Latias' Journey

by Ri2

With her home destroyed, Latias sets out on a journey to protect herself from the mysterious Ghost King. On the way, she encounters new friends and adventures, and wonders if perhaps the one who destroyed her city is really all that he seems.

26. The best Luvdisc Day ever

Okay guys, this chapter is in honor of Valentine's Day. Admittedly, it won't be Valentine's Day by the time you read this, but I started writing it then so that's all that counts, right?

Sir Pudding, you hate Trefoils? DIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE! You mean ALL final bosses only award 1 EXP! What the hell's up with that! That's so unfair! The strange parts, I am sad to say, were written by Alex. I personally liked them (even if they are not what I had planned originally). And you're right, it is spelled Phanpy. But I like my spelling better. J

HVK, is your cooking really that bad?

Lord Karkon, Pi2 stood for my Yahoo screen name, Pikachuband2. Somebody gave me a Thunder Stone in an E-mail, so I evolved to Raichuband 2, or Ri2. Simple as that.

This chapter is the last one my friend Alex Warlorn edited and helped me with. Alex gave me lots of suggestions and typo corrections and stuff, and one or two paragraphs, which I put to use. Alex, thanks for helping me with everything, and I hope you can focus on your own writing career now.

Disclaimer: I own the festival and sculpture in this chapter, as well as some new characters, but nothing else.

…

"Help me master! Protect your loyal servant!" a voice screamed throughout the Realm of Mists.

The Ghost King looked away from his dimensional viewer, in which he had been observing Latias and her companions traveling, as always, an occupation some might consider stalking (but not us). "Hmm? What's that?"

A tan blur shot out of the mists and cowered behind the King. "Don't let her find me, lord! Don't let her know I'm here!"

The Ghost King was confused. "Shedinja? What has frightened you of all creatures so?"

"Oh Shedinjaaaaa…where are you?" called Misdreavus' voice. She floated out of the mists, looking around for the insect.

Confused, the King decided to ask Misdreavus what's going on. "Misdreavus, why are you looking for Shedinja?" he asked.

Misdreavus looked surprised. "You mean you don't know? I thought you of all people would know what day it is today, my King!"

The King blinked. "…It can't possibly be Cacturneween, and I know for certain Latias' birthday is not for several months. There are no other holidays that come to mind. What is so special about today?"

"My lord, 'tis Luvdisc Day, the last day of the Luvdisc mating season, the yearly celebration of love in all its forms!" she explained.

The King's eyes widened. His dimensional viewer took the form of a calendar, and he quickly looked at it. "Why, so it is! I cannot believe I had forgotten!" He looked thoughtful. "Hmm…this gives me an idea. Misdreavus, have my mediums and craftsmen completed the present?"

"I believe they have," she recalled.

"Excellent. I want it to be taken to the Ninjask clans with instructions for them to deliver it to Latias before midnight and this day is over," the King ordered.

Misdreavus bowed. "Thy will be done, my lord. But I think Shedinja would be better at dealing with the Ninjask than your other servants."

The King nodded. "So he would be. Very well, I shall have him deliver the present when he is done with you. He's right behind me. Have fun."

"MY LORD!" screamed Shedinja in horror as the King flew away, revealing him to the amorous Misdreavus.

"Thank you, your Majesty!" said Misdreavus happily. She giggled and started floating towards the terrified insect. "Come here Shedinja, I just want to give you a kiss…" Shedinja screamed bloody murder and flew away. Misdreavus pursued him. Agh! Why did his vow have to include not harming any of the master's servants unless they had betrayed his will!

The King chuckled to himself as he watched the chase. "Ah, those two…" He turned back to the viewer, which had reoriented itself on Latias. It automatically zoomed in as he looked at her. "Latias…" he murmured. "Soon, my dear…soon all this pain will end…the anguish and suffering we both feel within our hearts…when the fear and the distrust and the hurt fade away, and we may finally, finally be together…" His eyes dimmed. "But that will not happen just yet, I think…not until this Chosen business is finished. But I think there is something I can do to begin the process of healing the wound in your heart…a message to you from the other side…" He looked away, smiling at the sight of Misdreavus tackling the wailing Shedinja and smothering him with kisses before dragging him away to her private chambers, or what they counted for in this vast space of nothingness devoid of walls, floors, or ceilings. "Then perhaps the wounds in my own heart and mind may heal, and I can truly begin to live again…"

…

Ash and friends had stopped in an average town while continuing their journey to the Hoenn League and had stumbled into a yearly event famous within the Hoenn region. There were heart-shaped decorations everywhere, and pink, red, and white banners and streamers hung from walls and over streets. People walked around in clothing of the same colors, and there were papier-mâché statues and decorations of heart-shaped fish everywhere, on walls, on clothes, on flags waving from buildings. Another interesting thing to point out were the number of couples walking about the streets, holding hands, hugging, making out, all showing expressions of their love in public. And humans weren't the only ones caught up in this, there were numerous Pokemon doing the same thing, except their shows of passion were a bit more…well, playful than that of humans. It was very peculiar.

"Daddy, why is everyone kissing?" Phanphy whined, still in the 'cootie' stage of his childhood.

"Well, uh, I don't know," Ash admitted.

Phanphy noticed a Delcatty couple that was getting a little too intimate. "And what are those kitties doing?"

Pikachu winced and protectively covered Phanphy's eyes. "Little brother, I don't think you're old enough for that kind of thing yet."

"Why?"

"You just aren't."

"Maybe we should just ask what's going on?" Bayleef suggested.

"Yeah, I guess we could do that." Ash walked up to one random couple walking nearby. "Excuse me, could you please tell me what's going on here?"

The male of the couple looked at him in surprise. "You're not from around here?"

"Oh, no!" said Ash. "I'm just travelling with my…sister," he said quickly, remembering that Latias had taken her human form so as not to draw attention when they were around lots of people. "And our Pokemon," he added.

"Why aren't they in their Pokeballs?" asked the female.

"Oh, we don't believe in Pokeballs. We think they're too confining and unfair for the Pokemon," Ash lied.

"Isn't that inconvenient, though?" asked the female. "What do you do if one of them is injured and you're nowhere near a Pokemon Center?"

"One of them can use Recover," Ash said truthfully. "And yeah, I guess it is inconvenient at times, but that's part of training isn't it? Taking the good along with the bad? We just do it a little differently than some others, I guess."

"You don't say," she said thoughtfully.

"So anyway, could you tell me what's going on around here?" Ash did his best to get off the unwanted subject.

"Sure," stepped in the male. "Its Luvdisc Day, the tail end of the Luvdisc mating season. Every year, the Luvdisc from the seas migrate inland to choose who they will mate with and produce eggs. The ceremony is performed at a special lake several miles north of here, passing through a river our town and several others are built around. Luvdisc are traditionally seen as symbols of romance, and it's said that any couple who sees a Luvdisc swimming by is guaranteed a long and lasting relationship. So we celebrate their annual passing through with a festival dedicated to the miracle of life and of love. They chose their mates at the lake a couple of days ago, and should be passing through town sometime at noon on their way back to the ocean. In fact, me and Melissa here were going to go watch them as they swim by, so we should probably get going."

"Okay," waved Ash as the couple set off at a slight higher pace than before. "Thanks for the explanation."

"You know Ash, you should probably get something for Misty, since those two said this is the last day of the Luvdisc Festival," said Pikachu, hopping onto his trainer's head.

"You think?"

"Yeah, as a Water Pokemon enthusiast she probably knows all about this holiday. She'd probably love it if you gave her something special to commemorate it and your own relationship," suggested Charizard. "Take it from a guy with experience, getting your girlfriend something on a romantic holiday can go a long way towards a big reward later on, heh heh," he said with a wink that went over Ash's head.

"Er, okay," said Ash, seeing more the logic in what Pikachu said and switching into trainer mode. "Okay, I know what I'll do! I'll catch her a Luvdisc!"

"She has one, daddy!" Phanphy cut short. "She brought him over one day to be looked at by Mr. Oak. She thought he was sick, Mr. Oak said it was called lovesickness."

"Oh…then I'll get her a second Luvdisc to keep hers company!" Ash restarted.

"He already has a friend, she's part of one of the auntie's teams," continued the elephant.

Ash nearly lost half his weight as he slumped. "Well, then what am I supposed to get her!" he asked in frustration. "I don't know what girls like!" He turned to Latias and Bayleef. "You two are girls, what do you think she'd like?" Ash asking females of a different species to the interests of Misty should be a clear sign of Ash's own ignorance on the subject, and still not quite understanding the difference between humans and pocket monsters. Poor boy.

Latias pointed at a nearby poster. "Maybe that?" she suggested telepathically.

Ash looked. The poster showed the biggest pair of water stones ever seen, carved into the shape of two kissing Luvdisc. "'Enter the Annual Lover's Competition,'" Ash read out loud. "'Be the only boyfriend to bring your ladylove something to make her smile. First prize is the one-of-a-kind 'Discs in Love' sculpture by Wallace Waters the Great'. Wow! It's perfect!" said Ash.

"Whoa," said Pikachu. "Whoever is holding this contest must be loaded, Stones are pricey as it is, the statue looks like you could buy Pallet with it!"

"Mommy would love those!" Phanphy trumpeted, reaffirming Ash's decision.

"Okay, then it looks like I'm entering that competition!" Ash declared.

Latias and Bayleef examined the rules and fine print listed on the poster. "It says each contestant can take only one Pokemon with them," said Bayleef. "I guess the choice there is obvious, right?"

"Yeah, I'd like to take Pikachu…if that's okay with you guys?" Ash asked uncertainly.

