Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
Author Notes: Chapter 29 is here! Enjoy!
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Chapter 29 — Insurmountable Odds
Steven Stone looked at the young trainer and his Pokémon team with a proud expression. Ash truly was something else, given his relatively successful first Mega Evolution. He let out a sigh and gazed up at the evening sky and the orange hues of the setting sun. "Well then, Ash. Now that you're done trying out Pidgeot's Mega Evolution…" He paused and smirked slightly. "Are you ready for our battle? We better get on with it before it gets dark."
Ash turned to face the former champion and eagerly returned the smirk, raising a fist in determination. "I'm ready," he declared. "So, what's the plan?"
"I will grant you a one-on-one battle," Steven announced while crossing his arms. "I don't quite think you're ready for a full battle against me just yet. And, even if you were, this is not the place for such a thing."
Ash nodded in understanding. "That works. I wasn't expecting anything more than one-on-one, to be honest."
"Very well." Steven turned around and walked toward the trainer box closest to him. Steelix and Metagross wordlessly followed after him, one slithering heavily on the ground and the other levitating gracefully.
Ash took in a deep breath, eyeing the former champion's back as he walked away. Part of him felt immensely nervous and was acutely aware of the insurmountable odds that he was about to face. However, his reddish eyes narrowed with resolve. 'If I'm to become a Pokémon Master, then I have to face the best of the best sooner or later. Now is that time.' He retrieved Pidgeot's Poké Ball from his belt and pointed the device at her. "Pidgeot, you deserve a nice rest for now. Return."
"Good luck," Pidgeot said optimistically as the device's red energy enveloped and dematerialized her back inside.
"Thanks," Ash whispered to the Poké Ball, hooking it onto his belt afterward. He extended an arm down and waited for Pikachu to climb onto his shoulder. He then turned around and headed to the opposing trainer box drawn on the battlefield while silently mulling to himself.
Pikachu patted his head reassuringly. "You'll do well, Ash."
"Thanks, buddy," Ash responded gratefully, flashing him a smile. "I'm just a little nervous, that's all."
Cynthia gazed at the two trainers as they walked away from each other. This would be an interesting battle, she was certain. The Sinnoh Champion gestured for Garchomp, Bianca, and Brock to follow her to the arena's sideline benches.
Latias gently nuzzled her brother and gave him a supportive smile. "Good luck, Latios," she whispered. "And be careful out there." Latias levitated away and flew to Ash's side, leaving Latios alone in the center of the battlefield.
Latios let out a nervous chuckle, eyeing Steven and the two Pokémon flanking him intently. "I will, Latias. I will," he responded telepathically.
"I choose Latios!" Ash announced loudly. He reached up with a hand and grabbed the rim of his hat. With a confident gesture, he flipped the cap so it was facing backward. "We're ready."
Steven nodded in acknowledgment. "Very well. For this battle, I choose Meta—"
"Hold it!" a boisterous voice suddenly shouted, prompting both opposing trainers to glance sideways, from where the voice had originated.
The bushes rustled briefly and then parted away to reveal a diminutive Pokémon emerging from them. "If there's someone who'll get to battle the Legendary, that's me!" Mawile called out firmly while walking into the arena.
"…Were you hiding in the bushes all this time waiting for the right moment to come out?" Steelix asked curiously.
"No," Mawile lied.
"Okay," Steelix replied, not buying it.
"Mawile wishes to be the one to fight," Metagross translated telepathically for their trainer.
Cynthia stifled a giggle and shook her head a few times. "Why am I not surprised?" she mused to herself.
Steven looked at Mawile while silently pondering her request. Mawile winked at him over her shoulder and had the large jaws sprouting from her head form an eager grin. Steven glanced at Metagross, who merely shrugged in response. "You may battle," Steven conceded.
Mawile smirked openly, a glint of excitement flashing in her eyes. "Excellent."
"I will be using Mawile," Steven announced, shifting his gaze to Ash and Latios. "She will provide a formidable challenge. You can use her to gauge your strength if you one day wish to become powerful enough to properly challenge my Metagross."
Ash nodded. "Got it." He focused his attention on the Deceiver Pokémon. Unlike Metagross, he had personally seen her in action and was acutely aware of the power she possessed. 'She's also a fairy-type, right?' he thought, wanting to double-check.
"Yes," Latios answered telepathically. "There goes any chance of testing out my brand-new Dragon Pulse," he added with a hint of disappointment.
'We'll figure something out,' Ash thought in response. He took a deep breath and shifted his attention to his opponents. "We're ready."
"I promised you that I would give you all the respect you deserve and the right to face the full challenge that I can provide. As such, I will not hold back. And that means…" He reached into the pocket of his jeans and took out an ornamented pin that held a multicolored stone at its tip, which glimmered in response to his touch.
"I can't wait for this fight," Mawile commented eagerly, giving Latios an enthusiastic grin as the pink stone on her metallic belt began to glimmer in tandem with Steven's Key Stone. The Mega Stone abruptly released a potent flash of radiant multicolored light that completely enveloped Mawile's body. The light coalesced into a thick shroud of gold and ruby-red energy that completely obscured the steel-type's morphing and expanding body.
With her height more than doubled and another set of jaws sprouting from her head, Mawile let out a deep and resounding battle cry as the dense shroud of energy blew up in every direction, leaving a noticeable crater at her feet. A leaf-like sigil of rainbow light appeared over her body for a brief instant before dissipating into bright sparkles. "You're not the first Latios I've fought," Mawile began in a far raspier and deeper voice. "So, you better do well in comparison!"
Latios gasped and froze. His red eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, wait, hold on. You've… fought another Latios before?" he asked slowly, completely stunned.
Mawile paused and tilted her head. "I have, yeah." She frowned. "I figured you wouldn't be surprised by that. You are a Latios too, after all."
"I'm very much surprised and would like to know more," Latios admitted, thinking back to their arrival at the Pokémon Trainer's School a few days ago. The school's principal had mentioned that he knew of a couple of other trainers who possessed Legendary Pokémon. 'So, one must be a Latios,' Latios reasoned to himself. 'Who, though?'
"Huh. So, I'm not the only trainer with a Latios?" Ash asked curiously, looking between Steven and Mawile.
Steven looked at him thoughtfully, carefully picking his words. "Indeed, you are not," he confirmed. "Which wasn't something we were supposed to bring up, Mawile," he reprimanded his Pokémon sternly.
Mawile cringed and glanced over her shoulder. "Oh." She flashed her trainer an apologetic face, which was mimicked by her two sets of jaws. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine. Just be more careful with your boasts," Steven replied, understanding her speech through their Mega Evolution bond.
"Why weren't you going to talk about it, though?" Ash asked curiously. "I don't see what's the problem in telling me."
"Well, seeing as Mawile's brought it up, I guess I have to explain now," Steven conceded. "If you're not aware, that means you don't really follow the news that often?"
Ash shook his head. "I mostly just travel on my own, yeah. I don't pay too much attention to what's going on in the world."
