The sun slowly crawled over the horizon as if protesting the start of a new day. Ash might have agreed had that been the case. Rays of sunlight shone through the window and assaulted his eyes. Grunting in protest, Ash turned over on his other side to escape the sun's wrath. He felt a soft sensation as he turned over and knew Latias was sleeping beside him. Listening to her rhythmic breathing was one of the most calming sounds Ash had ever heard. Just as the young trainer was about to fall asleep, a sound began resounding throughout the house. Ash made a deep guttural noise in protest and sat up despite his grogginess. Shifting his legs over the side of the bed, he took a few seconds to take everything in. It had only been a week since Ash and Latias had moved into their new house. Ash chose to build the house in a fashion strikingly similar to his mother's house. The phone rang once again, eliciting a sigh from the young man.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." He mumbled.
Grabbing a plain white t-shirt, he headed downstairs and sat down in front of the phone. He jabbed at the video icon bringing up a familiar face.
"Gary? It's barely 7 in the morning. What are you calling for so early in the morning?" Ash asked rubbing his eyes.
"Sorry, but I needed to speak with you as soon as I could. Would it be too much to ask you to drop by the lab sometime today? Sooner, rather than later would be nice." the young scientist replied.
Ash focused his eyes a little and frowned.
"Were you up all night again? Whatever you're researching, it's going to end up killing you before you can find anything."
Gary chuckled weakly. "Uh, yeah, you may be right, but this time was worth it. I'll tell you more when you come by."
Ash started to protest that he never agreed to drop by, but the call had been dropped. He pondered recalling, but came to the conclusion that Gary would most likely ignore the call. With a grumbling stomach, Ash made his way into the kitchen. Having worked in his mother's diner for the past few months, he had picked up a few new culinary skills. While nowhere near the level of Brock's, it was still edible. He threw together a simple breakfast of pancakes and scrambled eggs for Latias and himself. Setting her plate on the kitchen table, he brought his own with him into the family room where he turned on the TV. He began flipping through the channels out of boredom. After a few minutes, Ash heard a soft coo from upstairs. He looked over at a sleepy Latias, slowly drifting down the stairs. The Eon Pokémon chirped happily, noticing the food on the table.
"-ank you" she said, struggling to successfully bridge their minds.
Ash smiled at her. "Don't push yourself. We both know it's hard for you to concentrate in the morning."
Latias cooed and nuzzled the young trainer. For a while, the only noises heard was the clinking of silverware and the disgruntled voice of the morning newscaster. Ash took a slight interest in the current story of a recent ferry accident.
"Something wrong?" Latias asked staring at the television from above him.
"Not really, just some old memories. Did you ever hear about the St. Anne incident?"
Latias shook her head.
"It was a ship that got caught in a nasty storm. The captain decided the best course of action was to abandon ship. So, all of the passengers safely made it off, except for a few. Brock, Misty, and I were knocked unconscious by the violent shaking. The ship had flipped while we were out and we barely made it with our lives. It was an eventful experience to say the least."
"That sounds horrifying…"
Ash jabbed the "Off" button on the remote and stood up.
"It was. Putting aside bad memories, I'm going to go visit Gary. He has something to show me. What about you?"
Latias frowned. "I don't know. I was going to see if Delia needed any help in the diner."
"Today's Friday, right? The part-timers will be there for the busy hours." Ash replied making his way upstairs. Latias followed him up to their room where Ash began rifling through drawers. He donned a black t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans along with his signature black and white shoes.
"Something feels off… Oh, right! My vest!" he exclaimed pulling a blue vest from the closet.
Latias smiled at the familiar outfit. "You look just as you did when I first found you in the Tour de Altomare."
"And you're just as beautiful as you were when I first saw you in the Garden." He replied leaning in and stealing a kiss from her. Latias blushed and took his hand in her claw.
"Gary's waiting, right?"
Ash smiled warmly and nodded. "Yeah, let's go."
Ash and Latias, who had transformed, sat quietly on a paper strewn couch as Gary fumbled around the lab trying to find his research notes. A victorious yell came from him as he tossed a small folder on the table. Ash picked it up and found it surprisingly light. He looked at it curiously as he read the title of the research.
"Mega Evolution? Is this what you've been studying for the past few months?"
Gary motioned for him to open it.
Ash set it down on the table and flipped it open. Inside were a few papers along with a couple of pictures fastened in place by a paperclip. Ash began reading one of the papers and then picked up one of the pictures. Latias seemed curious, so he handed the other picture to her to look at. His picture showed the blurry image of a Pokémon that looked familiar.
"Isn't this an Absol?" Ash asked curiously. "I've never seen one like this."
"Mega Absol, to be precise." Gary replied.
"Mega Absol? I thought Absol couldn't evolve?"
Gary nodded. "You're absolutely correct. Absol can't evolve, but this isn't evolution. It's more like a-"
"Temporary transformation." Latias finished.
Gary nodded and continued his explanation. "Mega Evolution is something unheard of here in the Kanto region. In fact, as far as I know, the only region with any kind of knowledge on the matter is the Kalos region. Do you know of it?"
"The Kalos region? I've never even heard of it." Ash replied.
"That's probably because it's its own independent region. From what I've read, they broke off from the United Regions nearly 8 decades ago. The region is entirely self-sustaining. Actually, there is one company that deals with them."
"Which company is that?" Ash asked curiously.
"Silph Co. The leading company in Pokéball technology. In exchange for the rights to use their Pokéballs, Kalos has to donate a certain percentage of their revenue every year to Silph. Silph even went as far as establishing PokeMarts with inventory you normally wouldn't see in Kalos."
"Wait, so there's a chance that one of my Pokéballs were made in Kalos?" Ash asked confused plucking one off of his belt. Latias glared at the ball with contempt.
"No, don't get the wrong idea. The Pokéball factory in Kalos ships exclusively to businesses in Kalos. Silph still has their own factories here. All of your Pokéballs were made at Silph." Gary replied.
The young scientist faltered and sighed. "We've gotten off-topic here. Ash, there's a, uh, favor I want to ask of you."
Ash sat up and crossed his arms. "Depends on the favor."
Gary took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I want you to travel to Kalos and research Mega Evolution for me!"
A deafening silence followed Gary's statement. Ash stared at the apprehensive scientist with no expression. Ash slowly stood up.
"Latias, we're going back to the house." He said quietly.
"Ash! Come on! You're the only one I can trust with this!" Gary pleaded.
Ash frowned. "You're asking me to leave Pallet Town, right after we finished moving in to our new house. Gary, I haven't even been home for a full year yet and you're asking me to leave?"
"I know! It's selfish of me, but you know Gramps is in a bad state! I'm the only one who can take over the lab if something were to happen!"
Ash hesitated. On one hand, he wanted to take Latias and head back home, but on the other hand, his friend needed his help. He looked over to Latias for help.
"I think we should help him." She said.
Ash groaned. "I knew you were going to say that."
The young trainer, who had retired from training looked down at Gary who was on the floor begging.
"You're asking me to give up on my retirement from being a Trainer. You're asking me to leave behind a peaceful life I've only just started to build. My mother started up the diner again because I was here to help out. I expect you to make sure that diner keeps running."
Gary looked up with wide eyes. "You mean?!"
Ash nodded. "I'll do it."