In the Black World—after Ash understood the cause, he felt relieved.
Thinking about it carefully, with Sabrina here, who could bully them?
Even if a Champion-level trainer came, they wouldn't be able to keep Sabrina. If they weren't careful, the trainer might be turned into a doll directly.
Afterwards, Ash led the group back to their rooms at the Pokémon Center and explained in detail what had happened earlier.
"...So, the girl we saw earlier was Latias?"
After listening, the three exchanged glances. Finally, Misty, feeling a little embarrassed, confirmed with Ash again.
Ash nodded in confirmation.
Instantly, both Misty and Sabrina wished they could disappear. So, in the end… they had been jealous of a Pokémon and even lost their temper in front of Ash.
What the hell was this!
It was really embarrassing!
"Yes… I'm sorry, Ash… we misunderstood you..."
Sabrina hesitated and apologized to Ash.
In truth, they weren't to blame this time. Anyone who saw such a scene would have preconceived it was a girl.
Who would have thought it was a human form taken by Latias?
Ash chuckled and stroked Sabrina's soft purple hair.
"Don't worry, don't you trust me now? At least I haven't been able to show you proof yet."
Sabrina shook her head silently under Ash's hand.
Proof and such… they'd meet tomorrow. Could Ash lie to them now?
Not to mention such a flimsy lie would be easily exposed.
Besides, Ash himself wasn't someone who liked to lie, and he wouldn't deceive them about something like this.
Thinking about it carefully… with Ash's attitude towards girls, how could he possibly take the initiative to flirt with one?
Misty and Sabrina had actually dismissed this idea before, but after seeing Ash interact with Latias, their conviction had wavered.
But now that it was cleared up, Misty and Sabrina felt guilty instead.
"It's fine, it's fine. I'll take you to meet them tomorrow. Latias, Latios, and Kanon are all good Pokémon and people!"
"Ka…non?"
Female intuition activated!
Misty, who had her head lowered, and Sabrina, who was enjoying Ash's touch, suddenly looked up. Women's intuition told them that this person named Kanon… didn't seem like just a friend!
From the name… it should be… a girl, right?
But remembering they had already misunderstood Ash once, their confidence instantly deflated.
They'd already misunderstood Ash once; how could they do it again…
Ash told the three about the secret garden and his experiences that day.
By the time he finished, it was very late.
Misty and Sabrina returned to their room to sleep, while Brock and Ash shared a room with bunk beds.
While the four rested, on the other side, the two thieves began to move quietly.
When Sanna and Liane were driven away by Ash that morning, they had actually secretly left behind a hidden robotic camera. At the same time, they were extremely skilled at covert surveillance and didn't let the robot be detected by Ash—unless Ash used his Aura power to scan the surroundings.
Ash, having just driven the two thief sisters away, naturally didn't do such a thing.
So… this robot followed Ash and Latias to the Secret Garden without anyone noticing.
Not only did it record the route to the Secret Garden, but they also remotely controlled the robot to follow Ash from the shore until they confirmed he had entered his room and turned off the lights. After nearly an hour passed, they began to move.
It could be said they were already terrified by Ash's Pikachu; that Pikachu alone could hang them both up and beat them!
But… they were thieves!
How could thieves confront their targets head-on?
As long as they stole something and ran away immediately, they wouldn't have to face Ash anyway.
By the time Ash discovered the theft, it would be too late.
Therefore, now that Ash was asleep was the best time to act!
Later, the two sneaked into the Secret Garden but were discovered by the alert Latias, who also woke Latios.
However, the siblings, lacking combat experience, couldn't utilize their formidable strength at all!
In the end, the brother stepped forward to protect his sister but was captured by the thieves.
Latias wanted to go back to save her brother, but Latios yelled at her to leave.
Go find Ash! Only Ash can handle this! Go quickly!!
Under Latios's roar, Latias hesitated for a moment, then immediately turned and fled.
Her brother was right. She would only be a hindrance here.
If she wanted to save her brother and drive those two away, she had to go to Ash!
Go to Ash!
Having made up her mind, Latias left directly via the waterway.