Steven thought carefully for a moment, searching for the best way to word what he had to say. "Okay, there is indeed another trainer who owns a Latios out there. His name is Tobias. Both Cynthia and I have fought him in championship matches before. However, Cynthia knows him far better than I do as he's from Sinnoh. And, no, neither of us are aware of the origins of his Latios or know much about him in particular."
"I see," Latios murmured, looking into Steven's eyes for any sign of dishonesty, but found the former champion's expression to be genuine.
"The reason why neither of us brought it up is that it's not our place to do so," Cynthia explained from the sidelines, catching both the dragon and the younger trainer's attention. "What challenges and trainers you face on your journey are for you to find out and overcome, not for us to disclose and lay out for you. One day you may meet Tobias and talk to him yourself, possibly even battle him. Then you can ask him yourself all that you want to know."
Ash nodded slowly. "I guess that's true. I remember the old man at the school said something similar." He hummed in thought. "Tobias… I'll be sure to remember that name."
"Likewise," Latios agreed with a thoughtful expression on his face. A backward glance let him see that his sister looked equally puzzled. 'This other Latios, I wonder… would he know about our father? About… our mother? Who is he exactly?'
"Hey!" Mawile called out loudly.
"What!?" Latios replied briskly, rather spooked out of his train of thoughts.
Mawile laughed in amusement. "Snap out of it and focus on the battle." She grinned slightly. "It's not fun to punch a distracted opponent."
"She's got a point. We can ponder on this later," Latias commented in his mind. "Focus on your fight, Latios."
"Yeah, I should," Latios acknowledged. He narrowed his eyes at his opponent. "I'm ready."
"Whatever you did to save the city, you better do it again if you want to stand a chance against me," Mawile observed while tensing her body into a fighting stance. "Hit me with everything you've got, dragon."
Noting that both combatants were ready, both Cynthia and Brock stood up at the same time. They paused and looked at each other in bewilderment. "Oh, sorry. I'm used to refereeing Ash's friendly matches, you can go ahead," Brock conceded respectfully, motioning with an arm toward the battlefield.
"Actually, you may go ahead and referee it," Cynthia replied good-naturedly, sitting back down on the bench. "You can have the honors."
Brock nodded and smiled. "Thank you, I'm flattered." He raised an arm. "This will be a one-on-one battle between Ash's Latios and Steven's Mawile until one of the two can't continue," he decreed authoritatively. "Begin!" he shouted while swiftly bringing his arm down.
"Mawile, use Play Rough!" Steven commanded instantly. Mawile grinned savagely and dashed forward, each of her footsteps pressing down with such force that the arena's ground cracked noticeably with each metallic clang.
Ash blinked in astonishment. "Rude! Not even letting me have the first move!"
Steven laughed. "You wanted a serious battle and I promised you that I would come at you with full force. Well, you reap what you sow!"
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Ash's attention focused back on the battle. "Latios, remember, you cannot under any circumstances let her get close to you! Fly back and stop her with Psychic!"
Latios immediately flew backward to put a larger distance between them at the same time as his eyes glowed a bright shade of blue. A powerful wave of his telekinetic power surrounded the incoming steel-type. Latios' eyes narrowed as he got a powerful grip on her metallic body and then pressed down on her with all of his mental might.
Mawile laughed raucously and charged ahead unabated. Her body began to glimmer with a sparkling veil of pink energy that clashed visibly against the blue psychic energy colliding against her.
Latios growled fiercely as he applied as much force as he could on her body, but found to his shock that she was simply overpowering it with sheer physical strength alone. Latios' eyes widened slightly as the sheer overwhelming might of Mawile's physical strength became obvious to him. Even against Aqua Admin Matt's colossal Swampert, his psychic powers had been enough to challenge and slow her down. Yet, even after the powerup he received in the aftermath of the Rustboro event, his psychic powers still weren't enough to compete against Mawile's raw strength.
Mawile charged at him ferociously, completely unhindered by the dragon's telekinetic strike. "You're gonna have to try harder than that!" she taunted.
"Well, that's not working at all," Ash mumbled in disappointment. "Latios, dodge by flying up!" he commanded instead. Latios' eyes stopped glowing, ending his fruitless psychic assault. The dragon swiftly flew to the sky, putting a considerable altitude between him and the battlefield almost instantly.
Mawile skidded to a halt, kicking up some dirt and rocks in the process, and looked up. 'Yep, he's just as fast as the other Latios,' she noted to herself. 'I won't catch him easily.' She put her hands on her hips and gave the psychic dragon an unimpressed face. "You're no fun."
'Sadly, Mawile resists or is immune to all of Latios' long-range attacks, which means we're at an impasse with her. Although…' Ash thought while glaring at Mawile. He looked up at the high-flying Latios. "If Psychic didn't work, then let's try a Psychic attack of a far bigger magnitude," he began, a slight smirk forming on his face. "Latios, use a full power Luster Purge!"
Mawile's eyes widened in delight, an excited smirk forming on all three of her mouths. "Yes! Yes! Go ahead and hit me with your strongest move!" she challenged, hitting her open palm with her fist with such force that a powerful metallic clank echoed through the battlefield. "I won't dodge!" she shouted confidently.
Latios scowled at Mawile, rather insulted. A powerful flare of blue psychic energy lit to life in the dragon's eyes, which spread to the rest of his body. "You will regret that, don't underestimate me!" he replied as the psychic energy surrounding him erupted into a dazzling whirl of blue light that kept growing in size as the dragon fed more and more power into it. The orange hues from the background sunset were drowned out by the newborn star of blue energy that shined gallantly in the sky, causing the steady pulse of immense energy to echo throughout the area. Once he had fed as much power as he could without risking instability, Latios let out a deafening draconic roar and unleashed a colossal blast of azure psychokinetic light straight downward.
Mawile roared back and brought forth both of her extra jaws while firmly planting her feet on the ground beneath her. Her jaws opened and bared their teeth as her body was surrounded by a pink veil of sparkling energy. As Latios' colossal psychokinetic attack reached her position, both of Mawile's jaws erupted in a torrent of pink energy and lunged to meet the incoming attack head-on.
A devastating boom echoed along with the potent shockwaves of pink and blue energies that tore through the air as both attacks collided against each other with immense force. Latios' Luster Purge was torn into many smaller blasts that flew in every direction by Mawile's Play Rough-infused jaws, prompting her to wince noticeably as she was pushed back several feet in her attempt to contain the potent attack. Mawile gritted her teeth and growled defiantly, pressing her feet harder into the ground to the point they sunk in and left cracked indents to stand firm in opposition to the legendary dragon's attack.
Both Latias' and Metagross' eyes glowed in response to the immense clash of power between the two combatants. In tandem, the two psychics created a powerful psychic shield that stopped most of the energy from the ongoing violent clash from spilling out of the arena and possibly damaging the mansion or the well-kept greenery surrounding it. Latias looked at Metagross, surprised. Metagross responded by giving her an appreciative nod from afar.
