Chapter 15
"Well, guys," said Ash, "I've decided to bring Pikachu, Latios, Latias, and Skye to fight Team Void, and I'm going to leave one spot open just in case. If it doesn't fill, I'll take Charizard."
There were several murmurs of agreement, but some of Ash's Pokémon sounded a little disappointed.
"Don't worry," said Ash, "as soon as this thing's over, I'll make sure all of you get your chance to shine at the Silver Conference."
Ash headed to the Pokémon Center to transfer all but his chosen Pokémon to Professor Oak. Once that was done, he suggested they train some more. If his battle with Crypto was only a fraction of Team Void's power, they were going to need the extra power.
"Once we finish teaching you Mist Ball and Luster Purge, I think we should focus on working as a team," said Latios.
"Yeah!" Latias nodded. "And maybe we can Mega-evolve soon?"
"Maybe…" Ash glanced at the rainbow colored stone on his wrist. They had tried activating the stones several different ways, but so far none had worked. But there was one way Ash hadn't tried yet, and it happened to be the way most of his Pokémon evolved. "I'm going to see if Misty or Brock can battle us."
"Can I battle too then?" asked Pikachu.
"Sure, buddy," Ash let the electric type hop on his shoulder. "Let's get back to our room."
~~~
Ash eventually decided to battle Misty, since her Pokémon could use ice-type moves, and he wanted Latios and Latias to practice against a type they were weak to. Brock offered to be the referee for the match.
They had decided to use a deserted part of a nearby park for their battle, since Ash wasn't keen on drawing attention to them.
"You're using two legendaries, so you don't get any bragging rights for this," said Misty.
"Alright, fine," said Ash. He was tempted to say that it did count, but decided against it.
"This will be a 3-on-3 battle between Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower!" said Brock, "Will both trainers send out their first Pokémon?"
"Latios, you're up!" Ash shouted.
Latios flew onto the field, securing the bracelet from Regigigas on his arm. Ash didn't know how to activate the bracelet, but if both he and Latios wore them, maybe something would happen.
"Go Starmie!" Misty threw a Pokeball, sending out her water and psychic-type.
Brock raised his hands. "Battle begin!"
"Stramie, use Ice Beam!"
"Latios, use Protect!" The beam of ice hit Latios' shield, negating the attack.
Ash sighed. Protect was an easy move to learn, but it was also very easy to mess up. If any Pokémon tried to use it too many times in a row, it would most likely fail. Thankfully, Latios and Latias could use it pretty consistently by now. "Latios, use Psychic!"
"Starmie, use Water Gun!"
Since Latios was already charging his attack, Ash decided to switch tactics. "Send the Water Gun Back!"
Latios quickly complied, sending the stream of water straight back at Starmie. It didn't do much damage, but Ash didn't need it to.
"Use Luster Purge!"
"Starmie, dodge!" The water type tried to dodge the attack, but Latios simply used Psychic to change the attack's course, hitting Starmie directly on its core. The attack wasn't very effective, but its sheer power knocked Starmie to the ground.
"Finish 'em off with Dragon Pulse!" Ash lept at the advantage.
"Quick Starmie, use Recover!" Starmie's core glowed, healing some of its bruises before Latios' Dragon Pulse slammed into the water type.
The attack knocked Starmie to the ground, but it had healed itself just enough to keep fighting.
"Recover again!"
"Dragon Claw!"
Before Starmie could even start healing, Latios smashed it with his claw, sending it flying backward. The water type had no more energy to battle, and it collapsed to the ground.
Brock held up his hand. "Starmie is unable to battle; Latios wins!"
Misty returned her downed Pokémon. "Do you really think this is going to help? I don't think Latios is getting much of a challenge."
"Not to brag, but I agree," said Latios.
"But what are we supposed to do?" Ash sighed. Usually, battling always worked.
"You have some stronger Pokémon, right?" asked Latios.
Ash nodded. "I can use Charizard, but it's just not the same." He often had his Pokémon battle each other for practice, but they always learned more in battles with other trainers.
"How do you know that didn't work?" asked Pikachu.
Ash glanced at the stone in his bracelet. It looked the same as ever. "Uh, nothing happened."
"Let me see that," Pikachu hopped his arm and poked the stone with one of his paws. "Maybe you just have to press both of them at once."
Latios shrugged. "It's worth a try," He tapped his mega stone. Nothing happened.
Ash sighed. "Let's try something else. Too bad I can't just say 'Latios, mega-evolve!' or-"
As soon as he said those words, Latios' mega stone and his key stone started to glow. As they grew brighter, several streams of golden light shot out of Ash's stone. They connected with the blue ones from Latios' stone, and Ash was forced to shield his eyes from the flash.
When Ash opened his eyes, he almost didn't recognize Latios. His body was now purple instead of blue, and the ovals on his arms had grown to accommodate his wings. On top of that, Ash was sure Latios had grown at least a foot.
Ash recovered from his shock as Latios collapsed to the ground. "Latios! Are you okay?"
Latios shook himself off and slowly got back up. "I'm fine, just a bit dizzy." He glanced at his arms. "I'm guessing it worked?"
"Wow, you're so big!" Latias giggled. "Is it my turn now?"
"Maybe later, Latias, I'm kinda exhausted." The mega-evolution had made his mental link with Latios a lot stronger. This would be useful for battle, but Ash wasn't used to the constant pressure, and it was tiring him out quickly, giving him a massive headache.
