Azura was currently sitting on a bench in one of Altomare's busier streets, one of the few ones that didn't have a canal running through it. It was the main shopping avenue of the city, with a row of trees occupying the centre line. The avenue ran perpendicular to the main canal and continued roughly 200 metres towards the centre of the city, where it turned into a plaza with a big ornate fountain adorned with statues of Altomare's guardian deities, Latios and Latias. Behind the fountain was the equally ornate city hall, its walls were filled with murals depicting important moments in Altomare's history. The avenue had every shop a tourist's heart could desire, clothes, souvenirs, and everything in between.
Azura had finished her patrol of the museum and the surrounding area only a few minutes ago and needed some downtime. Usually that downtime would involve going back to the garden and playing with the Pokémon there. Never in a million years would she have guessed that she'd willingly sit in such a crowded place and just watch people go about their daily lives. In that regard she was quite like her brother. It was one of the few similarities they shared: Their distrust of humans. Though to Azura's credit, she wasn't nearly as bad as her brother. He even refused the hand of the human who saved them.
Speaking of him, he was the reason she was engaging in her current activity to begin with, that being observing humans. Ever since she stalk… watched him as he interacted with various Pokémon and people alike, she has become curious what other humans are like. Did they fit into her pre-conceived idea of being untrustworthy or were they more like him. To her surprise, most people she watched fell somewhere in between. Ordinary people living side by side with their Pokémon and going about their lives together.
A couple was apologizing to one of the many restaurants' owners because their Aipom kept begging the other guests for food, which most didn't seem too bothered by. There was also an older lady who was feeding some Pidgeys and Pidoves.
Azura was just observing a group of Pidgeys taking flight after a Poochyena came running towards them, when she heard a sound that made her perk up.
"Pika pi!", a sound that she had come to associate with a very particular person.
Could it be that her saviour was in Altomare?
With a newfound enthusiasm that surprised even her, she stood up and looked towards where she heard the small mouse Pokémon. Said enthusiasm disappeared as quickly as it had surfaced when she found the yellow mouse sat on the shoulders of a young man, roughly Bianca's age, with plain looking brown hair.
It's not him. She thought disappointed. Despite not remembering his name, she would never forget how he looked. His reassuring smile that would give anyone hope, brown eyes filled with determination and childlike wonder at the sight of a Pokémon and of course those Z marks that gave his face a unique touch.
If only she could remember his name. It's not like she didn't hear it mentioned at least once by one of his human or Pokémon friends in the time she was stalk- watching him.
Unfortunately, Azura had always been bad with names. It took her almost a full year to remember Lorenzo's and Bianca's name and use them consistently. And it's not like it would be worth it to remember names of people she will most likely never see again.
They never told Latias what really happened in the days they were gone. No word of the hunter who nearly caught them and no word of the trainer who saved their lives, otherwise she would probably keep them cooped up in the garden for the rest of their lives. As far as Latias is concerned, the siblings went out on a hunting trip and got lost.
Not that that excuse was any better. It just meant that Latias would insist on joining them on their excursions. She even proposed going to Kanto, to a rural town the name of which Azura can't be bothered to remember; Ballet Town or something.
Come to think of it, it probably had something to do with that human she keeps gushing about every chance she gets, Dust she thinks his name was. Apparently, he is something of a celebrity in the trainer world, but Azura was never really interested in all that.
What did pique her interest, however, was the way Latias spoke of that trainer. Whenever she gushed about his newest exploits there was a level of admiration and happiness that Azura rarely got to see. Latias was usually either a lot more irritated because of the siblings or downright melancholic for whatever reason.
It made her curious who that trainer was and whether he knew Azura's own saviour, small as that chance may be.
If she remembered correctly, Latias' monthly meeting with her friends should be starting soon.
With newfound resolve, Azura headed out of the shopping street into one of Altomare's many alleys. Making sure there was no one who could see her, she dropped her human form and turned into an almost exact copy of Latias, safe for her slightly smaller frame and blue eyes. She quickly turned invisible and headed for Lorenzo's and Bianca's house.
It was almost noon when Pikachu finally decided to leave the world of dreams behind, partly because of the increasingly loud sounds of a certain Pokémon trainer exercising with his Lucario.
A loud thump, followed by an "oof", followed by yet another thud was Pikachu's final motivation to get up and see what his trainer was up to again.
Judging from his mental performance yesterday, his usual training with Lucario was the last thing the young man should be doing right now. But knowing Ash for as long as he has, the yellow mouse had no doubt the trainer would try to force himself into the necessary state of mind.
