Pikachu! (Okay. Let's get out there.)
Outside in the stadium, the battle is well underway and Zippo is on the field taking on a Rhydon. Then, Happy is facing off against a Venomoth. Then we see Ritchie's Spearow and Tentacool go to work. The screen whites out and comes back in as the match nears its conclusion)
Announcer: This match has been a real rollercoaster ride! Now they're both down to one Pokémon apiece, so whoever wins this battle wins the match!
Ash: You can do it!
Everyone else: Go, Ritchie! Even Pikachu and Togepi are cheering for Ritchie, while on the field, an Ivysaur materializes.
Announcer: Assunta has chosen Ivysaur as her final Pokémon!
Ritchie: It's all up to you. Go, Sparky! Sparky materializes, but once he does, Ivysaur runs right past him, spinning Sparky around like a top, and then comes right back around and sweeps Sparky off his feet with a Vine Whip. Ivysaur then charges. Sparky, watch out! Sparky gets up. Sparky, Thunder Shock, now!
Sparky fires multiple Thunder Shocks, but Ivysaur dodges them all and uses Vine Whip to block more of them.
Ritchie: Thunder Shock isn't working!Ivysaur uses its vines to leap into the air and charges up and fires a Solar Beam.
Announcer: And here comes Ivysaur's Solar Beam! The attack lands, sending Sparky upward, shocking Ritchie and our heroes. Sparky stands, but gets knocked back and down by a charging Ivysaur.
Ritchie: Sparky! Sparky struggles to get up. You can do it! However, Sparky collapses. Sparky!
And with that Sparky is out, and so is Ritchie.
Referee: Pikachu is unable to battle! The match is over! Assunta is the winner!Ritchie's last Pokémon blacks out and Assunta is left on screen, her victory sealed.
Announcer: A spectacular finish to a spectacular match! Ivysaur's Solar Beam just overpowered Pikachu and Assunta is victorious! Ritchie runs over to his fallen friend.
Ritchie: Sparky! Are you okay, Spark? Both trainers congratulate their Pokémon on a well fought battle as our heroes stand in shock.
Ash: No.
Kota: Ritchie didn't make it.
Everyone else lowers their heads. Later, at the lake outside the stadium, Ritchie is holding Sparky while looking out over the water while our heroes watch from afar.
Ritchie: You're feeling better, aren't you?
Sparky: Pika. (I am) Soon, Ash shows up.
Ritchie: Hey, Ash.
Ash: Ritchie. I'm so..
Ritchie: Well, Ash. Now we have one more thing in common.
Ash: In common? Ash started to understand. Oh, yeah. Both trainers let their Pikachu go and play.
Ritchie: We can learn a lot, from losing. Ash joins Ritchie by the lake.
Meanwhile, in the grass, Team Rocket watches.
Jessie: It's upset time.
Meowth: We struck out so far, but now's our chance to sink a touchdown.
James: That's right, with those Pikachu. The final score will be Team Rocket, two, Twerps, nothing.
Meowth: This time, we're playing for keeps. Jessie and James chuckle and set to work.
Ritchie: I was so sure I could win. Too sure, I guess. If I knew how tough the Pokémon League was gonna be, I would've trained twice as hard as I did. Hey. Losing isn't really so bad. Ash looks in confusion. Now I know what mistakes not to make next time. And I'm a better trainer because of that.
Ash: 'Ritchie doesn't feel sorry for himself because he lost. He just wants to do better. I've been acting like a big baby.'
Ritchie: Hey, Ash. Let's make a promise. To become Pokémon masters no matter what.
Ash: Okay. Promise! Pokémon masters no matter what. Pokémon masters! That's us! 'You know, this reminds me a lot of when me and Niko made our promise. Niko, I hope you can make it.'
Meanwhile, Niko was currently in a heated battle against Assunta in the semi-finals.
Announcer: Amazing, folks! Niko still has two Pokemon while Assunta only has Ivysaur left. Things don't seem to be looking good for her.
Assunta: Ivysaur, Solar Beam! Ivysaur gathers energy.
Niko: Gengar, Confuse Ray! Gengar fires a beam which hits Ivysaur.
Assunta: Ah! Ivysaur was now confused and starred hitting itself with its own Vine Whip. Ivysaur, snap out of it.
Niko: Use Mega Punch! Gengar lands a critical hit, sending Ivysaur crashing into a wall. It slides down the wall unconscious.
Referee: Ivysaur is unable to battle! Gengar is the winner! That means the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!
Announcer: That settles it! Niko will move on to the finals! Niko runs over and hugs Gengar.
Niko: Did you hear that, buddy?! We're going to the finals! He said excited.
Gengar: Geng Gengar! (We totally got this)
Duplica: Amazing! Niko just might make it.