Mawile roared and thrust both of her jaws ahead with all her might, causing an explosive flash of pink fairy energy to surge forth and finally tear Latios' attack to shreds, blasting it away in a near-endless maelstrom of dazzling streaks of blue psychic energy and pulsing shockwaves that lit up the psychic shield and violently rattled it with a myriad of smaller blasts.
"Impressive!" Ash commented as he held an arm up to cover his eyes from the overbearing lights contained behind the shield. "Latios' Luster Purge is so much stronger now. I can barely tell what's going on!"
"Yeah, it's something else now," Pikachu agreed, covering his eyes with his tail. He squinted and peeked over the edge of his tail. "But was it enough?"
Latios' eyes widened in shock as his Luster Purge exploded in all directions and completely collapsed in the wake of Mawile's onslaught. "Dammit…" he growled in disdain.
"Clearly not," Ash grumbled as the near-blinding lights subsided and revealed an unscratched Mawile. "She's very strong."
"Mawile, use Iron Head!" Steven commanded swiftly, waving his arm ahead confidently.
Not wasting a single instant, Mawile charged ahead at top speed. The moment she neared Latios' position, she crouched down while putting as much strength as she could into her legs and then jumped. The ground under her cracked and tore open as she rocketed skyward like a missile. The upper section of both sets of her jaws gleamed as they hardened, while a powerful silver and white aura of metallic energy burst into life all around her.
Latios gasped in surprise. Even if he was flying a considerable distance above the ground, he didn't expect Mawile to reach his altitude with such speed and strength. Out of pure reflex, just as Ash's desperate command to dodge reached his ears, the dragon's levitation flared in power. He darted to the side in a swift and seamless motion, causing Mawile to pass harmlessly by his side. Latios flew down to the ground and turned around to face her, growling defiantly.
Mawile landed on the battleground with a rough crash that cracked it heavily and turned to face him. "You're pretty good at flying away, I'll give you that. But you're not going to beat me by just dodging."
Ash let out a sigh of relief. "That was close. She's faster than I expected, but at least we have a good read of her speed now."
"She is fast, yeah," Latios admitted. "But I was still able to react to it. Which means I should be able to dodge everything she throws at me. Though, not getting hit by her is only half of the battle."
Ash narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin in deep thought. 'It's not a pretty plan, but I have an idea to beat her. It'll take a while to do it, though. Let's use your superior speed and the fact you can fly to our advantage. Stay as far away from her as you can, dodge everything she throws at you, and slowly damage her from afar with Psychic and Luster Purge.'
Latios frowned, levitating back to put a bit more distance between him and Mawile. "In that case, it'll be a very long grind. I do agree that a battle of attrition is our best chance to beat her, even if it's ridiculous to try to outlast a steel-type, to begin with. The deciding factor will be if her stamina can outlast my ability to throw attacks."
Steven hummed in thought, noticing the dragon's mannerisms and the obvious silence from both Ash and Latios. "Hmm…"
Mawile crossed her arms. "Boring."
"You're not getting in my head with taunts," Latios responded firmly.
Mawile stuck her tongue out at him. "Smart, but you can't fly away forever."
"We'll see about that," Latios responded confidently.
As the two faced off, Bianca leaned to the side and tapped Brock's shoulder. "This is tense. Do you think Latios has a chance?" she asked curiously.
"I don't know," Brock admitted. "At least Ash is not being brash about this. I have to admit that he's showing a surprising level of maturity for this fight. He's aware that he needs to be extremely careful and think every move thoroughly."
Bianca sighed. "That still doesn't sound promising. I can literally feel the power in every action from that Mawile. She's very intimidating."
"Indeed," Cynthia agreed, keenly focused on the battle. "However, I commend Ash. He's doing a very smart fight so far and not taking any risks."
"Well, we know what the plan is, Latios," Ash began, causing the bystanders' attention to focus on the battle once more. "Use Luster Purge!" he commanded, pointing at Mawile.
Latios glared at the steel-type. 'I don't need to do a full power attack. I need to conserve energy and be efficient,' he reminded himself as his red eyes began to shine with a powerful flash of blue light, which steadily spread to encompass his entire body in a fiery glow of psychokinetic energy.
"Mawile, use Fairy Wind!" Steven countered immediately.
Mawile took a deep breath and moved the two sets of jaws that sprouted from the back of her head to the front. A glittering glow began to emanate from within the two closed jaws, which then opened to reveal a swiftly-forming pink gale within them. Mawile narrowed her eyes and thrust both jaws ahead, releasing two violent pink airstreams that raced toward Latios with immense speed.
Latios growled and channeled more power into his Luster Purge attack, causing the glow surrounding him to thicken and increase in luminance. Mawile's Fairy Wind collided head-on against his growing Luster Purge, releasing a powerful shockwave that rattled the dragon and battered his psychic attack violently.
"Mawile, now!" Steven swiftly followed up.
Mawile smirked and charged at the dragon as an ominous veil of dark energy enshrouded her. Abruptly, the steel-type darted ahead with such speed that her form appeared to blur into an indistinguishable mass of darkness.
Latios' eyes glowed with greater intensity as he defiantly held his ground against Fairy Wind, psychically pushing back with such force that the fairy-type attack was torn outward in a dazzling burst.
However, Ash's eyes widened in alarm. "Latios! Do—"
By the time both Ash and Latios reacted, it was far too late. Mawile smashed through the remnants of her Fairy Wind and Latios' Luster Purge with a victorious scream. The dark energy that had coated her easily tore through the dragon's psychic energy, allowing her closed fist to connect directly with the dragon's side with immense force and a devastating burst of darkness.
Latios let out a harrowing roar of pain that was cut short by the wind being knocked out of him as he was violently blasted away upon impact. His vision blurred as everything seemed to wildly spin around nonsensically. Never before had any single attack he had endured hurt nearly as much as this one. His psychic powers flared wildly and seemed to fade into nothingness as the darkness from Mawile's attack coursed through him like a thundering shockwave. Latios crashed to the ground violently, digging a deep furrow as he skidded through it for a considerable distance.
"Latios!" Bianca and Latias cried out at the same time, concern evident on their horrified faces.
Ash looked on with a stunned expression as his earlier words hopelessly died inside his throat. His jaw dropped slowly from pure incredulity and his eyes fixated on the dragon's unmoving form amid the dust and debris his crashlanding had kicked up.
Pikachu shook his head in disbelief and held it with both of his paws. "Damn…"
Mawile smirked as she landed on the ground. She stood up proudly and stretched both of her arms above her head victoriously. "Gotcha!"
"How?" was the only word that Ash could muster in response.
"Mawile's lack of speed and heavy reliance on physical attacks is a weakness that we're both keenly aware of," Steven answered calmly. "Many opponents have tried to exploit it in the past, which is why we have counters ready for it should the need arise."
