Alola to a New Journey!

Something New?

A large explosion completely covers the stadium. The smoke clears, and the crowd looks on with bated breath. 

Two teenage boys. Both proficient battlers. Two powerful Pokémon. The Mega Charizard, in all its incredible power, and the Bonded Greninja, in all its incredible resolve. 

Both Pokémon were tired out, and the winner was unclear. Eventually...

thud 

The Greninja hits the ground, too tired to stand. 

"GRENINJA IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! CHARIZARD WINS!" The announcer yells. The crowd bursts into a mix of proud cheers, for the boy who had pulled through in the end. And proud pity. For the boy who had one of the most unique Pokémon in the world, who couldn't hold his ground.

Despite suffering a defeat that would leave most others bitter. Ash, felt proud. 2nd place was nothing to scoff at, and he could only imagine his companions felt so, too. A look to the stands prove his theory, as he sees his friends and his rival, all looking disappointed, yet happy at his accomplishment. The young girl, Bonnie, looked close to tears, though. But she was strong, and held them back. Ash turned to Alain, who couldn't care less about his victory, walking across the field. Ash joins him, and when they meet in the middle, their handshake showed more mutual respect than anything else.

And soon, Ash made his most sorrowful goodbye yet, as he left his Greninja, for the good of the region. A promise to meet again, and his most impactful Pokémon, was gone.

Yet again, Ash felt no lasting negative emotions, only pride. Pride that he had the chance to battle with such a Pokémon.

And finally, Ash and his friends were at the airport, where they all went their separate ways. Ash had to go home. Serena was off to Hoenn, and Clemont and Bonnie had to go back to the Gym.

After they all say goodbye to Serena, Ash and Clemont have one final battle with their faithful partners, before Ash made his leave. And just like that, Ash's journey through Kalos was over.

But not Ash's journey. No, that was far from over. 

...

Kanto.

Home. Arceus, it felt good to be home. Ash was excited to see his mother again. Delia was, to put it simply, a saint. She never holds harmful intentions towards anyone, or anything. She made the best food this side of the globe, and she made embarrassing phone calls. Truly a mother.

As Ash and Pikachu approached their small little house, Ash was hammered by nostalgia, then by hunger. "I can't wait to see what Mom is cooking up this time, right Pikachu?" Pikachu squealed in reply, and Ash knew his best friend was as excited as he was.

Ash opened the door, only to be met with multiple pairs of shoes. He thought nothing of it, and went inside to the living room, where he was met with a pleasant surprise. His travel partners. All of them. Misty, Brock, May, Dawn, Cilan, everyone was here. And they all were happy to see him. A large group hug later, and everyone was sitting in a circle hearing Ash tell the story of his Kalos experience. A wave of sympathy came from them when he told them he got 2nd place, but he waved it off. 

"Next time, the Champion title is as good as mine!" Ash said, showing off his classic Ash "charisma"

"About that, Ash. We were wondering...why not, you know, uh...try something new?" May asked, unsure of how to say it.

This brought everything to a halt.

"What?" Ash asked

"Well, I mean, the whole 'Pokémon Master' thing might start to strain you." Misty said, starting to lightly sweat. Brock and Dawn merely raised an eyebrow at Misty's attempt to clear things up, both of them looked surprised about something, but they kept quiet.