Latias clearly had no real battle experience—otherwise, she wouldn't have rushed in so recklessly, eating Play Rough head-on just because of her Dragon typing.
She had a perfect chance to use Protect to block most of the damage.
But even so, she still dove in without hesitation.
After all… in her eyes, Haru was being bullied.
And Latias never wanted to watch someone suffer humiliation before her again—especially not someone she already knew.
What's more, this time the opponent was just a Pikachu. Surely she could win.
Today, she would be the hero who defended the weak—"Latias-man"! Even she could be a hero too!
The sudden appearance of Latias left everyone stunned.
Ash's eyes went wide as he stared at the Pokémon that looked so much like a little red jet, then suddenly glanced toward the stone pillar engraved with the "Eon Pokémon."
"This… this can't be…?"
His reaction quickly drew everyone else's attention. They compared the carvings on the pillar to the Pokémon before them again and again, then almost in unison, covered their mouths in shock.
Especially Chloe. She never would have guessed that Haru, already dubbed "the Legendary Beast Guy," now had Latias—the Pokémon of Infinity—by his side.
Talk about living up to the nickname.
And it wasn't just the newcomers who were floored; even Professor Oak was surprised.
He knew Latias wasn't Haru's Pokémon—it was just tagging along with him for now.
There was no way Haru had "kidnapped" her in under three days… right?
Come on, man, she's underage! Isn't this moving way too fast?
The battle froze in place for a moment, until Ash finally broke the silence, carefully eyeing the red jet Pokémon glaring daggers at him.
"Wait… don't tell me this is your Pokémon too, Haru?"
"I thought you only just got to Alto Mare? You already caught a Latias?"
"Nope," Haru replied with a smile, tucking the Pokéball he'd been about to use back into his pocket. "She's just my companion, not my Pokémon."
"That said, if you're willing, I don't mind commanding her for a battle with you."
He'd originally been planning to bring out Flutter Mane, who hadn't seen action in ages, to spar with Pikachu.
Her power might not quite match that of a true Legendary, but against regular Pokémon she'd still win handily.
But now that Latias had stepped up, Haru naturally had an even better option.
Against Ash at this stage, Latias was the safer choice.
He could have used Ogerpon, another sub-Legendary on his team, but that was different. Ogerpon was centuries old and already at peak power.
Latias, on the other hand, was still a juvenile, fragile in comparison. Like "Toilet King" Shuckle—whose broken ability even Arceus lore couldn't erase—Latias couldn't bring out her true strength yet.
Using her here wouldn't count as bullying with a level gap.
"A battle with the Eon Pokémon, huh?"
Ash's heart started pounding like a lead weight in free fall.
By strict rules, battling with a Pokémon that isn't yours wasn't proper—but this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
A chance to face a Legendary head-on—for the very first time.
Ever since arriving in Alto Mare, he'd heard nothing but legends about the Eon Pokémon. How could he not be excited?
"Come on—show me your full strength!"
Ash clenched his fists, eyes blazing at the red-and-white Pokémon floating before him.
Latias was airborne, clearly part Flying-type—or so he thought. Perfect prey for Electric moves.
With the rain powering him up, Pikachu should have the edge, even against a "Legendary Pokémon."
And even if Pikachu fell, Ash still had other Pokémon to rely on.
He could win this!
But just as he was rallying his confidence, Haru casually pointed at Pikachu.
"Latias, use Calm Mind."
"??"
Buffing? Out of nowhere? Haru had always fought head-on before. Was this Latias actually a low-damage Legendary?
Though puzzled, Ash gave his command without hesitation.
"Pikachu—Thunder! Aim for the wings! If a jet loses its wings, Latias is going down!"
But Haru only smiled.
"Latias, go invisible."
The words were barely spoken before Latias vanished from the skies.
Thunder had clipped her just before she disappeared, but clearly hadn't done much.
"???"
"What kind of move is that? Since when does 'Invisibility' exist?!"
Ash prided himself on knowing moves well enough, even as a rookie—but he'd never heard of this one.
Unless it was Latias's unique ability… in which case, there wasn't much he could say.
"Latias isn't just a Pokémon—she's a Legendary. Having special powers is normal."
Of course, invisibility wasn't a move in the games—but in real life? It was an overwhelming ability.
Once hidden, a Trainer could barely direct their Pokémon effectively. Even if Pikachu could sense Latias's presence, landing a clean hit would be nearly impossible.
"Latias, keep moving while invisible, and stack Calm Mind until you're maxed out."
"Greedy much?!"
Ash was dumbfounded.
Legendaries already hit hard enough. If Haru kept boosting at this rate, Latias would sweep his entire team.
What now? If this kept up, he was sure to lose…
He lifted his eyes and found Haru smiling back at him.
"Trust your Pokémon. Trust doesn't need a reason. How about trying to break my setup?"
He gave Ash a thumbs-up.
"Trust, huh…"
Ash gritted his teeth. Fine then. If that was how it had to be—
"Pikachu, Discharge! Fill the whole field with lightning—force her out!"
Discharge was a massive AoE move, ignoring friend or foe, and with rain boosting it, its range was even greater.
Both Ash and Haru stood under the storm themselves, meaning even they weren't safe.
But Ash didn't care anymore. He had to win—he was in full shōnen protagonist mode.
"For victory… I'll risk everything!"
"Piiiii—kaaaa—CHUUUUU!!!"
The thunderstorm spread wildly, nearly frying both Trainers along with the arena itself.
Fortunately, both had their own ways of protecting themselves.