Ash's eyes widened in realization as he replayed the events leading up to the attack in his mind. "So, you had a plan to deal with fast opponents from the very beginning." He gasped. "Which means that Iron Head…"
"Correct," Steven confirmed with a curt nod. "Mawile and I purposely showed you both her fastest attack speed early on to lull you both into a false sense of security whenever Latios kept his distance. Mawile made sure that speed fell in line with what you two witnessed in the rooftop fight."
Ash gritted his teeth. "That was Sucker Punch, wasn't it?" he asked, remembering that he had seen a distinctly similar move during his confrontation with Pokémon Hunter Rico about a week ago.
"That was Sucker Punch, indeed," Steven answered, smirking slightly. "I know you're fond of telepathically communicating with your Latios mid-battle, thus keeping your opponents in the dark about your battle tactics. So, I decided to give you a small taste of your own medicine. While I cannot community nonverbally with Mawile, we've run enough practice courses where she knew exactly what our plan was the moment I attacked from afar. That way, neither you nor Latios would see the Sucker Punch coming until it was too late."
"I see," Ash mumbled, still thinking critically over the sequence of events that had transpired. "That Fairy Wind attack against Latios' Luster Purge… it was a distraction, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Steven replied. "Crashing it against Latios' Luster Purge was meant to create a big and flashy aftermath that would mask Mawile's movements so neither of you could react to it." Steven crossed his arms. "And with this, our battle is over."
Ash let out a dejected sigh. "Well, we tried I guess." He reached toward his belt to retrieve Latios' Poké Ball.
Brock raised his right arm and motioned to Steven's side. "The winner of this—"
"Hold it!" Latios shouted telepathically as his red eyes snapped open. He raised his neck and shook it a few times to clear away the rocks and dust that were covering it. "I will not be defeated so easily!" he roared. "Not in one hit! Never!"
"Latios!" Latias cried out. "Don't push yourself if you're injured!"
"I'll be fine, Latias," Latios responded firmly even as he laid almost motionless in the trench from his own violent crash landing. The glare in his eyes was resolute and full of pride as it met Mawile's surprised gaze.
Steven paused and blinked in astonishment. "Impressive," he admitted. "Very few psychics have ever survived a direct hit from Mawile's Sucker Punch."
Mawile met the dragon's eyes and nodded in approval. "I like you. You have my respect," she commented. "This is why I love fighting dragons so much," she added as she shifted to a combat stance. "They're always so full of pride and the will to fight, never giving up until the very end!"
"Latios! Are you sure?" Ash questioned with a serious tone. "You're badly hurt. We shouldn't push it. It's okay if you want to admit defeat."
Latios winced in pain as he tried to reactivate his levitation, only to find it completely unresponsive. He could still feel the dark leftovers of the Sucker Punch attack coursing through him, badly throwing his psychic powers into disarray. "I won't go down in one hit, never again. This fight isn't over."
Mawile grinned in excitement, with her two sets of jaws mirroring her gesture. "That's the spirit."
"Then so be it," Steven acknowledged. "Mawile, use Play Rough to finish him off."
"Here I come!" Mawile announced as she dashed toward the dragon rapidly, each of her metallic footsteps clanking on the ground ominously as she closed in on him. Her body was once again enveloped in a sparkling veil of pink light.
"Latios, you have to get up! Use Psychic again!" Ash commanded in a desperate voice.
"Latios, you gotta do something! Don't stay on the ground!" Pikachu shouted urgently.
Latios raised his neck further but found his focus completely off. Even as he saw Mawile rapidly approaching, the dragon found that he couldn't muster the willpower to fire off any attack or even reactivate his levitation. 'Is our power difference that vast?' he wondered as his vision became hazy and the immense pain at his side seemed to numb. 'One hit and I can barely move while she's basically taken no damage…' Something inside of him snapped. 'I'm not that weak.' Latios' eyes narrowed, his vision suddenly focusing near-perfectly on the incoming steel-type. "I am not weak," he whispered as a brief flash of teal light suddenly fizzled to life inside his red eyes.
Metagross immediately bristled. "Steven, there it is," they warned telepathically.
Steven drew in a sharp breath, looking at the dragon closely with a hint of excitement in his posture. 'Let's see your true power, Latios.'
Latias let out a small gasp as her senses immediately picked up a sudden flare of power from the downed dragon, one she recognized all too perfectly. 'It's that power again!'
"I am not weak!" Latios shouted as he abruptly rose from the ground while glaring angrily at Mawile. He released a potent wave of blue telekinetic energy at the incoming steel-type.
This time, the moment the psychic wave collided against her, Mawile visibly winced. She gritted her teeth, noting that the amount of psychic pressure bombarding her body was far superior than before. However, even when faced with the psychic dragon's newfound strength, she kept charging at him valiantly. If anything, she appeared pleased.
Seeing that Mawile was still charging at him unabated, Latios let out a deep draconic roar. A titanic blast of psychic power erupted from the dragon like a surging tide, spreading around the battlefield and the two combatants. The power carved itself deep into the land, violently ripping deep gashes through the ground with reverberating booms that caused tremors to shake the battlefield. The dragon's eyes shined intensely with blue light as the battlefield was abruptly torn in half.
Mawile skidded to a halt as the ground under her became uneven and caved in, causing her to lose her footing and fall into a large crevice. She immediately regained her bearings and looked up the moment an ominous shadow was cast upon her.
The two sections the battlefield had been torn into were both lifted into the air by a mystical blue glow from their outer edges, causing them to bend inward and bear down on the field's midsection where Mawile was trapped. Each of the two massive stone slabs, each easily weighing dozens of tons, rumbled ominously and tumbled down on the diminutive steel-type.
Mawile looked at the two incoming boulders… and grinned. She let out an exhilarated laugh and enthusiastically screamed, "Oh yes! That's the spirit, dragon! I accept your challenge!" She let out a mighty battle cry as she extended both of her arms and sets of jaws each to her sides and braced for impact.
The two colossal structures crashed down upon Mawile like a lethal landslide, causing a powerful tremor to rock the arena and a thick plume of dust to burst out as she was hit with the full onslaught of dozens upon dozens of tons of solid rock fueled by the dragon's intense psychic powers. An unsettling collision of steel upon solid rock echoed through the Stone estate as Mawile met them head-on with her arms and jaws. She let out a defiant scream as she pushed back with as much strength as she could muster, successfully stopping both gigantic slabs of stone dead in their tracks.
Latios' eyes shone gallantly with radiant blue light as he pulled both rock formations as tightly together as he could, adding his psychic force to their already immense weight and causing them to ominously rumble. However, try as hard as he could, the psychic dragon couldn't move the two halves of the battlefield any closer.
"Never doubted you, Mawile," Steven whispered. However, as he gazed up at the towering chunk of the torn battlefield before him, an astounded expression slowly formed on his features. 'You were defeated, Latios. Yet, out of nowhere, you bring up this immense power once more…' he thought in admiration. 'What is it exactly?'
