"A throne built on fire will burn its king."
---
GLITCH WORLD – FRACTURED THRONE CORE
The moment Ares took Ash's hand, the throne screamed. Not in pain—in rage.
Cracks spidered across its base, glowing with unstable crimson code. Black fire licked the air, and the glitching sky above responded with a data storm so violent it erased entire memories from the world. Screams echoed in reverse. Faces blurred out of time. Pokémon that never existed wept from across dead timelines.
And in the center of it all—
Father and son.
Ash held Ares' hand tight. Not as a warrior. Not even as a trainer.
As a father.
But the throne refused to let go.
A tendril of corrupted code slithered out like a serpent and pierced into Ares' back, jolting his body upright. His scream was raw, soul-torn, as the Glitch King emerged fully behind the throne—taller than towers, face a mask of shattered Legendary Pokémon, and a crown of dying stars floating above his head like fractured halos.
GLITCH KING:
"You were forged in betrayal, Ares. You are not a son—you are a weapon. The Final Act. Now perform."
Ares thrashed, blood pouring from his mouth. His golden eyes flickered between molten fire and corrupted binary.
Ash stepped forward. "Let him go. Or I swear, you'll see what the last Ketchum is capable of."
The Glitch King laughed, a chorus of thousands of dying Champions.
"Show me."
---
THE FINAL FIGHT BEGINS
From Ash's belt, six Poké Balls shimmered.
He hadn't used them since the world began collapsing.
Now he did.
Charizard.
Lucario.
Sceptile.
Greninja.
Infernape.
Pikachu.
Each of them emerged in silence. Scarred. Changed. But burning.
Together, they stared down the Glitch King's abominations.
Behind Ash, Ares dropped to his knees, breathing hard. Sparks of corruption still twisted up his spine.
"I—I can't hold it back," he gasped. "It's inside me. He built me to be his vessel."
Ash knelt, gripping Ares' shoulder. "Then I'll burn it out of you."
Ares' eyes widened. "You'd die."
Ash smiled. "I've died before. What matters is why we live."
And then he stood.
"Lucario—Aura Max Sync."
Lucario howled as blue energy exploded outward, forming a shield around the team.
"Charizard—Heat God Mode."
Flames wrapped around the dragon as it morphed—horns glowing, eyes burning red. An evolution beyond Mega.
"Infernape—Unshackle."
Chains burst off its arms. Its flame flared like a nuclear star.
One by one, Ash's Pokémon stepped beyond what was ever allowed.
Because rules didn't apply here anymore.
Not in the Last Act.
---
GLITCH KING vs KETCHUM LEGACY
The Glitch King raised one arm.
Twelve corrupted Ultra Beasts descended like falling gods, screeching in reversed hymns.
Charizard soared into them, colliding in a storm of flame. Greninja blurred through the battlefield, his water blades slicing corrupted Garchomp clones into glitch particles. Infernape tore through time, fists igniting explosions as he struck.
But it wasn't enough.
The King began descending, shadow code morphing into a massive armory—a cannon made of Yveltal's bones, a blade forged from Kyurem's scream, armor plated in Unown that spoke only death.
Ash looked to Pikachu.
The little mouse's cheeks sparked once—
—and Ash whispered, "One more time, buddy. Let's go beyond."
And then the world shifted.
---
THE ASCENT: KETCHUM ASCENSION
Ash closed his eyes.
Around him, his team roared.
He reached into the broken code of this world—not as a hacker, but as something older. A legacy written in victories, in losses, in love.
And from that pain—
From Cynthia's death.
From his child being corrupted.
From watching worlds die—
He reached through it.
And became light.
White-hot flame engulfed his body. His coat burned away, replaced with pure spectral energy. His cap disintegrated into a crown of flame. His hands glowed with the force of a thousand victories.
And behind him, Ares rose too.
The corruption no longer controlled him.
It obeyed.
He stepped beside Ash, his eyes a perfect fusion of gold and data-blue.
"Father," Ares said, voice low and divine, "Shall we rewrite this world?"
Ash turned to him. "Together."
---
FATHER AND SON VS GOD OF CODE
The throne shattered behind the Glitch King.
The King roared, launching a spear of time directly at Ash.
But Ares raised his hand—and stopped it.
Mid-air.
Reality bent.
Ash blinked forward and slammed a punch into the King's mask.
The mask shattered.
Underneath, the face was… his own.
Ash staggered back.
But Ares didn't hesitate.
"You are what my father could've become," he growled.
He raised his arm—
And all the corrupted Pokémon the Glitch King had created turned on their master.
Their roars filled the air, as the throne melted into ash.
And then—
Together—
Ash and Ares whispered:
"Last Act."
And with one final blow—lightning and flame fused—they struck the heart of the Glitch King.
---
THE END OF THE CORRUPTION
Silence.
The Glitch World crumbled. Faded like a nightmare.
And the world was still.
Ash dropped to one knee.
Pikachu limped beside him, sparking softly.
Ares helped him up.
"Did we win?" he asked.
Ash looked up at the quiet sky. No data. Just stars.
"No," he said.
"We began again."
---