Pocket monsters: the sonic adventures

by duel king sonic

A new journey begins for Sonic across the pokemon world and regions. This new path walked by Sonic and his trusted partner raichu, often joined by their friends, contains many challenges, new loyal allies, just as many deadly enemies, a complicated rivarly with Ash Ketchum as well as personal quest of self-discovery and improvement and the pursuit of a dream Sonic never knew he had

90. special chapter 5

Special chapter; Heroes-Latias and Latios

Pokemon cries filled the dimly lit clearing in the woods as the poachers continued rounding up their prey.

"Round them all up boys! They're all ours for the taking!"

"Got it boss. You better have a good cut for us this time though".

The poacher laughed.

"With team rocket out of the picture, our services have become sold out. Big cuts are coming for all of us!"

Everyone celebrated at the apparent fortune coming their way.

"More like big cuts in prison food" a voice called out to them.

The poachers were all bewildered.

"Who said that?!" the boss poacher called out.

One of his guys suddenly dropped to the ground, stunned.

"It's t-them! The duo of thunder!"

"Battle stations! We are not losing our payday to…"

His word were cut short as he was stunned by a stun blast.

"Slash!"

A scizor came out of nowhere and slashed the lock keeping the captured pokemon in the poachers' cage. They all made a run for it.

The poachers also attempted to run only to be blocked by a growling Raikou.

"Raikou. Discharge".

Raikou fired discharge, zapping all of the poachers as Tails landed next to it.

"Great job pal. Honestly sometimes they just deserve it" he commented as he dialed a number leaving a message.

"Got another gang of poachers detective Looker. Sending you the location".

After informing Looker and tying up the hunters so they wouldn't try to escape, Tails rode Raikou and left the scene, returning to Cosmo's house.

Upon arriving, Tails found the place empty. Cosmo was probably at the flower shop.

Laying on the sofa as Raikou sat down next to him, placing its massive head right next to Tails demanding cuddles, Tails allowed himself to once again process more of his thoughts.

The last week was hellish for all three friends. The death of detective Morrison took a big toll on them. They owed their victory and their freedom to him. He was an invaluable ally and a great man.

And in a single moment he was gone, his life and the lives of his family destroyed by Giovanni in an attempt to bring suffering to Sonic.

Although Tails was deeply scarred by that incident, he was coping well. He had Cosmo for support and going out to distract himself by hunting poachers for the police was a good way to do so.

During one of the many nights he spent at Cosmo's place, the two had a long and serious conversation, the demise of detective Morrison pushing Tails to reveal his hand and tell Cosmo he wanted a serious relationship with her. She reciprocated and even though the future was uncertain as Tails still had a life in Green Hills, the two promised they would find a solution to this and in the meantime they would visit each other as often as they could.

Tails of course checked on his friends regularly or in Sonic's case tried to.

With Knuckles it was easier as the echidna often came by and hung out with Tails and even joined him a couple of times in hunting poachers. Tails in turn also joined Knuckles in exploring ancient ruins.

Knuckles was also deeply scarred by Morrison's death. In his case however, unlike Tails he had grown accustomed to dealing with grief. It was he who suggested to Tails to do something that gave him fulfilment to remain in touch with himself and not get lost in the grief.

Unfortunately they were unsuccessful in trying to convince Sonic to face the grief head-on.

Their friend had been searching for Giovanni throughout Johto for the last week without any success but weirdly with increasing intensity. The more he didn't find Giovanni the more he searched.

Thankfully Sonic didn't act like he did following Jolty's death where he was not talking to anyone. He was talking to them everyday but only for two minutes at best, letting them know he was ok, asking if they were ok and then hanging up to sleep so he could continue the search the next day.

In other words Sonic was still neglecting himself, Jasmine and his family all over again. But this time it wasn't despair or sadness. It was vengeance. And that was a lot worse.

His phone rang while he was processing all of his thoughts. It was Knuckles.

"Hey pal? How did the hunting go?"

"The usual. They tried to run, we stunned them, end of story".

Knuckles nodded as if he was saying 'classic'.

"Did you have any contact with Sonic today?"

"No. Probably gonna talk to him before sleep like every day".

Knuckles sighed.

"This isn't natural. He wouldn't act like this. Something happened" he paused "something Mrs Morrison told him triggered him like this".

Tails considered the possibility and thought it to be the only explanation.

"But what did she tell him?"

"I don't know. What I do know is, we need to find a way to get Sonic to sit down and talk to us" Knuckles said.

"But how? He won't even talk to us by phone let alone actually meeting us someplace".

Knuckles and Tails remained silent for a few moments, looking at their alternatives.

Knuckles' eyes then suddenly widened.

"I got! Do you remember what's tomorrow?"

Tails remembered after a moment.

"Your birthday!"

"Precisely. No way Sonic won't come to meet us for this".

"True. But even so, I don't think he will stick around if we try to talk to him, even if it's your birthday. In his state of mind…"

The two friends went silent again trying to piece together a plan that would hit two pidgeys with one stone.

"I know! There is a place I wanted to visit in Johto but didn't have the chance to!"

"What place?"

"It's called the Alto Mare. It translates to deep sea. And as its name implies, it's a city in the middle of the Johtonian sea!"

"Woah a city in the sea? Like that mythical city, Atlantis?"

"Not exactly. But yeah. A city crawling with canals, easily one of them most visited places in Johto. Aaaand… it's mythology is vast. Like really vast. I wanted to visit that place for ages".

"And since it's in the middle of the sea, Sonic will have no choice but to stick around so we can get to the bottom of his pursuit of Giovanni" Tails concluded "great idea Knuckles".

"So who's going to bring the news to Sonic?"

"I will. I'll pretend that we're organizing the trip as a surprise. He will help, I know it".

"Alright mate. Good luck".

Knuckles signed off, leaving Tails alone as he prepared to call his blue friend.

Raikou could tell Tails was anxious so it licked him to cheer him up.

"Thanks pal" Tails said as he lovingly pet the thunder pokemon that purred as it was pet.

After a few minutes of cuddling, Tails walked outside and called Sonic.

"Make it quick. I got a hunch I'm close".

"Hey Sonic".

"What is it? If it can wait then it should".

"It can't. It's Knuckles' birthday tomorrow remember?"

Silence for a few moments.

"Right" a sigh followed "right. I almost forgot".

"Well thankfully I have an idea for a gift for our friend. He told me recently he wanted to visit Alto Mare, a city in the middle of the Johtonian sea. He says the place has crazy mythology and from what I found looking it up, actual pokemon fossils!"

"Yeah. Sounds cool" the hedgehog replied without any color in his voice.

"So I thought we could book the tickets and surprise him tomorrow. What do you say?"

Silence again as it was obvious Sonic was struggling with the idea.

"A daily trip right?"

"Yeah".

"… ok. But could you book them? I got to get back to the search".

Tails closed his eyes in sadness at this response.

"Sure. No problem. See you tomorrow at Olivine. That's where the ship departs from".

Sonic hung up without replying. Tails was heartbroken.

His friend was a lot worse than he feared. This was too much unlike him. That trip had to work.

Later that day as Tails and Cosmo were out on a date watching the stars on the beach of Azalea town, the latter couldn't help but notice Tails was distraught.

"Baby what's wrong?"

"It's Sonic. He's become too distant. He is obsessed with finding Giovanni, I could swear he was tempted to not celebrate Knuckles' birthday with us in favor of pursuing that monster".

Cosmo took his hand.

"That monster put Sonic and you and Knuckles and so many others through untold pain. I'm not saying Sonic is right but… when you try and talk to him, try to first sympathize with him".

Tails was dumbfounded.

"Sympathize? What makes you think I don't sympathize? Morrison died in front of me too! But I'm not out there seeking to find Giovanni!"

Cosmo's look of shock also filled him with shock as well as confusion. Had he actually yelled at her?

"I… Cosmo I…"

"Relax I'm not mad at you. But I want you to answer a question. What is the source of this sudden anger?"

"I don't know".

"You do know. Don't answer straight away. Take a moment to organize your thoughts.

Tails hugged his knees as he needed her advice.

"I just don't understand… what changed? I keep replaying that day over and over in my mind… he wasn't taken over by anger. Sure he smashed that laptop but I would do the same thing if I was in his shoes. I just can't understand what triggered him to take such drastic action".

Cosmo gripped his hand tighter.

"If that's the answer you seek, then you need only ask him. Tell him this is not ok. Maybe he doesn't want your help but if you and Knuckles are really like brothers to him then he should tell you".

Tails was filled with gratitude for her and thanked her with a kiss for her words of wisdom.

"Knuckles has a hunch Mrs Morrison told something to Sonic when she was at the hospital. Something that causes this need for vengeance. But I don't want to blame her after everything".

Cosmo caressed him.

"It will be ok" she kissed him gently "Sonic will come back to you and Knuckles. Just promise you will listen to him as he did for you when we met".

Tails smiled, remembering that day.

"I will".

"Anyway, why don't we go back home now?" she asked with a playful tone.

"Oh you wanna play?" Tails teased her with a small tickle.

"Come catch me and find out" she got up and playfully teased him, before rushing back to her place.

The next morning, a fully rested and confident Tails bid Cosmo goodbye, rode Raikou and headed to Olivine city.

On the way they were joined by Knuckles and Suicune, who were happy to see them.

Sonic and Entei however were still not showing up.

The long journey to Olivine ended and after recalling Raikou and Suicune, the two friends made for the docks to find the ship on which they would sail to Alto Mare on.

Surprisingly, Sonic was already there. While he did greet his friends in what seemed like a friendly tone as well as wishing Knuckles a happy birthday, Tails and Knuckles could tell that both the tone and the smile were forced.

As they boarded and sat by the window, Tails asked Knuckles about what they could see in Alto Mare as well as its history. Surprisingly the echidna had very little to say, explaining that the reason he wanted to go visit the place was because he knew so little about it.

"You see even though it is legally a city belonging to Johto, the history behind it wasn't in my mother's legends. And because its entire existence is based on legends, historians have not covered its origins in great detail. All that is known is that a great battle took place there when it became an ocean town and that the villain of that conflict had 2 fossil pokemon, an aerodactyl and a Kabutops".

"That sounds so cool" Tails admitted "fossil pokemon are an ongoing mystery because their DNA is incomplete and and attempts to reverse engineer them into life have either backfired horribly or created incredibly violent versions. And in the rare instance that the revival process was successful, the revived pokemon were not what scientists expected. The incomplete DNA was the square root of the result".

"I know. Wish we could see what these pokemon really looked like. They existed in the distant past before that meteor crashed on earth and its impact followed by the subsequent volcano eruptions and total change of climate caused their extinction. Something the scientists noticed recently was that both of these species as well as the third confirmed ancient species, Omanyte and its evolution Omastar, were all rock types. Their actual forms shouldn't be rock however, specifically it is theorized that in the ancient past, aerodactyl was a flying and grass type" Knuckles monologued.

