Chương 146: Chapter 141

Dawn's mother, another Top Coordinator, was quick to sequester her daughter away from the press and media. This had the consequence of temporarily preventing Dawn from talking to others, but as someone experienced with the circus that came from winning the Grand Conference, she was adamant that Dawn was to make her own decision about what came next, outside of any potential negative influence.

In a way, she was unconsciously trying to influence Dawn herself, but I knew that whatever might happen, Dawn would make the best choice to suit her needs. Also, when it came to her imposed isolation, I doubted it would last too long with the way Ash was trying to see her. For now, I wasn't able to give Dawn any parting words or congratulations on her victory, but she'd likely be at the Lily of the Valley Conference for me to do so.

I met with Zoey and Kenny to say goodbye and mope that we had all been beaten by Dawn (in a supportive way of course!), then sent out Gardevoir and teleported out. I suppose that by leaving so quickly, I was leaving behind countless reporters and journalists wanting to speak with the runner up, especially after Robin's big reveal, but I just wasn't in the mood to. Steven and Wallace would probably flip with the way I wasn't really managing my public appearance.

Honestly, I was more concerned about the upcoming League Conference than anything else. I could handle this stuff there. Until then, I was on a tight, two-week schedule to get as much training done as I could possibly do before the end of the month. The threat of both Ash and Tobias hung over my head, and I really didn't want to lose to anyone else. I had to be smart with where I went, and right now, I had a very specific goal in mind. Gardevoir took me to the city north of Lake Valor, Veilstone.

There, we took a break to let him recover his energy, and I bought a nice breakfast to eat alongside everyone with me. Once he recovered all the energy he spent with Teleport, we did it again and reappeared where Route 210 and Route 215 met. I returned him and sent out Altaria.

"Altaria, you ready for this?" I asked. He looked at me and nodded assuredly. His feathers rustled in excitement as I held up my Key Stone. If I had heard of someone doing what I was about to do back when I first started practicing Mega Evolution, I'd have probably received an aneurysm. In a random forest outside of any town or city, Altaria glowed with the rainbow light of Mega Evolution, and he became an incredibly fluffy cloud-bird.

The basket was unfolded and set up, then I strapped his feet to its handle and moved to get in. With his Mega Evolution active, Altaria lifted it all up with ease, and he began to fly off northward. Every opportunity was a training opportunity if one was clever enough. Using Mega Altaria to travel? It both served as endurance training and speed training. We zipped through the skies, far faster than normal, heading out to return to a destination we visited once before.

It didn't take us long at all to find Grandma Wilma's house again. Altaria's Mega Form allowed us to cover more distance than usual, and I'd even found that it was easier to maintain when he wasn't using any moves. Though, it still wasn't something either of us could maintain forever. From the air, Altaria quickly honed in on the small house, and we started to make our way downwards to the abode of the powerful Dragon Type specialist and Draco Meteor move tutor, Grandma Wilma.

As we approached, I could have sworn I saw a shimmer in the air, but that could have just as well been my imagination. Grandma Wilma was standing on the ground as we landed, and I unstrapped Altaria and canceled his Mega Evolution now that we weren't in the air. She stood there, hunched over with age and her hands casually held behind her back as the basket I'd flown in on was folded up and Altaria moved to rest on the ground next to me.

"Hello!" I called out.

"Hello again, Alex." I walked forward to greet her with a smile on my face.

"It's nice to see you again. It's been a while."

"It's nice to see you too, although for me, it hasn't been that long at all." Grandma Wilma glanced between where Altaria was already snoozing next to me and myself.

"Did you fly all the way here from Lake Valor?" she asked curiously.

"What? How did you—""I might live in the woods, but I still own a television. Congratulations on reaching the finals of the Grand Festival. Personally, I thought the deception was wonderful. You did a marvelous job of maintaining a disguise."

"Oh, uh, thank you," I said. I scratched the back of my head awkwardly while she chuckled, amused.

