Chapter 5
Ash, Latias, Latios, and Pikachu rocketed over the ocean, heading toward home. Pikachu rode on Latias this time, still not trusting Ash's flying skills.
At one point, they flew past a jet plane. They quickly turned invisible, forgetting Pikachu couldn't, and before he could remind them, they had already passed it. The pilot went home that night thinking he was going to become a millionaire for discovering the world's first flying Pikachu. He never did.
After about one and a half hours of flying (They flew faster because Ash was getting better at flying, and they knew exactly where they were going), they could see Altomare on the horizon. They picked up the pace, mostly because Latias had upped her speed by twenty miles per hour, eager to get home.
The sun had set about two hours ago, so the eons turned invisible at the dock and let Pikachu down so there wouldn't be any more 'Flying Pikachu' incidents.
Ash decided to stay as Latius until morning, so he could surprise his friends at Bianca's place. That and he didn't have a blanket on him, and as it was almost midnight, they weren't going to try to go to Lorenzo's, so he might as well use his Lati form to his advantage and at least keep warm.
They slowly made their way to the Secret Garden, as they didn't want to bump into anyone who was on a midnight walk, and because they had to slow down for Pikachu, who wasn't as fast as they were.
They eventually came to one of the hidden entrances of the garden. For some reason, Ash seemed to know where every entrance to the garden was. Latios told him that it was made so he and his sister could find it anywhere, but Ash could have also been affected.
They flew through the wall illusion and entered the garden, making sure no one saw them first, of course. Much to their surprise, they saw Bianca over by the Soul Dew's pedestal.
She turned around, noticing them, and rushed over. "Latios, Latias! You're back! When I came to check on the garden, the Soul Dew was gone! But for some reason, the water is still flowing!"
"Bianca, how long have you been here?" asked Latias telepathically.
"Over an hour, I don't know how long the Soul Dew has been missing!"
"Don't worry, the Soul Dew is no longer needed." Latios smiled at the starry night sky. "Father is happy now. Our work is done."
Bianca looked at him strangely. "What happened at the ruins? Sounds like I missed a lot."
"Oh, trust me, more than you can imagine," Latias giggled. "We fought four legendaries. Ash tackled one into the 22nd century, then practically killed the first three's boss. We also got these stones." They each held up their wrists, revealing the rainbow-colored stones.
"After we defeated Regigigas, it gave us each a stone." Latios explained, "It said they would allow me and Latias to Mega-evolve, whatever that is, if our bond with our trainer is strong enough. That's what Ash's keystone is for."
"Your what now?!"
Knowing what Bianca was referring to, Latias spoke up. "Don't worry! We aren't needed here anymore since there isn't a Soul Dew to protect. Besides, Ash will take good care of us."
"B-but, I'll miss you so much!" Bianca finally got out. "And he's not even human anymore! He can't be your trainer!"
"That's what you think," Ash said as he took his Eon Flute from the leather case that he had gotten from Regigigas.
He gently blew into it, causing it to play a short melody as a soft blue glow covered his body. In a couple of seconds, the light disappeared, revealing Ash in his human form, wearing what he had on when he last transformed into Latius.
Bianca's jaw dropped. "How did you do that?!"
Ash chuckled. "That's another little gift from Regigigas."
Bianca sighed, knowing she couldn't stop her beloved Eons from traveling with Ash. "I presume that both of you have already been caught?"
"Yeah, Ash even caught himself!" Latias giggled at the last part.
"Hey, it was a good idea! Now no one can catch me!"
"You have a point," Bianca agreed. "Do you want to come back to my house for the night?"
"No thanks, I'm used to sleeping outdoors, and besides, I've got this." Ash tapped the Eon Flute in his hand with one finger.
"If you insist," Bianca shook her head. "Well, good night then!"
"Good night!" Ash played the Eon Flute again, transforming into Latius.
After Bianca left, Latias and Latios settled onto their normal tree branch and quickly dozed off. Ash had chosen a branch on a tree next to theirs, and Pikachu settled in beside him.
As Ash started to doze off, he began thinking about his life ahead. He knew Gary would be at the Silver Conference and decided that he would use the Eon Flute during their battle. He had a feeling they would battle at some point. 'Only one badge left,' He thought with a smile, before falling asleep. He was going to enjoy his new life as an eon.
~~~
Meanwhile, Oak was waiting for Birch to answer the phone. After a few hours (seconds, it just felt like hours), A man who seemed to be in his late 30s or early 40s picked up.
Birch rubbed his eyes. "Oh, it's you, Oak. Why are you calling so early? Oh, wait, sorry, different time zones… Anyway, it's the middle of the night here. Why are you calling? You never call me."
"Birch, it's one of my trainers!" Oak spoke in a rushed voice. "That boy that I told you about at the research convention last month, Ash Ketchum, caught two legendaries from the Hoenn Region!"
Now Birch was fully awake. "What?! Send me his trainer report!"
"Hold on, Birch. That's not all." Oak clicked the 'send' button on his computer. "There's also a third Pokémon that looks like the other two, but for some reason, no data is showing up!"
"Well, Samuel, these Pokémon are Latias and Latios, believed to watch over a large ocean city called Altomare. They can turn invisible using their feathers, are extremely intelligent, and can even use telepathy."
