Author's Note: Well, here it is. The final chapter. I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who reviewed in the last chapter. I'm glad that everyone seemed satisfied with how I ended the conflict with Team Plasma. There were also a few questions asked in some of those reviews, and I'll try to answer a few of them at the end. But for right now, on with the show.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Chapter 60: Journey's End

Things had quickly returned to normal after the attack of Team Plasma. N's flying castle had caused very little damage to the stadium, so the clean up was fairly easy. By the time the morning had come, the stadium had been made ready for Ash and Alder's battle. The place had quickly filled up with fans eager to watch the clash of these two titans. It was almost as if the attack had never happened. The audience cheered as Chet, the MC and referee for the match walked onto the arena floor.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen of all ages!" Chet greeted enthusiastically into his microphone. "Well, we had an unexpected and unusual delay yesterday. But now that it's over, we're pleased to finally bring you the event I'm sure everyone's been waiting for! First, let's all give a warm welcome to our intrepid challenger, Ash Ketchum!"

The audience members cheered loudly as Ash walked onto the battlefield with Pikachu and Lucario. Misty waited by the arena floor entrance with Bianca, Chili, and Mewtwo to watch the battle.

"And now, please welcome a man who needs no introduction." Chet continued. "The champion of Unova, Alder!"

Alder walked onto the battlefield to face Ash as the audience roared with approval. "Well Ash, it looks like it's finally time for our battle. I hope you'll give me a challenge."

"Don't worry. You can count on it." Ash assured him. "Just don't hold anything back, okay?"

"I wouldn't dream of it." Alder replied.

"Okay then, this match will be a full six-on-six battle!" Chet declared. "And… begin!"

"Let's go Bouffalant!" Alder called with the throw of his first ball. The bull Pokemon charged out onto the field.

"I thought you'd start with that. Go Charizard!" Ash called.

Ash's fire dragon flew out of the thrown ball and landed before Bouffalant. Charizard raised his head and roared as he blew out a stream of flames.

"Okay Bouffalant! Let's start with Head Charge!" Alder commanded.

"Hold your ground Charizard!" Ash ordered.

Bouffalant scrapped the ground with its right hoof and ran full speed at Charizard. The dragon grabbed onto the bull's horns just as it was about to hit. The attack only pushed Charizard back a foot and a half.

"Wow! Charizard sure is tough." An impressed Bianca remarked.

"Yeah. Any other Pokemon hit by that attack would've been sent flying." Chili agreed.

"Okay Charizard, use Sky Drop!" Ash commanded.

After getting a better hold on Bouffalant, Charizard flew high into the sky. Once they were both several feet above the arena, Charizard threw the bull to the ground with all his strength. Bouffalant struck the ground with enough force to raise a massive cloud of dust. But when the dust settled, Bouffalant had gotten back to its feet.

"Hit it with Dragon Claw!" Ash ordered.

Charizard flew back down at top speed and slashed Bouffalant across its left side with blue glowing claws. As the dragon landed, Bouffalant stumbled from the attack but soon recovered.

"My, that Charizard of yours certainly has a lot of power." Alder remarked. "But let's see how he handles this. Bouffalant, use Wild Charge!"

The bull ran full speed and became shrouded in an aura of yellow electricity. Charizard was hit full force by the attack and endured it, but was greatly shocked by the bull's electric armor. By the time the attack ended, Charizard was catching his breath.

"That attack looked like it caused a lot of damage." Chili observed. "If Charizard takes another hit like that, he's done for."

"Don't worry. Charizard can beat Bouffalant." Misty assured them.

"This battle will soon be over." Mewtwo declared.

"Hey! Try to show a little enthusiasm." Misty told the psychic feline. "Charizard may have taken a bad hit, but Ash will see to it that he'll win."

"I wasn't referring to Charizard." Mewtwo replied. "Take a good look at Bouffalant."

Misty and the others did as Mewtwo said. They could easily see that the bull Pokemon was catching its own breath as well.