Mawile growled and gritted her teeth from the immense physical effort of preventing both colossal structures from crushing her. The distinct sound of rock breaking apart caught her attention, causing her to take note of cracks beginning to form on the area that her hands and jaws were holding onto as they buckled under the strain of sustaining the structure's weight and her strength. Mawile's arm muscles bulged and her metallic skin tensed noticeably as she applied further strength, causing the areas she was holding onto to give in and crumble. 'You know what? Fine!' she thought in annoyance, closing one of her fists and leaving the job of holding the massive boulder at bay entirely to one of her sets of jaws.
Latios roared angrily and released one final blast of psychic energy, which shined brightly on the torn battlefield's edges and finally pulled both slabs together with enough force to cause the sections being held by Mawile to completely collapse under their own weight and the strength of her hold. Latios let out a sharp gasp and collapsed onto the ground, all of his strength leaving him completely. He feebly raised his upper body using his arms and watched as the two stone sections met together in a resounding crash that generated a rough tremor and sent dust and debris flying in every direction. His eyes widened in astonishment as he fully comprehended what he had just done. 'I… did that,' he realized, completely stunned. 'I've never moved so much weight with my mind before.'
"Very impressive, Latios," Latias complimented, golden eyes widened in shock and her jaw dropped slightly.
"Whoa," Ash marveled, looking up at the towering structure in amazement. "That was… something else."
"Magnificent," Steven commented with a nod of approval and a satisfied smile on his lips. He raised his hands and clapped several times. "Simply magnificent," he repeated.
"His power output was considerable. However, it was brief and not as large as the one he exhibited during Team Aqua's attack," Metagross informed, eyes still glowing in a faint shade of blue due to them psychically keeping the fight's destructive aftermath completely confined to the battlefield's boundaries. "It's clear this power's emergence is not voluntary and not yet within his control."
Steven looked on at the sheer amount of destruction the dragon had created in such a short time. A smirk slowly formed on his lips, along with a distinct flash of excitement in his light blue eyes. "And, what will happen when it is under his control?" he wondered, thrilled at the prospect.
Cynthia hummed and immediately took note of her husband's expression, prompting her eyes to narrow knowingly. 'Oh, Steven…'
Bianca gulped. "So, this is how they stopped that thing." She paused. "Uh, is that Mawile still alive? I really hope Latios didn't just kill her."
Brock winced. "That would be bad, but I have a feeling a Pokémon worthy of being on a champion's team wouldn't die so easily."
"Of course not," Cynthia said, completely unconcerned. "Speaking of Mawile…" A deep and reverberating rumble echoed from within the rock formations. "About time."
One of the two sections of stone began to crack by its midsection, causing dirt to roll off its top ominously. The entire thing violently burst upward and was split in half in a huge eruption of rocks and debris as Mawile emerged from it with a devastating uppercut, a triumphant grin plastered on her face. She deftly landed on the cratered ground as the two halves fell apart and crashed heavily behind her. She stretched her arms, wincing at the stings of pain coming from within them. "That was amazing!" she cried out enthusiastically.
"It was a good effort, but not enough to beat her," Ash commented with a saddened sigh. "Latios, can you still fight?" he asked, heavily suspecting the answer already.
Latios panted heavily and struggled to activate his levitation. "I'm trying!" he responded telepathically.
"Mawile, finish him off with Crunch," Steven ordered calmly. Mawile nodded and charged at the downed dragon, with both of her jaws angling forward and opening wide as dark energy began to ooze from the large white teeth in them.
"Latios, use Luster Purge to fight her off!" Ash countered swiftly. "You can do it!"
Latios grimaced, desperately searching for any amount of energy within him as fast as he could. But, just like in the aftermath of Team Aqua's strike, whatever happened left him completely drained. He could barely gather the willpower to levitate, much less to fire off his strongest attack. With no options left and Mawile bearing upon him, Latios closed his eyes and awaited the imminent strike that would knock him out cold.
Nothing.
Several seconds passed and nothing happened. Latios opened his eyes and saw that Mawile had stopped only inches in front of him, both of her extra jaws and the dark energy they were emanating barely caressing the feathers on each of his sides.
Mawile smirked down at him. "Yield."
Latios glared at her and let out an infuriated growl. This was worse than if she had just outright knocked him out. However, he was fully aware that he was beaten. With much reluctance, Latios looked away and whispered, "I yield."
Mawile pulled back. "Very good effort, I can appreciate that. You did a good job in the fight," she praised with a satisfied smile. "But not enough." She leaned in, prompting Latios to turn his head at her and lock their eyes together. "I don't know what that power you have is, but I love it." Her eyes narrowed. "Promise me that you'll train hard and master it. And, when you do, you're going to come back to fight me and try to kick my ass." She chuckled faintly. "Got it?"
Latios' glare became more pointed as if silently tearing her apart in his mind. "You will regret wishing for that. Because I will," he promised.
Mawile laughed boisterously and turned around. "Admirable! Again, this is why I love fighting dragons. Our rematch will be epic," she proclaimed, back still turned to him. Mawile took a deep breath and closed her eyes, relaxing as a beaming multicolored light surged across her body, which rapidly shrank as she ended her Mega Evolution. The rainbow glow merged around her waist and faded into sparkles to reveal the metallic belt that held her Mawilite.
Seeing that the battle had ended for real, Brock raised his right arm once more in the direction of Steven. "The winner of this battle is Steven Stone and Mawile!" he declared.
"That's another win," Mawile murmured while looking at the referee. With the battle over, she began to walk away, heading to the lush and well-kept forest that framed the arena.
As the steel-type departed, Cynthia's Garchomp threw her a slight grin. "You say you love fighting dragons, eh?" she asked innocently.
Mawile threw her a dirty look. "Don't you dare rain on my parade."
Garchomp's grin widened, revealing her sharp teeth. "I see you're still doing that 'I won't dodge' charade. You should stop it. Remember what happened with old man Typhlosion?"
Mawile froze on the spot and angrily scowled at her, revealing an embarrassed blush that immediately lit her cheeks in a rosy hue. "We do not speak of that. Ever." Mawile let out a 'humph' while turning her head away and quietly disappeared into the bushes.
Steven's Steelix chuckled as she watched her teammate depart. "Never gets old," she commented in amusement.
Garchomp let out a throaty chuckle. "I can't let this win go to her head. She won't shut up about it for weeks if it does."
"Oh, yes. Very much yes. Thank you for that," Steelix replied appreciatively.
As the two champions' Pokémon talked, Ash carefully walked through the rocky remains of the battlefield. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked in concern as he crouched down beside Latios. He reached with a hand and gently caressed his long neck.
"Yeah," Latios answered wearily. "Just exhausted. Thankfully, my side stopped aching as bad after that outburst."
"Really? That's very worrying then! That means something's wrong with that massive and really ugly bruise you've got on your side!" Pikachu exclaimed with a dramatic wince.
