Chapter 15: Ash Catches a Pokémon
The midmorning sun shone down on the grassy hill that held Bill's lighthouse. Ash stood with Pikachu on his shoulder. Latios floated across the way. Misty and Brock were still inside, talking to Professor Oak on the phone.
"Alright! Pikachu might be at full strength, but we're ready!" Ash exclaimed, flipping his hat around. "Pikachu, I choose you!"
"(I've been wanting a battle!)" Pikachu yelled, jumping down to face Latios.
"(I'm not going to go easy on you,)" Latios warned.
"(I expect nothing less!)" Pikachu grinned.
"Alright, bud, let's do this! Remember, he's a Dragon and Psychic type. Latios, you get the first move!"
Latios contemplated his options, and realized that he didn't really know any moves apart from Safeguard. Ramming stuff tended to work, and Pikachu generally weren't all that powerful, so that would probably work just fine.
Ash didn't need to say anything – Pikachu used Quick Attack to dash under Latios and jump onto his back.
"Alright, Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled, punching the air. Latios tried to shake Pikachu, but the mouse held tight, and shocked him the moment he let up for a moment. Even though Latios resisted the attack, it hurt. He'd been shocked by a Raichu in the garden once, and that hadn't been anywhere near this powerful.
"(That stings!)" Latios said, rolling over in the air to try and shake the rodent. "(What have you been eating?)"
"(Everything Ash does!)" Pikachu said unhelpfully, still clinging to the dragon's back.
"(Get off!)" Latios began spinning, faster and faster to try and fling Pikachu off. The mouse held fast.
"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!" Ash yelled.
Pikachu let go, the momentum from Latios' spin sending him high into the air. Latios breathed a sigh of relief, until what looked like a yellow comet came streaking down out of the sky towards him.
Latios scrambled to get out of the way.
"Use Iron Tail!"
In the middle of his Volt Tackle, Pikachu started spinning, his tail glowing white. He was able to barely clip Latios' wing with the attack, and landed back on the ground in front of Ash.
Latios shot off out of reach, to consider his options once more. This wasn't just any Pikachu – This one was talented, strong, and had honed his skills. Latios flew around, waiting to see if there was any opening where he could attack Pikachu.
"That's how we're playing, huh?" Ash asked. "Pikachu, Quick Attack to build up some speed!"
"(Got it!)" Pikachu began running, faster and faster until he was a blur. Latios was still out of reach, but he couldn't help but wonder what those two were planning.
"Alright, buddy, I want Electro Ball! Lots of Electro Ball!" Ash said.
Latios remembered what that move did. Pikachu, still running, sent a massive ball of electricity at him. Latios dodged, and used Safeguard. Another Electro Ball hit him, winding him, but he'd been able to weather the attack.
He shot off again, using Safeguard again to hopefully gain an edge. He rolled out of the way of another Electro Ball, only to find yet another straight in his path. He took the attack, stumbling in midair, but soon took a sharp turn upwards, even further away from Ash and Pikachu. He couldn't even hear the trainer anymore, and Pikachu was just a little yellow dot darting around in the grass.
Latios used Safeguard a few more times, and risked dipping down. He faintly heard the cry of "Thunderbolt!", and had to quickly roll to the side to avoid a lightning bolt from above. He had absolutely no idea how Pikachu had managed to do that.
Latios retreated again, flying near the lighthouse… Pikachu was no pushover, that was for sure, and Ash's commands didn't always make it entirely clear what the two were planning.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash yelled. Latios couldn't see how that could possibly be any help now, he was a good twenty feet above the top of the lighthouse.
Pikachu ran up the side of the lighthouse to jump off of the roof. He had forgotten that that space was occupied, though, and accidentally ended up bouncing off of a green hat instead. With a yelp, Luigi fell off the lighthouse and crashed into the ocean far below. Amazingly, all of his Pokémon remained peacefully asleep atop the lighthouse.
Pikachu flew into Latios before he realized what was going on. Now, Latios was reeling, and Pikachu was coming from above.
"Let's finish this up, buddy!" Ash yelled. "Volt Tail!"
