Chapter 12

I floated there, confused as to what was going on. I had hardly understood anything they said and what I had understood, I couldn't make heads or tails of. I saw Ash throw the two 'pokeballs' at Latios and Latias. I couldn't understand why he did that, that is, until the two pokeballs suddenly engulfed Latios and Latias in red light and they disappeared from view. The balls wobbled on the ground for a few seconds before stopping and making a 'click' sound.

"Uh, what just happened to Latios and Latias?" I asked.

"My apologies, Michael," said Arceus, "I know you haven't been in this world very long, so instead of explaining how everything works, allow me to simply give you the information."

"What do you mean by giving me the in-" My voice suddenly cut out as my mind flooded with information about pokeballs, catching Pokemon, trainers, battles, and many other things. Needless to say, all of that information pouring in gave me a bad headache. On the upside, I now knew why Latios and Latias disappeared and I wasn't so confused anymore.

"Wow," I gasped, still taking in information, "I get it now,"

"So," said Arceus, "I'm going to give you a choice. You can either catch yourself or have Ash catch you."

I thought about it for a bit. I turned to Ash. "Ash, would you catch me?"

Ash looked surprised. "Are you sure Michael?"

I had made up my mind. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Ok then," said Ash. He floated closer to me and tapped me with one of the Pokeballs.

I felt a strange sensation. There was nothing but darkness around me and I could feel the sides of the ball shaking. I stood (floated) perfectly still until I heard a 'click' sound. As soon as that ball stopped shaking, the inside of the ball started to glow. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and I could see a landscape around me.

"Michael?"

I turned around. "Latios? Latias?"

"Hi, Michael!" said Latias. "How'd you get here?"

"I let Ash catch me," I replied.

Before we could say more there was a flash of light and Ash appeared inside the 'landscape'.

"Uh hi," said Ash.

"Hi Ash!" said Latias.

"I assume you just caught yourself," said Latios.

"Yep!" said Ash. "It was a pretty weird feeling but I don't get why Pikachu doesn't like it."

"Maybe his ball isn't as fancy as these," reasoned Latios. "Don't forget, Arceus made these balls specifically for us."

"Yeah, I guess," said Ash. "and it is nice that we can talk to each other if we're in them."

"That's a plus," I said.

"Wait," said Ash in a panicked voice. "If we're all in our pokeballs, how will we get out?"

For a moment, terror washed over me. Then I realized, Arceus was still out there. I sighed with relief.

"Don't worry," said Latios, "Arecus is still there, remember?"

"Right…" said Ash.

I was about to respond when something started to pull me. The feeling got stronger and stronger until I was sucked completely out of the Pokeball.

'So that's how you get out,' I thought to myself.

"Well," said Arceus, "Ash, since Michael, decided to let you catch him, I am going to give you another Z-crystal for him, as well as one for all four of you to use. However, this last one must only be used when no alternatives are left, is that clear?"

"Yes," replied Ash. "Latios, Latias, Michael, can you help me remember that? I'm not good at remembering stuff,"

"That's for sure," mumbled Pikachu.

"One last thing," said Arceus, "you need to learn how to use those Z-moves. Z-moves are very powerful moves and can only be used once per battle. To use them, you must have a strong bond with the pokemon that you are using it with. All of you already have that since you have all worked together to save Alto Mare from Annie and Oakley. You must also perform a series of 'poses' in the correct order to activate the move."

"So how do I do these poses?" asked Ash, interested.

"I will not tell you now, but you will know when the time comes." replied Arceus, "But remember that these moves are very important. You must use them wisely."

"Alright, I'll try," said Ash. "thanks for everything Arceus!"

"You're very welcome," replied Arceus, " however, I must leave now. Good luck to all of you and be careful."

We all waved to Arceus as he disappeared in a flash of light.

Sorry for the short chapter but I had to cut it off here.

So, what do you think of the new chapter?

If you have any name ideas for Latios', Latias', Michael's, or the special Z-move for all of them, (Ash, Michael, Latios, and Latias) fell free to put that in your review of this chapter or PM me.

P.S. Don't forget, I have a discord server! The link is on my profile page.