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Hey Latias. Could I ask you something?
"Of course you can, Ash. Ask me anything, anything at all. I'm sure I can handle it."
Salty sea spray blitzed past Latias at high speeds, keeping her grounded even as she flew far from any real solid ground. She blinked her eyes clear, and looked on at the passenger ship sailing in the distance. Best not to lose track of it, even as she kept away.
"I'm sure I can say no if I really wanted to. To your face. I'm sure I won't immediately say yes without thinking about it for more than a second."
Latias flew a wide, steady orbit around the ship, her mind buzzing with nerves as she thought about the reason she was even here —The only reason she wasn't jetting back home in that instant— Her trainer.
"Oh? You wanna know if I'd be willing to start learning how to battle? Against other trainers? In public? Sure! That won't be a problem, at all! Grah!" Latias groaned and dragged her hands across her face, as her steady flight became a rough tumble through the air in an instant. With a sigh, she recovered, narrowly avoiding a dip into the unfamiliar sea.
Latias wouldn't lie to herself. She did legitimately have an interest in Ash's line of work. Froakie's battle back in Alto Mare was a sight to behold, and Pikachu's performance against those criminals in the workshop was nothing short of astonishing. If Ash could achieve that with those two, who knew what he could make of her.
But why did it mean having to battle in public?
"That stupid, confident grin, not letting me think straight." With one final huff, Latias shook her head. She had to get over herself. Ash had already worked a minor miracle, getting her this far outside her comfort zone. She'd just have to suck it up, and let him take her the rest of the way. "Okay. Time's up."
With a turn, Latias adjusted her orbit, putting herself on a direct trajectory for the ship's bow. Her destination: The training platforms on the upper decks.
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On the busy, crowded upper decks of the passenger liner, a single trainer stood apart from the crowd, as his voice pierced the air.
"Alright everyone, come on out!" With a confident stride, Ash stepped out onto the training platform, tossing up a handful of Poké balls as he did so. In a flash, Hawlucha, Froakie, and Fletchinder appeared before him, standing at attention like soldiers in a row. They practically looked like a disciplined fighting force!
…If it weren't for Fletchinder and Froakie immediately sniping at one another with jeering comments. The exchange went for a few short rounds, before Hawlucha scolded the two of them. With that, they were set to begin.
"Heh, we've got our work cut out for us, buddy." Ash shared a chuckle with Pikachu, before stepping forward and standing tall. It was time for a classic Ketchum pep talk! "Alright! It's a new day, guys, in more ways than one. I'm not gonna pretend that Paul didn't kick our butts—"
Fletchinder opened her beak, before quickly shutting it at the sight of Pikachu's furrowed expression.
"—But that's not because we weren't strong enough, or didn't try hard enough. It's cause we've been going at it the wrong way!" Ash paused, bravado giving away to the conclusion from the day before. "It's because I've been going at it the wrong way. I haven't been leading you guys right."
"Pikapi…" Pikachu nearly went to protest Ash's claim. He was second-in-command. He remembered their time in Sinnoh just as well as Ash did. Why did Ash have to bear the weight of their off years alone?
Yet, just as quickly as Ash's gaze fell, it rose again, even more fiery than it was before.
"That changes now! It's not gonna just be about being the fastest, hitting the hardest. Now we gotta battle using everything we got!" With a fist raised forward, Ash declared his intent from on high. "Every advantage we can get our hands on, every part of battling there is— We're gonna use it all, and we're gonna win it all!"
Like a general firing up his troops, Ash's words inspired his team into action. No longer bickering, they hailed in agreement, ready to give 110% to this new direction their trainer laid out. Ash couldn't help but feel pride in that, in this team he'd brought together.
Speaking of which.
"I want you guys to meet a new member of the squad! She's pretty new to all of this, so let's give her a warm welcome!" Ash couldn't exactly tell where Latias was, on the account of her invisibility, but he'd told her to be here around this time. "Come on out, La—!"
Cutting him off mid-word was an unexpected sound, a Poké ball in his pocket bursting open. Latias had stepped out that morning, so that just left one possibility.
An annoyed huff of hot air at his neck confirmed Ash's thought.
"Hey, Charizard!" Ash turned and stepped back, revealing the veteran of his Kanto days in all his glory. The temperamental Fire-Type stood tall in the center of the training field, wings stretching and billowing a flurry of air before roosting once more. "Guys, this is Charizard. He's a buddy of mine from way back when!"
A round of greetings came Charizard's way, greetings he acknowledged after spending a moment to size up Ash's team. The fact he stood tall above them wasn't lost on the self-described king. He grumbled something under his breath, before snorting out a puff of smoke.
