Archive of Our Own

A soft wind blew through the city of Alto Mare as the sun set on another long day. Alto Mare was a beautiful city, one of history and the future, and its sunsets were marveled the world over for being the most inspiring sight in the world, said to bring happiness to even the most lonely and broken of hearts. Regularly, that would be true, but today’s sunset encapsulated a melancholy that hadn’t been felt in millennia. 

One of the city’s two guardians had perished, leaving his sister alone. Though the people around her had provided her comfort, the girl, Latias, still felt a hole in her heart, and she had attempted to fill that hole with the one nearest to it. But the boy was leaving today, and she had to tell him one last thing before he left on that pier by the sea. It was something important… something that she would sure would change his life if she didn’t tell him. 

And so she flew as fast as she could. She didn’t care about the weird looks she garnered, those of a human girl moving at speeds eclipsing that of a champion sprinter. She could work that out later. 

She reached the pier in the nick of time, and she spotted the boy and his friends as they were boarding a ship to leave. The boy spotted her, and he waved. She had no time to do so, however, and she ran up to him, hovering in place only a foot in front of him. To the untrained observer, it looked as though a normal girl had run over to him, but Ash had an inkling of her true identity in his heart.

“Latias?”

She nodded, but as she opened her mouth to speak, she realized the small flaw in her plan. She couldn’t actually speak English. 

She looked to the boy’s shoulder, eyeing Pikachu worriedly. Pikachu cocked his head.

“What’s wrong Latias? You going to tell him, or what?”

“Well… it’s just… I can’t speak English.”

“It’s alright! I can relay to him what you want to say. He’s very good at interpreting me.”

“Well… it’s just…” She nervously eyed the wooden planks below them. “How do I tell him that this pier is very structurally unstable?”

“It’s very what now?”

As if on cue, the pier gave way beneath their feet. Pikachu leapt off of Ash’s shoulder onto a nearby boat, but unfortunately, Ash continued to tumble into the waters below. Latias continued to float there, unsure of how to proceed, her human illusion not changing in the slightest in regards to the current situation. 

A sudden light blasted from the water, causing the others to reflexively block it with their arms. Latias squinted through the light, and she saw a form in the light… one rapidly shifting. The light began to subside, and it vomited out the new form onto the boat, causing it to violently shake. Latias flew over to the boat, only to find, on the ship… another Latias?

The new Latias groaned, dizzily rubbing its head. It looked around at the wide-eyed faces of the others, staring at them confusedly. Latias eyed the new being curiously. She had a hunch about its identity… but… 

“Ash? Is that… you?”

The Latias opened its mouth to speak, but promptly gagged as it began coughing up copious amounts of seawater, including, somehow, one very lost and confused Wishiwashi, who floundered overboard. It punched its chest a few times, eventually clearing out everything in its system, as it flopped onto its back disgracefully. 

One of the boy’s friends, Misty, shrugged, sighing in annoyance. 

“Yep, that’s definitely him. Can’t seem to end an adventure normally for one day, can he?”

Latias blinked, looking at Misty was a hint of confusion. Pikachu nudged her shoulder, giving her an “I’ll explain later” look as he ran over to the side of the new Latias. He nudged the dragon, but after that failed, he thwacked its side with an Iron Tail. The Latias barely seemed to react, and Pikachu sighed as he unleashed a Thunderbolt on the sleeping Legendary. It shook violently as the electricity coursed through its body, though despite this, it barely received a scratch. The Latias got up, arching its next over to look at Pikachu. 

“Come on buddy… five more minutes…”

“Ash, have you seen yourself right now?”

“No… I was too busy drowning.” 

Pikachu stood there, letting the Latias lie there. After a few seconds, the Latias flew upwards, shocked, hastily looking itself over. It stared at Pikachu with a mix of abject terror and confusion.

“I just-”

“Yes you did.”

The two paused. 

“But how did I-”

“Drown so quickly? I don’t know, maybe the constant world saving events finally took a toll on your blood pressure-”

“No, I mean this!” Ash made a sweeping motion over his body. “Why am I a Latias now?”

Pikachu shrugged. “Heck if I know. I may be the smartest being on this boat, but I’m not all knowing. That’s a question for Brock.”  

Ash blinked, looking at the other three people on the boat, only just now registering their presence. Misty looked at him with more confusion than overall concern, while Brock seemed deep in thought. Latias, on the other hand, looked incredibly terrified, water forming at the edges of her eyes. 

Ash attempted to fly over to Latias, extending a newly formed claw to console her, and she willingly accepted the hug, practically bounding into his feathered body.

“Brock,” asked Misty, “Why is-”

“I don’t know.” Brock flipped through a small book in his hand, promptly closing it and putting it back into his bag. His face was stern. “I’ve never heard of anything like this. Unless it were to happen again, I’m not sure I can really begin to figure anything out.”

“Fat chance it’s happening again,” said Pikachu, jumping onto the edge of the boat to gloat. Though no one could understand him bar Ash and Latias, his attitude was coming across strongly. “Seriously, can you imagine that idiot dying twice in one day? Seriously, I would never do something that stupid-”

Pikachu fumbled mid-step, tumbling into the water below. Ash broke his embrace with Latias, rushing over to the side, only for a white and blue body to be vomited out of the water, landing haphazardly in a heap on the boat. The drenched little Pokemon shook itself off, panting heavily, before looking at itself. After a moment, it paused, seemingly thinking things over, before looking at Ash with a deadpan expression. 

“Not one word.” 

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When Latias had gone to fetch Ash earlier that day, she had expected to tell him to try a different pier, go off on a boat, and then maybe she’d tell him what dwelled in the deepest depths of her heart before he left, probably forever. She had been fully prepared to say goodbye.

Now, she was entirely unprepared in how she was meant to teach him how his new body worked. 