"Oh? A clever play," Haru chuckled. "But sorry—AoE isn't meta anymore."
"Latias, reappear and use Mist Ball. Let's end this."
Mist Ball—Latias's signature move. Weak in design compared to many Legendaries' exclusives, but with her boosts stacked, it was still devastating.
Ash's face paled. "No—Pikachu, dodge!"
But Pikachu, already battered from Bagon's earlier hits, knew he couldn't last. Instead of dodging, he sped toward Latias, eyes sharp with resolve.
If he was going down, he'd go down swinging—so his teammates had a chance to break through.
"Pikachu…!" Ash realized what his partner intended. His chest tightened.
"In that case… use Play Rough, point-blank! From those exchanges earlier, I know it—Latias isn't Flying-type, and Fairy moves hurt her badly!"
"Pika!!"
Across the field, Haru saw it too, but only smirked.
"You want close-quarters? Fine. I'm the type who never backs down. Let's end this head-on."
"Latias—slam Mist Ball like a Rasengan straight into Pikachu!"
"Fuuuh!"
Latias, exhilarated to finally have the upper hand, dove straight in.
BOOM!
The two collided, their massive attacks canceling each other out so violently that even the downpour was scattered.
Pikachu fell instantly, fainting. Latias, though still afloat, was clearly shaken—her half-lidded eyes showing the clash had taken its toll.
She was still just a child, after all. At her peak, such an attack wouldn't have fazed her.
"You did great, Pikachu," Ash whispered, recalling his partner. "Now it's up to the others."
But before he could throw his next Pokéball, Haru laughed.
"Weakened? You sure about that?"
"Latias—Recover!"
"Fuuuuh!"
Obeying, Latias's body glowed as her strength surged back, almost as good as new.
Ash's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me…"
Haru leaned back, pulling out a lounge chair and umbrella, settling in as though watching a show.
"Alright, Latias, it's all yours. Against physical attackers, just spam Charm until they're useless. Against special ones… well, you know what to do. If it ever feels rough, just Recover again."
Latias nodded, while Haru reclined like a spectator at his own battle.
Calm Mind had made her special offense overwhelming and her special defense iron-clad. Charm would handle physical threats. Recover would reset her HP whenever needed.
In short: autopilot mode.
Ash's eyes widened. "You… you can't be serious! Who battles like that?!"
"I knew it!" Chloe sparkled beside him. "Amazing—Haru always has everything perfectly planned out!"
"Forget it… you can't keep up that arrogance forever."
"Go, Bulbasaur! The opponent isn't a Flying type, so you can finally unleash your full power."
At the command, Bulbasaur immediately prepared to scatter its refined Sleep Powder and Poison Powder at the enemy.
Yes, perhaps its offensive strength wasn't the highest, but it was still a Grass- and Poison-type with maxed-out potential.
If only it knew Spore, then at least Latias would've had the chance to experience what real status control felt like.
And yet—
It was one-shotted.
The hyper-boosted Latias never intended to give its foe even the slightest opening.
Poison? Sleep? Please—learn Prankster first, then maybe you'll stand a chance. In the face of overwhelming firepower, such tricks meant nothing.
Ash, however, refused to give in. He kept hurling Poké Balls one after another, but against this super turret of a Latias—with sky-high special defense, attack-lowering capabilities, and to top it off, self-recovery—it was all but useless.
The battle dragged on in this same repeating cycle: send out a Pokémon, watch it get instantly blown away… Latias's sheer dominance was terrifying!
The lopsided match finally ended under the blazing sunlight Latias herself summoned with Sunny Day.
Having recently suffered a setback, Latias managed to regain some confidence through this crushing victory.
As for Ash, he wasn't particularly upset about his defeat.
If you lose because you're outmatched, then you lose—nothing more to say. Besides, losing to a Legendary Pokémon wasn't shameful in the least. At worst, he'd just come back and win next time.
Still… that vanishing trick really was troublesome. If only he and Pikachu had some way to detect the opponent's location.
Hmm… maybe human technology could do it? Like giving Pikachu a pair of glasses with infrared sensors.
But if you're already giving him glasses, why not throw in a power amplifier?
And if you've got a power amplifier, why not add some external armor too?
With external armor equipped, a super thruster pack wouldn't be out of the question, right?
After this battle, the young Trainer seemed to be filled with all sorts of "interesting" new ideas…
—
Alto Mare… the hotel where Haru and the others were staying.
Click—
With the sound of a lock being picked, the door to Liko's room slowly swung open.
Though it was only a door, Haru's vision seemed to stretch through a tunnel of space itself before opening into a bright and spacious view. A wide, soft bed dominated the center of the room, its pure white sheets glowing under the gentle light of a golden bedside lamp.
On the nightstand beside the bed lay an open book, as if waiting for its reader to return and savor the unfinished tale.
Meanwhile, at the round table on the far left side of the room, Liko and Cynthia sat neatly side by side, as though they had been quietly waiting for Haru's arrival.
But the expressions on their faces were clearly not quite right.
Perhaps having sensed the sound of the door being tampered with, the slightly uneasy Liko raised her head from the table.
"P-Professor Haru… is there something you wanted with me?"
"Yes. About you coercing Cynthia, I'd like to hear your explanation."
"C-coercing? How could I possibly coerce a Champion?"
Liko's guilt was written all over her face.
Haru gave her a single look, then produced two objects from seemingly nowhere and placed them before her.
"Choose. Pick the one that feels the least humiliating to you."