Latios in Peril
Gloria silently walked across Eon Island, Inteleon and Greninja were right behind her as they ventured into the island's forest. Several Hoothoot and Murkrow watched the group but kept quiet as the group harmlessly passed by. The tree line began to thin as they neared the island's center, allowing Gloria and her team a good view of an open clearing.
"Lati..." Latios peacefully snored out, the Legendary Pokemon was fast asleep and unaware that he was being stalked.
Gloria smirked behind her helmet as she pointed ahead. "Alright Greninja use Water Shuriken, Inteleon use Snipe Sh-"
"Gross!" A Mega Metagross came blasting out of the opposite end of the clearing and threw himself at Latios before unleashing a flurry of rough rapid punches upon the Legendary Pokemon.
"Lati!" Latios screeched out in pain, his eyes widened as he tried sending a telepathic message to his sister but she was currently outside of reach. Anxiety arose inside of Latios as nobody knew where he was and Mega Metagross was far too strong for him to handle alone, if he fell here then his sister would never learn about it.
"Lati!" Latios fired off a blue-green energy pulse towards Metagross and swiftly turned to make an escape only to find his path blocked by an Alakazam.
"Ala!"
"Lati..." Latios narrowed his eyes and quickly adjusted his trajectory, blasting up towards the sky above only to receive a Sucker Punch courtesy of Dusknoir. "Lati!" Latios cried out as he was sent crashing towards the ground below.
"What's going on?" Gloria's eyes darted back and forth as she tried locating the source of the attack before catching sight of a hooded figure. Her eyes squinted as she tried making out the man's facial features before utilizing the technology within her suit's helmet to zoom in for a better view. "Blimey, it's Shade! But what's he doing he? Xerosic ensured me that none of the other Team Rocket agents know about this place. And Giovanni ain't aware that we defected yet..."
She didn't know much about their new boss nor what exactly he offered up to make Xerosic throw in with that lot, the most she knew was the name of the group and it was quite a ridiculous name at that. 'Who in their right mind would name their villainous organization, Team Rainbow Plasma?'
She shook her head as she began clearing up her thoughts. Whatever Shade was doing here, she couldn't let him succeed. Xerosic wanted to keep themselves aligned with Team Rocket for a bit longer so they could spy and feed information to this Ghetsis guy but she couldn't just stand by and let Shade kill or steal her birthright! That Latios was supposed to be hers!
"W-What do you want, human?" Latios spat out as he started to recover only to receive a series of quick punches as Shade's Pokemon lashed out at him. "Ugh!"
"My dear friend, you're precisely what I came here for!" Shade flashed Latios a sinister smirk while casting a quick glance towards the sky above. It was far too bright to toss one of his shadow blobs at him, he 'borrowed' Team Rocket's cloning technology to clone the blob in order to create more Shadow Pokemon. Though their power wasn't anywhere close to the real thing, it would do for now. The original blob remained safely by his side until the time came for them to obtain the ultimate Pokemon which was a task easier said than done as nobody knew where either of the current Mewtwo were. "I knew your great-great-great-great-"
'Blimey, how old is this guy?!' Gloria thought as the man had to have said 'great' at least a hundred times.
"-Great grandfather, he served alongside me until he managed to break free from our control! That damned Emerald Hero managed to get through to him, Latios then betrayed us by helping that accursed do-gooder in sealing Regigigas away!" Shade spat out. "Thank Giratina that man's dead... ain't nobody getting through to you!" Shade smirked while lifting up the robe along his right arm. "Time to embrace the darkness within!"
"Hold up, the Emerald Hero's a he?!" Gloria exclaimed before hastily shaking her head. "No... no... that man must have gone senile, ain't no way somebody's lived over a thousand years and remained sane! Greninja use Water Shuriken on Shade, Inteleon use Snipe Shot to blast Alakazam and Dusknoir away from our prize, Crobat use Cross Poison on Latios, Salamence let's show Mega Metagross that our might is even stronger! Use Flamethrower!" Gloria activated her Mega Ring as she tossed two Ultra Balls forward.
"Crobat!"
"Sala!" The Hoenn Dragon roared as he slammed against the ground. A bright pink light then engulfed his body as he began transforming into Mega Salamence!
"What the-?!" Shade turned around shortly before he was knocked off his feet as Greninja's Water Shuriken exploded against him. "Ah!"
"Ala!" Alakazam and Dusknoir grunted as Inteleon sniped them from afar.
