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Chapter 13 — The Secret Garden
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“Oh, Latias, there you are,” Ash said as he turned around and faced the descending red and white dragoness. Latias looked stunning—angelic, even—with the beautiful backdrop of the garden’s filtered luminescence from above framing her feathered body. “I thought I wouldn’t make it because you’re pretty fast.”
“It’s no fun if I make it easy.” Latias winked. “I may or may not have led you around in circles for a bit, too.”
Ash crossed his arms. “You could’ve at least let me walk.” He took in his surroundings, from the beautiful pond at his side to the endless greenery and the towering trees scattered around the garden. “What is this place? It’s… so beautiful. It’s hard to believe a place like this exists in the middle of Alto Mare. How does it even fit?”
Latias spread her arms and grinned, baring her teeth. “This is the Secret Garden. It’s me and my brother’s personal, hidden retreat. Our humble abode whenever we seek shelter and privacy from the city’s population and visitors.”
“If this is your hidden home, why did you bring us here?” Ash raised an eyebrow. “I’d hate to intrude if it’s supposed to be a secret for you two.”
“Curiosity. That’s why.” Latias levitated down until she was at eye level with the human. She flew around him and examined him. Leaning forward, she took in his scent with a few sniffs. “Hmm…”
Ash followed Latias’ movements with interest, as did Pikachu. If anything, it reminded him of how other Legendaries like Mew or Celebi regarded him in years past. Despite having a subtle layer of maturity on them, her mannerisms also had a distinct playfulness to them. He met her golden eyes as she passed by in one of the gentle sways of her body and noted their striking intensity, which made him feel as if she looked into him far more deeply than just in the physical world.
Almost out of reflex, Ash reached forward and touched her head, causing Latias to freeze. He scratched her between her feathered ears and laughed at her minute feathers’ soft, glass-like smoothness. “Whoa… That’s cool. It’s like I’m touching a warm, soft window.”
Latias smirked and pulled back with a dramatic gasp. “You meet the fabled guardian goddess of Alto Mare face to face, in an intimate and personal setting, and your first reaction is to pet her head? And call her a window?”
“Yeah, why not?” Ash asked amidst lighthearted chuckles. “You’re a pretty cute Pokémon.”
Latias giggled, bemused. “You’re quite different from the usual Pokémon trainers we get here. My interest is piqued.”
“Different? What do you mean?” Ash asked.
“Well, you just ran into a fabled legendary, and you’re acting like you want to make a friend. There’s an impressive sense of normality coming from you about this whole thing,” Latias said.
“Oh, that. I just have luck meeting Legendaries, but that’s about it. I don’t think I’m that different from other trainers there.” Ash pursed his lips and pouted. “I wish that luck would help me win a Pokémon league instead.”
“Luck allows you to meet Legendaries, now myself included. But you, by your actions and decisions during said encounters, make the best of them. Any other person with the same circumstances and opportunities in your position could’ve fumbled what you’ve been given and produced a poor outcome,” Latias said. “Don’t confuse what you earn through luck and what you earn through effort. That’s something my brother often says.”
“How so?” Ash asked. “I… sometimes don’t think through what I do, at least not too hard. I do what I feel is right and follow it.”
Latias stared at him, surprised. “Well, for example, let’s get to the main reason I drew you here. You came to my aid yesterday.” Her eyes narrowed a bit. “Why did you do that?”
“At first, it was because I saw Team Rocket and their balloon. They’re troublemakers and have tried to capture Pikachu for ages, so I wanted them out of the way before they ruined something. I’d hate them attacking the museum while we were on the tour and damaging important stuff. As for the other poachers whose names I forgot again, I didn’t expect them to be there when I got there, but I might as well also beat them up while I was at it,” Ash said with a shrug, which Pikachu mirrored while voicing a cry of agreement. “You can say they were in the way.”
Latias nodded along, a soft hum building up as she followed through. “Yes, yes, I get that. It’s what comes before that I’m interested in. I’m asking why.”
“Why what?” Ash blinked twice, confused. “I just told you why I did it.”
“You’re funny.” Latias giggled and brought up her claws to stifle it. “What I mean by that is, why risk yourself and your Pokémon in a battle that isn’t your responsibility? You didn’t have to, yet you did. You even went out of your way to go there, and in the end, you didn’t ask for anything in return, despite the hardship.”