"That is an interesting type combination. Don't you think Sonic?"

Sonic wasn't participating in the conversation, staring out the window instead, his stare blank.

"Sonic you here with us?"

"What? Oh yeah right right. Should be interesting".

Tails and Knuckles exchanged a quick glance.

"Yeah Cosmo breaking up with Tails is very interesting".

"Very" Sonic replied before getting jabbed by Knuckles and not very pleasantly either.

"Alright. Spill it. What is going on with you?"

"Nothing" Sonic adamantly denied.

"Did you even hear what I said?"

"Yeah I…"

"He said that Cosmo and I broke up" Tails lied, wanting to speed things up.

"Wait what?! How? When?!" Sonic almost yelled, causing several passengers to look at him annoyed.

"No way and never because we didn't. We said this to prove you're not listening. And now I want you to tell us why".

"I think you already know why" Sonic admitted.

"No we don't and here's why" Knuckles said annoyed, not because Sonic couldn't focus on the present day which should have been about Knuckles but because Knuckles was really worried since he and Tails couldn't determine the missing variable.

"You have never acted this way before, ever. Not when Amy hurt you, not when Shadow bullied you, hell not even when Espeon's brother was killed. And now all of a sudden you have grown obsessed with finding Giovanni when he has been out in exile for months and you didn't care back then. So what changed?"

"What changed? What changed?! You were there! You saw what he did to Morrison! I can't let him hurt anyone else again!"

"It's not your responsibility to find him mate. It's the police's".

"No way. I can't let them find him first".

Tails was unnerved. Sonic sounded like Looker when he was chasing team Sonic throughout Johto.

"And why is that?" Knuckles pressed on.

"That's for me to know only" Sonic shut him down, leaving his two friends fully weirded out. He never acted such a way, keeping secrets.

Before they could continue their interrogation, the boat made port in Alto Mare. Upon going ashore, they were all amazed.

Alto Mare was unlike any city they had ever been to before in Johto. Half the city, or more accurate what would be normally considered as city blocks were surrounded by canals of water, where boats with their owners rowing would transport others from one part of the city to the other. Furthermore there were bridges everywhere as the city still had streets but only for pedestrians.

"Wow. Look around. No cars at all. And most boats don't have motors. This city is drowning in natural energy. It's better than going green, it's going blue!" Tails joked.

Sonic nodded, for the first time in days truly tempted to slow down and relax.

"Let's go get some breaky and stroll around for a while" Knuckles suggested "can't believe I'm saying this but screw history for now. Let's relax".

Tails was in total agreement and Sonic also agreed.

His two friends did notice the shift in tone to a more accepting and willing one but felt something else was in the mix but couldn't quite grasp it.

The three grabbed a bagel and a coffee each and started strolling around town, enjoying the local landmarks and culture, all the while commenting on everything with lots of excitement. Even Sonic found himself getting swayed away by the excitement.

"Hey look at this. There's an event taking place today. It's called the tour de altomare and from what I can is a water chariot race with our pokemon being the steeds".

"You should enter" Knuckles suggested to Sonic.

The hedgehog was hesitant and suggested Tails should.

"Nah. It requires water pokemon. My only water type is Lapras and could be an illegal entry".

"Illegal entry? Why?" Knuckles inquired.

"Its whole thing is transportation. It could have an unfair advantage over the others".

"Nah no way" Knuckles countered "but even if it's the case what have you got to lose if you go and ask?"

Tails thought about it and smiled.

"Nothing. Alright let's go. Are you sure you guys don't want to join?"

"Don't think I can mate. Suicune is definitely going to be considered an illegal entry. It can literally run on water".

"Huh fair point. Sonic what about you? You have Quagsire, it's definitely not an illegal entry".

"I don't know Tails. It's just not my thing".

"Don't tell me you're still afraid of water" Knuckles teased him.

"Hey I used to be. Not anymore ok? Oh the heck with it. Let's do it".

The three headed for the start of the race where the registration was. Sonic's Quagsire and Tails' Lapras were quickly accepted and even though Tails convinced Knuckles to try and enter Suicune, it was unfortunately denied entry for obvious reasons.

Sonic and Tails then had their Pokemon hitched to their water chariots and stepped on them, being warned to keep their balance as the race had a lot of sharp turns.

Tails was excited and couldn't wait to be allowed to head to the start line.

Sonic on the other hand, while making sure Quagsire was hitched properly to the chariot and asked it if it was feeling ok, was being consumed by regrets.

"This feels wrong. I should be back at the mainland searching for that monster. What if he hurts someone else?" he whispered.

"Did you say something?" Tails asked.

"No" Sonic quickly denied it as he rode the chariot "ready?"

"Ready to kick your butt" Tails joked.

Sonic cracked a smile which added to his guilt.

The two headed to the start line. That was when Sonic crossed eyes with the competitor on his left.

"Ash?!"

"Sonic?! What a surprise".

"What are you guys doing in Alto Mare?" Misty asked them equally as surprised as her head popped up from behind Ash.

"Knuckles wanted to visit the place and it's his birthday today so we thought we'd surprise him with a trip here" Tails explained.

"How thoughtful" Misty complimented the gesture.

"So you guys are competing too huh? Ready to lose?" Ash taunted them in a friendly manner.

Sonic took a look at the Pokemon Ash and Misty had entered. Totodile and a pink pokemon Sonic didn't recognize respectively.

Pikachu, which was on Ash's shoulder looked to the crowd on the bridge and found Raichu looking at the competitors alongside Knuckles.

It called out to Raichu, teasing it that soon it would see its trainer lose. Raichu stuck its tongue out to tease it back.

A trio of natus alongside their evolution, xatu landed next to the competitors.

"Alright trainers" the announcer spoke "when you hear the xatu, it's your que to go!"

Sonic didn't know which was xatu but correctly assumed it was the big one on the base of the totem the 4 pokemon formed.

"Xatu!"

"Let's go!" Ash exclaimed as Totodile took off with the crowd cheering.

Sonic and Tails also had Quagsire and Lapras begin pulling while holding onto the grapple that was provided.

The race was quite rejuvenating for Sonic who found himself experiencing freedom from the darkness of the last week. The smile on everyone's faces, the cheers from the spectators, even Ash's rivalry jabs.

It filled Sonic with extreme joy and equally as extreme guilt.

"I'm breaking my promise" he thought as he and Quagsire overtook Ash and Totodile leaving him in second place behind Misty and her Corsola.

"You're not" a voice spoke in his ear.

"What the…" he thought weirded out. That was not the same feeling he had when experiencing Raichu's thoughts.

And then he saw it for a moment; a blue pokemon with red eyes and a red triangle crest on its body staring down at him from a nearby rooftop.

Sonic didn't pay attention to the upcoming turn.

Quagsire and he crashed into a small pavement dock, with Sonic being ejected off and crashing into the wall, scaring a couple that was nearby away.

"Sonic you ok?!" Tails called out as Lapras and he stopped to check on their friend.

"I'm fine" Sonic groaned "go. I'll catch up!"

"You sure?!"

"Yeah! Go get them!"

Tails nodded.

"Let's go Lapras!"

Lapras cried out and chased after the rest of the racers.

Sonic was about to also get back on the chariot until he remembered why he crashed.

He looked up again and saw it at the same spot not having moved an inch.

"Quagsire you seeing this?"

Quagsire looked at the pokemon and was also captivated.

Trainer and pokemon had now completely forgotten about the race.

The pokemon staring at them then flew away, with Sonic noticing it resembled an airplane.

"Quag!"

"You think we should chase it?"

"Quag!" the water and ground type nodded.

Sonic nodded back and recalled it, leaving the chariot behind, as they proceeded to begin climbing up a pipe.

As the race was nearing its finale, Brock and Knuckles had met on the bridge overlooking the canal where the finish line was with the echidna informing the Pewter city gym leader of everything that transpired while trying his hardest not to ruin the mood.

"I'm really sorry to hear that" Brock explained "how are Tails and Sonic taking it?"

"Tails is mostly ok. Certainly sad but he has me and his girlfriend to confide in. It's Sonic I'm worried about. He had grown distant. And I don't know why".

Brock rubbed his chin as Misty's togepi observed the canal waiting for the racers.

"Maybe I could try talking to him about it. Perhaps there is something he would easier talk about to a stranger than a familiar face".

Knuckles was perplexed.

"I literally talked to him about my family's history. Am I supposed to take this as he doesn't trust me?"

"No. Definitely not. Which is exactly why I suggest you let me have a go at it. I don't know Sonic very well but I know for certain having watched how he fought to get you back from the past that he values you and Tails a lot. Which consequently indicates something much more serious could be at play as to why he distanced himself".

Knuckles was about to respond before they heard the racers approaching.

"They're coming!"

The racers took the last turn and in the lead were Misty and Tails neck to neck.

"Go Corsola!"

"Come on Lapras just a little more!"

Knuckles and Brock cheered them on as they crossed the finish line together making it impossible to determine a winner.

Ash soon followed, ending in 6th place having taken a wrong turn somewhere inexplicably.

Knuckles and Brock rushed to meet their friends who got out of the water.

"Wow. That was a rush! Probably one of the funniest activities I've been a part of" Tails said still in adrenaline.

"Your Lapras is impressive. Where did you even get such a rare and magnificent water pokemon?" Misty asked him.

"Johto safari zone. You gave me quite the challenge to catch didn't you?" Tails rubbed Lapras' neck.

Ash also got out of the water.

"That was awesome! Wish it went better though. The most bizzare thing happened. Something pulled me, Pikachu and Totodile away from the track. But I saw nothing".

"Huh. Bizzare. Did you and Sonic notice anything?" Brock asked Tails.

It was only in that moment Tails noticed Sonic wasn't with them.

"Oh no! Where's Sonic?"

"What happened?" Knuckles questioned him.

"He crashed about halfway into the race. He said he would catch up but he never even finished the race".

"This is worrisome. Do you anything happened to him?"

A sudden gust of wind blew over the canal. Tails was barely quick enough to notice something blue moving over the rooftops at insane speed.

And soon enough Sonic was spotted in pursuit, using his sonic speed to keep up.

"You guys saw it?"

"Yeah. What is he doing?" Ash inquired.

"And what was that thing?" Knuckles added his own question.

"Give me a sec. I'll go get him" Tails before taking off.

On the rooftops, Sonic was using all of his speed, agility and his spinning ball move which he had nicknamed spindash.

He hopped onto another rooftop and used a speed burst to launch himself away, managing to finally catch up to the blue pokemon, getting in its way and causing it to come to a halt.

As the hedgehog and the pokemon crossed eyes, Sonic tried not to make any sudden movements as he observed the pokemon.

