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"Found it!" Ash cheered as he pressed into a dark and quiet room, spending a moment to find the lights before Pikachu lent a hand. With a flick of his tail, old fluorescent bulbs lit up with a soft, warm glow. Ash grinned as the space came to life. "The computer room!"
A seldom-used but courtesy feature of Ash's passenger liner was its computer room, containing rows and rows of boxy monitors ready for action. Ash had a few hours to kill before training that night, so he and Pikachu went to do the next best thing— Research.
"Pika. Kachu pikachu, Pikapi?" Been a while since we did this, huh partner?
"Yep. Two years pretty much." Ash hopped onto a lone swivel chair in his path and rolled it straight into the first PC he saw. As it booted, he recalled the time he was referring to— The Lily of the Valley Conference, researching Paul and Tobias. It was appropriate, considering his current subject. "If we wanna battle with everything we've got, we gotta know what we're up against."
With that assertion muttered under his breath, Ash got to work and began typing away.
"Xurkitree…"
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"And go!"
Ash's command rang out like the crack of a whip, filling the air above his head with a flurry of movement. In an instant, the two combatants flew into action, as Fletchinder began to swarm around her opponent with a gust of Razor Winds.
"Now, use Dragon Breath, Latias!"
Showing off her newly-learnt move, Latias pushed back Fletchinder with a gust of blue flames. The attack sent the avian scattering, but still missed her by a significant width.
"Come on, come on!" Focusing her fire, Latias tried to hit the moving target, to little avail. She may outmatch Fletchinder in head-to-head speed, but her aim was shoddy at best.
"Come on Latias, you can do it! Just gotta hit straight!"
"Oh just that easy, huh!" She fired off words alongside her Dragon Breath, the blast nowhere near close to making contact. "Have you ever tried this!?"
"Can't say I have, but I like to think I'd be pretty good at it." Ash laughed, easing Latias's nerves with a smile. Half the reason Latias couldn't hit a shot was because of her nerves, he just knew it. She just needed the proper motivation. "Fletchinder! Start pulling in with Steel Wing, but don't hit her!"
"Huh!?"
"Fletch!" With an affirmative nod, Fletchinder dived, her wings glowing bright as she aimed for her opponent's chest. Panicking, Latias fired another Dragon Breath which missed all the same. Fletchinder shook her head at the display, before juking into a sideswipe. "Fletchinder! Fletch!"
Circling back, Fletchinder went in for another run, as Latias kept up the heat.
It quickly became apparent to Ash that this would be a problem. Latias was maneuverable, and with a still target she could shoot a great shot. When it came to a moving target like this, though, she was sorely lacking.
Fletchinder was flying circles around her, making a show out of how close she could get to the dragon, literally touching her. It was a show of dominance.
Ash opened his mouth to end the exercise, but was quickly beaten to the punch.
Latias spontaneously caught fire.
"What!?"
"Huh!?" Latias writhed as a sudden flare of flames took her body, before it seemed to die down. Fletchinder backed off at that point, as caught off guard as the other two. "What, what happened?"
Ash furrowed his brows.
"Come on Fletchinder, I told you not to hit her!" He looked up at the cocky avian, hands on his hips as he called her out. Fletchinder was having no part of it, however, as she fired off an incredulous squawk. "What do you mean you didn't—?"
"Ahh!" The flames suddenly flared up again, sending Latias racing off. "Nope, nope, nope!"
"Latias, wait—!" Before Ash could finish the thought, she jetted off the edge of the boat and down below the deck. A moment later, the distinct splash of a body hitting water rang out. Ash blinked. "You, uh, doing okay, Latias?"
"Yeah…" With a rather defeated tone, Latias slowly floated back up to view— Sopping wet and thankfully no longer on fire. With a rapid shake, the water left her down. "What was that!"
"Dunno! Looked like a burn to me, but Fletchinder says she didn't use a Fire-Type—" A realization dawned on Ash, as he smacked his forehead. "That was Flame Body, Fletchinder!"
"Fletch? Fletchinder!" Fletchinder's indignity turned to pride in an instant, as she fluttered down to roost on Ash's head.
"Flame Body?" Frowning, Latias soon followed her lead as she joined Ash's side.