Latios gasped and craned his neck to look at his side in panic. "Oh no! You mean—" He paused when he saw nothing but normal scrapes and cuts. "Hey!"
Pikachu burst out laughing. "Sorry, had to do it. Hopefully, that little joke cheers you up a bit after that loss."
Latios chuckled. "A little bit."
"By the way, you got your butt kicked just as badly as I expected it to," Pikachu commented with an innocent face. "But look at the bright side, at least we didn't need to rush you to the Pokémon Center."
Latios rolled his eyes. "That's a relief," he responded sarcastically.
"Hey, it was a good effort on his part," Latias argued while flying down to her brother's side. She gently slipped her head under his wing and levitated up. "You did great, Latios," she praised warmly.
Latios smiled as he slowly levitated back up with her help. "Thanks." He looked at Pikachu and gave him a grin. "By the way, you speak as if you would have done any better."
Pikachu laughed. "Dude, any of Steven's Pokémon would beat both of us at the same time."
"They would," Ash agreed humbly. "But that just puts into perspective how much more work we've got left to do if we want to grow as strong as he is." Ash gave the three Pokémon a confident smile. "I'm sure we'll get there, someday."
"I agree," Pikachu replied with an enthusiastic nod.
"Anyway," Ash began, once again patting Latios' side. "Do you want to go back into your Poké Ball to rest?" he asked kindly, giving the dragon a considerate look.
"No, I'm okay," Latios responded, doing his best to conceal his exhausted panting. "My levitation is active again. I can fly around just fine."
"Alright. Let's go back to the others, then," Ash said, carefully walking through the sea of jagged rocks that was the aftermath of the battle.
Latios winced and shifted his weight off his injured side and leisurely levitated after the young trainer, with Latias following closely at his side should he need support.
"Here, let me help," Bianca said as she reached down with a hand, noting that the edge of the field had a considerable gap of torn rocks.
"Thanks!" Ash beamed as he held onto her hand, which he used as leverage to get off the field and into the sidelines.
"You're welcome," Bianca replied, pulling her hand back. She turned and gently pet Latios as he arrived, offering him some support.
"Let's get that checked," Brock said as he took out a couple of potions from his backpack and proceeded to check the dragon's side along with Bianca.
"Bravo, bravo," Cynthia clapped in approval, catching their attention. "For such a young trainer, you did fairly well against someone that's on Steven's level, Ash." She smiled kindly. "You should be proud of yourself."
"Indeed," Steven agreed as he arrived at the sidelines. "I hope that the battle did not disappoint."
"Oh, it didn't," Ash responded. "It was short, but I'm glad you didn't go easy on me."
"That would have been disrespectful," Steven clarified. "You earned a battle. You got a battle."
Ash nodded. "Yep." He glanced at the battlefield next to them and let out a nervous laugh when he got a good view of the devastation Latios had caused. "Uh, sorry about wrecking your field."
Steven shook his head and chuckled briefly. "It's no problem. It's not like I didn't tear it up dozens of times in my younger years through my training. My dad is used to fixing it. What's one more time?"
"Okay," Ash said back with a shrug. "Well, thank you for the battle and the Mega Stone, Steven. It's getting late, so, I think we'll be leaving now. We have to check-in at our hotel, plus Latios needs to rest."
"Very well, we'll take you to the front door," Steven offered, beginning to walk toward the mansion along with Cynthia, encouraging Ash and his friends to follow after them. "When are you leaving Rustboro City, exactly?"
Ash glanced at Brock. "We agreed that we'd leave tomorrow morning, right?" he asked for confirmation.
Brock nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, there you have it," Ash answered.
"Before you leave, could you quickly stop by at Devon?" Steven requested. "My dad has been extremely busy and hasn't been able to come by and talk. He told me that he'd like a final word with you before you continue on your journey. He'll be at the entrance around ten. Is that a good time?"
"I think so, yeah," Ash replied. "After that, we'll be off. I have to resume my journey. I'm only on two badges. I need six more."
While Ash talked with the former champion, Latios stopped and glanced back. He noticed that Metagross and Steelix had already left and disappeared somewhere into the surrounding forest. However, Cynthia's Garchomp was still standing where they had left her, silently watching their departure. He frowned and broke off from the group and slowly flew over to her. Latias, noticing her brother's action, quietly followed him out of curiosity. "Hey, Garchomp, may I have a word with you?" Latios asked politely as he stopped before her.
Garchomp gave them a curt nod of acknowledgment. "Go ahead."
"Steven and Cynthia mentioned that they know of another Latios. Steven also said that Cynthia knows his trainer better. So, I figured you'd be the best one to ask about it," Latios began with interest. "I'd like to know more about him."
Latias perked her ears. "I'm very curious too, actually."
Garchomp looked between the two a couple of times, intrigued by their question. "I see. If I may ask, why are you two so surprised by it? You are Legendaries, after all."
Latios laughed nervously. "We don't know around much. We lived in an isolated city our whole lives until a few months ago. This is new to us."
Garchomp nodded slowly. "Very well, I understand." She paused, thinking it over for a second. "However, if you'd like to know about Tobias and his Latios, and how they battle, it's not something I should discuss. As Steven and Cynthia said, it's for you to find out and not for us to divulge."
"Oh, no, no," Latios interjected quickly. "I don't want to learn of his trainer or how he fights. I just want to learn about the Latios in general. Like, who is he?" he clarified.
"Ah, that's different." Garchomp let out a lengthy exhale. "That I can answer, I guess."
Latias grinned and her eyes brightening eagerly. "Thank you! So…?"
"Well, I know him close enough that I'd consider him a friend," Garchomp began, smiling slightly at the memories. "Though, it's not like we meet that frequently. Tobias does the Sinnoh League every few years. Of course, they always make it to battle us. Other than that, Cynthia and Tobias are friends too, so he often visits her in the off-seasons on Sinnoh. That's about the only times I get to see him."
"It's very interesting that you and the Latios are friends," Latios noted. "What's he like?"
Garchomp's features seemed to brighten up at the thought of the other Latios. "Valeran is very nice and friendly, always happy to talk, and generally a good presence. He knows so much of, well, everything. Cynthia loves that as he can give insights on things long lost to human history. He sometimes gets a bit secretive on what he can and can't reveal, but Cynthia is always happy with what she can get."
"Valeran?" both Latios and Latias asked at the same time.
"Yes, his name is Valeran," Garchomp confirmed. "Hm, I'd say he's a bit older than you both if I had to guess. He doesn't strike me as an adult yet, though. I can't give an accurate estimate of it because he keeps saying the number is meaningless."
"What do you mean meaningless?" Latias asked, slightly confused.
"Well, when I met him, I was younger than he was. Now I'm older than he is. Meanwhile, he hasn't changed much," Garchomp explained. "He's still the same, hence his comment." She appeared thoughtful for a moment. "He's, oddly, a bit smaller than you are, Latios. Close to Latias in size if I had to compare. His feathers are also a darker shade of blue." She frowned and scratched her neck with one of her sharp claws undecidedly. "I'm honestly not sure what else to say about him. If you want to learn more about him, I think it'd be better if you seek him out yourselves. I don't see why he wouldn't want to talk to you."