Sure enough, when Pikachu emerged from the tent he heard another loud thud, accompanied by groaning from the exasperated human and slightly frustrated ramblings from the blue jackal Pokémon. Scanning the area, he found both Lucario and Ash close to a tree. The former facepalming and the latter lying the on the grassy floor, out of breath, wearing his aura gloves and a loose blindfold.
"You've gotta get your act together Ash. I can sense your head's not really in the game."
It was quite rare seeing Lucario genuinely frustrated, although it was understandable given the current situation. Honing one's aura abilities requires absolute concentration, even more so considering Ash went about his aura training in the most Ash way possible; by fighting Lucario blindfolded.
Noone said it was the best way…. or even a good way, but it has worked well enough up until now.
Lucario, finally noticing the presence of the yellow mouse, turned his attention away from the trainer, who was still catching his breath on the grass.
"Pikachu, can you zap some sense into him please? I fear he's gonna hurt himself if we keep going."
Before Pikachu could throw in his two cents however, the young trainer shot back up, still out of breath.
"Let's try again, I'm sure I've got it this time!"
His proclamation caused Lucario to shake his head and Pikachu to sigh. Their reaction however did not deter the young trainer.
"This is the last try, I promise."
Reluctantly, Lucario moved back into position and assumed his fighting stance. Ash followed suit while readjusting his blindfold.
Pikachu took to the side, deciding that no amount of talking would bring Ash to his senses. What his trainer needed was a good old-fashioned beating.
While Ash tried to concentrate on his aura perception, Lucario focused his aura throughout his entire body, to make it more visible to his trainer. It's a technique that is both physically and mentally taxing and is the main reason Lucario was as annoyed as he was. Going through all the trouble only for your sparring partner to not be mentally there would frustrate even the most patient Pokémon.
Ash now saw nothing but a relatively strong blue outline of a roughly Lucario shaped figure. He could feel it. This time he would get a hit in.
Unfortunately, as was the case the last 6 hours, the scene (or lack thereof) before him transformed into a familiar sight. He was back in the secret garden, in front of the swing where she had first revealed herself to him. He wanted to look around for her, to see if he could detect her through her invisibility. But before he could attempt anything like that, his rude awakening came in the form of fist to his stomach with enough force to push him back a few feet.
Ash clutched his stomach while letting out a grown. Lucario was also down on one knee and breathing heavily. Their 6 hours of "training", if you could call Ash getting distracted and beat up by one of his Pokémon training, has left a heavy toll on both of them.
In his own frustration, Ash let out louder grown, ripping off his blindfold with one hand while holding his stomach with the other.
He looked towards Lucario, his gaze filled with frustration and guilt.
"Pikachu"
The little mouse Pokémon perked up.
"Can you get one of the potions from my backpack and give them to Lucario please."
Giving a thumbs up, Pikachu made his way back to the tent before Ash spoke up again.
"I'm sorry Lucario. I thought I could get my mind off things by training with you, but all it achieved was needlessly tire you out."
"There you go again, worrying about others when you should really worry about yourself."
"Yeah, you did punch me really hard this last time. Hehe-ouch!", Ash winced from the pain his little chuckle caused him.
"You do kinda deserve it for spacing out during our training. You do know that you can talk to us if there's something on your mind. At least talk to Pikachu. He's your oldest friend, if you can't talk to him, who can you talk to?"
Ash didn't know what to answer. Lucario was right of course. He and Pikachu have gone through thick and thin, and it has become clear to Ash that he needed to talk to someone.
Pikachu took some time to return with the potion and an unexpected guest, the Scizor from yesterday following him.
"She said she watched you two go at it since this morning and she was wondering why a trainer would let his Pokémon beat him up.", Pikachu told them while handing the potion to Lucario, and hint of amusement in his voice.
"It's just his favourite way of trying to distract himself from thinking", Lucario replied before drinking the potion, his strength gradually returning.
"Thanks Pikachu, you're a life saver!"
The yellow mouse only gave a thumbs up before continuing.
"She also says, she wants to spar a bit with Lucario since he seems pretty strong."
The compliment caused Lucario to beam with pride, while Ash could only sweat drop before asking the blue jackal.
"Aren't you still tired from our training?"
"Not really. The potion worked wonders! Besides," Lucario looked at his trainer with an accusatory look, "I still want to do some actual training. And it gives you time to sort yourself out."
Before Ash could say anything, Lucario led the Scizor away so they could spar with each other without worrying about any potential collateral damage, leaving the trainer alone with his long-time friend.
Ash finally managed to sit up again as he watched the two Pokémon engage in a fight, his eyes fixated on the bug Pokémon, his thoughts shifting back to yesterday. He then closed his eyes again and sighed. Time to come clean, he thought.
"Hey buddy? Remember what we talked about yesterday?"
"About all the people we met on our journey and you regretting moving on too quickly?"