"Bouffalant's attack may have done a good deal of damage, but Charizard has already landed some powerful attacks as well." Mewtwo pointed out. "Plus using Wild Charge causes damage to the Pokemon wielding it. I don't imagine that Bouffalant will last much longer."

"Alright Bouffalant, use Wild Charge one more time!" Alder commanded.

"Charizard, hit Bouffalant with Dragon Claw once more!" Ash ordered.

Charizard flew full speed with his claws bared as Bouffalant charged and became shrouded in electricity. Charizard flew past and slashed the bull again across the left side. Both Pokemon quickly stopped and there were a few long moments of silence. But at last, Bouffalant finally collapsed to the ground.

"Bouffalant is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "The first round of the match goes to Ash and Charizard!"

"Just like I was expecting." A familiar voice remarked on the sidelines. Misty and the others looked to see Trip walking up from behind. "It would've been disappointing for any of Ash's Pokemon to lose against Alder's Bouffalant."

"Oh, hi Trip." Misty greeted. "I guess we should've known you'd show up for this."

"What did you mean by that thing you said about Alder's Bouffalant?" Bianca asked.

"Bouffalant isn't even Alder's strongest Pokemon." Trip explained. "If Ash couldn't even beat Bouffalant with only one Pokemon, he wouldn't even deserve to battle Alder in the first place."

"You mean Alder actually has Pokemon that are even stronger than Bouffalant?" a surprised Chili asked.

"Of course. I would've thought that'd be obvious." Trip replied. "The fact is that Ash and Alder are battling on an entirely different level than the rest of us. This match hasn't even warmed up yet."

The audience continued to cheer as Alder called back his fallen Pokemon. "Not bad at all, Ash. But I think it's time we stopped playing around. Go Druddigon!"

Bursting out of Alder's thrown ball was a dragon about the same size as Charizard. It was primarily blue and had rough scales. Its head was red and it had yellow eyes. The front of the dragon's torso was covered in ridged yellow scales, and red spikes ran down the length of its arms and tail.

"Okay Charizard, move in and use Dragon Claw one more time!" Ash commanded. The fire dragon flew in close with his claws raised.

"You need to learn a few new tricks." Alder chuckled. "Druddigon, use Aqua Tail!"

Before Charizard could land a blow, Alder's dragon spun around and struck Charizard in the chest shrouded in water. Charizard was knocked back by the attack and landed on his back. After a moment, the fire dragon had gotten back to his feet but was breathing heavily.

"Charizard looks like he took a pretty bad hit from that Aqua Tail attack." A concerned Chili observed. "Another hit like that and it'll be over."

"Druddigon, use Night Slash!" Alder commanded.

"Dodge it!" Ash ordered.

Before Charizard could move out of the way, Druddigon moved in and struck Charizard across the chest with purple glowing claws. Charizard staggered back a little bit from the attack but remained standing.

"Don't give up, Charizard!" Ash called. "Use Focus Blast!"

Charizard roared and hurled a massive ball of blue light at Druddigon. The blue dragon was struck but quickly recovered.

"End this now, Druddigon!" Alder commanded. "Dragon Claw!"

Druddigon came in close again and slashed Charizard in the face with blue glowing claws. After a moment, Charizard collapsed backward onto the ground.

"Charizard is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round two goes to Alder and Druddigon!"

"Oh no!" Bianca exclaimed.

"I guess we should've expected that Ash wouldn't be able to win with just Charizard alone." Chili observed.

"Yeah, but Ash isn't done yet." Misty reminded them. "He's still got a whole bunch of powerful Pokemon."

Ash called back his fallen dragon. "Okay Lucario. Let's do it!"

Lucario nodded and walked onto the battlefield. The jackal Pokemon glared at Druddigon and took his normal fighting stance.

"Lucario, eh? An excellent choice." Alder praised. "Okay Druddigon, attack with Flamethrower!"

"Use Ice Punch!" Ash commanded.