"Sorry buddy, I know I should've sent you back to Professor Oak already. I promise, as soon as we land, I'll getcha back with the others!" Ash's response, though well-meaning, didn't seem to go over well with Charizard. With a low growl, he turned, nearly swiping Ash off his feet as he walked off to the sidelines. Ash paused at that. "Unless, you wanna come train with us! You know, while you're here!"
"Pikapika, pikachupi!" Pikachu reiterated Ash's offer, though he added a goading tone that seemed to play to Charizard's ego. Charizard turned back and gave the Kalos team another look, before sneering and huffing out a plume of smoke.
Not worth my time.
"Fletch!?"
"Froakie!" Froakie and Fletchinder were incensed by the dismissal, only held back from retorting by Hawlucha. The older forest guardian knew to not let such shallow words hurt his honor.
"Jeeze, who put a stick up his ass?" Scratching his head, Ash watched as Charizard picked a spot near the practice field and laid back. Seems he'd be checked out for the next few days. "Don't mind him, guys. He'll learn to respect ya soon enough!"
"Pikapikachu, kachu kaka." Yeah, or it's a Thunderbolt for dinner for him.
With the unplanned introduction out of the way, it was soon time for the real thing. Ash glanced at the open air surrounding him, before calling out.
"Latias?"
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"Latias?"
Latias took a deep breath, her eyes glancing across her newfound teammates to the small crowd of people spread across the ship's upper deck. A shudder worked its way down her spine, before she answered.
"Yes?"
"Ah, perfect you're here!" Ash's face lit up as her voice reached his mind. "Before we get started, I wanted to introduce you to the team! Wanna come out and say hello?"
Not at all, no.
"Sure! It's just, that I, um, can't."
"Huh? Why not? We can't exactly train if you stay hidden the whole time."
"Kapika, Pikachu chu." Pikachu added to Ash's point. Even I'm not that good at hitting targets.
"Well you see, it's just that! I've, never trained before." State the obvious, Latias, perfect. Why don't we try giving an actual reason? "And, I'm afraid of doing poorly, in front of all these people!"
She indicated to all the other passengers strolling across the upper deck, a rather pointless motion considering her invisibility. Still, Ash seemed to understand.
"Stage fright, huh?" He clicked his tongue in thought, buying Latias's excuse without a word of protest. He glanced between the other passengers, his Pokémon, and even to the sun hanging above. With that, he snapped his fingers. "I've got just the thing!"
Latias hated it when he grinned like that. It made her believe anything was possible.
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"Take two!" Ash's voice filled the air as Latias was released from her Poké ball once more. It'd been quite a few hours since their first attempt at training, and still she had yet to learn what exactly Ash's plan was. In an instant, it became clear.
It was well into the night now, with a bright, nearly full moon hanging high above the deck of the ship. Powerful flood lights illuminated the practice fields, keeping everything perfectly visible despite the lack of sun. Through all of that, though, there was one feature that stood out to Latias the most.
There wasn't a soul here now, save Ash, Pikachu, and Latias.
"Usually I really like keeping our training to the day, but if you need a chance to get the hang of things in private, that's fine by me, Latias!" With a boisterous grin, Ash laid out his proposal, surprising Latias with his complete nonchalance.
As she paused, she noticed something— Light bags under Ash's eyes.
Latias couldn't understand it.
"You did this, let the whole day pass by, just for me?"
"Of course! Whatever we gotta do to make it work, yeah?" Ash kneeled down to do some stretches, rolling his shoulder and slapping his cheeks to get his blood flowing. With a bounce, he stood straight, and looked right at where Latias was floating— By complete coincidence. "So, what do ya say! Think you're ready to start?"
Latias cursed herself for ever regretting her decision to do this. If Ash was willing to go out of his way, to stay up late for her comfort, the least Latias could do was return the favor.
"Yes, I am!" With a breath, Latias let her familiar protection slip away. The invisibility she kept on so tight sputtered and faded, until all that remained was the Pokémon underneath.
Latias floated before Ash, in all her glory.
"Let's do this!" she chirped.
"Pikachu!"
"Glad to have ya aboard!" Giving a cheeky grin, Ash congratulated Latias. He tipped his hat to her as he reached into his pockets for the rest of his team. Right down to business, it seemed. "So! Guess we'll start off small. What moves do you know?"
Latias paused then, about to go into a slow orbit around Ash before his question fully registered. She looked at him and tilted her head.
"...Moves?"
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Thankfully, it became readily apparent that Latias did know some moves— she'd just never had a name for any of them. To her, they were just things she knew how to do. A quick look with Ash's Pokédex let them learn that she knew Safeguard, Recover, Helping Hand, and Psywave.
They also learned something else— Latias was pretty dang fast.
