~Attractive Altomare Chapter 9~

~Don't Go Wasting Your Emotions~

Legacy of Time: I'm back. So, enjoy. :D

Ash, now entirely alone with Latias and Bayleef, wasn't sure where this was going. He vaguely remembered seeing flashes of what appeared to be Bayleef coming onto him at some point, but it was a foggy memory at best. What he had made out felt so real that he questioned it for most of the morning after having a chat with his Mom of course. He felt a bit more at ease with himself now that he was confronting these thoughts and feelings more head on.

Sighing to himself, Ash moved behind them just a bit slower than usual. Trying to get an idea of what to do. Latias, knowing what was going through his mind on the surface level, was trying to figure out the best course of action before the memory became any clearer. Bayleef for this instance had felt confident in herself, but that confidence was now being submerged under the quiet that had overtaken the group. Even as several people passed by them, intrigued by the Bayleef.

"Bayleef! Cute!" Said a child as she ran up, eager to pet the Pokemon.

Bayleef, shocked out of her stupor, was more than amorously ready to receive some pets, "Bay! Bayleef!" She said, lowering her head to allow the child to pet her.

She giggled, scratching the head of Bayleef lightly. Even rubbing her leaf which made Bayleef unconsciously use Sweet Scent. The child got a whiff of the smell and she completely relaxed falling backward onto her backside. A man and a woman walked up.

"Sorry about the trouble. My daughter is so precocious." He leaned down, picking up his child into his arms and cradling her.

Ash smiled, "It's okay, don't worry about it! Bayleef is good with kids!" He said as the father chuckled.

The mother moved over, "We should probably get going. Didn't you say that battle exhibition was going to happen in the next few hours or so?" She asked him as the father nodded.

"Oh yeah! It's lucky that the Tour Da Altomare is in two days or there wouldn't be anyone there for this day." He said as Ash perked up at the sound of any kind of tournament happening.

"Battle Exhibition? Where?!" Ash asked as the man flashed him a ticket.

"This location is on the beaches to the south. You should sign up if you're good at battling. My own battling days are behind me now that I've gotten to work." The father said casually as his wife nodded beside him.

"I will! Just gotta decide who's going to battle with me…" He trailed off while remembering that Pikachu had gone with Misty, "By the way, what's your name, Mister?"

"It's Joe and this is my wife, Giselle." He said as Ash was floored by this meeting.

"Wait what?! That Giselle?!" Ash exclaimed, realizing that she did look familiar.

Joe gave him an inquisitive look, "You know, you remind me of someone…" His eyes widened in sudden realization, "No way! Ash Ketchum?! Now that's a blast from the past! You're a real champ now!" Joe said as Ash was surprised by him most of all.

"Yeah and you're really confident now! It's good to see you both." Ash returned as Giselle gave him a pretty smile.

"Yeah, he's really confident. What do you think of our little Chesa?" She asked Ash.

Ash smiled, "She seems nice. What did you think of Chesa, Bayleef?" He asked as Bayleef smiled alongside him.

"Bay!" She let out as Giselle looked at the girl standing next to Bayleef.

"Ohhoho!" She said while looking her up and down, "And who might I ask this and why haven't you introduced her, Mr. Ketchum?" Giselle asked the Champion who chuckled lightly.

"She's my girlfriend. Her name is La- Ummm…" He said, catching himself quickly and still not sure what to say.

Latias spoke into his mind, 'Lianca. You can call me that!' She said as Ash frowned.

He didn't feel that name lived up to her, but he would oblige, "It's Lianca…" That felt weird to say.

Latias merely blushed, raising a hand up only for it to be clasped by Giselle, "She's trying to hide! That's cute, Lianca! It's nice to meet you!" She said with a smile as Latias tried to lean backward at the very least.

Joe smiled, "Do you all wanna just come with us? I'm sure you could sign up when we get there." He said to Ash, "Lianca", and Bayleef who seemed to agree collectively with a nod to one another.

"It can't hurt." Ash said, proceeding to follow them with Latias and Bayleef in tow.

Bayleef was a bit worried at the moment, 'How am I supposed to get him alone and speak now?' She asked Latias who merely brushed off the worry.

Latias smirked, 'I've got a plan. It won't be easy, but it could be if everything goes well.' She said with a sparkle to her eyes.

