When a life fades away

"Arceus?" escaped from Ash's lips. 

Ash and Pikachu were looking around, in search for the voice of the Creator of everything.

"Why is the vortex still here?" shouted Ash, his voice hoarse. His throat was parched, the dust he breathed in, and the damage he sustained made breathing and speaking extremely painful.

"My child. Let me appear before you! Collect the plates all together and pick your Celestica Flute, the one you use to summon your mounts."

"What?" Ash gasped. He was unsure as he felt pain upon moving and he wasn't also sure he could handle the power of the vortex.

Pikachu saw his partner like that and did what needed to be done. He jumped from Ash's shoulder and headed to Volo's ravaged body. There, the last plate was. It was the Spooky plate. He took it in his mouth and, sticking his tail into the ground so as not to lose contact with the ground, he reached Ash again.

"Pikachu…" Ash whispered, moved by his Pokémon stoicism. The boy turned around, approaching his sack, finding the 17 plates he had gathered.

He then picked up the flute and waited. Nothing happened.

"Why is that?" Ash asked no one in particular. He was getting angry as the vortex was increasing in size and he felt with his back against the wall.

"One plate still misses" commented the voice of Arceus. Ash was horrified by this but Pikachu knew what was missing.

"PIKAPI!" the mouse Pokémon called; Ash turned to face his best buddy: "Check your Pokéball?" he asked.

"PIKAPIKAPIPIKA!" shouted the mouse, clear impatience in his voice.

"What? You had it all along only to keep it a secret from whoever wanted to summon Arceus!?"

"Yes, my child. I entrusted Pikachu with it to keep it from the menace coming. Now, do what your friend suggested…" the calming voice of Arceus told him.

Ash tore off the string holding the Pokéball around his neck. He snipped it open, and a small slab appeared in front of him, which once he held it in his hand, increased in size, becoming the size of the other slabs.

"Those plates are part of the original creature" commented Arceus while Ash placed the last plate together with the others; "that's why I can be summoned by them."

Ash read the inscription, which said: "From all creations, over all creations, does the Original One watch over all."

He then put the plate with its sisters. They finally started to glow. Their light transferred to the Celestica Flute whose glow now shined even more. It started to float, its shape transforming.

Ash and Pikachu were mouth agape. In the present, Brock and the others were watching with awe. They knew they were facing a historic moment.

The atmosphere was, however, more relaxed. Ash had won, Arceus was coming and would end the threat that was the portal to the Distortion World. They were waiting for his friend to come back.

Despite all this, Serena couldn't shake off a tremendous sense of emptiness and insecurity.

The flute finished its transformation. It was now of an azure color, its shape. It had a strange form, seemed like an ocarina, and to the touch, it didn't feel like a known material.

Ash was about to play it but a gust of wind from the Distortion World took out of his grip.

"NOOOO!!" shouted Ash. He and Pikachu couldn't do anything.

Serena didn't know what took control of her body, but she jumped and took the flute. She touched it, she didn't know why but she could touch it.

Ash saw the object stopping and then descending to the ground. He and Pikachu thought they saw the shadow of someone holding the flute. Then the boy smelled the fragrance of someone he knew well, of a certain girl with honey-blonde hair that kept flashing in his head.

He whispered: "Serena?"

"Pipika?" Pikachu asked, asking his friend for confirmation.

He didn't know if it was something real or only his imagination, but he had to act: "SERENA! PLAY IT!" he shouted.

Serena heard it, and Ash had recognized her. She brought the flute to her mouth and tried to blow into it.

The sound emitted seemed ethereal, not from this world. 

A bright light was emitted from the flute as a golden stair appeared. From it descended Arceus.

It was a white, equine Pokémon with an androgynous appearance. It resembled a qilin or centaur. Its four-pointed feet were tipped with gold hooves. Its long mane jutted away from its head. It also had a golden cross-like wheel attached to its body by its round abdomen. The wheel also had four jewels attached to it. 

A gasp of awe escaped Ash's mouth.

Arceus finally opened its eyes, revealing them as green with red pupils.

"You fought well my child" it started. "Your help restored balance in my force and quieted my children. Now, I will restore the balance also into the natural forces, restore Dialga in your timeline, and send you back to your time. Thank you, young Ash. I wish you all the best."

With that, an explosion of light irradiated everything. 

Dialga was born again from an egg in outer space, the crystals growing in Kalos disappeared. The modern time world discovered peace again as the dark clouds hovering over Sinnoh disappeared.

But Ash was still there, in Hisui, with the dark portal still there.

