Chapter Text
𝒳
A cold chill ran up Ash’s spine as he crouched onto the snow, picking Pikachu up and patting him dry with a gentle touch. His partner mumbled some last-minute advice— Tactics, encouragement, that sort of thing. Ash told him to knock it off before standing up, slipping the mouse into his jacket and zipping it shut.
It was just him now, with snow collecting on his shoulders and his cap.
Paul scoffed.
“That great big light show, all for what?” His tone was a mix of derision and genuine curiosity, the latter of which grew as Ash returned to his side of the field. “Just to clear Toxic Spikes? Your last Pokémon is immune.”
“Don’t play dumb.” With a snap, Ash turned and faced Paul, his brows furrowed and fists clenched. “You wouldn’t have set that last layer of Toxic Spikes unless you had another way to hit my Pokémon with it. You were going to whip them up into a snowstorm with Blizzard, weren’t you?”
The two rivals stood silent for a moment, nary a sound but the wind and falling snow between them. Then, Paul made a noise.
“Hmph. Caught red-handed.” No point in secrecy now, not when what’s done is done. All that was left was to move on.
Ash couldn’t agree more.
“I choose you, Latias!” With a pitched call, Ash summoned his last Pokémon to the field. Latias arrived and, with her presence, the thickening snowfall parted. The force of her levitation held the weather at bay. “Use Recover to heal up. We’re gonna need every bit of health we got.”
“You sound… intense.” Quick to listen, Latias called upon her most useful utility move, letting the warm aura of Recover heal any latent damage. Ash smiled at her concern.
“Nah, I’m just in the zone.” With a look to calm her nerves, he turned back to their opponents. Paul stood firm and unyielding, whilst Froslass hunkered down to catch her breath. She was still winded from her last move. “Your Froslass doesn’t have much left in the tank, Paul. One good hit will do ‘er in!”
Paul snorted.
“I challenge you to manage even that.” With a hand raised to the sky, Paul called out his first and final command. “Froslass, strengthen the snowstorm with Snowscape!”
“Huh?!”
“Frossssssslaaaaaaaass!” In an instant, the snowfall thickened into a curtain of white that surrounded the field. Visibility began to drop, and soon, Ash realized what was happening.
“Ash— Ash, what’s—!” Latias turned as Ash reached out to her.
“Latias—!” It was too late. Gale-force winds swept across the battlefield, bringing with them a wall of snow and ice that crashed visibility to zero.
Ash couldn’t see a step in any direction, just the endless, howling winds. And, oh did the winds howl. From all sides, the raging blizzard completely swept away any noise but its own. Ash couldn’t even hear his own cries ring out.
“Damn it, Paul!”
He couldn’t see. He couldn’t hear. The only thing he could feel was the cold winds chilling him to the bone, until even that feeling went numb.
The only stimuli Ash had left was Latias’s voice— her telepathy.
“Ash!? Ash, where are you!?”
𝒵
“Ash!? Ash, where are you!?”
Panic took Latias instantly. She couldn’t see. She couldn’t hear. Her sense of direction was lost the moment the roaring winds rolled in. She flew through the blizzard at max speed, desperately trying to find her trainer, her opponent, anyone.
Everywhere she looked, all she could find was more chilling snow.
“Ash! Please! Please, tell me where you are!” Fear and desperation tinged her voice as she cried out in panic. With a sudden move, Latias flipped, jetting back the other way in an attempt to stay near the field. Was she staying near the field? She couldn’t tell anymore.
Maybe she’d flown off course— Maybe she was already miles away— Maybe she was lost and—!
“Aaaah!” A blast of icy wind slammed into Latias’s side, sending her reeling back and tumbling off course. Her muscles cried out against the cold, going stiff before she righted herself and took off once again. “What’s going on!? What was— Aaahh!”
Another stream of bone-chilling wind, this time from below, crashed in. In an instant, Latias went into a nosedive. Her wings were frozen in place!
“No, no, no, no!” Panicking, Latias did the only thing she could think to do. She flipped and fired a Dragon Breath straight into herself. “Aaaaah!”