“I don’t want a reward or anything,” Ash said, shaking his head and waving his hands before her. “I just did it to help out and got no other reason. You were in trouble. The right thing is to help you.”
“So, just because?” Latias’ ears perked up. “That’s it?”
“Yeah, I don’t need a reason. It’s the right thing to do. It’s not my first time jumping headfirst to save a Pokémon from danger.” Ash chuckled and glanced at his best friend with a knowing look. “Trust me, he knows.”
Pikachu rolled his eyes, shook his head, and buried his face in his paws, letting out a tiny, frustrated squeak.
Latias snorted at Pikachu’s comment. “That’s what I meant with my earlier statement. More than once, my brother and I had people ‘help us’ only because they were seeking favors from us rather than an action born out of goodwill. See, I have the power of empathy. I can sense the emotions of those near me. I can often feel their greed, desire, and deceit through the mask they put on to talk to us.” She met Ash’s eyes and stared deep into his chocolate-brown pupils. “Yet I felt none of that from you yesterday. Not a single drop. Only genuine concern and a desire to protect my city and myself.”
Stolen story; please report.
Ash frowned. “It sounds annoying to have to put up with that. I’d hate to have everyone around me be a fake person just looking to gain an advantage over me.” He reached forward and patted the side of her neck for reassurance. “You think you’ll be okay?”
“See, you’re doing it again,” Latias said, poking the teenager in the chest with a single claw. “Your first reaction to my comment was concern over the negativity I put up with. You’re impressively thoughtful and selfless. That’s a pretty unique quality you have, which is often rare.” She let out a purr-like rumble of approval. “You’re a wonderful person.”
Ash blushed and rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. “You make it sound so complicated. I just do what I believe is the right thing and worry about thinking about it later.”
“…And, in this case, the right thing is to jump headfirst into a three-way battle you know little about to protect someone?” Latias stifled a laugh. “Not many would be thrilled at the prospect.”
“I wouldn’t say thrilled, but if you’re in danger, no doubt. By the way, what did you do with those guys?” Ash asked. “I saw you talking with Officer Jenny after I beat them up.”
“Just a trio of idiots out of their depth, but I suspect their rap sheet is pretty lengthy. They were also violating parole from the Silver prefecture in Johto,” Latias answered, waving a clawed hand dismissively. “I had Jenny and her team of prosecutors deal with them. They’ll probably be transferred to mainland Johto in the coming days.”
“Last I heard, they poached Pokémon on Mount Silver, so yeah. No idea why they’d be let out so soon.” Ash frowned. “Come to think of it, with so many poachers all over the place and you not being… careful… How come you’ve never gotten in trouble?”
“Don’t mistake a lack of concern for a lack of care. We’ve had many troubles over the years and respond to poachers or Pokémon hunters in kind depending on the threat they pose,” Latias replied, a faint growl-like undertone in her words. “Don’t worry about us. We’ve been through this before.”
“I’ve seen so many tales of Legendary Pokémon ruined by a greedy madman,” Ash said, a saddened expression befalling him. “I’d hate to see that here. Your city is beautiful, and you’re very nice. You don’t deserve that.”
“I won’t be part of those tales you’ve seen,” Latias said, her voice brimming with confidence. “But I’ll keep that in mind. Don’t worry. I always do, and Latios, too.”
“Latios? Oh right! Where is he?” Ash looked around and blinked. “I thought he’d be here with you.”
“No idea, and I’d rather not summon him by telepathically pinging him.” Latias rolled her eyes and huffed. “Hopefully, he’s dealing with something long and time-consuming at the City Hall or the Museum or anything, so he doesn’t come to bother us.”
“We were just at the museum an hour ago, though,” Ash pointed out.
Latias sighed. “True.”
“That reminds me, is the stuff at the museum about your dad real? Because that story and the skeleton thing there are really cool,” Ash asked.
Pikachu glared at his trainer and slapped his leg with the flat side of his bolt-shaped tail, causing Ash to yelp and jump back.
“It’s okay.” Latias’ attention shifted to the garden’s center, where the beautiful shrine stood in the distance. “You heard the story of the city’s birth at the museum, yes?”
Ash followed the guardian’s gaze, as did Pikachu. “Yeah, we did.”
Latias took a deep breath, remaining silent for a few moments. The wind blew by and ruffled her minute feathers, eliciting a sigh from her. “It’s real. However, please don’t take it as grand as it sounds. I know Lorenzo and his museum staff exaggerate it to the high heavens. They make it out to be like a grand crusade of good versus evil that my family undertook. The truth is far more grounded and less… majestic.”