Kota: Normally, I'd say to not get cocky, but that might be pretty likely.
After that, Niko and his friends wander the halls.
Niko: I hope Ash and Ritchie saw that. Hm? Niko then saw his other friend Trace sitting on a bench looking down. Trace?
Trace: Huh? Oh, hey, Niko. He said sounding more sad than happy.
Niko: What's up?
Trace: It's just....I'm kinda worried.
Kota: About what?
Trace: About my next match. You've seen how good the other competitors are. Even Gary lost. Trace remembered Gary's defeat. Gary is the best, so how could he lose? And if he couldn't win, what chance do I have?
Niko: I see.
Duplica: I get it. You're in the semi-finals so it's only natural you feel worried.
Niko: But Trace, if anything you should be getting excited.
Trace: Huh?
Niko: Think about it. You and your Pokemon fighting with all you've got in the Pokemon League. And you're so close to the end. You can't just buckle and quit now. And remember, if you win this next match, you and me will battle next.
Trace: Heh. Yeah, I guess so. Trace cheers up a bit. Alright, wish me luck then. Even though I won't need it.
Niko: Heh. Sure Trace. Trace walks off in a much more cheerful mood.
Kota: Glad to see he's feeling better. I wonder who he's battling next. They look up at the screen to see.
All: Ah?! They were all shocked to see Levi was battling Trace.
Duplica: It can't be!
Niko: What's he doing here?
Kota: Guess he must have found a way to enter the Pokemon League. This could be bad.
Niko: Grr! Niko suddenly runs off.
Duplica: Niko! What are you going?!
Niko: Gonna go get Ash and Ritchie. Trace is gonna need all the support he can get. The boy runs off in search of his friends. Thankfully, they were just fine.
Team Rocket: We're blasting off again! Niko watched as the trio were flying through the sky again.
Ash: We did it!
Niko: Guys!
Ritchie: Niko?
Ash: What are you doing here?
Niko: It's Trace! He's about to battle in the semi-finals. We gotta go and cheer for him.
Ash: It's starting now?!
Ritchie: Trace is from your town, right?
Ash: Yeah! We gotta go or we'll miss it. The trio run fast to Trace's match.
They make it on time to watch the match. The match wasn't looking good however. Trace was barely hanging in there. He only had Primeape left and Levi still had four Pokemon left. And Primeape wasn't looking very good against Levi's Hitmonlee.
Trace: Grr. 'I can't lose. I won't lose!' Primeape use Rage! His Primeape ran toward Hitmonlee like mad.
Levi: Hmph. What a joke. Dodge and use Mega Kick. Hitmonlee spun around to avoid the attack and slammed its foot right on Primeape's head. The Fighting type falls to the ground, defeated.
Trace: Ah! Trace gasped in shock.
Announcer: Outstanding! Levi has won his semi-final match and will move on to the finals! The crowd cheered, however, our heroes didn't feel very thrilled.
After the battle, Trace was seen about to head back to Pallet Town.
Niko: Trace! Niko comes over to see him off. Trace forced a smile onto his face and greeted his rival.
Trace: Man, I thought I had him. Guess I went too easy on him.
Niko: Hm.
Trace: Hey, don't worry. I'll just train some more and be back in no time. Then I'll win the whole thing. Trace said before leaving. As he left, his cheerful façade dropped and his was now heading home.
Ash: Poor Trace.
Ritchie: Guess that Levi guy is just too tough.
Niko: No way. And I'll prove it. By beating him.
Levi: I wouldn't bet on it. Levi arrived much to their surprise. I've been looking forward to this for a long time now. It'll be my pleasure to crush you.
Niko: Grr.
Levi: Hehe. He leaves as the others glare at him.
Ritchie: Hm. Niko I don't wanna pressure you, but I hope you crush that creep.
Ash: Yeah. Do it for Trace.
Niko: I was gonna win anyway. Niko said with newfound determination.
The next day, it was the final round of the Pokemon League and the finalists were about to get ready.
Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, it certainly has been an exciting couple of days of battles, but we've finally come to finals. And our two competitors are ready and waiting for the referee to begin the match.
Referee: The match between Niko from Pallet Town and Levi from Viridian City is about to begin! Both trainers can use six Pokemon, and the battle will end when all six Pokémon on either side are unable to battle. Now, begin!
Niko: Eevee, let's go!
Eevee: Vee!
Levi: Parasect, go!
And so the final battle of the Indigo Conference begins. Will Niko be victorious or will Levi's brutal fighting style earn him the victory. Stay Tuned.
As the journey continues
Some news, everyone! I'm just about to finish my Pokemon story. I'm uploading these two chapters today and the last two tomorrow.