Druddigon reared back its head and blasted Lucario with a stream of red flames spewed from its mouth. Lucario raised his arms and crossed them in front of his head to try and block the attack. When the blast finally ended, the jackal Pokemon rushed in with a raised paw shrouded in an icy mist. Lucario's punch struck Druddigon in the chest and created a large patch of ice.

"Use Flamethrower once more!" Alder commanded.

"Dodge and use Ice Punch again!" Ash ordered.

Alder's blue dragon breathed out another stream of flames. Lucario rolled out of the blast's path and charged in, delivering another icy punch to Druddigon's jaw.

"Finish with Bullet Punch!" Ash commanded.

Lucario swiftly stuck Druddigon in the jaw with a powerful glowing white punch. The ice of the dragon's body shattered as it collapsed to the ground unconscious.

"Druddigon is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round three goes to Ash and Lucario!"

"Yeah! Ash pulled ahead again!" Bianca cheered.

"True, but looked at Lucario." Chili pointed out. "Looks like Druddigon's Flamethrower did a good deal of damage.

Misty and the others did as Chili suggested. Lucario was indeed catching his breath.

"It seems Ash and his opponent are evenly matched." Mewtwo remarked. "Both of their Pokemon are capable of inflicting massive amounts of damage in a single strike yet somehow endure."

"It's like I said, those two are fighting on a whole other level." Trip reminded them.

"You've raised your Lucario quite well." Alder observed as he called back Druddigon. "Riley would be quite proud."

"Thanks." Ash replied.

"Let's see how Lucario does against this opponent! Go Braviary!" Alder called with the throw of his next ball.

Flying out of the ball was a large bird of prey that was dark-blue on its underside and red on its entire back. A mass of white feathers adorned the top of the bird's head and three large red feathers adorned its forehead. The tips of each of the bird's tail feathers were blue with yellow bands.

"Okay Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded.

"Dodge and use Heat Wave!" Alder ordered.

Lucario hurled a ball of blue light at Alder's bird of prey. Braviary easily flew out of the attack's path and breathed out a wave of red-glowing air. Lucario crossed his arms to endure the blast but was struck hard. When it ended, the jackal Pokemon fell to one knee.

"Finish it with Superpower!" Alder commanded.

Braviary shrieked and glowed with an intense white aura. The bird of prey flew at full speed into Lucario, knocking the jackal back into the air. Lucario hit the ground right next to Ash and Pikachu and was unconscious.

"Lucario is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round four goes to Alder and Braviary!"

Ash kneeled down next to Lucario. "You okay buddy?"

After a moment, Lucario opened his eyes and gave Ash a half smile. Slowly he got back to his feet so that he could at least stand by Ash for the rest of the battle.

"Okay Pikachu, let's do it!" Ash decided.

"Pika!" the electric rodent enthusiastically replied before dashing out onto the battlefield.

"Braviary, attack Pikachu with Arial Ace!" Alder commanded.

"Dodge and use Electro Ball!" Ash ordered.

Braviary flew in to strike Pikachu. But the rodent quickly flipped into the air to avoid the attack as electricity gathered at the end of his tail. As Alder's bird of prey came back around for another pass, Pikachu launched a ball of electricity from his tail that hit Braviary in the face.

"Now, get on Braviary's back!" Ash commanded.

Before Braviary could recover from being hit in the face by the electric ball, Pikachu swiftly jumped onto the bird's back. Braviary attempted to shake Pikachu off, but the electric rodent held on very tight.

"Okay Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt!" Ash ordered.

"Pik… a… CHUUUU!" Pikachu cried out as he shocked the bird with a massive blast of electricity.

"Braviary, shake it off and use Crush Claw!" Alder commanded.

As soon as Pikachu's attack ended, Braviary finally managed to shake its unwanted passenger off and hurl him into the air. Before Pikachu could hit the ground, Braviary caught the rodent with its right talon and squeezed hard.

"CHAAA!" Pikachu cried out.

"Pikachu!" a worried Ash called out.

