93: (Arriving in Unova)
"So, this is Unova!" Ash said, taking a deep sniff of the air.
His girlfriend poked him in the shoulder. "Hurry up, Ash," she said with a giggle. "You're stopping us from getting off."
"Sorry!" Ash winced, and hurried down the stairs.
Once on the tarmac, he turned and took Latias' hand - feeling the claws underneath the illusion, and smiling. "It's going to be great here."
Latias smiled too, and they both got out of the way to let Delia and Professor Oak get off.
"Now, you've got what you need?" Delia checked. "Didn't leave anything on the plane, either of you?"
She gave Latias a knowing look, and the Dragon-type blushed - her illusion syncing up smoothly. "Oh, you're right! Sorry, Ash, I'll be a moment!"
Ash let her hand go, and she dashed back up the steps - probably being a bit careless about how fast - before vanishing back inside.
"What was that about?" Ash asked, frowning.
Pikachu shrugged. "Beats me."
Latias emerged from the aircraft again, a parcel in her hands, and hurried back down. "Sorry, Ash, I forgot about this!"
Delia steered them gently away from the aircraft, to avoid getting in the way of the other passengers.
"It's for me?" Ash asked, blinking. "Sorry, I didn't know - I didn't get you anything-"
"It's okay," Latias replied with a smile. "Think of it as a League-winning present."
Ash nodded, still wondering how he could pay her back, and ripped the paper.
Inside was a hat. It looked kind of similar to the one he'd got back before he had Pikachu, but the Pokéball symbol was blue - and there were a couple of other, smaller, differences.
"Latias-" he began, a little choked up. "Thanks!"
"I thought you needed a new hat," Latias giggled. "It's about the only thing you're actually wearing..."
Ash reached out and hugged her with one arm, swapping his Sinnoh hat for the new one with the other. "I love it," he said. "That's a great gift!"
Delia smiled. "Oh, Ash?" she added. "Don't forget to get into the habit of calling her Laura."
"Right," Ash agreed, still smiling. "I will!"
94: (Unova)
"Litwick, huh?" Ash asked, flipping his Pokédex open. "What are they like?"
Litwick, the Pokédex reported, the Candle Pokémon. Litwick appear to be helping guide people with the flames on... their...
The sound distorted and stopped, and Ash's Pokédex went blank.
"Did you forget to charge it, Ash?" Laura asked, looking at it.
"...you have to charge Pokédexes?" Ash asked, chuckling nervously.
"Well, I assume so..."
"Oh, give it here, I'll do it," Pikachu said, rolling his eyes. "Right, give me a few minutes and I should have it charged up enough..."
"Thanks, Pikachu," Ash said. "I've not met many Pokémon from Unova before."
"I can think of one Pokémon native to Unova I met a long time ago," Laura said, and the two exchanged a warm smile.
Iris made a quiet gagging sound.
"Are you okay?" Ash asked, as Laura stumbled on her way down the stairs.
"It's nothing," Laura replied.
"Wait, there's no way that's nothing," Iris pointed out. "Ash, she shouldn't be able to stumble, remember?"
"I was just..." Laura yawned. "Sorry, I lost control, and I kind of had to do the stumble-thing or... or Cilan'd have run into the back of me."
She yawned again, shaking her head, and Ash took her hand and squeezed it.
As the Lampent floated around them, along with the four helpful Litwick, Pikachu frowned.
The Pokédex should be charged enough by now - he'd certainly put enough energy into it...
He opened it and pointed the scanner at the Lampent.
Lampent, the Lamp Pokémon, and the evolved form of Litwick. Rarely, Lampent can be found... with...
Scowling, Pikachu jolted more energy into it. There was no way the battery could have run out that quickly!
...Litwick... leading people and Pokémon to the Ghost World while stealing their energy, the synthesized voice finished.
Iris gaped. "So - they're why we feel so tired!"
"They drained the battery, too!" Pikachu realized, yawning himself. "Wait... that means-"
One of the walls of the room shimmered and vanished, revealing a swirling maelstrom of energy.
"It's the Ghost World!" Cilan said. "Look out!"