"Nyehehe! Catch me if you can!"
"Froa! Oakie, froa!"
Latias flew across the practice field in wide arcs and sudden turns, zipping from one end to the other with barely a hint of exertion. All the while she was being relentlessly pursued by an assailant— Froakie.
The precocious frog was giving it his all, rolling and sprinting and bouncing across the field, desperately aiming to tag her with a direct hit. Whenever he'd get close, however, she'd just zip away, giggling as she made her distance. To Froakie, this was a challenge, while to Latias, it was play.
It almost seemed aggravating, if Froakie weren't grinning the entire time.
Latias was an opponent that was particularly hard to get angry at.
"Ah! Looks like I got you!" Narrowly evading another leap from Froakie, Latias wheeled around and grabbed him from behind. In an instant, the chase was over, as she pulled him into a full-body hug. "You're good at this! I've never seen something so small move so fast!"
"F-Froakie!" Froakie tried to play it cool, but quickly lost as she pressed her cheek to his.
"Come on! Let's go again!"
"Oakie!" Like that, they were at it once more.
From the sidelines, Ash and Pikachu watched the exercise in action, a mixture of feelings apparent on both their faces. For Ash, it was primarily excitement.
"She's doing pretty good! What do you think we should throw at her next, buddy?" Turning to his second-in-command, Ash tapped Pikachu for his thoughts. He mulled over the options for a moment, before giving his suggestion, one Ash readily agreed to. "Sounds good to me! Latias, Froakie, let's break it up!"
Ash's call brought Latias to a dead stop, letting Froakie fly past her in a near hit. With a quick roll, she caught her practice partner, before floating back to Ash with him in her arms.
"Good work, you guys! I think it's time we move on from just dodging hits. Now we're gonna practice taking 'em!" Ash's explanation made Latias pause, as she gave Froakie a squeeze in the process. "Latias, I'm gonna have Pikachu hit you with a Thunderbolt. We'll start really low, and then ramp up from there! Sound good?"
He flashed her another smile, one that told her he was totally confident in this.
"Yeah. I think I'll be fine." Latias released Froakie from her grip, before Ash sent him to go train over with Fletchinder and Hawlucha. Now it was just him, Pikachu, and Latias.
Floating a few paces back, Latias gulped and steadied herself. She put on a nervous smile.
"I'm ready!"
"Sweet!" Ash grinned as Pikachu leapt off his shoulder, crackling with electricity at his cheeks. After a moment though, he pulled back. The thundering electricity was reduced to a mere sparkle. "Alright Pikachu, Thunderbolt! 1%!"
"Pika! Piiikaaachuu!" A bolt of lightning, as thin as a pencil, shot across the field. In an instant it connected with Latias, lighting up her body and sending her reeling back a pace. Regardless, she held on, and bared the blow as well as she could.
"How's it feeling, Latias!" Shouting over Pikachu's continuous attack, Ash called out to Latias.
"It's, okay! Just a bit—" She paused to wince, before giving a thumbs up. "It's a weird feeling!"
"Well hey, that's not too bad! Let's see what happens if we crank it!" Ash signaled to Pikachu, before calling out the next move. "Thunderbolt, 10%!"
"Pikapika! Pikachuuuuu!" The attack thickened, jumping from the width of a pencil to that of a small pipe. The aura of electricity surrounding Latias grew as well, shuddering as the force increased.
"That's a bit, worse, but—" She shook her head clear, before looking up. "I can handle it!"
"Attagirl! Alright Pikachu, Thunderbolt, 25%!" This time, the force jumped. A wave of energy shot through Pikachu's attack, as the bolt of electricity became as thick as Ash's arm. When said energy struck Latias, she cringed, as her eyes widened and her pupils became pinpricks.
"Nope, nope, nope!" With a shout, she snapped back, leaving Pikachu's attack behind and making distance in an instant.
"Pika?!"
"Whoa!" Before Ash could even say a word, her invisibility snapped back on. "Latias, what's wrong? It didn't hurt that much, did it?"
Ash frowned, as he could hear Latias's labored breaths circle around him and Pikachu.
"It, it didn't, but, I just—" She tried to sputter out an answer, even as Ash could clearly tell she was panicking. Something else had freaked her out. This wasn't just the pain. "I couldn't— It felt, it was—"
"Latias, calm down." Ash stepped forward, a calm, cool tone to his voice. It took him a moment, but he could just about follow Latias by the sounds of her breathing. "You're okay, I promise. There's nothing to panic about, yeah?"