“And then you move your feathers like this.” Latias’s feathers glowed, and in an instant, she appeared in the form of her friend Bianca. She quickly changed back. “Now, you try.” 

Ash, slightly self-conscious, attempted to do the same thing Latias did, but somehow only managed to get the illusion working at completely random points on his body. Latias wasn’t sure how Ash was doing something like that when it came down to such a simple biological function, but she had a feeling telling him that was going to get her nowhere. 

Off to the side, a certain squirrel Pokemon snickered. Pikachu, now a Pachirisu, was rolling on the floor with laughter, pointing incredulously at Ash’s improper illusions. Ash rolled his eyes, and he flew over to Pikachu. Pikachu, not noticing his arrival, began to panic and flail as he was lifted up by the tail higher and higher into the sky by an Ash who was having far too much fun with it. Latias, despite wanting to do the exact same thing, facepalmed with a very visible display of disappointment. 

“Ash, how long will it be until your friends get back?”

Ash, who was happily Pikachu around in a circle, looked at Latias, confused. He anxiously flapped his wings on reflex.

“Er… they said they’d be researching at the library… and with Professor Oak… I hope they don’t tell Mom… she’d kill me.” Ash looked upwards, thinking to himself. “So I guess they’ll be gone for a few more hours?”

Latias paused, putting a claw to her chin in thought, but the trio were interrupted by a sudden arrival of noise. Latias looked at Ash, panicked, as she hurriedly flew up to him.

“Ash, hide!”

“Why?”

“Bianca and Lorenzo are coming and I really don’t want to have to explain why there’s another Latias here when neither of us can speak human!”

Ash shrugged, and as Latias heard another call for her, she made a shooing motion, with Ash reluctantly flying off into a deeper portion of the Secret Garden. Latias breathed a sigh of relief as she flew down from the sky, where Lorenzo, scratching his head, noticed her. He waved to her, and she shyly waved back, eyeing the direction Ash had left in nervously. 

“Latias! I was just coming to see how you were doing. I understand your friends leaving must be hard on you, so if there’s anything I can do…” 

Latias did her best to mime out that she was fine, and though Lorenzo nodded in acknowledgement, he still eyed her with scrutiny.

“In any case… I assume you were busy?”

Latias nodded furiously, and Lorenzo chuckled. 

“Well that’s alright then! I’ll be on my way… don’t hesitate to come get me if you need me!” Lorenzo turned to leave, but suddenly stopped, putting a hand to his chin. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to know where Bianca is, would you?”

Latias shook her head, and Lorenzo nodded. 

“Alright then. She must have gone deeper into the Garden looking for you… oh well. If you bump into her and she asks about me, you know what to say.”

Lorenzo smiled as he left the Garden entirely, leaving Latias alone as she breathed a sigh of relief, only for that feeling to be then replaced by a sudden pang of fear. Lorenzo said Bianca had been looking for her, and Ash looked remarkably similar…

“Shoot.” 

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Ash was starting to consider that he maybe shouldn’t have just kept flying after Latias told him to go, but the Garden had enough cool sights that Ash couldn’t help but be drawn to. By the time he had realized it, he had no clue where he was.

There were some identifying markers nearby… plants and water… which meant that there were no identifying markers nearby. He considered flying up, but he had already tried flying upwards on the way to the Secret Garden, and it was a struggle getting him back down before anyone noticed. 

Perhaps he could ask the local Pokemon for help? They seemed like they knew the area… and he could do that now… that was something to look forward to out of this whole situation-

“Latias!”

Ash froze, slowly turning to find Bianca, easel in hand, waving at him from afar. She ran up to him, and as she stopped, she extended a hand to support herself on his body. She tried her best to smile at him, but it wasn’t able to shine through. She groaned, slowly sliding to the ground with a frown on her face. 

“Latias… I have something to confess.”

Ash made a move to try and speak in order to comfort her, but he quickly realized that she would logically be unable to understand a single word that he said. He did his best to appear comforting, but he was uncertain how it came across with his new Latias form. 

“Thank you, Latias, but I… I’m not really sure how to say this…”

Ash made a motion for Bianca to go on, and she looked mournfully at the ground. 

“I was going shopping at the bakery earlier… I was getting some snacks for later.”

Despite not being understood, Ash couldn’t help but speak. 

“Oh, that’s great! What are we hav-”

“Have you ever wanted to kill someone?”

Ash blinked. “What?”

“I don’t know… after seeing what those thieves did… how bad that service was… I realized that… maybe they would be better off dead.”

“Bianca, I literally just got here, I’m really not sure that-” 

“Because you know what? Seeing the people I hate go away… permanently… It gives me a thrill.”

“I really don’t think I’m the guy to be having this conversation with.”

“Don’t you want that Latias? To properly remove the filth of the world that’s wronged you?” 

“Is that about Annie and Oakley or the bakery staff? This doesn’t seem-”

“The rush of killing… It's making me envious.”

“This really feels like the job of… what did Misty call it… one of those “therapy” people?”

“Help is unnecessary, for I have found my calling.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means, Latias, that I’m just not sure how to proceed. Should I give into it, or-”

“No! That’s really not good for… wait, hang on, you can understand me?”

“Of course I can, I’ve understood Pokemon since-” Bianca paused, looking at the being behind her. “Oh, you’re Ash, aren’t you?”

Ash nodded, a mix of mild concern and abject confusion on his face. Bianca shyly looked away from him, a flush of embarrassment on her face. 

“Sorry, Ash… you and Latias look and sound identical.” 

“It’s fine, it’s just… wait, what do you mean we sound identical!?”

She smirked. “I mean, it doesn’t change the fact you’re as high pitched and irritating as ever.”

“Isn’t that technically an insult to Latias as well?”

“Nope, because she is way less annoying than you are. It’s like a songbird compared to a Murkrow.”

