Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

As always…

"Speech"

"Telepathy"

'Thoughts'

A/N: Here's chapter 7! The lucky number! Thanks to all who have been keeping up and reading the tale. Also many thanks to my Beta Reader, he's been helping out a lot.


"Hello Professor!" Ash called as he entered Professor Elm's Lab, having flown from the Marine Research Lab aboard Latios. Latias entered behind him, disguised as Bianca, as usual. Pikachu shouted a greeting as well, not really expecting it to be returned.

Professor Elm looked up at Ash. He was currently sitting on a couch, probably enjoying a small break from his work. "Well hello Ash, it's good to see you again. Congratulations on getting all those badges, by the way!"

Ash grinned. "Of course Professor! Next time you congratulate me, it'll be for winning the Silver Conference."

"That I'd like to see. So who's this lovely girl?" Professor Elm inquired, glancing at the disguised Latias.

"This is Bianca, a friend of mine," Ash answered. Latias gave a small shy wave.

"Well, I'm professor Elm, nice to meet you," Professor Elm introduced himself kindly. Latias flashed a small smile back. "So Ash, how's the egg doing?" Elm asked.

Ash grabbed his backpack and opened it, taking out the small incubator inside. Ash showed it to professor Elm, who carefully took it from Ash. The second it left Ash's hands, Ash once again heard the sound of very faint crying, and also felt quite sad.

Latias looked at him in worry, she had sensed what happened to Ash when he first took the egg, and now it was happening again. Even though in human form most of her psychic senses were diminished, she could still sense some things. She couldn't make out what was happening through, she only sensed that something had happened.

Professor Elm seemed to not have noticed anything. "Well this little guy sure looks nice, I'll check if it's completely healthy." He began walking to a small machine in the back of the room.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Latias inquired telepathically.

Ash gave a startled jump, almost making Pikachu fall off his shoulder. He had been so caught up in thinking about the egg that Latias' question had startled him. He turned to look at her. "Nothing, I'm fine," He lied. He didn't know how to explain this to her.

Latias gave him an annoyed look. She put her hands on her hips and scolded him. "No, something's up with you and you're telling me what it is right now!"

"She's right Ash, you've been acting weird ever since receiving that egg," Pikachu agreed. He had known Ash long enough to know when something was bothering him.

Ash signed and gave in. "I'll tell you later, it's a little hard to explain." Latias frowned but decided to let Ash be for now. He was starting to worry her, and Pikachu didn't look any better.

Professor Elm walked up to them. "The egg is perfectly healthy, but we'll have to wait until it hatches to know what will come out so we can return it home."

"Alright professor," Ash answered, happy to hear the egg was okay.

A sudden knock on the door caught everyone's attention. Ash opened it and was quite surprised to see Professor Oak and his mother, Delia. "Hello everyone!" Delia chimed in her usual very cheerful mood. Ash could swear that Latias and his mom were always smiling and cheerful. The second Delia saw Ash, she sprinted and hugged him in a loving motherly way, but why did something seem different about Ash's eyes? Thankfully, Pikachu managed to jump off Ash's shoulder before getting crushed in the hug. Latias looked at them in confusion.

"Pikachu, who is she?" Latias asked the yellow rodent telepathically.

"That's Ash's mother, and the man behind her is Professor Oak," Pikachu answered. Latias nodded in understanding. Now she knew why she was being so affectionate to Ash.

Professor Elm looked utterly confused, first Pikachu spoke to the girl for some reason, and then the girl had nodded as if she had understood him perfectly. Professor Oak didn't seem to notice.

"So, how's my sweetheart doing?" Delia asked after she finally broke the hug.

"I'm doing great!" Ash answered happily. It had been quite a while since he had last seen his mother.

Professor Oak looked very confused. "Ash, just how did you get here from Blackthorn city so fast? We talked around mid-day after you won the badge from the Blackthorn Gym. How did you get here?"

Ash smirked. "Latios took me here." Both Professors' eyes widened as they remembered Ash had a Legendary Pokemon in his team.

"Latios?" Delia idly wondered. "Isn't that the Legendary Pokemon you caught that Professor Oak doesn't stop babbling about?" Ash, Pikachu and Latias sweatdropped collectively. "Ahh, where are my manners," Delia said once she noticed the girl with Pikachu. "Who's she, Ash? A new friend?" Delia walked closer to the girl. "I'm Delia, nice to meet you!"

"She's Bianca, and yes she's a new friend," Ash introduced her again. It felt awkward to call her 'Bianca' instead of Latias. Latias smiled and waved hello, at least this time it wasn't a shy one. Latias felt comfortable around Delia, it was as if she emitted an aura of happiness and friendship, just like Ash.

