I need to address this real quick. A guest review (which I deleted) wrote that they hope to see May added to the so-called "harem" in the next saga. Let me be very clear; this is NOT a harem fic! I know there are tons of other harem fanfics in the Pokémon franchise, so go and read those instead!

They did a great job with the soundtracks and effects. I cried when Latios gave up his life to protect Alto Mare and left Latias alone.

Now, as for the question many are wondering; will Ash catch Latias? Read to find out.

Also, I wish to pay tribute to the loss of voice actress Rachael Lillis. She passed away couple of weeks ago after losing her battle to cancer. She was the original voice for Misty and Jessie in the Pokémon anime. I hope her soul was reborn in a new world where she can bring more joy to children and adults alike. Arceus bless you, Lillis.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 49: Heroes – Part 2

I couldn't shake off this bad feeling after dinner. I was worried about Latias and Latios' safety, especially since those women Annie and Oakley were clearly after them. After Bianca left us at the Pokémon Center, we caught up with Misty and Brock and had dinner. No matter how many times they asked us where we went, we didn't tell them.

I had a hard time falling asleep, but I managed to do so. A couple of hours later, I felt a chill run down my spine that forced me to wake up. I blinked my eyes to adjust them to the darkness until I spotted a figure by the balcony door we had left open for fresh air.

"Who's there…?" I mumbled as I got out of the bed. My eyes had cleared up and I saw Bianca standing by the threshold. "Bianca?"

I heard the others groan as they woke up to the sound of my voice. I walked over to the brunette who was silent but had a nervous expression. "What's wrong, Bia-" I couldn't finish my sentence when Bianca suddenly held onto me. I nearly flinched by the move, but then I noticed her body temperature and her missing hat. It didn't take long enough for me to put two and two together.

"What's she doing here?" Ash called behind me.

I gave him a glance, silently telling him it was actually Latias in disguise. He nodded as he got the message.

"Um, Ash, Ashley", Misty spoke up. "Who is she?"

"Isn't she the girl from the museum who was painting?" Brock asked.

"Guys, this is a little complicated, but hear us out", Ash said.

I led human Latias to a chair and let her sit down. Even though she was safe, she grabbed both my and Ash's hands. Her whole body was shaking; clearly something must have happened to her and Latios. Speaking of, her brother was nowhere to be seen. My bad feeling got even worse as I believed to know what happened.

"Misty, Brock, you know about the guardians of Alto Mare?" Ash asked while Pikachu sat on his shoulder.

"Yeah? What about them?" Misty tilted her head to the side.

"Well… This girl is one of them, Latias", I revealed.

"She's Latias?!" Misty and Brock exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes, but she's using her powers to disguise herself", Ash explained. "Latias, this is our friends we told you about before; Misty and Brock."

Our friends didn't look so convinced and must have thought Ash and I had lost our minds. So we silently told Latias that it was okay to reveal herself. Latias nodded and transformed back into her real self. Misty and Brock's reactions were quite hilarious. Their jaws must have hit the floor and bounced back if this had been a cartoon.

Straight after that, Latias' eyes began glowing and we were surrounded by the Sight Sharing space. "W-What is this?!" Misty shrieked.

"It's Sight Sharing", Ash quickly explained. "We're seeing what Latios sees with the help of Latias."

Latias projected the main room of the museum with the DMA clearly being operated by one of the sisters. The blonde woman Annie was standing by the machine with Espeon keeping guard. I gasped when I spotted Bianca and Lorenzo in a corner trapped in Ariados' web. Said Pokémon was keeping an eye on them.

"Bianca! Lorenzo!" Ash gasped.

Latios was caught in one part of the machine that absorbed his power and used it as fuel together with the Soul Dew. The silver haired woman Oakley used the power of the DMA to revive the fossilized Pokémon. It looked like it came straight out from a horror movie.

" Aerodactyl, Kabutops, go get Latias for me!" Oakley commanded.

The fossil Pokémon screeched and ran out of the museum to go hunt for Latias. The eon siblings soon lost connection and we were back in the hotel room. Misty and Brock were a little flabbergasted by the experience. "What's going on?" the redhead asked concernedly.

"It's clear as daylight; the whole city is in trouble because of those women!" Brock growled.

