Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Thanks for the positive reviews and tips on how to improve my writing! My Red Packet for you today is: Another Altoshippy chapter! :D(Guess from the title you can guess what it is. *wink*) Another thing though, since its CNY I'll be busy until Wednesday, when school reopens. Though I'll work on this fanfic once in a while. Anyways, enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 7: A Confession

Ash thought for a moment. 'Ugh, May and Dawn should want me to give them contest tips, Brock should want to study the pokemon food I made, Misty and Gary would possibly want a rematch...and fail, their parents, I have no idea. And Professor Oak and Max, they would probably barrage me with questions about my pokemon.' He took a deep breath and waited.

"Ash, where were you before you left?" They all asked in unison. 'Well, this is a surprise.' He thought, Pikachu reappearing on his shoulder after being healed.

" I left to train in the mountains after exterminating Team Rocket." Ash said plainly.

Everyone's, except Latias's, Max's, May's, Misty's, Gary's and Brock's eyes popped out wide, though theirs were close to popping.

"So... the person, Mirage Trainer is you Ash?" Norman, May's father, asked Ash.

"Yeah, I don't really like the name though." He replied, not really giving a care.

"That and one more thing. How, did you defeat Giovanni?"

"Easy, his pokemon weren't trained. He was just like a crazy rich man, only hiring grunts to train THEIR pokemon, not his."

"So, could we visit the headquarters?"

"I don't see why not. They have some fancy stuff there anyway. I'll just use my Gallade to teleport us there." They nodded and put their questions aside, while Ash sent out his Gallade. In a flash, they were in front of a massive building in a forest, with a big R on the building.
"Great Job Gallade, return." Ash said as he recalled Gallade.

"So everyone, don't worry. I disarmed all the traps over here, so we can split up without worry. I'll go with Latias, Brock goes with his parents, May and Max goes with theirs, and Gary and Misty goes with Misty's sisters."

They nodded and went into the building, their figures disappearing from sight.

"I guess I could show the highlights..."

-Aww Ashy, why did you separate us from them?- Latias asked with a playful pout.

"Well, I guess the appropriate answer is that I could make do with some time, just the both of us." Ash said, blushing. Latias was in a deeper shade of red than Ash, after hearing him say that.

-So where's the first highlight?-

"It's a gigantic water park upstairs, there's an elevator straight ahead."

They walked into an elevator, which took them to the fifteenth floor. When they went out, a water park, which was almost ten floors high, was in front of their eyes.

-I'm going to change Ashy, don't peek!- Latias said, giggling.

"You don't peek either!" Was the reply from Ash coming from the boy's changing room. Ash changed into his swimming trunks while Latias just shapeshifted into her human form with swimming clothes.

"Race you to the pool!" Ash said as he saw Latias, taking off into the pool.

-No fair! Come back here you cheater!- was the reply from Latias as she tried to chase Ash. Ash took into the air with a mighty leap and dived into the water.
"Ahh! Still as comfortable as always!" Ash said as he was in the water. Latias then tackled him from behind and they both fell into the water, both got up, laughing.

-Race you to the giant slide!- Latias said, giggling.

"Come back here, cheater!" Ash exclaimed, getting out of the water and chasing her.

-Revenge for last time!- Latias giggled while sticking her tongue out at him playfully. They reached the top of the climb, where the start of the slide was placed at.

The slide was going straight down and then it shot up, where the person will be airborne before landing on a few slippery but soft pads, and falling into a 4m deep pool.

"Why not we ride this together?" Ash said with a smirk.

-Sure, sounds like fun.- Latias said with a grin.

They slid down at the same time, the slide big enough to hold two people at the same time. When they flew off the ramp, Latias was screaming while Ash was chuckling. They reached the landing point without much effort and fell into the hole, causing a giant splash.

"Well that was fun. On to the next highlight!" Ash said as he struck a heroic pose, using his aura to dry him up.

-Okay!- She responded happily, shapeshifting into her pokemon form. They walked beside each other and went into a series of rooms. Surprisingly, they found May, Dawn and Max with their parents. Their faces turned into wide grins when they saw them together. Dawn whispered what plan they had conjured up to get them together. Ash immediately blushed while Latias just looked at him clueless, wondering what Dawn had told him.

"Hey Latias, why not test out these rooms? For instance, the non-psychic and dragon dual type room?" Ash suddenly asked. Latias shrugged and entered the room with Ash. They suddenly heard the door behind them creak and lock, as well as a laughing Dawn, May and Max while amused Caroline(May and Max's mother), Norman and Johanna(Dawn's mother).