Latias drooped slightly.
"Same here," Latios agreed, reverting to his regular form.
Ash sighed in relief as the mental pressure released. "I think we need to practice."
But after a quick meal to restore his energy, Ash snapped the key stone back on his wrist, eager to try again. "Ready, Latias?"
Latias nodded. "Ready!"
This time, Ash was prepared for the pressure in his head when he pressed the keystone. "Latias, mega-evolve!"
Blue and gold beams met, connected, and drained a good portion of Ash's energy. Latias' mega-evolution was similar to Latios'. The only difference was that Latias' eyes were amber instead of red.
"This is so cool!" Latias' voice rang in Ash's head.
Ash closed his eyes. Something was pressing into his mind. He groaned as the headache he had felt when Latios had mega-evolved returned. But instead of resisting, he relaxed into it, wondering if it would relieve the pain.
A flurry of emotions rushed through him. The joy and curiosity mingled with surprise told him it could only be Latias. Memories that were not his own rushed through his mind like a swift current in a river. He couldn't catch the individual memories, but he could see them as a whole, flowing together as each drop of water rushed past.
He caught glimpses of the Secret Garden in Altomare, past races in the Tour de Altomare, and his and Latias' adventure, stopping Annie and Oakley. Ash felt the pain when Latias' father died, loneliness from decades of being stuck in Altomare, and joy at finally being able to see the outside world. Another feeling struck a chord in Ash, something to do with him, a deep longing that he didn't understand.
Ash jumped as a yellow paw danced in front of him.
"Ash! Ash?"
Ash blinked. "Pikachu?"
"Finally." Pikachu sighed. "Are you okay? You were out for a while."
"I think so." Ash struggled to his feet. The stream of emotions had disappeared, but they left behind many overturned thoughts.
A few feet away from him, Latios was helping Latias get up. She was back in her regular form and looked as exhausted as Ash felt.
Ash hurried over to her. "Latias! Are you okay?"
"I think so," Latias' amber eyes met his.
Ash knelt to rub her neck. "I'm sorry, Latias, there's so much that I didn't know." He whispered. With just a look, he knew that Latias understood him perfectly.
"I could say the same thing," Latias nuzzled his chest.
"Did we miss something?" Latios tilted his head.
Ash nodded and tried to explain what he had felt when Latias mega-evolved. It wasn't a perfect explanation by far, but Ash didn't know how to put it into words. Both he and Latias decided they had done enough for one day, and Ash allowed himself to relax while Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and Latios continued their search for Team Void.
~~~
"Do you think Team Void is trying to capture Ho-oh?" asked Ash. According to Brock, the most recent sightings of Team Void had been in Ecruteak City. Usually, no one would bother with the small town, but the legend of Ho-oh and Bell Tower was reason enough for them to check it out.
"I don't know," said Latios, "It could also be something to do with the Legendary Beasts."
Ash checked to make sure he was still invisible before responding. He hadn't had to maintain it for long stretches often, and Latios or Latias had to remind him so they wouldn't be spotted. "You mean Suicune, Raikou, and Entei?"
"Let me guess, you meet them too?" Latios chuckled.
"We saw Suicune when we visited Bell Tower before," said Ash, "But I don't think we've met Raikou or Entei."
Pikachu nodded, gripping Latias' ear tufts as a blast of wind hit them. "This guy named Eusine tried to catch Suicune, though he failed."
"Suicune mentioned that guy once," said Latias, "he didn't seem very nice."
"He thought he deserved to catch Suicune just because of his family line or something." Ash shook his head at the memory.
"That's one of the worst excuses for catching a legendary Pokémon," said Latios, "I mean, we have feelings too. We're not just powerful Pokémon to be ordered around."
"He should take a lesson from you," joked Pikachu, "You've met how many legendaries now?"
"Plus, you got two of them to go with you." Latias winked as she did a flip around him.
Ash smiled. He had never expected to catch a legendary, let alone two. Thinking about it made him feel like the luckiest trainer in the world. Well, apart from almost dying too many times to count.
"Is that it?" Pikachu pointed to a patch of red and blue that stood out from the green of the forest.
Ash glanced at the map on his Pokedex. "It should be… Yep, there's Bell Tower!"
"We should probably land in the forest so we won't be spotted," Latios suggested.
"Good idea," said Pikachu, "I might be classified as the first flying Pikachu."
"Hey, that would be cool!" said Ash, "You wouldn't have to worry about ground-types anymore."
~~~
Ash had the feeling something was wrong as soon as they stepped into the ancient tower. He was in his human form for now, but ready to change back into Latius whenever he needed to. Pikachu kept his perch on Ash's shoulder, and Latios and Latias hovered beside him, invisible.
Each creak of the floor made Ash wince. He hoped the noise would be put off to the wind if Team Void heard it. Assuming they were here, of course.
"Anything yet?"
"There's definitely someone here," replied Latios. "But that's all I can tell."
Last time, Bell Tower had felt welcoming. The many windows had lit up the tower with a warm, candle-like glow. Now, all Ash could think about was the distorted shadows and the nearly silent echoes of his footsteps. Before, the tower was a museum. Now it was a maze. Each room had just as many ways in as ways out. Ash didn't know how long he would have gone in circles if it wasn't for Latios and Latias' guidance.
Finally, Ash found a set of stairs. He took a deep breath, and the air shivered as if it were a blanket of thin ice. Ash placed his foot on the first step.
And everything splintered apart.
~~~
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