The draconic flames burned against her body, but melted away the ice in an instant. With control regained, Latias shot straight into the sky at max speed.
Panic drained into fear, which turned into despair a moment later.
Latias didn’t know what to do. She didn’t have any direction, wasn’t trained to act without at least some direction.
“Ash…”
Ash had always been there for her, through all her training. Now, she was on her own. Latias was alone.
She didn’t want to be alone anymore.
“Please…”
𝒳
“Aaaah!”
“Latias!” Ash grit his teeth, snapping his gaze across the sky as he tried to catch sight of Latias. Wherever he turned, however, all he found was more endless snow and her crying voice.
“What’s going on!? What was— Aaahh!”
“Latias! If you can hear my voice, follow it! Find me!” It was no use. The snowstorm Paul had summoned was too powerful, roared too loud for his cries to make it through. The same could not be said for Latias’s panic, which poured into his mind without end.
“No, no, no, no!” Something was happening. Was Latias being attacked? Panicking without sight or sound? There was no end to the possibilities when he couldn’t see anything! “Aaaaah!”
“Graaah!” Ash roared into the storm, feeling his own heart begin to quicken and run away with itself. Latias’s terror, it was starting to get to him. His Pokémon, his friend, was terrified and alone, and all he could do was listen.
For a mere moment, he considered using Aura to reach out to her, to at least get a sense of her position, before he dismissed the thought all at once. His mind was too panicked to even begin to sort out how to do that.
Panic.
“I can’t panic. I can’t lose my cool! Not now!” he roared, though his voice was lost in the wind. He had to find a way through this, and he couldn’t do that if he was afraid. “I need to calm down, I need to think! Gotta clear my head, gotta clear my mind!”
“Ash… Please…”
Ash took a deep breath, even as the chill hurt his airways.
His mind went back to the beach at Shalour.
“Clear my mind…”
𝒵
Latias’s mind searched in desperate futility, trying to feel for Ash’s energy and finding only snow and cold to meet her reach. She was disoriented, senses turned upside down by the raging blizzard. She could barely tell up from down, let alone find a direction to go.
Panic. She was panicking. She recognized it so well, and knew the feeling too well. Her mind was seized by pure, uncontrollable panic. In times like these, it was all she could do.
…Was it all she could do?
Calm. Latias needed to keep calm. Of all the things Ash had tried to teach her, of everything he’d ever done for her— Keeping calm came before anything else.
She had to keep calm. She had to clear her mind.
As Latias rose higher and higher into the blizzard, she drew a sharp breath.
Her mind went back to the Garden, to home.
“Clear my mind…”
𝒳
“Clear my mind…”
“Clear my mind… Gotta clear my mind…” The raging blizzard fell quiet in Ash’s mind, beaten out by the racing of his beating heart. His burning passion pushed him towards action, but he had to temper it. He had to think this through. Thinking it through was all there was left. The fire in his soul wouldn’t be enough for this battle. He needed to—
“~Clear my mind.~”
𝒵
“~Clear my mind.~”
Latias paused, as a voice that wasn’t her own entered her mind. With her eyes fluttering open, she answered.
“Ash?”
𝒳𝒵
“Ash?”
Now Ash was brought to pause, a realization dawning on him all at once. His eyes fluttered open, and found the blank nothing of the blizzard to greet his gaze.
“~Latias? You can hear me?~”
“I can, but, how?” Latias’s voice was coming through loud and clear as normal, but now she could hear him too.
“~You tell me. You’re the mind reader.~” His response was calm despite the circumstances. Steadying his heart had its benefits it seemed.
“I can’t read minds. I might be a Psychic-Type but… This is something else.” So Latias couldn’t explain it. That left the hunches to Ash. His mind immediately went to work, and arrived at the obvious conclusion.
Could this be from his Aura abilities?
“I don’t know. Aura is more your thing.” Latias’s response brought Ash pause, as he blinked.