"Now then, you've clearly come here for a reason. Most only ever visit to learn Draco Meteor, and it's rare for me to experience repeat visitors like this. Did you have anything specific in mind?" At that, my expression grew much more serious, and I took a deep breath.

"Grandma Wilma, I want to challenge you and Latias to a Pokémon battle." My challenge was appropriately dramatic, but I was only met with silence. In response to my words, the old woman's face gained a slight frown to it, and she turned around to enter her house behind her. I wordlessly followed along after she motioned me to. Once inside, she gestured for me to sit down at her table, then she turned on her kettle to prepare a cup of tea. Finally, she spoke once I was seated.

"Unfortunately, Latias is not a dedicated battler," she said.

"Oh," I replied.

"If you wished to test yourself against the power of a Legendary Pokémon, I can understand the reason for your challenge, but Latias herself is not the best option to do so. If you so desperately desire, I can provide an alternative, if you so wish." At that, my eyebrows shot up, and I leaned forward in interest. Grandma Wilma gained an amused smile as she sat down across from me. Living up to her name, she set down a plate of cookies.

"I would be more than interested. What are you willing to share?" She cleared her throat.

"Deep in the depths of Iron Island..." And then she told me about Heatran. There was a moment of awkward silence afterwards, as Grandma Wilma had really tried her best to be as dramatic as possible. She even gave a whole spiel about the recently discovered hidden biomes in The Underground, and she really did a good job hyping up Heatran the best she could. The issue, of course, was that my team already spent time training against Heatran, and I'd already learned what I could from the Pokémon in question.

"Did you learn about Heatran from Byron?" I asked.

"From his father. He was quite the man, I'll tell you what." She helped herself to a cookie and took a bite out of it. I coughed.

"Well, my team has battled against Heatran several times, and while it would be nice to see them again, Heatran has already been bothered enough by us all and deserves time to rest." Grandma Wilma blinked then narrowed her eyes.

"That is fine, then. There's one more option I'm aware of." She cleared her throat again.

"In the far north of Snowpoint City, working to protect the sacred Snowpoint Temple..." Once more, Grandma Wilma's speech was appropriately dramatic, but, again, my team had already faced Pyramid King Brandon and his three Regi Pokémon. We'd lost, but the experience was incredibly valuable, and I was in the process of trying to find a different source to train with. Grandma Wilma gave me a blank look when I revealed that.

"Are there any other Legendary Pokémon you've trained against I should know about?" she asked, almost incredulously. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Well, back in Kalos my team technically trained against the Legendary Fairy Type, Xerneas, and we traveled alongside a second Legendary Fairy Type, Diancie, for a while there, too." The silence that followed only stopped when the kettle in the kitchen went off. Grandma Wilma quietly left to fetch tea for the both of us. She stared at me quietly when she returned with the tray in hand.

"You're quite traveled," she said.

"For a good reason. A lot has happened in my life." She mumbled something to herself about me having ridiculous luck while placing the two cups appropriately. After sitting down and stirring in some sugar, she asked me a question.

"Is there a reason why you're searching for so many Legendary Pokémon to battle?"

"There's someone I have to beat." The stirring stopped.

"And that person is?"

"Tobias," I said.

"His Darkrai, by itself, was strong enough to beat most Gym Leaders' personal teams. Not only that, but he has the Legendary Latios on his team, alongside a Salamence capable of Mega Evolution. I have no clue what other Pokemon he might have, but I'm preparing to face a full selection that are all comparable to that level of power. Whatever opportunities I can find to get us more prepared, I'm following." She nodded silently and closed her eyes.

"I remember the man you speak of," she said. I stilled.

"He approached me one day and asked if I would be willing to teach his Pokémon Draco Meteor. I asked to see his team, and after sending them all out, I turned him down. It was not that he was rude or that he didn't deserve it, it was just the move was not for him. It's hard to explain to someone who's not as attuned to the Dragon Type as I."

"So you've seen his full team?" She wordlessly nodded again.