Iris, Ash and Cilan grabbed for the nearest solid objects - then Ash lunged to help his girlfriend.
As he did, her strength failed completely, and her illusion vanished as she slumped to the floor in a faint.
There was a flash of light as all the other Litwick evolved into Lampent at once.
"Latias!" Ash shouted, trying to reach her, but a ghosly wind snatched her up and whirled her into the bizarre Ghost World.
"Your most powerful fighter is neutralized," one of the new Lampent said. "Give in."
Iris and Cilan noticed Pikachu was trying to crawl into a small corner.
"Pikachu?" Iris asked, puzzled.
Then she felt a chill.
Ash dropped his own illusion, and there was very little of the sometimes-childish lovestruck trainer Iris and Cilan had travelled with.
Instead, there was a black-furred Zoroark with blue Aura crackling visibly around his paws, and his red-striped hair seemed to glow faintly of its own accord.
Incongruously, he still had the hat.
"Night Daze!" Ash snarled, dark energy lashing out, and the Lampent abruptly went from smug to panicked as Ash, for one of the few times in his life, got really mad.
Panting, Ash glared at the fourth Lampent as it wobbled to the floor.
Flames began to shoot from the fifth and final one, and he snatched the Fire-type out of the air before throwing it straight out towards the Ghost World.
A Dark Pulse followed, and there was a small explosion as it hit.
"Ash?" Pikachu asked, timidly.
Ash took a deep breath, and turned back towards the others. His illusion reapplied itself, and he sighed. "Sorry, guys, I-"
"Don't apologize, Ash," Iris said, as firmly as she could.
Something enormous moved out in the Ghost World.
Ash whirled, Dark Pulses crackling on his palms again, but then realized two things.
First, it was Giratina out there.
Second... cradled on his back was a familiar pink-and-white form.
Ash had never seen anything so beautiful.
"Ash Ketchum," Giratina said, looking him in the eye. "I managed to find your girlfriend before she got too far. I am sorry about this whole sorry affair - Litwick, Lampent and Chandelure should not drain unwilling victims, let alone draw people into the Ghost World."
As the enormous Legendary swept closer, Iris spoke up. "Wait - Ash? Are you on first name terms with the God of Symmetry? But - how!?"
"I owe Ash Ketchum my life," Giratina stated. "And Latias here helped. I am glad to in some small way begin to pay off my debt to them both."
Ash gently picked his girlfriend up, and she stirred as he channelled healing Aura into her body. "Ash?" she asked, eyes fluttering open. "What..."
"It was those Litwick," Ash said. "They focused most of their attention on draining you, because you seemed like the strongest..."
Latias nodded, and then flung her arms around Ash's neck and kissed him.
"I will close this rift in just a few minutes," Giratina informed them. "I just need to make sure all your personal belongings are on the right side first."
Neither Ash nor Latias paid much attention.
"...wait," Ash said, frowning, as they left the mansion. "He called you my girlfriend... but... we last met kind of a while ago - remember, back with Dialga and Palkia and-."
Latias managed a weak giggle. "I guess it really was obvious."
"Ash?" Iris said, slowly. "How many Legendaries have you met?"
"Uh..." Ash frowned, and began counting on his fingers. "Ho-Oh, Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Suicune, Celebi-"
"Forget I asked!"
95: (Orange Islands)
"Whoa!"
Ash flinched back as the splash of water hit him, then grinned. "Looks like you got me - but take this!"
Squirtle withdrew his head back into his shell.
"...that's not fair," Ash muttered.
A great big wave of water hit not just Ash and Squirtle but Pikachu, Misty and Goldeen as well.
"Who did that?" Ash asked, swiping water off his face.
"Lapras did!" Pikachu sputtered.
"Okay, you asked for it!" Ash replied with a grin, and plunged underwater with a plip.
Lapras stopped laughing, and looked a little worried.
There was a blue flicker visible through the water, and then an orange-furred Pokémon over a metre long burst out of the waves on the other side of Lapras and launched a wave at him with both tails.
"I'd say you swam like a fish," Misty said. "But that's not a fish at all!"