"We need to get to the museum and stop them!" Ash nodded.

I snatched my belt with my Poké Balls and strapped it around my waist just as we heard strange noises coming from outside. We got out to the balcony and saw how every alleyway and window got blocked off. "They are blocking everything!" I panicked and saw how the other balconies of the Pokémon Center got blocked as well. Without thinking twice, I jumped off the balcony and landed in the canal.

I swam aside when Ash and Pikachu joined me just before our balcony got caged, leaving Misty and Brock stuck. Latias managed to fly out of our room so she wasn't trapped with our friends.

"Ash! Ashley!" Misty yelled.

"You okay?" Brock shouted.

"Yeah, we're okay!" I nodded, feeling my heart beating so fast after I nearly got a panic attack.

"Listen, we're heading to the museum to stop them!" Ash yelled. "We'll meet up there!"

We swam to a gondola and got onboard while every door and window got locked. While we couldn't make it to the museum by foot, the canals were untouched by this lockdown. "Ash, you row. Pikachu and I will keep an eye out for the fossils!"

"Thanks!" Ash nodded and started paddling. "Latias, show us the way!"

"Lraa!" Latias chirped and flew ahead. She made sure to stay within sight so Ash knew in which direction he needed to steer the gondola.

I sat at the very front of the gondola with Pikachu in my lap and looked left and right every five second and then up at the sky. The first couple of minutes were peaceful, so I thought we weren't going to encounter the evil fossils. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

As soon as we passed under a bridge, Aerodactyl appeared above us. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Aerodactyl!" I yelled.

"Pika!" Pikachu got off my lap and fired a Thunderbolt when Aerodactyl got closer. The fossil screeched in pain and flew back. I pumped my fist in relief, but then I noticed how people had woken up by Aerodactyl's shriek. The apartments lit up as the residents opened their windows, but they couldn't poke their heads out because of the lockdown.

"Everybody's waking up!" I called out. I felt quite bad that we had woken them up from their sleep.

"Forget about them!" Ash yelled and paddled faster. "We need to go faster!"

I kept my eyes on Aerodactyl and gasped when I saw a yellow light forming in its mouth. "It's using Hyper Beam!"

Ash, Pikachu and I jumped off the gondola just before the Hyper Beam struck the boat and the canal. Waves swallowed us and forced us down to the shallow bottom. I held my breath as much as I could while trying not to hyperventilate because of my underwater trauma. I snatched Queendra's Poké Ball and called her out. She immediately understood what she needed to do. I grabbed her and let her bring me up to the surface. I coughed to clear my throat while Latias brought up Ash and Pikachu. Aerodactyl was nowhere to be seen, so it must have flown off thinking Latias went hiding.

"Is everybody okay?" I coughed, feeling my throat burn.

"Y-Yeah, we're fine!" Ash coughed. "Thanks, Latias."

"Pi-Pika pi", Pikachu sighed in relief.

"Lraa!" Latias chirped shyly.

"We're going way too slow", I spoke up. "At this rate, Alto Mare might go under with Aerodactyl and Kabutops around."

"Dhrooh!" Queendra puffed.

"Yeah, we need those pods from the race", Ash nodded.

As if luck was our side, we almost passed by a bridge where two of those pods were air-drying. We borrowed them and strapped the leash on Latias and Queendra before we took off. Now we were going way faster and our Pokémon didn't have to hold themselves back. Latias was faster than Queendra, so she flew ahead while pulling Ash behind her. Queendra and I were still able to see them while Aerodactyl was right behind our tail flying just one meter above the canal. More and more people woke up by its cries and they started to panic when they realized they were locked up.

Latias did a sharp turn, so Queendra followed her. Aerodactyl didn't expect the move, so it flew right into some buildings when it dived down to snatch the eon Pokémon. I grimaced when I heard the crash behind me, hoping nobody got hurt.

"Guys, Aerodactyl is down!" I yelled as loud as I could.

"Okay!" Ash yelled back. "That's one fossil down!"

"Lraa lraa!"

"Keep your eyes out for Kabutops!" I reminded them.