"What… are you?" he inquired tilting his head.

"The pokemon let out a cry before going invisible.

"What the...!" Sonic stumbled back, falling off the roof and into the canal with a huge splash.

Tails found him by hearing the splash, arriving just as his friend resurfaced.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. Get me out please".

Tails gave it his all which was hard as Sonic was waterlogged and that made him extremely heavy. With a lot of effort, he lifted Sonic to the nearby bridge.

"What happened to you after you crashed? We were all worried sick because you never finished the race".

"I saw something… I think it was a pokemon. Quagsire and I were compelled to chase it so I recalled it and used my speed to pursue it across the rooftops. I dropped the race to follow it".

"We saw it for an instant, the others and I. Where did it go? Did it outrun you?"

"No. I caught up to it and stopped it in its tracks but it disappeared. Not with teleport though. It camouflaged itself".

"Woah. You mean like that species Harrison had? Kecleon?"

"Yes, exactly like that but without any drawbacks. Completely invisible".

Tails was very intrigued.

"Let's get back to the others for the award ceremony. Then we can look into that pokemon more".

"Good idea".

The two friends headed off to return to the start line, with Sonic running and Tails flying.

"By the way, who won?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know. Misty and I had a photo finish for first place".

"You won?!"

"Don't know. Let's get back to the others and we'll find out".

As soon as they arrived back applause erupted from the spectators as Misty was expecting Tails holding a medal in her hand while also wearing a medal herself.

"Congratulations co-victor".

"We ended in a draw?!" Tails was taken aback pleasantly.

"You sure did!" Knuckles gave Tails a friendly back bump with his huge fist causing the fox to stumble while chuckling.

The awards ceremony was glorious and as Misty and Tails stood on the podium to greet the crowd, each wearing a medal, Sonic smiled proud of his friend, forcing a guilty look back.

Afterwards the two groups were approached by Ross, the former champion of the event, who congratulated them as well on their victory, stating that even though he always expected to be defeated someday, two victors was something he could have never anticipated.

He then invited the groups on a tour of the town on his gondola while explaining the town's history which would have Knuckles geeking if he was the type especially after Ross revealed he would let them off at the museum.

The ride was very relaxing and enjoyable. Ross was a very chill dude and was amazed at Tails' flying ability, asking the fox why he didn't use it during the race. Tails, who was flying by the gondola as to not overload it and cause it to sink due to the already big amount of passengers, said he didn't think of it and even if he did it wouldn't be fair.

Ash and Pikachu were taking it all in, until they actually realized Sonic wasn't his usual cheerful self. He was serious and not talking and weirdest lf all, Raichu was not out of its pokeball.

Soon enough, the gondola sailed into a more open area of the town where two pillars stood as gondolas and boats sailed around them.

On top were two statues, one on each pillar.

"Hey those look similar to the markings on the medals" Tails pointed out as he held his medal side by side with the statues in his field of view.

"Oh, yeah. Those are the two pokemon known as the Guardians of Alto Mare. That's Latios on the left, and Latias on the right".

"I've never heard of them before" Knuckles said, hoping to learn about the history of Alto Mare.

"They are said to be legendary pokemon" Ross said.

Tails searched online and found two audio pokedex entries for Latias and Latios.

"I got something" he said as he pressed play.

Latias' dex entry played first. A picture was also shown on his phone revealing a red pokemon similar to the one Sonic chased with blue triangle under its throat.

"Latias, the Eon Pokémon, a Dragon and Psychic type. Latias ruffles its feathers and cries loudly when there is hostility toward it. Its glass-like, downy feathers can enfold its body and refract light, which allows it to become invisible or alter its appearance like its counterpart Latios".

On the mention of the invisibility ability Sonic and Tails exchanged a glance before Tails played Latios' dex entry.

"Latios, the Eon Pokémon, a Dragon and Psychic type. Latios can fly faster than a jet by tucking in its arms. Its glass-like, downy feathers can enfold its body and refract light, which allows it to become invisible or alter its appearance like its counterpart Latias".

As Tails showed everyone Latios' photo, Sonic's look confirmed their suspicion.

Sonic had seen and chased Latios around town.

"Pretty sweet huh? Legend has it that they watch over our town and protect us in case of danger".

"Are they just statues, or do they really exist?" Brock inquired.

"Some say they do" Ross shrugged.

"They do exist" Sonic suddenly said causing everyone to look at him.

"How do you know?" Ross asked him.

"Because I saw Latios. During the race. It was staring at me, took me attention and caused me to crash. I then chased it across town before knowing what it was".

Ross connected the dots.

"Wait so that blue blur was Latios?! And you could keep up with it?! That's not possible. The pokemon entry said it flies as fast as a jet".

Ash was more accepting of the idea.

"And Sonic is probably faster than a jet".

Ross couldn't wrap his mind around what he was hearing.

"I even got a look up close and personal" Sonic continued "before it disappeared by camouflaging itself".

Ash pet Pikachu on the head.

"Lucky you. I sure would like to see it or Latias for myself, wouldn't you buddy?"

"Pika pika!"

Ross however was skeptical.

"Who are you?" he asked Sonic.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I always assumed the reason noone saw Latias and Latios around is because there was never any danger. Then you come to town and suddenly Latios appears?"

"They're ok" Ash spoke up inferring for all of team Sonic "they're the Sonic heroes".

Ross gasped.

"Wait! As in the trainers who took down team rocket at Goldenrod city assisted by the legendary beasts Entei Raikou and Suicune?!"

"Guilty as charged" Tails joked.

"Wow. Ok then. Sorry for the tone. I guess Latios appeared for the same reason the beasts returned. You three must be that reason".

Tails looked at Sonic who didn't say anything.

As Ross directed the gondola towards the museum, in a nearby plaza a small robotic scanner was scanning the people passing through or just socializing.

"Uh this is taking forever. If these Latios and Latias are supposed to be guarding the town, how come we haven't seen them yet?"

"Patience Annie. It's not that simple. The book says they can take on a completely different shape, even human beings if they want to".

"I thought we were here to get some good payday, not play that imposter video game in real life".

"Well it's not like we have a choice anymore do we? And it's that foolish Archer's fault. Having us stationed at the hideout instead of doing something useful to stop team Sonic".

"We shouldn't have left in the first place. Maybe we could have repelled them when they came knocking".

"At that point they were too powerful. Sonic the hedgehog even survived a lethal injury" Oakley said annoyed "if only Archer had taken action when he had the chance. We would have easily trampled them when they started their quest. The hedgehog had even left his Kanto pokemon behind".

"Hey that's in the past now. Let's find those two guardian pokemon catch them and go collect some good payday. What say you girl?"

Oakley didn't seem satisfied but before she could reply her computer beeped.

"Finally we got something. Turns out the theory that they have lower body temperatures than humans is accurate. Bingo. Well, that's one of them. Let's go pay our new friend a visit, shall we?"

The two ignited the boat's engine and took off to pursue their target, followed by Jessie James and Meowth who had been stalking Ash as usual and identified them.

While that was taking place, the two trainer groups decided to get off Ross' gondola next to an ice cream shop.

The 6 trainers got an ice cream cone each and sat by the canal to enjoy it while Knuckles narrated his adventure in the past to Ash's group.

All the while once again Sonic remained silent, having barely touched his ice cream which had begun melting.

Ash took notice of this.

"What's with him today? He seems so… distant" he thought.

Pikachu was even more perplexed that Raichu still hadn't come out of its ball.

Sonic got up.

"Sonic?" Tails looked at him.

"I'm going for a little walk. Be right back".

And with those words he walked away.

Tails looked down saddened.

"What are we going to do with him? He's not been the same since…"

"Since what?" Misty asked him.

Tails didn't want to be the bearer of bad news by any means but Knuckles nodded at him.

"It's a long story but remember how there were two detectives that pursued us originally? One eventually turned into an ally and was vital to our victory over team rocket. But he… recently…"

"His life was taken by a trap set by Giovanni. A trap meant for either me or Tails" Knuckles spoke bluntly.

"What?!" Ash and Misty shouted at once.

"Yes. That… that… I can't even find a word for him. He set a trap meant to take me or Tails out because he wanted Sonic to suffer. And from what I've seen him act like recently, he got what he wanted".

"That's horrible. We got to do something to cheer him up" Ash perked up.

"We've tried everything. But he's not talking to us. He hasn't even visited Jasmine in a week" Tails explained.

Brock prepared to get up.

"Let me go talk to him. Maybe he'll open up to me, like I suggested".

Tails was confused as to why Sonic would open up to Brock but Knuckles again nodded, passing the silent message that they had talked about it.

Suddenly Pikachu's ears perked up.

"You ok buddy?"

Pikschu let out a cry and took off.

"Pikachu where are you going?!" Ash chased after his partner.

Nearby, Sonic stood on the bridge overlooking the canal and all the people having a good time.

His face was blank but inside he was hurting. Greatly.

"What am I doing here?! Why am I having fun?! I'm breaking my promise to her" he thought in despair.

Pikachu's cries brought him back to reality.

"Huh?" he watched Ash run past him confused "what's happening?"

"Don't know!" Ash shouted without looking back.

Sonic sighed and raced after him at normal speed.

Pikachu led Ash to a couple of teenage girls having trapped another girl in the webs of an Ariados' string shot.

"Why did you run away? We just wanted to tell you something about the shirt you're wearing".

"Yeah. It's last year's color".

"Hey!" Ash called out to them as Pikachu got in a battle stance "what do you think you're doing?!"

"Oh nothing much. We're just trying to prevent a major fashion disaster".

"Well this is no way to do it".

"Oh? Would you like to give her some tips instead?"

"Yes, please do. I could use the laughter".

I've got a tip for you! Leave her alone!"

"Kachu!" Pikachu growled as lightning crackled on its cheeks.

"Oh, I didn't know she had a bodyguard! You're not going to hurt us, are you?"

"Whatever would we do if he attacked us, Annie?"

Annie was about to order Espeon to attack when Sonic arrived at the scene.

"Everything alright here?"

Both Annie and Oakley's eyes widened when they realized who it was. Before either Ash or Sonic could react, they had fled on the boat.

"Huh" Sonic tilted his head perplexed as he approached Ash "that was… random".

"Why did they flee like that? By your presence alone too?"

Sonic's face darkened momentarily.

"Beats me. Only people I've seen acting remotely close to this is team Rocket".

Ash then remembered the girl that was being assaulted by the other two.

Turning to her, he found her to be…

"Gone" he said in disbelief.

"Who's gone?"

"The girl that was here. You know, the one…"

"I know. How bizzare. How did she even get free of those binds?"

The two were left pondering the questions until their 4 friends arrived.

"You guys ok?" Misty asked.

"Yeah" Sonic confirmed "some bullies were teasing a girl but they're gone now".

