World Competition - Season 1

Chapter 8

They were now trapped between their previous and final separation of days. There was nowhere to go except to be swallowed back into the exact moment they got stuck with each other.

"I thought the world was gonna be destroyed...", Clemont whispered tearily, though his voice echoed through the empty void.

"I thought Ash was gonna destroy the world, too. But...looks like he gave in, for some reason", Sycamore added, "Whatever it is, we should be thankful for that reason, otherwise we wouldn't be here"

"What now?", Sawyer stepped forward, "We go back to what we've been trying to all this time, only to forget everything that happened?"

"I don't wanna forget", said Tierno.

"Yeah, I don't wanna have to find out all over again that Kalos is a big lie", Shauna agreed.

"Even the pictures on my camera get lost, so its not like I can look at it ever again", said Trevor, looking solemnly at his camera.

"But what do we do after? Before all this, I was gonna work on being a performer! But now, I'm not even sure that'll be a thing anymore", Serena cried.

"...But this journey was fun, don't you think?", Bonnie suggested, drawing eyes towards her, "I mean, sure, we found out about all the lies, and it hasn't been easy. But we've gotten closer, right? Maybe...maybe we should always stick together. Maybe this new life will just be another adventure. And they're always fun!"

The others were astounded by her wise words, especially since she was the youngest. It was now only Mairin and Alain who hadn't spoke their minds.

"...I just got Chespie back...", Mairin muttered, still holding the grass-type close to her heart, "...Now I have to lose it again? Forever?"

Alain placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, though he wasn't feeling any happier about the future.

"We have to do what's right, even if we don't want to", the Professor concluded, "That's exactly what Ash and all the other Socialites did. Back in the palace you could tell he felt bad about the mission, but he had to do it to protect us. There's nowhere to go but forward"

Sycamore begun to step forward, the others following suit, when Alain's hand drew forward.

"Professor, wait. Just one more thing", Alain started as the man in question stepped back, "Since the start, you haven't been...panicking or clueless like the rest of us. I've been meaning to ask you, I know there's something you haven't told us"

"You'll find out when we arrive back home"

Alain was astounded at his answer, but only now was more determined to move forward. 

In unison, they stepped into the light, and for the last time, the world around them shattered.

-----------

The orange-suited man forced the Professor's head down, holding his hands behind his back.

A masked figure dressed in swordsman attire swooped down and beat Team Flare's criminals, allowing the Professor to stumble back into the crowd next to Alain, so the focus was on the hero.

"We cannot lie anymore. Discover the truth of your world", they announced, bringing a hand to their mask.

Gasps echoed from the crowd as people pointed and yelled at the revealed hero. 

"Weren't you that one trainer in the Kalos League with that cool Greninja thing?", asked a voice from the front.

Ash looked sadly to the curious little stranger pointing at him, knowing that as much as he hated to give it to her, she deserved an answer.

"The Ash-Greninja Bond Phenomenon is not real", he declared as more chatter spread among the crowd.

He and the Professor's eyes found each other. Alain, dazed, looked back and forth between the two.

"Augustine Sycamore was assigned to give that certain Froakie to me, as he knew it was trained to react properly to my surges of aura. I needed an outlet to release my power so I can maintain control, and...some of you have seen for yourselves why"

This time, he looked to his friends, thinking back with guilt to when he almost destroyed their world himself.

"This Pokemon was prepared for when I needed to use it to express myself, which is why its appearance and actions were similar to mine in the occasions where I charged my aura through it"

There was a pause as debate sparked between the mass. The little girl from before stepped closer towards him, still beaming with curiosity.

"So all that cool stuff we'd never seen before was just you?"

"...Yes"

"But how?", another man questioned, "How did you do all that? Humans don't have that kind of power"

"...They do. But Pokemon weren't meant to. Because Pokemon..."

He hesitated, noticing a glimpse of a yellow creature with red, sparking cheeks. No. He had to tell them the truth.

"...Pokemon weren't supposed to exist"

The crowd immediately got louder in a fit of rage. They didn't believe a word he said.

"Nonsense!", the man pointed accusingly.

Just as hope of getting through to them was almost lost, a group of adults teamed up in defense against the ballistic horde.

"He's right", Diantha confirmed as Steven nodded his head in agreement, "Pokemon, Kalos, Regions, none of it was meant to happen"

"We came here", Wulfric explained, "Not only to see what this society has evolved into, but because we were aware of Team Flare's plans, and we came here to stop it. So you should all be appreciating us, because if it wasn't for us, none of you would be here"

"These creatures, Pokemon, were never meant to exist", Valerie added, "And from now on, they won't!"

The mob of angry trainers immediately began to release their Pokemon, ordering them against the centered group. Ash, being the only one with that kind of power, was left doing the physical part while the rest simply ordered them to stop. Uniformed individuals flooded the outbreak, restraining the protesters.

"Your Highness", Officer Jennie struggled to speak while resisting, "What should we do now?"

Ash's eyes darted from the police, to the crowd, to his friends. It then clicked what, for the very first time, this world would have to live without.

"...Those scientists that stole from my Kingdom years ago...", he started, "...Wanted what my family had. This will just keep going over and over again; it won't stop until it's really gone. So if they'll destroy the world if they can't have it, then I have to protect the world and make sure no one can"