"It's okay, I'm sure the rest of us can find something to do…" Charizard shrugged. "For one thing, I should probably get Charla a present too. Something to make her happy…"

"Speaking of making girls happy, I think I'd better be off then," blurted Corphish, starting to scurry away from the group.

"What do you mean? Where are you going?" asked Ash.

Corphish quickly checked to see if Phanphy was listening, noticed he was focusing all his limited attention span on some especially colorful Luvdisc banners dancing in the breeze, then chuckled and started to explain. "Didn't you hear that guy? The Luvdisc are swimming by soon. It stands to reason that not all of the ladies will have gotten laid during the big mating thing, so good ol' Samaritan Corphish is gonna help em' out while they're still too pumped with hormones to say no. I should remember to thank that guy for telling us it's Luvdisc Day, if it weren't for that I would have totally forgotten!"

Ash was appalled. "Corphish! How could you do such a thing? Not even Brock would stoop that low! Well, maybe Brock, if he were really desperate…" he admitted.

Corphish looked offended. "What? You say it like I'm doing a bad thing! Do you know what'll happen to those poor girls if they don't have eggs? They'll be banished from their schools due to their inability to produce offspring! They'll be captured by trainers if they're lucky, but more likely they'll be caught by fishermen or eaten by Sharpedo. And with the number of wild Luvdisc constantly decreasing due to overzealous fishermen, trainers, and predators, they need all the baby-capable females they can get!" He rapped a claw on his chest. "By mating with the Luvdisc, I'm doing them a favor! I'm providing them with eggs so that they can continue living with their schools and keep the number of wild Luvdisc reasonably high. My family's been doing it for generations! Why, if my Craw-daddy hadn't helped out a poor Luvdisc as she passed by his hermitage one day, I might never have been born!"

Ash looked stunned by this proclamation. The others looked dubious. "But when Pokemon crossbreed, there's always a chance that the baby will be either one or the other of the parents species. What happens if they lay Corphish eggs along with Luvdisc?" asked Pikachu.

Corphish laughed. "No problem! My Craw-Daddy told me about this when I had the same concerns as you. Luvdisc lay eggs in bunches of fifty or sixty at a time. Corphish and Luvdisc eggs are the same size at the start, and only become distinguishable as they develop. Most fish eggs either die or are lost before they can hatch, so it's relatively easy for the mother Luvdisc to arrange an 'accident' that causes the eggs she recognizes as Corphish eggs to get scattered to the currents, where most of them will end up on islands or in other Pokemon's bellies."

"That's horrible!" Ash interrupted. "How could they do something like that?"

Corphish shrugged. "Fish Pokemon are less attached to their eggs than mammal or lizard Pokemon are. They lay so many at a time they don't really care if they lose a few to accidents or hunger. My egg got swept up in the current and landed on Dewford Island, where my Craw-Daddy found and raised me to be the upstanding Corphish I am now, helping Luvdisc in need to continue both our species. The fact that I get free sex is just a side benefit of my selfless acts."

"What's sex?" Phanphy asked innocently, having lost interest in the banners in time to hear Corphish's last sentence.

"We'll tell you when you're older," Bayleef said quickly.

Ash looked doubtful. "I don't know, Corphish…this doesn't seem right to me."

Corphish decided to play on Ash's sentimental side. "But Ash, if I don't help them out, they'll probably die! Can't you just picture it? Dozens of poor, miserable Luvdisc, blameless in everything but their inability to get a mate, cruelly exiled from their schools and families and forced to wander the cold, dark ocean. Some of them will get caught by fishermen and sold for food in restaurants. Sharpedo, Gorebyss, or other predators of the deep will eat most of them. And each of them will die without getting the chance to further their species' numbers, which means the Luvdisc population will get smaller and smaller each year, until finally there are none left. And what'll we have to celebrate on the Luvdisc mating season then, Ash? I'll tell you what: nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Ash still looked uncertain, but the story of all those poor unloved Luvdisc struck a chord in Bayleef's heart, reminding her of her own brushes with loneliness, and she burst into tears. "All right, all right! Go already!" she wailed.

Corphish grinned. "Thank you Bayleef. And the Luvdisc will thank you too, I think." He skittered off before anyone could stop him, laughing to himself at how easy people were to manipulate.

"Corphish!" Ash yelled, trying to stop his horny Pokemon. But it was too late, and the lobster had vanished into a large crowd of people. He sighed. "Great, nice going Bayleef."

"Sorry, I can't resist sob stories," she said sheepishly.

Latias cleared her psychic throat, flushing along with everyone else at their teammate's shameless display. "Well, if Corphish is getting laid-ahem, helping poor virgin Luvdisc, and Ash and Pikachu are going to compete, what should Bayleef, Phanphy and I do?"

"We'll need someplace to spend the night after we're done with the contest. Do you guys think you can check us in at a Pokemon Center?" Ash asked.

"Well, that'll be a little hard, seeing as I'm mute and can only communicate telepathically with friends, not strangers," Latias pointed out. "Not to mention there's hardly anybody in the world who seems to understand sign language."

Ash sweatdropped. "Oh yeah."

"Hey, maybe they can come with me while I look for a present for Charla," suggested Charizard. "They could probably help me pick something out for her, what with being of the feminine persuasion and all that. And maybe we could find something for the kid, too," he said, patting Phanphy on the head.

"Oh boy, does this mean I get a present?" the elephant asked hopefully.

"If Ash'll lend me the money," said Charizard, holding a claw out to the boy.

Ash raised an eyebrow, then handed his wallet to Latias. "Here, if you're going with them then I trust you with this more than Charizard. At least you won't spend all our money getting your wings waxed." Charizard looked embarrassed at that. "Besides, Latias, er, Bianca looks human, you don't," he corrected. As a group decision they had chosen that Latias should use an alias while wearing her human face so as not to raise too many eyebrows. Latias was the one who suggested the name.

"Actually, my wings could use a good waxing…" Latias mused.

"Latias!"

"Just kidding!" she said. "Actually, I wouldn't mind going window shopping. It's something Bianca and I used to do…" She seemed sad for a moment, but quickly brightened up, or at least hid the bitter feelings that were trying to well up. "And now maybe it's something I can do with my new friends," she said, half-forcing a smile.

"I've never gone shopping before," said Bayleef. "Do you think I'll like it?"

"You might," said Latias. "You just have to find out for yourself."

Pikachu glanced at the poster. "Hey Ash, we'd better get moving. The contest starts in only a couple of minutes!"

"Yikes! Gotta go guys, meet you later at the Pokemon Center!" Ash ran off so fast Pikachu almost fell off and had to grab on to the back of his hat to stay on.

"Hey, watch out, you've got a passenger remember?" the mouse cried as they left the rest of the group in the dust.

…

Ash and Pikachu followed a series of conveniently placed signs to the front of a large mansion, where an even larger group of anxious male humans of all different ages were waiting. "Wow, I didn't think there would be quite so many other trainers," said Ash, surprised.

"Well, I guess there's a lot of boyfriends whose girls would love to have a Water Stone sculpture," Pikachu pointed out.

They were out of range of Latias' telepathy, but Ash knew Pikachu well enough to get the gist of what he was saying. "I guess so. I hope we don't have to go against all of them to get the statue," he said.

"Me too," said James glumly, who had been next to Ash this whole time but had been too insignificant to notice before.

Ash and Pikachu blinked. Not only was it rare to see James without Jessie, it was even rarer for them not to be in one of their disguises (perhaps their only true talent, other than making holes). "What are you doing here!"

"Oh, hello twerp," said James unhappily without a trace of his usual overconfident arrogant self. He had forsaken his usual Team Cipher uniform for an ugly Hawaiian shirt and short shorts. He was still wearing his Snag Device, though, along with the left sleeve of his uniform. Chimecho was happily wrapped around his forehead like a giant living headband. "Sorry, but there's no brilliant evil plan today," automatically defended James, his voice totally monotone. "Jessie sent me here to win the sculpture for her while she and Meowth and Wobbuffet went on a shoplifting spree. Ho-hum. I wish I were with them."

Ash of course didn't believe this for a second. "You're actually going to try and win a prize honestly instead of stealing for once? Don't make me laugh!"

James shrugged. "Eh, I'll steal it when I lose, then you blast me off. You can skip right to the end if you want to that badly. Then again, seeing you're here I think I'll take Jessie's beating over another zap from your Pikachu. I'm still recovering from the shock you gave us yesterday." Right on cue, James' hair suddenly shot straight up, sparkling with static. Chimecho of course didn't notice. "So I think I'll just try, lose, and walk away for once."

"Oh…uh…" Ash wasn't sure how to deal with his enemy not really planning on doing any evil for once. "Well…good luck, I guess," he said awkwardly.

James made a faint smile. "Thanks, I'll need it."

"Can I ask a question, though?" Ash pointed, despite what his mom had told him about not doing it.

James moaned to his own fate. "Go ahead."

Ash's voice turned slightly dark. "Why are you wearing your Snagger if you're not going to try and steal any Pokemon?"

James looked at the gadget on his arm. He got an angry look on his face. "Oh, this? I couldn't get it off this morning. Jessie had to cut off the left sleeve from the rest of my uniform just so she could pull it off. I think that electroshock your Pikachu gave us yesterday fused it to my arm. This is all your fault! Now I'm stuck with this thing forever!" His earlier reluctance and unhappiness forgotten in this sudden unexpected and uncharacteristic rage, James continued to rant. "I paid good money for that custom-designed uniform and this hunk of junk! And now they're both ruined, thanks to your stupid rat!" Furious and obviously not thinking clearly, he pulled back a fist. "Maybe I should ruin that precious hat and handkerchief of yours as payback!" He giggled with a crazed look in his eyes.