Ash huffed. “Come on, I’m not that bad-”

“In any case…” Bianca wiped a hair out of her face. “Pretend you didn’t hear anything, yeah? This is strictly private business.” 

“Please don’t start killing anyone.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” She smiled. “...Yet.”

Bianca prepared to walk off, leaving Ash slightly concerned about his future, only for an unfamiliar Pokemon to come falling from a tree branch. The Masquerain, staggering upwards, shook itself as its wings readjusted, and then turned to look at Ash crossly.

“Seriously, you need to stop getting lost! Do you know how much hassle I had to go through to get here-”

“Pikachu?” Ash eyed the Masquerain, eyebrow raised. “Is that you?”

“Of course it’s me!” The Masquerain pouted. “Seriously, you mean to tell me you don’t recognize my magnificent mug?”

Pikachu made a motion resembling a dramatic pulling back of hair, only for him to realize he had no hair, nor any arms to push the hair back with. Terror set into his eyes.

“Oh gosh I’ve changed again.”

“Have you only just noticed?” 

Pikachu nodded sadly, eyeing the ground. Ash sighed with a hint of disappointment, but Pikachu soon perked up, his wings beginning to beat excitedly. 

“Oh, right! That’s how I found you! I heard some talk about killing someone?”

Bianca scoffed. “Seriously!? Does everyone know now?”

Pikachu shook his head. “Not everyone, just the gossipy Pokemon in the tree above us.” 

From above, Ash could hear some indistinct mumbling and shocked gasps, but couldn’t make out who it was from. He eyed the pair with him, and Bianca looked ready to give into her murderous influences right there and then. 

“Look…” Pikachu fluttered forward, towards Bianca. “Killing is never the right thing to do, and you should always shy away from it. It’s never the best solution. Criminals should be incarcerated and allowed to learn from their mistakes, so that way they may come back to better society. It’s a fact of life.” Pikachu smiled guiltily. “But in the case that you do have to do that-”

“Pikachu, I swear-”

“Want me to teach you some tricks of the trade? Simple stuff… karate, bare knuckle boxing, martial arts… the whole nine yards.”

Bianca eyed the insectoid Pikachu, looking him over with scrutiny. 

“How are you going to do that with no arms or legs?”

“I knew a guy in my college years who could perform Iron Tail with no tail. I can make this work, just watch me.”

“Done deal, when do we start?”

“Right now. On the ground, let’s start with some push-ups as a warm up! Give me twenty private, come on, let’s go go go!”

As Ash watched the unfolding scene before him, he decided it might be better to go and find Latias instead of getting involved with whatever was going on there. While Pikachu did his best to mime exercises with his wings, Ash slunk away, flying deeper into the Secret Garden. As he flew, scanning the area around him, he suddenly saw a flash of red, which slammed into him at full force. He rubbed his head, slowly getting up, and found that the person who had knocked into him was none other than Latias herself. 

“Oh, hey, I was looking for you!”

Latias dizzily got up, shaking her head as she readjusted her vision. When she saw Ash, she nervously blushed, nervously chuckling.

“Oh! A-Ash… hi, didn’t, uh… see you there.”

“You alright?”

Latia’s face turned redder than her feathers. “O-of course I’m fine! I just…” Her face turned stern, and she awkwardly coughed. “In any case, I had a… proposition for you.”

Ash cocked his head. “A proposition?”

“Yeah! You’re just like me now, and us Latias have different taste buds from humans, so…” She shuffled nervously. “Want to go and get some food? I know a really good restaurant a few streets down.”

“Sure, but…” Ash nervously chuckled, rubbing his head awkwardly. “I don’t really have any money.” 

“I gotcha covered.” She winked. “Y’know those fountains that are “to give offerings to the Guardians of Alto Mare?” 

Ash nodded. “Yeah, but-” Ash’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh.”

“Yeah, let’s just say I have some funds saved up. You don’t need to worry about a thing.”

Ash nodded in confirmation, and Latias struggled to suppress a happy trill. She turned around, motioning for Ash to follow, but as he did, he stopped, confused.

“Wait, Latias, won’t they be a bit… confused? I mean, two Latias wandering around is a bit…”

Latias smirked, and she became engulfed in a bright light. A second later, the appearance of Bianca appeared in front of him.

“Oh, right… how do I do that?”

“Illusions are simple, you pull from what’s in front of you or from your memory.”

“Oh, cool, so I can just-”

“Well…” Latias frowned. “You’re still a bit proficient in illusions, so you can’t pull from memory just yet.”

“So I can’t go as myself? Who am I meant to be disguised as, then?”

The two paused, a silence hanging over them. Latias made a motion with her arms around her disguise, and a smug grin began to grow on her face. Ash looked at her, perplexed, until he realized exactly what she was insinuating.

“No.”

“Oh yes .”

“Never in a million years.”

Latias’s smug grin grew wider. “Come on, it’s only for a little while.”

Ash huffed. “I am absolutely not doing that.”

“I won’t tell Brock and Misty if you don’t.” 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

“This is the most embarrassing moment of my life.”

Ash and Latias sat across from each other at a table in a local diner, both of whom disguised as the same girl. Ash had sunk his head as deep into his menu as possible, and Latias was enjoying his embarrassment far too much. 

“Keep your voice down Ash!” whispered Latias, “They’ll notice something’s up!”

“Did I really have to disguise myself as Bianca?”

“No.” She giggled. “But I thought it’d be really funny.”

Ash anxiously eyed the restaurant staff. “Won’t they think it’s weird that there’s… y’know… two of us?”

“Not really. Me and my brother used to come here together all the time. They’ll probably think he’s you.”

Latias dug deeper into her menu pamphlet, avoiding eye contact with Ash. Before Ash could say anything, one of the waiters came to take their order.

“Now, what can we serve you fine young ladies?”