After a brief retelling of the event, the two teams decided to do something relaxing, which Tails managed to convince them to be a visit to the city's museum for Knuckles' sake. The others agreed as it was Knuckles' birthday, though Tails and Brock were hoping Brock could get Sonic alone to ask him about the recent events.

As the group headed to the museum, Annie and Oakley spied on them, very shaken.

"What in tarnation are the Sonic heroes doing here?!" Annie asked terrified.

"I don't think they're onto us" Oakley said a lot calmer than her partner in crime "otherwise we probably wouldn't have been able to flee".

"What do we do now?"

"Plan just got a lot more complicated. But on the bright side, with the right adjustments to the plan we could make those heroes" she spoke the word sarcastically "perish like they ought to have when everyone thought they did".

"What's on your mind?"

"The DMA".

"The defense mechanism of Alto Mare?"

"Yes. With a weapon of such power, even the mighty Sonic the hedgehog and his Raichu will fall. And it's only the beginning. But for that we will need perfect timing. We will need to capture Latias, Latios and the soul dew in one fell swoop. And that certainly won't be easy".

"What if we just went after something easier?"

"Did you forget what the Sonic heroes took from us? From all of team rocket? Are you going to run away when we have a chance to make them pay?"

"I don't know if risking our freedom is worth it".

"Let's weight the options then. A life of power through the DMA, the Sonic heroes gone in the process. Or a life of running away and living hand to mouth with powerful pokemon we catch. Which do you pick?"

The answer was easy. Annie was already annoyed they had to work for themselves instead of being provided for by team Rocket.

"Alright but we will plan everything meticulously. Down to the last detail".

"Of course. Let's get planning".

The two friend groups arrived at the museum and Knuckles couldn't get enough of the exhibits.

Especially when he got to the fossils he nearly screeched.

"Wow. Is this really the fossil of a Pokémon?"

"You might say that" a voice belonging to an old, bald and bearded man replied "but it's also a reminder of our past. These fossils are of the Pokémon that once terrorized Alto Mare".

"Just like the story from this morning" Knuckles said to Tails and Sonic.

"Oh so you know. One was an Aerodactyl and the other was a…"

"Kabutops" Misty and Knuckles said at once.

"That's right. Belonging to a vile and evil pokemon wielder. But these are not the most vital piece of history of Alto Mare. Come have a look over here".

The man the led them in front of a huge and very complicated-looking machine, with a small orb containing a seat.

"This is called the DMA. The Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare".

"Defense mechanism? What was it built to fight against?" Tails inquired.

"So far nothing. More so a failsafe in an hour of need for the city. Thankfully we have never had to use it as we have our guardians".

"Latios and Latias" Sonic said.

"Exactly. And they're the reason the evil trainer's reign of fear came to an end. They brought light and hope back to the city".

A stained window shed some light on the group, especially Brock.

"I have seen the light! I will definitely meet a girl in this town!"

"Just don't hold your breath" Misty joked.

Tails was taken aback at the randomness of that statement from Brock. But then again, Sonic had mentioned such occurrences in his Kanto journey.

"As I was saying, long ago, the Aerodactyl and Kabutops were taught by that vile trainer to attack people. So everyone lived in fear until Latios and Latias came and brought water to the town, drowning the evil Pokémon and turning our streets into canals. That's when the town was named Alto Mare, which means High Sea. That's also when they built the DMA. They wanted to make sure that no one would ever disrupt their peace again. Fortunately as I said, they never had to use it".

Ash looked at Sonic as this was taking place, still wondering what was going on with his rival until he noticed a familiar face right behind Sonic's head.

"Wait a sec. It's her!" he shouted instinctively putting his hand on one of the DMA's pillars.

"Hey don't touch that!" Lorenzo berated him.

"Sonic it's her!" Ash called out to him.

"Huh?" Sonic was confused until he looked at what Ash was looking.

It was indeed the girl that disappeared in front of them earlier.

A moment later she turned to leave.

Ash was quick to follow.

"Thanks a lot for the tour, mister. It was really interesting. See you guys later!"

And he dashed away.

"What's with him?" Tails tilted his head in confusion.

"Where's he going?" Misty also questioned.

"I don't know. You got anything?" Brock asked Sonic.

"Well the girl from earlier was here. You know the one who disappeared?"

He felt a gaze on him. Looking to the window he saw a blue head.

"Latios! On our nine!" he shouted and rushed out.

Outside he saw it; Latios was once again on a rooftop looking down. Once he had exited the museum, Latios flew away.

"Hey wait up!" Sonic called out to it, rushing to that same building and hopping on top of a few boxes to climb up.

"Where is your friend going? Does he really think he can keep up with Latios?" the old man asked the trainers.

"He sure can. I just wonder why he pursues it" Tails explained.

Sonic quickly caught up to Latios as it flew away only so far as for the two of them to not be seen by anyone else.

"What do you want with me?"

Latios flew towards Sonic at an insane speed. The hedgehog was barely quick enough to dodge. Instinctively he took out Tyranitar's pokeball.

"You want to fight?"

Latios stopped and merely stared into his eyes.

On the ground Ash and Pikachu caught up to the girl they saw.

"Hey! Why'd you disappear like that before?" he called out to her from one side of a canal as she was on the other side.

"I don't know you!" the girl replied sounding slightly bewildered before leaving.

"Hey wait up!" Ash gave chase with Pikachu by his side.

Sonic and Latios hadn't moved an inch. Latios considered repeating the gesture of flying towards him before deciding to just be direct and telepathically saying one word to Sonic who gasped, putting the pokeball away.

"Woah. I see. You're not looking for a fight, are you?"

Silence for a few seconds.

"You're looking for a race".

Latios blinked to confirm his suspicion.

"Alright then" Sonic said getting on his knees and into a runner's posture "let's race".

Latios flew to his side and the two looked onward as the rooftops were aligning for the most part.

Blue lightning bolts crackled on his body as his pupils turned blue.

"Gotta go fast" he whispered.

Latios let out a small cry as if it was replying.

A sonic boom later the race was on.

The cold breeze hit Sonic's face as the buildings around him were an unrecognizable blur and all he could see clearly was right in front of him.

The screaming of the wind next to his ear as well as looking sideways for a singular moment had him in shock. Latios was keeping up easily.

"More like I should be shocked I can keep up" he thought as they continued to race with Latios taking the lead.

Ash and Pikachu in the meantime had once again lost the girl.

"What was wrong with her? She acted like she never seen me before".

"Pika".

"You see something Pikachu?"

Sure enough there she was again.

"Oh, there you are! Hey, what's the big idea?"

She giggled and motioned for them to follow her before running away.

"Slow down, will you?! Who even are you?"

The chase led them to a dead end before the girl winked at him and ran into the wall disappearing.

"Hey!" Ash followed her in, not even a tiny bit surprised at the invisible passageway.

The two run through the passageway before finding themselves in a beautiful garden with various pokemon species from Kanto and Johto present.

"Woah. Look at this place. It's beautiful".

His eyes eventually found the girl again, playfully swinging in a swing.

"Hey. You got some explaining to do. Who are you? What is this place? What is going on with you?"

"Hey what are you doing here?!" the girl's voice spoke but from behind him causing him to turn back in horror.

There she stood. And yet she was right next to him on the swing.

As Pikachu looked back and forth so quick it got dizzy, Ash grabbed the sides of his head.

"Pikachu zap me and wake me up please. This has to be a weird dream"

"Pika… chuuuuu!"

The thunderbolt did shake Ash pretty good but when he opened his eyes he was still in the garden.

The girl that had actually spoken walked up to him while her lookalike kept swinging.

"What are you doing here? How did you find this place?"

"You led me here. I mean… this you, not you you".

He then noticed that the girl he was speaking to, wore a white hat, causing her to stand out from her lookalike.

"Your brother doesn't like you doing that Latias".

Latias hopped off the swing when it got to its peak and transformed.

"Woaaah! Latias! You're real!"

"Bianca. Everything ok?"

It was the old man from the museum. With Misty, Brock, Tails and Knuckles in tow.

"Who are these people grandpa?"

Tails then saw Latias.

"Omg! Latias! That really it?!"

"Is this Latios and Latias' home?" Misty inquired.

"Looks like it" Brock assumed.

"Grandpa why did you bring them here? Latias bringing this boy here is bad enough. No one's supposed to know about them!"

Ash decided to act like Sonic and get some answers.

"Everybody chill!" he shouted before taking a deep breath.

"Let me start from the beginning. You're Bianca right? Hi I'm Ash Ketchum from pallet town. This is my partner Pikachu. Those are my friends Misty and Brock and these are Tails and Knuckles, friends of my rival Sonic".

Bianca was far from comfortable at this sudden development but decided to be gentle.

"Hi Ash. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Latias tends to turn into me a lot since she's my best friend. And for her to lead you here she must have taken quite a liking to you. This is my grandfather Lorenzo".

Ash almost chuckled at this big misunderstanding. Bianca then looked to the group again with a hint of confusion.

"How bizzare. You introduced five individuals and there are only four here".

Only then did everyone remember Sonic was somewhere else.

"Where's Sonic?" Tails managed to ponder before the sound of the wind screaming was heard from far away.

Sonic and Latios had by this point raced all across Alto Mare, with Sonic having to pull some crazy tricks to keep up, including but not limited to jumping from roof to roof, taking an aerodynamic style by putting his hands backwards and leaning forward and even running on water on one occasion which was extremely hard as it required to move fast enough for his weight not to be applied to the surface long enough for him to sink in.

All the while Latios was in the lead, looking back at him with the hint of a smile, as if it was asking him if he liked this.

Sonic after a point had started actually enjoying the sensation and even let out a woohoo when he was able to crank up the speed even more.

And then the two entered at what seemed the final stretch.

And then the whispering began in Sonic's ear.

"I will show you a world of pain. You will watch your home burn. I will rain down every violation imaginable upon your loved ones".

Without even realizing it, his pupils had shrunk to a point and his emotions were taking oher, causing him to overtake Latios, to the eon pokemon's surprise.

Sonic was not paying attention anymore. All he saw in front of him was Giovanni mocking him.

And that caused him to trip and eject into the air because of his speed, causing a small scale sonic boom.

The same sonic boom everyone in Latios and Latias' garden heard.

The next moment they all saw the blue blur that was Sonic appear in the sky over them before falling straight down into the garden, crashing hard and shaking the ground, all the while screaming.

When the dust settled everyone watched a rather funny scene; Sonic's limbs were stretched backwards because of the insane speed for a moment as if he was a living missile before falling to the ground as he struggled to get out.

"What… is… that?" Bianca managed to ask as Lorenzo couldn't even speak.

Latios flew into the garden to the amazement of everyone else and floated next to Sonic who was still struggling to get out. Incoherent mumbles could also be heard.

