Rise Of A Hero

Chapter 1

Ash's POV:

"GRENINJA, use Cut, but use Aerial Ace to give you a boost while doing so!!", I yelled to my Kalosian Ace, who was in our Bond Phenomenon phase.

"Rai Rai Rai!!", Raichu yelled from my side punching the air oozing with enthusiasm.

"Gardevoir, use Future Sight, and when you know where it's headed, wrap this up with Moonblast!!", the Kalos Champion Diantha told her Gardevoir who dodged Greninja's attacks with grace and prepared to finish off my Greninja. Both of our Pokemon were on their last legs.

"GRENINJA!! POINT BLANK WATER SHURIKEN!!"

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!"

Greninja hit Gardevoir as hard as he could, but unfortunately, parts of the Water Shuriken ricocheted and hit him on his forehead causing the both of them to collapse simultaneously. The second Greninja collapsed, the world began to turn around and I fell down on my knees causing Raichu to cup my face and poke my cheeks with his fingers.

"Wait....Ash's Greninja has collapsed 3 milliseconds before Diantha's Mega-Gardevoir!! So the match goes to DIANTHA who has successfully defended her title as the CHAMPION OF KALOS!!", the MC yelled causing me to groan in despair, cursing my luck while Diantha sighed in relief wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead. The crowd began to roar in joy and it was the SIXTH time that I had lost to a champion - Fifth official champion, considering that Drake isn't an official champion. After the announcement, both Gardevoir and Greninja reverted back to their original forms.

When he realised that we had lost the match, Greninja went ballistic. He began to throw Water Shurikens into the ground in rage, and I walked into the battlefield to comfort him.

"Hey! Just leave it, Greninja. Diantha was the better battler today. You did a great job though, tough guy. We nearly defeated the Kalos Champion", I told him wrapping my arm around his shoulders, and he nodded his head sighing. Meanwhile, Diantha had come to the centre of the field to talk to me.

"Thank you for the battle, Ash! I've never been brought to my 110 percent before! You've taught me FAR much than you could fathom, Ash. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for this amazing battle", she told me offering her hand for a handshake and I accepted it with a small smile with a nod of thanks.

"If your team was a BIT more experienced, you would've wiped the floor with me", she told me.

"You're being too generous, Diantha", I told her embarrassed by her praises. She just chuckled shaking her head.

"How long have you been training your Greninja, Ash?", she asked me.

"Around 1 and a half years. The Zygarde wanted Greninja to help it find out the sources of negative energy, so I too travelled with him, and that's where I've been for the past 6 months", I told her and she just smiled.

"I've been with Gardevoir for 18 years, Ash! I might say that the two of you have a stronger bond than the two of us", she told me and Gardevoir nodded her head.

"I'd be REALLY happy to have another battle with you, Ash. Unfortunately, it would have to be unofficial. The winner of the Kalos League gets only one shot at the Champion", she told me and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I was never after your title, Diantha. I just wanted a good battle, and I'm thankful for the one you've given me", I told her.

"Ash! By the way, how did some of your Pokemon Mega evolve on their own?", she asked me and I just chuckled softly.

"You're taking about my Charizard, Sceptile, Lucario and Aggron, huh?    Ever heard of Hunter J?", I asked her and she nodded her head.

"Well, back in Sinnoh, I encountered her while she was smuggling Mega stones. I don't know what went through her mind, but she threw a bucket full of Mega stones on my Pokemon. The high concentration in the stones along with our bonding led to their Mega evolution. Thankfully, for me, the Mega stones were of extremely good quality, and my Pokemon's respective Mega stones were in there", I explained.