Ash couldn't believe that he was back in Altomare. Out of every place that he had traveled Altomare was by far the best, it was the most beautiful, it was the most serene, it had a variety of Pokémon from all of the regions and most importantly it was home to the girl that he loved.
Ash and his new family had gone to the Pokémon center, he had asked them if they had any problems with camping since if they were invited to stay with his love then they would be sleeping outside, they all said that they did not have a problem with it. The Pokémon center allowed them to stay somewhere in case they couldn't stay where he thought they would, it was free for the first few nights as was the food so there was no problem.
After they had unpacked their bags it was time for them to leave, Ash asked them if they wanted to go and meet the Pokémon that he was in love with, this was met with an enthusiastic response from everyone.
Ash did not remember where the secret room was so he spent an hour looking for the one girl that he knew would be able to help him.
"Bianca!" Ash yelled. His family noticed that a girl with brown hair and a white beanie answered the call, then looked shocked when she recognized who had called her name.
"Ash?" She asked."Yeah, how are you?" Ash asked."I am fine, how are you?" Bianca asked."I could be better, but it feels great to be back here. Can you take us to the secret garden, I have forgotten how to get there?" Ash asks. He is shocked to see the look of sadness that crosses her face as he asks this."Ash you do not want to go there." Bianca stated."Bianca why not? Please tell me nothing has happened to her!" Ash yelled, the way that Bianca was looking made him think that there was something wrong, or worse concerning the pokemon he came for."She is alive, but I do not know for how much longer." Bianca stated sadly.
Ash's eyes began to well with tears. "What do you mean?" Ash was almost afraid to know the answer to this."After you left she just gave up. She had just lost her brother, she had been hunted and then the one person who brought out the best in her left her. She thought you would come back as you promised you would, every month that you did not come she just got sicker." Bianca explained. There was no trace of malice or anger in her voice, just sadness.
Ash was shocked he was the cause of this. Ash thought that he should have stayed with her after her brother sacrificed himself, he knew he should have stayed with her or at the very least come to her as he had promised. "How sick is she?" Ash asked.
"Her coat has lost most of its color, her eyes are dull and lifeless, her powers are failing her and her body is shutting down," Bianca said. She had cried over this so many times that there were no tears left for her to cry.
Ash however was openly crying his heart out. The pokemon that he was in love with was dying and it was all his fault, he should have come when he promised her.
"Take me to her, please Bianca, I need to see her." Ash was begging now, he knew that the sight that he would see would be painful but he had to see her, even if it was for the last time.
"Very well, follow me," Bianca said, and she led the group to the secret garden.
They came to a stop in front of a bunch of bushes. "Ash you better go in yourself," Bianca said, Ash's family nodded knowing that it would do him no good if they were all in there with him.
Ash nodded and walked through the bushes in the beautiful secret garden. He looked around seeing the swing that they played on together and seeing the tree that the Pokémon had put his hat in when they first came here.
Then Ash saw something that broke his heart all over again.
There, lying next to a pool, was the pokemon that he had come here to see, but she was not how he remembered. Her once white and red fur, was now grey and brown, she was so skinny you could see some of her bones and you could tell that she was basically powerless. By the looks of it, she was asleep.
He walked closer to her and knelt by her face. "Oh Latias, what have I done?" Ash asked.
Latias awoke to someone petting her head, when she looked up she was expecting to see Bianca or Lorenzo, but she was shocked to see Ash. Ash had grown since she last saw him, his black hair was longer, his eyes even browner and she could tell that he was a lot too.
'Ash?' Latias asked. Since Ash came the first time she wanted to learn how to speak telepathically, meaning that she could actually talk to Ash and he would be able to understand her.
Ash was shocked when he heard that soft voice in his head and he looked to see Latias awake. He smiled as best as he could through the tears.
"Hey, Latias," Ash said, his voice was small and hoarse as he spoke.
"At least I get to see you one last time. I know my time is coming to a close, I'm just glad my last sight will be of you." Latias said, nuzzling her head into the warm hand on her snout.
"Oh, Latias don't talk like that you're going to be fine. I'm so sorry that I didn't come back when I promised you that I would." Ash cried, a fresh set of tears rolling down his face.