Now, Ash and Pikachu weren't in the least bit afraid, although they were slightly concerned for their annoying enemy's sanity. In his rage, James seemed to have conveniently forgotten that Pikachu still remained on Ash's hat, and would have no problem electrocuting James if he so much as breathed on his roost which just happened to be Ash's prized hat or the even more precious love note inside. So the mouse rolled his eyes, sighed, and started charging up his electric sacs to send James blasting off again when a black-clad hand placed itself on James' shoulder feeling like a vice grip, combined with an unknown voice that was slow, calm, cold, and rather frightening. James' body froze in its tracks from the sheer presence. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

James yelped and turned around and saw a young man a little younger than James walking towards them. He wore a long blue trenchcoat with red pockets and lining. His skinny body was clad in a seamless set of black clothing underneath his long jacket. His messy white hair was held back from his face by a mirrored visor pushed back over his forehead, revealing a pair of intense yellow eyes over a nose coated with a stripe of white paint. A lean, dangerous-looking Umbreon strolled next to him, looking like a weapon on a hair-trigger.

James was intimidated by the man's fierce aura and instantly backed down. "I-I wasn't going to hurt him, honest!"

The man narrowed his eyes and spat at James' feet. "Yeah, like I'd believe the word of anyone wearing a Snag Device. Where'd you get it?"

James looked nervous. Nobody but the twerp was supposed to know what the device was. "Get what?"

Umbreon hissed, and Wes looked like he was going to do the same. "The thing on your arm, dipshit!"

James gulped and his eyes darted around, looking for a way out. Ash and Pikachu stood on the sidelines in the meantime, totally bewildered and confused. "Er, this? It's just an armband my mother-in-law gave me! She hates my guts, you know."

The man and the Umbreon weren't buying it. The black night fox hissed and pounced at James without hesitation, knocking him to the ground wailing. The blue-haired man screamed as the Umbreon attacked pure melee style, clawing and biting at the helpless screaming opponent while Chimecho laughed gleefully. Responding to James' screams, even if he was an enemy, Ash stepped forward. "What are you doing! He may be a member of Team Cipher, but that doesn't mean you can attack him for no reason!"

The man blinked in surprise. "Did you say…he's a member of Cipher?"

"That's TEAM Cipher!" James yelled in between vicious attacks.

The man ignored James, giving Ash the full glare behind his deadly yellow eyes. "Does he have Shadow Pokemon, too?"

Ash took a step back, startled by this person's intensity. "Uh, yeah, he has a weird-acting Cacnea and his partner has a Dustox and a Seviper. They call them Shadow Pokemon because the doors to their hearts have been closed or something."

The man's frown turned to alarm. "Umbreon! Get off him!" The midnight fox obeyed. The man bent over and grabbed James by the collar before he could scurry away. "Talk. What are you doing with a Snag Device and Shadow Pokemon? What do you have to do with Cipher?"

Terrified, James sang like a Swablu, talking a mile a minute. "Two days, three weeks and two months ago, our old boss, bless his soul, was killed by his new science aid Ein, he renamed our Team Rocket Team Cipher. Then he gave us the new snazzy uniforms and cool Snag Devices and promised we could make our Pokemon stronger through some 'Shadow' process. Pleasedonthurtme-Pleasedonthurtme-Pleasedonthurtme!"

The man snarled at the name. "Ein! Dammit! I though that pig was still-Agh!"

Wes dropped the pathetic villain back on the ground in frustration. "Hold on!" Pushed in Ash. "Who's Ein?"

The man glared at him. "He's the mad scientist who may have invented the Snag Device and decidedly the one who created the Shadow Process, I guess I shouldn't be surprised with a rep like that he found a new job!"

"Er, yes." James looked up apologetically. "But he just stepped down and let someone else take charge. A really creepy guy called Nascour is the Boss now! He's right out of a nightmare! He makes Chimecho cry! And his hair moves!" squealed James.

"Nascour! Whatever happened to maximum security-alright, just tell me a man named Evice and three colorful but psychotic clowns are now part of your gang's pecking order too and get it over with."

"Who?" James blinked stupidly on his back.

The man let out a sigh of relief. "So Nascour left the rest of his gang to rot, well that's one good thing . . . " He looked concerned for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about a man named Gonzap, would you? Bald, big, ugly, zigzag moustache?"

"N-never seen the guy," defended James.

"Looks like the coward hasn't gotten around to that promise of revenge yet, not that he kept promises in the first place." The man now actually looked somewhat cheered by the information. "Thanks for the info, if you want to make it easy on yourself you'll just give me what Shadow Pokemon you have along with your Snagger and I'll let you run along."

James gulped. "I-I can't!"

The man raised an eyebrow. "No?" He snapped his fingers, and his Umbreon started growling. "I think you might want to reconsider that real quickly."

"No, I really mean I can't!" James cried. "I could only choose one Pokemon to bring to this contest, so I chose Chimecho! My Shadow Pokemon is violent and wants to kill me, so I left her with my partner Jessie who's also violent and wants to kill me, while I won the statue for her!"

"Ah." The man called his Umbreon off, his face showing no sympathy. "In that case, give me the Snag Device."

"I can't do that either!" Umbreon started growling louder. "No really, I can't!" He tugged on the shoulder pad and gauntlet, demonstrating that they couldn't come off. "You see? That twerp's Pikachu's electric attacks fused it to my sleeve, and almost to my skin! You'd need to amputate to get it off!"

The man frowned. "Great. Too bad Rui made me release all my purified Pokemon, Sneasel'd be able to handle that problem easily…"

"Purified?" James asked ignorantly.

"When a Pokemon is freed from its shadow Pokemon programming," The man said simply.

"You mean-" James said meekly at first then grabbed onto the man's coat with stars in his eyes, this seriously creeped the yellow eyed youth out.

"You mean there's a way! Please tell me! Pleasepleaseplease! I'll be your slave forever! Just turn Cacnea back to normal!" James begged.

The man shoved James away and looked him up and down. "Hmmph. I know thieves and you don't look like you'd be able to steal candy from a baby. Even with that Snag Device, you're hardly a threat. Heh, if Cipher's relying on grunts as pathetic as you, they're nothing to worry about." He growled. "The contest's about to start, and Rui wouldn't be happy if I let a little 'fun' get in the way of winning her a prize. Get lost for now, but don't try getting away after this contest is over, I'll want you to lead me to your teammates so I can get those Shadow Pokemon of yours and see about fixing that Cacnea. And I have a few other questions for you regarding Cipher..." James willingly got up and ran for his life. He would have ran away from the contest itself, but from long experience he feared Jessie's wrath more than whatever threats this man held. The man allowed himself a brief smile and patted his Umbreon on the head. He turned to face Ash. "Well, it was good luck running into you, I haven't had the chance to frighten any punks all week."

Ash blinked. "Um…sorry if I'm being rude, but…who are you?"

The man grunted. "That's none of your business." His sour look vanished when he noticed Ash's Pokemon. "So, you've got a Pikachu…"

"Yeah, what of it?" Ash said, getting defensive, there was something about this guy he just didn't like!

The man held up his hands. "Hey, relax! My girlfriend's grandpa has a Pikachu. He's a strong one too, about level 50."

"Ha! I can beat that!" Pikachu boasted.

Ash smirked. "My Pikachu seems to think he can beat him. Where's this grandpa live?"

The man chuckled. "In the Orre region. And trust me kid, that place is way too tough for a squirt like you. It was almost too tough for me, so it's way out of your league and your class."

Ash's anger rose. He hated being called a squirt and getting talked down to. "Oh yeah? Well I've fought in the championships for three leagues and intend to take the title in this one. Is that tough enough for you?" Ash asked.

The man shrugged. "This is only the second region I've ever been in, but I'm champion of all four Coliseums back in Orre, as well as the only person to ever complete the 100-floor Mt. Battle Challenge. And I intend to win this league, too. I originally came here with my girlfriend, that's Rui by the way, to see the sights, but if you're a trainer kid-"

"My name is Ash."

"Well, Ash, if you're a trainer then you know what it's like when you see a competition, and I intend to enter the Championships and win."

"Well, I only actually won in one League…" Ash admitted, then started right back up. "But I've taken on and beaten the worst and best of three (well, four counting the newly renamed Team Cipher) different gangs of thugs!"

The man smirked. "I've totally DISMANTLED two criminal organizations, beat that!"

Ash blinked. "Uh…well, I've captured…" He did a quick count. "At least 52 Pokemon! Although 30 are Tauros and I let most of the others go," he admitted.

"Heh. I've captured almost a hundred…although most of them I captured when I was still working for…er…my old job, so I didn't get to keep them, and about forty were Shadow Pokemon which Rui wouldn't let me keep once they were purified." He scowled at that.

"Oh yeah? Well…" Ash thought for a moment. "I've met at least sixteen legendary Pokemon!"

At this, the man looked impressed. "Wow. Really? You captured all of them?"

Ash sweatdropped. "Well, only one of them, technically…" he said, thinking of Latias. "But I became good friends with some of the others!"

"Well, I've only seen four legendaries, but I captured all of them!" boasted the man, this time in a lower voice to keep anyone but Ash from hearing him.

Now it was Ash's turn to be impressed. "Wow, really? Which ones?"