"It's Fletchinder's ability! Usually, it means when you get hit often enough, it'll burn the other Pokémon— But here, Fletchinder sideswiping you so many times did the trick!" Ash's mind got to work instantly, considering all the different game plans that could use such a technique. The fact that this strategy could work just as well with Pikachu's Static wasn't escaping him for even a moment.
Another tool in the arsenal.
Catching himself, Ash looked up and gave a grin.
"Thanks for the help there, Latias! If we didn't do this, I would've never figured out we could use Flame Body that way!" His praise raised Latias's spirits for a moment, before they settled back to neutral.
"Glad to help!" she chirped, giving her approximation of a thumbs up. "So, where does that leave us?"
"Right, yeah." They still had the point of the exercise to address. "No two ways around it, your aim with moving targets blows."
"Hey—!" Latias slumped in midair, giving up before she even really started. She huffed and crossed her arms. "Yeah, you're right."
"But that's okay! We're gonna give you some real, solid practice!" With a grin that inspired confidence, Ash made a fist, before turning to the other side of the practice field. "Pikachu, get over here! You and Fletchinder are swapping!"
"Pika? Pikachu!" Pikachu perked up from his spar with Froakie, over by where Charizard was lying about. With a juke, he evaded one final swing from his opponent, before sprinting back and exchanging stations with Fletchinder.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu hopped up onto Ash's shoulders, before bouncing to land on Latias's head. With a cheek rub that pulled a giggle from the dragon, he settled in. "Pikachu, Kachupi?"
"Yeah, what're we doing with me?"
"There's an old saying, shoot for the moon! Even if you miss, you'll make it far! That means if we wanna improve your aim with moving targets, we should practice going one step beyond!" Ash grinned, confident despite flubbing the idiom a bit in the process. He had Latias's attention well in hand. "You and Pikachu are going to battle!"
"Pika!?"
"Huh!?" Latias was just as caught off guard as Pikachu was. "Like, a full-on, head-to-head…?"
Latias tapped her fingers together to finish her point, earning a nod from Ash.
"Yep! Course he's gonna take it easy on you, keep his power capped at about half, but other than that—" Ash drove a fist into his palm. "We're doing it live!"
Latias's hesitation held high, even as Pikachu nodded and bounced off her head to stand opposite to her. As she and Ash took position, she let that hesitation be known.
"Are you sure about this? I know I've been doing better taking hits from him, but—" She glanced ahead and found Pikachu crackling with arching streams of electricity. She gulped. "I feel, underprepared."
"Nah, you'll be fine! I'm gonna be guiding you through this whole thing, while Pikachu is on his own. Trust me, you've got this!" With one final grin and thumbs up, Ash seemed to firm Latias's resolve. She nodded and locked eyes with her sparring partner.
Go time.
"Pika!"
"Keep your distance and use Dragon Breath, Latias!"
In a snap, both combatants shot into action. Pikachu raced across the field in a flash of Quick Attacks, as Latias circled away and fired behind her. Gusts of blue flames splattered across the field at Pikachu's feet, as he pressed ahead unfazed.
"Chuuu— Pika!" With a bounce, Pikachu leapt into the air, priming an Iron Tail at the peak of his jump. Ash quickly recognized his partner's attack and moved to evade.
"Get out of there Latias!" His command came just in time. Latias jetted to the side moments before Pikachu's attack would have slammed her from above. Instead, the electric mouse was sent rocketing into the ground for his efforts. "Now, Dragon Breath whilst he recovers!"
"Gotcha!" Latias sent a blast racing towards the cloud of dust where Pikachu had landed, only to be stymied again. A shot of lightning came to meet her attack, and swept it away in an instant.
"Pika— Chu!" Pikachu blew his cover away with a discharge of energy, grinning before he went on the pursuit once more. "Pikapika! Pikachu!"
"Pull back, Latias!"
"Darn it, darn it!" With a burst of speed, Latias began evading once more, playing a very ironic game of cat-and-mouse with Pikachu. He'd catch up with her in leaps and bounds, sometimes disappearing before appearing in her path moments later. All the while she kept trying and failing to land her shots, unable to keep her aim straight with the both of them moving. Soon, her frustration began to peak. "Ash, this isn't working!"
"It will, trust me!" Ash furrowed his brows, his eyes flashing across the battlefield as he tried to keep up with the two. After so many years of training with Pikachu, he thankfully had more than enough experience tracking the golden menace. "Latias, turn around and blitz him! Put him on the defensive!"
