Chapter 14
"Alright!" said Ash, "Let's go train!"
"Train?" asked Latias.
"Yeah, Arceus said we needed a better bond, so what better way to do that than train?"
Latios, Latias, and Pikachu sweatdropped. Of course he would say that.
Despite Ash's overreaction, the training turned out to be very fun. In addition to Ash training them, Latios and Latias helped Ash master some of his attacks while his other Pokemon sparred with each other.
"You can do it, Ash!" said Latios, "Try a little harder, and Luster Purge will get a special effect,"
"What effect?" asked Ash.
"Luster Purge can lower the special defense of your opponent," explained Latios, "meaning the next time you use it it will do more damage,"
"Cool!" said Ash, "Ok, here goes…"
"Mist Ball also has a special effect," said Latias.
"What does it do?" asked Ash.
"It can lower your opponents' special attack so they do less damage to you," replied Latias, "plus, it looks cooler when you do it! See?" Latias fired off a Mist Ball similar to Ash's except it seemed more foggy on the inside.
"Ok, here we go," said Ash.
"Ok, great job guys!" said Ash, "That's enough for today, let's get some dinner!"
Before Ash got a response, however, the keystone on his wrist gave off a faint glow.
"Ash, did you see that?" asked Pikachu.
"Yeah," said Ash, "I think that means we'll be able to use Mega-evolution soon!"
"Great!" said Latios.
"One step closer!" shouted Latias.
"Man I'm stuffed," groaned Ash.
"What are you complaining about? You ate as much food as all of us combined!" said Pikachu.
Ash shrugged, "Well, I couldn't just let that all-you-can-eat buffet go to waste,"
"Well, we won't be able to go there again so…" said Latios.
"Yeah," agreed Ash, "that's another buffet place I've been kicked out of,"
"How many have you been kicked out of?" asked Skye.
"Let's see," said Ash, "that's one, two three… um, about 10 maybe?"
Latias giggled, "You better be careful or there'll be no more buffet places to eat at!"
Ash laughed, stroking Latias' neck, "I guess I better be careful then,"
Latias blushed slightly, earning a chuckle of amusement from Latios.
"You know," said Pikachu, "I'm feeling pretty confident that we'll be able to complete this mission,"
"Me too!" said Skye, "I can't wait to go crush those evil dudes!"
"They're called Team Void," said Pikachu.
"Yeah, I know," said Skye, "but evil dudes is more fun to say, don't you think?"
Pikachu sweatdropped.
"Well," said Ash, "great job today everyone, let's get some rest so we can get those Mega-stones working by the end of this week!"
Pikachu nodded sleepily and culled up next to him. Latios and Latias fell asleep on their bed and the rest of Ash's Pokemon rested comfortably in their Pokeballs.
"Hey Latias,"
Latias shifted, "Yes brother?"
"How do you feel about Ash?"
"How did you know?" questioned Latias.
"It's kinda obvious," said Latios, "and honestly, I'm okay with it,"
"You are?" asked Latias.
"Of course sis," said Latios, "it's my job to protect and encourage you and I trust Ash completely. However, don't forget, he's only 11 and knows basically nothing about love so take it slowly,"
"Alright, thanks brother," said Latias, "you won't tell him will you?"
"Nope, it's too much fun to tease you," replied Latios jokingly.
"Hey!" said Latias.
Latios chuckled. "Time to go back to sleep sis,"
"Wait a minute, wake up you sleepy head!"
"Morning guys!"
"Ash! You're awake?" asked Pikachu.
"Yep, I will not miss out on the bacon for breakfast today!" said Ash proudly.
Pikachu sweatdropped. 'Of course,' He thought. "Hey guys, bad news, Ash woke up already,"
"Darn," said Latios, "just when we figured out what to do,"
"Another reason why I woke up," said Ash jokingly.
"Well," said Ash, "do you want to see if the Mega-stones work?"
"Yeah!" said Latias, "Can I go first?"
"Sure!" said Ash, "Ready?"
"Yep!"
"Ok," said Ash, "let's do this!" Ash pressed his keystone and it started to glow. Latias began to glow as well and her body started to shine. Just as it looked like the Mega-evolution would be successful though, the glowing died down and the keystone deactivated.
"Aw, we were so close," said Latias, disappointed.
"Hey, don't worry Latias," said Ash, "we'll just have to try again later. In the meantime, since that didn't work, let's have some fun! We did a lot of training yesterday, so I think today would be a good day to relax and enjoy the day!"
"Good idea," said Latios, "Arceus said we needed a better bond, and I can't think of a better way to do it."
"Alright!" said Ash, switching to his Lati-form, "Hey Pikachu, bet you can't catch me!"