"So Ash, can we see your Latios?" Professor Elm asked. He was also itching to see this Legendary Pokemon.

Ash had asked Latios during the flight if he could show him to the Professors, he knew that they were going to ask him to. Latios had asked Ash if he truly trusted the Professors, to which Ash had answered 'yes'. Then Latios had said that as long as Ash stayed near him and the professors didn't try anything funny, it'd be all right with him. Latios wasn't really one for humans.

"Sure, just don't overreact or something like that," Ash told them, reaching for Latios' Pokeball. "And let's go outside to give Latios more space."

Once everyone had walked outside, Ash took a few steps back. "Latios, come out!" he shouted as he threw his Pokeball to the ground. With a bright flash Latios appeared. He eyed the professors cautiously. They didn't seem like bad people, just like Ash had said.

Professor Oak and Elm's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. They had rarely seen a Legendary Pokemon, and now they had one right in front of them. Latios chuckled a little at the look on their faces. It was priceless!

"Incredible," whispered Professor Oak. "A Latios, right in front of me!"

"Congratulations Ash, you got yourself a really rare Pokemon! Finding and capturing him must have been really difficult!" Professor Elm said, looking at Latios a bit closer.

Ash chuckled a little. "The funny thing is, I didn't battle him, I befriended him and he decided to come with me."

Delia smiled as she walked a bit closer to Latios. "That's one impressive Pokemon dear, and a Legendary nonetheless!"

"Ash, did you by chance run into a Pokemon called Latias? It's said that where a Latios is, a Latias is always nearby," Professor Elm asked.

Ash and Pikachu chuckled and glanced at Latias. She blushed at the sudden attention. Ash gave a small nod to her. Professor Elm and Oak looked confused. "Why do you look at her like that?" Oak asked.

Ash smiled and grabbed Latias' arm. "Mom, Professor Elm and Professor Oak, meet Latias, Latios' sister."

All three humans looked utterly baffled. "Ash… she's a human, how can she be a Latias?" Professor Elm asked, very confused. "And how can she be Latios' sister?"

Suddenly the girl was engulfed by a soft blue light, startling the professors. When the light faded, a red and white dragon was floating in her place. She gave a small coo of greeting.

Professor Elm and Professor Oak looked in utter disbelief and were about to faint. Delia looked between Latias and Latios. "Awww, she's so cute!" she squealed, walking forward eagerly and giving Latias a hug. To Delia, Latias was a lot cuter than Latios.

Latios just turned to look at them. Usually when someone got that close to Latias he'd immediately move to defend her, but because it was Ash's mother he let it slip. Besides, everything seemed good about her.

"S-S-She can turn into a h-human," Professor Elm stuttered. He was completely astonished by this. He'd never heard of a Pokemon capable of assuming human shape, heck, he hadn't even known if such a thing was even possible before now.

"Yes, that's one of her abilities, she can shape-shift into a human at will," Ash clarified proudly. "She's amazing isn't she?" Latias blushed slightly at that comment. Latios and Pikachu hid a small snicker. Thankfully no one else noticed because Latias was currently being petted by Delia.

"Impressive," both professors said, completely awestruck.

Professor Oak composed himself a little. "But Ash, I don't remember a Latias appearing in your trainer record," he stated, remembering that only a Latios had appeared in it.

"You mean captured?" Ash asked.

"Essentially, yes," Replied the Pokemon Professor of Kanto.

"Well, I haven't captured her, she doesn't want to battle yet so I keep her like this so I can still have a full six team even with her around. She'll become my Pokemon when she finally decides to be captured and when she learns how to battle well," Ash stated. "Right Latias?"

Having already parted from Delia's hug, Latias flew to his side and nodded eagerly, giving another coo, this time meaning 'yes'. The professors still didn't understand.

"That means that you have two Legendary Pokemon with you?" Professor Elm asked.

"Yes, one officially and the other unofficially, at least for now," Ash said, suddenly felling proud of himself. Having Legendary Pokemon was great! Training them was hard, though. Both Professors looked like they were about to have a heart attack. Pikachu had to choke back a laugh. Ash decided to change the topic. "So, where do I register for the Silver Conference?" he asked eagerly. He couldn't wait for the conference to begin, his prime motivation being kicking Gary's ass in a battle.

"You have to register at the Pokemon Center," Professor Elm told him, pointing at the Pokemon Center in the distance.

Pikachu, Latias and Latios looked at him in utter disbelief. "Why didn't we register at the Blackthorn City Pokemon Center, then?!" Pikachu demanded angrily from Ash's shoulder.

"Pikachu has a point, why didn't we register at the Pokemon Center in Blackthorn City?" Ash asked.