"Yeah… and when you asked if I had anyone in mind and I said no? I, erm, I might have lied."
How was he supposed to say this. Should he try to be vague or should he just be honest with himself and his best friend. Sensing the doubt setting into his trainer's mind, Pikachu simply asked.
"Is this about Latias?"
This caused the trainer to freeze.
"How did you…"
"Well for one, you've only been acting this strangely ever since we helped that other Latias out, so I figured it had something to do with it. Plus, you were talking about people we've met on our journey and leaving them behind. Lastly, there's the fact that you've been saying Latias' name in your sleep."
That last bombshell caused Ash to blush; he wasn't dreaming anything weird though, was he?
"D-d-did I really say her name in my sleep?"
"I don't know, I was just bullshitting, but that reaction tells me everything I need to know."
Ignoring his embarrassment for a moment, Ash was curious what Pikachu meant.
"And that is?"
"You miss Latias, or at the very least, you want to go back to correct a wrong you think you might have committed."
Could it really be that simple? Did he really just miss her? Or did feel guilty for leaving her to deal with her brother's loss alone?
"We did leave Altomare quite quickly after everything happened. Maybe we should have stayed longer to help her?"
"Maybe. But at least you got a nice parting gift."
How quickly your friends can turn against you.
"Sh-shut up! That was my first kiss, you know?"
"What about the one that Melody girl gave you?"
"That one doesn't count. It was just a greeting."
"It's not like it was your last kiss either, remember when Serena also gave you a goodbye kiss?"
Indeed, Ash had almost forgotten that one. Even though the look on Serena's face at the time reminded him of Latias, thinking about the kiss itself doesn't really generate the same kind of response.
"It's not the same. I can't explain it, but it just felt different when Latias did it."
"You seem quite convinced that that was Latias on the dock. Is there a reason for that confidence?"
This caused another bout of blushing from the poor boy.
"I just know it, ok.", he barely managed to get out.
The two continued to sit there in silence as they watched Lucario and Scizor land a few punches on each other.
Ash was the first to break the silence.
"You know when we rescued that Latias, I really thought she was the one from Altomare. I was really hurt when she seemingly didn't remember me, before I realized that it wasn't her."
"How did you figure it out so quickly. No offense, but you're not really known for your use of deductive reasoning."
"I'm gonna pretend to know what that means. But to answer your question, it was her eyes. My Latias has yellowish golden eyes, while that one had blue eyes."
"Your Latias, eh? I never knew you were so possessive, heh."
Only now realising what he said, Ash's face turned red, once again, a common occurrence when he talked about Latias.
"Please just forget I said that…"
"Never."
Ash let out a sigh. He had hoped that talking to Pikachu would help clear his mind, but it appears all it did was add further confusion.
"I thought venting your feelings to your friends was supposed to help, but I feel even more confused now. What am I supposed to do?"
"I think the answer to that question is actually quite simple."
Ash turned to look at his yellow companion, curious what he meant by that. Pikachu only smiled.
"Time for a nice vacation!"
Latias and Cresselia had to hurry. Bianca's house was still quite a long way away and they were already running late.
In their hurry, neither of them thought to transform back into their Pokémon forms and so they had to run through the labyrinth that is the City of Water. Thankfully, Latias knew Altomare like the back of her claw. She led Cresselia through hidden alleys and secret backways, hand in hand.
"Why didn't you say anything about the time?", the dragoness asked.
"I didn't want to disturb your private time again!", the dream Pokémon responded with a blush on her face.
"Th-that wasn't my private time!", Latias shot back with her own blush.
"Oh please, you were all like 'Oh Ash, hold me close and never let me go! Mwuah, mwuah!'"
"I-I did no such thing!", Latias' blush only deepened at the admittedly accurate accusation.
They ran the rest of the way in silence, a left turn, a right turn, another right turn. Cresselia couldn't understand how Latias found her way around Altomare. She had been visiting the red guardian every so often over the last few years but to her, every alleyway and wall looked the same. Latias, however, knew every nook and cranny of her city. She could tell apart the most similar looking houses. The placement of the windows, the colour of the door, that's all it took for Latias to know where she was in the city.
The two female legends finally made their way out of the narrow alleyways and into larger side street. Latias knew the houses here even better than she did the rest of Altomare. Her guidance through the hidden paths of Altomare has led them quite close to Bianca's and Lorenzo's house.
There is one detail that helped distinguish this neighbourhood from all the others. An old oak tree growing right in the middle of the street, old enough to have already been there when Lorenzo was still a young man. In his later years, Lorenzo even built a bench under the tree to thank his neighbours for their help when Bianca's parents died. At the time, the bench had been as much a gift as it was a distraction. Lorenzo was always known for throwing himself into his work when times got tough.
