Chapter 4
Ash loved the feel of the wind on his face as he, Latios, Latias, and Pikachu rocketed over the ocean. Pikachu had insisted on coming, as he didn't want to be away from Ash. He decided to ride on Latios, which was a good choice because if he had ridden on Ash, he would have been thrown into the ocean a long time ago.
They had been flying for about two hours, and Ash was getting bored. He hated long flights, and being the one flying didn't change anything. "Are we almost there?" he asked, trying to fly upside-down for the lack of something to do.
"We're very close," Latios chuckled at Ash's antics. "We should be able to see it in a couple of minutes."
True to Latios' words, in about two minutes, a group of islands appeared on the horizon. After about a minute of searching, they found an island decorated with several pillars, each one having a statue of either Latias or Latios on it. The group flew to the center of the island and split up in search of the ruins. It wasn't long before they found what they were looking for. Down a short spiral staircase, they found the door, 3 strange dots and all.
Latios inspected the door. "There's no keyholes. Let's go back to the surface. There might be something there to open it."
Latias and Latios started to leave, but something inside Ash told him to touch the orange dot on the door. Naturally, he did. A spark of energy shot out of his claw as he touched the dot. The dot let off a faint orange glow, and a streak of orange energy followed a carved line to the center of the door.
Seeing this, the eon twins put their claws on their respective dots, and red and blue lines of energy followed their carved lines and fused in the center of the door.
Dust spread everywhere, and there was a loud creaking noise as the door opened, revealing a large hallway. The group flew down the hallway until they came to a large room with a stone statue in the center.
All of a sudden, the door behind them clicked shut, and the dotted pattern on the front of the statue shone a bright yellow. Several lamps flickered on, and the group found themselves on a stone battlefield.
Just then, the 'statue' spoke. "WHO DARES DISTURB MY SLEEP!? YOU… YOU HAVE OPENED THE EON GATE, AS LORD ARCEUS FORETOLD YOU WOULD! THE WAIT FOR LADY HO-OH'S CHOSEN ONE HAS FINALLY ENDED! NOW, BRACE YOURSELVES, EONS, OH, AND YOU, PUNY MORTAL, FOR THE BATTLE OF YOUR LIVES! LET THE TRIAL COMMENCE!"
"Hey! Who are you calling puny?" demanded Pikachu.
"Ash, be careful," said Latios, "that's Regirock, one of the three legendary golems of Hoenn!"
Ash nodded and promptly turned invisible.
Regirock started to charge a Hyper Beam as Latios and Latias turned invisible as well, causing Regirock to fire the Hyper Beam at Pikachu, him being the easiest target. Pikachu used Thunder to counter, and both attacks were held at a standstill until the Hyper Beam broke through Pikachu's attack. Pikachu dove out of the way, barely evading the Hyper Beam.
Since a Pokémon had to rest after using Hyper Beam, Latios and Latias took the opportunity to fire off Dragonbreaths at Regirock, causing it to topple over and become paralyzed. Being a stone golem, it wasn't easy to stand up. The paralysis made it almost impossible.
Latias fired a Mist Ball, damaging the already weakened Regirock. Just as Regirock managed to push himself to his feet, but as he did, he promptly passed out, collapsing with a loud thud.
There was a loud creaking noise as a door opened in the back of the room. "Great job, sis!" Latios praised his sister.
The group continued down another hallway until they came upon another room. A steel 'statue' stood in the center of the room. Ash braced for another battle.
"YOU HAVE DONE WELL!" another booming voice said, "BUT YOU WILL GO NO FARTHER, AS I, REGISTEEL, KEEPER OF THE SECOND TRIAL, SHALL DEFEAT YOU!
With a mighty battle cry, Registeel launched an Ancient Power, and since everyone else had vanished, he fired it at Pikachu.
Pikachu used Quick Attack to evade the flying boulders, then launched a Thunderbolt at Registeel. Registeel used Body Slam, breaking through the Thunderbolt, and throwing Pikachu against a wall. It then grabbed him and attempted to slam him into the floor, but it was tackled by an invisible force and thrown into the opposite wall from the sheer force of the attack.