"You can understand Pikachu?" Professor Oak asked in astonishment. Ash was simply full of surprises these days.

"Yes, and answer my question please," Ash demanded.

"Well, to prevent confusion and to keep a proper record, only one Pokemon Center in the region is permitted to register Pokemon Trainers to the Silver Conference, in this case, the one in New Bark Town," Professor Elm explained.

Ash sighed along with his Pokemon. "Guess I can't complain about that."

"Yes you can," Pikachu said.

Ash frowned. "Hey yeah, that's right, I can!" Everyone else sweatdropped. "Oh well…I'll go and register. I'll probably sleep at the Pokemon Center, too," Ash said, returning Latios to his Pokeball.

"Alright Ash, we'll wait for you here in the morning," Professor Oak said.

"Wait Ash," Professor Elm said as he walked back at the lab. A few seconds later he exited with the egg incubator. "Here, take it with you for now." Ash nodded and took the egg back gently.

Delia smiled and hugged Ash again. "Congratulations on making it to the league again dear," she congratulated him. She took a small glance at Latias, who was still hovering beside Ash. "Also, nice job with the Legendaries, you finally captured one! Especially a Legendary as cute as this one!"

Latias gave a coo of contentment. Delia walked up and patted Latias gently on the head again, loving the feel of Latias' soft feathers against her hand. Latias gave another happy coo. Pikachu sulked in the back of the group, muttering that Latias now had Delia's affections and was no longer interested in him.

Delia looked at Ash and noticed that he had a small necklace hanging around his neck. She walked to him to examine it closer. The necklace had two small crystal figurines that looked a lot like Ash's new Pokemon, it looked quite cute on Ash. "Nice necklace, did you buy it to match your new Pokemon?" Delia asked.

"No, it was a small gift from her," Ash said, looking at Latias. Pikachu almost started laughing when he remembered the other thank you gift she had given him. The fact that Ash looked like he was forcing back a blush told him that he remembered it as well. Latias giggled happily.

"Well, this looks nice," Delia commented about the necklace. "Also Ash, I notice that there seems to be something a little different about your eyes. They have a reddish tint in them instead of the usual brown," Delia stated.

Ash sighed. 'And I was hoping she didn't notice.'

"I was hoping that too." Latias telepathed. She paused. 'Why did I hear Ash's thoughts so easily?' she wondered to herself.

Ash looked at her. "Well mom, it was…ahhh…a little outcome of one of my usual adventures," Ash answered.

"Let me guess, that little adventure was with Latios and Latias right?" Delia asked.

Ash nodded. "Yes."

"Care to elaborate?" Delia asked.

Ash gulped. "Alright."

Ash began to tell her of his adventure in Altomare, occasionally receiving support from Latias or Pikachu. Ash wisely left out the fact that he nearly died three times, twice from drowning had Latias not saved him and a third time in helping Latios survive, he just told her the only risk was being unconscious for a day.

His mother had scolded him to no end when he almost drowned during the adventure with Lugia, or when he almost fell off the waterfall while infiltrating Entei's crystal tower, or when a giant Celebi-controlled twig monster almost killed him had Suicune not intervened (Brock let slip this one), he didn't want to add another I-almost-died event to his mother's knowledge. Ash had also never told Delia that he actually died during Mew and Mewtwo's fight. He had remembered this after Mewtwo restored his memory at Mt. Quena, in Purity Canyon.

Delia couldn't help but sometimes turn to look at Latias in mild disbelief. Latias and Latios were a lot more powerful and special than she had thought when she had seen them for the first time. Latias and Latios didn't really seem capable of stopping an entire tsunami, and yet they had. They were even viewed as guardian deities in Altomare.

At least what Delia found a lot of comfort in was that with two Pokemon like Latias and Latios her dear son would be a lot safer during his travels. She could now rest assured that two Legendary Pokemon would always protect Ash from anything during his journey and guide him. Her son was in caring hands, or claws...

"So after all this Latias and Latios decided to come with me on my Pokemon journey. Thanks to them now I can understand Pokemon speech!" Ash finished, hoping that his mother didn't view the adventure negatively.

"Alright dear, at least you didn't get in danger again," Delia said in false relief. She suspected Ash was hiding another I-almost-died moment, but decided not to pry. She turned to Latias. "Thanks for helping my son."

Latias cooed and smiled. 'It's I who should be thanking him,' she thought to herself.

"She says you're welcome," Ash translated to his mother.

"You know, that Pokemon understanding ability is rather helpful. Maybe you could help me understand Mimey a little better," Delia mused.

"Maybe. Well, I have to go. See you mom!" Ash said. They parted ways and he headed for the Pokemon Center. 'That ended a lot better than I expected. At least I didn't get scolded or something,' Ash thought, breathing a small sigh of relief.