When Bianca's parents died, it was the bench and the gondolas. When Latios sacrificed himself and Latias started isolating herself, it was the renovations for the museum. Thankfully, the grief of her brother's loss has turned into acceptance and Latias' self-isolation was also a thing of the past. In fact, she arguably became somewhat more outgoing, going even as far as to starting these monthly meetups and inviting others over to her (Bianca's) house.
Speaking of the meetups, they finally arrived at Bianca's house. It looked much like the other houses in the street, a simple brick construction with white walls, a newly painted red door, and equally newly painted red windows; one on the ground floor next to the door and 2 on the upper floor. Maybe Latias would have noticed how similar the house's colour scheme was to her own, were it not for a group of young women standing in front of the red door, most of them looking unsure of what to do.
The first one in the group to notice Latias and Cresselia approaching was a petite woman with short pink hair, blue eyes and a bubbly personality.
"There you are! We were starting to think you two had eloped to chase your happiness.", the pink haired girl said in a dramatic voice.
Latias was quick to shut her down. "Please don't joke about that Mew."
Fighting through a small blush, Cresselia came to her best friend's aid. "Yeah, I just accompanied Tia on her patrol today."
Of course, neither of them mentioned what happened this morning with Latias' "dream", the amount of ammunition and embarrassment that would generate for Mew and them respectively would probably put an end to their meetups. Not that it mattered much. Mew had heard more than enough. A smug grin plastered across her face as she turned towards Latias.
"Oh, were showing her your secret kissing spots? Maybe you two did a bit of practice for when your boyfriend comes back, hmm?"
Neither legend dignified that with a response. A heavy blush on both their faces was the only reaction Mew got before Latias decided to change the topic.
"Why are you all just waiting outside anyway? You could've already gone in.", the red eon questioned.
Mew, anticipating this question, was quick to answer. "Well, you know how shy they are towards any human who isn't everyone's favourite cap wearing trainer."
She pointed to the three girls standing behind her.
The first one had blue eyes and light green hair tied up in a short ponytail. She wore black eyeliner, a whitish green long sleeved crop top, jeans and green sneakers.
The second girl also had blue eyes and green hair, but hers was a more vibrant green and went down past her hips. She wore a black dress with white knee socks and white shoes. She also had a music note pin in her hair.
The last girl also had blue eyes, but her hair was orange and tied into twin tails. She wore a very light brown blouse, short jeans and orange sneakers.
Latias and Cresselia waved them hello before the former spoke up.
"Hello Celebi, Meloetta and Victini. It's nice seeing you again!"
"I'm always looking forward to our little meetings~.", the long-haired girl, Meloetta, said in her signature melodic voice.
"Indeed, it's nice catching up with everyone every once in a while.", the girl with the ponytail, Celebi, chimed in with a calm voice.
The orange haired girl, Victini, simply threw her hands in the hair and said in her usual cheerful voice.
"Let's get this party started!"
"I prepared something very special for today.", Latias proclaimed with a smug look.
As she made her way to the front door and was about to open it, a voice interrupted her.
"Wait!"
Latias looked up, recognizing the voice.
"Azura?", she asked, "Do you need something? You do know we have a meeting now, right?"
The younger dragoness appeared out of thin air, quickly transformed into her human form and, through heavy panting, managed to say.
"I *huff* know *huff*."
After a quick moment to catch her breath, she continued.
"I want to join you."
To say Latias was confused was an understatement. Neither Azura nor her brother ever had even the smallest interest in humans. Every time she began fangir… talking about Ash, the siblings would roll their eyes and tune out. They think Latias doesn't notice, engrossed in her fangi… talking, but she knows and continues anyway. For Azura to voluntarily want to join their meeting is highly unusual.
"Did you break anything? Are you trying to hide from someone? Are you trying to hide from your brother? Did you hit your-"
Latias would have probably continued to rationalize Azura's decision, had the latter not stopped her.
"Nothing happened and I'm not hiding from anyone. I just finished my patrol a bit early and was thinking about what to do. That's all."
"So, you decided to join us?", Latias asked, still not convinced.
Azura was struggling to think of a believable explanation that didn't involve talking about her run-in with a human and the subsequent awakening of interest towards him/them.
That's when Mew chimed in with an almost knowing smile.
"Finally took an interest hmmm? Have Tia's stories finally began to wear you down? Or maybe you met a nice young human and had a different kind of awakening, hihi."
While Mew had to fight through a giggle fit, Azura could only respond with a confused look and a question that made Latias nearly panic.
"What do you mean with different kind of awakening?"
Before Mew could derail the conversation any further Latias jumped in.
"She's just messing with you as she is with everyone else, right Mew?"