"Hey! No fair!" yelled Pikachu as Ash flew into the sky.
Latios laughed as he watched Pikachu chase after Ash with a Quick Attack. "Hey Skye, you want a ride?"
"Sure!" said Skye, jumping up and down excitedly.
A Few Hours Later…
"Hold on Ash," said Latios, "I'm sensing something,"
"What is it?" asked Ash.
"Someone's coming! Quick, Latias, turn invisible!"
Latios and Latias quickly activated their invisibility.
"Nice try," came a voice, "so you're the kid who interfered with our squad at the Silver Conference. And I assume those Pokemon with you are the ones who stopped their attacks."
"What do you want Team Void?" asked Ash, with Pikachu and Skye in a fighting stance on either side of him.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the source of the voice came out from the woods, revealing a strong-looking man with black hair and a bunch of Team Void grunts, "I am Crypto, one of Team Voids' commanders. I come with an offer from our boss."
"What is it?" asked Ash.
"It's quite simple really," replied Crypto, "if you accept our offer to join us, we'll stop attacking the people of the Johto region,"
"Why should I trust you?"
"I am shocked by your defiance," said Crypto smoothly, "this offer is not one to be refused. However, to sweeten the deal a little, the boss offered to make you head commander. After all, you and your legendaries will be very helpful to our mission,"
"Who even is this 'boss' of yours?" asked Ash.
"That is confidential information, but when you join us, I'm sure you will find your answers,"
"I'm sorry," said Ash, "but I cannot join an organization that does to Pokemon what I saw earlier!"
"That was simply the shadow revision," said Crypto, "it significantly increases a Pokemon's attack stat. It just comes with a few, should we say, side effects"
"Well, I don't like it!" said Ash, "Those Pokemon had no emotion, no feelings, and no-"
"Weakness,"
"What?"
"Those Pokemon have no weaknesses," replied Crypto, "when they have such great power, there is no need for emotion or feelings,"
"That's it!" yelled Ash, "I don't know what you're trying to do, but I refuse to join you!"
"What a pity," said Crypto in the most unpitiful way possible, "well, I guess we'll just have to destroy you. Squadron A! Attack!"
All of the Team Void grunts sent out their Pokemon and ordered a variety of attacks.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt! Skye, psychic, block those attacks!" Ash ordered, "Latios, Latias, I trust you two to attack at will, I'll command Pikachu and Skye!"
"Got it Ash!" "Ok!"
"Don't even try," said Crypto, "Hoot-hoot, use foresight!" The shadow Hoot-hoot shot a beam of red light out of its eyes, revealing Latios and Latias. "You see," explained Crypto, "unlike most petty criminals, we use any Pokemon we come across, that way, we have unlimited options when it comes to attacking,"
Ash cringed. This was going to be a tough battle. "Pikachu, Electroweb Sheild! Skye, normal, use Helping Hand!"
Crypto smiled. This kid was indeed strong, it was little wonder his boss wanted him as head commander. He had expected Ash to refuse his initial offer, but as soon as he had been brainwashed and programmed to Team Voids thinking, things would go much more smoothly. A few more minutes of waiting couldn't hurt.
The battle was nearly over in a few minutes. However, it was not in Crypto's favor. Ash's Pokemon were absolutely demolishing Team Void.
Crypto was sweating. They had hardly done any damage to Ash's Pokemon. "Squadron A, retreat!" Before Ash could react, all of the grunts had sent out a psychic Pokemon and instantly teleported away. "You may have won this one, but next time you won't be so lucky," said Crypto, before he too disappeared into thin air.
Ash took a deep breath. "Great job guys, is everyone ok?"
"We're fine Ash," said Latios.
"Yeah," said Pikachu, "they had nothing on us!"
"We defeated the evil dudes!" said Skye.
"I'm fine," said Latias, "their Pokemon didn't do too much damage,"
"Good," said Ash, "but remember, Team Void definitely has stronger Pokemon. That was probably only a test to see how strong we were. I don't think they know I'm a Pokemon yet, but they know what Pokemon I have now,"
"Just because they know about us doesn't mean they can defeat us right?" asked Latias.
"Yeah," said Latios, "but we lose the surprise of Ash having us and they can find counters as well,"
Just then, Ash's stomach grumbled. All his Pokemon turned to look at him. "What? Battling makes me hungry," said Ash.
Pikachu laughed. "Of course it does,"
Welp, that's another chapter done.
I hope it's pretty good because I wrote it in about 3 hours.
Anyway, if you enjoyed it, consider leaving a review and joining my discord server, it helps out a lot! (link to the server on my profile page)
P.S. I hope you all enjoyed all the little piece of Altoshipping I inserted!