Ash reappeared beside Pikachu. "And that's why you don't mess with Pikachu!" He yelled at Registeel as he struggled to get up.
Latias and Latios' jaws dropped. "Ash, how the heck did you do that?!" asked Latios, completely shocked.
Ash shrugged as Latias shot a few Dragonbreaths at Registeel. "Let's just keep fighting."
Registeel fired a Flash Cannon at Latias in retaliation, causing her to fall to the ground as the attack hit one of her wings. Unfortunately for Registeel, he didn't see the blur of orange heading towards him.
Clang!
Latios, Latias, and Pikachu held their ears as the deafening sound rang across the room.
"Doesn't your head hurt by now?" Pikachu joked.
Ash shrugged. "Let's just keep going,"
After going through another hallway, they came to another large room. The only difference? The statue in this room was made of ice.
Regice's voice filled the cavern. "SO I SEE YOU HAVE DEFEATED REGISTEEL AS WELL! DON'T EXPECT YOUR LUCK TO SAVE YOU THIS TIME. I HEREBY BEGIN THE THIRD TRIAL!
Regice fired off an Ice Beam at none other than Pikachu. Why? He felt like it. Pikachu fired a thunder and used a mix of Agility and Quick Attack to slam into Regice. Regice grabbed him and chucked him at a wall. Latios reappeared, caught Pikachu, and set him safely on the ground before firing a Dragonbreath. Regice deflected it with an ancient power and let loose a blizzard.
Pikachu dove for cover, while the three eons screamed in pain. Ash hadn't felt this much pain before in his entire life. Latios and Latias used Psychic to stop the blizzard and threw Regice into a wall. Ash charged at the ice golem, hitting it in the chest, cracking its ice armor, shoving it another foot into the wall, and knocking it out.
A loud rumbling noise bellowed through the room as a colossal door opened up into yet another hallway, this one as big as the door. The group followed the Hallway until they came to a huge room. There were artifacts, carvings, and paintings of the eons, Ash included, surprisingly. There was a glass case with four strange objects, each one glowing with the colors of the rainbow.
There was a huge stone chair in the center of the room, and a colossal "statue" sat in it. There was a loud groaning noise as the 'statue' stood up.
A powerful voice bellowed through the room, shaking the walls. "CONGRATULATIONS, EONS!" Regigigas said. "YOU HAVE PASSED THE THREE TRIALS OF THE GOLEMS, AND HAVE MADE IT TO THE FINAL ROOM! YOU TRULY ARE THE EONS THAT LORD ARCEUS TOLD US TO WAIT HERE FOR! WE HAVE WAITED, DORMANT WITHIN THE EARTH, FOR THE DOOR'S SEAL TO BE BROKEN, FOR OVER A MILLENNIUM! I AM YOUR FINAL TRIAL BEFORE THE TREASURE, AND THE MOST BRUTAL! BRACE YOURSELVES, BECAUSE I WILL NOT HOLD BACK, UNDER THE COMMAND OF LORD ARCEUS!"
With that said, the eons disappeared, and Regigigas used Heavy Slam on, of course, Pikachu. Pikachu yelled as he was crushed by the colossal golem, and was instantly knocked out because of Regigigas' weight.
"Ouch…" Pikachu moaned as his eyes turned to swirls. Regigigas used Hammer Arm and slammed Latias into the ground, knocking her out from the impact. This set off Latios, as he threw Regigigas into the wall with Psychic.
Regigigas fired off a Psychic of its own, and while Latios grimaced as the giant's mind washed over him, Regigigas threw Latios into the wall, hard, instantly knocking him out.
Ash gulped, knowing he was next, as Regigigas fired an ancient power, striking Ash and flinging him onto the ground.
"No…" Latios moaned as he passed out.
Ash's body suddenly began to glow white, as his injuries vanished. He then glowed again, as the twins and Pikachu's injuries disappeared as well. They each got up and flew over to Ash.
"That was Recover!" Latios exclaimed.
"Alright!" Ash said. "I've got this."
Ash's body began to glow white as he began to charge power. He then launched a bright white sphere of energy at Regigigas, who fell to its knees in pain.
"Luster purge…" Latios mumbled.