"Pika!"
"Huh!? O-okay!" Latias went into a roll, dodging a thundering Iron Tail from Pikachu before she pressed ahead. Her opponent was forced into a back step by that move, as he recovered and leapt away.
"Now, Dragon Breath!"
"Pi-ka! Pi-ka! Pi-ka-chu!" With flickers of speed, Pikachu bounded across the field, keeping distance from Latias while her attacks swept past him. Her shots were getting closer, but they were far from hitting home.
Soon it was time for Pikachu to raise the pressure.
"Chuuu! Pika!" He flipped, slamming his Iron Tail against the ground and bringing himself to a dead stop. Then, with a ricochet of momentum, he shot back the way he came.
He was flying towards Latias!
"Huh!?"
"Meet 'em with your own power, Latias! Dragon Breath!" Ash's words steeled Latias, as she puffed her cheeks with her biggest inhale yet. With her and Pikachu flying at one another at high speeds, she fired the Dragon Breath, dead ahead!
"Piiii Kaaa! Chuuu!" Accepting her challenge, Pikachu ignited his body and tail with an aura of lightning.
The two attacks converged, ready to crash together into a fiery display when—!
A roar rang out.
—a pillar of flames split the two apart!
"Pika!?"
"What!?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Caught off guard by the sudden interjection, Latias went into a spiral. She pulled up, and was sent spinning into the sky, leaving Ash and Pikachu to face their uninvited third combatant.
"What the—!?" Ash whipped around, finding the source of the flames standing in the distance. Past where Froakie and Fletchinder were sparring, past the edge of the practice field, was his culprit. "Charizard?"
The dragon had risen from his lounging spot, and was now approaching with an annoyed look on his face and a steady beat of his wings. Ash furrowed his brows.
"Pikapika! Kachu, pikachu!" What the hell was that about! Pikachu shared his partner's displeasure as he leapt onto Ash's head to meet Charizard face-to-face. A moment later, Latias floated back into view behind them, a sheepish, but still annoyed look in her eyes.
Charizard grumbled and muttered, before he began to explain himself, speaking in his rough draconic tongue. It took Ash a moment, but he got what he was saying.
"I'm training her wrong?" Ash's annoyance melted away as Charizard's intent came through. He was trying to help. "What do you mean?"
With a brief explanation, Charizard gave his answer, in the process jabbing a clawed figure towards Pikachu and then himself. This time, Ash was a bit lost.
Thankfully, Latias came to the rescue.
"He's saying I'm not a battler like Pikachu, but a battler like he is." As she translated, Charizard repeated himself, pressing his thumb into his chest. "I'm not really sure what that means."
"Yeah, me neither." Ash scratched his head, considering the implications of what Charizard was saying. Sure, his Pokémon have needed different approaches in the past. His time with Torterra was still fresh in his memory, after all. But, to label Latias a totally different kind of battler? It didn't make sense!
She was fast and maneuverable and strong, just like Pikachu. How could she not battle like him too?
Charizard broke through Ash's contemplation with a puff of smoke and an impatient grumble, before he continued. If Ash was having trouble believing him, then he wanted to prove it.
"Eh? How are you gonna do that?"
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"I would like it to be known, that I take issue with this plan." Latias gulped, slowly floating back from her newest opponent— Charizard. The old veteran of Ash's journeys was flexing his limbs, stretching and beating his wings until rolling cracks rang up their lengths. All the while, Pikachu stood on his shoulder, giving what surely must be advice on how to better pummel her face in. "Isn't there a better way to prove Charizard's point than this?!"
"Nope! When it comes to battling, the best way to prove anything is with action!" Despite her nerves, Ash was as confident as ever. He was always as confident as ever. Latias could never understand it, but she could at least appreciate it.
She could use some of that confidence now.
"Hey, Latias?" Ash spoke up and perked Latias's ear. His tone had shifted. "Thanks for trusting me here. I know this stuff has to be pretty scary for you."
Latias glanced back at Ash and smiled.
"You help make this not so scary anymore." With a wink and a grin, Latias turned back to her opponent. "So, let's do this, and kick this guy's butt!"
A moment of surprise turned to excitement in Ash's eyes. The combatants were set and the match was ready to begin.