“Huh, really? He had some awesome speeches on his tour,” Ash commented. “I thought they sounded cool.”
Latias snorted and rolled her eyes hard. “A part of me dies every time I hear those. They are so over the top and cheesy, but I get it. He must entertain the tourists, and it’s part of the city’s livelihood. As exaggerated as they are in the context they’re given because Latios and I have always ensured no outright lie is told; it’s all truthful. We don’t want the memory of our father tarnished by falsehood.”
“Tarnish the memory of your father?” Ash tapped his chin with a finger and looked up. “I remember they said something about his soul remaining in the city at the museum.”
Latias gave the slightest nod. “Because he does.” She turned to the garden’s main shrine and hovered toward it at a slow pace. “Come with me.”
Ash walked after Latias, admiring the garden’s greeneries and flowers as they moved. He noticed the occasional pulses that rippled through the grass became stronger the closer they moved to it. “If that’s where his spirit is, it’s a beautiful place.”
“To go into detail, as the museum’s history lesson said, our family fought and defeated the foreign dragon there. It’s a Legendary Pokémon known as Kyurem, native to the Unova region. Our father died, and we erected that shrine and this garden as his resting place,” Latias explained, though her voice cracked and delicately danced between admiration and hurt. “That is why we watch over Alto Mare so closely. Even as the city grew, we wanted to ensure our father only saw peace and prosperity around his last refuge.”
Ash and Pikachu followed Latias to the garden’s heart until they arrived at a pond that hugged the shrine like a half-moon, where they stared at their reflections on the crystalline surface. Resembling a fountain, many streams of water cascaded from the shrine, the sound a constant, soothing rush as they filled the pond.
“You may come,” Latias said as she levitated to the shrine and stopped at its center by the end of the staircase.
Ash proceeded toward the shrine on slow steps, admiring the elaborate network of square-shaped stone runes and symbols surrounding the open area at its base. He noted with interest that it appeared like a puzzle, given its grid-like layout and nonsensical cutoffs at the borders, and wondered what it meant. “What does this even say?”
Latias shook her head. “Don’t bother with it. It’s not something that’d be useful to you in any way. Just come here.”
The air turned heavier with every step Ash took toward Latias and the shrine, and he felt himself enveloped by the peacefulness and sanctity that emanated from it. The main altar stood on the shrine’s center, elevated upon a stepped dais. Carved from a single, massive block of marble and polished to a mirror-like sheen, the altar reflected the ambient light in ghostly patterns upon its surface. Streaks of glowing energy lined the marble and descended into the earth below, where they became the pulses he’d noticed earlier. Several stone pillars encircled the dais and joined into a tiled roof, each carved with runes and motifs that shimmered from the divine power emanating from the shrine’s altar.
“This is… so amazing.” Ash let out a long exhale, stunned. Pikachu nodded in agreement, unaware his jaw hung open. “It’s like Michina Ruins all over again. Legendaries are capable of some crazy things. These things all look so pretty.”
“Thank you,” Latias said, beaming at him. “My brother painstakingly carved everything you see here all by himself.”
“I think the museum guy said something about him sculpting stuff,” Ash said. “Like the statues in the plaza of your parents.”
“He does, and he does a wonderful job at it,” Latias said. “It is a fitting shrine for our father. And, even though she doesn’t rest here, as her soul long ago joined the stars above, it’s also for our mother.” She looked at the runes carved on the stone pillars. “These are all poems we wrote for them. I’m glad you can’t read this old language because Latios’ poems are much better than mine. It’s almost embarrassing.”
Ash stifled a chuckle at her comment. “I’m sure your parents love yours, too. Even if you don’t think they’re any good.” He stepped to the dais and looked into the minuscule pool in the altar’s core. He gasped when he came face to face with a spherical jewel that rested atop an intertwined cradle of silver tendrils.
The mystical orb, about the size of an outstretched hand, emanated an ethereal glow that danced upon its flawless crystalline surface akin to the night sky at its most serene, with a constellation of iridescent specks that sparkled like stars within its deep, celestial shine. The pair gazed as the star-like glimmers shifted and swirled as if a miniature cosmos lived within it.
“This is the Soul Dew.” Latias smiled. “Our father.”
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Chapter End
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