The two female thieves clicked their tongues in regret, then went to pluck the Soul Dew from the pool. After the Soul Dew was taken, the water flow in the entire garden instantly stopped, and the life seemed to drain from the place, as if half its heart had been ripped out.
The two female thieves didn't care about that. All they cared about was the beautiful Soul Dew in their hands.
Now with the Soul Dew and Latios captured, as long as they immediately withdrew from Altomare and then sold the Soul Dew and Latios, they would have immeasurable wealth!
However… people are greedy. After obtaining wealth, the older sister, Liane, still wanted power!
Especially after being humiliated by Ash that morning, she thirsted for power even more!
Therefore, she wanted to test the legend of the Soul Dew!
Using the latent power within Latios's body and the Soul Dew, it seemed one could gain the power to rule the world!
Wasn't that better than countless wealth?
If they ruled the world, then all the world's wealth would be theirs!
Hearing Liane's words, sister Sanna couldn't help but get excited. So the two partners-in-crime hit it off immediately, ordering their Ariados to take Latios and quickly head toward the Grand Cathedral!
They had to obtain that power before Ash arrived. Otherwise, when Ash and Pikachu came, they'd probably leave empty-handed!
A few minutes later, the two women arrived at the Grand Cathedral.
At the same time, Kanon and Ben Gray, who had run over to stop the two women, were directly entangled in Ariados's String Shot.
Despite Ben Gray's shouts to stop her, sister Liane still boarded the huge machine known as the Guardian of the Water City!
Simultaneously, Latios began to have his power drained by the device, letting out painful wails!
...
[Lance: Tsk, history is repeating itself! These two beasts!]
Seeing Latios wailing in pain, Lance couldn't help but click his tongue.
These two scoundrels were still doing disgusting things in the other world. Even though they knew the answer from the earlier quiz, seeing it actually happen felt different.
[Caitlin: This isn't history… it's history to us. The reenactment is only up to here. I believe soon, Black Ash will give them a head-on blow!]
[Sabrina: I'm looking forward to turning them into dolls.]
Sabrina, usually indifferent to external matters, said this.
It seemed even she couldn't tolerate what these two women had done.
No wonder these two women were turned into dolls in the Black World.
[Kanon: I hope Black Ash can arrive soon. Latios's current state is truly heartbreaking…]
Unknowingly, when encountering trouble, the first person people thought of was Ash. As if as long as he came, there was nothing that couldn't be accomplished.
Ash in the White World silently clenched his fists. If only… I could become that reliable.
...
In the Black World—
Latias ran all the way along the waterway and finally arrived at Ash's residence, guided by her sense of his Aura. The room Ash was in had a balcony. Latias flew to the balcony and directly transformed into Kanon's appearance. Ash, sleeping, instinctively sensed a relatively powerful Aura and instantly woke from his sleep. Pikachu, sleeping with him, was almost thrown off the bed!
"Pikapi! Pikapi… pika?"
Pikachu rubbed his eyes and complained to Ash, but halfway through, he understood what was happening.
Kanon… no, it was Latias, standing beside the bed with a sorrowful expression.
Ash got out of bed instantly. The commotion caused Brock to wake up slowly, rubbing his eyes.
When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a beautiful girl in a green dress hugging Ash tightly, her body trembling constantly.
Brock rubbed his eyes violently, wondering if he was having a wild dream.
How could he see a beautiful girl hugging Ash???
Five minutes later, Brock and Ash changed clothes and also learned the cause and effect from Latias.
"Those two… actually found the garden. I should have dealt with them thoroughly in the first place!"
Ash felt a pang of regret.
He truly hadn't expected that after teaching those two scoundrels a lesson, they'd still dare to come back.
Moreover, how did they find the Secret Garden so accurately?
Unless you saw it with your own eyes… Damn it, were they followed?!
After a moment's thought, Ash figured it out and couldn't help but feel even more regretful.
But now wasn't the time for regrets…
"Latias, do you know where your brother is now?"
Latias nodded.
"Then take me there! Let's go rescue your brother! And along the way… teach those two a lesson!!"
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