"That would be my rival Sonic" Ash said, fighting the urge to laugh.

"Sonic are you ok? Anything broken?" Tails asked as he got to his friend's side with Knuckles.

Sonic did a thumbs up for a moment before continuing trying to get his head out.

"That was some entrance" Brock commented.

"Nice of you to drop in" Ash teased him.

More incoherent mumbles of obvious frustration as well as hand gestures.

"Come on Knuckles help me out".

More mumbles made them reconsider as Sonic harnessed his bond with Raichu and finally pulled his head out.

"Ouch. That fall really hurt".

"How did you do that?" Lorenzo asked Sonic "fall from the sky like that?"

Sonic shook his head to remember.

"I… I was racing Latios. I tripped and the speed carried me into the air".

"You were racing Latios?! So your friend was telling the truth? You can go faster than a jet?" Lorenzo said in disbelief.

"Sure did. I even outrun it for a moment".

"Twice. You caught up to it the first time right?" Tails reminded him.

Latios extended its small fanged hand to Sonic resembling a 'good run' gesture.

"Well would you look at that. Latios has taken a liking to you the same way Latias has taken a liking to your friend".

Sonic looked at Ash and Latias which was cuddling with Pikachu.

His eyes then returned to Latios.

"Good race" he said eventually mustering a smile.

"You know maybe you should race again. I would really like to see this with my own eyes if Latios would allow that" Lorenzo suggested.

"But Latios trusts you doesn't it? Why wouldn't it let you watch?"

On que Latios cried out to Sonic as if it was saying pay attention and flew upwards getting far over the city.

Latias' eyes then began glowing and the environment around them changed.

They were now far above Alto Mare, as if they were floating hundreds of feet in the air.

"What the hell!" Tails shouted flying instinctively.

"Calm down" Lorenzo chuckled "it's Latios' sight sharing ability".

"Sight sharing?" Misty questioned.

"Latias can show us what Latios sees. As of we are watching through Latios' own eyes. Latias doesn't have this ability yet".

"That's so cool!" Ash said excited "Lorenzo is right! You should race again after you get some rest. Something like this would be too awesome!"

The two groups eventually settled into the garden with Lorenzo and Bianca to spend the day with the two Eon pokemon as they had taken a great liking to them, especially Ash and Sonic.

Soon enough both Ash and Sonic's squads called out their own pokemon to socialize. What resulted was a one in a lifetime meeting between the thought to be gone legendary beasts Entei, Raikou and Suicune, and the two Eon Pokemon, Latios and Latias.

Raichu however retreated back to its ball on its own, but not without giving Sonic a dirty look first, leaving the latter very disheartened. Bianca took notice of this.

Later on, the six trainers began sharing stories with Lorenzo and Bianca about their adventures and travels throughout Johto and Kanto. Ash's stories were more lighthearted and fun-filled while Sonic's were more grounded and dark. Despite that the two were able to get a greater understanding of each other, especially Ash who came to begin grasping Sonic's statements in the Kanto league about evolution.

On his end Sonic also understood just how many things he had possibly missed in his Kanto journey as Ash had more fun throughout his journey while he was keeping eyes on the prize.

The afternoon rolled by incredibly fast, to the point that Sonic didn't realize time had gone by so quickly.

And when he did, the guilt returned.

He got up quietly, careful not to attract attention and harnessing his bond with Raichu, he jumped up to the top of the building.

Latios watched him go. It then approached Entei.

"What is with your trainer?"

Entei became grumpy.

"He's not been what I thought him to be lately. He's become lost. Unyielding. Borderline emotionless when it was just the two of us. He even kept his partner Raichu in its pokeball because it kept suggesting calling off the search".

What followed was Entei giving Latios a short version of the latest events and how Sonic was obsessively pursuing his nemesis, leaving everyone of his friends and loved ones out of the loop.

When Entei mentioned the trigger was the death of one of their allies, Latios' mouth opened slightly.

That was why it was compelled to approach Sonic.

They were sharing this feeling. Or at least Latios knew that feeling.

Tails was planning to go talk to Sonic before Latios used psychic on him to make him forget what he wanted to do.

As for Sonic, he was observing the sunset, though also looking north towards the Johtonian mainland's direction.

He sat down, allowing his feet to dangle over the canal which was a long way down from the roof, and just allowed his emotions to take over. But it wasn't rage.

Sadness, guilt, regrets made their way into his heart.

"Every second he is out there I'm breaking my promise to her" he thought in despair.

He felt a presence near him.

"Tails I'm not in the mood for…" he began saying before meeting the red eyes of Latios.

"Oh. Hi".

Latios stared at him not moving at all making any sound.

"So uuuh… nice place you live in".

Still no reaction.

"Are you challenging me to a staring contest or something?" Sonic asked confused.

"That's not why it came to you".

It was Bianca. Latias had carried her up there.

As the other Eon pokemon and the girl joined Latios and Sonic, the hedgehog looked at her in question.

"Why then?"

"You tell me" she said as she sat down next to him "Latios was never really fond of anyone apart from me, grandpa and its sister".

Sonic looked back at Latios.

"You can communicate telepathically, right?"

"Not to humans, at least not without the proper connection. I am closer with Latias so I can understand her sometimes, like literally as if she could speak to me, but never Latios".

"When it challenged me to a race, it did telepathically speak the word race to me" Sonic revealed.

Bianca was surprised.

"Then somehow you two have an emotional connection. Something like that, in the absence of a bond could only be created through empathy. In other words Latios and you share an emotion or set of emotions unique to just the two of you".

"Hmph. If I had a dime for every time a legendary and I have seen things eye to eye, I'd have three dimes".

Bianca nodded.

"I know. Your legend has made it here you know. Just because people didn't recognize you doesn't mean they don't know what you have accomplished. Taming Moltres and Entei? No easy feat".

Sonic didn't reply to that.

"Look. I know you're probably not going to tell me anything. But this is not why I'm here. I'm responsible, and so is my grandfather, to help Latias and Latios be happy. So I don't want you emotionally compromising Latios".

"What reason could they possibly have to not be happy? They have you, your grandfather, all these pokemon in the garden and everyone in town loves them".

Bianca sighed in sadness.

"The death of their father".

"What?!"

Bianca then walked over to the opening of the roof overlooking the garden.

"Come here".

Sonic approached followed by the two Eon pokemon.

"You see that?" she pointed at a small round jewel at the bottom of a swallow pool.

"What's that?" Sonic asked her.

"The soul dew. It's a gem of untold power. When held by Latias or Latios it enhances them in combat. Makes them stronger".

Sonic was amazed.

"How come you're not holding onto it to keep the city safe?" he asked Latios.

The Eon pokemon closed its eyes, its psychic abilities emitting its sadness.

"Wha… Latios what's wrong?"

"It is sad. Because that jewel used to be its father, also a Latios".

"Say what?!"

Bianca nodded.

"When Latias and Latios species die, the souls turn into a soul dew. The soul dew can either be blue or red, based on which soul it contains. As you can see it's blue".

"Yeah. I see it. How did… how did that Latios…?"

"Defending the town from the evil trainer with the fossil pokemon from the museum. It is said to have even created the canals in the town. Such was its power".

Sonic couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"If I had a dime for every time I was shocked, confused, hurt or in any way emotionally compromised ever since beginning my journey my family would be rich" he thought.

"And you're sad because of his passing?" he asked Latios.

The blue Eon pokemon nodded.

"Not just sad. Latias has told me a bit about it as they have existed here long before me or my grandfather ever came to be. After his passing, Latios isolated himself from Latias, choosing to go it alone, taking everything upon itself, wanting to grow stronger so it wouldn't go through that pain ever again. All it achieved was neglecting its sister. Sound familiar?"

Sonic looked away, partially in shame.

"I… I understand that pain. But… it's not the same. It's not the pain that has driven me away from my friends or from the girl I'm going out with".

Latios looked at him sternly, its eyes in a shape that showed it was angry at Sonic.

Latias got between Latios and Sonic while telepathically explaining to Bianca.

"Latios is angry at you because you're lying. It wasn't the promise that pushed you away from your loved ones. You did that".

Sonic gasped.

"How did you…?"

"Latios is a psychic type remember? And it wants you to see what it saw before it's too late. Latios neglected his sister for far too long" Bianca said before riding Latias to go back down to the group.

"Don't make Latios' mistake. Don't neglect your brothers" she said before flying down.

Latios too took its leave disappearing. And Sonic was left alone.

"Alone" he thought in his head.

Yes. He was alone. And Latios was right. This was his doing.

He had pushed everyone away. All for that promise. The promise he made to Carrie Morrison in that hospital room.

He got to his knees.

"Gotta go fast" he thought as he sped away, needing to clear his mind.

Bianca then joined the group again.

"Did he talk to you?" Tails asked her urgently.

"Not exactly. Latios read his thoughts and passed me some of them".

"What did it tell you about Sonic?" Knuckles asked as well.

Latios looked at Bianca in a disapproving way.

"I can't say".

"Why not?!" Tails objected.

"I think I understand" Ash suddenly spoke. He looked at Latios and Latias.

"You want him to come clean himself don't you?"

Latios nodded.

"He hasn't come clean for a week. How will that change by itself?" Knuckles pointed out.

"Because Latios showed Sonic how alone he truly is right now. He will come talk to you soon. For that I am certain" Lorenzo explained having known Latios' story and understanding what his granddaughter was referring to.

Tails looked at the sky in hope despite the sadness. He wanted his friend to come back very much. To see him sink in such darkness up close just hurt him.

He then noticed the sky had darkened as night had fallen.

"Oh damn. We missed the last boat of the day. Sonic will be furious".

"If he is then Latios' efforts were for nothing. But I am hopeful he will see reason" Lorenzo optimistically said before yawning.

"Well it's time we let Latias and Latios rest. They are not keen on people sleeping close to them, even if it's Bianca or me".

Tails and Knuckles looked at each other in question. They had no place to go. Their plan was to be here for only a day.

Brock read through the predicament.

"The hotel we stay at has a few vacant rooms. You can come there. The receptionist is so cute too!" he monologued before getting slapped in the back of the head by Misty, causing everyone to laugh.

After the laugh Tails agreed, texting Sonic as to where they would be.

As for the hedgehog, he had reached the edge of the town, where the boat that would normally take them back to the mainland was docked.

Temptation crawled all over him to steal it and go back.

He shoved it back down, remembering Latios' words.

"I'm not going to make your mistake Latios. No more" he said though noone heard.

As he sped off to find Tails and Knuckles only one thought filled his mind. And it wasn't vengeance.

"Time to make things right".

Unbeknownst to him, Latios observed him from afar, alongside Entei, which had remained behind for a while while Raikou and Suicune took their trainers as well as Ash's squad to the hotel.

"What can you feel?" Entei asked Latios.

"I think the time is right. Go to him".