Arceus panted, unsure of what happened, then it knew.

It turned to Ash, who was watching the scene with confusion.

"What's going on?" asked Ash, a hint of doubt creeping into his mind.

"Giratina is holding the portal. It wants you… Without it, it won't let the portal close" answered the mighty deity holding Ash and Pikachu with its power so that they didn't need to worry about the sucking force of the imposing portal.

"Me?" Ash asked, furrowing his eyebrows. Pikachu patted his shoulder and explained it to him.

"So, let me understand it… If I don't go with it, it would wreak havoc by letting open the connection with the Distortion World?"

Celebi had appeared for the group of Clemont, Brock, Dawn, and Serena, enveloping them in a barrier, ready to end the communication. The little Pokémon knew already what was going to happen, its bond with Dialga which shared Arceus' thoughts, giving it the information it needed.

Everyone finally understood what was happening. There wasn't a future for the world with Ash in it.

Everyone lost composure: "What the fuck!? NOO, THIS CAN'T BE!" exploded Clemont, letting his analytical mind shake Celebi's body while crying his eyes out.

Dawn stood silent, her legs shaking as the effects of painkillers faded, letting her wounds overcome her mind, fogged by the revelation.

Brock hid his head in his jacket. He wanted to cry, to do something but deep down, he knew it was over.

Serena cried, beating her hands on the barrier, shouting, crying, calling for Ash to not go.

Ash stood there, then he unclipped all his Pokémon. Greninja, Growlithe, Braviary, and Lucario appeared. They were tired and wounded, but they stood with pride.

Ash crouched and told them: "Guys, first of all, thank you. Thanks to every one of you, we won!" he exclaimed, a hint of excitement in his tone. The group cheered moderately, their fatigues keeping them quieter than they would have wanted.

"But…" Ash then added, his eyes watering, "I think we need to say goodbye."

All the Pokémon stopped cheering as Ash explained to them what was going to happen.

Their gazes lowered, the mood was destroyed, then Ash finalized his speech: "So guys. I want you to stay here. I'm sure that, when the portal is closed, Arceus can send you back to our time…"

Their ears perched up and they jumped Ash, clinging to him and tightening him. They would never allow their best friend to sacrifice his life without them. They were a team. They would have faced this last trip together.

Ash's eyes widened. He knew he and Pikachu were going together since they were so intertwined that they couldn't live one without the other, but the boy had thought he could save his other friends. 

"When a life meets another one, something is born" Ash was reminded of what Cynthia said. 

"So, now we are together and we will face this together?" Ash asked his friends who all cheered in agreement.

Ash laughed, laughed agog, everyone joining in one last bonding moment. Pikachu then had to ask: "Pikapikachuchupikapika, Pikapika?"

Arceus shook its head: "No, you won't be able to come back. Even if you find a way out of there, your life will no longer exist." 

They didn't understand what it was saying. Ash wanted to press the God for more information but he then felt the psychic power holding him and his Pokémon getting weaker. Arceus sweated fatigue building in its body.

"My power is weakening again… You have to go, Chosen one…"

Ash stood still for a brief moment, observing the chaos impending on Hisui, wondering if he could, for one time and once only run away, not make the sacrifice. Then, he saw her. He saw Serena. She was sobbing and beating on something that for him was invisible.

He walked to her. She saw a hand stretching towards her, she followed the arm only to find Ash, smiling fondly at her. 

"Don't give up until it's over!" he exclaimed, her splendid blue eyes sparkling and watering even more.

She took his hand and he pulled her on foot, a bit too hard. She fell into his chest.

"See, you did it!" he exclaimed happily, before pulling gently away. He put his hand to her chin, lifted it, and kissed her. She felt a jolt of life before tears started to stream again as soon as he released her.

Ash looked at her one last time: "I love you" he softly whispered, "Goodbye, Serena."

He turned his back to her and walked away. Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder, and Lucario and Greninja took his hands, then Braviary and Growlithe joined, who with his paws, who with his wings. They formed a circle and they nodded in unison. Arceus knew it. 

Serena kneeled but jolted forward one moment later, she tried to reach Ash but she couldn't. She looked around. The group had come back to its time.

"What??!" she exclaimed, before seeing Celebi floating lower and lower, exhausted by fatigue.

"I'm sorry," the grass type told them via telepathy.

Everyone fell to their knees, sobbing, crying the name of their friend, hitting the holy ground beneath them. Serena took out from her pocket a piece of paper and wrote something. She folded it, made a photo, and then hid it under the black stripe on her fedora.

