"Let's fly!"

Latias and Rayquaza took off from the Hall of Legends. They passed the mountaintops that guarded the Hall's gate, dove into the sea of clouds around it, and emerged over the regions of the pokemon world. Course set on Hoenn, Latias moved forward in that very direction. Rayquaza stumbled to catch up with her.

"Latias!" he called out. "Will you slow down?"

She stopped in midair and eyed him. "But those pokemon are in danger, Ray!"

"I'm sure they can survive if we're a little late. I'm getting a cramp here, damn it!"

Latias frowned, but tilted her wings upward to lower her speed. Once Rayquaza reached her side, he stopped to stretch out the ache in his tail.

Silence.

Then:

"Better yet?"

Rayquaza paused and looked at Latias. "What?"

"Are you better yet?" she asked, her words nearly jumbled.

Rayquaza frowned. "Latias, we just stopped-"

"Okaygoodlet'sgo!"

She shot forward.

Rayquaza stumbled. Then, he glared. "Latias!"

He chased after her as they neared Hoenn. He continued to call out her name, and she eventually stopped to look at him.

"What's wrong, Ray?" she asked. She giggled as he panted. "Worn out already?"

"I'm not kidding! You need to slow down!"

"Slow down? I thought that the 'king of the skies' could outfly anyone."

"I am the king of the skies," Rayquaza hissed. "And ten times faster than you!" He squirmed. "I'm just not in the mood today, that's all…"

Latias giggled again and shot Rayquaza a sly look – a look that made him scoff and turn his head the other way. She grinned at him and flew forward, leaving him to stumble over himself once more before he followed.

That girl, he thought. She's gonna get herself killed one day if she's not careful.

He smirked.

I gotta give her credit, though. She's definitely got guts.


Rayquaza and Latias followed the east coast of Hoenn toward Lilycove. They stopped over the forest that surrounded the area. The trees stretched to the horizon, until the smoke-covered tip of Mount Chimney rose and towered over the land. The two dragons flew across the forest and searched for any signs of the pokemon Arceus sent them to save.

Rayquaza frowned. He swayed his head around, but saw nothing. He turned his eyes toward Latias as she dipped below the trees to search from the ground. She came up a minute afterward with an anxious frown. Rayquaza read her face and grit his teeth.

"Arceus said it was somewhere around here, right?" she asked.

"Yeah." Rayquaza ran a claw down his face. "But he didn't actually specify where."

Latias pinched her brows. "What if we're too late, Ray?"

"Will you stop that and chill? We'll find them, okay?"

But, even Rayquaza felt nervous for the trapped pokemon. He flew forward, Latias right behind him. Minutes later, they still hadn't found a thing. Rayquaza sighed and met Latias' eyes, which had become glossy with worry. He swallowed hard and wondered if he should say something, but he only turned his eyes the other way-

He paused. Something stuck out of the trees ahead. He headed toward it and examined what looked to be the tip of a rock anomaly, a small mountain that rose up from the forest floor. He shot a thoughtful look to Latias, and they both dove into the trees, following the muffled cries that came from the mountain's base. A group of young pokemon came into view, their faces painted in tribal colors. They only consisted of first-stage evolutions, which couldn't possibly harbor enough strength to break through the rocks that closed off the cavern they surrounded.

Latias flew toward the tribe. They gawked at her; some even backed away with intimidation. Rayquaza appeared beside her. He gazed at the pokemon, and then at the cave. He hid his relief that they had finally found the tribe in need.

"Don't worry," Latias said to the small pokemon as she landed on the leafy ground. They bowed before her when they realized her true intentions, while some praised her and others beckoned her toward the cave. She floated back up to her counterpart. "We gotta help, Ray!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said. He looked back at the cave and the rocks that blocked it. "Stand back."

Without question, the pokemon retreated into the bushes.

Rayquaza grunted. Let's get this over with.

He leaned back and opened his jaw. In the back of his throat, the orange-yellow glow of a hyper beam grew. He reared his head forward and-

Latias shot upward and right into his range of fire. "What are you doing, Ray?"

Rayquaza's eyes widened. He slammed his jaw shut and cut off the attack before it could hit his counterpart. The beam backfired down his throat. He coughed; orange-colored sparks bounced off his tongue.

The tribe pokemon exchanged bewildered looks.

"Holy-!" Rayquaza coughed. He glared at Latias. "What'd you do that for?" Another cough. "That could've given me an ulcer or something!"

Latias scowled. "Ray! You know what Arceus said! We can't use special attacks to break the rock. It might harm the pokemon trapped inside!"

Rayquaza snarled. "Well, what do you suggest" - he coughed again - "suggest we do then, huh?"

Latias turned to the cave. A boulder sat in front of the entrance, which was what mainly blocked it off. She looked back at the tribe. Her ears twitched as she heard the muffled cries of the trapped pokemon. "Why don't we just push the rock?"

"Are you serious?"

Latias shrugged. "It's all we can do."

Rayquaza growled.

"Come on, Ray!" Latias said, her eyes glossy again.

He glowered, and then sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Latias grinned. She flew forward and placed her claws on the boulder. "Don't worry, guys!" she said to the trapped pokemon. "We're gonna get you out in no time!"

Cheers erupted from inside.

Rayquaza mimicked his counterpart and grabbed hold of the boulder's other side. He peeked his head over the top to meet Latias' eyes. "Push only after I say go," he said. "Got it?"

"Got it!"

Rayquaza positioned himself. "Ready? Go!"

The two dragons pushed. When the boulder didn't move, Rayquaza paused.

"You're pushing, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's what you said to do."

Rayquaza frowned. "I'm pushing, too…so that means we're both pushing on opposite sides, canceling out each other's forces, and it's not allowing the rock to move in an assigned direction."