As she said it, Latias turned to Mew with a menacing smile. Mew, not disturbed in the slightest, just smiled back without saying anything.
"Anyway. Do you really want to join us? You know what we talk about during these meetings, are you really up for that?"
"Yeah, after all the praises you've been spewing, I think it's time I actually learn more about this Dust."
Cue Mew exploding into full blown laughter, Victini giggling, Celebi shaking her head, Meloetta sighing, and Latias face palming.
Poor Azura was left confused. Did I get his name wrong? She thought to herself. Thats when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Cresselia, who leaned in closer to whisper something in her ear.
"His name is Ash."
At least she wasn't too far off.
Recovering from her little blunder, she tried to sound more enthusiastic.
"Anyway, I really want to join you, will you let me, pleeeeeaaaaaase?"
Having already wasted more than enough time, Latias was quick to just let her join. She opened the door to Bianca's house, but before she could enter, a certain pink haired girl cut in line while exclaiming.
"I hereby proclaim the monthly Ash Ketchum fan club meeting officially started!"
"Can't we call it something else? That name's so embarrassing.", complained a blushing Celebi.
Latias just smiled. It was indeed an embarrassing name, but it also perfectly described their little get togethers.
After Ash left Altomare to continue his journey, Latias was devastated. The combination of losing her brother and the love of her life left her in a dark mental state for the following weeks. Bianca and Lorenzo (mostly Bianca) tried everything in their power to keep Latias occupied and prevent from doing anything stupid. After a few weeks, the pain from her brother's death turned into acceptance. He chose to save the city and besides, he was still with her in the form of the Soul Dew.
Ash on the other hand…. Bianca and Lorenzo had hoped that Latias' crush on the trainer was nothing more than just that, a crush. One she would grow out of given enough time. Unfortunately, time only served to deepen her feelings for him and the only times she could really be with him were in her dreams. So, she sought out ways to keep those dreams going for as long as she could, no matter the cost. One day, she got into contact with Cresselia, hoping the dream Pokémon could fulfil her wish.
Cresselia refused of course, but she also didn't want to leave the obviously distraught dragoness alone. Going into Latias' dreams to see what the cause for all her distress was, she unexpectedly found a human trainer. Not knowing what to do with that information, she in turn sought out the assistance of Latias' long time human friend, Bianca.
Bianca turned out to be instrumental in "saving" Latias. It was her who found out about Ash competing in the League and it was her who suggested they watch it together. Latias was a bit unsure if she would even enjoy watching battles, even if it was Ash. Turns out she did. The way he seemed distraught every time his Pokémon were hurt, they way his face beamed with pride every time his Pokémon got in a hit and the way he confidently smiled every time one of his crazy tactics paid off. All of it made her love him even more. Sometimes, she would even imagine herself on the battlefield, executing all his commands perfectly, in the hopes he would look at her like he looked at his other Pokémon.
On that day, Ash's number one fan was born, but more importantly Latias' was starting to get back to her more usual self. And it was thanks to Cresselia and Bianca. Speaking of the latter.
"Bianca? Are you here?"
If Latias had known how useful telepathy would be in communicating with her human friends, she would have started learning years ago. Not to mention being able to finally talk with Ash, when he comes back…. if he comes back.
"Coming."
Bianca's voice came from the floor above. Likely from her room. She always prepared some art supplies for these meetings, drawing either the girls or whatever happened to be on the TV (mostly Ash).
When she came down, she wore her usual look. Her signature hair, a white beret, a green shirt, a white skirt, black knee socks and red shoes. In one hand she held her trusty sketch book, in the other a pencil and eraser.
"What took you so long? I was starting to get worried."
"My patrol just took a bit longer than expected. Oh, and we have a new member in our little fan club."
This caused Bianca to raise an eyebrow.
"Another one of your legendary friends? How does he even get himself into situations to meet them, let alone making them go crazy for him."
"W-we're not crazy for him, we just like to keep in touch with his exploits, r-right girls?", came Celebi's useless attempt at denying Bianca's allegations.
Latias decided to ignore the exchange and instead focused on answering her human friend's question.
"It's Azura, she wants to join us."
"Is she sick?"
"Why is it so wrong for me to just want to spend some time with you and learn about the saviour of Altomare?"
Azura was starting to get annoyed. She genuinely just wants to learn more about humans, was that too much to ask?
"She called him Dust! Funniest shit I've ever heard! Hehehe."
And Mew wasn't helping.
Latias cleared her throat, drawing all attention to her.
"Now that we're all here, I can finally reveal what the plan for today is!"
She moved to the TV, opened the cabinet and produced a DVD from it. The cabinet was filled with other DVDs and box sets. Most of them were titled: Best of Ash Ketchum, with the corresponding league in the title. There were even the rarer gym battle recordings, which most people (trainers included) don't even know about. Holding the DVD in front of her she explained.