"Don't be sorry. You had a dream to fulfill and I was not a part of that dream, you had a life to live and I was not apart of that. You wanted to forget what transpired here and I understand that I have never felt anger towards you for leaving me." The dragon Pokémon said softly, but her words did the opposite of what she intended them to do.
"You were and still are apart of my dream Latias, you were and still are a part of my life and I never forgot this place or you, I don't know why really I guess I was into what I was doing that I forgot to come back. And that is inexcusable." Ash said, lowering himself so he was next to Latias.
"Even so I am glad that I can see you one last time, I can rest happily with my brother now, watching you from above." Latias said. She could feel her power and her life leaving her as she spoke, so she closed her eyes relishing in the feeling of Ash so close to her and his hand on her head.
"No Latias, you can't leave me, I just came back for you!" Ash yelled at the Pokémon, but it was too late. Latias' eyes had closed and her whole body was still, there was no movement, not even for breath.
The Pokémon that he loved, the love of his life, had just died in front of him.
Ash screamed at the top of his lungs, he was lucky this place was soundproof or all of his family would have heard the anguished cry Ash.
"Arceus why did you take her, I loved her with my whole being, I wanted to be with her? Why did you take her from me!?" Ash yelled into the air, he did not expect to be an answer.
"Your love is not gone my Chosen One. Not yet." A male voice said from the skies. Ash looked up and saw a white Pokémon there, he was bathed in a golden light and had the plates of balance around his body. Ash could recognize this Pokémon from anywhere, it was Arceus, the Alpha pokemon.
"What are you on about? Of course, she is gone, she is not breathing!" Ash yelled. He knew that he was angry and upset, what Ash did not know was that the world was feeling his pain.
"Ash she is not gone, she may not breathing but her spirit is still close by. You must calm down, the world is already suffering because of your pain." Arceus said it was in a fatherly tone, but with a hint of sadness. The legendary Pokémon, as well as all of the Pokémon in the world, were the children of Arceus and he would feel the pain of the loss.
Ash was able to calm down some. "What do you mean the rest of the world?" Ash asked he would still not move from the fallen Pokémon.
"Ash you are the Chosen One, a being of great power. You are connected to all living things through your Aura as well as being the Chosen, your emotions affect the world and the Pokémon. If you feel happy then the world will reflect that in good weather, if you are sad the world will reflect that in rain and when you are angry the world will reflect that in storms. As of now, there are large storms and rain throughout the world and the Pokémon know something is wrong." Arceus explained.
Ash knew he was powerful but he never thought that his emotions would be powerful enough to affect the world. "Is there any way to bring her back?" Ash asked looking at the still beautiful body of the female dragon.
"Yes, there is a way," Arceus explained. "Yes I accept, just bring her back to me," Ash said, and for once a true smile was seen on his face.
"Very well. Know this I will be calling you again soon Ash, and your family will also be summoned, we have many things to discuss and many more surprises for you as well as them. Be ready for when you are called, and let them know as well." Arceus said, he waited for Ash to nod before heading to where Latias was lying.
He placed the tip of his hoof on the dragon Pokémon's head. "Rise my child, be with you love, and prepare for one hell of a journey." As Arceus said this a bright golden light surrounded Latias, and bright blue light surrounded Ash and Arceus disappeared.
Ash waited with bated breath until he saw Latias begin to change. The grey and brown fur now became the bright white and red that Ash had loved to run his hands through, she gained weight and her powers were returning to her. She opened her eyes and they were the same bright amber eyes he had fallen in love with, not the dull brownish color they had become.
"Ash, what happened?" Latias asked, when she turned to look at Ash she was shocked.
"Arceus came and said that my love for you was true and that he would bring you back. Asking if I would bring my family to a meeting with him, I readily agreed." Ash explained causing Latias to blush.
"You love me, Ash?" Latias asked. She thought he did this because he didn't like seeing dead Pokémon and that he would do the same thing for any other.
"Yes, I love you. It killed me to be away from you, but I am back now and whatever comes our way we are going to face together." Ash said.
Latias flew over to him and nuzzled him. 'I love you too Ash. Does this mean that we are mates now?" Latias asked excitedly.
"Yes it does, although we are going to wait to mate. I want to spend some time with you before we take it to the next level." Ash said and Latias agreed, wanting to do the same as well.