Ash nervously blushed, and Latias giggled at his embarrassment. She held out her menu, pointing at some items, and pointed between the pair of her and Ash. The waiter nodded, and took the menus from them.

“Your items will be with you shortly.”

The waiter turned and left, taking the menus with him, leaving Latias, who was struggling to hold in her laughter, with a bright Latias-red Ash. She smirked at him. 

“Enjoying your time so far, Ms. Ketchum?”

Latias furiously laughed, much to Ash’s chagrin, though promptly stopped as she realized how strange her Lati-laughs sounded to the rest of the restaurant. She went deadpan as she stared at Ash, who looked as though he wished to be anywhere else right now.

“That does remind me, though, and I’ve been meaning to mention it… are you aware of the unique, er…. Gender situation us Eon Pokemon have?”

Ash shook his head. “No, what’s up?”

“Well, it’s just…” Latias looked nervously at the floor. “Latios, like my brother, are a male species. No females are a part of it. Latias, on the other hand… are an entirely female one.” Ash raised an eyebrow, and Latias sighed. “I just thought you should know that… it’s up to you how you treat that information.”

“Well, I-”

“Your orders, ladies.”

The waiter arrived, carrying two trays. On one lay a large pile of spaghetti, covered in sauce and meatballs, while another tray carried an assortment of vegetables and berries. He placed them in front of the pair, and went on his way. Latias looked at Ash apologetically. 

“Sorry, I suppose that was a bit much to throw on you so suddenly… oh well, let’s just eat.” She smiled. “It’ll lighten up the mood a bit!”

Ash nodded, and the pair stared down at the food in front of them. Neither of them said anything for some time, but eventually, completely synchronized, the two began to scarf down the food like ravenous beasts. The food, delicately prepared, now had extra chunks of sauce and peas flying in every direction, with a whole pizza flying out the window at blinding speeds. The waiter looked on in horror, while the only three other people in the restaurant- a blue haired man, a purple haired woman, and a strange short person- covered the debris from their meal with their conspicuously large newspaper. 

As Ash finished up with the bread rolls, and Latias with the risotto, they both pounced on the heaping pile of spaghetti together. Both of them chomped down on the food with reckless abandon, until eventually the pair ended up accidentally latching onto the same piece of spaghetti. They were barely able to halt themselves as they reached the end of the piece, merely an inch away from the other’s face, as both instantly dropped the spaghetti in flushed embarrassment. Ash glared at Latias.

“Be careful where you’re eating! You nearly gave me cooties!” 

“Cooties!?” Latias huffed. “You’re one to talk, you weren’t even trying to stop that! Do you want to have cooties?” 

The pair pouted, crossing their arms in unison as they looked away from each other. The pair sat in silence over the desecrated remnants of their spaghetti until Latias glanced at him, a slight smile on her face. Ash himself began to smirk, and soon, the pair were laughing. Unfortunately, as they laughed, they noticed the waiter shooting them a death glare from the other end of the room, instantly silencing them. They looked at each other fearfully.

“So… what do we do?”

“Accept our fate.”

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The Secret Garden was normally a tranquil place, one where nature was in harmony and the Pokemon at peace. Unfortunately, Pikachu was there- and he had an apprentice.

“Excellent work Bianca!” 

Pikachu flung back, sliding across the ground as he was struck back by one of Bianca’s blows. After an accidental mishap during training, he had now wound up as a Dodrio, and despite having three heads to fight with, Bianca was still beating him in one on one combat.

“This is the greatest fight of my life, and you only started two hours ago!” Pikachu smirked. “You’re easily one of the best students I’ve ever had.”

Bianca, breathless, wiped sweat off of her brow as she stood her ground against Pikachu. Her brow furrowed as she regarded him.

“I’m the only student you’ve ever had.” She lightly grinned. “But you are a darn good teacher.” 

“Thank you, though I already knew that.” Pikachu’s heads beamed with a heavy pride. “In any case, I’d say you’ve mastered all the forms of hand to hand combat I know. Great job, Bianca.”

Bianca breathed a sigh of relief, immediately running over to one of the Secret Garden’s streams, splashing water onto her sweat covered face. She sat there, tired beyond compare, as Pikachu came to her side, dipping his three heads into the water, slurping it down happily. Bianca couldn’t help but look at the scene fondly, even if it was her mentor in the body of an angry tri-headed bird. 

“So, Pikachu… what now?”

“Whatever you want to do, frankly. I’ve taught you all you need to know.”

“Teach me more.” Bianca got up, determined. “I’m an artist, and fighting is an art. I have to learn it…”

“But why?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you want to learn more?”

“To win, obviously. For both myself and Latias.”

“And why do you want to win?”

“I-” Bianca paused, taking a step back from Pikachu, who was eyeing her with his leftmost head. Bianca’s face steadied as she stared back at him. “I want to prove we’re not weak. We’ve been beaten down all of our lives, and…”

“That’s all I need to hear, just…” Pikachu’s heads all looked at each other in agreement. “Don’t go killing any bakery staff, yeah? The paperwork is somehow worse than the guilt.”

“You sound like you have experience.”

“Who says I don’t?” 

All three of Pikachu’s heads winked, causing Bianca to snicker. As they stood at the streamside together, Bianca looked at Pikachu, curious.

“So… what now?”

“I don’t know. I’m familiar with many forms of combat, but I don’t know which one to go for next…” 

The pair were interrupted as Pikachu got hit by a pizza flying at several hundred miles per hour straight in the neck. A flash of blinding light appeared, and Pikachu got up, shaking his head, only to realize the new body he was in, a deep violet humanoid with flame-like blades as hands. He looked at the blades, and then at Bianca. 

“So, uh…”

“I got a sword as a gift a few years back.”

“Perfect. Let’s dance.” 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Wow, that was…”

“Yeah, I never thought a single guy could be so terrifying.” 

Latias shuddered. “I will never look at dough the same way again.” 