"Can you tell me what he has?" One eye peeked open to glance at my pleading expression before both of them opened back up.

"It is not my place." At that, Grandma Wilma took a sip of her tea, which had now cooled down enough to actually drink. I slumped in my seat as she then took another bite of the cookie she had started earlier, and once she had enough, she wiped her mouth before speaking more.

"While I cannot reveal another trainer's team to you, what I can provide you with is a battle. You came here to challenge both Latias and I, correct? Well, I suppose I can give you the match you seek." I sat up in my chair excitedly to thank her, but she held up a finger to stop me before I began.

"But there are conditions to this match," she interrupted.

"Tell me."

"First, you must have Pokémon out, ready to heal if either competing Pokemon get too hurt. I live a ways away from a Pokémon Center, and I'd rather not bring the Legendary Latias in, for obvious reasons."

"I get it, and I accept," I said.

"Gardevoir and Rapidash are both with me, and they're both capable of healing. Although, only Rapidash knows Heal Pulse."

"That is fine," Grandma Wilma replied.

"Second off, no Mega Evolution. Again, Latias may be a Legendary Pokémon, but she is not a dedicated battler. The match will be good for her, but I don't want her facing a needlessly tough enemy."

"... I was hoping to be able to practice Mega Evolution in a fight against a Legendary Pokemon, but I understand if you don't want that to be the case. I agree."

"Good. And finally, the match stops when I say it stops. We will battle until one side faints, forfeits, or until I call it."

"That's fine, too. I have nothing else to say on the matter. If that's all, I agree to all your rules." Grandma Wilma sent me a smile.

"Wonderful. But, let's enjoy what we have here, first. No sense in allowing perfectly good tea to go to waste, hm?" I sent her a smile back, and soon enough, we were finished and back outside. Grandma Wilma had an open space behind her house that she used to train Dragon Types in her specialty move. Right now, there were no Pokémon out here, and I personally noted that, by now, Ash must have caught that Gible that tended to hang around her house.

Grandma Wilma stared up into the cloudless sky for a while before bringing two fingers to her mouth. She licked her lips before giving off an incredibly loud whistle. At that, almost out of nowhere, there was suddenly a Pokémon next to her. The floating red and white Legendary Pokémon almost bowled over Grandma Wilma with its head. It happily nuzzled its forehead into her stomach, and Grandma Wilma stumbled back, laughing loudly with a big smile on her face.

"Oh, Latias. I was only inside for half an hour. Did you really miss me that much?" Latias rubbed its cheek against Grandma Wilma's. The Legendary Pokémon said its name to share its affirmation to the old woman's question. Wilma laughed again. For me, this was the second time I'd seen a Latias. Last time, I'd only caught flashes of one that raced a plane leaving Hoenn.

Up close, I could see that Latias's body was covered in short feathers, and the two wings that stuck out of its back, almost looking like a jet's, had them, too. The feathers were pressed down and close to its body, making it look sleek and obviously made for speed as it hovered in the air under its own psychic powers.

"Now, listen up," Grandma Wilma commanded. Latias immediately shifted back to float at attention.

"We have a challenger," she declared. Latias cocked its head for a moment before its eyes snapped towards me. They widened in shock, clearly having not detected me there, before the Pokémon suddenly disappeared. Grandma Wilma crossed her arms and clicked her tongue.

"They're our challenger," she stated, annoyed. Latias returned to the visible world, looking a bit sheepish. With Latias here, Wilma went over the basics of our deal as Latias nodded along happily. Grandma Wilma looked a bit hesitant to continue, but Latias actually looked rather excited at the opportunity. Once the rules were all explained, the Legendary Pokémon zipped over to position itself over the empty field, ready to battle against whoever I sent out. Wilma sighed, then took up her spot on the battlefield.

I went ahead and moved over to where I was, then turned around.