Giselle leaned over to Latias, "Say Lianca, how'd you two even meet?" She whispered, watching Ash and Joe talk while his daughter watched the canals.

Latias would have to speak with someone outside of Ash's usual circle of friends. That was… Daunting. She looked to Ash for support, but he was being distracted by Joe. So, she did what came natural. Showing up for a visit in his mind.

'I need your help. Please!' She said as Ash perked up.

'What's the deal?' Ash asked her quickly as Latias quickly reiterated what she asked.

'Oh…' Ash thought as he quickly came up with an idea.

"We met up on the beach!" He said as Latias looked sideways in confusion while Giselle leaned in a bit closer, eyes sparkling.

"Ummm… How did you hear me?" Giselle asked him as Ash looked away.

"I just happened to catch it and figured I would answer. That's all. Hahahah!" He laughed nervously as he began to think about what he should say next.

"Okay…" Giselle trailed off while turning back to Lianca.

"And you both hit it off just fine afterward? What do you have to say about that, Lianca?" She asked Latias who seemed to be embarrassed, but Ash jumped in once more.

"Lianca is… She's mute! It's just something she's struggled with for a while even before I met her. She's also kind of psychic like… Sabrina!" Ash said, scratching the back of his head while Giselle listened to the half-baked explanation with piqued interest while Joe played with his daughter, listening halfway as Ash continued, "She can speak directly into your mind! Cool, right?" He said, chuckling lightly while Giselle frowned and Latias felt the strangest need to facepalm.

That frown quickly turned upside down as Giselle smirked, "So, you two haven't got any secrets between one another? Wow, that's amazing! Can she speak to me right now?" Giselle asked while making Latias nearly gasp in disbelief.

'That worked?!' Ash and Latias thought at the exact time.

Bayleef looked at this situation with a bit of disbelief as well, 'These two are…' She didn't want to think about it, but, 'Almost perfect for each other.' She just wanted to be with him too which strained the relationship a bit. At least she thought it did, but Latias kept making her think it would be fine.

Giselle looked expectantly at "Lianca". Latias smiled awkwardly at Ash before nodding her head, 'How is this, Giselle?' She asked as Giselle gasped.

"Her voice sure is pretty." She said to Ash and "Lianca".

'Aw! Thanks! He really likes my voice too.' She said as Ash scratched the back of his head with a grin of his own while explaining to Joe about his career path.

Joe sighed, "I've heard of your exploits. It must be tough to live up to all those expectations."

Ash shook his head, getting a look at some Seaking leaping out of the water, "It's not as lofty as you'd think. A lot of things I've done were completely off the books." Ash finished before pondering a question of his own, "When did you end up moving out here? I thought that no matter where you ended up. It would definitely still be in Kanto."

Joe smiled, watching the Wingull flap past them, "It's not as crazy as you'd think." He put down Chesa to let her run around a little, "Giselle really liked the idea of moving out here and since we were both graduating at the top of our grade from Pokemon Tech…" The wind blew softly as Ash looked in the same direction as Joe.

"We both ended up agreeing that living here was a no-brainer. So, here we are." Joe said calmly, making sure his daughter didn't get too close to the water.

Bayleef pranced to the forefront to be a second safeguard for Chesa, "Bay Bay…" She said soothingly.

Latias walked over to stand by Ash. Giselle joined Joe as the sun rose to its peak.

~Bianca~

Bianca had paid for her clothes by this point. Very satisfied with the different things she'd picked up. She walked toward the exit, thinking about what her next move should be until Bianca the doors opened to find Misty standing just outside. The orange haired woman looked a lot older than the last time Bianca had seen here and that made plenty of sense.

"Erm… Hello?" Bianca said awkwardly as Misty smiled back.

"Yeah, Bianca was it? We never got to talk much." Misty returned as Bianca indeed realized that they hadn't ever spoken. Of course, the only time Misty had seen her was when Latias kissed Ash. So, this was new territory for them both.

Bianca smiled, brushing some of her hair back and trying to find her footing, "So, did you wanna talk about anything in particular? Or were you coming here to pick up some clothes?" She had recovered nicely as Misty nodded.

"Actually yeah, I could use some help if you wanna stick around." Misty said, returning the smile in kind, 'I can find out how far this goes…' She thought, giving a bit of a menacing grin.