“~Wow. You could even hear that?~” His heart quickened with excitement for a moment, before he tempered it once more. “~How far does this go?~”
Latias hummed with thought for just a moment.
“Right now, I can tell you’ve got about a dozen different ideas on how to win going through your head.” She was right on the money. The moment the two had established contact, Ash’s mind had gotten right back to strategizing. “And… a beach. You’re thinking of a beach.”
Ash paused, before a smile grew across his face.
“~Do you know what this means?~” A rhetorical question if there ever was one, as Latias choked out a laugh.
“You dork. You just thought of the answer.” For the first time since Paul’s snowstorm had struck, there was a hint of humor and elation in Latias’s voice. Whatever was happening, it brought the two together again, and that’s all that mattered to her.
In unison, Ash and Latias spoke their answer.
“~We can communicate, but Paul and Froslass can’t. The blizzard is on our side now!~”
𝒵𝒳
“Fros… Lass… Fros… Lass…” Froslass skulked across the barren battlefield, comfortably within her element thanks to the roaring blizzard. With its cover and her abilities working in unison, she was completely hidden from sight and from harm. “Fros… Lass!”
Turning, Froslass fired a roaring blast of icy wind all around her— A Blizzard. Thanks to the snowstorm, its power was magnified and its aim made true. Anyone nearby would be frozen stiff— Just as Paul had planned.
Though Froslass could no longer hear her dear trainer, she needed not. Paul had entrusted her to this task, and so she would follow his instructions to the letter.
“Fros… Lass… Fros…” Another seven paces passed. It was time for another Blizzard. Froslass raised her arms to the sky and fired. “Laaaaass!”
Chaotic winds found order, as Froslass commanded them to blow away in a sudden burst. The dense air, already saturated with falling snow, became heavier now, providing cover for her escape.
One pace… two—
“Fros!?” Froslass leapt in sudden shock, as a gust of blue flames struck the ground at her feet.
How could—!?
“Gotcha!” Blitzing through the snowfall was Latias, wings splayed back as she went in to grab the elusive Ghost-Type. It was only with Froslass’s intangibility that she missed her target by a hair. “Darn it, I lost her!”
With her first strike a bust, Latias took to the skies.
“~No sweat. We’ll just find her again!~” Ash’s mind recalled the mechanics of Blizzard, how the move caused the wind to turn and blow away from your position all at once. By following where the sudden winds centered from, they could track Froslass’s position in the snowstorm!
Latias giggled.
“You already explained it once, silly. No need to do it again.” Her joking comment brought Ash to a laugh.
“~You really are in my head, huh?~”
“Hehe, what can I say? I guess I’m just always on your mind~” With a graceful roll, Latias turned back the way she came, spreading her wings out far to slow down and feel the shifting winds. After a moment, she felt a blast of cold strike them. “Right below me!”
“~Let’s get the drop on them!~” At Ash’s command, Latias dived, blitzing straight towards Froslass in a meteor descent. This time she caught the ghost by surprise, grabbing her nythe shoulders!
“Fros!?” Panicking, Froslass slipped into her intangibility. Her snap decision saved her from a point-blank Dragon Breath, as she raced back into the cover of the storm.
“She slipped away, but I’ve got her!” Rather than taking back to the air, Latias followed in hot pursuit.
“~Perfect. Froslass can’t attack and stay untouchable at the same time— So keep on top of her!~”
“On it!” Making good on Ash’s command, Latias barreled straight after Froslass, swiping at the ghost before she could slip away. This time, Latias caught her by the wrist, forcing her opponent to go intangible once more.
“Oh no you don’t!” Another chase, another swipe, another miss as Froslass slipped away. She was desperately flickering her intangibility on and off, evading Latias’s grabs as she tried to escape. “I’ve got—!”
“Froslass!” Whipping around, Froslass spooked Latias into a backstep, before jumping at her with her intangibility on. Latias was caught off guard as Froslass leapt straight through her chest, sending a cold chill running up her spine.
“Oh what the—!” Whipping around, Latias caught Froslass slipping into the cover of the frozen winds. “I lost her!”