"Entei, Suicune, Raikou, and Ho-Oh," he said. "But Rui made me let the three beasts go because they had been Shadow Pokemon, but I kept Ho-Oh. He chose me as his worthy trainer after I saved his land from Cipher's Shadow Pokemon Plan."

"Wow…" said Ash, awed. Then he frowned, suddenly remembering that he had seen Ho-Oh in the Unown's world, and not only did she sound female, but she also was granted immunity to Pokeballs like the other Chosen. How could this guy have one that was male, then? "That can't be right…I saw a Ho-Oh a few weeks ago, and it didn't look like it had a trainer, and I think it might have been female."

The man looked suspicious. "Where was this?"

"Oh, uh…I can't remember," he said quickly.

Wes grunted. "Well, my Ho-Oh complains from time to time about some other Ho-Oh he used to know whenever he sees me and Rui getting 'affectionate'…shuts himself up in his Pokeball, muttering about a bitch and how he hates women. Maybe that was the one you saw…if you saw one at all, which I kinda doubt."

Ash nodded. "That must be it…Do you think I could see yours, then?"

The man winced. "He doesn't like being showboated around to fanboy trainers. Actually, he's not much help in battle either. He's too arrogant to listen to me and just does whatever he wants. Most of the times when I call him out he outright refuses to fight. He says that it's just not his purpose with me to fight regular battles. He's promised he'll fight with me on the battles he says we're 'destined' to fight together. Whatever that means. I think all that prophecy stuff is a bunch of baloney." Ash decided not brag about how Lugia had chosen him centuries before he was even born. The man put his hands in his pockets. "What's your name, kid?"

"I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town!" Ash said proudly and defiantly.

"Ash, huh? My name's Wes. I don't have a hometown or a last name that I know of, heck, half my life everyone around me just called me you." The only real exception to that Wes thought had been Gonzap, who always called Wes 'Boy.' "But hey, it's not like I need one." He smirked. "I'm not exactly what you'd call social, and I don't particularly like kids, but…there's something about you…" He chuckled. "Well, I wish you luck in this contest Ash Ketchum, you'll need it if you're going to fight me for that rock. And you'll need a lot more than that in the Hoenn championships, when we both face each other."

"I'll look forward to it," said Ash, a smirk much like Wes' on his face.

Wes nodded. "Well, see ya kid." He walked off, followed by his Umbreon.

Pikachu groaned and shook his head. "Great, looks like we've found our Richie or Harrison for this League. I hope we don't lose to him in the championships only for him to lose to someone else, indicating we need still more training and causing us to set off to yet another new region and start all over again, again." Of course, that was too much of a mouthful for Ash to understand, but he still felt he had to say it, ever since Ash had beaten Gary, it was like there was something missing inside Ash, some drive he had always had before.

It was then that the front door to the big mansion opened up, catching the whole crowd of boyfriends' attention. A man wearing a typical white wig stepped out into the sunlight, his curly moustache bristling in the breeze. "Ladies, gentlemen, Pokemon, and little gray aliens who like to stick things into people's holes, lend me your ears! Not seriously, though, that would be disgusting." Everyone stared at him in confusion. "I am Horatio Nimsy-Porpington De-Mented XXIII, and I am proud to welcome you all to this year's Lover's Competition." He paused for a moment, then continued. "As contestants from previous years will remember, the competition consists of weaving your way through a complex and booby-trapped maze inside of my mansion, relying on the abilities of your Pokemon and your fairy godparents to make your way to the grand prize. However," he said, a deep-set scowl on his face. "A horde of Gulpin burst out from a pipeline underneath the maze and have currently infested it. Normally I would ignore them and send you into the maze anyway with the Gulpin gulpin' as they gulped down on you contestants, but the voices in my head said otherwise…So I'm afraid that this year we will be doing the competition differently than usual." He grinned impishly. "The voices in my head will select four of you brave young men to fight against each other in a short Pokemon tournament right here on the lawn. Good thing I had each of you bring one Pokemon, eh?" He grinned and stepped aside to reveal the beautiful sculpted water stones. "Whoever wins the tournament will receive this sculpture. Second place nets them fifty bucks, fourth place a hunk of charcoal, and third place my favorite brassiere."

Ash stared at the clearly insane man in disbelief. "This guy's crazier than the guy who ran that Trick House!" Pikachu nodded in agreement, at least that crazy guy had pizzazz!

Horatio held up a hand to silence the onslaught of angry shouts and protests at how stupid this was from all the hopeful competitors. "Now, now, I will need absolute silence to hear the voices!" He closed his eyes, stuck a finger on his forehead, and spun around three times on his right foot. When he stopped, his eyes flew open and he pointed at someone in the crowd. "You! The man with the cyborg arm, blue hair, and Chimecho hat! Come up here!"

"Who, me?" asked James in disbelief.

"Yes you, get up here!" James swiftly complied, shoving his way past the angry, angry men to reach the foot of the stairs leading up to the mansion's front door. "You're one of the four contestants who will compete for the grand prize!"

"I am?" James asked in disbelief. "Did you hear that, Chimecho? We may have a chance after all!"

"Chiiiii!" agreed his faithful Pokemon.

"Now let's see, our second contestant will be…you, the vampire in the blue cape, with your dark familiar next to you!" said Horatio, pointing at Wes.

Wes rolled his eyes. "I'm not that pale, am I?" Umbreon gave no reply as the two started for the stairs.

"Now, for our third contestant…you, the handsome young pharaoh, wearing the red and black crown signifying dominion over Upper and Lower Egypt, with your golden uraeus!" cried Horatio, pointing to Ash. "Lu-Gi-Oh!"

Ash sweatdropped. "Is he talking about us?" Pikachu made a crazy sign saying "Uhc-ak-ip," as they headed up for the steps. James glared at Ash as he came up, while Wes just smirked. James secretly knew his chances for victory had just went out the window.

"And for our final contestant…" Horatio's eyes rolled up in his sockets and he spoke in tongues for several seconds. "You! You glorious, beautiful thing, you golden example of masculinity and beauty, with your majestic black dragon! Come up here, O great Adonis!"

James looked at the others. "How come we didn't get that appraising an introduction?"

The crowd parted like the Red Sea before Moses or a bachelorette party before Brock, revealing two people of such exquisite beauty that they could not possibly be human, and yet they seemed to be. Like someone had taken humanity's best features, and exaggerated them to the point of absurdity. One was male, one was female, and it was to the male that the madman Horatio had referred to. He was seven feet tall, his body bulging outward with chiseled, toned muscles that looked like they had been sculpted from stone rather than formed from exercise. His perfect chest was covered in a very tight red T-shirt that did nothing to hide his bulging muscles. His baggy blue jeans were not loose enough to conceal his enormous groin, the envy of all other men in the world. His feet were covered in hiking boots that looked like they had just been purchased from the store, which was odd since the thirty or fifty Pokeballs hanging from his belt indicated he was a trainer, and trainer's clothes were usually worn out or dirty in some way from their lengthy travels. Not to mention of course it was completely illegal for any trainer in existence to carry more than six Pokemon at once. His face was so handsome that any woman who looked upon it would fall instantly and madly in love with him and probably many men would too, if it weren't for the fact that every part of his face was so beautiful it actually clashed with the rest of his face, making it seem garish and ugly. It was hard not to be nauseated by his sapphire blue eyes and hair that seemed to be made of spun gold, because it was so cliché if anything else. There was just something so non-human about it. Standing next to him was a shiny black Salamence with silver horns, white wings, glassy blank yellow eyes, and a crimson belly. A shining Pokemon. The rarest of the rare. Most trainers lived and died without ever even seeing one, believing them to be myths.

The female was so perfect and beautiful she could easily have been mistaken for a goddess. She wore a beautiful silk dress with sequins, pearls, and diamonds sewn into its fabric, along with colorful images of flowers, trees, butterflies, unicorns, etc. Her feet were in excessively high heels that not even a supermodel would be caught dead in wearing, because their ankles would probably break from trying to walk around in them, yet the woman seemed to be perfectly all right. Though one must wonder how she could possible go on the road training with shoes and a dress like that. Her skin was so pale that she looked almost like an albino, but she was in broad daylight and didn't seem to be suffering, so there had to be something else going on. Her dainty pink nails were filed to exquisite points, and each finger was clad in sparkling jeweled rings. When Wes and Ash looked her hair was red, when James looked her hair was yellow, it seemed to change to be the ideal of the man looking. The same could be said of her eyes, which switched colors in the same manner. This flawed her otherwise perfect face, so although at first and probably the next several glances she looked beautiful, the eyes and hair were just too weird. That didn't stop lots of guys from drooling all over her very large bosom, though…or maybe they were admiring the solid gold brooch with a tiny jagged chip of some strange purple crystal framed in it. It was probably just the sunlight or the girl's skin, which oddly enough seemed to glow, but it almost looked like the crystal itself was being illuminated from within. Oh, and she had both wolf and cat ears, three fox tails, and angelic wings, but only our heroes seemed to think there was anything wrong with that. But since nobody else was saying anything, none of them thought of speaking out.

On her shoulder was a Vulpix. Or was it an Eevee? No, wait it was actually a Pikachu…a red-brown shiny female Pikachu, in fact. Silly me, how could I mistake a mouse for a fox? Unlike the Salamence however, this Pokemon's eyes were full of emotion. Pikachu was startled as he looked into them from Ash's hat. Even from a great distance, he somehow felt like she was in deepest and uttermost misery and sorrow.

Such sorrow…not even Latias, who still occasionally regressed into bouts of depression when something reminded her very painfully of how much she had lost, had that much misery in her eyes. After a moment, the shiny Pikachu looked away, leaving our hero Pikachu feeling confused. What the heck was that? She doesn't look abused, I'm far off but I don't see any scars or anything…what's wrong with her?