"This is a special edition made by the Pokémon League in honour of Ash's victory at the World Coronation Series. It includes all his battles during the tournament, an exclusive interview segment with Ash and his travel companions, aaaand", she opened the case, "Because I was the first to order one, I got an exclusive letter written and signed by Ash himself!"
She presented the letter proudly for the group to see. Bianca leaned in closer to read it.
"To my #1 fan in the whole world, thank you for always supporting me… bla bla bla… is that a kiss mark on his signature?"
Latias quickly put the letter away, trying her best to fight her blush and ignore the giggles of the other girls.
"A-anyways, since we already watched the battles live, I thought today we could watch those interviews."
"It will be nice hearing his voice again~", came the melodic voice of Meloetta.
After setting everything up, Latias took her place on the couch between Cresselia and Bianca. The living in Lorenzo's house was quite spacious, big enough for not just one, but two couches. And an armchair, Lorenzo's favourite seat in the whole house. Latias' couch was situated perfectly across from the TV, right in font of the window. The other girls minus Azura were sitting on a couch that was slightly angled to allow them to still view the TV.
Azura, who was sitting alone in the old armchair, was looking forward to finally putting a face to the saviour of Altomare and apparent stealer of legendary hearts.
Various production companies appeared one by one on the TV before a male voice, likely the interviewer, gave a quick explanation about the interview but no one really cared about any of that. The girls were here for one reason and one reason only. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long as the interviewer introduced his first guest, a young man with messy black hair, brown eyes and of course the Z marks that Azura would surely never forget.
It's him…. Azura completely drowned out her surroundings, not listening to the other girls or even Ash as he answered one of the interviewer's questions.
It's really him…. All she could concentrate was his face. The face of the man who saved both her and her brother. The face of the man who made her realise that maybe not all humans are bad. The face of the man who saved this city before she even knew it existed.
Ash…. Come to think of it, she probably heard his Pikachu cry out that name at least once.
Why was she getting so fixated on his face and why was her face getting hotter. Was she getting sick? Thankfully, the others were also too fixated on Ash to notice Azura. Latias in particular had the biggest smile on her face.
Then the screen changed, showing two new people, a man with brown spikey hair and squinty eyes and a girl with orange hair tied into a side ponytail. Brock and Misty, Latias remembered them well, which was surprising considering how little time she actually spent with them. She would never forget the looks on their faces when she gave Ash her parting gifts. A bittersweet memory.
The next ones to be interviewed were a pair of siblings, May and Max Maple. Latias herself didn't know too much about contests, having only watched the ones Ash competed in, but Bianca was a huge fan. She was drawn to the more creatively charged contests and showcases as opposed to battles.
Next up, a blue haired girl, another big name in the contest sphere, Dawn Berlitz. The questions asked were always the same and the answers were always similar. Funny anecdotes about Ash's uncanny ability to get lost in his own home, his unsatiable appetite and of course how much he loved Pokémon.
That last part made Latias perk up. The way they talk about him with his Pokémon made it seem less like the usual trainer-Pokémon dynamic and more like he would act with any other person. As if the fact that they're Pokémon didn't hinder him in building a relationship with them. It made her hopeful. If he could build such strong friendships with his Pokémon, then maybe….
Her thoughts were unfortunately brought to an abrupt end, when the interviewer introduced the next guest. Someone she had forgotten would be on it. Someone who had become kind of infamous in her circles. A girl with short, light brown hair covered by a pink fedora and who's feelings for the trainer had become all the rage when she dedicated her latest victory to her "good friend" Ash Ketchum. All the joy and happiness washed off Latias' face when the girl introduced as Serena began speaking.
"She almost sounds like you when you talk about Ash like that.", Azura remarked while turning towards Latias. Only to cower back when she received a look, she didn't know Latias was even capable of. A look of pure malice.
Cresselia, who was sitting behind Latias quickly signalled to Azura to shut the fuck up if she valued her life. Under normal circumstances, Azura wouldn't have believed Latias to be capable of actually hurting her, but from the look she was getting, she wasn't so sure anymore.
The next few sentences that came from the TV certainly didn't help the situation.
"We heard from an anonymous source who saw you and the future world champion at the Kalos Airport a few years ago, is it true that you kissed Ash Ketchum and was that your and his first kiss?"
The silence that followed was almost deafening, only broken once again by the TV.
"Oh gosh, how embarrassing.", Serena said with a blush, then continued, "Yes, that is true, b-but it wasn't like a full-on kiss. J-just a little peck on the cheek, you know? As a goodbye. A-and it was my first kiss, I don't know about him, but I certainly hope so"
All the eyes in the room slowly turned to Latias. There was not a sound to be heard, even the ever-cheerful Mew quietly looked at Latias with a worried look.