“~Stay low. Froslass is gonna expect you to come from above again.~”
Latias nodded and shot ahead, slipping into her invisibility as she swept across the battlefield. After a moment, she felt the wind turn at her left.
“There she is!” Without another word, Latias blitzed ahead, finding Froslass and ramming into her at full speed. It was just her luck that Froslass already had her intangibility up.
“Fros!?”
“She expected us! I’m going again!” Swinging around, Latias went in for another pass, striking from the cover of the storm. This time she managed to strike true, sending Froslass tumbling across the battlefield.
“Lass— Fro— Lass!”
“Got her!” With another swing, Latias aimed to finish this in one go. Froslass was vulnerable!
Or so she thought.
“Fros!” With her eyes shut and her head spinning, Froslass forced herself to go completely intangible. Her body was practically invisible against the white winds of the storm.
“Darn it!” Latias’s ramming strike was ineffective. As was its follow-up, and its follow-follow-up. No matter how fast Latias blitzed in and out of view, Froslass was completely untouchable. She had ample time to pick herself back up.
“~Latias, we need to pull back. We’re pushing our—!~”
“Froslass!” Dropping her cover, Froslass fired off a massive Blizzard, blasting Latias in the back and sending her reeling. The muscles in her wings immediately went stiff, forcing her to take to the sky.
“Cold, cold, cold!” With a twirl and blast of Dragon Breath, Latias cleared away the layer of ice on her back. She was safe and able to Recover for now. Safe, and frustrated. “Ughhhh.”
“~That intangibility is a problem.~”
“No kidding. She keeps that cover on so tight— Is this what it’s like when I go invisible?” Latias could practically feel the smile curl on Ash’s lips. “Something I don’t get— If she can just become untouchable, why doesn’t she just do that the entire time? Let me wear myself out?”
“~I figure it’s…~” Ash paused, a thought racing through his mind in an instant. Before Latias could even parse what he was thinking, he spoke again. “~Because she can’t. It’s not like your invisibility, Latias, where you just have to concentrate on it. She can’t keep it on forever!~”
Ash’s next thought reached Latias before he could speak it.
“It’s like holding your breath!” The excitement in Ash’s thought lit up Latias’s mind, as she snapped her gaze back down below. “We have to make her hold it long enough, until she can’t anymore—”
“~And that’s when we strike!~” Ash took a deep breath, to calm himself. He let a wave of adrenaline pass and brought calm to his Pokémon’s mind in turn. “~Latias, you know what we have to do.~”
“If I didn’t, you just thought of the answer.” Latias then took her own breath, paralleling her trainer in mind and body. “Ash, you asked me to think about… what I wanted, from that move. I think… I think I have my answer.”
A quiet moment passed, as Ash considered her words. Then, her meaning came through loud and clear. He grinned.
There were so many things that Latias wanted in her life— Safety, affection, excitement. Yet, in that moment, with their minds aligned and their goals united, one thing trumped it all. It was a thought she and Ash shared in perfect unison.
“Ash, I want something that lets us win.”
“~Then, let’s do this! Latias, charge up and hold a Psybeam!~” At Ash’s command, Latias leveled off her ascent, summoning a plume of churning magenta energy before her. The spinning mass shook and shuddered, then stabilized in her grasp. “~Good, now, keep track of where Froslass is. We’re gonna do this in one go.~”
“On it!” Stretching her wings out far, Latias began feeling for the shifting winds. It took only a moment for their sudden turn to betray her opponent’s location. “Behind me, to the right!”
Latias flipped and raced in that direction. All the while, the attack she held grew more and more.
“~Wait until she attacks again. Find out the direction she’s moving.~” Now it was Ash’s caution tempering her recklessness. Ironic. Perhaps his thoughts were affecting her more than she realized. Or perhaps she was looking to launch her attack before it blew up in her face.
The twisting plume of energy grew.
