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Ash and Pikachu traveled across the winding bridges, eyes wide with excitement as they watched the waterside buildings go by.
“Whoa, I can’t believe we’re back!”
Pikachu squeaked in agreement. His ears perked up as he pointed to the distance, cooing in curiosity. A figure in a suit spotted them, giving them a small smile and wave.
“Long time no see, Ash.”
“Steven!” Ash exclaimed, running over to the Hoenn champion. “What are you doing here?” Pikachu tilted his head in curiosity.
“Oh you see, I was researching the Soul Dew myth!” Ash and Pikachu exchanged a glance. “It’s really a mysterious stone. Said to contain the spirit of a Latias or Latios, can you believe it?”
“Aren’t they… legendaries from your region?”
Steven grinned, nodding. “I’m surprised you know!” Ash and Pikachu both sweatdropped.
“...Then why Altomare?”
Eyes twinkling, Steven listed on his fingers, “First thing, people here don’t normally know who I am. Second, I’ve heard the Soul Dew was found in Kanto once. So maybe the Eon pokemon is around here!” Steven scanned the water. “We are in between Kanto and Hoenn after all.”
Ash awkwardly laughed. “Oh, yeah, sure…” Pikachu’s ears twitched, flatly chirping.
Steven knowingly glanced down at them. “Have you seen them before?”
“Um… maybe?” Ash chuckled, scratching Pikachu’s cheeks to reassure himself. Steven spotted Ash’s Z-ring on his left wrist, tilting his head in curiosity.
“So how have you been doing?” Steven asked. “The last time we saw each other was in Kalos, no?”
“Yeah, good, I went to Alola!” Pikachu cooed in agreement, cheeks sparking and eyes serious.
“Indeed.”
Ash rolled his wrist, shrugging. “We were just about to head back home, actually, but we always pass by Altomare along the way!” He patted Pikachu’s back, scanning over the canals.
“Oh! Want me to accompany you?”
Before Ash could say anything, Bianca stepped next to him with a grin. Ash and Pikachu both startled. “Bianca! Where did you come from?” Bianca grabbed Ash’s hand and pulled him down the street.
Ash awkwardly grinned as Steven followed them. “Is this the way to your ferry?”
“You really don’t have to come with us-”
“Don’t worry about it!”
Ash stared back at Bianca before falling silent. Pikachu huddled closer to Ash, eyes narrowed. They traveled through the alleyways, around turns and through an illusion of a wall. Steven grinned, winking over Ash’s head at Bianca.
The Secret Garden stretched out before them. Bianca let go of Ash’s hand, running down the stairs. Ash marveled at the beauty of the garden, blinking when Pikachu patted his cheek.
A figure with a cape was staring down at the center fountain, where the Soul Dew was. He glanced over at Bianca with a smile.
“...Lance?”
Lance stiffened, a smirk spreading across his face when he saw Ash next to Steven. “Ah, Ash! You’re here!”
Bianca shapeshifted into Latias, cooing happily. Ash and Pikachu both glanced over at Steven, who simply smiled and waved at the Kanto-Johto champion. They sweatdropped. Was this planned?
Ash ambled next to Lance, glancing down at the Soul Dew with a blank expression. “You know about this place.”
Lance nodded to Steven before winking at Ash. “This is my region after all. Of course I know!” he boasted. Steven rolled his eyes.
Latias chirped, and Pikachu eagerly hopped onto her back. The three champions watched them zip through the air, twirling and laughing.
“Congratulations,” Steven suddenly said. Ash blinked. “On winning the Alola league.”
“...Yeah,” Lance grumbled, crossing his arms. “‘Grats.” Steven glared at Lance, but Ash only chuckled.
“Thank you both!” Pikachu yelled in agreement from Latias’s back.
Lance dramatically whipped his cape to the side, hand brushing against Latias’s side as she flew by. Steven deadpanned at Lance before putting his hands behind his back and rocking back and forth.
“Hey Latias,” Ash yelled. “You know what time it is?” Latias cooed, darting next to Ash and nuzzling his cheek with a nod. Lance and Steven exchanged a glance. Pikachu hopped back onto Ash’s shoulder as Ash let out his Alolan team.
Steven immediately gravitated to Melmetal, but he couldn’t help but stifle a laugh when Lance stared at Naganadel with stars in his eyes. Ash and Pikachu exchanged an amused glance.
Rowlet lazily hovered in the air before falling asleep on top of Melmetal. Latias giggled. Lycanroc eagerly bounded over to Ash for pets. Incineroar and Melmetal growled at each other while Naganadel twirled in the air, waving to Latias.
Latias clapped, spinning around Naganadel.
“Alright!” Ash gestured over his pokemon, using the other hand to pet Lycanroc. “That’s Rowlet, Incineroar, Lycanroc, Melmetal, Naganadel! And you both know Pikachu already!” Pikachu gave a pleased chirp. Steven expectedly peeked over at Ash. “And yes, Melmetal is a steel type.” They both smirked at Lance. “Naganadel’s a dragon-”
“Awesome!” Ash and Steven exchanged an amused glance. Pikachu rolled his eyes, squeaking. Lance fake-coughed. “I mean, that is very interesting, Ash.” Naganadel and Latias flew through the air, looping and chasing each other. Lycanroc panted, tilting their head at Lance.
Steven stared between Incineroar and Melmetal as they eyed each other, grinning. “No wonder you won the Alola League.” They watched Incineroar and Melmetal run to the other end of the garden, flexing. “...Isn’t Melmetal categorized as a Mythical?” Naganadel laughed, floating next to Ash.