"Sala!" Mega Salamence blasted Mega Metagross with a powerful stream of fire.
"Cro!" Crobat's wings flashed a venomous shade of purple as he slashed them across Latios' body.
"Lati!" Latios shouted out, his eyes widened as pain filled every inch of his body. 'M-Must send... for help... sister... n-no... still too far... w-wait, what's this...? I've never seen an aura such as this. I-I have no idea who this is but I can sense he has a heart of gold, m-must get the message out... must ask for help... can't let either of them take me...'
"Garrr?!" Garchomp jerked his head and looked towards Hoenn's southern coast as he hovered above Mt. Chimney.
"Rai..." Raichu's eyes glowed bright blue as he telepathically scanned the area for potential threats. Lucario sat next to him, his own eyes glowed blue as he read the area's aura signature.
"See anything?" Zach questioned his team.
"Rai rai." Raichu shook his head.
Lucario stared off upon sensing a strange and unusual aura. "Carr..." Lucario pointed ahead before gasping out as Garchomp took off without warning.
"Garrrr!"
"Ah!" Zach, Cinderace, Raichu and Lucario all grabbed hold of Garchomp's back as the alpha blasted across the skyline. "What's wrong, Garchomp?!" Zach shouted over the wind.
"Garrr!"
"Huh? Where is he going?" Dawn asked while lightly tilting her head as confusion spread across her face.
"I'm not sure," May frowned. "But we better hurry in case Garchomp's acting up." The pair were riding May's Altaria so Lucario and Raichu would have an easier time moving around, ensuring that they had a proper scan of the area.
"Garrr!" Garchomp blasted towards the southern coast as he followed the distress call.
"Garchomp, where are you taking us?!" Zach shouted as he and the other Pokemon watched the Hoenn coastline come and go with it soon disappearing over the horizon. "We're not leaving Hoenn without May and Dawn!"
"Garrr!" Garchomp gestured towards an incoming island far from Hoenn's coastline.
Zach quickly retrieved his Arc Phone as Garchomp began descending towards the island. "Strange, this island isn't coming up on the Rotomap app."
"Carrrr!" Lucario exclaimed while eagerly pointing towards what appeared to be explosions.
"Eh?" Zach tilted his head as Garchomp flew above the island's tree lines. "Is this what upset you?"
"Garrr!" Garchomp swiftly nodded his head.
"H-How did you even know this was happening? We had to have been hundreds of miles away from here!"
"Garrr!" Garchomp gestured towards the battle.
"You're right, there'll be plenty of time for questions later. We've got to stop whatever's going on!" Zach leaped off Garchomp's back and raced towards the action, Lucario and the others were right behind him as explosions continued to occur throughout the area.
"Ahhh!" Gloria screamed out as Dusknoir struck her face with Thunder Punch, blasting a good chunk of her helmet away.
"Meta!" Metagross did a double take upon noticing the features of the woman beneath the armor, the metallic Pokemon turned towards his master and began excitedly spouting out incomprehensible words.
"What?!" Shade gazed towards Gloria, his eyes shot a bright blue color as he scanned her mind. "Nonsense, I'm sure it's just purely coincidental that she looks like that annoying pest! I'd have seen him in her mind otherwise."
"What the Distortion World...?" Gloria raised an eyebrow as it sounded as if she'd missed an episode or two. "Who the heck are ya talkin' about?!" Gloria angrily shouted out.
"Never you mind," Shade scoffed as Mega Salamence was brought to his knees.
"Sala..." Salamence groaned out as the pink light enveloped his body, transforming him back to his normal state.
"Salamence!" Gloria clenched her fists as she watched Dusknoir blast Crobat across the field with an electrically charged punch.
Greninja and Inteleon appeared to be on par with Alakazam and Hypno but Mega Metagross broke the stalemate, sending the Water types flying back.
"Intel!"
"Gre!"
Gloria gasped out and quickly reached for another Ultra Ball as Greninja and Inteleon began rising back to their feet.
"No problem, I'll-"
"Do nothing," Shade snapped his finger.
"Noir!" Dusknoir swiftly flew behind Gloria and grabbed hold of her arms, restraining her.
"O-Oi! G-Get your hands off of me!" Gloria tried kicking at Dusknoir only for her foot to phase right through him. "When I get out of here, I'm totally gonna kick your a-!"