With his confusion over the command, Latios wasn't able to move out of the way in time. Pikachu, completely enveloped in electricity, smacked him down with Iron Tail, sending him careening towards the ground. Moments after his landing, the mouse smacked into him with Volt Tackle.
When the dust cleared, he saw Pikachu standing about ten feet away from him, panting.
"(Done… yet?)" The mouse asked.
It occurred to Latios that every single bit of damage Pikachu had accrued throughout the fight had been self-inflicted, and the mouse was still probably in better shape than he was.
… He wasn't exactly good at battling, but that was just ridiculous.
"(… Yeah,)" Latios said. "(You're… really strong.)"
Pikachu smiled. "(Not really… I just know what I'm doing.)" He walked over to the dragon, holding his paw out. "(I'm beat… Gotta work back up… Good match, though!)"
Latios held his claw out, shaking with the much smaller Pokémon. "(I kind of sucked, actually…)" He said, as he began levitating again.
"(You're strong and fast,)" Pikachu said. "(That's a good start! You just need more experience.)"
"Hey!" Ash called out, running to the two Pokémon. "That was great! You really need some work, though, Latios… Ramming's good and all, but some real moves would work a lot better. You weren't really thinking much about where Pikachu would go or what he would do, either, especially at the end there."
"(I know…)" Latios said, as Pikachu clambered back to Ash's shoulder.
"Hey, if you want…"
A soaked-through Luigi walked up the path next to them. He glared at Pikachu.
"(Um…)" Pikachu said.
Luigi spun on the spot, spraying water over everything within twenty feet so that Ash, Pikachu, and Latios were soaked instead of him. "Don't knock me into the ocean."
"Sorry about that," Ash said, and turned back to Latios. Luigi walked off to do who-knows-what.
"Anyway, Latios… If you want, I could help train you. If we're going to be travelling together anyway, we might as well do other stuff too, right?"
Latios was unsure. On one hand, he really did need training. On the other hand, getting captured might not be a good idea.
Ash picked up on Latios' thoughts. "If you don't want the Pokéball, or want to stay out of it, that's fine. Pikachu never goes in his. It'll be safer if you at least have one, though…"
Did he trust Ash? After all, this was the same kid that had stolen his sister's heart… But, thinking back to the first time he'd met him, everything the boy had done was to help two Pokémon he'd only just met, for no other reason than they needed help. Latias certainly had been fast to trust him… He decided to heed her judgement, and nodded. "(You can catch me, but I'll stay out.)"
"(Just like me,)" Pikachu said.
"All right, then… Glad to have you around, Latios." Ash got an empty Pokéball out of his pocket. "Pokéball, go!"
Directly after they left Bill's lighthouse, before the researcher had even gone back inside, Luigi remarked that he was surprised nothing had broken while he was there. The top of the lighthouse promptly broke off from the rest and fell into the ocean, the massive splash of water somehow coming down on Luigi and leaving everyone else, including Clefairy, completely dry.
Luigi was not amused, although he wasn't particularly surprised, either.
"That'll be costly," Bill said. "… Ah, well, I was planning on redoing the roof anyway! Don't worry about it, children."
Once they were on the road again, Brock hung back with the green-hatted boy to bring up the question of what Luigi had been talking about. He hadn't recognized the word Luigi said in response, but from the tone he got the distinct feeling that it wasn't appropriate for polite company.
"How much did you hear?" Luigi asked.
"Just something about someone named Bowser… Is he an evil magician, or something?" Brock asked.
Luigi's eyes widened in surprise. "You know about magic?"
"Yeah, we met a magician a while back. She accidentally turned Ash into a Pikachu. It didn't last long."
"Accidental spells never do," Luigi said. "… Okay, yes, Bowser's an evil magician. Among other things… Look, he's dangerous, so you need to stay out of it!"
Brock held up his hands. "Okay, well… I just wanted to let you know that we heard you, and that we'll help you in any way we can."
"You can help me by staying safe," Luigi stressed.
"And what about you?" Brock asked.