“I’ve got her.” With another turn of the icy winds, Latias locked down Froslass’s trajectory. Now all she had to do was fire! “I’m gonna—”
“~Hold it, for just a bit more.~” For the very first time, Ash’s words brought Latias panic. Her attack had ballooned so much already, surely it was about to—! “~It needs more time. You just have to trust me. Okay?~”
Like that, her worries were heeled once more. Latias took a deep breath.
“I trust you.” Putting her faith in her trainer, she waited until his word. Latias closed her eyes and cleared her mind.
The churning energy solidified and became a solid sphere.
“~Now! This is it!~”
Go time. At Ash’s signal, Latias raced into action, crashing down in a meteor descent. She aimed her sights to where she knew Froslass must be, until the ghost appeared before her!
Ash’s command rang through her mind.
“~Latias, use Mist Ball!~”
“Fros!?” Turning in sudden shock, Froslass gasped at the sight of Latias. With the dragon’s sudden burst in speed, the very storm itself had parted behind her!
“Hyaaaaaah!” Unleashing a cry of her natural voice, Latias fired her attack! The Mist Ball rocketed towards Froslass, aiming for a direct hit!
“Froslass!” Froslass snapped on her intangibility, letting the attack pass through her— But it was no use! Latias’s Mist Ball shattered against the ground at her feet and the ensuing explosion swallowed Froslass whole!
“We got her!” With her fly-by a success, Latias pulled up as hard as she could, before rocketing back into the sky above.
“~Now we watch the magic happen.~”
“Lass?! Fros, lass?” Instantly, the field was flooded by a deep, pink mist. It surrounded Froslass in every direction, choking her the moment she tried to drop her intangibility. Realizing what was happening, Froslass raced to escape its cover. “Fros, lass! Fros, lass!?”
Yet, it didn’t matter. No matter where she turned, the pink mist seemed to follow. The winds of the snowstorm— it spread Latias’s attack all across the battlefield! There was no place left to run!
“Fros, lass…” Panting, Froslass soon could hold onto her cover no longer. The intangibility slipped and the choking miasma rushed in.
There was no point in dragging it on much longer.
Froslass looked up in shock, as Latias appeared with a Dragon Breath charged.
𝒳𝒵
“She’s down!”
Ash took a deep breath, relief and excitement in kind buzzing in the back of his mind. Though one more hurdle still stood before him and Latias, the momentum of the match was in their hands now.
“~Great job, Latias! Recover while you can. I figure that this blizzard—~” Ash paused, as the fierce winds took a sudden downturn. “~—is about to break.~”
Before his very eyes, Ash watched the snowstorm peter into clear skies.
“Whoa.”
As far as Ash could see, the landscape was caked in a thick layer of fresh snow, creeping into Lake Acuity with a forming band of ice. If it wasn’t for the mountains in the distance, or the blue sky above, it’d almost look like a completely white canvas.
The field was bare, save for Ash, Latias, the unconscious Froslass and—
“Hm. So you did manage it.” Paul. Ash’s old rival stood tall, seemingly unaffected by the overwhelming cold that’d surrounded him just moments ago. With a hand casually stowed in his pocket, he recalled Froslass to her Poké ball, only pausing to give her a few words of thanks. “I can’t say I saw what happened in there, Froslass. But I know you did your best. Rest well.”
After stowing the ball away, Paul paused, delaying the final match-up for a question.
“So tell me, Ash— How exactly did you break from my Snowscape lock?” A surprising inquiry, but one Ash more than understood. Paul was confident he had him in a bind, and if Ash were in his position, he would wanna know too.
Ash smirked, opening his mouth for the first time in a hot minute.
“You figured you’d win if you separated me and my Pokémon,” he began, as Latias floated back to his side. “But it’ll take a lot more than that to keep me and Latias apart!”
Ash didn’t know exactly what connected him and Latias now, but whatever it was, it brought the two together again. That’s all that mattered to him.
Paul scoffed, before slipping into a laugh.
“You’re weaving a fairy tale.” he derided Ash’s explanation, as he raised his last Poké ball forward. That derision then slipped into acceptance. “I shouldn’t have expected anything else. Xurkitree, standby for battle!”
