Eternal (Patreon)

‘I don’t feel any different.’ Ash noted.

It was dark out now, the mass of noise that was the stadium that hosted the Masters Eight, was empty. Not a single soul was present, except for him.

He was sitting atop the stand where Leon presented the trophy to him. Declaring him the winner of the Masters Eight, passing the crown to him, beginning the new reign of a monarch, the strongest trainer in the world.

...That was him now.

Yet as he sat here atop the stand, staring at nothing at all, Ash admitted it, he didn’t feel a single bit different from usual. He thought once, being crowned the strongest trainer in the world, the greatest champion master of pokemon would be it, he’d have fulfilled his dream and be satisfied.

Eight entire regions, eight leagues, a battle frontier, tens of dozens of tournaments, multiple criminal organisations, dozens of raging legendary pokemon, world ending threats he’d long since lost count of, battle bonds, mega evolution, Z-moves, Dynamaxing, Gigantamaxing, seven years and eighty six pokemon had brought him here.

The Monarch – Ash Ketchum.

The reigning world champion.

Yet, he just felt like the same old Ash.

Was...this really the end of his journey?

His rotom phone vibrated in his pocket, but Ash ignored it for the moment. Every minute or so he’d get a new message from well wishers or his friends. And he had a massive backlog of messages now he was sure to read through and reply to.

But right now...he just wanted to think.

‘This really is it, huh?’ He mused, lifting his hand and eyeing the large trophy he’d been presented with earlier. He’d brought it with him to just examine quietly while alone. Pikachu and his other pokemon were all currently still recovering from the intense battle they went through against Leon.

He felt kind of empty at the thought.

This was the end of his journey?

His fingers twitched.

“No.” he denied that thought firmly and found himself rising, his head tilting up to look up at the stars above.

This wasn’t the end of his journey.

It couldn’t be.

His pokemon hadn’t reached their limits yet. They could still grow, they could still become stronger.  And he hadn’t reached his limit yet either.

There were still so many pokemon he hadn’t met yet, so many things he’d never seen, so many ways of battling he hadn’t heard of. More, more and more.

“Oh.” Ash muttered softly, a realisation hitting him then.

In the end, what was a Pokemon Master to him?

He’d never defined his dream before through simply being the best battler. That had always been a mere stepping stone.

“I’ll never be a Pokemon Master.” he realised.

Yet despite that, despite the realisation that he could never attain his dream in this moment, he found his lips twisting into an excited smile and clenched his fist, the mega stone atop his wrist gleaming under the moonlight that beamed down into the stadium atop him,

Because-

To be a Pokemon Master was to admit, Ash had hit his limit, and he couldn’t improve any more. And to do that, would go against everything he and his pokemon had pursued together. And so he never would.

“Pokemon Master isn’t a destination...it’s the journeys themselves.” Ash couldn’t help it, he laughed.

Yes, becoming the Monarch and strongest trainer in the world, was nothing but a stepping stone. There was still more left for him. He and his pokermon could still become stronger, become faster, learn more, experience more!

The grind of Ash Ketchum, was eternal!

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So, just a short quick drabble. For those of you who don't know, Ash beat Leon today and became the world champion in the anime.