"Altaria! We're back here!" I yelled. There was a surprised squawk in response to my shout as Altaria rather chaotically flapped to move over Wilma's house and looked like he was about to crash into the ground. Latias tried to rush forward to catch him, but such a move was rendered pointless by Altaria easily stopping himself a few feet above the ground. Altaria let out an amused chirrup in response. One of Latias's eyes twitched.

When it returned to its previous position, it looked more determined to fight than before.

"Now then, are you ready?" Grandma Wilma called out. Both Altaria and I nodded in unison.

"Ready!"

"Then we shall start with you. I will grant you the first move."

"Great. Altaria, Draco Meteor!" Grandma Wilma sputtered at her personal move being used immediately, and right away, a bright ball of energy was sent up into the sky. Countless flaming meteors burst out from the sphere and covered the field in a rain of fiery, draconic energy. I kept an eye on Latias, who effortlessly dodged them all. It twisted and turned past every falling projecting, tracking each one as if it was a casually thrown ball that even a child could track.

When the meteors were over, Latias lifted itself into the air, almost smug, and it tapped its claws against its chest in pride. Grandma Wilma, too, also tried to stand up a bit straighter. She still had her hunch, though.

"An unexpected first attack, but you should know that Latias has been dodging Draco Meteors for years," the old woman commented.

"Did you forget who I was?"

"No, we didn't. Power Swap!" I immediately followed. Latias was more focused on posing right now than it was anything else. Its eyes widened as a light left its chest only to be exchanged with one that left Altaria's. Latias wheezed when Altaria's light entered it, and it looked much more tired than before. With Power Swap performed, Latias was now suffering from the energy drain from Draco Meteor, rather than Altaria.

"Very good," Wilma said genuinely.

"But, in the future, I'd recommend using Draco Meteor twice before doing such a play. No one ever expects a second Draco Meteor." I nodded and noted that for the future.

"Latias! Mist Ball!" she called out next. Latias held up its two short arms, and moisture collected into a small sphere in front of them. I eyed the attack carefully as it was launched forward at a surprising speed. Altaria managed to just barely dodge. Behind him, the orb curved in the air to try to wrap around and hit him, but it was traveling too fast to experience any meaningful shift in direction and ended up crashing into the tree. Latias sent Wilma an apologetic look. She waved off the damage nonchalantly.

"Again," Wilma said. Latias used its Mist Ball once more, but this time, the attack actually hit Altaria. The Pokémon purposefully raced past him only to turn around in the air to be able to attack him dead on. When the Mist Ball struck, it burst in a mass of heavy moisture. The water stuck to Altaria's wings and weighed him down, not slowing his speed, but almost seeming to weaken him. Again, Latias zoomed past him, demonstrating once more just how easily it could fly past.

Altaria tried to hit it with a Dragonbreath, but Latias moved faster than the path of the flames. The attack also came out weaker than usual. The Mist Ball had somehow weakened how much energy he could put into his attacks. As I watched the field, I was stuck. With Latias, it could easily outmaneuver Altaria, even with all of his training he'd gone through to try to deal with exactly that. I'd been hoping that wouldn't be the case, but with how things were going, it seemed that time spent was almost useless.

I was glad this battle revealed that here instead of in the match against Tobias. Moves like Dragonbreath, Moonblast, and Dragon Pulse would need to be avoided simply because speedy Legendary Pokémon Like Latias and Latios would be able to dodge them too easily. Instead, we needed to use moves that came out fast and were mostly unavoidable. Thankfully, such moves were practically Altaria's specialty.

"Altaria. New strategy: Hyper Voice when afar, Dazzling Gleam up close. I trust you to use your judgment," I shouted. Altaria's eyes narrowed as Latias merrilly zipped around him above. It seemed to be enjoying just how little Altaria could do against it, and as a result, it was barely even attacking. He watched it quietly as it flew in a figure eight pattern, and, right as it slowed down for one of its turns, he unleashed a chaotic cry right at it.