Latias remained silent, even as her heart slowly calmed. Her breathing slowed, until she came to a stop in front of Ash.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be! No one ever expects how strong Pikachu can be. Even at a quarter tank, he can light up most opponents!" Pikachu leapt onto Ash's shoulder as he said that, giving an awkward smile as he rubbed the back of his head. Ash grinned at that, before his smile weakened. "Do you know what happened? Why you panicked so badly?"
Latias remained silent for a time, until she let her invisibility flicker away. She floated before Ash, fiddling with her fingers.
"I'm not used to being hurt," she explained, looking off to the side where the others were training. "I haven't been hurt, since… what happened."
In an instant, Ash understood what she meant. This was about the incident from when they first met, with Annie and Oakley, and with her brother.
Ash's expression hardened, as he reached forward to put a hand on Latias's shoulder. She snapped up to look at him.
"I promise, we're not trying to hurt you, Latias. This isn't about hurting you," he explained, his voice surprisingly soft-spoken for what was ostensibly a pep-talk. He gave her one of his classic grins. "This is about making you stronger, so no one can hurt you anymore!"
Ash spun a good story, but Latias remained hesitant. Regardless, he pushed through. Time for the big guns.
"I promise it'll be okay. You've just gotta trust me." Offering his hand forward, Ash made one last plea to Latias. "You trust me, yeah?"
Latias's eyes widened. It was a critical hit.
"Of course I do."
With that, she took Ash's hand.
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"Alright you guys, bring it in!" With Latias and Pikachu occupied with resistance training, Ash turned to his main three: Hawlucha, Froakie, and Fletchinder. They'd been keeping busy with practice sparring, but now it was time for the real training Ash had promised.
The three Pokémon lined up in a row, Hawlucha standing between his rival teammates as they stood at attention. Ash couldn't help but smile at that, as he sat down to talk face-to-face.
"If we wanna start battling using everything we got, we gotta know what we got," he explained, digging into his pocket as he did so. "Each of you has an ability, and a lot of the time, that can be what turns a match in our favor!"
"Froa?"
"Lucha, haw!"
"Fleeeetch!" The excitement was high, and Ash was glad to see it. Now onto the main event.
From his pocket, Ash pulled out his Pokédex.
"Usually I'd wanna get my hands dirty, and figure out what you guys can do the hard way. But we've only got a few days here." With a flick, he brought the device to life. "So just this once, we're taking the easy way, okay?"
"Fletch! Fletchinder, fletch!" Hopping forward, Fletchling volunteered herself to be first to go. She was always looking for another feather to put into her cap, even if it was something as small as going first. Ash chuckled as he fiddled with his Pokédex for a moment more.
"Okay, here we go!" The device lit up in his hand.
Fletchinder, the Ember Pokémon. Additional Information— Ability: Flame Body. Contact with the Pokémon may burn the attacker.
"Ah, Flame Body!" Ash recognized that one— Paul's Magmortar had put it to good use when they faced off years ago. "We'll get some good work outta that one, I know it!"
Next up was Hawlucha, who stepped forward and struck a powerful, passionate pose. Whatever ability he had, Ash knew it'd serve him well.
Hawlucha, the Wrestling Pokémon. Additional Information— Ability: Unburden. After adjusting to the weight of a held item, this Pokémon will see a burst of speed after shedding it.
"That's a new one." Ash hummed with thought, chewing on the implications of what he'd just learned. An ability that interacted with a held item was unique, and Ash was unfortunately inexperienced in using those. "Guess that's just an opportunity to learn, then!"
With a firm shoulder squeeze, Ash let Hawlucha take a step back. There was just one last ability to check.
"Froa, froa! Froakie!" Froakie hopped forward, before Ash could even say a word. He couldn't help but smile at that. Him and Froakie always seemed to be on the same page.
"You ready, buddy?" With a confident nod from Froakie, Ash activated his Pokédex one last time. The device ticked away, loading for a few moments more than usual, until it finally spoke up again.
Froakie, the Bubble Frog Pokémon. Additional Information— Ability… Null.
"Huh? Null?" Furrowing his brows, Ash gave the Pokédex a shake before trying again.
Null. Ability not found.
"Well, what the hell!" Ash groaned and tossed the device to the side. "Crummy machine. Who needs it!"
"Froa…"
While Ash was more than content to leave it to that, Froakie was another story. The usually fiery frog was left sullen at the result, something Ash quickly realized. Dropping his annoyed expression, Ash leaned in and gave Froakie a head pat.
"Don't you sweat it, buddy. Not even for a second. We'll just have to figure it out the old-fashioned way!" He added a grin to sell his confidence, a grin that his Pokémon quickly adopted.
"Oakie!" Froakie called out in agreement and raised his fist forward. Ash soon returned the offer, and joined Froakie for a fist bump.
"It'll take some time, but I know we'll figure out your ability someday!"