Ash then started charging power again, this time releasing it in the form of an energy-filled ball of mist. The ball slammed into Regigigas, who fell forward and passed out from the pain.
"Mist ball…" mumbled Latias.
"He can use both of our signature attacks!" Latios said, shocked. "Although, Ash, I think you overdid it."
"Sorry," Ash said. He flew over to Regigigas as his body glowed a soft white, restoring Regigigas' health.
As Regigigas stood up, it spoke in a deep yet calm voice.
"You have defeated even me," said Regigigas, "I congratulate you on completing the final trial. Please, follow me."
The group confusedly followed the golem over to the case with the artifacts. Regigigas opened the case and psychically handed both Latias and Latios one of the rainbow-colored stones.
"Latias, what I have given you is a Latiasite. It will allow you to mega-evolve in battle," the golem spoke calmly. "Latios, yours is a Latiosite. It will allow you to mega evolve as well."
Regigigas psychically handed Ash a slightly smaller stone, the third item in the case. "Ash," Regigigas said. "Lady Ho-oh was right when she said that you were special. You have gained the body of the legendary Latius and are the only one to become one. In ancient times, Lord Arceus gave word to the very first eons that in thousands of years to come, a special human would gain the body of an Een, one with the powers of both Latias and Latios. This human would be Arceus' Chosen One, and also you."
Ash gasped. He had already been Lugia and Ho-oh's chosen one, and now he was also the chosen one of the god of Pokémon himself?!
"This stone," Regigigas continued, "is a keystone. A trainer can use it to mega evolve a Pokémon that he or she has a strong bond with." Regigigas took the stones from the three of them and turned them into bracelets. It then psychically put them on each of their arms.
"But we can't use these," protested Ash, "I'm no longer human, so I can't be a trainer. And even if I was, I would never be their trainer."
"But you are, and you will," Regigigas said. It then took the fourth item from the case. "Some call this an Eon Flute, as it is one. Eon Flutes are usually used to call a befriended Latias or Latios to you from anywhere, but this one is different. It is to be used by the chosen one, the Latius, to switch between his two forms."
Ash was confused. 'What does it mean by 'two forms'?' He thought to himself.
Almost as if Regigigas had read his mind, it spoke. "This means that you can change back into a human, and then back into Latius, at any time."
"I-I can?" asked Ash, amazed.
"Since you are now part legendary, your soul has healed completely since you gave part of it away. It was your destiny to become Latius." Regigigas handed Ash the flute. "Just blow into it. The flute will do the rest."
Ash blew into the flute, and as a short melody played, a soft blue glow covered Ash. After a couple of seconds, Ash was standing before them, back in his human body. He wore the clothes he had on before becoming Latius, minus the pokeballs Brock had.
"It has accepted your spirit," said Regigigas, "You are truly the chosen one."
Ash looked over himself, glad to be human again, before he realized something.
"I can still understand you!" Ash said, surprised.
"Yes, you can, as you are, and always will be, half Pokémon," Regigigas explained.
"Ah…" said Ash.
"Now, I need you to change back and use this," The golem said, before handing Ash a Pokeball. "Use this on yourself so you cannot be captured by any other trainer. Ash nodded and changed back into Latius, before tapping himself with the pokeball. He could feel the Pokeball shaking, and stayed perfectly still until he heard a small click, as the ball filled with an illusion of a lake surrounded by a forest.
Around the lake, he could see his team of six Pokémon that Brock had. He guessed they were inside their pokeballs.
After a minute, he felt himself being pulled from the illusion and was summoned back into the room.
"It is complete," said Regigigas, "Now, Latias, Latios, it is your destiny to travel with Ash as his Pokémon, and as a guide to his powers." Regigigas handed Ash two more Pokeballs. "Latias and Latios, will you allow yourselves to be captured, and help Ash with his destiny by following yours?"
"I would, Regigigas, but Altomare will be unprotected without us there," said Latios.
"You are no longer needed in Altomare," Regigigas said as its eyes shone a soft blue. After a couple of seconds, a blue sphere appeared in front of them. Everyone gasped at the sight of the Soul Dew. "Do not be alarmed," Regigigas continued, "Altomare is safe, and it is time to free your father's soul to the afterlife, so he can go on to the paradise he has deserved for over a century."
