Pokemon: I Fall Apart

Ch 1 Lily Valley Conference

One particular raven haired teen let out a small wistful sigh as he gazed at the empty stadium. An empty stadium, soon to be filled with people. People who would be cheering for the next champion of this year's conference...

The young man's grip on the rails then tightened as reality finally settled in. 'Tomorrow is the finals. The finals. Heh, I can't believe it. It almost seems too good to be true...'

Without knowing it, the young trainer's thoughts shifted into more darker territory. 'W-What if I screw up tomorrow? What if I fail?-' The raven haired teen narrowed his eyes as he envisioned the titans his team would be facing. They were literally living legends."-What if we lose...?"

"Hmph. I didn't think you were the type to sulk Ash."

Widening both his eyes in response, the now revealed Ash then faced the familiar voice and came face-to-face with his current rival, Paul. The raven haired teen was quick to plaster on a reassuring grin. "Oh h-hey Paul! What's up? I was just clearing my head out for tomorrow...ahehe."

"..."

"You're not buying me are you?"

In a rare candid moment, Paul gave his fellow trainer a smirk. A non-condescending smirk that showed there was no malicious intent behind his gesture. "I wasn't born yesterday Ketchum. Now spill. You're not the kind of guy who mopes around."

Internally glad for the brief distraction from his thoughts, Ash returned the favor with an honest-to-good smile to his rival-slash-frenemy. "And from what I recall, you don't exactly like playing the good guy either, right Paul? See? I'm not the only one out of character here."

Paul just dignified the response with a roll of his eyes. "Idiot."

"Jerk."

It wasn't long before Paul let out a small snort while Ash decided to bust a gut and just had a good laugh.

After the brief ice breaker, Ash's somber mood returned as he gazed back at the battlefield. "I-I was just nervous I guess. This isn't my first league competition but this is the farthest I got and then there's Tobias' Darkrai..."

Paul nodded in understanding as he recalled the mysterious trainer's many accomplishments in Sinnoh. "Yeah, conquering the gyms with a single Pokemon is one thing but to have a legendary in your party...it makes you wonder what kind of team he has."

"..."

The purple haired trainer then raised his eyebrow in suspicion at the usually exuberant male. "What? Don't tell me you're actually scared Ketchum? "

Something sparked in Ash's brown eyes as he glared at his rival. "I'm not scared Paul! I said I was nervous! There's a difference y'know!"

Paul just raised both his hands in a calming gesture. "And that's what I'm talking about all this time. I may not know you like your friends Ketchum but I do know this-since when have you ever worried about the smaller details? Just be who you are. That same idiot who fought against the odds. The same idiot who managed to earn my respect."

And just like that, Ash slowly recalled the fond memories of his journey thus far.

Memories of his victories. His losses. His Pokemon. His family and friends...

Ash then sent Paul a grateful smile in return. "Heh. Thanks Paul. I'll just keep on battling the way I can. I owe it to my team and I owe it to everybody I met and believed in me on my journey."

"Hmph. Whatever Ash. I'd just hate to see the guy who beat me embarrass himself in the finals. Don't look into this too much."

Ash's grin just grew wider as Paul decided to finally make his exit. "Hehe. Whatever helps you sleep at night Paul!"

The purple haired trainer then decided to dignify that response with his middle finger raised.

Once he was alone again, Ash shifted his gaze towards the moon with a look of melancholy. "I can't believe I was doubting myself...After all, 'Never give up till the end' right Mom?" "The Final round between Ash Ketchum of Kanto and Tobias Tatum of Sinnoh is underway!"

And with that, the crowd went wild as both trainers made their appearance. Ash and his partner Pikachu looked determined while Tobias exuded confidence with every step. Something which a lot of his fans completely ate up.

"Tobias we love you!"

"Show that Kanto kid who's the boss Tobias!"

"You rule Tobias!"

Meanwhile, Dawn grumbled in her pink cheerleader uniform as she was annoyed with the crowd of fans who were treating her mentor as the underdog. "Geez...some people. Heck, a lot of them were cheering for Ash in his last match too! What's so great about this Tobias guy anyway?"

Brock and Barry then felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of their heads at how the bluenette looked about ready to explode.

Brock could only scratch one of his cheeks in a nervous fashion as he tried to play the devil's advocate. "Well to be fair Dawn, Ash does have his work cut out for him..." Seeing the dejected look on Dawn's face, he was quick to follow up with his statement."-Don't get me wrong Dawn! I have faith in Ash! After all, I've seen him take on legendaries before and he was able to come out on top too."

Said coordinator widened her eyes in awe at that particular info while Barry was literally jumping out of his seat in excitement. "No way! Ash was able to defeat legendary Pokemon before?! Talk about awesome!"

Barry then joined Dawn in her cheering as he wildly pumped his one fist in the air."Go Ash! You better not lose or I'll be forced to fine ya!"

Dawn then let out a small giggle and was quick to follow Barry's lead and resumed her routine as well. "Yeah, Go Ash! Go Ash! If you can't do it then no one can!"