"My butt? I don't think so." Shade flashed Gloria a mocking smirk as he hurled a shadowy blob towards the downed Latios. Latios' eyes slowly opened up as the blob began melting across his body. His eyes shot dark red while black scales began forming over his blue scales as purple scales formed over his blue ones. Latios grunted and faintly shook his head before locking eyes with Shade.
"How may I serve you, Master?"
Shade cast a devious glance towards Gloria. "You can start by killing her!"
"Yes, master." Latios began charging up a blue-green energy pulse as he prepared to blast Gloria.
Zach stepped into the clearing right at that moment, his eyes locked onto Shade before glancing towards Shade's victim. "Gloria?!" His eyes widened upon seeing the figure behind the helmet. It was a woman with facial features quite similar to his own and a precise match to that of his nightmare! He saw Inteleon and Greninja attempting to stand up, he wasn't certain but he had a pretty good suspicion that they were her Pokemon and there was no way they'd get to her in time.
"Lucario use Psychic!" Zach shouted out.
"Carrrr!" Lucario's eyes shot bright blue while a similar color forming around the energy pulse, the energy pulse changed it's trajectory and ended up exploding against Hypno!
"Hypno..." Hypno grunted out, the Psychic type dropped to a knee before collapsing onto his side as swirls formed within his eyes.
"Huh?" Gloria blinked as her gaze locked onto Zach. "D-Did he just...?" 'Alright what's going on, how in the Distortion World does this random guy know my name and why does he look like a male version of me?!'
Inteleon similarly looked confused while Greninja cast a guilty expression towards Zach.
"Stay the heck away from her, Shade!" Zach growled out as he raced into the clearing.
"Ace ace!"
"Carrr!"
"Garrr!"
"Rai!" Raichu's cheeks sparked in a threatening fashion as the other Pokemon glared at the Psychic master.
Shade stared blankly at Zach for a moment, not seeming the least bit worried though shock did briefly register upon his face. "No way, you two are...? Well this is perfect! I can wipe out your entire cursed bloodline in one fell swoop! It doesn't matter which of you is the 'Emerald Hero', you'll both die today!"
"My entire bloodline...?" Warmth briefly flickered within Gloria's eyes as she glanced towards Zach before swiftly shaking her head. "N-No way, there's no way that he and I are related!"
"Don't be stupid Shade, if you kill me then you'll die as well! I'm the only one with the ability to stop the Psionic Comet!" Zach exclaimed, he knew that Shade was well beyond saving but he thought that he could appeal to Shade's self interest. He did beat Shade in the past but who knows how strong Shade was now as he was thousands of years old, not to mention the fact Gloria's alignment wasn't very clear.
"Oh, I know and I don't care." Shade carelessly shrugged.
"What?! You must be a special kind of dumb!" Gloria shouted out. "Nobody's going to survive that, we'll all die!"
"That may be so but the death of so many at once is sure to boost Giratina's powers enough that we can storm right into Arceus' dimension and take over!" Shade laughed.
"Y-You're serious..." Zach clenched his fists as it became clear that Shade didn't care if he lived or died so long as he fulfilled his mission.
"And this will ensure that the job is done," Shade plucked a purple and blue colored Mega Stone off the ground and gave his Mega Gauntlet a quick tap, reverting Metagross back to standard form. Shade then flashed a devious smirk as he gave the Mega Gauntlet another tap, a bright pink light then engulfed Latios' body as he began transforming into Mega Shadow Latios! "So much power!" Shade cackled while rubbing his fists together. "There's no way that you'll get away this time!"
Zach and Gloria gritted their teeth as they realized that they were in quite the predicament, surprise briefly formed across their faces as movement occurred beneath Shade's robe as if something sentient was beneath.
"What?" Shade looked towards his elbow as something bounced within his robe. "Are you kidding me? There's no way on earth that these runts will beat a Mega Shadow Pokemon!"
The blob violently bounced within his robe before slapping Shade's cheek!
"Ow! Okay okay, I'll go and track down the Red Orb." Shade growled out in a frustrated fashion. He swiftly returned Alakazam to an ancient looking Pokeball before snapping his finger. Dusknoir took to the sky while Metagross swooped towards Shade and scooped him up. "You're lucky that my master thinks there's a shot at you beating this thing, else I'd be here to finish you off. Enjoy your life while it lasts, once I get Groudon and Kyogre it'll all be over!"
"Good luck, ya git!" Gloria shook her fist. "Team Rainbow Plasma is after the Red Orb too and I'll ensure that you won't get it as soon as I get out of this here sh-"
"Gloria, focus!" Zach shouted out as Mega Shadow Latios began charging up a Hyper Beam.