There was a humming noise as Regigigas used his psychic powers to release the Latios from years ago. The transparent form of a Latios appeared in front of them.
Latias burst into tears. "Father! I missed you!"
Latios stifled a tear. "I missed you too, Dad."
Their father smiled, capturing them in a hug. "And I the same my children,"
"Does this mean Altomare doesn't need a Soul Dew anymore?" asked Latios.
"Yes," said the older, wiser Latios, "The city does not need a Soul Dew anymore, it will be safe forever."
Latios sighed in relief. The twin's father's form began to disappear as he was drawn to the afterlife.
Latias wiped tears from her face, glad that her father could finally be happy.
"Goodbye, Father!" both eons said.
Latios waved as he vanished to the afterlife. "Take care of yourselves…" His words echoed in the wind.
"Ash," said Latios, "we will go with you."
"Are you sure?" asked Ash, not wanting to go against Latios or Latias' will, even if Regigias told them to be captured.
Latios smiled. "You risked your life for me. It's the least I could do in return,"
"And besides, I've always wanted to see what it's like outside of Altomare," Latias giggled. "Plus, traveling with friends is always so much better!"
"Alright then, you guys ready?" Ash held out the Pokeballs Regigias had given him.
"Whenever you are,"
"Oh, do me first!"
Ash chuckled and lightly tapped Latias' head with one of the Pokeballs. After it clicked shut, indicating her capture. After doing the same with Latios, he looked down at the balls in his hands and smiled. "Alright! I caught a Latias and a Latios!" He did his signature pose as Pikachu sweatdropped.
"Regigigas, why is it our destiny to be captured?" Latias shook herself out after being released from her Pokeball.
"I can't tell you, as that would mess up the time-space continuum," said Regigigas, "I can tell you, however, that you will know when the time is right."
"Thank you for everything, Regigigas." Ash turned back into his Latius form.
With that, our traveling eons, oh, and Pikachu, too, set off for Altomare, Ash's mind set on winning his eighth gym badge at the Blackthorn City Gym.
~~~
Meanwhile, across the ocean in the quiet town of Pallet, Professor Oak was working on his next poem for Kanto's regional newspaper.
He was writing something about Grimer being a whiner when his computer beeped. "New Pokémon captured by trainer Ash Ketchum." As he set down his work, his computer beeped again, causing him to jump and spill his ink on his poem, ruining it.
Professor Oak sighed. "Oh well, I just started anyway. I wonder what got Ash to catch two Pokémon at the same time. Maybe he caught something good!" He lightened up at the thought and walked over to his computer, and as he sat down, the computer beeped a third time.
"Geez, Ash! You hardly ever catch two at once, but three? This has got to be good!"
He clicked on 'trainer files' on the side of the screen, and scrolled through the page until he found and clicked 'Ash Ketchum'. He went to recent and waited while the three new Pokémon loaded in.
He almost fell out of his chair when he saw Latias' icon appear, with a star below it, indicating it as a legendary, and barely kept himself from fainting when another legendary star appeared under Latios' icon.
The first icon still hadn't loaded in for some reason, and after about thirty seconds, a question mark appeared.
"A-Ash caught two Legendary Pokémon?!" He exclaimed in disbelief.
Tracey walked into the room. "Are you ok, professor?" He asked.
"I-it's A-Ash," Professor Oak stuttered, "he c-caught two l-legendaries!"
Tracey gasped and quickly came over to look. "And that's not all," Professor Oak pointed to the screen. "He caught something the computer isn't picking up!"
He clicked on the question mark icon, and a list of random data popped up. "How can my supercomputer have no data on this Pokémon?"
"Let's see what it looks like," Tracey suggested.
"Right," The professor clicked on the video surveillance of inside Ash's Pokeball illusion and rewinded to the time of the capture. He watched in disbelief as what seemed to be an orange version of his other legendaries appeared in the ball.
He paused the video and grabbed the nearest phone. "I have to call Professor Birch! Maybe he'll know something since the other Pokémon Ash caught are from Hoenn!" He quickly dialed the number and waited for Birch to answer.
~~~
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