"That smile feels off…" Bianca stated, giving her a strange look.

Misty stopped immediately, "Oh right… Haha!" She finished, hoping that Bianca would leave it well enough alone.

The door was still open between them as Pikachu came rushing up Misty's arm much to her surprise, "Pikachu? Why're you here?"

Pikachu widened out his arms, imitating a giant monster indicating that there were at least two. He then showed with his tail that he had been horrified and tracked Misty all the way till they got here. Of course, both of the women didn't really understand all of it. They were, in fact, quite confused.

The electric rodent sighed loudly, "Chaaaa!" Before snapping his little mouse pad fingers in exasperation.

"Well, I can look after you for a bit regardless." Misty said, giving the mouse a delightful scratch underneath his chin which soothed the Pikachu quite well.

Bianca giggled a bit as several steps were heard approaching the two women, "Oh, Grandpa! This is Misty!" She said to the older man who smiled.

"Well, what a coincidence to see you here. It's been a while. Did you too happen to come up for Ash's vacation?" Lorenzo asked, fiddling with the few shirts he'd picked up. They were all red of course because he loved that color in particular. It just felt on brand.

Misty nodded, "Yeah. I also came up to participate in the Tour De Altomare. Just wanna maintain my past few victories." She said with pride.

Lorenzo smirked, "Yeah, you've really taken over the circuit." He then went on, "There were a few other trainers that came into town a little bit ago for a small exhibition happening on the southern beach. Have you heard of that?" He asked her to which Misty frowned in confusion, trying to wrack her mind for it, but coming up blank.

"Not really, I've only been preparing for the race." She finished, wondering if Ash had heard anything about it.

Bianca jumped in, "That's fair. It's a smaller, more recently made event. Just last year was the first one. Doesn't help that it happens just before the Tour De Altomare. I assume it's for the tourists, but there were some big names showing up this year." She finished, while looking around.

She pulled out her Rotom Phone and pulled up a webpage detailing the event before showing it to Misty. That was indeed interesting to her as she went over the list of names. One name in particular stood out. She couldn't believe it in fact. Was this some kind of strange fate?

"Now I wonder why they haven't advertised this more?" Misty questioned out loud as Lorenzo chuckled.

"It's just a little preamble before the big race. We could end up having a few of them show up for that too if that rumor was to be believed." Lorenzo said, trying to entice more conversation with the two ladies standing opposite of them.

Misty frowned as she noticed something else on the website, "The sign ups were last week. Hmmm… There's always next time. Though, I wouldn't mind watching a few matches." She gave Bianca a look who seemingly agreed with her.

"Well, I'm going to head home myself." Lorenzo said as Bianca nodded.

"Be careful on the way back, Grandpa!" Lorenzo merely waved as he walked out the front of the store.

Bianca turned to Misty, "So, should I get this plan on the move?"

Misty smirked, "Sure. I can't wait to see another old friend today."

Bianca clicked a few numbers and hit the green button to call up Ash, "Guess I'll give Ash a ring and see if we can all meet there." She said, waiting for the phone to pick up.

~Ash and Friends~

Ash looked down as he'd just heard the news, "Can't believe it… I missed the sign ups by a week!" He shouted as Bayleef stepped up to be angry beside him.

"BAY!" She wailed which Latias heard as, "Damnit!" Latias thanked Arceus for language barriers while Bayleef was patted on her left hindleg by Chesa in consolement.

'That's so sweet…' Latias thought while looking on in envy of Giselle and Joe. Joe was currently being chewed out a bit by Giselle for leading Ash on for which he apologized to his wife sincerely. Latias then looked back at their kid. Some base level desire was making itself known to her. Something that just felt normal in a way.

'I wonder if I'll have a child of my own?' That thought had sent a shiver down her spine. Ash surely wouldn't be able to cross that kind of species threshold. She sighed, though less audibly. There would always be some difficulty in this relationship. At least Bianca could give them both that experience. She looked up as the phone went off in Ash's pocket.

Ash pulled out his Rotom Phone, clicking it and putting the thing to his ear, "What's up Bianca?" Ash asked casually as he nodded.