"Let us out of here!" Ash exclaimed so that they can hear.

"Password please..." Was the sound of a laughing Dawn coming from the other end.

"Let's see... Dawn is the best coordinator in the pokemon universe?"

"Nope, but thank you so much for the compliment!" Dawn took a bow and continued to sit on a chair she conveniently borrowed from Giovanni's room.

"Hmm... Open Sesame?"
"Nope!"

Ash sighed as he plopped himself on the floor, as did Latias.

"You know, since we're going to be stuck here for a while, I guess I got to tell you something." Ash whispered to Latias. He then could see them watching with interest, with Max with a nerdy grin and a video camera.

-Well, what is it?-
"You know when I was in the Kanto Region, right?" She nodded.

"Well, I got to have help from Jessie, James and Meowth to get a gym badge, as well as wear a dress." He could hear Latias bursting out in laughter and the sound of face-palming in the other room. Ash then turned towards them and mouthed 'Sorry to disappoint you.' to them. Latias finally controlled her breathing after a while and urged Ash to continue.

"And another time, Brock was looking at me with a 'pedophile' face. I am telling you, it did not go well..." Ash grimaced. Latias roared in laughter while telling him -Stop... telling... jokes... can't... breathe...- As she rolled over in laughter.

"Psst, Brave Warrior, just tell your long lost love your secret!" The voice of James appeared in Ash's ears, he was blushing so hard he thought his skin would not return to normal. Luckily, he was hidden behind a table so nobody could see him. He smirked as he saw the silhouettes of Jessie, James and Meowth behind him. They were cloaked using a device. Dawn suddenly released her Quilava(which had evolved from Cyndaquil) and told it to use Heat Wave. It smiled and complied, making the locked room hotter.

"Dawn... When I get out you are SO into trouble!" Ash told her with a large anime vein on his head.

"Wrong password!" She said with a cheeky grin.

"Latias, I have to tell you one last secret. It's one that I have been keeping for five years." She nodded, expecting what was next.

"Latias, I-" Ash started as he quickly withdrew.

-Come on, what happened to the confident and brave Ash Ketchum I knew for so long?- She pouted at Ash.

"I get it... Latias, I...I love someone."

-Wow! Who? Who? Who?- She shouted with a grin plastered on her face, though she was internally hoping it was her.

"Let me give you a clue... The person I love is the one in front of me right now." Ash said, stuttering. Latias stared at him before tackling him before sealing their lips in a kiss that lasted for what seemed to be an eternity.

"I love you Latias."

-I love you too Ash Ketchum.-

"Password Correct!" Was the sound of Dawn exclaiming and unlocking the door. They got up and walked towards the amused Dawn, May, Max(Who got it all on tape), Caroline, Norman and Johanna.

"I really shouldn't know if I should be happy or angry at you for this Dawn, but thank you for helping us getting what we should have gotten a long time ago."

"Aw, it was nothing!" Dawn resumed her cheery bubbly attitude and saw that it was 6 pm in the evening.

"Dinner time!" Ash and Latias said, holding hands(paws?) and calling out Gallade to teleport them to Brock and the others, and back to the hotel. When they saw what was on the board, Ash broke into a wide grin. He was facing Drake, the former most powerful in the Hoenn Elite Four and now in the Chosen Eight. The Chosen Eight is the eight most powerful pokemon trainers in the entire world, with Tobias as the best. Ash did a little research and found Drake was the sixth most powerful. He was expecting a good challenge.

-Ashy, tomorrow you'll be facing Mister Big Bad Moustache Man!- Latias said, giving Ash a kiss on the cheek. Brock, Misty, Gary, The three sisters, Flint(Brock's father) and Lola(Brock's Mother) were shocked by what they had seen, while the others were rolling on the floor, laughing about how Latias described Drake.

"Okay, snap out of it. Latias and I are together..." Ash snapped his fingers in front of them to snap them out of their trance. Brock immediately ran to a corner and began to sulk about how his apprentice got a girl before he did. Ash patted Brock's shoulder, assuring him about how he would be able to get a girl in no time, as Latias tapped Ash's shoulder and reminded about his grumbling tummy. Ash stood up and dashed to the restaurant, ready to give the hotel a big food deflation.

Yay, Ash finally confessed! Hope you like the idea of the Chosen Eight though. I already decided Drake's team, and Latias describing Drake just popped into my head, anyway, expect the next chapter longer than Ash vs. Wallace, and expect it within the next seven days!

Mega T-Rex