"Huh?" Gloria turned towards Zach. "How do you even know-?!"
"There'll be plenty of time for questions later, let's try and get out of this first!" Zach exclaimed. "Lucario use Aura Sphere, Cinderace use Pyro Ball, Garchomp use Scorching Sand, Raichu use Thunderbolt!"
Garchomp grunted out as he shielded Gloria and Zach from Latios' Hyper Beam. Garchomp then uttered out a loud roar as fiery sand kicked up off the ground, the sand flew towards Mega Shadow Latios and began spiraling around him before blasting him causing the Dragon to grunt out.
Cinderace swiftly kicked a fiery ball towards Latios and Lucario followed by blasting the Mega Shadow Pokemon with Aura Sphere.
"Raichuuuu!" The Alolan Raichu cried out as he zapped Latios with a powerful dose of electricity.
"L-Latiii!" Latios cried out.
Zach flinched as he could sense Latios' pain however he also sensed something else. Fear, Latios was afraid and wanted to stop but had no control over his actions.
"Latios..." Zach trailed off.
"Only four Pokemon?" Gloria lightly scoffed. "Aren't Pokemon trainers supposed to have six?"
"I could say the same to you, that Crobat and Salamence are clearly yours." Zach gestured towards the unconscious Pokemon.
"Touché. Alright Greninja, use Water Shuriken! Inteleon use Snipe Shot!"
"Gre!" Greninja hurled a water shuriken towards Mega Shadow Latios while Inteleon sniped the Dragon.
"Latiiii!" Latios cried out. Zach flinched once more as he could feel Latios' pain flowing through him.
Zach took a step forward and made no attempt at ordering out another attack. "Latios, I know you're in there and I know you're afraid but you don't have to be. You can fight this! Come on Latios, we don't have to be enemies. I know that you don't want it to be this way!" Zach tried reasoning with Latios.
Mega Shadow Latios shook his head as Latios briefly regained control of his conscious. "I-I'm not sure if I can, the darkness is overwhelming me!"
"I know you can do it, come on Latios you've just got to believe in yourself!" Zach exclaimed.
"Carrr!"
"Ace!"
"Garrr!"
"Rai rai!"
Latios could sense that this trainer had a heart of gold as he was briefly reminded of Latias' trainer, Ash. Though there was something different about this one, Latias had to tell Ash how she felt while this guy seemed to know how Latios felt without him saying a thing. 'He's a Draconid!'
"O-Okay, if you believe in me then so can I. I can do thi-GAH!" Latios grunted out as a Water Shuriken and Snipe Shot made contact with his body.
"I appreciate the distraction." Gloria smirked.
"Why would you do that? We almost had him!" Zach couldn't help but snap.
"You did? I didn't really notice as talking is boring, I much prefer action!" Gloria exclaimed while pounding her fists together.
"Then you'll love this!" Mega Shadow Latios exclaimed as a powerful dark red energy beam erupted from his mouth. "Shadow Pulse!"
"Rai!"
"Intel!"
"Gre!"
"Car!"
"Garrr!" The Pokemon all cried out as the attack exploded against them. Raichu, Inteleon and Greninja collapsed against the floor while Garchomp, Cinderace and Lucario dropped to their knees as fatigue hit.
Gloria gasped out and swiftly returned her Pokemon to their Ultra Balls. "Oh you just made a big mistake, Golurk annihi-"
Latios swiftly flew across the field and headbutted Gloria's chest, knocking the air out of her lungs.
"Gloria!" Zach exclaimed as Gloria flew across the field, a loud thud was heard as her body crashed against a tree trunk. His heart began to race as Gloria collapsed in an unconscious heap. He glanced towards Lucario, Cinderace and Garchomp as they slowly raised to their feet, they were ready to dish out more damage but were clearly exhausted. "That's it, time to go all out!" He exclaimed while tossing an ancient Pokeball and an Ultra Ball forward.
"Tres!" The Galarian Moltres screeched out while Regigigas burst out alongside him, uttering out a bunch of computerized incomprehensible words. Zach typically didn't travel with his Legendary Pokemon but he wanted to ensure his chances if it came to battling Groudon, Shade and whoever else was after Groudon. He couldn't afford to let Groudon fall into the wrong hands.
Mega Shadow Latios growled out as his eyes locked with Moltres'. Garchomp, Cinderace and Lucario began backing away to give the Legendary Pokemon some space.