Latios and Latias looked at each other thoughtfully, going over everything that Garchomp had just revealed to them. After a lengthy pause, Latios focused his attention back on her and asked, "Do you know where Valeran is right now?"
Garchomp gazed up to the darkening sky for a second. "I believe they're in Galar right now. We haven't seen them since last season, but I distinctly remember them mentioning that they'd do the Galar circuit this year."
"Galar, Galar…" Latios repeated. "No clue where that is, but we can just have our friend Brock consult a map."
Latias looked at her brother. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"
"I'm very curious," Latios admitted. "We could make a small detour to Galar after we travel to Sky Pillar."
"We could, yeah," Latias agreed. "We could learn so much from Valeran, if he's as smart as Garchomp says he is."
"Yes. While I can talk about him, it's far better if you go speak directly with him instead. Also, you mentioned going to Sky Pillar?" Garchomp questioned.
"Yeah, we're going to head there once we leave Rustboro," Latios answered. He made an awkward pause. "Uh, we… have to do something there. Yeah, something."
"Oh, hey! Do you have any tips on how to get there?" Latias asked. "You're a powerful dragon. Maybe you know something that could help us?"
Garchomp blinked. "Tips? Don't you know where it is? Oh, right. Isolated city. My apologies."
"We don't, yeah," Latios admitted, slightly blushing in embarrassment. "We plan to try and find our way there." He looked at his sister. "Why ask her, though?"
"I just said why. We know that any dragon can find Sky Pillar. I think it could be worth it to ask another dragon, especially such a powerful one, for suggestions in case we're missing anything," Latias responded with a shrug.
Garchomp took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, thinking over what she knew of the place. "Well, I've never been to Sky Pillar. Though, I've heard of it from the elders of the cave where I was born and from Valeran himself. You are correct, all dragons can naturally find their way there." She frowned and shook her head. "But I can't give you any specifics or directions. You have to feel your way there."
"Anything to look out for that Valeran may have said?" Latios asked.
"Not really," Garchomp answered. "But he's mentioned that as you get closer, it becomes very unique. It's impossible to get it wrong. Once you're on the right track, you will get there. He also said that Sky Pillar moves, so be prepared for a possibly long journey if it happens to be far from Hoenn right now."
Latias nodded in understanding. "That works. Thank you, Garchomp."
Garchomp gave the pair a toothy smile. "You're welcome. Anything else?"
"Not anymore, no. Thank you for the conversation," Latios responded. He turned around and, along with Latias, went back to join their friends.
"Is everything okay?" Bianca asked, blinking in slight confusion. "You two took a while."
"Everything's alright, don't worry," Latios replied, giving her cheek a quick nuzzle. "Just wanted a quick chat."
Pikachu looked at the dragon teasingly. "Oooh, someone has a crush! Went to flirt for a bit? Did you get a date with her? She's totally a keeper, by the way."
"No!" Latios denied firmly. He rolled his eyes and psychically shoved Pikachu off Ash's shoulder.
"Hey!" Pikachu protested as he flipped in midair to deftly land on his paws on the floor. "That wasn't nice!"
Ash burst out laughing, still following Steven and Cynthia to the mansion's main entrance. His Pokémon never changed.
With that, the group departed the Stone estate and went back to their hotel room for a final night in Rustboro City.
Later that night…
Steven let out a weary sigh, looking up to the full moon on the night sky above from the balcony of his room on the Stone estate, enjoying the peaceful tranquility it brought with its gentle moonlight. He looked down to the surrounding greeneries and what he could make out of the destroyed battlefield, quietly enjoying the cool breezes that caressed his face and made his light blue hair wave along with them, while intently reflecting on the events that had occurred not long ago.
"Restless?" Cynthia asked, letting out a drawn-out yawn as she walked up the balcony's doorway and leaned on its frame.
"Only a little bit," Steven murmured in response. "I came here for a few minutes to get some fresh air."
"…You've been out here for an hour, Steven," Cynthia stated flatly. "That's not a few minutes."
"Have I?" Steven asked, looking over his shoulder at her with a genuinely stunned expression. "It felt like a few minutes."
"That's because you clearly have a lot going on in your head," Cynthia noted. "Are you alright?"
"I am," Steven answered. "Just… thoughtful."
"It's about Ash, isn't it?" Cynthia asked, the slight glint in her eyes conveying the fact she already knew the answer.
"You read me so well," Steven commented while leaning further into the balcony's elegant railing. "The battle left me very conflicted and has me thinking about it over and over again."
Cynthia nodded along while walking over to him. She leaned comfortably at his side. "Go ahead," she encouraged gently.
"Ash is not an ordinary trainer," Steven noted, his gaze unfocused and distant. "He has an immense amount of ambition and desire to succeed rarely seen in trainers. He has capable friends supporting him on his journey. He has several powerful Pokémon who are completely devoted to his cause and dreams. And, above all, he has a Latios whose power keeps growing exponentially by the day. The Latios I fought here is not the same Latios that fought Team Aqua, and that Latios is not the same Latios we saw on TV at the Silver Conference."
Cynthia hummed. "You speak of him as if you viewed him as a legitimate challenge."
"I give him the respect he deserves," Steven countered. "He reminds me so much of myself when I was his age," he added.
Cynthia stared into his eyes for the longest time. As she read the emotions on them and on her husband's body language and mannerisms, a slight grin slowly formed on her lips. She had not seen a fire of determination that evident in her husband's eyes in ages. "I see…"
"Ash is growing into an immensely powerful trainer. I see nothing but success on the road ahead of him." Steven's gaze hardened. "I want to fight him again, this time properly. Whatever that Latios did to save Rustboro City, whatever he did to launch that massive assault on Mawile, that enormous power… I want to fight it once he's perfected it head on."
"That sounds exactly like something you'd say," Cynthia commented approvingly. "Something I'd say, too."
"Of course." Steven turned around and walked into the bedroom, going over to one of the drawers from which he pulled out his wallet. He opened it and slowly pulled out his trainer ID card. "I could just challenge him next time we see each other but that's not how it's meant to be." The former champion's eyes narrowed as he ran a finger over the plastic card. "I want to fight him on the biggest stage possible before the eyes of the world, once he and Latios have mastered that mysterious power." He turned around and faced his wife, who had just entered the room and closed the balcony's sliding door. "Cynthia, I will be registering for the Hoenn League."
Cynthia chuckled, unsurprised. "I knew it. While you were fighting him, I saw it in your eyes. I saw that passion for battles spark to life once more, albeit briefly. You see a challenge in him that you haven't faced in ages from someone that isn't myself. A unique challenge." She giggled. "However, you can't register with that, dear. That's your champion ID card, which stopped being valid last year."
Steven frowned at the card that he was holding. He shook his head a few times and daintily slipped it back into his wallet. "True."