"cum demondeathkillr!" said the handsome man. "letz winn mi butifull angel fromm heavn her treazur."

James looked dumbstruck (more so than normal). "That had to be the worst english I have ever heard." Ash and Wes nodded in mute agreement.

The girl caressed the man's arm, looking up at him with love in her eyes…or was it just lust? "Oh darling, win me that sculpture and I promise you a hot night of torrid lovemaking." She only looked about fourteen. What was she doing having sex at that age?

"Nything for u, mi angel," said the man, heading up to the steps with his weird Salamence. He stopped at the bottom and looked up at Horatio with the kind of arrogance that almost isn't arrogance, where you believe you are so far above everyone else you don't even need to act superior to them because you know you already are. "I iz Berry Stoo, end thiz r demondeathkillr. We iz goeng too winn!"

Horatio smiled. "I don't doubt you will at that, Mr. Stoo. Now, everybody else, get lost, you are not wanted here. Except for you, my gorgeous Aphrodite," he said to the garishly beautiful woman. "Leave now or I will unleash my Houndoom with Beedrill in their mouths so that when they bark they spit flaming Beedrill and show on my giant outside screen TV Miror B's latest music video direct from prison!"

A giant TV popped up from nowhere behind him and clicked on to show a man in a dance pose with a huge afro and sun glasses dressed in a sparkling black and white striped prison uniform. "Yow!" Said Miror B on the TV, and the mad man quickly hit pause on the VCR. Growling and hurling numerous death threats at Horatio, yet not wanting to subject themselves to such artistic horror, the crowd reluctantly went away, leaving Ash, Pikachu, James, Chimecho, Wes, Umbreon, Berry, demondeathkillr, Horatio, and the woman and her Pikachu behind. Horatio tossed costumes to the four contestants. "Now, quickly, get into these costumes!"

"Why?" asked Ash, looking at his costume dubiously.

"Because if you don't, I'll hit play on the VCR!"

Wes was already pulling off his coat. "I'd do what he says if I were you, kid. You don't want anything to do with anything associated with Miror B." He shuddered. "I still have nightmares about his dancing Ludicolo."

"I always thought it was kind of catchy," Umbreon muttered.

Wes rolled his eyes. "Of course you would, you're a Dark-type."

Umbreon frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" Wes didn't answer.

A few minutes later, the four contestants were in their respective costumes. James was wearing a very frilly pink ballerina outfit and tutu. He looked comfortable in it. Almost too comfortable. Wes had used face paint to make himself very pale, put red contacts in his eyes, fangs in his mouth, a black wig on his hair, and a flowing red cape. He had no expression on his face at all. Ash had been forced to take off his shirt and vest, and replace his shoes and pants with sandals and a kilt. He had managed to keep his hat, but he had to put an Egyptian headdress over it. He also had a white cape with a big gold eye symbol on it. Ash glowed red, praying nobody ever found out about this. Berry had stripped off all his cloths and was wearing a Speedo, revealing a body covered in scars that was still somehow extremely attractive. The pig couldn't have looked more confident. Horatio, the woman, and James all ogled at him.

"I'm glad we didn't have to put anything on," Pikachu muttered to Umbreon.

The fox glared. "Do NOT give the crazy human ideas!"

"As if he can understand us."

"Ah-ha! The voices tell me next year to include costumes for the Pokemon!" cried Horatio.

The fox growled. "There's no way!" Pikachu defended.

Horatio clapped his hands. "Now, let's begin the tournament!" he said, grinning gleefully. "Adonis, Pharaoh, send forth your familiars to battle in your name!"

"Uh, I guess that means you, Pikachu," said Ash, feeling slightly chilly without his shirt. He shivered and wrapped his cape around himself as a breeze blew past.

"U go two, demondeathkillr!" commanded Berry.

The woman sighed, causing her ample bosom to heave. "Oh, Berry, you're so assertive, just like in bed!" Ash and Wes shuddered.

"Okay Pikachu, we've handled tough Dragon Pokemon before. They're strong against electricity, but they can still be worn down by it anyway. Try to do what we did to Dragonite back in the Orange Islands!" Ash instructed.

Pikachu grinned, knowing exactly what Ash was telling him. He started dashing towards the colored Salamence with Agility, planning to chain a series of quick moves together to get behind the dragon, run up its tail, and secure a position between the beast's horns, where he'd be able to shock the helpless opponent into submission.

Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance. "Demondeathkillr, use super l33t awwsum attak that alwayz wins the fight!" commanded Berry.

The Salamence opened its mouth and spewed an incredibly flashy beam of light at the startled Pikachu, striking him before he could dash out of the way, causing a huge explosion that ripped a crater too deep to see the bottom of into Horatio's front lawn yet somehow sent Pikachu flying into Ash's arms burnt and bruised, yet not even remotely dead or even bleeding as one might expect. "Oh no, Pikachu!" cried Ash. "Are you okay, buddy?"

Pikachu moaned. "Ow…that move…how'd he get so strong?"

Horatio raised a hand. "This match goes to the great Adonis!"

"Yes, I iz winner!" said Berry, not even bothering to give credit to his Salamence. "I R0XX0RS, you SUXX0R, l00zr!"

The woman clapped, causing her breasts to bob up and down. "Oh, I knew you could do it my love! That weak trainer and his no doubt abused Pikachu are no match for special people like us! If all the trainers in Hoenn are like this, it'll be easy to win the Championships and claim our seventh regional victory!" The sad-eyed shiny Pikachu on the woman's shoulder shook her head and looked away.

The cruel words stung Ash deeply. They thought they were weak? He and Pikachu and the others had been spending every free hour they could training for the championships, and they thought they were weak? The handsome man's Salamence had taken out Pikachu in one shot. Had his years of traveling, training, and badge collecting all been for nothing? His heart sinking, he started to walk away. How could he possibly compete against this trainer if he fought him again in the Hoenn League? "Oh pharaoh!" cried Horatio. Ash looked up. "You forgot your prize! Since you lost the first match, that puts you in fourth place!" The crazy man tossed Ash a large hunk of charcoal. He caught it by reflex and looked at it sadly. He was in fourth place. James would lose the next match, that was a given, but it meant everyone already knew he would actually get further than Ash. That stung too. And what's worse, he had nothing to give to Misty…

"Ash…" Pikachu whispered, not liking the look on his trainer's face.

James felt himself feeling oddly divided for the twerp. On the one hand, now the twerp knew what it was like to lose so horribly and easily, but on the other hand he felt sad for Ash. The poor boy looked absolutely heartbroken at his failure. James felt he had to do something. He turned to Wes. "Hey," he hissed.

Wes, who also couldn't help feeling somewhat bad about Ash's dismal loss, looked over. "Yeah?"

James hesitated, realizing what he was about to do, yet continued anyway. "…Look, I know I'm a bad guy, and I hate the twerp and all, but I don't think he deserved this to happen to him. He's really a good kid. I know I don't stand a chance against you in the next match, so I want you to do your best to try and take that jerk out, for the twerp's sake."

Wes looked surprised at James' request. "…Huh. Maybe there's hope for you yet, Cipher." He smirked. "Umbreon and I will do our best, won't we old friend?" His partner nodded.

"Thanks," replied James, meaning it.

"Prince of Darkness! Ballerina man! You two are up!" called Horatio.

The two trainers and their Pokemon walked away from each other then turned to face their opponent. "I'll go first!" said James. "Chimecho, use Astonish!"

"Chiiii!" Chimecho started glowing blue.

James groaned. "No, Astonish, not Safeguard!"

Wes smirked and shook his head. "All too easy. Umbreon, break through that force field with Faint Attack!" The dark fox vanished in the blink of an eye, reappearing behind Chimecho and smashing into the Wind Chime, shattering the force field and sending Chimecho flying.

James panicked. "Oh no! Dark attacks do double damage against Psychic types! Chimecho, quick, use Heal Bell!"

"Chimecho!" Chimecho's eyes started glowing blue and a blue aura surrounded Umbreon, doing absolutely no damage because he was immune to psychic attacks.

"No, Heal Bell, not Psychic!" James cried in dismay.

Wes shook his head. "Umbreon, finish this off with Bite attack."

Umbreon crouched down, coiling he leg muscles, and sprung into the air, fangs bared. "Chimecho, get out of the way!" cried James.

The Wind Chime smiled stupidly and didn't budge as Umbreon's jaws slammed shut on him, biting into him. Umbreon landed on the ground, shook Chimecho around in his mouth like a chew toy, then spat him out at James' feet. The Wind Chime was, naturally enough, out cold, but he still had a happy smile on his face. James sighed. "I knew this was going to happen, but it still hurts."

Wes himself felt a tiny bit guilty. (Hours later) "That didn't feel as good as it should have."

"The Prince of Darkness is the winner!" shouted Horatio. "Now he and Adonis shall advance to the final bout! Oh, and Ballerina Man…" He tossed James a very large and frilly bra. "This is yours now."

James smiled faintly. "Well, at least it's my size." Cradling Chimecho, he walked over to the depressed Ash. "Hey twerp?"

"Yeah?" asked Ash, not in the mood for insults.

"I'm sorry." Ash blinked and looked at the thief in surprise. "Don't think we're not still enemies or anything, but I actually felt bad about you losing. You shouldn't have gone down so easily. You and Pikachu are too tough." He smiled, almost. "I can attest to that. I'm sure you'll do better when you take on that loud mouth in the Hoenn League!" James became himself again. "If you ever actually face him since we shall have captured your Pikachu by then!" Pikachu may have been down and out, but he still managed to give off some sparks and a dark look. "Maybe I'll just take up knitting like I wanted to in the first place," James corrected, really not wanting to be blasted off on his own. "You and your Pikachu are just too tough."