Then, everyone fell to the ground, unconscious.

….

As Akari gazed into Cogita's sphere, witnessing the events unfold in the mystical crystal ball, a mix of emotions surged within her like a tumultuous storm. The surreal scenes painted by the magical orb left her in a state of profound disbelief. The realization that Ash, the intrepid trainer who had become an integral part of her life, was on the brink of making an unimaginable sacrifice sent shivers down her spine.

The connection she felt with him, woven through countless shared moments and unspoken bonds, intensified the fear that gripped her heart. Each note of the farewell laughter reached her like a distant echo, creating a haunting melody of impending loss. Pikachu's poignant question, communicated in the language of Pokémon, struck a chord deep within her, and she couldn't ignore the somber response from Arceus.

Desperation fueled her thoughts as she mentally reached out to Ash, even though she knew he couldn't hear her. "Ash, please, there has to be another way! Don't go, don't leave us, don't leave me!" Her silent pleas echoed through the magical space, a manifestation of her deepest fears and the profound connection she felt with the young trainer.

As Arceus's hold weakened and the scenes in the crystal ball began to blur, as Cogita's powers were also weakening, Akari felt a profound sense of helplessness. The one who had opened her eyes to the wonders of the Pokémon world, who had shared adventures and laughter, was about to embark on a journey that might sever their connection forever.

The last image etched in her mind was Ash's determined smile, a beacon of resilience in the face of an uncertain fate. The fading echoes of his laughter haunted her as unconsciousness claimed her. The sphere, now devoid of visions, retained a soft glow, a lingering testament to the unfolding sacrifice that would reshape the destiny of Hisui.

…

Gary and the others were finally ready to leave that desperate world when the shape of Eternatus caught James' attention.

"Twerp! Isn't that the Pokémon that caused the Darkest Day?" he exclaimed pointing towards it.

Gary squeezed his eyes and nodded. What does that mean?" the Pokémon came closer and closer.

"Look! Someone is on it!" shouted Meowth, his tone of pure surprise.

"It can't be," Gary said, "We must follow it!" 

"How!?" Jessie screeched, frustration growing inside her.

Then they heard a crack, then another. They saw what was going on. The dimension was collapsing.

They didn't have the reflexes to do anything, but Solgaleo did and pushed all of them inside the portal created by future Celebi. Then, that world collapsed. 

…

Arceus observed as its power faded, letting Ash and his Pokémon be sucked into the portal. They broke the circle to join a group hug, Ash in the middle of it: "I love you guys" he said, tears in his closed eyes, as darkness surrounded them, swallowing them.

Arceus did one last thing as the portal started to stabilize. It spat a blue light into the portal.

"Please, Chosen one…" it said. 

Ash, Pikachu, Greninja, Lucario, Braviary, and Growlithe disappeared into the darkness. The portal stopped its enlargement and dissolved into thin air. It was over.

At her home, Delia felt something in her heart. She knew something had happened and fell to the ground too, Paul, Professor Oak, Tracey and Chloe with her.

….

It was the first time that Hisui celebrated a funeral for a foreigner. The entirety of Jubilife Village's people was dressed in black as an empty casket was being buried near Galaxy headquarters.

It was also the first time in history that all three clans were celebrating the same ritual. A new collaboration was born in those days as centuries of rivalries were finally over. Adaman and Irida were leading the procession with Kamado. Laventon was behind, his arm still bandaged after being shot. Akari didn't attend. She was in her house, the one she once shared with Ash. Only the love of her Pikachu, Clefable and Prinplup keep her from an extreme act. Cogita was there with her. The wise woman knew that the girl could pull through and live her life. She needed time but she knew; after all, that was what Ash would have wanted for the girl he cared so much for.

...

…

…

Somewhere else, a robotic voice could be heard: "They failed, yet, we won."

….

….

….

The world of Pokémon, a place full of beautiful locations where Pokémon and Humans live in harmony. From the countryside to the biggest city you can see them cooperate, fighting together to overcome obstacles and living in peace.

In a world like this, there are so many wonders and so much to discover about every day.

It's no surprise that this story starts in one of these magnificent cities. Or I bet you can say that this specific city is not only magnificent but also really Marvellous.

Lumiouse City, the capital city of the Kalos region, is a fancy and colorful land with one the most awesome pieces of architecture but also with landscapes of unimaginable beauty and lively countries.

Lumiouse is a place that a person should visit at least once during a lifetime.