"I've been doing stuff like this my entire life," Luigi said. "I can't avoid danger, but I'll do everything I can to make sure no one else has to deal with it."
"I see," Brock said. Though their attitudes might be different, Luigi's philosophy on dangerous situations was remarkably similar to Ash's. "Can I ask why you were on top of the lighthouse?"
"… I feel comfortable when I'm high above the ground," Luigi said. "I've had a pretty weird, stressful week. I've never just not known where my brother is, or what he's doing. Mario's always there for me."
"You're close, then."
"He's almost the only family I've really got," Luigi said. "My father stays in touch, but's always busy, and my mother disappeared when I was just a few weeks old."
Brock placed a hand on Luigi's shoulder. "I understand. Both of my parents ran off, and I had to take care of my brothers and sisters. Eventually, we all made up, but I know how it is."
"Well, like I said, Papa's still around sometimes. I never found out what happened to my mother, Papa just said that she got in over her head. Apparently, Mario takes after her, so I can definitely see that happening…"
"Reckless, charges into danger heedless of the consequences, tries to take on far more than he can handle?" Brock asked. He'd heard Luigi describe his brother a bit before, and had a basic idea about him, but hadn't wanted to pry. "That sounds familiar…" Brock stole a glance at Ash, who in Brock's short absence had started arguing with Misty again.
"More or less…" Luigi said. "Apart from being more than he can handle. That's kind of rare, and I'm always there to help when it happens."
"Well, I don't know you well, but I don't think you're all that different from us," Brock said. "If you want to talk, then I'm ready to listen."
"Thanks," Luigi said, giving Brock a smile. "I didn't realize that anyone would know about this stuff…"
"Magic, or…?" Brock asked. "Well, things kind of happen to us. Most people don't know about the stuff we've seen and dealt with."
"Gotcha…" Luigi said. "… Where I'm from, everybody knows about magic and stuff. Mostly in passing."
"Alright," Brock said. "I'll have to ask you about it later."
"… Maybe," Luigi said. "Honestly, I don't know much about it. My mother was a really strong wizard, but…"
"I understand," Brock said. "If you don't want to, that's fine."
"I just don't know much," Luigi said. "I'd be happy to teach you some of what I know."
"Well… Maybe later. It's always nice to learn something new."
"I guess it is… By the way, were you aware that something large and invisible has been following Ash?"
"That's Latios," Brock said. "He's a Legendary Pokémon that wanted to travel with us. How did you figure out he was here?"
"He distorts light a little bit," Luigi said. "I'm kind of used to spotting ghosts, and that's one of their favorite tricks. Just another thing I had to learn to stay safe. Relatively safe, anyway."
"… Speaking of staying safe, we should probably figure out a better disguise for Latios," Brock said. "Hey, I'm going to go catch up with the rest. Are you fine by yourself?"
"Clefairy's still here," Luigi said, lifting his hat to show the little pink Pokémon.
Brock chuckled. "He is, isn't he? Alright, then. Talk to you later." Brock jogged forward to catch up with Ash and Misty.
"Hey, Brock," Misty said. "Ash and I were having a… discussion, definitely not an argument, about which of Eevee's evolutions looks coolest. You agree with me, right? Vaporeon?"
"What did Ash say?"
"Leafeon..." Misty grumbled. "You should've known he'd pick the Grass-type."
"Pikachu says Jolteon, Bulbasaur says it doesn't matter, and Latios said… Umbreon, I think?" Pikachu nodded, confirming that Ash had relayed them all correctly.
"Personally, I like Flareon, but they're all great in their own ways," Brock said. "Anyway, I was coming to ask about what we're going to do about Latios when we get to the city. If he's just invisible, someone is bound to bump into him and notice, he's not really small."
Latios trilled, not having considered that.
"Anyway, I know Latias could use illusions, just like Zorua and Zoroark," Brock said. "So, Latios should be able to do it, too! If Latios looked like a human, or even a different Pokémon, then it'd be way easier. No one would notice him."
Latios said something, and Pikachu relayed the message to Ash.