"Come to think of it, Ash did call a few days ago to tell me that he was going on vacation in Altomare. I didn't think much of that until now."
"But this other one. Oak, I've only heard Legends of this one. Ancient Hoenn inhabitants spoke of a dragon, a dragon of eons, one that would rise from the people of the world. There was even a so-called prophecy about this creature. It said that there would be a human, one with the purest of hearts, chosen by Arceus himself. He will save another, and take the form of a dragon, an orange dragon of eons, one more powerful than even Rayquaza… That's all anyone knows. The prophecy was discovered about a year ago in some strange ruins, on a wall carving. The rest seemed to be written in what seemed to be a language unknown to man."
Oak shook his head in disbelief. "You surely don't mean…"
Birch nodded. "This video proves it. The Pokémon Ash caught is the mythical Latius, and also himself."
"How does this video prove that?"
"Think about it, the way you described Ash to me at the convention. You said he puts others ahead of himself, and you've shown me videos of his adventures with legendaries. Who else could it be?"
"I guess there's no other way…" Oak paused for a moment. "Hold on, Ash is going to the Silver Conference. How about we find out there?"
"You know I wouldn't miss it for anything!"
The Next Morning…
"Get up, get up, get up!" A high-pitched voice woke Ash from his sleep, causing him to fall out of his tree.
Ash slowly got off the ground. "Ouch… what was that for?"
"Well, it was that or my Thunderbolt," Pikachu snickered. "I decided to let Latias have a turn."
Ash rolled his eyes and levitated off the ground. "What time is it?"
"According to the sun, it's about ten-thirty," Latios answered, looking up at the sky.
Ash jolted awake. "The boat leaves in half an hour! We have to get to Bianca's house!" He turned invisible and shot out of the garden, Latias and Latios right behind him.
"Tell Brock and Misty it's for them, but don't say who it is," Ash whispered to Bianca when she opened the door.
Bianca nodded and smirked. "Brock! Misty! It's for you!"
The said people came over to the door. "Oh, hi Ash!" Misty stopped herself. "Wait, Ash! You're human again?!"
"Yep! I'm human!" Ash pumped his fist in the air, causing anyone walking by to think he was a complete lunatic.
"I guess that means the trip to the ruins paid off?" Brock eyed his friend.
"Yeah. We fought the Regi trio and their leader!" Ash stuck a pose.
Everyone sweatdropped, including Latias and Latios, causing them to lose their invisibility. Luckily, they all went inside before anyone saw them.
"You guys fought the legendary Regis?" Brock chuckled. "That's incredible, though I bet you got thrown around like a ragdoll."
Latios cut in before Ash could protest. "Ash actually did better than all of us. He embedded Registeel into a wall just by tackling it, and he took down Regigigas after learning Recover, Luster Purge, and Mist Ball."
"He did? Aren't those your guys' signature moves?" asked Bianca.
Latios nodded. "I don't know how he learned them. Regigigas didn't explain that part."
"So how are you human now?" asked Misty.
"Regigigas said something about me being Arceus' chosen one and gave me this," Ash took the Eon Flute out of its case. "Regigigas said that this thing was enchanted by Arceus." He smiled as he blew into the flute.
Everyone but Bianca gasped as he reappeared as Latius seconds later and stretched.
Latias giggled at their reactions. "It's pretty handy, huh?"
Latios flew forward. "But before they go, there's something Latias and I need to say,"
"Don't worry about it," Lorenzo chuckled. "Bianca told me everything. You two enjoy your journey."
"Just make sure you come to visit every once in a while," Bianca turned to Ash. "And you better treat them well,"
Ash backed away slightly. "I-I will, don't worry,"
"Wait," Misty cut in. "Do you mean…"
"Yep!" Ash grinned. "I caught two legendaries! Three, if you count me."
"I knew you would catch one eventually," Pikachu snickered. "I just didn't know you would turn into one."
"How did you know that?" Ash asked.
Brock, not feeling like asking what Pikachu said, glanced at his watch. "I hate to interrupt, but the boat leaves in ten minutes! We're not going to make it in time!"
"Don't worry, we'll make it," Ash nodded to Latios.
Latios levitated closer to the ground and gestured for Brock to get on. Latias did the same for Misty.
They decided not to question it and got on the eons' backs. Pikachu finally decided to ride on Ash since Latias and Latios were already carrying someone. The group took off for the dock, not caring if they were seen since they were already captured. They arrived at the dock around ten-fifty-five, just in time to catch the ship. Brock and Misty got off the eons, and Ash played the flute to switch to his human form. They boarded their ship and, at eleven o'clock, set off for the mainland, sights set on Blackthorn City and Ash's eighth gym badge.
~~~
Thank you for reading!
If you've enjoyed this story so far, consider leaving a review and joining my Discord server! You can stay updated on my stories, chat with me and other fanfiction writers, or just hang out! (discord.gg/eX4k3bV2au) (link on my profile page if it doesn't work)
P.S. If you are reading this version of my story on any platform other than webnovel.com, you are at risk of a malware attack, or this story has been stolen, or both. If you wish to read this story in its original, safe, form, please go to https://m.webnovel.com/book/true-eons_33457776008937305. Thank you.