I shouldn't have said that because as soon as we went down a narrow canal, we spotted Kabutops. It chased us on the pavement and was faster than my Kabutops. It tried slashing us, but we dodged its scythes. It then jumped from boat to boat when it ran out of ground. I shrieked when it jumped over me and Queendra, landing on a new sidewalk that appeared by the next corner. Kabutops nearly slashed Ash, but a Crobat tackled it back before it was knocked out by Corsola's Bubble Beam and Politoed's Water Gun.

"Thanks, guys!" Ash smiled as he grabbed the pod and dropped it down to the water after he got off it when Latias made a sharp turn seconds ago.

"Did Misty and Brock send you guys?" I asked them. Their happy cries were enough as answer. "Thank you."

"Let's go together!" Ash called.

We took off together through the narrow canal until we made it out in the open. The museum wasn't that far away now, but we saw a new and unnatural threat. A water pillar was swirling around the museum like an aggressive beast.

"What is that?!" I shrieked.

"It must be the DMA's power!" Ash shouted. "Guys, stay back! Latias, Queendra, keep going!"

Crobat and Misty's Pokémon slowed down so we went the rest of the way alone. The water pillar disappeared for a moment, so the Pokémon led us to a bridge where we got off. I quickly recalled Queendra to her Poké Ball before I ran after Ash and Latias. I thought the danger was over, but then water moved across the pavement like somebody was controlling it.

Next thing I knew, we were trapped in a swirling whirlpool. I held my breath and cupped my mouth and nose to stay alive. I closed my eyes and tried not getting another panic attack, but the violent current didn't help. I thought this was going to be my end, but then the water broke apart when Latias released a shockwave from her body.

I crashed on the wet pavement and coughed up a storm until my lungs felt much better. My whole body was soaking wet and I couldn't hold back a sneeze by the chilly air. "Wh-What happened?" I gasped.

Ash had Latias' head in his lap. She gasped softly after using that psychic-type move. "Latias saved us. Thanks, Latias."

"L-Lraa!" Latias chirped tiredly before she levitated up from the ground.

"We better hurry before they get us again!" I called.

We rushed inside the museum and down the corridor leading to the DMA. I could hear Latios' painful cries which made my heart tug. Not only did I hear Latios but also some kind of commotion.

When we reached the room, the DMA was going haywire with Latios trapped in a weird cage consisting of couple of rings. Annie and her Espeon were busy fending off Team Rocket who were attacking them and Ariados with their Pokémon. "Team Rocket?!" Ash gasped.

"Hey, it's the twin-twerps!" Meowth gasped in relief.

"Great timing!" Jessie hissed as her Arbok fought bravely against Espeon. "Twerps, help us settle the score with Oakley and Annie for ruining my chocolate chip mint ice cream!"

"What are you talking about?!" Annie shrieked as her Espeon got thrown back with Arbok's Poison Sting.

"Shaaarbok!"

Weezing spat toxic sludge at Ariados' face and made the spider Pokémon hiss in pain for growing blind. Weezing then tackled Ariados so it crashed into a wall. Sparkles erupted from the DMA as the control seat opened the capsule for a mere second, revealing how Oakley clung onto the seat. "Annie!" she shrieked before the capsule shut itself and kept going haywire.

"Oakley!" Annie shrieked while she tended to Espeon.

Ash and I rushed to help Bianca and Lorenzo while Latias levitated next to the cage where Latios was held captive. Meowth actually helped us cut the web apart so we could free the grandfather and granddaughter duo.

"Why are you helping us, Team Rocket?" Ash wondered.

"Well, we were actually here to get Pikachu, but our plans changed when we spotted the spy sisters", Meowth confessed.

"Forget about that, we must stop the DMA before it's too late!" Lorenzo panicked.

"Latios!" Bianca shrieked worriedly.

"Lraaaa!" Latias screeched, not knowing what to do.

"L-Lraaaoooo!" Latios screamed in pain as his power got absorbed.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the cage!" Ash yelled.

"PikaCHUUU!" Pikachu fired a lightning bolt at the swirling cage, but it barely did any visible damage. In fact, some of the electric power bounced back and nearly hit us. Still, the move managed to do something as the floating cage came down almost entirely to the ground. Latios was within reach, but we still couldn't touch the force field around the cage.