Eventually, Braviary released its grip and threw Pikachu back to the ground. Pikachu managed to get back to his feet but was breathing heavily.

"Finish it, Braviary!" Alder commanded. "Superpower!"

Braviary shrieked again and once more became shrouded in an intense white aura. The bird flew down and impacted into Pikachu with all its strength. When the dust settled, Pikachu was out cold.

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round five goes to Alder and Braviary!"

"Oh no! Now Alder's ahead!" Bianca exclaimed.

"That's one tough Braviary Alder has." Chili declared. "It was able to withstand a close range Thunder Bolt. Plus it doesn't seem like it lost too much power even after using Superpower twice."

Ash quickly ran onto the battlefield and carried Pikachu off in his arms. "You okay Pikachu?"

Pikachu opened his eyes after a moment. "Pi… ka."

"Take it easy, buddy. You did a good job." Ash told his electric friend before setting him back on the ground. He then took out another Pokeball. "Go Serperior!"

Ash's grass snake burst out of her ball onto the battlefield. When Serperior glanced back and noticed how beaten up Lucario was, she gave Braviary an angry glare.

"An interesting move." Alder remarked. "Let's see if it pays off. Braviary, use Arial Ace!"

"Use Attract!" Ash commanded.

Braviary flew in and slashed Serperior across her right side. The grass serpent recovered and gave Braviary a seductive wink as she waved the end of her tail in front of her snout like a fan. Alder's bird of prey was hit in the face by a pink energy heart launched from Serperior's eye and was instantly love struck.

"Oh… I forgot that your Serperior could do that." Alder recalled.

"Okay Serperior, use Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered. Serprior whipped up a twister of leaves that struck Braviary, almost knocking the bird out of the air. "Again!" Serperior sent forth another twister of leaves that struck with more force than the last. "Now, use Solar Beam!"

Serperior fired a concentrated beam of sunlight from her mouth at the bird of prey. Braviary was hit in the face by the attack and knocked to the ground.

"Braviary is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round six goes to Ash and Serperior!"

"Now they're even again." Misty observed.

"It looks like all that damage Braviary took from Pikachu's attacks finally took their toll." Chili assumed.

Alder called back Braviary. "I had a feeling you'd give me a good battle, Ash. It's been a long time since any challenger has beaten even three of my Pokemon. But this battle is still far from over. Go Accelgor!"

Flying out of Alder's ball was a floating mollusk-like creature with a body that looked like it was wrapped in blue bandages. The ends of the wrappings formed a sort of scarf at the creature's neck. It pink head resembled a ninja mask with two green stripes on the sides and a black cross on the forehead.

"Attack Serperior with Bug Buzz!" Alder commanded. The mollusk ninja suddenly hit Serperior with a blast of sound waves that gave off an incredibly loud buzzing noise. The grass serpent cried out as she was hit by the blast. "Now! End it with Focus Blast!"

Accelgor fired a massive ball of blue-green light from its forehead that struck Serprior in the chest. Serperior fell backward and hit the ground unconscious. Lucario growled in response to the sight of his defeated companion.

"Serprior is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round six goes to Alder and Accelgor!"

"Now Alder's ahead again." A concerned Bianca observed.

"And now Ash is down to two Pokemon." Misty added.

"You think he'll use Ho-Oh next?" Chili wondered.

"If Ash is smart, he'll save Ho-Oh for last." Trip assumed. "His next Pokemon, whatever it is, will have to hold out as long as it can."

Ash took out his next Pokeball. "Go… Deoxys!"

The extraterrestrial Pokemon flew out of its ball and hovered before Accelgor. The audience fell silent with awe. Deoxys glanced back and noticed Mewtwo.

Mewtwo glared at Deoxys in response. "What is this creature?"

"That's Deoxys, a Pokemon from space." Misty explained. "Now will you settle down? Ash doesn't need to fight you too."

"As you wish." The psychic feline replied.