"Pika!" At Pikachu's call, it was off to the races,
"First to move is first to win! Latias, surround him!" At Ash's command, Latias jetted in with a burst of speed, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision as she got into position. With a bend to her trajectory, Latias began to fly a tight orbit around Charizard, before disappearing into a red blur of afterimages.
In contrast to her speed, Charizard stayed in place, his gaze flicking from one side to another. He was waiting for her to make the first move.
Ash was happy to oblige.
"Alright Latias, let 'em have it with Dragon Breath!" At his command, Latias unleashed a fierce gust of blue flames, which crashed into Charizard and sent him skidding back. Her first hit!
"Yes!"
Charizard was far from out of it, however. Shooting past Latias's attack, Charizard lunged towards her, stunning her and Ash alike with his sudden forward assault. Before she even could think to evade, he snatched Latias out of her orbit, latching onto her shoulders with both arms.
"Huh—!?" Almost immediately, she was doused in a shower of red-hot flames, as Charizard fired his Flamethrower at point-blank range. She let out a cry that did little to deter her opponent.
"Latias! Pull back and use—!" Ash attempted to regain control of the situation, but Charizard was already onto his next move. With a sudden twist and spin, he sent Latias flying over his shoulder, straight into the air.
A moment later, he extended his wings out wide and went on the pursuit. This was an air battle now.
"Latias!"
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Latias rolled through the air in an uncontrolled tumble, the sky and ground spinning in her vision as she tried to find her bearings. Dizzy, she was dizzy. Was that the ship getting smaller?
No, she was getting farther.
Latias forced herself to an abrupt stop, righting herself a moment after. She was dozens of meters above the ship's deck now, way too far for Ash's voice to possibly reach her. She had to get back—!
A pillar of fire quickly burnt that thought to a crisp.
Charizard rose to her level, a fierce beat to his wings as he locked eyes with her. Before Latias had even a second to consider her options, he lunged at her, with his claws glowing white.
"Hey, hey, hey! What're you doing!?" She shot back, raw speed alone keeping her away from the bad end of Charizard's assault. "I can't exactly take commands from up here!"
Charizard growled and grumbled, giving a retort as he followed her in fierce pursuit.
You lean on him too much. If you want to learn this lesson, you'll learn it the hard way!
"What lesson!? That I'm not a battler like Pikachu?" Latias's gaze snapped to the boat below, as she considered making a break for it. That moment of pause though was all Charizard needed to catch her off guard. He slammed his shoulder into her side and sent her flying. "Ahh!"
Latias grit her teeth, and snapped at her opponent.
"How the heck am I a battler like you then!?"
Charizard grinned, and pulled back, taking the pressure off Latias from a moment as she recovered. With a roar, he declared his answer.
I've never been as fast as Pikachu, but never been as fragile either. I can eat a hit and deliver the pain in return!
Just to make his point, Charizard lunged for Latias, his claws glowing a bright white. She quickly countered with a Dragon Breath, but to no avail. Charizard let the attack roll off his shoulder before he slammed a fist into Latias's gut.
"Oof!" The blow left Latias dazed, her head swimming as she tumbled through the air uncontrollably. When she finally righted herself, it took a moment longer for her senses to catch up with her.
Charizard. Charizard was laughing at her.
You're the same as me, newbie! You've got the bulk to take some punishment! Now let's see you deal some back!
Latias grit her teeth, pain and frustration coalescing all at once into one emotion above them all: anger. If this was the game he wanted to play, she'd just have to go along.
"You asked for it!" Latias burst forward, a shockwave left in the wake of her sudden acceleration. There was no thought, no technique to this move, just one thing coming before all else: Speed.
With every ounce of acceleration she could muster, with all the power she could call forth, Latias crashed into Charizard at mach speed! She rammed into his chest, a shockwave blasting forth from the violent collision!
A direct hit!
Charizard roared and doubled over in pain, sent flying back with Latias still pressed against him. Eventually though, he forced them both to a stop.
He grinned through gritted teeth.
Good work, newbie! Now let's see how you handle the heat!
"Huh!?" Latias was helpless as Charizard grabbed onto her with all his might. This was gonna hurt.
Rearing his head back, Charizard slammed his skull against hers, dazing her in a snap. Then, with a vicious spin, he launched her into the distance. Latias quickly began plummeting down to Earth, on a direct collision course with the ship below.
