Ash walked into the kitchen and saw Mr. Mime and his mother hard at work preparing everything for dinner later while Latias watched attentively. It had become a habit of hers to prepare a large dinner on Easter day. After his father had left, it was only Ash and her alone in the house. Whenever Easter came around she would invite close friends which mostly consisted of the Oak lineage to dinner and games. Of course they only had 1 game, but it was something Ash always looked forward to.
"Oh, Ash, Samuel just called and said something about Pikachu. I think he wants you to head on over and pick him up." Delia said without taking her eyes off of the various pots and pans that she was attending to. Ash watched her move amongst them fluidly. "And yet she always told me she couldn't do two things at once." Ash waved to her even though he knew she most likely didn't notice and opened the front door. A bright blue light flashed behind him and soon enough Latias was beside him in her human form. Ash looked her up and down and smiled. Ever since Latias had left Alto Mare, she had decided it was time she start transforming into something other than Bianca. She decided to try her luck and think up her own body. She stood a couple inches shorter than Ash and wore a simple, white dress. Her ruby red hair cascaded sown to her waist in a hypnotic way. Her eyes were the same as always, a fine amber. In simpler terms, she was beautiful. (Ash still preferred her true Lati form though.)
Ash bowed playfully and motioned towards the door. "After you ma'am." He said with a fake accent. Latias giggled and stepped through. Ash followed suite and closed the door behind him. Ash looked out across Pallet and took a deep breath. "This view and the fresh air," Ash stated "will never get old. I always wondered what people meant when they said something smelled nostalgic, but I understand it now." Latias looked at him analytically. Ash flushed a bit. "Um, sorry about that. Just spouting out random nonsense." Latias shook her head. "I think you're right. I don't exactly know why, but the smell here reminds me of the Garden." Ash noticed her blink back a few tears. "Brother would have loved it here."
A pang of sadness grabbed at Ash's heart. He had only known Latios for a short time, but when he gave his life essence to protect Alto Mare, he couldn't help but feel like a small part of his life had been forcefully taken from him. However, a feeling of annoyance flared in a small part of his being. Latios may have died, but his life essence was still present in the Soul Dew and he had made this fact quite clear to Ash on his last trip there.
Ash wrapped an arm around Latias' shoulder and pulled her closer to him. She wiped away a tear and smiled at him. "Thank you, I guess we should go get Pikachu now?" Ash nodded. "Yep, that's the plan." The trip to the lab was rather uneventful. Ash pointed out a few spots he remembered as a kid and told her about the stories that revolved around them. He even told her about his first day with Pikachu and how they both had nearly died from a flock of angry Spearow. Latias shuddered at the story. "That's where you first met Misty, right?" Ash looked at her with surprised eyes. "Yeah, she fished me out of the river. How'd you know that thought?" "Misty tells me all kinds of stories when she visits." She replied. Ash nodded and turned his attention to something else. He had no trouble believing it. After the mess in Alto Mare, Latias and Misty had formed a sisterly kind of relationship. Similar to what Latias had with Bianca. Suddenly a thought struck him and he grimaced. "Latias." "Yeah?" "She didn't tell you about Celadon city did she?" Latias stared at him with a serious expression. A giggle escaped and she turned away from him trying to contain a fit of laughter. Ash lowered his head in shame. If he had to choose one experience he hated worse than Saffron city, it was the humiliation he suffered at the wrath of the Celadon gym.
When they arrived at the lab, Ash was as confused as ever. Muk had basically body slammed Professor Oak to the ground. Professor Oak was struggling to move all the while waving a bunch of bunny ears around. Over in a corner he noticed Gary typing away at a computer. He would have looked rather serious if it weren't for the fact that he was wearing a pair of bunny ears. Ash knocked on the door frame and succeeded in grabbing Gary's attention. Gary gave him a worn smile and walked over to them. He gave Ash a fist bump and greeted Latias with a handshake. Ash noticed Gary had bags under his eyes and 5 o'clock shadow. Gary gave off a large yawn. "Sorry," he said motioning them to follow him "I was up all night pursuing a lead for my research." He jabbed a finger at the computer he was on. "Still am actually, but I can spare a few minutes." He led them into another room that was only lit by a few computer screens. He walked over to a keypad and punched in a code. The red light on it flashed a few times before turning green. Ash heard the lock disengage. Gary opened the door. The moment he did so, he yelped and hit the deck. Ash was engulfed in flames. "Ash!" Latias screamed. The flame stopped and a roar sounded directly in front of them. Latias ran over to Ash who was covered in soot. Ash calmly began to dust himself off. Latias stared at him with open jaws. "Charizards' flamethrower. You get used to it after a while."