The latter's hate-filled face was now replaced with a blank expression, which worried the girls even more. It was one thing to have a jealous break down or throw insults at the TV, but she just sat there with an empty look. After what felt like hours, there was only a very quiet murmur.
"I need to go out for a moment…."
With that she ran out of the house, leaving the others behind. Cresselia was about to follow her, when she was stopped by Bianca.
"I'll go. I need you to stay here and keep the troublemaker in check.", she points at Mew, who was still quiet. Cresselia only nodded in response.
As Bianca left the house, she already had an idea of where Latias ran off to.
Sure enough, following the sounds of crying and sobbing, she found the disguised dragon sitting on the bench under the old oak. Noticing her friend's arrival did not deter Latias from continuing crying, however.
"I'm so stupid, Bianca. Why did I have to get my hopes up? Why would I ever think that Ash would be interested in me when he has all those human girls who are so obviously in love with him?"
Bianca could only sigh in response, before saying.
"First of all, you're not stupid. You're in love, which in my opinion is almost worse. Secondly, just because their feelings seem obvious to you doesn't mean they are to him. And finally, if I've learned one thing about Ash, and trust me, despite my best efforts I have, it's that given the chance he'd probably spend more time with Pokémon than with other people."
Her human friend's reassurance finally made her stop crying, but it didn't exactly ease her sadness. Bianca was right, of course. Knowing Ash, he had no idea about the number of women fawning over him. And he would probably love to spend more time with his Pokémon. And yet.
"That still wouldn't mean he loves me though…."
And even on the smallest chance that he did, the world wouldn't allow it. Relationships of that kind between humans and Pokémon are still heavily frowned upon if not outright illegal in some regions. He would put everything at risk he's worked years to achieve just to be with her. Latias just couldn't allow that, she wouldn't. Even if it meant burying any chance of achieving her own happiness.
Besides, he was currently Arceus knows where, doing Arceus knows what with Arceus knows who. If he really remembered her, he would have visited by now. He surely had enough time to do so. 6 years to be precise. If she didn't love him so much, she would surely punch him to Alola and back if he ever does decide to visit. Yet it was because she loved him so much that his absence hurt so much more.
Bianca had to think of a way to get her best friend out of her emotional slump. In times like these she had to appeal to Latias' draconic nature.
"Tia, do you love Ash?"
Latias looked at her friend, confused by the question.
"What?"
"You heard me. Do you love Ash."
"O-of course I do, but what does that have to do with anything?"
"And you want him to love you too, right?"
"W-well yeah, but he wouldn't-"
"Aren't you a supposed to be a proud dragon Pokémon? A legendary dragon Pokémon? What respectable dragoness would just give up a fight without even trying?"
Latias didn't say anything. She knew what Bianca was doing wanted to rebut her, but for some reason she couldn't, or rather she didn't want to. Her pride as a dragon had been hurt and that just wouldn't do.
Bianca noticed the new determined look and continued with a small smile.
"What would a dragoness do if her potential mate was threatened to be stolen by another female?"
"She would fight for him."
"And how would she do that?"
"By making him fall in love with me so hard that he'll never even think of another girl!"
"That's what I like to hear!"
"And-and then, I'll love him so much that he won't be able to live without me!"
"O-okay Tia, I think you're getting a bit carried aw-"
"I'll make him crave me every minute of every hour of every day until he can't contain himself anymore and ravishes me,"
"T-Tia!"
"a-and then we'll love each other all throughout the night until we're both nothing more than panting, sweaty messes the next morning…hehehehe"
Bianca really didn't need that much detail, or any detail really. She looked at her friend with a befuddled look. Latias sat there on the bench eyes half lid, cupping her blushing face in her hands while heavy panting filled the silence in the street. The panting was occasionally broken by a frankly unnerving giggle. All in all, not the ideal image you should have of your city's guardian and best friend.
A few coughs from Bianca finally shook Latias out of her self-inflicted and hormone-filled stupor. She looked around to find her human friend staring at her, a blush reappearing on her face.
"You, uh….you heard all that…."
"Trust me, I tried not to, but you were very eager to describe everything in as much detail as possible."
Latias' face was now as red as her feathers and not even hiding it in her hands could hide that. Bianca only smiled.
"But at least it made you feel better, right?"
Latias looked up. Bianca was right. She wasn't sad anymore, but she wasn't sure if embarrassment was that much better.
"Ready to go back in?"
