"Are you going to be okay, Latios?" Ash asked.
Latios snorted, folding his arms, then winced slightly as the movement jolted one of his injuries. "You don't need to know," he snorted.
"Brother-" Latias began.
"Okay, seriously?" Pikachu asked, interrupting both of them and jumping in front of his trainer. "You don't think that's a bit ungrateful?"
"What do you know?" Latios replied. "You're friends with humans, you don't know what it's like to be hunted-"
"I absolutely know what it's like to be hunted!" Pikachu exploded, sparks chirping from his cheeks for a moment before he forcibly damped them down. "You don't know anything about me! And I'm angry now, both myself and on behalf of my trainer, so congratulations I'm about to let off years of pent up frustration and you're the target!"
Pikachu pointed at Ash, who'd taken a step back from the sheer vehemence in the Electric-type's voice. "When I became his Pokémon, I hated him! I wanted nothing more than to be rid of him! He knew absolutely nothing about how to take care of Pokémon, he knew so little about Pokémon I'm not sure how he'd managed to hit ten years old while apparently never even watching TV, and I wanted nothing more than to get away from him. And you know what changed?"
A fizzle of sparks. "WE changed. The two of us. Together. Because Ash nearly killed himself saving me, and ever since then we've been best friends… and Ash is like that with every Pokémon he's ever met."
"I've been watching them," Latias said, trying to placate Pikachu or her brother or both. "Ash has been helping Pokémon-"
"I'm not done!" Pikachu insisted. "Like I say, years of pent up frustration, and I'm nowhere near done yet! Because you think you know what it's like to be hunted? Team Rocket has tried to steal me or kidnap me or steal or kidnap other Pokémon while I'm there, usually including me, over one thousand times! I lost count several times but it's at least that many! And Ash has saved me, or helped me save myself, every single time – and he's done the same for all the other Pokémon they've targeted! He's done the same for everyone! He's saved people that I've never met and he's never met, and he's saved your life a minimum of five times!"
Latios just looked completely lost.
"My trainer!" Pikachu said, punctuating the words with another gesture as he tried to get across the reality of everything he's experienced. "My trainer has saved the world! More than once! I think it might even be double-digit numbers, I have legitimately lost count, plus the times he stopped widespread devastation, and that's not counting all the times there was serious chaos in a single place like the Temple of the Sea or Crown City or – or Altomare, speaking of Latias and Latios!"
That did get a reaction, from both Pokémon, but Pikachu was on a roll now. "How can you think Ash is anything like those people? You don't like them because they tried to kidnap you, but Ash has done nothing but work as hard as he can to save you, and – and sometimes it seems like nobody sees that! Even the World Coronation Series, people saw Ash as a strong trainer but they never connect that with his heart, and – and sometimes it's so frustrating to see how little anyone-"
There were tears in Pikachu's eyes, and he dashed them away irritably. "You know how many Pokémon Trainers we know or met who had or used Legendary Pokémon? Want to guess? Just off the top of your head?"
Latios tried to snort at the very concept, but his snort turned into a sort of sniffle under Pikachu's glare.
"Twelve!" Pikachu snapped. "Just off the top of my head! And then another one of them I only know about because of what Steelix said, sure, but she had a Latias so I'm including it, and, and I've battled a Latios in the Sinnoh League and I drew with that Latios and it's one of the proudest moments of my life, but sometimes – sometimes I look at Gary catching a Legendary, or Goh catching three Legendaries, or – or that one guy with a Heatran in Sinnoh we never even battled, and Nebby's a sweet kid but Ash literally never used him in battle because the thought never crossed his mind, and- and-"
The Electric-type panted a few times, some of the blazing current of nervous energy draining away, then he sighed.
"It's not even about you, specifically," he said. "I… your sister was following Ash around for three weeks, then the moment she told us that you were in danger we came running, but that's not enough for you. But… sometimes I think Ash deserves nice things, you know?"
The Mouse Pokémon sat back with a thump. "For… for someone apart from me to look at Ash and see the shining soul who faced death to save the world, who'd jump off a tower to catch me because us being apart was a problem he couldn't bear to face, who – who got tortured and bounced back like nothing happened, because his friends were okay and that was all that mattered to him. Who's died more than once, and- and who keeps travelling because it helps people."
Pikachu had finally run out of words, and there was a long, singing silence for almost half a minute.
"Latios," Latias said. "Let me ask you this question, very simply. Do you know the way to Altomare from here without me?"
"...yes?" Latios said, confused. "Why?"
"Because I think a lot of what Latias there has said over the last few years has suddenly made complete sense," Latias replied. "Now, you are going to go to Altomare and tell her that I know where her saviour is, and lead her back to me if she reacts the way I'm almost sure she will."
"What did Pikachu say, anyway?" Ash asked, getting out his Rotom Phone.
"Sorry?" the Plasma Pokémon asked. "I wasn't listening."
AN:
A giant Pika-rant provoked partly by the way Journeys Latios reacts to Ash, and mostly by the idea Pikachu's nerves have finally gone past their limit.