"Yeah, I heard about it." Ash said, holding his chin and contemplating the next bit before perking up, "Yeah, I'm sure everyone wouldn't mind meeting up at the event." He said as he nodded along with whatever was being said.

"Okay, can't wait to see you two. Is Pikachu alright?" Ash asked, smiling because of the good news, "Cool, Text me when you get here. Oh… Love you too." He said, as he lowered the phone.

Giselle was confused, "What was that last bit?" She turned to "Lianca", "Did you hear that?" She asked her quickly as Latias shifted slightly.

'Ummm… Yeah.' Latias was aware that Ash had feelings for her, so this wasn't a shocker.

Giselle looked at Joe who smiled, "Okay, fine… But aren't you two together, Lianca?" She asked her as Latias sighed.

'Oh… Well, she's his…' Latias wasn't creating a web of lies, so she decided to go all in, 'We're all together. It's like polyamory.' Giselle nodded slowly, she was the only one who had heard it. Then she blushed a bit before staring back at Ash and then turning back to Lianca.

"Oh… I didn't know he had it in him. Wow. Good for you." She said as Joe and Ash gave each other a confused stare. Bayleef just watched the awkward stare off while she let Chesa play with her leaf.

Giselle looked over to Joe, "We should probably go check out some of the stands. Thanks for the good time!" She said to Ash, Lianca, and Bayleef.

Joe agreed as he bent down to put his hand out to Chesa who smiled, waving to Bayleef who gave her a wonderful smile, "Bye Bye Bayleef!" She said cutely before being picked up by Joe who waved as well.

"It was good to see you all. Perhaps we'll see you later!" He said as Ash nodded.

"Sure! Yeah,we'll see what happens! Have a good one!" As Joe gave him a thumbs up.

"You know it." He said simply before turning to walk away and leaving Ash alone with two women. Two women that were even more desperate to get him alone. One more so than the other. So, they were both surprised when Ash turned to them with a serious look on his face. Latias and Bayleef both felt something completely off.

"You know, I've had this feeling for the last bit that you both wanted to speak to me about something." Latias and Bayleef were both stunned by this omission. Ash's eyes seemed to blaze a blue heat that made them more anxious.

'H- How did you know?' Latias asked as Bayleef chimed in as well.

'It c- couldn't have been that obvious!' Bayleef shouted as Ash was put off slightly by their reactions.

"Oh… It was just a tingling sensation I've had since a few hours ago." He was projecting aura all over the place at this point, "I'm just glad they left so that we could go talk about it alone." Ash said while beckoning them to follow him toward a more deserted part of the beach. Nothing but sandy beach and water splashing to and fro.

Ash sat down on the sand and watched as both of his companions copied him. The sun shined high in the sky as Bayleef gulped, filled with apprehension. This had been a moment that was coming no matter what. So, she needed more time, but Latias tapped her on the shoulder.

'I've got your back. Let's get all this out in the open.' She said as Bayleef came to grips with it.

Ash had watched this small exchange for the last bit, hoping to hear what needed to be said. He watched Latias give Bayleef a bit of a shoulder rub, 'Okay… Any minute now…' He thought, wondering just what was making them so reluctant.

Bayleef gulped, "Well… W- Well…" Ash nodded as Latias patted her on the back.

'Come on. You'll feel so much better.' Latias said to the shaking dinosaur.

Ash hadn't heard Bayleef actually speak before, he thought it sounded cute. Though, he had no way of knowing just what she was about to say. It was like sitting on pin needles. Even now, his mind was going back to those faded visions of some kind of thing that happened between himself and Bayleef. He wasn't sure what to make of them. Did those visions have something to do with this?

Bayleef's words were caught in her throat. She could feel the tears already beginning to spill down her cheeks while catching the concerned look from Ash. The wind blew her leaf to the side and his hair caught that wind too. A cloud above covered the sun causing the beach to darken considerably. Latias tried her best to make Bayleef feel alright, but it definitely wasn't working.

"It's… J- Just…" Bayleef barely squeaked out as Ash leaned toward her.

"Yes?" Ash asked, starting to feel as though maybe he should stop her himself, "If it's going to make you feel worse, you can keep it to yourself. I mean…" Ash trailed as those words were making her feel worse rather than better.

'He's too kind…' Bayleef thought, not realizing that he had heard that too.