The dragoness nodded, got up and together the two made their way back inside. The other girls had let the DVD play a bit to skip Serena's section and then resumed it once Latias and Bianca were back. The rest of the runtime was taken up by more interviews of gym leaders, league officials, professors of other regions and even Ash's mother, who was thoroughly embarrassing her son. The girls laughed and talked until the early evening. Their meeting was coming to an end and one by one they left. First one to leave was Celebi, who had to return to some lake in Kanto, something about helping a Scizor train. Next was Victini, then Meloetta. Cresselia tried to stay longer but duty called and she had to leave.
The last to leave was Mew, but before she did, she told Latias to meet her in her room.
Latias' room wasn't much different from Bianca's except for one very crucial detail. A metric fuck ton of Ash memorabilia and merchandise. From posters to little figures of him and his Pokémon to…items of clothing? Even for Mew this was all a bit much, but she wasn't here to talk about Latias' obsession.
"As you know, your birthday is right around the corner, so I've abused my status and power to get you a very special gift."
This caused Latias to get curious. Mew always managed to her good stuff, a used sock, an old shirt, but she would never have guessed what Mew procured for her now.
"Tada! I got you one of his boxershorts!"
She handed over the fabrics to Latias, who, unsurprisingly, immediately proceeded to sniff them. Mew's smile only grew as she got closer to Latias.
"You know these boxershorts are very special."
Curious what she meant by that, Latias looked up from the fabric and noticed Mew being mere inches from her ear. She whispered.
"I got these from his washing bin, which means they haven't been cleaned yet~"
Latias looked at her pink-haired friend with wide eyes, a blush yet again forming on her face, then she asked.
"I can't imagine you giving me something so valuable for free. What do you want in return?"
A sad smile formed on Mew's face.
"I want you to celebrate your birthday extra hard for me."
Now it was Latias' turn to look sad.
"So, you're not coming then?"
Mew shook her head.
"Unfortunately, not. Duty calls. You know how it is…. Unless of course something highly unlikely were to happen, like Ash showing up in the next few days."
Her little joke lifted Latias' spirit somewhat.
"If only, I'd never wish for anything else…"
And with that Mew left too, leaving only Latias, Bianca and Azura in the house. They sat in silence in the living room a bit, before Azura spoke up.
"We better get going back to the garden, it's getting late."
But Latias had other plans.
"You know, I think I wanna sleep here tonight."
Azura just shrugged and was about to leave, when Latias called out to her.
"Hey, I was wondering. Did you like today?"
Azura took a moment to collect her thoughts, then answered.
"It was…. eye opening."
Before Latias could ask what she meant by that, the younger dragon had already transformed and flown away.
"Well, I'll be going to bed now, good night, Tia. And don't forget to lock your door."
Latias felt that last part was unnecessary, well maybe not totally. She did get a present she wanted to….. try out, without the fear of being caught. This is where a lockable door came in handy, something she wished she had this morning.
The dragoness followed her friend upstairs and went into her own room, making sure to lock her door. Then, for the first time since this morning, she shed her human form and returned to her glorious dragon self. She took her place on the bed, boxershorts in hand. She held them to her snout one last time, taking a deep breath.
Oh Ash….
Around the same time, at the Vermilion City harbour, a boy and his Pikachu were running towards the pier.
"Thank Arceus I had Charizard with me. Otherwise, that would have taken days."
"More like weeks with your sense of direction."
"At least we made it to the night ferry in time. Hey there it is!"
Ash pointed to a mid-sized boat. They quickly got on and could finally catch their breath, then the ferry took off. Pikachu looked at his trainer with an annoyed look.
"Why didn't we just fly directly to the ferry in the first place instead of landing in the middle of Vermilion City just so you could get us lost again?!"
Ash didn't really have a good answer to that. Even he was astounded by how bad his directional skills were.
"I guess I just wanted to prove to you that I don't get lost that easily…."
His yellow friend just looked at him.
"Alright, alright. I'm terrible with directions. Happy?"
"Not really but admitting the problem is the first step to fixing it."
Ash rolled his eyes at the comment. This was going to be a long trip and the anticipation of reuniting with her would only prolong it.
Unbeknownst to the trainer and his companion, in the shadows of the ship a figure was watching them. His long blueish-grey hair covered one of his eyes and his red poncho concealed much of his clothing.
"Ketchum..?"
AN: Hey everyone. Long time no see.
First, I must apologize for taking so long. No promises when the next chapter will come out, though I hope it's not in a year.
Secondly, a huge thank you to anyone who still decides to read this story, also a thank you to authors Legacy of Time and Totem-Mimikyu for being supportive to a young author such as myself. If you too wish to join our little community, Totem-Mimikyu has given me permission to advertise his discord server
/9HwNgcPKZH
It started out as an Alto/Mareshipping server but has recently evolved into a rare ships server (rare ships involving Ash mostly). Come and say hello.