With that call, the match entered its final stage. The tangled mass of wire and spikes known as Xurkitree took the field, buzzing a jovial tune with its arcing electricity.
In an instant, the tension rose. The static in the air spiked with the arrival of Paul’s final Pokémon. Ash felt the hair at the back of his neck rise, felt his heart begin to race. Steadying himself, he gave Latias one last glance of assurance.
“~You ready?~”
She smiled and looked ahead.
“Now more than ever.”
This was it.
“Tail Glow!”
“~Blitz!~” The combatants leapt into action, Xurkitree igniting with crackling energy as Latias rocketed at blazing speeds. In a flash of movement, she slammed into her opponent, disrupting its first move and sending it flying!
“On your guard! Tail Glow again!” Xurkitree tumbled across the snowy ground, before forcing itself to a stop. Raising its arms, it began again.
“~Again. Keep ‘em off their feet.~” Their opponents were quick to recover, but Ash and Latias were quick to strike again. With a burst of speed, Latias raced in for another assault. “~Circle around, hit them from behind!~”
“On it!” Feinting her first pass, Latias sped past Xurkitree, before spinning on a dime and slamming into its back! Its Tail Glow was cut short as Latias rocketed away and back again.
“~From their left this time.~”
“Don’t let her sneak from behind. Tail Glow!” Another attempt to deflect failed, as Latias slipped past Xurkitree’s defenses and sent it flying. Paul scowled. “I don’t know how you’re doing that, Ash— Attacking without saying a word —But it won’t be enough! Xurkitree, Tail Glow! Then on my signal!”
“~Attacking without—?~” It struck Ash all at once. The entire time he’d been connected to Latias this way, he hadn’t needed to say anything. They were moving in unison, without speaking a single word. It took him until then to realize— This was just like Diantha and her Gardevoir!
Ash grinned.
“~Get ready to get your hands dirty. Blitz!~”
With a burst of speed, Latias barreled down on Xurkitree, aiming to keep Paul’s Pokémon from ever getting its feet underneath it.
“Dodge, now!” Yet it seemed Paul had the same idea! Right as Latias would’ve crashed straight into Xurkitree, the glowing wire Pokémon went limp. Its body collapsed into a pile, narrowly dodging Latias’s attack!
“Drat!”
“~Grab ‘em!~” Turning on a dime, Latias instantly descended upon Xurkitree, snatching it up by one of its tentacles before jetting off. “~Now toss ‘em!~”
“Okay!” With a sudden turn, Latias swung, spinning Xurkitree around her faster and faster. Letting go, she sent it crashing into a runaway roll!
A runaway roll, away from her.
“Finish your Tail Glow!” Paul smirked. This too was part of his plan! With the distance Latias had made, Xurkitree ignited with shining energy, as it stabilized its tumble into something it could control.
“~Blitz!~” Realizing his mistake, Ash sent Latias in to regain ground— But it was too late! In a burst of crackling electricity, Xurkitree’s move was completed and Paul’s ace stood tall! “~Gotta roll with the punches— Latias, you know what to do!~”
“Right!”
“Dazzling Gleam, with precision!” Paul wasted no time going on the offensive. At his call, Xurkitree slammed its tendrils down, and fired a barrage of searing lasers!
“Oh! Jeeze! Okay!” Latias ducked and dived, flying past the bolts of pink light as she aimed for their source. A few errant blows rolled off her shoulder, but they wouldn’t stop her! “I’ve got—!”
“Wrap!” The moment Latias crashed into Xurkitree, Paul’s Pokémon struck, entangling Latias in a web of its tendrils. She couldn’t escape! “Dazzling Gleam!”
“~To the air!~” With a burst of speed, Latias shot straight upwards, pulling Xurkitree up with her. The wire Pokémon attempted to disrupt her, firing a blast of light that consumed the both of them, but it wouldn’t be enough! Latias stomached the attack and took to the skies. “~Now, throw ‘em off.~”
“Right!” Banking to the right, Latias accelerated to jet speeds, spinning in a circle as Xurkitree tightened its grip more and more. In an instant, the centripetal force became too much, and Xurkitree was sent flying away.