"You're going to have to go to the Pokémon Center and get yourself a Pokédex or a normal trainer card because I'm fairly certain you lost both of them ages ago," Cynthia added.
"I did not lose them," Steven refuted. "They're somewhere in your Sinnoh house."
Cynthia laughed. "They're most certainly not there. And, even if they were, they're probably outdated and not valid anymore."
"How would you even know? You leave that house a complete mess. It's so easy to lose something small in that chaos," Steven countered, giving her a knowing look.
Cynthia huffed and with crossed her arms over her chest. "Excuse me, it's an organized mess. It looks like a mess, but I know exactly where everything is."
"Including my stuff?" Steven asked, doing his best to stifle a laugh.
"Yes, including your stuff," Cynthia lied.
"I'll hold you on that next time we're in Sinnoh," Steven promised. "Anyway, it'll probably be easier to get a replacement at the Pokémon Center instead of having to go looking for them in Sinnoh. I should visit Nurse Joy in the coming days."
"Yeah, that works," Cynthia agreed. "For now, we should go back to sleep, though," she suggested. "I hope the conversation cleared your mind."
"It did, thank you," Steven replied with a smile.
As Cynthia sat down on the bed, she let out a brief laugh. "Can't wait to see everyone's reaction to you deciding to enter the league."
Steven burst out laughing.
"Hello!" Ash greeted loudly while waving a hand above his head as he and his group of friends approached the elegant gates of the Devon Corp. complex. The area was still crowded with police officers and some Pokémon League personnel, one of which Ash recognized as Elite Four member Sidney. However, under Joseph Stone's direction, they had been allowed through the barricades and checkpoints.
Joseph smiled as the group approached him. "It's good to see you again, Ash," he responded amiably. "Thank you for being punctual. I have a really busy schedule today."
"Yeah, my friend Brock mentioned that we should be precise on time for that very reason," Ash explained, patting Brock's shoulder as he did so. "I'm sure Steven told you already, but we're leaving Rustboro City today."
"He did," Joseph confirmed with a nod. "He should be back any moment now. He's been gone for nearly two hours now."
"Where is he?" Ash asked, glancing around to see if he could spot the former champion. "He must be doing something really important if he's gone, right?"
"Yes, very important," Joseph agreed while suppressing a chuckle. "Anyway." He glanced over his shoulder and motioned for one of the people behind him to come closer. The person, who was a young man wearing a Devon work uniform, quietly walked next to the owner and handed him a medium-sized box.
"What's that?" Ash asked curiously while leaning to get a better look at the box, which lacked any defining details.
Joseph opened the box and showed them its contents. Inside were three neat boxes all filled with numerous labels, infographics, and promotional imagery. "It's our latest PokéNav Plus," Joseph answered. "It's not meant to go out on sale yet, so please don't go bragging about it openly. There's three of them because Steven mentioned you had two friends with you and I didn't want to leave any of you out of it."
Ash reached into the large box and picked up the smaller box in the center. He held it up and examined it closely. "Oh, wow! This looks cool."
"Thank you," Bianca said gratefully, picking up the leftmost box.
"Thank you," Brock echoed, picking up the remaining box. "I've actually wanted one of these for a long time now."
"So, what does it do exactly?" Ash wondered, reading its numerous labels and graphics with interest.
"Plenty of things," Joseph answered good-naturedly. "You're on a Pokémon journey, so it has plenty of functions that will do you well. You can use it to track your location in real-time, consult Pokémon habitats, communicate with friends and family, keep track of your Pokémon battles, search rivals and opponents, and so much more. Be creative with it," he explained. "This version is specifically made for travelers, so it has a pretty hefty battery."
"Aw, there goes all our jokes about Ash getting lost," Pikachu commented with a grumble.
"Relax, he's gonna get lost even with a fancy map device," Latios joked, suppressing a laugh.
Ash ignored the two Pokémon. "Well, thank you!" he replied gratefully. "I'll be sure to try it out and hopefully it'll help us out."
Joseph nodded. "You're welcome. It's my final thank you gift for all that you've done for us." He smiled, noticing the small multicolor stone hooked to Ash's figurine necklace. "I see you took to your other gift quite well."
Ash grinned. "Indeed! Thank you so much for that. Pidgeot and I will become the strongest with it, you'll see."
"I very much look forward to that," Joseph responded. He glanced to the side and noticed Steven and Cynthia approaching leisurely. "About time."
Ash blinked and shifted his attention to the newcomers. "Hey. Where were you?" he asked curiously. "Mr. Stone said you were busy doing something very important."
"I was. We went to get Cynthia some ice cream," Steven replied, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and giving her a funny look. "Her weakness. Also, her biggest conundrum. No battle challenge is ever as daunting as picking the right flavor, isn't it?"
"Hey, the place had some very good options," Cynthia protested half-heartedly, evidently more focused on the ice cream cone that she was clearly enjoying. "I had to get some of Hoenn's best ice creams before I have to return to Sinnoh tomorrow."
Ash, Brock, and Bianca gave her a perplexed look but didn't make any comment. "Well, this is goodbye. Steven, Cynthia, Mr. Stone," Ash announced. "We'll be on our way now."
"I wish you the best on your journey," Joseph replied in a friendly manner, waving a hand at the young trainer.
Steven nodded in agreement. "Likewise." He smirked slightly. "Oh, Ash?"
"Yes?" Ash replied, waiting for the former champion to elaborate.
"Train hard," Steven advised. "I expect you to do your best in the Hoenn League and make it to the top."
"Oh, I will. Yesterday's battle gave me a lot of perspective of what I lack, and I shall do my best to be ready when the league comes around." Ash turned to the side, waved at the three adults, and began to walk away. "Goodbye!" he called out a final time.
Brock, Bianca, and Pikachu waved and shouted their goodbyes as they too followed Ash's lead.
As they watched Ash's group walk away and disappear into the distance on the streets, Joseph and Cynthia both glanced at Steven. "You didn't tell him that you'll sign up for the Hoenn League," Cynthia observed.
"I thought you would," Joseph commented. "Especially since your sole reason for signing up is to battle his Latios in front of the world."
"I considered it," Steven admitted. "But doing so would have only placed overwhelming pressure on him, which would do more harm than good to him. I want him and Latios to grow and develop naturally. That, I believe, will produce the best results."
Cynthia hummed in thought, idly giving a few licks to her ice cream cone. "I can see that, yes," she agreed with a small nod. "I hope you're right, then."
"I hope so as well," Steven said back, looking fondly into the distance. "I just hope that Latios is ready to get his rematch against Mawile by the time the league comes by." Steven paused and slowly smiled. "And, hopefully, ready to challenge Metagross."
Chapter End
Author Notes: And that concludes the chapter! I hope you all had fun reading it! Well, looks like Ash just got himself a quality rival for the Hoenn League! Oh no! And, lastly, don't forget to leave a REVIEW with your thoughts! I'd love to hear them!