"I was hoping you'd give me a challenge. But I wasn't quite expecting this." Alder chuckled.

"Deoxys, Speed Form and Extremespeed!" Ash commanded. The space Pokemon changed to its speedy form and slashed Accelgor across the left side with its tentacle. "Now, Attack Form and Ice Beam!"

Once behind Accelgor, Deoxys changed to its offensive form and fired a white crackling beam of light from its face. The ninja mollusk was encased in ice and crashed to the ground. The ice shattered and Accelgor was unconscious.

"Accelgor is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round seven goes to Ash and Deoxys!"

Alder called Accelgor back to its ball. "Go Escavalier!" A knight-like insect similar to the one Bianca had obtained in Black City flew out of the ball. "Use X-Scissor!"

"Defense Form and Calm Mind!" Ash ordered.

The lances on Escavalier's arms began to glow with an orange light as it charged in. Before the attack struck, Deoxys morphed to its bulky Defense Form and endured the attack. At the same time, the space Pokemon's eyes began to glow pink.

"Does Escavalier really have a chance against Deoxys?" Misty wondered.

"Well, Escavalier does have the advantage of type." Chili pointed out. "Still, Deoxys is pretty powerful."

"Don't forget, this is Alder that Ash is up against." Trip pointed out. "With Alder, anything's possible."

"Attack Form and Psycho Boost!" Ash commanded.

Deoxys morphed to its offensive form again and threw a ball of multicolored light at Escavalier. The armored Pokemon was hit yet endured the attack.

"Swords Dance and Megahorn!" Alder ordered.

"Quick! Go to Defense Form!" Ash commanded.

Escavalier cried out as it began to glow with an intense blue aura. The large crest atop the knight Pokemon's head began to glow with an orange-green light as it moved in to attack. Deoxys quickly morphed back to its defensive shape, but the slash from Escavalier's crest left a large gash on the right side of the space Pokemon's torso. Deoxys' wound quickly closed up.

"Use Megahorn one more time!" Alder commanded.

Escavalier's crest glowed again as it slashed Deoxys again in the same spot. After a moment, Deoxys assumed its normal form and suddenly crashed to the ground. The audience was left stunned.

"Deoxys is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round eight goes to Alder and Escavalier!"

"I don't believe it." A stunned Misty spoke. "Alder actually beat Deoxys."

"I told you." Trip reminded him.

Ash called back Deoxys and got out his final Pokeball. "Go Ho-Oh!" The phoenix Pokemon flew out of its ball with a shriek. "Use Sacred Fire!"

Ho-Oh's eyes began to glow blue and its body became covered in rose-colored flames. With a flap of its wings, Ho-Oh sent forth a wave of fire that completely enveloped Escavalier. When the attack ended, Escavalier fell to the ground unconscious. Its armor was still glowing red with the heat of the flames.

"Escavalier is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round nine goes to Ash and Ho-Oh!"

"I had a feeling that things would turn out this way." Alder remarked as he called back Escavalier. "Actually I was hoping for it. Now you'll get to see my most powerful Pokemon. Go… Volcarona!"

Flying out of Alder's Pokeball was a large moth Pokemon that looked just about identical to the one Ash had used in the past. Ho-Oh and Volcarona hovered in the air and simply starred at one another. The entire stadium had fallen silent.

"Gross!" Misty shuddered.

"Wow! The battle's come down to two powerful Fire Pokemon!" Chili excitedly declared. "This is what it's all about!"

"You know Ash, it's somehow appropriate that the battle should come down to this outcome." Alder remarked. "You do know that both these Pokemon are said to embody the sun."

"Then let's see who shines brighter." Ash decided. "Ho-Oh, use Future Sight followed by Sacred Fire!"

The great bird's eyes glowed blue once more as its body became shrouded in fire. Ho-Oh sent forth another wave of flames at Volcarona. The moth Pokemon was knocked back a little by the attack but endured.

"Use Quiver Dance followed by Psychic!" Alder commanded.