Much to Delia's surprise, Latias disappeared into thin air, just like Ash had said she could. 'Just how much is that little Pokemon capable of? Delia thought to herself in pure wonder. She could barely remember all the abilities that Ash had described of her. 'That little dragon girl sure is something else. I assume Latios is just as great.' She wondered if Ash could really win the Silver Conference with them. 'Latias and Latios, please protect my son during his travels and make sure he always stays safe,' she silently wished.

As Ash disappeared from view, she walked back inside the Lab.


Ash smiled as he entered the New Bark Town Pokemon Center. "Finally! I'm just one step closer to the Silver Conference," Ash said happily.

"Well aren't we a little enthusiastic?" Nurse Joy chided from behind the counter. "Let me guess, you came here to register for the Silver Conference?" Ash nodded eagerly and walked over to her.

"Seriously, how can there be so many Nurse Joys!" Latias whined telepathically, she was starting to get a headache from pondering this. When she asked Latios, he had groaned and told her to ask someone else.

Pikachu sighed. "I already told you, it's completely unknown. But maybe Brock can give you a few answers."

Latias huffed. "I'd rather die than ask something of that pervert!"

Pikachu laughed. He found Latias' dislike of Brock's perverted side rather funny. Even more that every time Brock tried something, Latias would prank him.

Ash ignored the little display behind him and decided to continue with the registration. "Here are my eight badges, Nurse Joy."

"Okay," Nurse Joy said as she took Ash's Badges and inserted them in a machine, most likely to verify that they were authentic. Nurse Joy couldn't count the number of fools that had tried to register with fake badges. The Machine gave a small 'beep' and flashed a green light. "Just give me your PokeDex so your registration will be complete," Nurse Joy told him. Ash did as he was told and handed over his PokeDex. Nurse Joy inserted the PokeDex in a slot in the machine. Soon it gave another beep, signaling that the registration was successfully completed. "All set and ready to go. You are registered at the Silver Conference. From here, go to Silver Town and verify your matchups for the preliminaries, good luck!" Nurse Joy informed Ash. "Also the conference starts in 13 days, so prepare yourself and train hard."

Ash nodded. "Very well, for now I'd like a room for the night."

"Room 7 is unused, you can take it," Nurse Joy said, pointing to the stairs.

"Okay, thanks Nurse Joy," Ash thanked her. He started heading toward the stairs, the still invisible Latias following him.

After some walking and reading room numbers, they arrived at room number 7, which was pretty much the same as any other Pokemon Center room. Ash headed toward the bed on the right side and took out the incubator from his backpack, gently lowering it onto his bed. Latios released himself from his Pokeball, jumping at the opportunity to get some fresh air. Ash took a seat on the bed and stared at the incubator. "Are you going to tell me what's up with you concerning that egg?" Latias asked gently as she resumed visibility, hovering closer to the bed until she was just in front of Ash. Latios and Pikachu listened in. Latios had sensed what had happened to Ash, even inside his Pokeball.

Ash sighed. At least he found Latias's gentle tone soothing. Maybe they could help him in figuring out what was happening to him. "Alright, you see, when I first took the egg I felt a small jolt course through me, and for some reason it felt as if I was hit by a wave of pain and sadness. I also heard the sound of faint crying echoing in my mind." Ash paused to gather his thoughts a little better. "This happens to me every time I leave the egg out of my sight for too long, almost as if the egg was calling to me in a way."

Latias hummed in thought, trying to make sense out of this, but nothing occurred to her. "Brother, do you know something about this?" Latias asked Latios.

Latios frowned in thought. "Well… possibly the egg is transmitting its feelings. Since it was stolen, maybe even as an egg, the infant is in pain because of the loss of its mother's love, so it wants to transmit those feelings to someone, like pleading for help. Maybe the egg chose Ash for this because he is pure hearted, so it trusts him. At least that's what I believe," Latios answered.

Ash smiled. "If that's the case, I won't fail the egg!"

Latios signed. "The only problem is how can we find this infant's parents, or even know who they are?"

Ash's hopes crashed. "Well, maybe we can wait until the egg hatches, and then we'll know which Pokemon it is. That'll narrow the search a lot." Latios shrugged, that was their best bet for now. Ash yawned. "Well, I'm taking a bath and I'm going to sleep."

That said the little group got ready for bed, hoping that the next day would be just as peaceful as this one. Ash's last thoughts before falling to sleep were about the egg. He wished that they could succeed in finding its parents.


Well that was all for Chapter 7! Hope you all like it a lot!

Please be kind and leave a Review! They are all fondly appreciated!

Until Chapter 8… see ya later!