“~After them! Use Dragon Breath!~”
“Recover and use Thunderbolt!”
Latias shot after the meteoring Xurkitree, firing a barrage of Dragon Breaths that followed the wire Pokémon in hot pursuit. Xurkitree was no sitting duck, however. With a flip, it straightened itself in midair, deflecting the first attack with a swipe of its wires, then the next!
Rearing back, Xurkitree lit up with a crackling aura of electricity, which erupted forth in a bolt of stunning thunder! The attack blew away Latias’s Dragon Breaths, arcing between the plumes of energy and destroying them in an instant. An explosion of fire and lightning filled the air— Which Latias flew straight through!
“Gotcha!” Bursting through the plume of smoke, Latias slammed into Xurkitree, rocketing her opponent to the ground below!
“Thunderbolt, straight down!” Paul pivoted and so did Xurkitree, firing a Thunderbolt to slow its impending collision. With the shockwave breaking its fall, Xurkitree skidded across the snowy ground.
“~Let’s slow them down! Mist Ball!~” Zooming past overhead, Latias charged a plume of psychic energy at her maw, ready to blanket the field with a fog of choking smoke. Paul wasn’t about to let it fire unimpeded, however.
“Thunderbolt!” A crack of lightning shattered the Mist Ball in Latias’s face, sending her reeling as she zoomed out of the growing cloud. “Don’t let one connect!”
“~Mist Ball again, dodge the Thunderbolts.~”
“Right!” Banking to the left, Latias evaded Xurkitree’s return fire while she began charging another potent Mist Ball. This time she managed to get as far as launching the attack, before it was swept away with a crack of lightning. “Aaah!”
“~Tch. He’s not going to let us keep our distance. We’re gonna need to do this the old-fashioned way.~” Ash’s frustration turned to a grin, as a plan formed in his mind. An instant later, it came to Latias as well. “~You know what to do!~”
Latias smiled.
“Do I ever!” With a burst of blazing speed, Latias rocketed to the ground below, before pulling up and jetting just inches off the ground. A tall cloud of snow erupted in her wake, as she rushed down her opponent.
“Dazzling Gleam, with precision!” Paul immediately went to counter, sending a flurry of Super Effective attacks to stymie Latias’s approach. The red blur cleared them in an instant, descending upon Xurkitree. She was going for another slam! “Wrap!”
Xurkitree’s tendrils shot forth, ready to grab Latias before she crashed into it.
Except— she never did!
With a feint, Latias dodged Xurkitree’s Wrap, snatching it up by its limbs and taking to the air!
“Huh!?” Paul grit his teeth. So this was Ash’s plan all along! “Dazzling Gleam, now!”
“~Toss ‘em off, Latias!~” With a flip, Latias threw Xurkitree into the sky, before rocketing back down at mach speeds. Her quick movements just barely evaded the blast of light that followed in her wake. “~Now get low and ready a Psybeam!~”
Instantly, Paul caught onto what was happening. With Xurkitree falling out of the sky, it was a sitting duck for what was coming next!
“The battle ends here, Xurkitree! Ready a full power Dazzling Gleam!” The electric wire Pokémon righted itself at Paul’s word, its voice buzzing with a joyous crackle of sparks. Igniting with a brilliant aura of plasma, Xurkitree brought all five of its limbs together!
“~You hear that, Latias? It’s all down to this! Time to go all out and then some! 110%!~” Ash grinned, feeling his racing heart accelerate to a fever pitch. It cried out for the grand conclusion, and so they would bring it! “~Let’s do this!~”
“Yes!” To Latias, this whole battle was nothing short of exhilarating. Hearing Ash roaring and his mind racing was one thing— Feeling the buzz of his adrenaline? It was like nothing else in the whole world!
She hoped the feeling would never end.