Volcarona fluttered in the air as its body glowed with a dazzling multicolored light. Its eyes then glowed blue and suddenly Ho-Oh became shrouded in a faint blue aura. The great bird was then hurled down into the ground by an invisible force. Ho-Oh quickly recovered and took off back into the air.

"Use Sunny Day and Solar Beam!" Ash ordered.

Ho-Oh shrieked and sent a beam of gold light into the air. The light of the sun suddenly became more intense. The phoenix then got in close to Volcarona and fired a beam of sunlight from his beak at close range. The fire moth was force back by the blast but recovered.

"Attack with Fiery Dance!" Alder commanded.

Volcarona's eyes glowed blue as it fluttered in the air and became shrouded in flames. The fire moth sent its own wave of fire at Ho-Oh that actually knocked the great bird back. Yet Ho-Oh quickly recovered from the attack.

"Use Solar Beam once more!" Ash ordered.

"Dodge and use Psychic again!" Alder commanded.

Ho-Oh fired another beam of sunlight at Volcarona. But the moth swiftly moved out of the way of the attack and its eyes glowed blue yet again. Ho-Oh was then hurled into the ground telekinetically with even more force than before.

"Volcarona's attacks seem to keep getting stronger." Bianca observed. "If this keeps up, Ash is going to lose."

"Don't worry. I'm sure Ash will win." Misty assured her.

"End this now, Volcarona!" Alder commanded. "Psychic!"

The moth's eyes began to glow again. But before it could launch another attack it became shrouded in a blue aura and was hurled hard into the ground by an invisible force. At the same time, Ho-Oh finally got back into the air.

"Looks like Future Sight finally kicked in." Ash observed. "Ho-Oh! Finish Volcarona with Sacred Fire!"

Just as Volcarona finally got off the ground, Ho-Oh struck it with another powerful wave of fire. After the wave passed, the fire moth collapsed back to the ground and was out cold. The audience was silent with anticipation, expecting Volcarona to get back up. But it did not happen.

"Volcarona is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Victory for the entire match goes to Ash and Ho-Oh. Which means the new champion of the Unova region is… Ash Ketchum!"

The audience erupted with applause at this declaration. After Ash and Alder called back their respective Pokemon, they approached one another on the battlefield.

"Well Ash, I had a terrific battle." Alder declared as they shook hands. "You should be very proud of yourself today. You've proven that you're just as strong as Riley. And one day I think you stand a very good chance of surpassing him."

"Thanks." Ash replied. "That was a lot of fun."

Misty ran onto the field and kissed Ash on the lips, surprising him a bit. "You were great out there."

"Thanks." Ash smiled. "You know I probably wouldn't have been able to get this far if I didn't have you with me."

"I hate to interrupt this moment you two, but I think I should probably mention that you have one small responsibility to take care of before you leave Unova, Ash." Alder cut in. "As champion, it's your duty to award the winners of this year's Unova League competition."

"Don't worry, I was planning to stick around for that anyway." Ash replied. "I can't miss seeing Bianca and Trip battle after all."

In a matter of days, the Unova League competition came and went. Many strong trainers had entered, but in the end Ash awarded the first place trophy to Bianca. Trip however had at least come in second. With the competition over, Mewtwo had decided to leave and go find N. The psychic feline had told Ash and the others that N seemed like an interesting human to observe. On the morning of the day after the competition had ended, Ash and the others met outside of the town Pokemon Center for one last time.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys around." Trip told them.

"Where you headed to next?" Ash asked.

"I thought I'd go to Kanto and give the Indigo League a try." Trip answered.

"You sure you want to go all the way out to the boonies?" Ash joked.

"Hey, if Kanto can produce someone like you, it can't be all bad." Trip replied. "Besides, traveling through Kanto will help me get to my new goal, beating the guy who beat Alder."

"I'll be waiting then, punk." Ash assured him. With that, Trip gave a wave and walked off.

"I'm going to be off too." Bianca informed them. "I think I'm going to try traveling through Sinnoh next."