"Latias was always better at it, but Latios could try," Ash said. "Um… Well, now we've just got to figure out a disguise. Looking like one of us won't work, and the only other person he's really seen was Bill…"
"Why not just mix up some of our features?" Misty said. "Like… Ash, but with Luigi's hair and different colors and clothes, and mixing up facial features and structure? That should work, right?"
Latios affirmed that that was possible, and set out trying to make it work. Which did slow progress down some, as he kept switching between floating and having legs (which he really wasn't used to).
Luigi watched Latios' attempts with interest.
"He's a shapeshifter," the younger Mario brother said. "That's really cool… I've seen a few shapeshifters before."
Clefairy voiced a question.
"Oh… Well, there's these creatures called Duplighosts, back where I come from. They can turn into people, and even mimic their voices and abilities, to an extent. My brother Mario's a shapeshifter, too… I think."
Clefairy asked another question, pointing to Luigi.
"Me…?" Luigi asked. "… No. I guess it's just another thing he can do that I can't."
Clefairy did a few air punches, which Luigi took as another question.
"Mario's tried fighting while transformed," Luigi said, hoping he'd guessed the question correctly. "He says it's not worth the trouble."
Clefairy nodded in understanding, and started chattering away, pointing to Luigi several times.
"… Are you asking about what I can do?" Luigi guessed.
"Clef!" The little pink Pokémon confirmed, nodding and grinning.
"Um, well, I'm a good jumper. I can do a little magic. Really, there's not a lot that you haven't seen before," Luigi said. "If I use my powers, it'd be really obvious that I'm not normal, and… I kind of want to just keep it up for a while." Regardless of how bad a job he'd been doing at that, it was still appealing.
Slowly, Clefairy nodded. Luigi wasn't sure if it (he, that's what Brock had said) really understood why Luigi was doing this, but he was grateful all the same.
Luigi looked ahead – Latios had finally managed to settle on a disguise, which put him at about Ash's height. Luigi was amused to note that he had blue hair, and the color scheme of his clothes was very clearly inspired by his normal colors.
Then again, no one would really be looking, anyway, which was the best way to hide. It dawned on Luigi that that was probably why he hadn't been found out yet. No one here knew what 'Mario Brother' really meant, so no one expected him to be anything but a kid in a hat.
In the distance over the trees, Luigi could see a sprawling city. It wouldn't be much longer before they finally arrived in Vermilion City. The city where Mario was, somewhere. The city Ash, Misty, and Brock had all been travelling to.
His friends were all ahead of him, talking to each other and having a good time. Brock seemed to find Latios' disguise funny, and Misty was trying to pretend she didn't, while Ash was cheering at Latios' success. Bulbasaur was just there, making sure nothing went wrong. Luigi was left alone, with Clefairy under his hat.
He couldn't help but wonder if this city would mark the end of their journey together. If it did, he wasn't quite sure he was ready for that.
He looked to the little pink Pokémon he had with him.
... He didn't know what to do. He couldn't just leave…
Luigi wished, once again, that Mario were here. He'd know exactly how to fix everything and make everyone happy. He always did, in the end.
So... It's a chapter! I don't have much to say about this one. Soon, Mario and Luigi will be reunited... And eventually, we'll finally find out what Bowser's been up to all this time. I finally got Splatoon 2 a few days ago! ... Playing it was kind of tough until I unlocked a roller, which was the weapon type I used the most in the first game. Then things got better.
Rocker on: Bowser? Oh, he's not in the woods. He's somewhere much... stranger, harder to get to. If he wasn't, he'd have started terrorizing people already. He's probably got a decent cache of food stored wherever he keeps stuff. I'm still not sure including Latios and Latias was a good idea, but they're meant to parallel Mario and Luigi in some ways. Actually, it was all Mario's fault. He broke space while fighting Mewtwo. What Bill was doing at the time is just a coincidence. No, not this time. They didn't turn the lighthouse on, so Pokezilla, as you called it, does not appear. Don't worry. The only thing falling off that roof is Luigi himself... And also the roof, because Luigi is unlucky.