The pair strolled by one of Alto Mare’s canals. The sun beat down from above on them, and Ash could feel the heat on his feathers. It was a strange sensation, especially when he appeared, for all intents and purposes, human. 

“Latias… am I going to be like this forever?”

Latias frowned, her face dimming. “I… I don’t know. I don’t have experience with this kind of thing.” 

Ash nodded, smiling softly. “That’s alright.”

Latias blinked. “Huh?”

“I can keep on being me, y’know… I may be a Latias, but… well, I’m still me, even if I look… a little bit different.” 

The pair went silent as they continued their walk. They passed by a public fountain, watching kids throw coins inside as they moved past. Latias eyed the statue above them, one of her and her brother, with a deep pit in her heart.

“...Have you told your Pokemon yet?”

“Not yet. I haven’t had a big break since yesterday.”

“Oh, yeah… fair enough. I suppose I am hogging up your private time.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry!” Ash shot Latias a thumbs up. “I’m happy spending time with you, y’know.” 

Latias blushed, immediately directing her sheepish face towards the pavement at her illusion’s feet. Ash looked confused, but after a deep breath from Latias, she eyed him with a grin.

“So… what happens when you leave Alto Mare? You got plans, or…?”

“Gonna try and become a Pokemon Master, still… being a Pokemon myself should give me a leg up, right?”

“Only you don’t have legs anymore,” said Latias, matter of factly. 

“You get what I mean.”

Latias snickered at Ash’s defensiveness, eyeing his illusion. She remembered walking through Alto Mare, sometimes with her brother, who had almost always disguised as Bianca. The way Ash walked was familiar to her… yet different. The way the two moved was just slightly off-

“You gonna go full commando?”

“Come again?”

“Y’know, clothes and illusions off, full Latias style? Not hiding anything?”

“I mean, maybe?” Ash scratched his head. “I don’t know yet. Could try just using an illusion of myself…”

“If you figure that out.”

“I will.”

“But you might not.”

“So?”

Latias leaned in close. “I’m sure your friend Misty might be willing to let you borrow her looks-”

Ash playfully hit Latias, causing her to snicker and Ash to grow a grin on his face, though it was through a thick layer of embarrassment. She couldn’t help but laugh at how easy it was to fluster Ash. 

As the pair continued to walk and talk, Latias suddenly stopped in her tracks, horrified. She looked at Ash, then looked at the sky, and sighed. 

“Ash, I’m really sorry to have to ask this of you… but I promised Bianca I would help her out with this. See, she accidentally signed up for two art installations at once, and me and her would have covered one each… problem is-”

“She’s with Pikachu right now.”

“Yeah. Which means we’re gonna need to split and do one each. Can you pretend to be Bianca for an hour?”

“I’ve been doing that for the past two.” Ash made a motion over his illusion. “Where do we go?” 

“Hm… since you’re a bit new…” Latias pointed down the street. “...Just down there. Mine’s on the other side of town. You sure you can handle this?”

“Of course I’m sure.” Ash pumped his fist. “Let’s make Bianca proud!”

“Yeah!” 

Latias flew off, leaving Ash to go to his installation. She sighed, and looked up at the sky. She was wondering what was going on with Bianca, as it had been so long…

She was probably doing fine. 

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“You shall not best me Pikachu, for my blade is a tool of war.” Bianca pointed her sword straight ahead. “Yours are equivalent to kitchen knives.”

“You belittle me. At least call them steak knives!” 

The pair rushed at each other, culminating in a blade lock. The pair stared each other down as they struggled against the other’s push. 

“So… small talk, Pika. How does it feel being a different species every thirty minutes?”

“I’ve had worse hangovers. You?” 

“Doing fine. Feeling stronger.”

“I can tell. I’m pretty sure you’re going to be more built than the museum by the time we’re done here.”

“Yeah, and then I can suplex your whiny butt.”

The pair broke free of blade lock, and Bianca went in for the killing blow. Pikachu phased out of existence with Phantom Force, reappearing behind Bianca. He attempted to strike her with a mock blow, but Bianca countered, sending him flying. He skidded as he nearly hit a wall, and he stared her down with a look of glee burning in his eye. 

“Excellent!” Pikachu sharpened his blades. “But, I’ve been meaning to ask this, even if it’s unrelated.”

Bianca rushed towards Pikachu, slashing her blade against his. “Yes?”

“I was wondering…” Pikachu grappled against Bianca’s push. “My trainer and your friend… do you think…?”

“One hundred percent. Why do you think I’ve been leaving them alone?”

“To fuel your unhealthy obsession with bloodlust?”

“Well, partially, but…” Bianca grimaced. “Hey! You’re the one who’s training me! Clearly, you must be-”

“I will admit it’s a… passing interest of mine, but-”

Bianca managed to break the blade clash, slicing at Pikachu’s exposed chest. Pikachu staggered back, unleashing ethereal flames from his chest. He doubled over, landing on the floor in a slump. Bianca gasped, rushing over to him, but he was covered in an ethereal light, and a moment later, was revived as a Gardevoir. He got up, staggering and holding his head, but soon shook his head in recovery. He motioned to continue the fight with Bianca, and Bianca obliged, immediately slashing at Pikachu. Pikachu, unfortunately, forgot he no longer had sword hands, and immediately took a blade to the chest. As he crumpled to the ground again, Bianca sighed. 

“We’re gonna be here a while, aren’t we?”

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Ash was not having the best of days. First, he had become an entirely different species, which admittedly wasn’t the worst thing, and then he had to cover for a friend… as his friend. Certainly not the weirdest moment of his life, but it was… something. He got some applause though, so he must have done something right. 

Of course, it was a bit of a problem when he stepped out of the door and immediately got caught by some all too familiar people. 

“Prepare for trouble, on a gust of wind!”

“And make it double, we have you pinned!”