"Latios!" Ash refused to give up and jumped up repeatedly to grab Latios, but he got bounced back every time.

"Do we need to use more attacks at the cage?" James wondered.

"Maybe!" I shouted. "Can Weezing's Sludge attack melt the metal like acid?"

Before we even had a chance to try, Latias used her psychic move and pushed herself through the force field, immobilizing those rings so they were no longer moving around. The force field was also gone. "There's our chance!" Lorenzo exclaimed.

We joined forces and grabbed Latios and pulled him out of the cage with all our might. He collapsed on the ground just as the DMA shut down now that it no longer had one of its power sources. The control capsule opened and revealed a very exhausted Oakley.

Latias had a bruise forming on her neck after keeping those rings in place, but she ignored the pain and chirped at her brother. Latios weakly opened his eyes and gave us a tired smile. Latias shrieked and nuzzled him.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Bianca cried and gently embraced Latios' neck. Poor Pokémon had so many bruises we needed to treat him.

"All's well that ends well!" Meowth sighed.

"Well, we could technically take Latias and Latios now, but we let you off the hook", Jessie said.

"Why are you being so nice?" Ash asked.

"W-Well… Um…", James stuttered as he and his fellow comrades stepped back and whispered amongst themselves. At the same time, Misty and Brock had finally reached the museum and joined us by Latios. Brock sat Latios' condition and immediately started digging in his backpack for medicine.

I turned my eyes at the DMA and saw how Annie checked on her sister before she approached the Soul Dew. I noticed the pretty blue light from the jewel was gone and replaced with a nasty black color.

Lorenzo noticed it too just as Annie's fingers was centimeters away from touching it. "DON'T TOUCH IT!"

The warning came far too late. Annie placed her hand on the jewel and it released a light that threw her back into the control capsule with her sister. The capsule closed again as before the Soul Dew shattered apart like glass. The DMA returned to its standby position and shut down, leaving everything in an eerie silence.

"What just happened?" Bianca quivered.

"The prophecy was true…!" Lorenzo gasped. "The Soul Dew died because it's been out of the pool far too long. The water of Alto Mare is leaving…!"

I felt a terrible shiver run down my spine. "When you say the water is leaving, you mean-"

"Hey, twerps!" Meowth exclaimed as he peeked out from the room. "Something's happening outside!"

We rushed out of the museum, ignoring Annie and Oakley's pleads to help them. Latias and Latios flew up to the top of the museum as we stared out at the sea. Lorenzo was right; the water was retracting like a tide, leaving the canals and several kilometers of the seafloor dry and empty. It was still dark, so we couldn't really see what was happening in the horizon.

Until we heard a very distant rumble coming closer toward Alto Mare with an enormous wave you could only see in natural disaster movies.

"It's a tsunami!" Misty exclaimed.

"It's our demise!" James panicked and quickly hugged Weezing. Jessie did the same with Arbok and Meowth and Wobbuffet, who appeared out of nowhere, hugged each other while gritting teeth.

"The water…is coming back", Lorenzo pulled Bianca to him to protect her from the inevitable danger.

We were basically watching the death scythe of Alto Mare. There was no chance we could flee with that monstrous wave ready to engulf the water city. I grabbed onto Ash while Misty wrapped an arm around his waist while holding Togepi close to her chest. We were about to say our last prayers when Latias and Latios flew toward the wave.

"Latias!" Ash screeched.

"Latios!" Bianca yelled.

The eon Pokémon were the guardians of Alto Mare. It was their duty to protect their home, but Latios was already weak so they couldn't possibly quell the monster wave. I weaved my hands together to say a prayer to the creator of our world. "Lord Arceus, please lend Latias and Latios your power to protect Alto Mare!"

I opened my tearful eyes just as a light emitted from the sibling Pokémon in the far distance. A beacon of light erupted from the wave lighting up the sky as the wave became much smaller. We all held our breath and waited for the water. It came back, but as a very gentle wave. The beacon of light soon faded away as the first rays of sunlight appeared in the now calm horizon.

We waited for Latias and Latios to come back, but when they didn't show up, we went out to the sea in a random gondola we found. Team Rocket had taken the time to leave, but we knew they weren't going to harass us now. They were surely just as shaken up as we were.

