Ash's Last Dance

Ash Makes Up His Mind

A/N: This story is about what could've happened in the Kalos if Ash chose to use all of his Pokemon instead of the 6 he caught in Kalos. He'll have the 6 Pokémon that he usually catches, but he'll also catch some other Pokemon. Hope you enjoy. When I took the poll earlier, Iamcool22121 gave me the idea for this story. I have read a few books on this topic (they weren't finished which sucked) and I decided to try this. A harem was a popular choice, but it'll be small to give all the characters lots of development. I'm most likely going to not do another harem for a while since all 3 of my stories are harem stories and I want to try something new. Also Dawn meets up with Ash again before the league and sticks around in this. Hope you enjoy.

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Ash POV

"Pikachu! No!" I called out watching Pikachu get hit from Lucario's attack.

I could only watch helplessly as Pikachu flew back and landed on the ground. He didn't get back up.

"Get up, Pikachu! Come on!" I yelled desperately.

The referee then made the call.

"Pikachu is unable to battle, Lucario is the winner! Ash has no more Pokemon remaining, so Cameron wins the battle!"

I sighed in defeat. Another league, another loss. What else was new.

Here was another Top 8 finish, capping off what's most likely my worst performance in a Pokemon League yet. How was I supposed to be a Pokemon Master if I couldn't beat a trainer who brought 5 Pokemon to a 6 on 6 battle?

Not only had I lost to Cameron with 5 Pokemon, this marked my third Quarterfinal finish, and added together with my Top 16 and Top 4 from the Indigo Plateau and the Lily of the Valley Conference, gave me an average finish of Top 8 in each region I had faced.

What a joke. I should've known from the start I was no Pokemon Master. Maybe that victory in the Orange Islands had gotten to my head leading to my wishful thinking. A trainer like me didn't have a chance at dreams that big, maybe it was time I settled down and actually focused on something that could eventually become my livelihood or career.

Noticing the look the referee was giving me, I snapped out of my daze and slowly walked down onto the battlefield to where Cameron and Lucario were celebrating.

Picking up my fallen Pokemon, I thanked Pikachu, who could only respond with a sad 'Pika', likely feeling the same way I was right now.

However, being petty wasn't in my nature, so I walked over to Cameron to congratulate him on his victory.

"Nice battle Cameron, just make sure you remember to bring a full team to the next fight," I said trying my best to smile. I couldn't act like a sore loser to Cameron, he was one of my friends.

"Thanks Ash, I know I'll need the extra Pokemon my next battle."

Reeling from the backhanded reply, I gave him a weak smile before shaking his hand and turning around. The crowd behind me began chanting Cameron name, making me wonder what could've happened had I won this match.

But, as I walked back down the tunnel, the words that Cameron had said burned into my head. I don't think he had mean't to insult me like that, but it was true. I had lost to a trainer who hadn't even brought a full team to a Quarterfinal match in an official regional tournament. I had blown my chance again, just like all those other times. My placements weren't horrible, and I was by no means a terrible trainer, but I was nothing exceptional. I crumbled in the bright lights, and there was no other way to phrase it.

The only placement I could truly forgive and move on from was Sinnoh. Tobias had a team likely full of Legendaries, and I was the only Trainer to even take out his Darkrai in the entire Tournament, no one had even faced and beaten his Latios other than me. That was a small victory, but a loss nonetheless.

If I was to become a Pokemon Master, I had to become a League Champion and eventually a Regional Champion. That was the only way I had a feasible chance of getting into the Masters' Tournament. There weren't many regions left that I could do in the time that I had. Alola was working on setting up its League, but who knows if it'll be done in time for the Masters' in Galar. That left Kalos and Paldea, and whichever one I decided to go to would pretty much seal my fate as a trainer. 

If I failed once more, maybe I was time to maybe take up teaching. There's apparently a school in Paldea for teaching students of all ages on how to become a better Pokemon trainer. Maybe I'd be good enough to help there. But I had to focus on the task ahead for now at least. I wanted to win this next league, no matter how impossible my chances are. Maybe my motto could be that even a broken clock is right 2 times a day.

Based on what I had just seen from this current performance it was clear that if I wanted the best chance at winning the Pokemon League, I would need the help of all of my Pokemon. The experienced Pokemon like Charizard, Snorlax, Heracross, and Sceptile would make it much easier for me to face the trainers who had been training the same Pokemon for years. I could see another flaw during my time here in Unova, I had caught too many Pokemon, not allowing them to get as strong as they could by constantly having to switch them around. This was something I would definitely fix during the upcoming journey.

While this new strategy seems great, I know it'll all come crumbling down in the end. I'm not built for moments when it all comes down to one decision. But, I can dream, and that's all that really matters for now. I'm already 18, Leon was 10 when he won the Masters' Tournament and became a Pokemon Master. My clock was ticking, and it was obvious I only really had one more shot at this.

I came out of my thoughts when I made it out of the tunnel, meeting three familiar faces as I stepped out.

"You did a great job out there Ash. You'll do better next time for sure," Cilan said, speaking up first, giving me a pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah Ash, you were amazing out there. Don't beat yourself up too much," Iris giving me a smile.

I gave them a weak smile which clearly did not fool them.

"Thanks, guys. I just can't believe I didn't even make it to the Semifinals. I did worse than last time," I responded, still grieving over the loss.

"It's alright Ash," Dawn responded. "You have to keep going if you want to be the best. You can't get caught up on the past."

I nodded to her. She was right, but it was sad knowing that once I was done with what would likely be my final journey as a trainer, I would be caught up on the past. Always wondering about what it could've been.

"Well, let's get to the hotel," Cilan said before motioning to the door. "It's getting pretty late, and we should celebrate how far you got."

We followed him and made our way to the hotel which was around 5 minutes away. I went into my room and tried to relax before we all went downstairs, but the only thing I could think about was winning the next League.

In a few months, I'd know if Ash Ketchum had a real chance of becoming a Pokemon Master.

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A/N: Hope you liked the first chapter. I will try to update another one as soon as I can, but updates will be slower than the other books since those are more of main focus for right now. 1350 words cyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.