Chapter 15: A legendary secret
It was now morning time, and the students all were up with the sun, ready to start the day. They had quickly adjusted to the new schedule, and were more ready to train their butts off like Giratina had torn their way from the Distortion World.
Penny was making sure her Eevee was getting proper exercise and her Vaporeon was getting some time in the lake nearby before they start training.
Today's training exercise was about accuracy, where the Pokemon had to aim their attacks at targets that Ash had set up. The first ones up to the plate were Vaporeon, Dodonzo, and Veluza, whom all began firing their water attacks at the targets.
Vaporeon had recently learned Water Pulse thanks to Dodonzo showing her the move, now she is trying to be more accurate with the move so that it can be more useful later on. Dodonzo was very accurate with the move, as he was using the move for a very long time, but Veluza and Vaporeon were still trying to get the hang of it, either because they didn't use it that much, or they just learned it.
Next up were Fuecoco, Wattrel, Scovillain, Nacli, and Lycanroc. Fuecoco managed to land a few bullseyes with his Ember attack, as did Wattrel with Peck. Scovillain was a bit loose with his Flamethrower attack, but still managed to hit the target, with Nacli having a perfect bullseye with Smack Down, same with Lycanroc and her Rock Throw.
Rellor managed to land a bullseye thanks to his Rollout attack, Vivillon was quite accurate with her Psybeam attack, as was Capsakid and his Razor Leaf attack.
The others however, were not so accurate.
Nymble tended up miscalculate his jumps and ended up missing the target altogether, Dunsparse was pretty loose with his Ancient Power attack and almost hit his trainer, which he merely rubbed the back of his head with his wing in response.
Tadbulb ended up overcharging his shots, leaving holes in the targets, leaving them unusable, Greedent didn't have any ranged attacks so he just Tackled the new target, knocking it over. Other large Pokemon simply knocked it over, not seeing the point in accuracy improvement, which annoyed Ash.
"Alright everyone, that should be enough for now" Ash sighed as he wrote down the results on his clipboard. He then took down the now ruined targets and planned to use them for a campfire in the future.
For, he decided it was now time for some private manners, and he left for the nearby grass fields, but what he didn't know was that Arven had spotted him leaving the group, and was confused.
"The heck is that kid doing?" Arven asked himself, and eventually, curiosity got the better of him, and he followed the Pokemon Champion quietly so that he wouldn't be spotted.
Ash was worried about this sort of eventuality, when he had caught her, he was worried that any possible hunters or poachers would follow him to the ends of the earth just to get to her. He understood why they were after her, she was among the strongest Pokemon that Ash had ever caught, maybe even more than Melmetal, and that was a mythical Pokemon.
Back then he never really had to handle such Pokemon, the use of standard Pokemon meant he had a much smaller profile, even if they aren't exactly 'average' in terms of power.
Eventually, he noticed that the coast was clear, despite the fact that Arven was watching him from behind a nearby tree. Nodding to himself, Ash pulled out a pokeball, and chucked it into the air.
What Arven saw was impossible for him to believe.
Emerging from the pokeball was a red and white streamlined Pokemon with wide yellow eyes, a blue triangle mark on its chest, a long neck, and jet like wings.
This is Latias, one of the Eon Duo, which falls under the category that is often referred to as 'legendary' a title that it very well deserves. They are usually given this title under certain circumstances, they are any of the following: They are very powerful, there are only a few of them, they are very intelligent, they shaped the region's cultures and myths.
"Hey there girl" Ash said "How are you feeling?" Latias let out an echoing coo as she floated around her trainer. "Heh, I figured you would feel that way" Ash chuckled as Latias began to fly around in the sky, with Ash watching on as his very first officially caught legendary was getting her exercise for the day.
Arven couldn't help but marvel at how swift and graceful Latias was flying around, it was almost like it was a pleasant dream coming into a reality. While he definitely knew other legendaries, Koraidon and Miraidon were a thing after all, but this was almost surreal for him to believe.
He was about to leave the area, but he accidentally stepped on a twig, snapping it in half. Ash and Latias heard the sound and noticed Arven watching them. Thinking he was a poacher, Latias charged towards Arven with an Aerial Ace attack, which caused the aspiring chef to run for the hills. Despite going as fast as he can, he was unable to outspeed the swift Eon dragon, and was about to be struck when Latias heard her trainer's command.
"Stand down Latias!"
Latias stopped her pursuit, allowing for Arven to catch his breath and Ash to catch up with them.
"Sorry about that Arven, Latias tends to be a bit untrusting of strangers" Ash said while helping Arven up. "So is that Pokemon, Latias is it, yours?" Arven asked with some shock in his voice, he wasn't sure if the shock was from Latias herself, or from her attack.
"Yep, it's quite the story for sure" Ash answered "What happened?" Arven asked again. "Well, it goes like this, after my departure with one of my friends, I went on some misadventures with my Pokemon, meeting with old friends and Pokemon along the way. I came across this Latias when she crashed into a lake, me, Pikachu, Donphan, Sceptile, Buizel, and Noivern were there to help her however, and we made sure to patch up any possible wounds she might have sustained. She was about to be captured by Team Rocket, but we managed to stop them and send them off like always, this seemed to earn her trust enough to follow me."
"So, that's when you caught her?" Arven concluded "Yep" Ash nodded "And she is probably one of my strongest Pokemon yet." "So why didn't you use her more often?" Arven asked "Think about all the publicity that would generate" Ash then started "Her status as a legendary would cause an uproar, not to mention the various hunters and poachers who would want to steal her, and there's the fact that I don't normally use Latias unless absolutely necessary, like a time of crisis, or when another trainer is using a legendary" Ash finished while petting Latias.
"Ok, but the students may grew suspicious of your constant absence" Arven warned, fearing that the secret would come out eventually. "Maybe, but I feel the two tag-alongs will quell that shock" Ash noted, eventually returning Latias to her pokeball. "Anyway, let's head back to the campsite, we should continue the next part of the training regimen" Ash stated as he walked back to the group.
After Ash and Arven returned to the campsite, they continued with the accuracy training, this time, with much better results. Arven realized that Greedent had learned Bullet Seed, allowing him to used a ranged attack and hit the target more efficiently. The larger Pokemon were all also learning ranged attacks so they can hit the targets more easily.
Ash couldn't help but smile at the students actively trying to improve and cover their bases more effectively. Garganacl having learned Rock Blast, Quaxly improving his Water Gun's aim, Dunsparse practicing his Ancient Power attack, Orthworm learning Flash Cannon, and Nymble having improved his movements and able to calculate his jumps more accurately.
"That is much better everyone, nice going" Ash complemented while his Pikachu was focusing on managing the power of his Thunderbolt attack so he wouldn't use to much energy in fights. As the training continued, Ash looked down at Latias' pokeball, wondering when she can come to be used in the future.
End of Chapter
This is an AU where Ash caught Latias in the latest episode