His Hyper Voice sounded like he was yelling through a speaker turned up to eleven, but it was at least directed enough that the true volume didn't deafen Wilma or me. The painful vibrations hit Latias, and it immediately lost its balance in the air. It let out a cry and tried to create distance away from Altaria, but it couldn't reach supersonic speeds in such a restricted space.

Grandma Wilma called for a Tailwind, then followed that up with an order for a Dragon Pulse, but the Tailwind still didn't let it outspeed the Hyper Voices, and Altaria dodged the Dragon Pulse.

"Altaria, high up into the air and use your other finishing move," I yelled. Altaria shot straight up. Wilma frowned, and Latias looked too hesitant to follow. It wasn't like this move would take out the Legendary Pokemon, as it was clear to me it was still healthy enough to act. Instead, I wanted to gauge its reaction to the move to hopefully estimate how Latios might receive such an attack in a battle against it. Once Altaria' got high enough and faced the ground, Grandma Wilma's eyes widened in realization.

"He's going to use Hyper Beam," she said in shock. Her mouth opened to call for Latias to dodge, but the beam was already fired. With the angle Altaria was firing at, he barely needed to move his head to adjust the angle the beam was heading. Latias hurriedly tried to fly away and avoid it, but the attack followed the legendary Pokemon like some kind of devastating orbital space cannon.

Desperate, it flew to the edge of the field, saw the beam was still following it, then made the split second decision to fly even further. With it making the conscious decision to leave the agreed on space of the battlefield, Latias had technically just forfeited the battle.

"We lost," Wilma said. Altaria let out a cheerful squawk high in the air. With his "victory" over a Legendary Pokemon, Altaria, tired from such a long and powerful attack, glided down to the field while Latias moved to join Grandma Wilma's side. The Legendary Pokémon nuzzled her again, but this time, the action was slow and clearly depressed.

"Oh, don't you worry. I'm not disappointed in you at all. It's been a while since we've done any battles like that. You were impressive enough on your own." Latias gave her a big smile. Meanwhile, Altaria, exhausted, moved to land next to Gardevoir and Rapidash. His head dramatically flopped back with a mock cry of pain, and he pretended to collapse onto the floor, as if unconscious. Gardevoir's eye twitched at the ridiculous display, but Rapidash whinnied with amusement and touched his horn to Altaria.

His horn glowed green for a Heal Pulse. Altaria almost immediately popped right back up to enter a roosting position now that he had "recovered." I laughed and approached Grandma Wilma.

"Thank you for the battle. It was very enlightening."

"I'm glad. Did you learn anything you needed?"

"I did, actually," I replied.

"A lot of small things, but most importantly, I think Altaria's Hyper Beam will be able to do a lot of damage against Latios. With how Latias ran from the Hyper Beam, she probably would have taken significant damage if hit. That's telling me a Latios won't be much better, especially if the attack gets turned to a Fairy Type move from Altaria's Mega Evolved ability." As I spoke, Altaria flapped his wings to land on my head, causing me to stumble a bit.

His head rested on mine while his wings were slung over my shoulders like a cape to help him maintain his position. At the end of my conversation with Grandma Wilma, he gave a simple squawk to Latias. It looked confused for a moment before giving a cheerful smile back and saying its name. If I had to guess, both of them just agreed it was a good match. There wasn't much else to do here, and I didn't want to bother the pair for another battle.

I thanked them both sincerely, which was met with Wilma trying to say it was no big deal even though it actually was. My Pokemon were returned, and I then set out with Altaria. Two weeks. That was how long we had until the Conference. With my experience in the show battles of this region, I already knew I would be excused from the qualifying rounds. That meant the first week of the tournament, which solely dealt with deciding who would be involved in the main rounds, would not be necessary to me.

I needed to train, and I needed to prepare. Ninetales still hadn't mastered Sheer Cold, Whimsicott hadn't learned Toxic, and Gardevoir needed to get the move we planned to use to finish off Darkrai in an even better state. There was so much to do and so little time. The Lily of the Valley Conference awaited.