Ash groaned. 

“To protect our street cred from devastation!”

“To unite all peoples and make our salvation!”

“To capture a Legendary Pokemon is our ultimate plan!”

“To bring it to the boss will make him our biggest fan!”

“It’s Jessie!” 

“It’s James!”

“Team Rocket blasts off under glistening sunbeams!”

“So prepare now to fulfill our ultimate dream!”

“Meowth, that’s our team!” 

The three members of Team Rocket struck a pose as their Wobbuffet rose in front of them, striking a salute. Ash, who had already been captured in a cage by the trio, simply looked at them, unamused, as Team Rocket continued to pose still as statues in the same position. 

After several moments, Meowth broke their pose, angrily hitting Wobbuffet as he rushed towards Ash’s cage, rage steaming off of his face.

“Oi, what gives! You don’t just get captured by us and not react to our glorious motto!” 

Ash rolled his eyes, and Meowth growled, angrily thumping his cage. Meowth attempted to speak again, but Jessie pushed him aside, pushing her face against the edge of the cage. Ash still held no reaction. 

“Little twerp! You think you can just ignore us like that!? We’ll show you-” 

Jessie began to ramble off miscellaneous threats, none of which held any weight, as Ash looked at Meowth.

“You got sent flying by my Pikachu once and have obsessively chased him through two regions since then. You learned to talk in order to impress a girl Meowth, got rejected, and ended up with Team Rocket.”

“Eh!?” Meowth leapt back. “How do you know that!?” 

“How do you not-” Ash paused, remembering what Bianca said earlier. “Right, I sound identical to Latias now.” He shook his head. “Not important. It’s me, Ash.”

“You’re the twerp!?” 

Jessie and James looked at Meowth, dumbfounded. 

“Meowth, what do you mean this pesky pretentious Pokemon is a twerp?”

“I dunno, that’s what she said!”

“I’m not a girl!”

“Meowth, how can that even be possible-”

“Meowth, can you tell Jessie that I’m still annoyed about the Gym Battle in Viridian?”

“Er, they say they’re still annoyed about the Gym Battle in-”

“Oh of course you’re still hung up about that you little-”

The trio paused, eyeing the Latias they had ensnared with a belated realization, all while the Latias in question could do nothing but glare with annoyance at them. Jessie turned around, putting her hands into the shape of a T to indicate a time-out, before leaping into a group huddle with James and Meowth. 

The trio whispered among each other, occasionally whirling around with worried glances, before they accidentally released Wobbuffet, breaking their huddle. Ash raised an eyebrow as the Trio nervously attempted to recover, while James hit a button on their remote, causing Ash’s cage to open. 

“Alright, you’re free to go, twerp.” 

Ash cocked his head. “You’re just… going to let me go?”

Meowth shrugged. “We’re criminals, but we have standards.” 

Team Rocket turned to leave, with James hitting a button on their remote, which signaled to their hot air balloon parked nearby. The hot air balloon’s eyes blinked twice, as did a short beeping sound, not dissimilar to an unlocking car. As the three sauntered off, somewhat disappointed, Ash stood there, pondering, before calling out to them. 

“Wait!”

Team Rocket half-turned their heads, eyeing Ash as he breathed in deeply, as if fighting against himself on the decision he was about to make. 

“Could I… ask you a question?”  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unholy sounds akin to a dying Finizen echoed throughout the Secret Garden, all emanating from a girl in training. Bianca sat on the ground, her mouth twisting and contorting in unnatural ways as a beady-eyed and somewhat terrified Frogadier regarded her with fearful interest. 

“That was… surprisingly coherent… and rather deep. That was impressive, Bianca. Not many can speak Pokemon.”

“Well,” she lightly shrugged, “When you live with Legendary Pokemon as best friends, you gotta learn at some point, right?”

“Fair enough.” 

Bianca and Pikachu stared ahead, eyeing the Yanma and Oddish going about their day in the Secret Garden. Bianca awkwardly coughed, garnering Pikachu’s attention.

“So… did you know that the language of Latias and Latios are said to be the language of love among Pokemon?”

“I thought that was Luvdisc?”

“Yes, but Latias and Latios are way cooler than any Luvdisc.”

Pikachu snorted. “Fair enough.” He shrugged. “I mean, it certainly explains how our two bozos are hitching up.”

Bianca chuckled. “They totally are, aren’t they?” 

Pikachu nodded. “Yeah, and it may also explain how…”

Pikachu trailed off, and Bianca’s face scrunched in confusion. She looked at Pikachu, confused, but he awkwardly eyed the ground rather than look at her face.

“...Pikachu, explain what , exactly?”

Pikachu shook his head. “Nothing. Come on, you wanted me to teach you more about smoke bombs, right?”

“Of course!” Bianca picked up a large, rather ugly spherical object. “And I’ve got my basic model right here! Let me show you!”

“Wait Bianca don’t-”

The explosion, despite being contained to the Garden, could be heard for miles. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And yeah, so that’s kind of my issue.”

“Twerp… that was…”

“...One long ramble.”

Team Rocket stared at Ash, who sadly looked at the floor of their balloon. Though they were high up in the sky, hero and villains, Team Rocket eyed their nemesis, uncertain of what to do. 

“Well, it’s just, given that Meowth is a Pokemon and you two have a lot of experience…”

“Nah, don’t worry twerp, you’re not wrong for asking.” Meowth put a hand on Ash’s shoulder. “Being a new species is a lot to take in.”

“Yeah, and it’s just… well… I know I’m not gonna stop being me, but-”

“Then follow that.”

“Huh?”

Meowth stood on the edge of the balloon, putting a hand to his chest. “Ya think I stopped being me just Meowzie rejected me? Of course not! I doubled down, and look at where I am now!”

“...You’re a criminal, Meowth.”