We called out our water Pokémon who helped us with the search. When we were about to lose hope, a wild Mantine and other wild Pokémon swam toward us. Latias laid on top of Mantine as the water Pokémon stopped by our gondola.

"Latias!" we all exclaimed and worked together to lift her onto the gondola. The wild Pokémon left us while we recalled our Pokémon.

"Latias, wake up, please", Ash pleaded with her while lightly shaking her.

"L-Lraa…", Latias opened her glossy eyes.

Ash sighed in relief and nuzzled her face. "Oh, Latias…"

"Latias, where is Latios?" Bianca asked.

Latias chirped sadly and pointed her head up at the sky. My heart clenched as I knew what she was trying to say. "I-Is Latios…"

"Latios is just like his father…", Lorenzo verified my suspicions. "He sacrificed himself to protect the city."

I let out an uncontrollable sob before my eyes started dropping heavy tears. This was my second time experiencing death of a Pokémon. And both times had been Legendary Pokémon. "W-Why…?!"

"Latios…!" Ash cried.

Before we knew it, we experienced a Sight Sharing. Latios showed us our beautiful planet as his soul drifted away into space. The remains of his power transformed into a new Soul Dew that landed in Bianca's hands, the last proof that Latios was still alive.

We went back to mainland where there was a little bit of chaos. People who woke up to the whole incident tried finding answers as the lockdown was no longer active. We snuck past the crowd and Latias went invisible as we went to the secret garden. We didn't encounter any of the evil fossil Pokémon, so we assumed they turned back into their petrified selves now that the DMA was shut down.

Lorenzo gently placed the Soul Dew in its pool that started bubbling once the jewel was set. Water poured into the pool below and spread further in the garden so the wild Pokémon could drink and play again.

"It's a perfect fit", Misty said lightly.

"Latios will be our new guardian who will watch over our city in the shape of his soul", Lorenzo said.

"Thank you for saving us, Latios", Bianca smiled with dried tears. "Please stay with us forever."

"Lraa…", Latias chirped sadly.

"What's going to happen to Latias now?" I asked.

"She is to stay here until we get a new pair of eon Pokémon", Lorenzo explained. "Ever since Latias, Latios and their father appeared here, Alto Mare gets frequently visited by other of their kind. So if a new sibling pair chooses to settle down here, Latias may be free to leave."

Latias nodded, verifying Loreno's words. Ash gently caressed her as she leaned in to him. "Latias… Look after Alto Mare and everyone of this city together with your brother."

"Lraa…"

Our thoughts faded when we heard the church bells ringing across Alto Mare. It was another reminder we barely got any sleep, so we returned to the Pokémon Center to rest up after this catastrophe.

XXXXXXXXXX

We stayed in Alto Mare for the rest of the week until it was time for us to return to the mainland. We only had a few weeks left to train before the Silver Conference. We found a kind boat owner who could give us a lift back to the mainland. We wanted to say goodbye to Bianca and Lorenzo for everything first. That reminded me; Annie and Oakley got arrested shortly after Lorenzo informed the police department about their illegal activities and how they were responsible for the city lockdown and disturbing the peace in Alto Mare.

The captain of the small boat drove down the canal until we reached Lorenzo's workshop. "Lorenzo!" we called out.

Lorenzo poked his head out from the workshop with a smile. "Hi, kids. Are you leaving now?"

"Yeah, the Silver Conference is coming up, so we need to hurry", Ash explained.

"We wanted to say goodbye and thank you for your hospitality", Misty added.

"Hold on, Bianca should still be at home", Lorenzo turned to an open window of his house. "Bianca! Your friends are here to say goodbye!" There was no answer. "I guess she's already left to the market. I'll let her know you dropped by."

"Thank you, Lorenzo", I nodded as the boat started moving.

"Good luck at the Silver Conference! Bianca and I'll root for you!" Lorenzo yelled and waved his hand. "Come back anytime, kids!"

"We will! Goodbye!" we shouted and waved back.

The captain drove slowly down the canal until we could see the open ocean up ahead. However, Pikachu reacted at something from the sidewalk. Bianca was running and waving with something in her hand.

