32. Ash's Reborn Story

Chapter 75 End of the Chase

When Ash enters the cave and is about to get to the top of the mountain, he hears a voice that stops them.

Aster: Ash! (Rushes in)

Ash: (Surprised) Aster? What are you...

Aster: I finally caught... up to you! Look! I have something you want! (Takes out the TMX)

Ash: TMX for Waterfall?

Aster: You need this, right? Then fight me! Take it from me! Come on! What are you waiting for?!

Ash doesn't know if Aster is here to stop him, but with Eclipse's death, Ash notices something inside him changed. His first Pokemon is Solrock, and Ash goes for Bisharp for the first Pokemon. Bisharp goes for Iron Head to deal a lot of damage, but Solrock sets up Light Screen and Reflect, as well as Stealth Rocks. Ash knows that Aster is playing a different style, but he still has Bisharp use Night Slash to defeat the first Pokemon.

The second Pokemon is Krookodile, and it uses Earthquake to defeat Bisharp. Ash goes for Meganium as his second Pokemon, and Meganium lands a Petal Dance, but Krookodile also lands an Outrage, causing both Pokemon to slam into each other fiercely. Meganium manages to snap out of Confusion first and goes for Leech Seed, sucking up the last energy of Krookodile.

Aster's third Pokemon is Passimian, and it goes for Gunk Shot to knock Meganium out. Ash goes for Swellow to battle the third Pokemon, and Passimian goes for Close Combat, which lowers the Defense after dealing damage. Swellow goes for Aerial Ace, and Passimian tries to stop it by using Rock Slide, but Swellow manages to use Quick Attack to dodge the attack, and eventually deals the damage with the Tailwind and Aerial Ace.

The fourth Pokemon is Midday Lycanroc, much to Ash's confusion as it is his ace Pokemon, it lands a Rock Slide on Swellow to knock it out, so Ash goes for Conkeldurr to battle. Conkeldurr goes for Hammer Arm, and it clashes with Lycanroc's Drill Run. But in the end, Conkeldurr overpowers Lycanroc by using Counter after being hit by another Drill Run.

The fifth Pokemon is Golurk, and it goes for Dynamic Punch to make Conkeldurr confused, and finishes it with a Shadow Punch. Ash goes for Emboar, having it use Heat Wave to melt the ice, and Ash realizes that they are actually on the Water Surface, and Golurk can't use Earthquake to stop it. In the end, Emboar goes for Flamethrower, without hitting the water, and it defeats Golurk the end.

The final Pokemon is Midnight Lycanroc, and Ash realizes that this Pokemon belonged to Eclipse. Aster is trying to defeat him with Eclipse's memory, and Lycanroc goes for Swords Dance and Throat Chop to deal much more damage, but Emboar manages to take the hit and lands Arm Thrust, eventually knocking out the Lycanroc.

Aster: UGH. It's never enough... (Recalls Pokemon) There. As promised.

Ash receives the TMX for Waterfall, and Ash can only ask him why.

Aster: Pretend you took it from me by force. Or consider it a gift from Eclipse. I don't know if that's what she would have wanted. I don't know if it's right. But I feel better now. She always talked about changing the world. I was just taking orders. But since she's gone, I've been thinking about it. The world really does need to change. Just not in the way Team Meteor's doing it. I thought if I could beat you- Maybe, once, if I used all of my strength, and Eclipse's too- Maybe I could be the one to fix everything. But it looks like that's your job. (Turns away) I'm signing out. Good luck, Ash. I'll see you around.

After Aster leaves, Ash is surprised to know that Aster is going to leave Team Meteor, and he sighs as he quickly put the machine away and rushes up to the top of the mountain where Blake and Shelly are staring each other.