Entei nodded and dashed off as well, racing across the rooftops.

Both and it and Sonic arrived at the same time.

Sonic had completely forgotten about Entei. His heart was consumed by guilt as apart from feeding his pokemon, only Entei was outside of its ball constantly. And was only treated as a steed to get Sonic from one place to another.

Taking a deep breath, Sonic took a few cautious steps towards Entei.

"Hey big guy".

Entei remained stoic.

"I know you probably want to burn me down right now for the way I treated you and everyone else in the last week. And I wouldn't blame you if you did. I made a promise that went fundamentally against who I was. I let it change me for the worst and you, Raichu, our friends… Jaz" he said after a small pause, wondering if he broken her heart beyond forgiveness "you all paid the price for it. I'm so, so sorry about that. I want to make things right. I know I have no right to ask but… could you find it in that blazing heart of yours to give me a chance to fix this?"

All the while he had been taking slow cautious steps, slowly approaching Entei. Now he was standing right in front of it, giving himself no hope of dodging a sacred fire.

"What do you say? Entei?" he reached out to brush its fur.

Right before making contact with the fur, he closed his eyes, fully expecting to be burned to a crisp or even crunched down. But no such thing happened.

Entei instead shoved its face against Sonic's, actually purring like Raikou, although its purr was a lot deeper, like a volcano erupting on low sound.

Sonic felt indescribable joy and hugged Entei.

"I won't let you down" he whispered as they broke the hug and he recalled it, before jumping down and making his way to the room Tails had texted him to come.

He knocked on the door.

Tails opened it.

He didn't say a word.

Knuckles was on his bed already, reading a book about the history of Alto Mare.

Sonic took a deep breath, determined not to let things become awkward.

"I'm sorry" he said.

Tails and Knuckles' expressions didn't change.

"I'm sorry for everything. For all this week of nonsense you and so many others went through because of me. It was wrong. And it's all my fault".

Tails studied his friend's expression and tone before speaking.

"It is your doing yes. But we're not mad at you Sonic. We're worried and it's a lot worse. This isn't you. It never was and it's killing us to not be able to tell what happened to you".

Sonic took another deep breath.

"I made a promise I shouldn't have. But in the moment I made it felt right even though it was not".

"What did you promise Sonic?" Knuckles asked him to get to the point "was it to Mrs Morrison?"

"Yes".

"You were right" Tails said remembering Knuckles suggesting that could the case.

"What did you promise?!" Knuckles insisted.

Sonic went down memory lane as he explained.

A WEEK AGO

"Looker told me before I came here that there is strong indication the monster who took Jake away from me and Nolan fled his hideout not too long ago. Is it true?"

"That's what the evidence shows" Sonic confirmed.

Carrie took a deep breath.

"Promise me. Promise me right now you will find him".

Sonic, his hand on the bedpost subconsciously, nodded.

"I will find him".

Carrie grabbed his hand, causing him to almost jump up.

"Promise me you will find him. And that he will not get a trial".

Sonic gasped silently.

"You… you mean…"

"The legal system will treat him like a human. But he is not human. He is a monster. A demon. Evil incarnate. He doesn't deserve to be tried, to go to jail. Promise me. Promise me right now he will not get that chance. Promise me he will pay for what he did to Jake".

Sonic was on the verge of objecting but his own emotions took over.

He remembered everyone who was hurt by Giovanni's actions directly or indirectly.

Raichu.

Reina.

Mr Fuji.

Mike.

Jolty.

Sparkle the ampharos.

Tails.

Knuckles.

Captain Kai Stevens.

Dr Leeds.

Thousands of innocent Pokemon, Mewtwo included.

And now the Morrison family.

Carrie Morrison was right.

"I promise" Sonic replied as his eyes glowed with intent "I will be the last thing he will ever see".

PRESENT TIME

Silence filled the room of the hotel. No one was speaking. The only sound that could be heard was the flow of the water.

Tails had slumped down on a sofa and Knuckles was looking at the ceiling, each trying to cope with the revelation.

"She had you promise to kill Giovanni?" Tails asked, more so because he needed to hear it again.

"Yes".

"And you were going to do it?"

"I wasn't thinking clearly at that point. But… she makes a valid point. Giovanni is a monster. If he is tried he could be sent to jail. There is no guarantee he will stay there until the end of his life. And plus… why should he be fed and have a roof over his head and… and…" Sonic also slumped down, unable to runt on.

"Why should he be allowed to live? After everything he's done?"

More silence for a few minutes.

"I agree with you Sonic" Knuckles suddenly said.

Both Tails and Sonic looked at him in shock without making any sound.

"I do believe the same as you. But… the promise was still wrong".

"Are you really going to get all noble now?!" Sonic said angry "taking the high road and everything?!"

"No. Because that's not what I'm saying".

"Then what are you saying?" Tails said just as confused as Sonic.

"He does deserve to die yes. But why should you be the one do it?" Knuckles asked back.

Sonic wasn't expecting this question.

"Because… it has to be me ok? I made that promise".

"And yet here you are apologizing for it. Seeing with your own eyes what it has brought you. Loneliness and misery. How long has it been since you were able to smile for no reason? How long has it been since you woke up and the world was a shining beautiful place?!"

"You're saying I should ignore this?! Go back on my word?!"

"Yes. But not because you ignore it. But because you're no murderer. You're not like Giovanni. You could never kill anyone. Even with the rockets we hurt, we never crossed that line. They deserved to hurt yes. But even you wouldn't go this far. Look at you. The mere thought of carrying out the act has split your spirit to the bone. You're unbalanced and miserable. Is that what you want your life to be?!"

Sonic breathed heavily trying to calm down. The dilemma was at its peak.

Tails put his hand on his shoulder.

"Sonic. Nothing forces you to fulfill this promise. You are free to choose, to live your own life. I am just as upset at detective Morrison's death as you are. But his wife asking you to kill Giovanni in return is just not right".

The tension was now slowly lifting.

"Come back to us man. We want our brother back. And your pokemon want their trainer back".

Sonic actually teared up. That must have been what Knuckles felt the night he told them about his family.

His lips began saying something but it was cut short as several weird mechanical sounds came from outside.

Rushing to the balcony, the three friends found themselves cut off from the rest of the city as weirdly shaped bars covered the balcony trapping them inside.

"What the heck?!" Tails staggered.

Knuckles grabbed two of the bars and used all of his strength as he grunted but was unable to free them.

"What kind of sick joke is this? Who would lock us in like that?"

Sonic however looked around as he suspected it was a lot more.

"This isn't just for us. Look" he pointed outside "all of the streets have been blocked off in a similar way. And something tells me this is citywide".

"Sonic! Guys!"

It was Ash. Riding one of the chariots from earlier, only this time it was pulled by Latias.

"What's happening? Why is Latias here?"

"The two creep women who attacked Latias when she was looking like Bianca kidnapped Latios! They also took the soul dew!"

Knuckles gasped.

"Please don't tell me they're at the museum!"

"They are. How did you…?"

"They're insane! They plan to activate the DMA! It requires Latios or Latias or both as well as the soul dew to use!"

"That's why the city's blocked?" Tails hit his finger against the bars.

"Yes. I'm heading there now".

"Alright. Step aside!" Sonic ordered his friends, liveliness returning to his voice as he started preparing a spin dash.

He launched himself against the bars. They didn't falter or even get dented.

"Damn. No result. And to think I worked on these abilities the whole week".

Latias cried out as she felt her brother's pain.

"We don't have time! I'll go ahead! You guys catch up as soon as you can".

"Wait!" Sonic said, calling out Entei and Raichu outside of the bars.

The electric mouse pokemon was surprised at its surroundings as well the fact it had actually been called out.

"Raichu I know there is a lot you and I need to talk about but right now we need your help. Latios is in danger. I need you and Entei to join Ash in saving her. I promise we will catch up soon".

Tails and Knuckles motioned to send out Raikou and Suicune but Sonic stopped them. They would need them to join Ash in time. With his newfound powers, Sonic had no need to ride Entei anymore to get somewhere fast.

As Ash and the pokemon left for the museum, Pikachu got the chance to hop onto Entei, asking its rival if it felt ready for such an encounter.

Raichu assured Pikachu it wanted to pummel something but that was a talk for another time.

Back at the hotel the team was trying everything. They had tried throwing items at the bars, more spin dashes and even calling out hitmontop. Nothing seemed to dent them.

"Dammit! We need to get out of here!" Knuckles punched the bars hard.

Sonic also landed another spin dash at the exact location Knuckles punched the bars. Tails noticed a small dent at that place.

"Of course! What are we doing?!"

"What?" Sonic asked him.

"We're trying to get out on our own".

Sonic realized what his friend was getting at.

"You're right. We should be working together. We're a team".

"We're the Sonic heroes" Tails grinned as he said it.

"Let's get out there and do some heroing then!" Knuckles eagerly suggested.

Sonic nodded.

"Knuckles when I rebound, give me a boost!"

And with those words he started creating another spin dash, this time blue lightning crackling around him.

He launched himself at the bars and rebounded. Straight towards Knuckles who also grinned.

"It's time for Knuckles sandwich!" he stated as he punched Sonic in his ball form, sending him back against the bars with such strength that not only the bars but part of the balcony ripped off the building.

Sonic landed in the water and was helped out by Tails again.

"Alright! Time to get to the museum!"

Distant cries reached their ears. Pokemon cries. Cries they didn't recognize.

And then pain travelled through Sonic's body due to his connection with Raichu. Grabbing his sides he looked at Tails and Knuckles.

"Trouble".

The two called out Raikou and Suicune and Tails helped Sonic up the rooftops.

With Knuckles and the two legendary pokemob joining them, they noticed something flying a bit further away.

"What is that?" Sonic pointed at the flying creature.

Knuckles looked through his binoculars, identifying the shape.

"Oh no".

"What?"

"It's an Aerodactyl".

"A what?!" both Tails and Sonic exclaimed at once "but they're extinct!" Tails reminded him.

"DMA must have somehow revived them! We need to catch up! Let's go!" Sonic sped off.

"I'll never get used to this" Tails commented as Raikou roared and sped off alongside Knuckles and Suicune, following Sonic.

They were quick to catch up. The moment they arrived Aerodactyl noticed them.

When it turned to them, the three heroes were creeped out. Its eyes had no pupils.

"What the hell?!" Tails said as he instinctively fired a couple of stun rounds on Aerodactyl, only to discover it was unfazed.

Sonic, being movie lover, identified the symptoms.

"It's a zombie!"

As they dodged an attack from Aerodactyl, Tails tried to get some clarification.

"Zombie as in undead and therefore immortal?!"

At that moment, Raichu, Pikachu and Entei appeared and blasted Aerodactyl with their attacks, sending it plummeting into the canal. Moments later it was back on the hunt, weirdly going for Ash and Latias.