Lapras splashed more water at his trainer - who'd traded his normal shape for that of a Floatzel - and managed to burst the illusion and reduce Ash to a small black-furred fox with completely soaked fur.
Not to be outdone, Ash picked a new shape and swam back into the water as a Dewgong.
"That looks like a lot of fun," Tracey said, pencil working as he sketched away.
Charizard humpfed, not trusting the water.
Tracey glanced up at him, wanting to involve the Fire-type, and then an idea occurred to him.
"Hey, Charizard?"
Ash's Pokémon considered him, then bent down to listen.
A moment later, a rumbling chuckle issued forth.
"Who's winning?" Ash asked, clambering up on Lapras' back. He was back to his customary form again, but he and Lapras had negotiated a ceasefire and alliance against everyone-else-put-together.
"You are, now," Misty replied. "But it's not going to be easy to stay there! Okay, Poliwag, you-"
Pikachu pointed up. "Look out!"
Charizard used Seismic Toss.
Snorlax, as a result, used Splash.
"I think Charizard wins," Squirtle said, shaking his leg to let water drain out of his shell.
"No kidding..." Ash said, shaking himself out and spraying water everywhere - including on Misty, who looked annoyed. "Never get in a splash fight with a Flying-type that big..."
Charizard let out an amused rumble, watching as Tracey recreated the dive-bombing attack in pencil and paper.
96: (Sinnoh League)
Ash blinked. "A Zapdos as well?"
He raised his voice. "Think you can handle it, Pikachu?"
"Sure!" Pikachu replied, cheeks sparking.
"Right!" Ash nodded. "Remember, he's Flying-type as well as Electric!"
Lightning crackled, and then Zapdos opened the battle with a smashing wave of Thunder.
Pikachu retaliated with his own powerful blast of electricity, weaker than what Zapdos could pull together but still strong enough to knock aside the bolt headed for him – then blurred into motion with Agility and got out of the attack zone.
Zapdos keened, wings beating the air as he turned to keep Pikachu in his sight, and both Pokémon fired out another Thunder attack.
The two attacks collided mid-way between Pikachu and Zapdos, sending crackling secondary bolts arcing off in all directions.
"Zapdos!" Tobias called. "This isn't working. Close range!"
Zapdos cawed in response, raising his wings, and then folded them in as he beat them – diving, trading altitude for speed.
"Drill Peck!"
"Agility!" Ash replied quickly. "And counterattack!"
Pikachu blurred into motion, running away from Zapdos – then made a sharp turn as the wicked beak was about to reach him, and swerved hard right.
Zapdos' beak missed, and Pikachu kicked off from the ground to reverse his course – meaning that Zapdos got hit in the side by a powerful Volt Tackle.
"All right!" Ash grinned, as Zapdos pulled up and away from his attack run with stray bolts crackling over him. "How are you holding up, Pikachu?"
"Okay-" Pikachu replied, and then got into another crackling electrical war with Zapdos.
The small yellow mouse held his own for a surprisingly long time, forcing Zapdos to step his game up again and again, but eventually a gigantic thunderbolt blazed down which was too much for Pikachu to intercept.
He yelped as the current blasted through him, and was hurled several feet into the air before bouncing back to the stadium.
"Pikachu, are you okay?" Ash called.
Pikachu shook himself out, and grinned briefly at Ash. "Still here!"
"I'm calling you back, Pikachu," Ash told him. "Even if you beat Zapdos it'll leave you exhausted, and I might need you for the rest of his team."
Tobias frowned at the words.
Ash seemed to be completely confident that it was a match that could go either way between Pikachu and Zapdos... and the crazy thing was, Tobias wasn't willing to dismiss it out of hand.
The next Pokémon interested him, though – a Gabite.
"Ground-type, of course," he mused. "Well, that's basically a wash against Zapdos... stay out there," he ordered. "And stay high."
Zapdos keened a reply.
"Signal Beam!"
"Right, use Dragon Pulse!" Ash ordered.