The whole world was spinning now. The night sky, the ocean, the boat growing in her sights, it was all spinning, adding nausea to the dazed pain in her head. She clenched her eyes tight in an attempt to shut it all out, to little avail.
What was going on again?
"Latias!"
Oh right, she was training.
"Latias! Pull up!"
Training, if it could even be called that. She was getting demolished.
"You have to pull up, Latias!"
Even when she was pushed into a corner, even when she got a touch of praise for her efforts, it still wasn't enough.
Why was she doing this? Why did she even think she could do this?
"Latias, please! I know you can do this! I believe in you!"
…Right. That's why.
Latias's eyes snapped open, her senses finally caught up with the rest of her. With a twist of her body and a stretch of her wings, she brought herself to a sudden stop, mere feet from the boat's surface. The sheer force of her levitation threatened to blow back Ash and Pikachu in an instant.
She turned back and looked to him, a small, relieved smile on her face.
"Sorry for the scare. I'm ready to go in again." She watched as Ash stood straight, his shocked expression melting away into determination a moment later.
"Charizard's not going to come down until we make him come down. Think you've got an idea on how?" Ash grinned, testing Latias with the question. As she turned to look back up at her opponent in the distance, she found her answer.
"Yeah, I've got an idea." With that, it was off to the races once again. Ash raised a fist into the air.
"Go!" At his call, Latias surged forward with a burst of speed, taking to the sky with an aim that was straight and true. The boat, the sea, even the sky gave away in Latias's vision, as she locked onto her target: Charizard.
The veteran dragon billowed with smoke, before wrenching his head back to counterattack. A pillar of red-hot flames fired from Charizard's maw, ready to blow her off her path. Yet, Latias would not bow to this.
With a burst of speed, she flew straight through the flames!
Charizard balked as Latias burst through his attack, taking the inferno head-on. Before he could possibly move to dodge, she was upon him.
"Take this!" Latias slammed into Charizard, another shockwave blowing away the remnants of his Flamethrower in an instant.
Her hands pressed against his, her strength fought against his. For a moment, it seemed that the two were at an impasse, until Charizard began to chuckle through his grunts of exertion.
You've got guts, kid! But is it gonna be enough to finish the job!
Latias pushed with all her might, eyes clenched tight against the overwhelming strength of her opponent. Soon though, she found a smile growing on her face.
"You've got a point, about fighting like this!" With a grin, she looked up at Charizard. "When I'm this close, I can never miss!"
Twisting her entire body, Latias pulled Charizard below her with a sudden spin. Before he could respond, she took a deep breath and fired!
Charizard roared as a massive Dragon Breath slammed him square in the chest, blowing him back in an instant. The gust of blue flames rocketed him straight down, all the way on a collision course for the ship below!
Charizard crashed back into the practice field, before an explosion of smoke and flames consumed him all at once.
"I-I did it! I grounded him. I—" As she floated there, high above the ship with her chest heaving and breath labored, Latias paused. A realization struck her. "—May have gone overboard. Oh shoot."
She zipped back down to ground level, floating back to Ash's side with a sheepish, worried look on her face. Fiddling with her claws, she looked onto the massive plume of smoke where Charizard had landed.
"Did I, uh, go too far?"
Ash didn't have a chance to answer, before a roar rang out from the clearing smoke. Scuffed and battered, but very much still standing, was Charizard, stepping out from the cover with his head held high.
He looked on at Latias, a scowl freezing her still.
Then, he snorted.
You've got potential, kid. Just gotta make sure you use it, alright?
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"Pikapi. Kachu, pikachu pi?" Think you've gotten Charizard's point now?
Ash and Pikachu watched from the sidelines, as Latias and Charizard exchanged words of respect. After their spar-turned-brawl had come to an end, a moment of reprieve was needed.
Reprieve, and thought.
Ash stood, deep in thought over everything he'd just seen and heard. The way Charizard had fought, the way Latias had fought, it left his mind abuzz, mulling over the very nature of battling itself.
Soon, he had his answer, and a grin on his face.
"I've been pidgeyholing Latias, thinking she's gotta battle just like you or Froakie do, just because she's fast," he began with a confession, one he wasn't wary of giving for a moment. He tightened his hand into a fist. "Now though? Now, I know exactly how to bring out her 110%!"
Pikachu grinned.
"Pika!"