"Latiiii?!" Latios briefly resurfaced as shock was clearly visible across the Shadow Pokemon's face though it quickly disappeared as the darkness took over once more. Latios fired a Hyper Beam towards Moltres only for the Galarian bird to swoop out of the attack's reach.
"Tres!"
"Good work, Moltres!" Zach praised the Legendary Pokemon. "Moltres use Fiery Wrath, Regigigas use Heavy Slam!"
Mega Shadow Latios' eyes glowed blue as he prepared to counter Moltres' attack and send it back towards him however he was taken aback by the sight of an unusual move as scarlet and violet energy flared around Galarian Moltres' body. "I've never heard of nor seen an attack such as this!"
The dark energy swooped across the field and blasted Mega Shadow Latios, engulfing his body with a wave of Dark type energy!
"So much Darkness... but it pales in comparison to the real thing!" Latios grunted out.
Regigigas uttered out a bunch of computerized noises as he leaped into the air. Mega Shadow Latios looked up and began to nervously sweat as Regigigas began falling towards him. The Dragon attempted an escape only to find himself surrounded by fiery sand that swirled around him, blocking off every possible escape.
"Gah!" Latios cried out as Regigigas landed on top of him. His eyes bulged out of his head as Regigigas crushed him against the ground. Zach and Lucario couldn't help but flinch, they felt bad as Latios didn't want to fight. Though this wasn't over as Latios pushed Regigigas off with telekinetic force before charging up a powerful red energy beam.
"Moltes use Sucker Punch!" Zach hastily shouted out.
"Tres!" Moltres swiftly flew forward and slapped Latios across the face, cancelling the Mega Pokemon's attack!
"Crush Grip!" Zach shouted while offering Latios an apologetic expression.
Regigigas uttered out more computerized grunts as he approached Latios before grabbing hold of him, his hands wrapped around Latios' body and began pressing down upon the Shadow Pokemon. "L-Latiii!" Latios cried out. The shadows began to disperse from his body as his eyes rolled up into his head.
"Okay Regigigas, that's enough!" Zach swiftly recalled Regigigas to his Ultra Ball. "Good job, you two!"
"Tres!" Moltres bowed towards Zach, the Galarian bird was quite grateful that he'd saved his life back in Hisui. Helping him out here was the least he could do.
"Where did he go...?" May questioned while shooting a quick glance around as Altaria flew above the ocean.
"I'm not sure, he's not answering his phone." Dawn spoke with a worrisome expression. "What if he's hurt?"
"You worry too much." May reached back and gave Dawn's shoulder a reassuring pat. "I'm sure that Zach's fine, he's probably on his way back-"
An explosion of gold energy flared up from a nearby island as Shadow Mega Latios transitioned back to his normal Mega state, then an eruption of pink light flared up as Latios reverted back to basic form.
May and Dawn glanced towards each other.
"You think-?" May started.
"That it's Zach? Yep." Dawn swiftly nodded as Altaria began descending towards the island.
Zach smiled as Latios returned to his normal form. "You okay, Latios?"
"I am, thank you human..." Latios breathed out while offering a light smile.
"Great!" Zach exclaimed before quickly shooting around to check on his cousin. "Now to check on-Hold up, where'd she go?" He looked around the area but all that remained was the scattered remains of the helmet that Dusknoir burst apart.
"Your cousin...? S-She snuck away while you unleashed Moltres and Regigigas upon me..." Latios grunted out.
Zach and Lucario began sweating in a nervous fashion. "Sorry about that..."
"Carr..."
"Don't be, who knows what I would have done if I'd gotten away. Besides if what you say is true... then I'd have doomed humanity and Pokemon alike if I killed you." Latios bowed while offering up another smile. "You tried getting through to me and helped reassure me that not all humans are bad, there has to be more good ones out there like you and that... boy." Latios briefly lost his trail of thought as fatigue took over. "D-Did you happen to see what happened to my Mega Stone...?"
"Shade has it, it was still attached to his Mega Gauntlet when he took off."
"I see..."
"But I'll do my best to get it back to you, he's going after the Red Orb next and I intend on stopping him and whoever else is there from getting hold of it!" Zach exclaimed as Altaria swooped into the clearing. "I'll do what I can to return the stone to you."