And as if that wasn't enough Kaputops was also attacking from inside the water.

"Sonic what do we do?" Tails turned to him, hoping to see their team's leader be his old self again.

"Tails, Knuckles distract the zombies. If possible destroy them. Ash and I will go to the museum to crash the party" Sonic said before whistling.

Entei came to his side as Sonic hopped on.

"Good luck team! Let's do some heroing!"

Ash grinned, seeing his rival be his old self once again.

With Ash and Sonic well on the way, Tails and Knuckles took the attention of Kabutops and Aerodactyl, baiting them with a thunderbolt on the former and a hydro pump on the latter.

The attacks were super effective but didn't even faze the zombies who just continued their onslaught.

Tails then noticed something bizarre; the zombies once again ignored them and chased down Ash and Sonic.

"They have eyes on the sky. Knuckles! We need to stall the zombies!"

"Aren't we already doing that?"

"No. We're trying to destroy them. But they're being controlled by the DMA to target Ash and Sonic. We need to give them time to get there and stop all of this".

Knuckles gritted his teeth. They had to be the shield here. And the shield was meant to take hits.

"Alright! Let's go!"

Ash and Latias had trouble dodging the attacks from Aerodactyl as it fired rock throw upon rock throw upon rock throw. One rock even almost caused him to fall off the chariot.

Sonic wasn't doing any better either. Kabutops was four times resistant to Entei's attacks, and since Raichu was a physical attacker, it had limited chances fight back.

Kaputops cried out and fired a water pulse.

"Incoming!"

Suicune got in the way and tanked the attack.

"Go! We'll hold them off!"

Sonic nodded, patting Entei to rush forward.

A similar predicament occurred as Tails and Raikou blocked a rock throw from Aerodactyl. Unlike Suicune however which was resistant to water pulse, Raikou wasn't resistant to rock throw, roaring in pain and anger.

"Stay strong Raikou! We have to stay strong!"

Raikou barked back as it fired thunderbolt at Aerodactyl. The flying type plummeted down into the canal.

"Those heroes just don't know when to quit!" Oakley said in frustration as she once again forcefully revived the Aerodactyl.

"You got to stop this!" Lorenzo pleaded as he and Bianca laid there trapped, having tried to intervene only to be captured "you keep this up, the DMA will go critical and there will be no turning back!"

Oakley responded by using the DMA to manipulate water currents around the city, causing Latias and Ash's progress to halt.

The move also took a toll on Latios which cried out in pain.

"Stop please! Latios is hurting!" Bianca also pleaded.

"Oh shut up both of you! I don't care whether your pathetic town dries or if Latios perishes! With this thing I can rule the world! And I daresay Latias will make a good enough replacement as fuel for it!"

Latias heard this all as Latios telepathically shared the thoughts with her.

Determined she flew right next to Ash who was taken aback at Latias' invitation to ride it.

"Hop on!" Sonic called out to him "we're running out of time!"

Ash nodded in determination and rode Latias which followed Entei as they were now nearing the museum.

The front door was of course sealed shut. But Sonic was done playing.

Getting on his knees and speeding forward, he turned into a ball and allowed the momentum to enhance his homing attack, bringing the door down.

Annie, Oakley, Lorenzo and Bianca all witnessed them enter.

"Oakley the hedgehog is here!"

"All the better! Time for some revenge!" Oakley said from inside the sphere cockpit as she used the DMA to manipulate nearby water into an attack on Entei.

The volcano pokemon didn't see it coming and got blasted, getting severely weakened.

"Sonic!" Ash called out to his rival, before witnessing Entei downed, Sonic and Raichu having violently fallen off.

Sonic had never seen Entei so vulnerable. It almost terrified him.

"So weak. Honestly how did Archer even lose to this beast?" Oakley gloated.

By the time she realized what she said it was too late.

Sonic slowly turned his eyes on the cockpit. His rage was palpable.

"What… did you say?"

Annie stumbled back and rushed to hide. Oakley had just doomed them.

"You are team rocket aren't you?" Sonic calmly guessed.

"Were! Because of you! Now it's payback time!"

Sonic recalled Entei without taking his eyes off the cockpit which shook Oakley.

"Mr Lorenzo" he spoke still not averting his gaze "I hope your city can live without the DMA".

"Do what you have to do just stop them!" he encouraged Sonic.

Sonic smirked.

"Ash, Pikachu, Latias! Save Latios! Raichu and I will handle them!"

"Handle this, hedgehog!" Oakley screamed before using another water attack.

"Dodge!" Sonic thought as he and Raichu both got out of the way with time to spare.

"Raichu! We need to break down this machine! Use your moves to do this any way you see fit ok partner?"

"Rai Rai!" Raichu replied as it immediately used quick attack against one of the support beams, slightly denting it.

"Oh no you don't! Ariados! String shot!"

Ariados ensnared Raichu in its string shot.

"Not gonna cut it!" Sonic confidently said as Raichu used its tail to slash the string shot off.

"What?! How?!"

"You are team rocket! You should know there is a reason your boss is gone! Raichu thunder punch!"

Raichu attacked Ariados, initiating a fight. Annie joined in with her Espeon.

Raichu cried out to Sonic to do his part as it fought back against Espeon and Ariados.

Sonic smirked and used his homing attack to slam into the cockpit shaking Oakley.

"Know when you're beat rodent!"

Another water attack came, this time on Sonic who was slammed into the wall.

"We got to help him!" Lorenzo tried to intervene as he and Bianca had been freed by Ash, Pikachu and Latias.

"No" Ash held him back with Bianca's help "he told us to free Latios. Maybe without it the machine will stop".

Lorenzo relented when it saw Latias reaching out for Latios only to be kept apart by the sphere forcefield keeping Latios trapped in place. The three rushed to the Eon pokemons' side, unnoticed by Oakley who was too busy trying to keep Sonic down.

Suicune fired another aurora beam at Aerodactyl but the ancient pokemon zombie just wouldn't slow down or stay down. And Suicune was getting exhausted.

Same case was for Tails and Raikou.

"This isn't working anymore Tails! We can't hold them any longer!"

"Dammit think! What would Sonic do?" the fox thought.

He shook his head to keep calm. He reminded himself that he was his own hero. The hero Cosmo had seen off to battle not too long ago.

A crazy idea then crossed his mind as he remembered a strategy they had used against the iron mask marauder's scizor.

"That's it! Knuckles! Help me get them both in the water at once!"

Knuckles could tell where this was going. He only hoped it would be enough.

"Hydro pump! Aim for the Aerodactyl!"

"Raikou thunderbolt on Kabutops!"

The two attacks landed, once again sending the two pokemon into the canal.

Oakley watched this and was ready to revive then once again, but Tails was one step ahead.

"RAIKOU! USE ALL YOUR POWER! THUNDER!"

Raikou's roar echoed throughout the entire city and beyond as it summoned the biggest lightning blast in the history of lightning, sending it crashing down on the fossil pokemon. The two pokemon were fried for a few seconds before exploding, ending their threat once and for all.

"Woah" Knuckles was amazed not only by Raikou's power but by Tails overall.

"Impressed?" Tails joked with a hint of gloating.

"You are no longer the wall flower who left Green Hills to join Sonic here. I'll give you that foxboy".

"Hehe. Alright, fun's over. Let's go help Sonic" Tails said before Raikou and Suicune made for the museum.

"What?!" Oakley screamed in anger, just as the cockpit was slammed again by Sonic's homing attack.

"Stinks not to have an awesome team like mine doesn't it?!" he teased her before preparing another attack.

Oakley had enough.

Predicting where Sonic's homing attack would land, she used the DMA, to create a thick shield of water, halting and canceling out the homing attack.

"Time for some sweet vengeance" she declared as she then manipulated the water shield to close around Sonic, trapping him in a sphere of water.

Sonic's eyes widened when he realized the predicament. He tried to swim out but the sphere mirrored his movements, so of he tried to swim forward, the water would move backwards keeping him centered and trapped.

"Mmmph!" he tried to call out to Ash but he couldn't hear him.

Raichu witnessed this and cried out to Pikachu.

"Pika pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu poked Ash on the shoulder, showing him .

"Hey! Let him go!" the young trainer tried to jump towards the cockpit which had now lowered in front of the sphere of water and opened so Oakley could meet Sonic's eyes.

Oakley rolled her eyes with a grin and blasted Ash with water, knocking him back against the forcefield keeping Latios trapped.

"Oakley…" Annie stuttered "he's drowning".

"Of course dummy what did you expect?"

Raichu got a good punch on Espeon, knocking it out.

"Focus on your battle! The hedgehog is all mine!"

"But Oakley…"

"I will not have my power taken from me by this meddlesome hero! And certainly no one will deny me the glory of ending the hero of Kanto and world domination!" Oakley screamed drunk with power.

"You ok?" Bianca got to Ash's side.

"We need to save Latios! Otherwise…"

Bubbles of air escaped Sonic's mouth.

Tails and Knuckles alongside their beasts barged in.

"Sonic!" they both yelled at once.

"Oh no you don't!" Oakley tried to attack them with water before Suicune countered with hydro pump.

"Tails help them! I'll distract her!"

Tails and Raikou rushed to Ash's side.

"We have to stop this machine! Suicune is hurt, it won't be able to hold her off for long".

Latias tried to reach out to Latios again only for the forcefield to repel it again. Tails realized they were using their bonds as siblings to do it.

"Raikou do you have enough energy for this?"

Raikou growled positively.

"Ash, when the forcefield weakens, pull Latios out!"

Before Ash replied, lightning crackled on Raikou's mane.

"Make sure you don't hit them".

"Groar".

"Discharge!"

Raikou unleashed discharge on the machine just as Oakley was about to strike the downed Suicune with water.

Electricity coursed through the DMA, causing a short circuit and canceling out the attack.

"No!" Oakley screeched.

"Now!" Ash shouted and with help from Latias and Bianca pulled the hurt Latios outside, causing the machine to shut off.

The water holding Sonic trapped fell to the ground and the hedgehog dropped to his knees coughing.

"Sonic you ok?"

He looked up, cracking a smile.

"Never been better" he said before charging another homing attack for a second before striking the DMA's cockpit at the connection point, severing the cockpit from the rest of the DMA.

Raichu beat Ariados at that same moment as Sonic landed next to it.

"Great job partner".

"Rai!" Raichu jumped and high fived its trainer.

The cockpit opened forcefully and a livid Oakley came out.

"You will not deny me my power hero of Kanto!" she declared before attempting to grab a darkened soul dew from its resting place next to the cockpit.

The once beautiful jewel shattered and disintegrated in her hands, whilst sending a power surge on her, knocking her into the chair of the cockpit.

"No! My precious!" Annie reached for the soul dew.

Everyone was perplexed at this development, except Lorenzo who was terrified.