“Hyaaaaaaaaa—!” With her natural voice heralding the attack, Latias summoned a swirling mass of psychic energy. In an instant, the move doubled, then tripled in size, drawing energy from the air as she lined up her shot!
Xurkitree thundered in turn as its aura of electricity crackled at its limbs. The sky above grew thick with dark clouds, until streaks of lightning flew towards their center!
This was it!
“Xurkitree! Dazzling Gleam!”
“~Latias! Psybeam!~”
Two pillars of blazing energy exploded forth, as each combatant fired in perfect unison! Latias’s Psybeam slammed into Xurkitree’s Dazzling Gleam, Psychic and Fairy-Type energy crashing and burning in the earth-shattering head-to-head!
Almost immediately, the two sides were brought to an impasse. The sheer pressure of the colliding blasts held Xurkitree up above, while Latias unleashed her attack from below! It was all down to who could tip the balance of power first!
Ash grinned, even as his heart raced.
This match was his.
“~Jet away, Latias! Then into the sky!~” Seemingly blinking first, Ash sent Latias racing away! With a burst of speed, she shot across the battlefield, allowing Xurkitree’s attack to consume her own.
“What!?” Shock took Paul’s face, before realization a moment after! Without Latias’s attack to hold it aloft, Xurkitree was sent meteoring back down to the ground below! “Dazzling Gleam!”
“~Slam ‘em!~” Paul was quick on his feet, but Latias was faster. She soared into the skies above Xurkitree, before crashing down on it at mach speeds! The electric wire Pokémon rocketed into the earth, its Dazzling Gleam well out of range of its opponent! “~Finish it with Mist Ball!~”
“Thunderbolt!” Throwing his arm back, Paul made one final play— To no avail. Xurkitree was stunned!
“Hyaaaaaaaah!” Latias grit her teeth. This attack more than any else needed to strike true. Rearing back, she charged her signature move to its very limit and fired!
Paul’s Pokémon stumbled to its feet, just in time for her Mist Ball to connect.
𝒳
An explosion consumed the center of the battlefield, freezing Ash still in an instant. Latias’s attack had struck true, leaving a pink mist standing between the two trainers. All there was now was the wait.
Latias remained in her perch on high, ready to follow up on her performance.
After a tense few moments, the mist cleared and Ash caught sight of his rival standing across from him. Paul’s eyes were locked onto the same sight as Ash’s.
Xurkitree laid in the snow, knocked out.
Like that, Ash’s senses returned to him.
His blood raced and his lungs burned. Pure adrenaline coursed through his muscles, only now beginning to fade. To Ash, it felt like he’d just run a sprint and a marathon all at once, and then screamed until he lost his voice. All of that, without saying a word.
Ash looked up, and locked eyes with Paul. He too was breathing heavily, his expression steely, and yet inquisitive. Paul was waiting for something.
When Ash felt his lips curl into a smile, Paul snorted and gave a small smirk of his own. It was his concession.
The battle was done.
𝒳
“So, back to Kalos then?” Paul broke the silence that had stood the last few minutes, pulling at Ash’s attention with a query.
The two rivals had found themselves at the coast of Lake Acuity, Paul on his feet and Ash sitting with the now-conscious Pikachu in his lap. Ash scratched behind his partner’s ear, before giving a nod. Silence returned, until Paul pushed it back once more.
“Why did you leave?” He turned with this question, facing Ash with his hands buried in his pockets. “For as much as I’ve known you, Ash, you’ve never been one to do something like this.”
Ash snorted. Paul’s question was its own answer.
“I’ve been doing the same damn thing for forever, and you know what? It never got me anywhere,” he began, leaning back to look Paul in the eye. He stared down the intensity in his rival’s gaze, and gave a grin in return. “I left Kalos because I was missing something. But now? I’ve found it.”
A feeling was brewing in Ash, one that had begun to burn in their match and hadn’t faded since. It was a feeling he’d been missing for what seemed like years.
Ash gripped his chest, and looked out onto Lake Acuity.
The feeling of a heart-racing, life-changing battle.