Latios was silent for a moment as he glanced towards Zach's wrists before watching on as May and Dawn rushed towards the trainer before pulling him into a tight hug. 'So he really intended on battling a Mega Legendary Pokemon without a Mega of his own? He's either the bravest man I ever met or the stupidest. He also owns Legendary Pokemon but appears hesitant on using them, a noble trait. Most trainers that capture one can't help but repeatedly use us in battle.' He heard rumors about a strange man referred to as Tobias, apparently the trainer had an entire team of Legendary and Mythical Pokemon and repeatedly used them in battle.
"We're so glad you're okay!" Dawn breathed out.
"We thought that Garchomp had lost control for awhile." May admitted with a light blush.
"Gar..." Garchomp faintly sweated as he apologized for blasting off.
"Well he's sorry for what he did, we didn't mean to scare you girls but Latios sent out a distress call and Garchomp felt the need to answer it."
"Sounds like he's picking up on his owner's traits." Dawn playfully teased while elbowing Zach's arm.
"Heh, I guess he is." Zach laughed.
"Human..." Latios spoke up causing the group to turn towards him.
"I-It's Zach actually," Zach admitted while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Zach... I'd like to go with you. I may not fully trust humanity yet but I can sense you've got a good heart and I'd like to help you save this world from destruction. If you're really who you say you are then I want to be there when Groudon wakes up. Let me help you!"
"Y-You want to join me...?" Zach trailed off as his and Latios' eyes looked into each other's. Zamazenta wanted to join him though he always suspected that it might have to do with the fact that he was technically Galar's king, while Eternatus, Moltres, Regirock and Regigias all had circumstances surrounding their captures. Zach stared off for a moment before locking eyes with Latios once more as he held out an empty Ultra Ball. "If that's want you want then you're welcome to join my family-er team!"
"It'll be my honor," Latios bowed before tapping his head against the Ultra Ball.
"Hold on, Ash has at least seven Legendary Pokemon. Zach has six, Marnie owns a Darkrai and you own a Cresslia..." May trailed off. "Will I get anything special?"
"No need to worry, May. I'm sure that you'll get something before long!" Dawn stated while offering May a reassuring smile.
"She's right, May only became a main character recently." Mew giggled out.
"Huh?" Celebi gave Mew a questionable look.
"Besides we're letting the Regi's go as soon as we find a safe place for them." Zach reminded them as the Ultra Ball chimed out.
"Latios the Eon Pokemon, Latios will only open its heart to a Trainer with a compassionate spirit. This Pokemon can fly faster than a jet plane by folding its forelegs to minimize air resistance." The Arc Phone read out as Latios' data was registered to the device.
Zach watched the Ultra Ball whisk itself away to Professor Sonia's lab before turning to face May and Dawn with a serious expression as Lucario filled him in on what he sensed prior to Garchomp blasting off. "Alright, let's go to Mt. Chimney. We've got a Red Orb to collect!"
A red helicopter that had the Team Magma insignia painted on it's side flew through the Hoenn skyline. The alternate version of Tabitha could be seen piloting the chopper while the alternate Maxie sat in the co-pilot seat. His eyes sparked with anticipation while sunlight reflected from the Keystone embedded within his glasses.
"You know your mission, Maxie. Don't fail me." Ghetsis' voice rang out over the speaker. Tabitha began nervously sweating upon hearing Ghetsis' threat though Maxie remained calm.
"Don't worry, my lord. Failure's not an option."
Sorry the gap between chapters has been longer lately, I've been dealing with a lot of depression and anxiety lately. It's hard retaining focus with that mindset, been working on this for three days and usually it takes a few hours for something of this length
Anyways Latios finally gets closure to his arc, he was always meant to join up with Zach but seeing how Latios will be different from the other Legendary Pokemon and a recurring member of his roster much like Latias is with Ash I thought it best to wait until the right time. I try and treat Latias, Silvally, Urshifu and Naganadel like regular Pokemon(Which they definitely are compared to Pikachu/Charizard/Infernape/etc) but at the end of the day they're still Legendary Pokemon.
Will Latios be the key to him unlocking Mega Evolution? Who knows.
And yes, Shade's Mega Gauntlet is a reference to the Infinity Gauntlet. I thought he should have something different since all the heroes part from Zach own a Mega Ring(I might change Ash to his Gloves further on, they didn't exist when I originally wrote that chapter and I love them. I just need a good story purpose for it happening like maybe Ash-Marnie ship related? I don't know, the Delta and Unova plotline's are on my mind at the current moment). I originally intended on giving Gloria a Mega equivalent to Brass Knuckles but thought it was too much lol
Next time, Ash vs Glacia!