Meowth waved his hand in the air. “Pssh, semantics. But hey, I’m happy, right? And I’m happy by being me! Just do that, and you’re good to go!”

“I guess…”

“Look, kid, you even have a bonus! Don’t you get all those super cool illusions?” 

“Yeah, but-”

“Listen for a moment to Meowth, twerp!” screeched Jessie. “He’s saying to just be yourself! You don’t need to change anything just because you’re a Pokemon now. You can continue being you, though with a few extra perks.” 

Jessie winked, and Ash sighed. He looked at the three Team Rocket members, who stared at him, smiling. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He bolted upright, a renewed determination on his face. “Yeah! I don’t even remember what I was worried about!”

“I’m glad we helped you out with your problem, then.”

“What problem?”

Team Rocket all looked at Ash with a sense of disbelief, but before they could respond, James caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. He pointed to it, and the other occupants of the craft followed his hand.

“Look over there! Something’s heading towards us!”

“What is it!?”

“It looks like… is it a bird?”

“A plane?”

“No… isn’t that a-”

“Ash!”

Ash blinked. “Latias?”

Latias blitzed through the sky, veering upwards, slamming into the side of Team Rocket’s balloon. As Latias flew out of the other end, the balloon began to rapidly deflate, and the occupants inside of the balloon began to tumble. As Ash fell out of it, Team Rocket clung tightly to the balloon, flying away as the deflating balloon became a smaller and smaller object on the horizon. 

Ash fell through the sky, struggling to get his wings adjusted, but felt himself stop. He looked to find Latias, who had gracefully caught him in her arms. As the pair stared at each other, Latias suddenly erupted into a nervous blush, causing her to pull back her arms in a fit of squeamishness. Unfortunately, this meant that Ash began to tumble again, and Latias squeaked in terror, increasing in speed as she dived down to stop him from falling once again.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was beginning to wane in the sky as Alto Mare became cloaked in a brilliant amber hue once more. The Wingull cried as they flew to their resting places, and on the ground, a pair of identically disguised Latias happily made their way through the streets. As they eyed the setting sun, they stopped, staring at each other.

“Ash… it’s getting a bit late. As much as I’d like to stay out with you longer, teach you some more…”

“Don’t worry about it! You’ve taught me plenty, Latias. We can meet up again tomorrow.”

As the pair separated, another pair eyed them from above, clinging to the wall of a nearby building. A Ninjask, alongside a young girl, looked at each other, an anxious look in their eyes. 

“Panic scenario?”

“Panic scenario.”

“What do we do?”

“Hm…” Pikachu hummed to himself, his wings nervously vibrating against his carapace. “We need to lure them together.”

“But how? We can’t be seen doing this!” 

“Well…” Pikachu pulled a fishing rod seemingly out of nowhere. “Y’know those gags in cartoons where someone puts a hot dog or something on a string in front of a treadmill?”

Bianca raised an eyebrow. “You sure that’ll work?”

“Sure as anything.” Pikachu eyed the departing Ash. “He’s my trainer after all.”

“Fine, but can you put your wings on silent? I had to listen to them all the way here and it’s very straining on the ears.”

“No promises. Let’s fly.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Latias stood on a cliff, overlooking the amber tinted sea. It was among her favorite places in all of Alto Mare, as it was far away from everything else, and highly secluded, with everything except for the unobstructed view of the sea being obscured by a dense layer of foliage. Latias sighed, taking a seat on the clearing’s solitary bench, as she thought over the day. 

The rapid vibration of wings overtook her focus, however, as she turned to find Ash, who was making a move to enter the top of the treeline. Latias called out to Ash, who looked surprised to see her there. 

“Oh, hey, Latias.”

“Ash, what are you doing here? I thought-”

“Well, I saw this flying hot dog, and I thought “Well, I can’t just let that go to waste,” so-”

“Seriously?” She smirked. “Couldn’t come up with any better reasons to come see me?”

“Hey, I’m being serious! I wasn’t-”

Latias furiously giggled as she scooted over on the bench, tapping her claw next to her, motioning for Ash to sit. Ash took one last scan of the area before taking a seat next to her. The pair of Latias sat, de-cloaked, staring at the slowly setting sun, though both were more preoccupied with the ground as a sense of awkwardness fell over them. 

“So… uh… nice sunset, right?”

Latias anxiously shuffled. “Yeah, it’s… great.”

The two paused, neither speaking for some time, with only the occasional cough breaking the silence. The two glanced at each other from time to time, but upon noticing the other watching, they immediately ducked their heads away, pretending like they were doing nothing the whole time. 

“Latias?”

Latias perked up, turning to fully look at Ash, who had finally broken the silence between them. She blinked, looking confused.

“Yes?”

“I never asked… but how do you feel about me being a Latias… like you, I mean.” 

“Oh, well, uh-” Latias gulped. “I think it’s pretty cool, if you ask me. I get to have a new friend, now!”

“A new friend…”

Latias cocked her head, shifting closer to Ash. “Is something wrong, Ash?

“Latias, are you… alright?” 

“Alright?” Latias smiled. “Of course I’m alright!”

“But what about your brother?”

“I… my brother…” Latias frowned, eyeing the ground. “Yes, Ash. I miss my brother… and I’ll continue to miss him dearly. But these past few days… with you… Latias or not… they’ve been making me feel better than I would have if I were alone.” 

Latias sighed, looking at the sunset. Ash, uncertain of what to do, hesitantly followed her lead, doing the same, causing her to stifle a chuckle. 

“Ash… Latios is gone now. And… well… you’ve been helping me, Ash. More than you could ever know. The fun we’ve had, the moments we’ve shared… I don’t think I would’ve been the way I am now if it weren’t for you.” 

“I… I’m glad I make you happy, Latias.”

Latias somberly nodded as she wiped her hand against her feathers, sniffling slightly. She breathed in deeply, as if bracing, before suddenly turning to look at Ash, a determination in her eyes not present before.