"Well good luck." Misty told her. "I hope we'll see each other again soon."

"Me too." Bianca replied. "But we all know that we'll meet again. After all, there's still that battle Ho-Oh showed us. And I'm going to be ready for it."

"Take care Bianca." Ash told her. Bianca chuckled and quickly left, giving them a wave as she headed off.

"Well guys, I think this is where I'll say goodbye too." Chili decided.

"You're leaving us too?" a surprised Misty asked.

"Yeah. I'm going to travel around Unova for awhile longer." Chili revealed. "And then I'm going to go back to Striation City and reopen my family's gym. Only this time it'll be the first Fire-type gym in Unova!"

"I know you'll make it happen." Ash told him as they shook hands. "Good luck buddy."

"You too." Chili replied. "And Bianca's right, we'll all meet again one day. And when that day comes, I'll be ready for that battle."

With that, Ash and Misty waved to Chili as he walked off. Once again their traveling party had become four, just as it was when they first arrived in Unova.

"Well, now what?" Misty asked.

"…I think we should go back to Johto." Ash decided after a moment. "It might be good to take it easy for awhile. And… I want to make sure that I'm ready for that battle too."

"You really worried about that, aren't you?" Misty observed.

"Well, it's not like that battle is going to happen right away." Ash pointed out. "And we can still travel around a little bit. But I feel like I can't really continue my journey until that battle is settled."

"Well I'll stick by you the whole time." Misty assured him.

Ash smiled and threw out a Pokeball. "Go Ho-Oh!"

The great bird flew out of the ball and landed on the ground before Ash and Misty. The couple mounted Ho-Oh's back with Pikachu and Lucario. Once they were aboard, the great bird spread its wings and took off into the sky. They headed in the direction of the rising sun. The journey through Unova had come to its end, but Ash and Misty's journey was far from over.

FIN

Afterward: Well, there we have it. This has so far been the longest single story I've ever written. And it had its ups and downs. There were times when I couldn't bring myself to write for this story and parts when I couldn't wait to work on. There were also parts that I felt like I could've done better too. But all in all, I'm glad that I wrote this story. It was fun putting my own spin on some of the episodes of what has become a pitiful anime. Still, I'm also glad that I can finally mark this story as complete.

Now then, I'd first like to take a moment to thank deant33 for suggesting the Pokemon that Ash used against Alder. That was one of the problems I was having with this chapter. It was also a little hard figuring out which Pokemon Alder was going to use too. His teams have a somewhat odd assortment. So I hope that everyone enjoyed this battle. Anyway, I mentioned previously that a few questions had been asked.

One question (and I've gotten this one before) was if Brock was going to catch a Legendary Pokemon. I can honestly say he will, but it might not be the one everyone thinks. Another question was about how Genesect was going to be involved. Well, if one were to go back into this story an reread one of the prophetic vision scenes, the answered is heavily implied there. Finally, I've been asked yet again about what I intend to do about the Hoenn Region arc. The reason I didn't do it before was because all the stuff concerning Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza ended up in stories that take place after this one. But I do have another storyline in mind, so I'll probably do something with the Hoenn arc at some point.

Okay, so for those still a bit new to this AU of mine, the next story in the chronology is the already finished Fire for Ice, followed by Revenge of Noir Mask, followed by Half Moon Bay, and followed finally by Dawn of Shadows. But I'm sure everyone is wondering when I intend to do the direct sequel to this story about the prophesied battle between Ash and "You Know Who". I'm sorry to say this, but I'm afraid that it probably won't be until early next year. The main reason is because I want to wait until all the info on the new Pokemon X and Y games is fully revealed. Some old Pokemon that play a very prominent role in this role in this AU are going to be getting some new forms, and I want to try and incorporate them into the sequel. And to do that, I need to know all that I can about them. So there will be a slight delay, but hopefully not a long one.

So for right now, keep your eyes out for the sequel: Reign of Silver

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think. And thanks for reading.