"Ash?" Latias asked.

Ash paused, halfway through rubbing the damp cloth down her side to get off some of the scorch marks.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You… do still like me, right?" she said, sounding worried.

Ash blinked a couple of times.

"Why wouldn't I like you?" he asked.

"Because-" Latias began, then winced. "Because… that was such an important battle for you, and… it didn't work out?"

Ash exchanged a glance with Pikachu.

"Ka-chuu, pika-ikachu," Pikachu opined. "Chu, Pikapi pika chuu!"

"Latias… I guess-" Ash began, then stopped and sighed.

"I'm going to put this in a really bad way," he groaned. "But… uh… so, first, yeah, losing a battle sucks, and losing at the Pokémon League really sucks. Because so many people are looking at us."

Latias looked crestfallen, and Ash dipped the cloth in water before getting to work again.

"But that happens," he said. "I know it sucks, but I also know – it happens. Harrison and his team pulled out all those surprises, to try and stop us, right?"

"Chuu," Pikachu muttered, rubbing his side.

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Some Pokémon I've never even seen before – some really cool Pokémon, at that! And – yeah, he stopped us, but he had to do all of that, right? And then that Jon guy who's been doing so well is up against him next, and… oh, right, you might not have noticed?"

"Noticed what?" Latias asked.

Pikachu giggled.

"Yeah, I keep forgetting you're not experienced," Ash said. "It's just one of those things that… makes sense, to me, and to Brock and Misty too… Jon is going to be ready for all those tricks that Harrison has, because Harrison had to use them all on us to stop us."

Latias frowned, then made a thoughtful noise.

"Right!" Ash said, nodding, as he finished up with her right flank and moved on to her wing. "So – I don't know if Harrison's got other tricks left, but he brought back some Pokémon from Hoenn with really neat abilities that were a huge surprise! I don't know if that Jon guy is going to win or lose, but… he's going to have it easier, and Harrison is going to have it harder, because Harrison decided he needed to use all those tricks against us. Right?"

"I… think so?" Latias frowned.

"It means that – no, there's nothing to be ashamed of!" Ash explained. "And I guess… maybe that's easier for me to explain to someone else than to remember myself, hehe… but, don't worry, Latias. You did really well. You're new to battling, and I'm glad you chose to come along with me as my Pokémon, and… you're brave."

Latias tilted her head, shifting her weight a little as she lay on the floor, and Ash nodded.

"You are," he said. "Because… like I say, you're new to battling, and you didn't have much training, or much experience, and you went for it anyway, and you kept fighting for so long to try and pull it out for me. And… I guess… getting better at battling, getting stronger, getting more experience, learning more moves… all of those are things we can work on. And you're already brave, which is… great, it really is."

He washed the cloth again, then looked at the water. "Uh. In fact, you've got so many scorch marks from Blaziken's Blaze Kicks that I guess I need more water, this one's turned black…"

Latias giggled, and Ash grinned.

"So – don't worry, Latias!" he reassured her, getting up. "Because… yeah. We lost. And now I'm going to get better at being a Pokémon trainer, so we'll all be ready next time and we'll do even better!"

"Ka-pikapi, kachu!" Pikachu pointed out, holding up both paws and showing a total of four fingers, folding them in, then another four.

"...oh, yeah, and I guess that's easy to forget, too," Ash admitted. "Which is that – yeah, not many people make it to the quarter finals. Not many people even make it to the Pokémon League. And we were battling in the quarter finals, and – you fit right in, Latias. You should be proud of that."

Pikachu nodded. "Chuu!"

Ash was about to go and get some more water, but Latias picked herself up off the floor and gave him a spontaneous hug.

"Thank you, Ash," she said. "I… I feel a lot better now."

"Heheh, I'm glad to help!" Ash replied, grinning. "Though I really do need to go and get some more water to finish cleaning off those scorch marks…"

"Chuu, ka-chu?" Pikachu asked.

"...actually, why aren't we just going to a Pokémon Centre?" Latias asked.

Ash shrugged. "I guess… I wanted to make sure you didn't feel uncomfortable?" he said. "I know it's the first time you've been knocked out, and normally for my Pokémon that happens where Brock or Tracey can take care of them, not at a Pokémon Centre…"

AN:

Inspired by a bit of art involving a sad Latias.