“And that’s why I… I… I love you, Ash.”

Ash simply blinked, but was interrupted by Latias moving in closer before he could react. As the two shared their moment, the sound of muffled shouts and cheers could be heard from the bushes behind them, emanating from a very excited Pikachu and Bianca, who unfortunately forgot they were at the top of a hill, their excited cheers soon turned into panicked ones as they rolled down its side. Despite the noise, both Ash and Latias were too occupied to notice. 

As Latias pulled away from Ash, a nervous blush lining her face, Ash stared at her, dumbfounded. He stared at Latias as if his entire worldview had been shattered, which caused the Eon Pokemon to burst into fits of giggles, her blush dissipating as she saw the highly embarrassed Latias before her. 

“So…” She giggled. “First time kissing someone?”

Ash, still locked in his stupor, simply nodded, while Latias grinned madly, her face struggling to suppress a chuckle. 

“Don’t worry, it’s mine as well.” Her smile faded, and she anxiously eyed the ground. “You… that was… alright, right?”

“I… huh?” 

Ash shook his head, his mind finally catching up to the present, as he looked at the nervous Latias. As she stood there, Ash shuffled forward, putting his hands on her shoulders. Latias looked up, eyeing him nervously, only to be met by his reassuring grin. 

The two Latias embraced as the sun set over the horizon. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Secret Garden, now cloaked in the cover of nightfall, provided a comforting sensation to Brock and Misty, who had finished their day long jaunt at the local library. They called out to Ash, trying to find him, as they turned a corner, only to find the pair of Ash and Latias staring lovingly at each other as they swung on the swings. The two laughed heartily, playfully hitting each other in a mock argument, but as soon as Latias caught sight of the pair watching them, she flew off the swing in a panic, pretending nothing was happening, while Ash did the same, though with remarkably less tact. Brock and Misty raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more.

“So… Ash.” 

Ash furiously nodded, far more than he should have, as the pair addressed him. 

“We did some research at the library, and we’ve figured out a couple of things about Latias and Latios that we could try with Latias’s help!” 

Ash continued to nod, his head now moving so fast that it was practically a blur, as Brock and Misty stared, both concerned and confused. They eyed Latias, who guiltily shrugged.

“Oh, hey guys!”

The group looked to find Bianca waving from afar. Next to her was a Magneton, who happily screeched out some mechanical jargon. What most struck the group, however, was the fact that Bianca now sported an eyepatch. 

“Hey Bianca… what happened to-”

“Fell down a hill and got caught on a very prickly rose bush.” She shrugged. “It’s fine, I’ll get a new one later.”

“I… uh… don’t think you can just “get a new one.”

Misty sighed. “Crazier things have happened today. At this point, I’m not doubting anything anymore.”

Latias patted Ash on the shoulder, kissing him on the cheek, causing him to erupt into a massive blush. She smirked.

“Yeah, a lot of crazy things.”

Bianca, while Brock and Misty were eyeing the flustered mess of their friend, seized the opportunity for the perfect joke. She turned to Pikachu, who did not notice her moving closer, and lightly kissed him, mimicking Latias’s own action. Almost immediately, Pikachu began to short circuit, with a mass amount of sparks rapidly firing off from him, before he fell to the ground in a heap of glowing light. Bianca broke down into a fit of laughter, as Pikachu, now revived as an Indeedee, glared at her with annoyance. 

“Well, alls well it ends well, right Latias?” 

“Yeah, I guess so.”

As Brock and Misty reached for the books they loaned from the library, while Pikachu and Bianca erupted into a fit of bickering, Ash and Latias eyed the night sky happily. They watched each star glimmer in the sky, and they watched the constellations and the shooting stars within. As they sat there, in a brief moment of tranquility, Ash sighed.

“They’re never letting us back in that restaurant, are they?”

“Not in a million years.” 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A new morning shone on Alto Mare, and a boat was waiting for those ready to leave. Boarding the boat were Brock, Misty, and a young man named Ash, who seemed so human that no one would ever believe he had secretly- or not so secretly, depending on who was asked- been transformed into a Latias. Though he was leaving without a close friend of his, that body hopping buddy of his promised he’d “catch up” once he finished showing another certain friend of his the ropes, so for now, Ash aimed to continue his adventure through Johto.

Of course, as he boarded the boat, a girl called out to him from afar. Ash peered over the boat’s side, finding a familiar figure chasing after him with blinding speed. She stopped just in front of him, and she stared at him, smiling.

“Ash.”

“Latias?”

“I was wondering, Ash… could I come with you?”

“Huh?” Ash raised an eyebrow. “But, Latias, don’t you need to defend Alto Mare? That’s what Lorenzo and Bianca said-”

“Well, that’s technically true, but we kind of have a new Guardian now.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You dare attempt to steal from the Secret Garden!?”

“I swear, this is just a basic-”

“Silence!” The young girl with a blade pointed it at the intruder. “You shall suffer my pain.”

“But… but how!? You’re just a kid!”

“I may be just a kid, but I am vengeance.” 

A small Cleffa popped up on her shoulders, smiling. “And for the time being, she has a very good teacher with her as well.” 

“No no no no n-”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh, right, yeah. You’ve probably got things covered here, then.”

“So, yeah. If it isn’t too much trouble, would you be willing to…”

“Of course! You’re free to come with us for as long as you like!”

Latias smiled. “That’s great!” She frowned. “But also, uh… is now a bad time to tell you this?”

Ash blinked. “Tell me what?” 

“Well, it’s just…” Latias nervously shuffled. “That boat has a slight manufacturing error in the engine. It’s probably going to explode in about…” Latias absentmindedly counted the time on her claws. “Five seconds?” 

As the sound of the ship’s engine began to fail, Ash released one final, exasperated sigh.

“Oh well, here we go again.”