Ash nodded, poking at Pikachu’s cheeks. “Yeah, Naganadel here’s an Ultra Beast, but-”
Lance tsked, holding his chin high. “So you’ve got a Mythical and an Ultra Beast, so what.” Ash and Steven both sweatdropped when Lycanroc tackled Lance, knocking him over. Lance groaned. “Hey, I’m supposed to be the cool one!” Lycanroc licked his face. Pikachu and Naganadel only laughed.
“And I’m supposed to be the stoic one,” Steven added with a grin.
Lance tried to get Lycanroc off. He failed. Latias zipped over with a mischievous spark in her eyes.
“Haha, very funny.” Lance glanced over the garden, watching Naganadel fly over to its pokemon friends. Lycanroc barked, debating whether to follow Naganadel. “Where’s Latios anyways? I haven’t seen him in a while!” Steven also perked up in curiosity.
Latias froze, floating next to a stoic Ash and Pikachu. “...You saw him already,” Ash murmured.
“What? I know what Latios looks like.” Lance raised an eyebrow. “Or is he already here, but invisible?”
Lycanroc’s tail wagged as he hopped off, nosing Ash’s hand. Lance pushed himself off the ground.
Pikachu’s ears wilted. Steven narrowed his eyes.
“No.” Ash sent Lycanroc off with his other pokemon before stroking Latias’s neck. “He died.”
Lance and Steven both froze.
“I… I’m so sorry,” Lance mumbled, glancing towards the Soul Dew.
Latias simply chirped, twirling in the air. Pikachu shook his head. Ash’s eyes also turned sorrowful. “That doesn’t work, Latias. I know that from experience.” Steven peeked over at Lance, who stayed stoic.
Pikachu squeaked, nuzzling Ash’s cheek. Latias tilted her head, cooing.
Ash glanced over at the two other champions, taking a sharp breath. “He wasn’t as close to me as you were with Latios, but yes.”
Zooming next to the Soul Dew, Latias nodded.
Pikachu glanced up to Ash as he ambled next to Latias. “No, don’t do that, Latias. There’s no time limit on recovery.” Lance and Steven exchanged a surprised glance. Ash placed a hand on Latias’s wing. “You can still be sad. Nothing wrong with that.”
Latias shook her head, tears pricking at her eyes. Pikachu met her eyes, nodding.
Ash hugged Latias. “No, you’re not weak for having feelings.” They both stared down at the Soul Dew. Latias nuzzled closer to Ash, cooing with a nod. Ash grinned.
Lance and Steven shared the same thought.
“Ash, here,” Steven said, stepping forward. Ash raised an eyebrow as Steven took out a Key Stone bracelet from his pocket. Pikachu chirped, tilting his head. Latias glanced at Lance, who purposefully glanced off.
“But… why?”
“Oh, you know.” Steven shrugged, handing the bracelet to Ash, watching Pikachu sniff at it. “I thought it was… fitting.” Ash glanced at his Z-ring before slipping the bracelet on his right wrist. Chirping, Latias nudged at Ash’s cheek. Pikachu pouted, nuzzling Ash’s other cheek.
“You still should have just given the stone itself,” Lance said. “He might get another band on his right wrist after this.” Steven rolled his eyes. Ash blinked, patting Latias’s horn-like fins and laughing when Pikachu climbed onto his arm. “Eh, you could put it behind your cap or something. But right now...”
Ash yelped when Lance tossed a Mega Stone at him. Pikachu was nearly flung off as Ash caught it.
Steven facepalmed with a heavy sigh. Latias giggled, circling around Ash as he cupped the Mega Stone. Pikachu sweatdropped, hissing at Lance, who only rolled his eyes.
“What… where did you keep this, and what even is this?” Ash asked, staring at the red streaks weaved through the purple hue. Latias chirped. Ash froze. “A Latiasite?” Pikachu rolled his eyes, softly berating Ash.
Lance crossed his arms, nodding. Latias twirled in excitement.
“Why-” Chirping, Pikachu used his tail to swat at Ash’s hair, causing Steven to chuckle.
“Because she picked you,” Lance murmured, all of them watching Latias nod in agreement.
“Can you stop being so prideful for once, Lance?” Steven shot back. He turned to Ash. “They’re gifts! As both a congratulations and a thank you!”
“Thank? What’s there to thank?”
Steven smirked at Lance, who rolled his eyes. “For all the times you helped save the world.” Latias picked Pikachu up, spinning around and cooing happily.
“...Thank you?”
Jabbing Lance in the side with his elbow, Steven tilted his head towards Ash. “Ok, ok!” Lance laughed out. His face turned serious. “Because who better than the Chosen One?” Ash froze. Pikachu stared down at them, ears twitching.
Lance grinned back at Steven. Steven could only sigh.
“Oh, you know about that too?” Ash asked, handing Latias the Mega Stone and letting Pikachu hop onto his head with a soft coo. “Anything else you want to reveal?”
“We’re proud of you,” Steven said, reaching forward and patting Latias’s head.
Lance chuckled. “Like that’s a secret?”
“So you admit it?” All of the pokemon laughed.
Ash sweatdropped when Lance flushed in embarrassment. “No?” Pikachu rolled onto Ash’s shoulder with how hard he was snickering.
Latias giggled, grabbing Ash’s cap and flying off. Ash mock-groaned, chasing after Latias, Pikachu bobbing up and down on his shoulder. Ash’s other pokemon all joined in the fun.
Lance and Steven shared a knowing glance when Ash’s Key Stone and Latias’s Mega Stone started glowing.
The Soul Dew pulsed a blue color, humming in satisfaction.