(POV: Ash [it keeps switching, and this is the last time!])

[Alright, so quick note, this is the finale, alright? I mean I know our book's very short, with only seven parts/chapters, but don't moan about it, please! Also this is the last character switch. Nobody else's gonna have the pencil now except me.]

I stood with a bunch of papers, feeling unusually hot. Goh, over behind the curtains, shot me a thumbs up. I glanced at him nervously, then glanced back.

'Alright... and... Action!' whispered Mr Armond. News music came on. I took a deep breath... and once more, I began.

[Wait a second... Goh, do you remember what I said at this point?]

[Of course I do. Why are we still writing down our messages?]

[Because Chloe told us to shush. She's taking a nap, remember?]

[Then how am I supposed to tell you what you said if we can't speak?]

[Whisper it in my ear. Now, to the reader, at this point, I'm writing everything Goh tells me that I said, okay?]

'Welcome back to Armond News,' I said. 'The news story is brought to you today by Mr Ash Ketchum, and the news will be about... In 3 minutes, you will be seeing me eating doo-doo--'

[Oi, that's not what I said! Tell the truth!]

[Ow-- Okay, jeez, don't slap me... Alright, fine...]

[No, never mind, I'm starting to remember now. It's ok, you can go to the bathroom now... Sorry for stopping you, it turns out I didn't need to listen to your faulty brain--]

I gulped. 'T-Today on Armond News, with me, Ash Ketchum... Up next after the weather will be an insight onto the current crisis with Round Industries. But before we begin, it seems the weather here in Kanto will be continuously sunny for the rest of the week...'

My brain began to run slow. I internally shook my head.

'Round Industries is a more recent Poké Ball company, but the head of this company, Ms Round, has had to deal with a crisis. Round Industries produces newer and more innovative Poké Balls, but according to customers, when such Poké Balls are used, the Pokémon is sent somewhere else without returning. Round Industries had no clue about this, but it seems the real culprit behind such events is none other than Boss Giovanni of Team Rocket.

'Team Rocket's primary goal is to capture Pokémon. Giovanni had had his sight set on this particular Poké Ball factory, and waited to seize his chance. By hacking into the systems and programming of these Poké Balls, he found a way to send the Pokémon inside these Poké Balls to himself, therefore stealing more Pokémon. He knew about these Poké Balls because of a newly-hired spy who watched the company closely, and that spy was known as Lucy Glenwick, the former news reporter on our show.

'Now let's meet Goh, who works at Round Industries.'

Goh crawled onto the stage. I handed him the microphone with a quaking hand.

'Tell me, Goh, what is the main goal of Round Industries?'

'We at Round Industries try to create the best Poké Balls to satisfy our customers. We intend on creating a new and safe future for Poké Balls, and add features such as magnets to our Poké Balls, in order to be able to summon Pokémon if the user's Ball is far away. We have no intention whatsoever of fusing evil with our Poké Balls, and certainly didn't know about Giovanni's tampering with our company.'

'Thank you.' I put the microphone back to my mouth, then gave a quick glance to my papers. 'After the break, Mr Armond himself will be with you. That's it for now.'

The cameras clicked off. Once again, everyone just stared at me. I shifted uneasily, then whistled a tune uncertainly.

And over that uncertain tune came the sound of applause. I brightened upon hearing this.

Mr Armond clapped. Chloe clapped. Goh clapped. And Pikachu ate Pokémon food. Soon enough I found myself being patted on the back and walked over to the table...

But my mind was blank. My brain had just controlled me, and now had practically shut down. Had I actually done it? Had I actually overcome my fear? That was it, wasn't it? Another pressure off of my shoulders, I had nothing to worry about any more... but something felt wrong...

'Well done, Mr Ketchum!' said Mr Armond. 'Do you mind if I promote you to be my journalist and my news reporter?'

'Uh-huh,' I said absent-mindedly.

'You do mind?'

'No...' I yawned. 'I think I need a lie-down.'

And off I went, back home.

Ok, just so you know, I still lived with my mom at this point. At the moment, Mom wasn't at home, so I had the house to myself.

I lay on my bed, confused. I didn't feel hungry, which wasn't usual. I didn't feel glad, which still wasn't usual. All I could think about was my speech.

Finally, when it dawned on me, I smiled.

A while later, me, Goh, and Chloe were having ice-cream in the park. That was when Chloe randomly brought up a question.

'Is it possible to get married at the age of 20?' she ventured.

'Hopefully not--' began me and Goh.

'Apparently people in the olden days got married at the age of 14 or 13,' continued Chloe. Me and Goh shot each other sideways looks, then ran away with our ice-creams. Chloe just stared, and shook her head.

'Man, what the heck?' I said.

'Did people actually get married at the age of 13?' said Goh.

'I've got a secret,' I said. Goh glanced at me, then shifted uneasily.

'W-What is it?'

'Well, I'm pretty sure my mom got married at the age of 16,' I whispered.

That, I gotta say, was a pretty weird way to end a story. But I just did it for fun. And I'll probably be writing again in, say, another 10 years. Goodbye!