Ash leaned forward and placed his lips on Latias'. He had never kissed someone before so he did not know what he was doing, Latias was also inexperienced. They knew this was another thing that they were going to work on together.
"Ash are you okay!?" A yell could be heard from outside the bushes. Ash had forgotten that his family was there too. "How about you meet my family, that is the first step in a relationship?" Ash asked, Latias replying with a happy nod.
Ash looked at Latias and pointed to some bushes, wanting her to hide until he called her. She nodded, kissed him once more, and flew behind the bushes.
"Yes, I am fine. You can come in now." Ash said, all of his family and Bianca piled in the garden, it was very large so everyone could fit in with no problem.
"Where is she, Ash?" Bianca asked, worried that something had happened when she was out.
"When I came here I saw her lying near the pond, she looked so bad. She awoke a few minutes after I entered telling me not to blame myself and that she was glad she could look at me one more time. She stopped breathing right in my arms." Ash said. The memory still haunted him and made him flinch when he thought about it, the only comfort was knowing that Latias was fine and was waiting for him.
"So she is dead?" Bianca asked. She was scared, Latias was the sister she never had and even though she was a Pokémon didn't change anything.
"No, well she was momentarily, but she is very much alive now. I begged Arceus to let her live, that I needed her in my life and he came to us. He told me that she was not gone and that her spirit was still close, he said he would bring her back." Ash explained.
"Arceus came to you? Where is she?" Questions kept firing at him over and over so he answered them. "I am known to the Pokémon as the Chosen One, a being chosen by Arceus who would become close to all Pokémon and close to the world, this is why I love Pokémon so much. As well as this I have the power of aura, meaning that I can take energy from any living thing and have the ability to communicate with Pokémon. My love come on out and say hi to your new family!" Ash yelled to the garden.
Something white and red flew into view and when everyone got a look at it, they stood with their mouths hung open. "That's Latias, the Legendary Eon Pokémon and one of the guardians of Altomare!" Max yelled, startling everyone out of the daydream state they were in.
"Latias, you look like nothing happened," Bianca said and hugged her friend.
"Yes in order for this to be possible Arceus' price was that I had to tell all of you that we are going to be summoned to a meeting with Arceus and that there were many more surprises along the way," Ash explained.
Garry then took out his Nanodex and pointed it as Latias. "Latias the legendary eon pokemon. Latias is very sensitive to emotions and has a coat that can turn invisible with light. Latias is able to comprehend human speech and at later levels is able to communicate telepathically. Latias is also easily spooked, if she senses an enemy she will disappear, this pokemon is rarely seen. Latias, as well as Latios both, have the ability to overtake a jet plane by tucking their legs into their bodies." The Nanodex said.
"Wow it even says that Latias is able to learn any move from any type of pokemon, that means that she hardly has any weaknesses," Garry said astonished. Once he had finished reading about Latias." Paul said astonished.
"Ash, me and Grandpa are moving in a few days, we didn't think that Latias would make it and we found jobs and college." Bianca was sad to move now that she knew Latias was going to live but she knew that Latias was going to have a new life with Ash and her new family.
"I am going to miss you Bianca, and I will miss Grandpa too." Latias said.
"And we will miss you. What are you going to do, just live here and never compete again?" Bianca asked Ash.
"Oh hell no. Just because those fools thought I was going to give doesn't mean I will. I was thinking we get started on another journey but first, we will travel Altomare first, I want to go to Alola I heard they are going to hold the first-ever Alolan League in 7 months or so." Ash explained.
Once his family and Latias had heard the whole plan they were on board as well, Latias was going to be able to see places outside of her garden, and the others would see regions that they have not been to.
"You are lucky that Latias has a human form, it is illegal for a pokemon and a human to be romantically involved. I wish you luck on your travels." And with that Bianca headed into the house.
"This is going to be the best time, I get to live in a nice place for a couple of months, while we get to see all the new pokemon of Altomare, then we get to go to Alola and get pokemon there too. This is the best." Max said, their family nodding in agreement.
"I am glad, everyone heads to bed, we have a long day tomorrow." And with that said they all headed to bed.
"Goodnight Latias, I love you," Ash said to his love.
"And I love you too Ash, goodnight." Latias replied. They both curled around one another and fell asleep, the rest of Ash's family following close behind.