"…Thanks." Ash couldn't understand why, but he actually felt a little better. Who would have thought that one of his not-so-mortal enemies would be the one to help him regain some of his confidence?

"Let's watch this next fight," returned James. "Your friend there will set that arrogant handsome dreamboat right on his rear end."

Wes and Berry had prepared their Pokemon for battle and were ready to start. "Umbreon, you saw what that attack did to the kid's Pikachu, so let's not let it happen to us! Use Double Team to confuse that thing first and avoid the attack!"

Obeying, Umbreon started moving sideways in a circle around the Salamence so fast that he left after-images of himself behind, all of which were designed to confuse demondeathkillr and keep him from figuring out which was the real thing.

Berry was unfazed. "Demondeathkillr, use super l33t awwsum attak that alwayz wins the fight!"

Demondeathkillr opened its mouth and fired an intense white beam at one of the Umbreon surrounding it, causing a huge explosion and another mile-deep crater. Wes smirked. "Ha! You mi-" To his horror, a beaten and defeated Umbreon was flung out of the smoke. "What! But…but that was just an after-image!" Wes knew from years with Umbreon how to tell the Double Team fakes from the original. "How did you hit him!"

"Becoz I is l33t and u iz not! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!" laughed Berry.

Wes was shaking from rage. "What are you!" The Swinub didn't even notice him. "You or your fighter can't possible be human or pocket monster!"

"Oh, Berry!" cried the woman, running over and hugging him. "You did it!" She smothered him with kisses.

"Adonis is the winner!" cried Horatio. "Here is his prize!" He tossed the small but heavy statue to Berry, who caught it easily.

"4 U, mi belovd Maria Susanson," he said, handing her the statue.

"Oh, thank you!" The woman, now known as Maria Susanson, hugged it to her chest and glanced at the red-brown Pikachu with the infinitely sad eyes on her shoulder. "Isn't it almost as pretty as me, Pika Pika?" The Pikachu sighed deeply and miserably.

"They don't deserve that thing," growled James.

"Yeah, but what're you gonna do? Steal it?" asked Wes as he came over with the limping Umbreon.

James shook his head. "No, I suck at stealing things. Why don't you do it? You have the look of a former thief to me."

Wes sighed. "I would, but Rui gets angry when I steal things. Even if I don't tell her, she always knows when I've stolen something, which results in a long, boring moralistic lecture about how I'm reformed now and stealing things is wrong and I'm so sick of it I actually keep from stealing things so she'll just keep her mouth shut." He looked at the fifty bucks he had just received from Horatio. "Oh well, at least I got something out of this. Not a lot, but something."

James nodded. "Me too, though I doubt Jessie will be happy that I come back empty-handed."

"But you got that bra," Ash pointed out in confusion.

James blinked and held up the bra. "Oh, this? No, I'm keeping it for myself." Ash and Wes stared at him for several seconds, then backed away slowly.

"Oh, Ballerina Man!" cried Horatio, attracting their attention. "You wouldn't happen to have a lady friend who likes Pokemon contests, would you?"

James looked at the crazy man in surprise. "Why yes, how did you know?"

"The voices told me," Horatio said. He tossed James a Pokeball. "Here, I found this lying around. The Pokemon inside may not seem like much, but given the right care and training it can become a beautiful contest winner!"

James squealed with joy. "Thank you, Mr. Nimsy-Porpington De-Mented XXIII!"

"Don't mention it. Now give me back my costumes and get off my property before I release the Houndoom with Beedrill in their mouths and the dancing Miror B. video!" Horatio barked. Frightened, they all complied.

"Ohhh . . . can't we stay?" Asked Umbreon, Wes didn't bother to recall him, he just pulled the black fox away by the tail with a yelp.

…

The automatic glass doors to the Pokemon Center slid open, letting Ash, Wes, Pikachu and Umbreon in. Both Pokemon were already looking much better, it seemed as if Demondeathkillr's attack was mostly flash in the end, despite its supposed power. "You gonna be okay, kid?" asked Wes.

Ash nodded. "Yeah…you didn't have to escort me back here, you know."

Wes shrugged. "Eh, I felt like it. It's on my way back to where Rui and I camped out outside of town anyway." He paused. "You still look a little down, though. What's wrong?"

Ash sighed. "Well…it's just that I was entering the contest to win that sculpture for my girlfriend, just like you were. But not only did I get in last place, I got this!" he said, holding up the lump of charcoal. "How'm I supposed to give her this as a Luvdisc Day present!"

Wes shrugged. "You could just call her up and say you love her a hundred times. That always gets Rui happy with me again whenever I do something that sets her off."

"I guess I could do that…" Ash said reluctantly. "But it doesn't feel like it's enough, somehow. We just got together a couple of months ago, you know, and I feel like…well, like I should do something special for her. Something to show her how much I care about her and all that. She's all the way in another region, and it's like talking to her every time I get to a Pokemon Center isn't enough. I wanna do something bigger than that, something that'll make her smile and be all happy and stuff."

Wes shrugged. "Well kid, I'm afraid I can't help you there. That's something you'll have to handle on your own. Every girl is different. Me, I'm gonna use that money I won and buy Rui something. She said she'd like a Pokemon of her own." He glanced at Pikachu and smirked. "Maybe a Pichu…although they are kinda expensive. Maybe I'll get her a charm bracelet or something instead." He nodded to Ash and headed for the doors, trailed by his faithful Umbreon. "But first I should see if I can't find that little rat James, I lost track of him while we were running from those crazy Houndoom. If I run into him or his buddies, you can be sure they'll regret ever joining Cipher. But if I don't find em'…well, I have other sources that I'd trust more than a bunch of low-life crooks." He made a twisted grin. "But if they think that being here can derail my plans to win in this League, they're dead wrong. Hope I'll be seeing you at the Hoenn Championships, kid."

Ash smirked. "I said don't call me kid…and yeah, I'll beat you too!"

Wes chuckled. "Heh. We'll see about that." The man and his Umbreon went back out the sliding doors, leaving Ash and Pikachu by themselves.

Ash smiled. "That Wes…he might a bit full of himself, but I don't think he's all bad, right?" Pikachu nodded in agreement.

The doors slid open again, and the rest of Ash's team walked in, save for Corphish. "Hey Ash!" said Latias telepathically, waving to him.

"Hey guys," he said, walking over to them. "How was your shopping thing?"

Phanphy walked over, licking an ice cream cone and wearing a cute orange scarf. "It went great, daddy! Brother Charizard got me some ice cream, and Aunt Latias got me this scarf! She says it brings out the color of my skin."

Bayleef held out a pair of sunglasses on a vine. "I found some shades for Grovyle-kun. I remember how cool Squirtle looked with his shades, so I thought Grovyle might appreciate them."

"I didn't get anything," said Charizard unhappily. "Everything I saw was either too expensive, or touristy cr-junk." Charizard was quick to correct himself when the girls glared at him. "Nothing Charla would like. How about you?"

Pikachu sighed. "We got beat. Badly. I went down in one attack, but I feel better already."

"I met a new friend and a guy I'll look forward to beating in the championships, but this was all I got," said Ash, holding up the lump of charcoal.

Charizard gasped. His eyes widened. "Th-that's Grade-A carbogenated charcoal! The stuff fire Pokemon die to get their hands on!"

"Really?" blinked Ash in surprise.

Charizard nodded energetically. "Yes! Just a little of that stuff can make our fires burn brighter, our skin shinier, our teeth whiter and our claws sharper! Charla'd love it! Do…do you think I could…"

"Have it? Sure," said Ash, handing the dragon the coal. "I won't be needing it. I'm sure Charla'll like it."

Charizard's eyes looked like they were tearing up. "Thanks Ash, you don't know how much this means to me. This'll go a long way towards patching things up between Charla and me. You're such a good trainer. Much better than Damian ever was." He sniffed and rubbed at his face. "Think I got something in my eye…"

Ash sighed. "Well, I'm glad you guys had fun, but I still don't have anything for Misty! What am I gonna do?"

The glass doors slid open as someone new came in. "Never fear, my friend! I'm here to save the day!"

They stared in disbelief at the newcomer. Phanphy dropped his ice cream cone in shock. "Uncle Corphish, is that you!"

Corphish, who had grown quite a lot bigger, gotten blue stripes on his mouth, had his eyes sunken in, and obtained a golden star on his forehead, chortled in a deeper voice than the one they had become accustomed to. "Ho ho, I'm Uncle Corphish no longer! You can call me Uncle Crawdaunt now!"

"I . . I . . " Latias gasped silently and said mentally. "I can't hear what he's thinking at all!" Latias had always been told how Dark Types were mostly immune to the abilities of Psy-Pokemon, and had seen it first hand before. But, for it to be someone personally she knew was a shock. It was like he had become a machine, no different from a store dummy. She did her best to stay quiet about this fact however. She could still understand what he was saying, thankfully, but she couldn't hear the thought behind it.

Ash was amazed. One of his Pokemon had evolved! "Wow, Cor-I mean, Crawdaunt! When did this happen?"

"Right in the middle of my climax with one of the little lady Luvdisc. I guess that conquest gave me enough experience to evolve, heh heh. The ladies were all over me after it was done."

Bayleef looked at him, very unconvinced. "Uh huh, and you got those dents and cracks in your new armor in a moment of passion right?"