"Bianca?" Ash blinked and turned to the captain. "Excuse me, sir, can you pull over for a minute?"

"Sure, kiddo", the captain replied.

The boat slowed down so it was parked next to a bridge. Ash and I got up on the bridge and waited for Bianca to catch up. "Hi, Bianca!" Ash greeted.

"I thought you went to the market, but clearly you heard us", I smiled.

Bianca panted silently and held out a rolled piece of paper to my brother. Ash was confused, but he accepted it. Then, without a warning, Bianca leaned in and kissed him on his cheek.

I was very surprised by the bold move. Even Misty and Brock gasped dramatically. Then Bianca moved and planted her lips on my cheek. My face lit up as I stood frozen. Nobody, except my family, had given me kisses before. This was the first time somebody else had kissed me!

I blinked when I noticed Bianca's lips were slightly cold, and her hat was missing. I was about to call her out when she ran off without a word. Ash and I looked at each other with big eyes. "Latias…", we mumbled to one another.

"Was that…Bianca or Latias…?" Misty murmured in the background.

"Togi?"

"I'm so jealous…!" Brock growled.

"Pika."

Ash rolled the paper open revealing a painting of himself, me and Pikachu. It was signed by Bianca, so she must have worked on it after the events that unfolded. Ash gently rolled the paper before we climbed back onboard. The captain took off while my brother put the painting in his backpack.

"Hey, guys…", Misty grimaced. "Who just kissed you?"

"It was Latias", Ash revealed.

Misty's shoulders relaxed as she let out a huge sigh. "Ah, I see…"

"Sounds to me Latias grew a crush on you, Ash", Brock teased after he recovered from the shock. Ash blushed at the teasing and laughed it off.

We were quite far away from Alto Mare when Pikachu stared at something in the sky. Ash and I looked up and spotted something moving. They were invisible, but for a mere second we saw the shapes of one Latias and two Latios, one bigger than the other. They must be some of those Pokémon that came and went from Alto Mare like what Lorenzo mentioned.

My heart felt a little more at ease knowing that Latias wasn't going to stay alone for long. Who knew; perhaps we would one day see her again.

XXXXXXXXXX

I don't know why they wrote this, but the Pokémon Fandom pages for movie Latias and Latios say the move they used to quell the tsunami was Safeguard, not their signature move Luster Purge. From my point of view and in my story, they used Luster Purge.

I decided to give Team Rocket a more reasonable screen time compared to the anime. They were just there for comic relief, but here they confronted Annie and Oakley and decided to help our group out.

Now, as for those who wanted to see Latias join Ash, I'm sorry to say it, but she didn't get caught in this saga. However, the possibilities are still there that she might join him in a later story. In the Japanese version, it was told that other eon Pokémon visit Alto Mare, hence the explanation I added to the story. The dub version was very confusing as it was never explained why they showed a trio of the eons at the end.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ashley's party:

Cedric the Pupitar (male)

Mystic the Togetic (male)

Hikaru the Ampharos (male)

Victor the Houndoom (male)

Sora the Dratini (female)

Queendra the Kingdra (female)

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Ashley's Pokémon at the Lab:

Trica the Furret (female)

Wanda the Gyarados (female)

Aria the Lapras (female)

Axel the Scyther (male)

Lily the Espeon (female)

Kobra the Arbok (male)

Poseidon the shiny Gyarados (male)

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Ashley's roaming Pokémon:

Crystal the Suicune (genderless)

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Ash's party:

Pikachu (male)

Bayleef (female)

Cyndaquil (male)

Dunsparce (male)

Croconaw (male)

Phanpy (male)

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Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:

Tauros (male)

Ivysaur (male)

Kingler (male)

Poliwrath (male)

Wartortle (male)

Shiny Noctowl (male)

Heracross (male)

Snorlax (male)

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Ash's roaming Pokémon:

Entei (genderless)

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Misty's party:

Staryu (genderless)

Psyduck (male)

Togepi (female)

Politoed (male)

Lanturn (female)

Corsola (female)

XXXXXXXXXX

Misty's Pokémon in the Cerulean Gym:

Goldeen (female)

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Brock's party:

Geodude (male)

Onix (male)

Crobat (male)

Forretress (male)

Magcargo (male)