"Well, thanks… Are you okay?" Ash asked her while Latias watched them get closer.

Bayleef blushed, trying to hide behind her leaf even as the tears continued to flow, "I don't deserve that!" She shouted out loud, causing Ash to clench his hand ever so slightly and back up as if stricken.

Latias reduced the field a little, 'If you can't do it… I can help you.' She said into Bayleef's mind who shook her head at that thought.

"No!" Bayleef said once more as Latias quickly made sure to open up the field, "I can't keep you in the dark anymore, Ash! I…" She paused, trying to find the courage to look him in his eyes, "Took advantage of you!" She finished as the tears began to flow much more as her heart began to snap in two.

Ash was confused, "What do you mean? How?" He asked as Bayleef looked at Latias and she nodded. A barrier was erected around them from the sand as Bayleef unleashed a sweet scent. The move that had given her the ability to not only make her attract even stronger, but would hopefully jog his memory. Ash took in the scent as the memories began to clear up in his mind. Those red eyes were much more vivid and the way she walked was so mesmerizing.

His eyes widened fully as he remembered the attractive sweet scent that had led to a one night stand between himself and his Pokemon. Every sinuous second of it lit up his mind and he was no longer confused by the clips that were forming together to create the final version. He looked at Bayleef like he was looking at her the night before, something between longing and this time… A little hurt.

"I see…" Ash trailed off as he looked down.

His expression was unreadable and Latias couldn't even pick at his mind with all the jumble of thoughts running around. She could only see barely a hint of what Ash was going through currently. Bayleef could feel it, she was breaking down even more than she had just a few moments ago. It was as if the shadow of the clouds above was consuming her. She didn't know what to do.

'Was it worth one night?' She thought as the panic set in further.

Not too far down the beach was a certain duo of troublemakers who seemed to be enjoying the high life. One was pondering on it though as if he couldn't buy it. The other was too busy making plans for winning big and impressing a woman. Their problems were very little to what we've just seen and heard, but they're taking the screen time anyway.

"Hey, James?" Meowth asked as they both looked into the sky.

"Yeah, Meowth?" James said while holding a poke ball up to block the sun.

Meowth sighed, "You ever tink that somethin important might be goin on dis very second?" He questioned as James nodded.

"All the time. But why are you asking me?" James returned.

"Well, sometimes it feels like we do the same thing over and over again." Meowth said while James adopted a look of confusion.

"Are you implying that what we do isn't important? I think we drive the plot along just fine." James said while turning the pokeball round and round while adding, "Besides, I'm going to totally be a big player in the race." He grinned, still holding the pokeball with Poliwrath inside.

Meowth smiled, "Yeah, you sure are bud…." Meowth said, not looking as confident, but wanting to reassure James nonetheless.

Meowth noticed another person stepping up in the sand, "Hey Jessie! Took ya's a while!" He slapped James on the knee and the purple haired man immediately zipped up.

"Nice to see you, Jessie!" He said quickly as Meowth helped him recover with another slap, "I mean, you're looking really good today!" He said even faster as Jessie smiled at that.

"Yeah, I just got this amazing two piece and it just looks gorgeous." Jessie finished, showing herself off.

Meowth slumped back down onto his chair as Jessie sat down in the second chair reserved just for her. The trio collectively were able to finally relax together. It was usually a pretty rare thing to happen for them and so… It seemed rewarding in a way.

"Yeah, maybe I'm overtinking things, James." Meowth said as James looked over at him.

"Really? How so?" James asked the little cat.

Meowth watched the clouds pass by lazily, "It's just that we've really done a lot over the years and it doesn't get easier. Well, till now." James nodded along with him.

"Yeah, that makes sense. We're living our best life." James said as Jessie chimed in.

"Yes, we really are. Haven't you accepted that yet, Meowth?" She asked her friend.

"It just feels like a group of people are really frustrated right now… Ya know?" Meowth said as both Jessie and James agreed.

"Yep." They both said at the same time as the wind blew lightly around them.

~End of Chapter~

To Gemini-Spark, Dakkath1, Trasgo Madaraz Artifex, The Great Hwuan: Thanks for your continued support. I'm sure you all already know, but the show is continuing! Wish you all well and hope you enjoy the chapter!

As for everyone else, I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review. See you in the next one!