"What armor?" Crawdaunt asked, thrown off balance.

"The one you're covered in that's full of dents which are shaped like the fins of angry male Luvdisc."

"Well, ya know how it gets and-"

"All the girls were taken, you tried to enter claimed territory, and learned the meaning of the word 'No.'"

Crawdaunt had to get off this subject. "Anyway, I heard your plight, and you'll be pleased to know I found something on the river bottom as I was finishing my business with the Luvdisc school-"

"He was hiding in the mud from the angry mob," Bayleef injected.

"-that'll make the little missus Ketchum happy!" He opened one of his giant claws, dropping a marvelous perfectly shaped pink pearl on the ground. "Ta-da!"

"It's so pretty!" described Phanphy's wonder, his awe at its shininess reflecting in his black eyes.

"What is it?" inquired Bayleef as Ash picked it up.

"I think it's called a Big Pearl, Lisa had one," recalled Charizard. "I hear those things sell for quite the pretty penny. They're also very popular among the ladies. It's not a pair of giant Water Stones, but its pretty damn-I mean, darn good anyway!" he said as Latias glared at him.

Ash grinned and bent down to hug Corphish. "Wow, and just a little while ago I felt like this was the worst day ever! But now Corphish has evolved, I found a new friend and a present for Misty, and we all generally did well for ourselves! This Luvdisc Day is the best!"

…

Meanwhile in Petalburg…

"May!" Max snapped. "Stop looking at that picture already and help me get the decorations up! Mom and dad will be home soon!"

"In a minute," the coordinator replied, her hair out of her bandanna. She was looking at a picture of herself, Ash, Max and Brock after he had beaten her father. She had lied to Max that day, she said she was upset too that dad had lost. In fact she had been happy more than anything that Ash had won. I thought for sure that he'd call today. Maybe I should have called him first after all…oh I have no idea where he is! The problem with Ash still being on the road was that she had no idea where he'd go next, which made it difficult to keep in touch with him. He typically called her (along with his other friends) whenever he got to a Pokemon Center, but she hadn't heard from him yet, or in the last couple of days either. We became friends on the day we met. Am I really no different from those we, you met on the road? A strong wind blew the picture out of her hands, strange since there were no windows in the room. She was quick to follow, its flight didn't last long. It had gotten impaled on a piece of equipment left out from the other day. It had gone right between herself and Ash "…No…he emotionally idealistic child whispered.

…

Back in town…

"Hey, speak for yourself Pikapi. All that happened to me was I got beaten by a crazy attack from an even crazier Pokemon," complained Pikachu. "And saw the weirdest colored Pikachu with the strangest eyes…"

As if on cue, the Center doors slid open yet again and the aforementioned red-brown Pikachu ran in, gasping for breath. Noticing Ash and friends, she ran up to them, looking desperate. "Hide me," she breathed.

Pikachu blinked. "What's going-"

The doors slid open once more as Mariah Susanson came in. The shiny Pikachu's heart sank. "Too late," she whispered.

"Oh, there you are!" Mariah cooed, swooping down and picking the Pikachu back up, ignorant of the miserable expression on her face. "I've been looking all over the place for you, Pika Pika! Why'd you run off?" The Pikachu moaned but said nothing. "I was so worried! I hope she wasn't a bother," she said to Ash. "It's as much my fault as hers for not keeping an eye on her, she's always running off for one reason or another, silly thing. But you must know all about that, having a Pikachu of your own," she said, noticing Pikachu.

"Uh, actually-" started Ash.

"Well, we must be going now, we have to head for the next gym. We'll see you at the Hoenn championships, I suppose." She smiled and addressed her unhappy Pikachu. "Come on Pika Pika, let's give you a good long rest." She started for the exit. Pika Pika looked back at the heroes pleadingly before the glass doors slammed shut, blocking their view of her.

The heroes looked at the door awkwardly for a moment, uncertain what had just happened. Pikachu had the vaguest feeling he should have done something, but wasn't sure what. She was so dead inside, Pikachu thought. In a flash Pikachu ran outside, but when he got there, the female Pikachu, and her master, were gone.

"Pikachu?" Ash asked, confused by his friend's actions.

"She wanted me to help, Ash. Forget Damian and the other abusive trainers we've seen, that woman, there was something that screamed wrong about her." Looking around and seeing no one, Ash picked up his friend and went back inside, feeling compelled to just forget what had happened.

"That was strange…" muttered Crawdaunt.

"So…uh, Latias," said Ash, changing the subject and feeling like he was being pushed away from it rather than wanting to stop thinking about it. "Did you find anything today?"

"Me?" she asked, looking startled. "Oh…no, I was fine window-shopping," she lied. She had actually felt very distressed and unhappy, because she had been reminded so much of her shopping trips with Bianca and the fun they had used to have, and that just opened a whole other kettle of fish from there: feelings of longing for Bianca and Lorenzo, for Vincentio and Marcella, pretty much everyone in Alto Mare, and for her brother, whom she thought she had gotten over months ago.

Ash shrugged. "Okay then…so, other than Pikachu, I guess we all had a pretty good Luvdisc Day."

"And I'm not so sure it was that bad anymore," Pikachu muttered, thinking of the shiny Pikachu with the sad eyes. Or maybe I can turn it into something good. I'll see her at the tournament…

"Yeah, I guess we did," Latias said, forcing a smile. She didn't think it had been that good. All of them had found something good for themselves or their loved ones. Ash had a new friend, new rivals, and a gift for Misty. Bayleef had a gift for Grovyle. Charizard had something for Charla. Phanphy had gotten a nice scarf. And Pikachu had something strange going on with that horribly named 'Pika Pika', she was sure of it. But what did she have to show for this day dedicated to the celebration of love? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Or so she thought…

…

Jessie glared at James. James cowered, sweating in fear. Instead of patiently waiting for Wes to come after him, he had run away at the first chance he had gotten. He was thrilled at the possibility of getting Cacnea to stop trying to kill him, but he realized that if he allowed some stranger to have all their Pokemon Jessie would kill him far more thoroughly than a bloodthirsty cactus ever could. Of course, at the moment it looked like she would kill him anyway. "James…" she growled.

"Yes Jessie?" he asked meekly.

"You call this a Luvdisc Day present!" she snarled, pointing at a nearby pond.

"This" was a small, oval-shaped somewhat flat brown fish with shedding skin, blue fins, and sunken eyes. It was a very ugly Feebas, the Pokemon Horatio had given James. Meowth thought it looked disgusting, and he usually ate fish. Another certain ugly Pokemon didn't think she looked that bad.

The Feebas it turned out had been originally -another- catch for -another- lady's Luvdisc present only to be dumped over the side of the mansion's walls.

"Well," said James weakly. "I didn't know it was a Feebas at the time. The crazy man who gave it to me just said it was good in Pokemon contests. And it is, Jessie, honest it is!" he said desperately as he saw veins starting to bulge out of her forehead. "According to the Cipher handbook, all we have to do is feed it lots of Beauty Pokeblock and it will evolve into a gorgeous Milotic! That'll surely win Pokemon contests!"

Jessie's veins grew larger. "Pokeblock! POKEBLOCK! Where are we supposed to get that!"

"Well, maybe we could steal it or make it legitimately from berries?" he suggested timidly.

"Maybe we could…" Jessie said slowly. "BUT IT ALSO DOESN'T HELP THAT WE HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE WHATSOEVER OF HOW TO RECOGNIZE OR MAKE BEAUTY POKEBLOCK AND YOUR STUPID CHIMECHO ATE ALL YOUR NOTES ON THE SUBJECT!"

"Oh," said James, fearing for his life.

"What were you thinking, bringing that, that…HIDEOUS…thing anywhere near me!" Jessie screamed, pointing at Feebas.

The Feebas burst into tears. "She hates me! I can't help being ugly, I was born this way!"

"I know how you feel," said Wobbuffet sympathetically. "Nobody here likes me either. And if it helps, I don't think you're that bad-looking."

Feebas sniffed. "Thanks. But if they hate you, why do you stay?"

"…Because she, I'm hoping maybe I can change her…" he muttered. "Although I'm really starting to think it's not worth it."

"And not only did you get me a hideous fish instead of the Water Stones, you were near the twerp and several rare and powerful Pokemon including Pikachu and didn't even try to steal them! What were you thinking! What am I saying, you never think!" Jessie said, continuing her rant.

"Well, all I had was Chimecho, and you know he's not much good in a fight," said James weakly. "And…I kind of felt sorry for the twerp."

This was the worst thing he could possibly say. "Sorry! SORRY!" she screamed, pulling out a giant paper fan.

James sweatdropped. "This is going to hurt, isn't it?"

The following beating was so gruesome and violent that it had to be censored from this story for its graphic content. Meowth nearly choked to death from laughter.

On the plus side, James finally got his Snag Device off.

…

A couple of days later…

Misty frowned at her reflection in the mirror on her closet door. "Hmmm…" She was trying on a new outfit. It wasn't much, just a lovely deep red sleeveless shirt and shorts, but they reminded her of the very nice dream she had had recently where she had beaten up a hideous phoenix monster and kissed Ash. She now looked sort of like she was wearing red armor, but it still felt like something was missing. She sighed and turned around to Togetic, who was sitting on her bed. "What do you think?"

Togetic rubbed her chin for a moment, then flew past Misty into the closet, rummaged through the junk there for a moment, and pulled out a large Gyarados-patterned mallet and a belt strap. "How's this?"