"Oh no".

"You ok mr Lorenzo?" Tails asked him, thinking he was hurt or something.

"Oakley you ok?" Annie hoped into the cockpit.

"What happened?"

"You broke my precious jewel because of your thirst for power that's what happened" she berated her partner before the two were jumped by Knuckles, who slammed the cockpit shut by rolling the moving half of it down, trapping the two former team rocket agents in.

"Hey let us out!" a muffled scream was heard.

Ignoring them, Knuckles and Sonic joined the others.

"Well, we win" Sonic said with a smile, oblivious to the water draining around town.

Lorenzo, not sharing the sentiment, rushed outside, soon followed by everyone else.

Tails was horrified to see the water slowly draining away he knew what it meant.

"Why is this happening?" Ash asked Lorenzo.

"The father of Latios and Latias created the city's canals. The soul dew was keeping them in balance".

"So now that it's destroyed the water is draining away" Ash realized in sadness, thinking that was all.

"Water that is drained like that always comes back" Tails uttered trying to control himself.

"Only all at once" Sonic also realized as his survival instinct went into overdrive.

"Guys!" Misty and Brock arrived at last, having managed to get out of the hotel.

"Did you win?"

"Not going to matter" Tails uttered, sounding pessimistic for the first time ever.

"Why?" Brock asked him.

A distant roaring sound answered the question.

"Tsunami" Sonic uttered as well.

"A tidal wave?!" Ash exclaimed.

"Everyone to the port!" Lorenzo ordered.

Everyone, including the beasts and the Eon twins rushed to the pier. And there it was in the distance.

A huge rogue wave, at least 50 meters tall. And it was heading towards Alto Mare with terrifying speed.

"We need to evacuate the city!" Sonic urgently said.

"There's not enough boats or enough time, or even water for the boats" Lorenzo bitterly said.

"Sonic! You guys get on Suicune and get out here!" Ash turned to him.

"Are you insane? We can't just leave you guys here to drown!"

"We can't let anyone drown!" Knuckles added.

"But do we stop a tidal wave?" Tails tried to remind them of what they were up against.

A cry of determination from Latios made them turn towards it and its sister.

"No Latios" Bianca tried to dissuade it "you're too weak right now!"

Latios shoved her aside gently and locked eyes with Sonic.

Sonic then heard something in his head. A voice. But not like the one he heard when it was Raichu's thoughts.

"Embrace the choice. Embrace your life".

And with those words, the Eon pokemon flew straight towards the tsunami.

"Latias, Latios no!" Bianca reached out as Ash took her by the shoulders to stop her.

Latias had passed Latios' thoughts to Sonic into his head.

The Eon twins faced down the tsunami. They exchanged a glance and a nod.

Their bodies then began glowing. A beautiful sea blue glow engulfed them.

The two let out a loud cry as the glow spread to the wave, illuminating the night.

The two trainers groups, Lorenzo and Bianca watched in awe as the wave gradually shrank in size before it died down completely and the sea water peacefully returned to the canals, returning the city to normal.

The glow also disappeared and Latios and Latias were still floating just over the surface.

"They did it! They did it!" Ash exclaimed.

But the celebration proved to be short lived and premature.

Latios fell into the water with a splash.

"Latios is down!" Lorenzo said in realization.

Sonic's body moved before he could think, harnessing all of his speed, running on the water and reaching the Eon twins in a matter of seconds.

As he slowed down, he sank into the water but surfaced again and swam to Latios holding it above the surface.

"HEY!" his plea echoed into the night "help! Latios is not responding!"

The response was immediate as Lorenzo commandeered a boat and before long, they were all on their way.

Once they reached, they helped Sonic lift Latios into the boat. The blue Eon twin had awakened by that point but was extremely weak.

Latias, with tears in her eyes rubbed her head against Latios' as the blue twin comforted his sister.

His eyes then turned to Sonic once again.

"Do not blame yourself for this. It was my choice. Never forget it" Sonic heard in his head as Latios' lips moved slightly upwards.

Latios then started glowing once again while becoming transparent. Latias and Latios' hands touched as it comforted its sister once again before passing on, disappearing into nothingness.

"So it's gone. Just like its father" Lorenzo regretfully said as Bianca teared up, crying on Ash's shoulder.

Team Sonic were devastated. Bad things just wouldn't stop happening to those around them.

Latias then let out a cry and began sight sharing.

It was Earth from outer space. It was getting further away by the second.

"Woah" Ash was amazed before smiling widely "this is what you're seeing isn't it Latios?"

Sonic too was amazed at this. It was so extraordinary and yet amazing at the same time.

Latios wasn't hurting. It was in peace.

Silence took over following the passing of Latios. With the exception of a minor fight taking place in the cockpit of the DMA.

"You had one job Annie! One job and you failed miserably!"

"And I asked you one thing, not to ruin my precious soul dew! And you broke it!"

A metallic sound, belonging to the revolving part of the spherical cockpit moving, brought them back to reality.

The revolving part was forcibly removed, revealing the Sonic heroes. Oakley gulped.

"Oh hehe… parley?"

Her offer was met with a couple of stun rounds from Tails.

In the morning, detective Looker arrived with a huge police escort to take the two women into custody. Tails and Knuckles met him as Sonic excused himself, saying he needed a few minutes to himself, which his friends understood as he had formed somewhat of a bond with Latios.

Looker sighed upon hearing the story.

"Annie and Oakley were low level agents according to Giovanni's records. They had been reported active during team rocket's activity in Johto but I never expected them to be this dangerous. That was a big mistake on my part".

"Detective… I know Sonic told us not to tell you anything… but we think you should know" Tails began speaking.

"Remember when you visited us at the hospital and Sonic was talking to Carrie Morrison alone?"

"Yes".

"She asked him to find Giovanni and kill him as payback for detective Morrison's death".

Looker was deeply shaken.

"Carrie… no she… oh no. This is bad. I haven't checked on her in a while at her insistence".

"You need to do so ASAP" Knuckles strongly advised "she is pregnant. The embryo could be in danger because of her mental state".

Looker was about to reply, before he, Tails and Knuckles saw Sonic and Raichu walking towards them.

Tails noticed there was something serene about Sonic.

"Hi detective".

"Is it true? Did Carrie ask you do such a thing?"

Sonic shot a look of disappointment to his friends before shrugging as at the end of the day it made no difference.

"Yes detective. And I am ashamed to admit it but I have been trying to keep that promise all week".

Looker was rightly shocked but Sonic was not done yet.

"After Latios' passing, I remembered its words. Not to blame myself. I blamed myself for detective Morrison's death, believing I would have stopped it if I had caught Giovanni in Kanto. But it was not my fault. I see that now".

He took a deep breath.

"Wait for us to come back to the mainland ok? We'll visit Mrs Morrison together".

"You mean…" Tails lifted his hopes up.

"Yes. I am not proud to go back on my word. But I will tell her I can't seek vengeance on Giovanni anymore. It won't take away the pain and it's not me to seek vengeance in the first place. She needs to hear that from me".

Looker nodded in approval.

"Morrison wouldn't want you to become a killer either. I am sure of that".

Sonic nodded back and the two exchanged a handshake before Looker and his forces took Annie and Oakley and left Alto Mare.

The three friends then walked around Alto Mare in silence trying to clear their minds each, all the while heading for the docks.

When they arrived, they found the boat for the mainland was to depart in ten minutes.

"Well. It was a nice trip for the most part" Knuckles solemnly said

"Now back to the mainland" Tails added.

"Do we have to though?" Sonic asked with a surprising hint of optimism in his voice.

His two friends looked at him in question.

"The place is just too good to leave just yet. We could spend another day or two here. Explore. Do fun stuff".

"You ok?" Tails asked him concerned.

Sonic nodded with a smile.

"Latios helped me understand a lot yesterday. And so did Ash. Ever since beginning my journey through Kanto I focused on the dark aspects of it. Pursuing team rocket, seeking power. When Ash was telling all those fun stories about how his badges were stolen by spearows or meeting that old lady in the woods at night whom he literally called nightmare fuel… I just realized his journey has been a lot more enjoyable than mine. Sure he is not the strongest trainer but he lives in the moment and chooses to see the bright side".

Tails and Knuckles exchanged a glance.

"Don't get me wrong. I regret nothing about the way things have been this far. And certainly I'm not going to ignore the darkness. But… it's time I acted as Latios suggested and embrace life. That's what detective Morrison would have wanted as Looked said".

"You absolutely sure about this?" Tails asked him, hoping this was real.

"Yes buddy. I am".

"What about your visit to Mrs Morrison?"

"I'll give Looker the heads up that we will stay for a couple of days before returning. That way he can set the ground for us to break the news".

Tails nodded.

"Yeah. It needs to be handled delicately. In her state everything is about delicacy".

"What about Jaz?" Knuckles brought up another aspect of the situation.

Sonic's smile became less evident.

"I'll give her a call in a bit. I have a lot to explain, both in regards to my actions and to the fact we will stay for a couple of days".

"Well she forgave faking your death. And she literally worked with Morrison to help us time and time again. I think she will understand" Tails said, also sounding optimistic.

Sonic's smile became wider again.

"So what do you think we should do first?"

"Sonic! Guys!"

It was Ash and his friends. They were on the pier about to board. Ash approached them.

"Morning! Returning to the mainland?"

"Yes. It was fun here but it's time to go back".

"I see. We will stick around a bit. Just take some time to relax".

"Don't relax too much though. You know what's in two weeks".

Sonic nodded.

"I know. Make sure you are fully prepared. I won't hold back".

"Neither will I" Knuckles also added.

The rivalry tension was palpable. Not so much for Knuckles and Sonic as they were more of friends than rivals but it was still there.

After that rivalry stare, Ash reverted to his friendly self and bid the Sonic heroes goodbye, heading to board the boat with Misty and Brock.

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles turned around and prepared for a fun filled day when they spotted someone running towards the boat.

"Hey look. It's Bianca" Knuckles pointed out.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed she was not wearing her white hat, which she usually wore to tell her apart from Latias.

The three friends greeted her but she ran past them, leaving them confused.

They witnessed her approach Ash who also greeted her but got no response. She handed him a drawing folded and then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Wait…" Tails was mindblown "is that Bianca or Latias?"

"Wait you mean… Latias developed romantic feelings for him? If that is her…" Sonic felt nauseous.

Knuckles simply covered his eyes when he processed this possibility.

The Bianca lookalike then left, again without speaking to the three trainers, again not giving any hint as to whether it was actually Bianca or Latias in disguise.

Sonic quickly shook his head.

"You know what? Let's just leave this for now. Come on team. A new day begins".

Calling out Raichu, Espeon and Typhlosion, the Sonic heroes set out to continue exploring and enjoying Alto Mare, eager to embrace the moment.