With its big streets full of local shops as well as the most important companies' boutiques, it's a city that transudes fanciness everywhere. It is also well known for its numerous parks where you can enjoy a long walk alongside your Pokémon but also relax and watch the typical awesome sunset. All along these pieces of heaven on Earth you can see vendors of the most fresh and typical bakery products of the region; from Pokèpuffs to croissants, with hot beverages and drinks, you will be always with a full stomach while crossing these green areas.

It sure is a lively city and it is no doubt that its cafès and night bars are responsible for this in a part for sure. 

Kalosian people sure love to go around and meet friends in these places which are easily the most characteristic part of the region.

But You can't talk about Lumiose without speaking of the biggest building in the region: the Prism Tower, a place that always attracts people from all over the world in search of the romantic landscape you can watch from the top of the tower. Lovers come to cuddle each other at the lovely Kalosian night view and this includes even their Pokémon. When the sky is clear you can also see the light reflected by the Anistar city sundial.

The tower is also known for its great restaurants, the offices of the most important companies in the world, and of course for the Lumiose Gym, the aim for many trainers who come here to earn a badge in their journey for the League conference which is usually held in this same city.

For this reason, there is a complex of stadiums which, from time to time hosts some of the Pokémon World Coronation Series tournaments.

And right now, this was the case.

Kalos representative Diantha was giving her own against Unova champion Iris.

Clemont, the genial inventor walked through the streets of his town, slightly annoyed at the chaos crowds created for such big events.

A group of three people and a Meowth spotted him and ran to him. Clemont was startled. They were covered in sweat and dirt and looked like they just come out from a long trip.

"SCIENCE TWERP!" the blue-haired man exclaimed; "So, what is going on?" a purple-haired woman chimed in. "Da Twoip made it?" the Meowth exclaimed.

What? The Meowth?

"WAAAHHHH! THAT MEOWTH CAN SPEAK!" shouted the blonde man, freaking out at the notion. Never would he have thought of seeing a Pokémon speaking.

The Trio looked at him confused: he didn't recognize them? What an outrage!

Gary made a step forward: "Let them alone. Tell me, you are Clemont. Do you have news about Ash?"

Clemont looked at him with a confused look again: "Who is Ash? I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Gary made a step back, shaking. This couldn't be true.

He pushed for another question: "What day is today?"

Clemont took out his phone, a bit pissed at this group of lunatics. Gary saw the date on it. It was the day Ash disappeared.

Then James noticed the screensaver. It was a photo of Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena when she had her first outfit and long hair. It was the photo made in Geosenge town, James remembered.

"There's no twerp" stuttered James, the conclusion of all of this slashed their hearts.

"He's no more…" Gary said, his eyes watering, Clemont walking away as if they never met.

In the Ruins of Alphs, a group of archaeologists was making a new study on the pictorial traits of the Unowns when they found a secret room and a fresco. In the centre of it, a Pokémon resembling Giratina and a boy, with a small mouse, perhaps a Pikachu, fighting the deity. Above them, a portal of dark clouds

That was the story of the boy who wanted to be the very best. This was a tale of love through space and time. This was the story of a man and his best friend, trying to save the world one more time.

This was the story of how a man subjugated the Gods only to be killed… Or maybe it wasn't.

Maybe it was the story of a more complicated plan, yet to be discovered. Maybe this story tells us that not every sacrifice can save the world. Because sometimes life just passes by, and you can't do anything for the world. Maybe this story tells us that we can indeed be forgotten. When we are dead, what will be of us if no one remembers us? Maybe it was all in vain, after all. Or maybe not; and connections can still exist even if we are only memories in the fog, even if we are not remembered.

That's a reflection for maybe another time. 

For now, it's only void. So, this is "When a life fades away".

AND CUT!

SO, that's the final chapter. This is the end of what I planned to be the first book in a series.

For this reason, now I can answer some doubts.

For all the ones who wanted it to be a AshXAkari fic: the end of the story is the reason why it couldn't be. If the story goes on, Akari won't have another role in the second book, or at least, not of this importance.

Then, it's stated from the beginning. I said it in the description and the cover portrays it: this was Amourshipping. Also, I'm working on a lighter version of this story which will have Akari as the main pairing. Just wait a bit

Thor94 also made a point when asking me about Giratina recognizing Ash. You are right but the answer isn't simple as this could also be a Giratina who hasn't seen Ash already. Who knows what happened in the Distortion World?

With that, I'd like to ask you if you think I should go on with the trilogy or if you lost interest.

I'd also like to start writing "Again". 

In any case, thanks so much for bearing with me and coming all the way to the final chapter of this shit.

I love you.

Goodbye,

Simone