"Hey, thanks!" Enthused, Misty took the mallet and strapped it to her back, looping the belt over her shoulder. "Perfect! It's not a sword, but it's the perfect weapon for the modern Amazon warrior!" she said, admiring herself in the mirror. It was then that the Gym's front doorbell rang.

She had to make a detour on the way down because, as Corsola frantically told her when they bumped into each other, Psyduck was drowning himself in the pool again, so the yellow duck tagged along with her when she opened the front door. A large Pidgeot was standing on the doorstep, with a banner on its side proclaiming it was working for the Hoenn Post Office. The giant bird nudged a package towards her with its beak and held out a clipboard for her to sign to indicate she had received the package. "I don't remember ordering anything…" she muttered. She signed the clipboard. The Pidgeot tucked it under its wing and held out its other claw, standing like that for several seconds before Misty understood what it wanted. "You want a tip!" The Pidgeot nodded. "Oh, all right…" She paid the post-bird, and it flew away.

She picked up the package and carried it into the kitchen, where she borrowed Staryu's sharp-edged arms to cut open the box. (She had thrown out all the sharp utensils to keep Psyduck from poking his eyes out with them and because Togepi kept playing with them before she evolved.) Sifting through the generic packing material inside, she found a small piece of paper, with the writing "From Ash, to Misty: Love you lots! Happy Luvdisc Day!" Pleasantly surprised, and realizing this must have been the 'gift' Ash had not-so-subtly hinted at in his call just a couple of days ago when it was indeed Luvdisc Day, she reached deeper into the package and gasped in disbelief when she pulled out a fabulous pink pearl.

Togetic stared at in awe, her eyes glistening with wonder. "It's so shiny…"

Misty was speechless for several seconds. When she finally said something, it was in a very quiet, yet very happy voice. "Togetic…remind me to kiss your father the next time I see him, okay?"

"Pretty…" It was then that Psyduck, mesmerized by the beauty of the pearl, jumped up and enclosed the startled Misty's entire hand in his beak, sucking the pearl out and down his throat.

Misty looked shocked at her moronic Pokemon for several seconds before exploding. "YOU LITTLE…GIVE ME BACK THAT PEARL!" She picked up the duck, slammed him on the counter, and started pounding on his stomach in an attempt to get him to cough up the pearl.

Togetic sighed happily as Psyduck spat up the pearl, along with a tube of lipstick, a comb, a signed autograph from Dragon Master Lance, an entire chapter from Misty's favorite novel Gone with the Suicune, and Ash's original hat, which Misty had been looking for frantically for the last week. "I'm really glad to be home! It's a lot more interesting than Togepi's Paradise ever was!"

…

The night of Luvdisc Day…

Latias' eyes opened.

Her still-human head slowly rose off the pillow of her bed in one of the Pokemon Center's many rooms, her golden eyes scanning the chamber for the source of the noise that had woken her up. Her other friends were sleeping peacefully in their beds or cots, their slumber untroubled by bitter memories of the past. She immediately saw a discrepancy; the window was open, letting the breeze in. That must have been what had made the noise. How odd, she could have sworn it was closed when she had gone to bed.

She floated over to the windowsill to close it and paused, seeing something hanging from a branch on the tree right outside the window. It looked like an envelope, with something bulging in the center to show it contained more than a letter. In the dim light from the moon, she saw to her surprise that it was addressed to her.

Moving quietly so as not to disturb her friends, she reached out to the branch and pulled off the envelope. She cut it open with one of her claws and drew out the letter inside. The handwriting on it was instantly recognizable to her, and filled her heart with dread and a strange kind of joy.

My Dearest Latias,

I am sure you will remember, not so fondly, the last time I sent you a letter. As I have said, I am truly sorry for what I did before. But although I do not seek forgiveness, I still feel I must do something to make amends for my horrible actions in the past. Something to show you just how much I truly care for you, and perhaps awaken the feelings you conceal from yourself.

Open the locket enclosed within this envelope. Inside it is my gift to you. I think you will be very happy with it. Remember that I truly do love you, no matter what happens.

Happy Luvdisc Day.

Signed, the Ghost King.

Latias' fingers trembled and turned back into claws as she read the letter, resuming her true form. She wanted to tear it to pieces and throw it outside, along with whatever purported 'gift' he had sent her. She wanted nothing to do with the King of the Ghosts.

And yet she put down the letter, reached into the open envelope, and pulled out a small, simple gold heart-shaped locket. Knowing she probably shouldn't, yet dying to know what was inside, she opened the locket.

There was a burst of wondrous, golden light, more beautiful than anything she had ever seen, blinding her to the Pokemon Center room, to her friends, to anything but the light itself. And then something started to form in the light, a shape most familiar and beloved, causing Latias to gasp and shake her head, unable to believe that she was actually seeing this.

It was her brother. Latios had returned to her. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. "B-brother?" she whispered.

The larger blue and white dragon smiled at her, his red eyes gleaming. "Hey, sis-"

"Brother!" Latias charged at Latios, intending to hug him…and passed right through him. "Huh?" she was, needless to say, confused.

"-if you're watching this, then I guess I figured out how that ethereal recorder thing those mediums sent me works. Heh. Sorry I couldn't come visit you in person, I really wanted to, but…" he shrugged. "Well, I'm dead, you know? That's sort of a one-way thing. I didn't have any unfinished business or fears when I died, so I just came here. Didn't leave a ghost or anything. Sorry…" He smirked. "Bet you're wondering where 'here' is, aren't you?"

"Yeah, kind of," she muttered, even though she knew it was just a recording. Her heart sank a little. She had really thought for a moment that it had really been Latios. Even so, this was still an incredible gift, she realized after a moment. After all, how many people got to hear a message from their brother from beyond the grave?

"Well, as far as I can tell, I'm somewhere outside of time. Where that is in relation to our world, I couldn't begin to tell you. It's hard to calculate trajectory at right angles to infinity, after a few minutes of trying it makes your head explode. 'Course, since I'm already dead, it doesn't really do much…" he shrugged again. "Since this is outside of time, there's no time itself here, or something like that anyway, there aren't words in the language or symbols in telepathy to express it. So sometimes it feels like I just died a second ago, others like a million years. I'm still clinging to a sense of keeping track of time, so eternity confuses me. I'm sure it'll pass after a few aeons, though."

His expression turned serious. "I can see a lot of things from here, you know. Being outside of time lets you see quite a lot of it. I've seen what's been happening to you. I saw Alto Mare destroyed, Professor Oak's lab getting attacked, the bloodbath on Route 1, you getting captured and tortured in another dimension…if there's one regret I have about dying, it's that I wasn't there to protect you when you really needed it. I'm sorry, Latias."

"It's okay," she whispered, though she knew he couldn't hear it. Then again, maybe he could.

"So imagine my surprise when I get a message from mediums working for the very same guy who destroyed our hometown, killed our family, and practically sent you into exile asking me to help him make a gift for you to show how much he cares." He laughed. "I didn't believe him of course. At first anyway. But like I said before, being outside of time has its advantages. I looked up stuff on the Ghost King for myself. And all I can say is, wow. Really, wow. You'd never believe who he is, who he used to be. I'd tell you…" He grinned. "But we here on the other side have a tradition where we're all cryptic and stuff regarding really important things when we get contacted by people in the living world. It's a pain in the rear, but it's actually a loophole since we're not supposed to tell the living anything at all. You'll see for yourself when you give it a try sometime."

Latias couldn't help laughing. She had at first wondered if maybe this was just a fake, an illusion created by the Ghost King to fool her, but she didn't think so anymore. The way the figure in the message spoke, moved, smiled, looked at her with those eyes, she knew this Latios was no fake or forgery. He was the real thing. He was her brother, her Latios, She knew she could trust anything he had to say. And that's why she believed him completely when he continued his message.

"In any case, the King's legit. Really. He's honestly sorry about ruining your life somewhat, and he really does love you, with all his heart. I still wasn't quite sure about him even then, until I saw that kiss you two had. And even as you're overprotective big brother, I find there's nothing hurtful I can say about it to dissuade you from seeing the guy again. That kiss, it was just…" He looked at a loss for words. "Right. It looked so right, as if both of you had existed only to meet each other and kiss in that one, astonishing union of two souls." He shook his head. "I'm not telling you to get together with him though, that's still your choice. I just want you to do whatever makes you happy, Latias. I want to see you smile and laugh again like you did in the old days, and stop mourning me and the rest of us who died. Me, Bianca, Lorenzo, Vincentio and Marcella and so many others we've met in our lives, and some you haven't even met…we just want you to be happy, Latias. We want you to be happy, and free of your sorrows. We want you to move on, into whatever strange and exciting future is waiting for you. And at the very end, when you've had your run of life and are lying down for the final sleep, we'll be waiting for you in eternity, Latias. We'll be waiting for you.

"And remember, no matter what…we love you, Latias." Latios gave her one last smile…

And the golden light vanished back into the locket, closing itself up, and leaving Latias back in the room at the Pokemon Center, which she had never left. Tears, so many tears, tears of joy and sorrow, rolled down her cheeks. Quivering, a smile, a genuinely happy smile, came to her lips. "Thank you," she whispered, clutching the locket to her chest, brushing against the Dragon Flute

She looked out the window and up at the stars, where she now knew her brother and her family…as well as someone else, someone who she was only now starting to realize was more dear to her than she could have imagined…were watching over her. "Thank you," she whispered again, overwhelmed by joy, by longing, and most importantly, by love.

…

In two separate worlds, two males, one with red eyes and the other with yellow, who cared for Latias very much, just in different ways, smiled. "Happy Luvdisc Day, Latias."

…

Now, wasn't that sweet?