"…Gesundheit?"

He snarled. "Pull, got it?"

Latias blinked. "Okay."

Rayquaza repositioned himself. "Alright, ready? Go!"

He pushed against the rock. It still failed to budge. He peeked his head over the top and met Latias' eyes. "You're pulling, right?"

She arched a brow. "Me? I thought you were gonna be the one who pulled…"

"No." Rayquaza rolled his eyes. "I'm pushing, okay? You need to pull so the rock moves towards you!"

"Oh…"

Latias lowered. Then, she came back up. Her brows furrowed.

"Why do I have to be the one who pulls?"

Rayquaza groaned. "Why does it matter?"

"Well, I'm just curious."

"Fine. It's because I said so."

"That's not a very good answer."

"Why are you making such a big deal about this?"

"I just want to know why I have to pull." Latias pouted. "Why do you get to be the commander here?"

The tribe exchanged more bewildered looks. The trapped pokemon did the same.

Rayquaza narrowed his eyes. He exhaled sharply. "You know what? Fine. You push, okay? I'll pull."

Latias grinned. "Okay!"

Rayquaza got into position again. "Ready?" he called out. "Push!"

He pulled the boulder in his direction. It only moved an inch before he realized he didn't receive any support from the other side. He looked up and met Latias' gaze. "Why aren't you pushing?" he asked.

She shrugged. "You didn't say so."

"Yes I did!"

"No, you said not to push until after you said 'go'."

"I did say go!"

"No you didn't. You just said 'push'. To my understanding, that wasn't the word established to be the term that would signal when to perform our assigned actions." Latias crossed her arms and stuck her snout into the air. "I refuse to cooperate under these confusing conditions."

Rayquaza growled. His claws impaled the boulder. Before he could stop himself, he slammed his head against the rock, like a frustrated businessman at work.

Silence.

Then, the rock began to crack.

He pulled away and watched as lines stretched across the boulder. Latias arched a brow and floated back. She blinked when the rock crumbled into dust beneath his claws.

"Huh…" She looked at her counterpart. "Good job, Ray!"

Rayquaza dropped his head and groaned. He didn't know whether to be grateful or flabbergasted.

A group of young flying types – pidgey, spearow, and other first-stage bird pokemon - emerged from the cavern. Grins formed on their faces. They were finally free! The tribe rushed forward to crowd around their saved comrades, who all appeared to be fine.

"Look, Ray." Latias floated up to her counterpart, her eyes warm. "They're all safe now. We did it!"

Rayquaza tightened his frown. "Yeah," he said, "and it was so hard I honestly thought that not even gods like us could've done it…"

Latias blinked at his sarcasm. Her brows came together. "Is there something wrong, Ray?"

"Nothing, alright? Forget it. The mission's done, so let's just get out of here…"

He pivoted around, but Latias ceased him with her claw. Her soft touch lingered on his arm. He met her eyes again.

"If something's bothering you," she said, "you can tell me, okay, Ray? We're counterparts. We're supposed to communicate."

Rayquaza shrugged out of her hold. "There's nothing wrong with me. Like I said before, I'm just not in a good mood today."

Latias shifted weight between her shoulders. She opened her mouth to say something-

A squirtle from the pokemon tribe stepped forward, a large grin on his painted face. "Our tribe wishes to thank you for saving our members in need!" he said.

Latias swallowed the words she wanted to say to Rayquaza. She looked at the squirtle and forced a grin. "We were happy to help!"

"We are eternally grateful, though!" the squirtle said. "And we would be honored if you joined us for a feast!"

Rayquaza's face fell, Latias beamed, and before he could deny the offer, she said, "We would love to accompany you for brunch!"

He glared at her.

The squirtle nodded and turned around. He gestured at the other tribe members. They grinned and scurried off into the bushes.

"Follow me," the squirtle said. "My name's Ulinawi, by the way."

Latias nodded, but before she could follow Ulinawi, Rayquaza pulled her back.

"Latias!" he hissed. "What are you doing? We have to report back to Arceus!"

She laughed. "Come on, Ray! It's not like we're gonna be here all day! We have tons of time to eat and then return to the Hall! It'd be rude not to except their kind offer. Besides," she added, "we didn't eat breakfast this morning, and for reasons you would probably remember."

Rayquaza blushed and turned away. Simultaneously, his stomach rumbled. He placed a claw over it.

"I think I have my answer." Latias giggled and floated into the bushes after Ulinawi.

Rayquaza rolled his eyes and followed her.

He hated it when she was right.


"You sure this is a good idea, Genghis?"

"Obviously."

"What are we supposed to be dressed up as anyway?"

"Tourists, you moron."

Khan frowned. He fingered the cheap beads that consisted his sharpedo-tooth necklace. It matched with his blue shirt, shorts, and sandals. "I feel like I just got back from the Orange Islands..."

"Stop complaining," hissed Genghis, who wore similar attire. He looked through his binoculars and at the people and pokemon that filled the busy town square of Alto Mare. With a snort, he pulled back around the alleyway's wall. "I mean," he added, "have I ever showed you wrong?"

Khan put a finger to his chin. "Well-"

"Don't answer that."

Khan sighed, but shook the thought away. "Hey, we have codenames, right?"

"Duh. I'm Bob, and you're Jim."

"Oh, that's creative…"

"Shut up, Jim!"

Khan squeaked and nodded hastily.

"Remember," Genghis said. "Ask around for any clues on the location of the Soul Dew. But, at the same time, keep yourself quiet. We don't wanna attract any unwanted attention. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good." Genghis turned. "Now, let's do this."

With that, the two Rocket grunts stepped out into the daylight.