"His Gabite's quite a fine specimen," Cynthia said, smiling – remembering their last minute training. "Those are good, strong Dragon Pulses – and well aimed, too."
"Indeed," Gaheris agreed. "Ash has chosen well. His fellows are worthy companions indeed."
Cynthia could hear the pride throbbing in his voice.
"Those Signal Beams are powerful, though," she added, as the reddish beam of light scored a furrow in the ground behind Ash's dodging Dragon-type.
"Okay, Zapdos!" they heard. "Gain height – then use Sky Attack!"
"Easy, Gabite!" Ash said. "Remember what we planned..."
Gabite threw a thumbs-up to his trainer, then turned back to the high-flying Zapdos as it readied a powerful Sky Attack.
Golden energy began to form on his wings, spreading out to crackle at the tips, and then Zapdos let out a cry and dove.
Gabite's clawed foot scraped once at the ground, drawing three parallel lines, and his hammerheads began to glow faintly.
Ash judged the incoming attack.
Just a moment-
"Now! Dragon Rush!"
Gabite launched himself forwards, the blue glow on his hammerheads flashing out to engulf his entire body, and he charged directly at the incoming Legendary.
"Look out!" Tobias called – too late for either Pokémon to do anything.
There was an almighty BANG as the two attacks collided with stunning force, sending Zapdos down low enough he had to flap frantically to avoid crashing – and Gabite up, high into the sky.
A white glow lit the pitch.
Gabite's hammerheads lengthened and spread, taking up positions further from his head.
His tail lengthened, developing a lower fin at the back to match the upper, and the blades on his forearms elongated considerably as his whole body expanded in size and strength.
When the light died down, Garchomp was hanging high in the air.
"All right!" Ash called. "Keep it up! Get that overgrown Piplup!"
Tobias frowned, recalculating.
This was unfortunate – with a Garchomp instead of a Gabite, Zapdos' advantage was slimmer than he would like. It would probably be a good idea to switch out to the next member of his team.
As he thought, though, Garchomp used his next attack. Inhaling, he fired a blast of orange light straight down at the ascending Zapdos.
Tobias paled. That could only be-
The orange globe split, shattering into dozens of smaller and brighter rocks, and less than a second later Zapdos – backwinging hard – flew right into the cloud.
A cacophany of overlapping explosions overrode all other sound in the arena for a moment.
When they died down, Zapdos swept out of the smoke cloud – badly beaten about by the shotgun-blast of Draco Meteor, but still somehow conscious.
Tobias reached for his Pokéball, but Ash was quicker on the draw. "Pursuit!"
Ash breathed a sigh of relief as the tricky attack hit home.
Mom had taught him that one, and he'd tried teaching the idea behind it to Gabite – but it only worked about half the time, and it was basically just hitting the enemy rather than a proper attack.
It did what it had to, though, and Zapdos crashed to the floor just before Garchomp landed on bent knees.
"Great work, Garchomp!" Ash called, looking him over – trying to judge how tired he was.
Draco Meteor had taken a lot out of him, of course and so had the Sky Attack, but he looked hale enough.
Tobias returned Zapdos, and considered for a moment.
"Ash Ketchum?" he called.
"Yeah?" Ash called back.
"Your team is very impressive so far. You're the hardest challenge I've had all region."
"Uh... thanks!" Ash replied, deciding to take it as a compliment.
"But I think your Garchomp will have more trouble here," Tobias went on, and threw his next Pokéball.
AN:
Two bits in Unova, including one really near the start of the Ash-Latias official relationship.
The Unova hat, in canon, is the first one without a story behind it. So I gave it one.
Then there's one of the relatively rare cases it's Latias in trouble, rather than Ash. These Litwick/Lampent are really kind of jerks... fortunately, Ash knows their boss.
Next, some goofs goofing. Lapras is kind of a young kid, and so they're just splashing about and having fun on some island somewhere in the Orange Archipelago.
And, finally... more of the Tobias match.
Tobias' team here is really, really powerful. About the only hard limit I put on was "nothing Ash has personally saved and which is unique". (That rules out the Creation Trio, the Lake Trio, Arceus and Mewtwo for a start.)