You're My Inspiration

The Arrival and Departure of a Certain Hero

How, dammit?!?

Bianca was absolutely sure she hadn't been followed, and yet the moment she passed through the illusionary wall right next to her house, she heard a voice coming from deeper inside.

The voice of a boy; an all too familiar sounding boy.

With a concerned frown, she quickly marched her way down the steps, making her way in the direction of the voice. There she could see the boy in question looking at an uncloaked Latios, with Latias between the two in her disguise. Oddly, it seemed she was protecting the stranger and his Pikachu, which didn't particularly calm her, as Latios was clearly furious with the stranger. She quickly made her way over to them, calling out in a challenging voice, "What's going on here? What are you doing to Latios?"

The boy turned to face her with an open mouth of confusion, and she took a moment to properly inspect him. His eyes were a warm chocolate, and his black hair was a wild mess barely held in check by his hat. A simple blue and white striped shirt sat on his frame.

He hardly looked villainous, but she wasn't going to find him to be innocent without an interrogation.

"Well?" She demanded, continuing to glare at him. He quickly waved his hands as he pleaded, "Hold on a second! We weren't doing anything, really! We just followed this girl here." He gestured with both hands down to the Pikachu at his side, which Bianca ignored in favor of flicking her gaze over to Latias before looking back at him as he continued. "This is my friend, Pikachu."

"Pika-chu!"

He turned back to her with an earnest look as he introduced himself. "And I'm Ash, I'm a Pokemon trainer."

In an instant, both her and Latios were on guard. If he was a trainer, he had to go.

She took a couple of steps back as she hardened her glare. "Oh really?" She happened to see Latias' expression shift away from her friendly demeanor to one of confusion at her words, before turning to horror as Bianca looked to Latios and commanded, "Alright, Latios, get him!"

However, even as Latios gave a loud cry, a voice shouted from behind them, "That's enough!"

Flinching, Bianca turned to see her grandfather behind her, looking stern as he walked up to them. "Bianca, Latios. I'm sure this young man means no harm," he chided them. She stared at him in outrage, hardly believing he could be defending the trainer. Didn't he stress not to let anyone find out about the Garden her entire life?

"But Grandpa, they were-" she began to protest.

"Hey, I know you!" The intruder behind her exclaimed. Annoyed with the interruption, she nevertheless continued. "But they-"

"Shh!" He hushed her with a gesture, and she stared helplessly at him. How could he not see the problem here? This trainer was clearly trespassing! Frustrated, she could only watch as he looked past her and asked in a friendly tone, "It's okay; Latias, do you want to play with your new friends?"

Stunned with disbelief, she turned to see Latias smile and nod happily before her friend took Ash's hand and ran past them, pulling the hapless trainer along with her. He expressed his confusion as they ran around the corner of the pool and to the swing, nonetheless allowing her to set him down on it.

As Bianca and her grandfather slowly followed, she watched as Latias hopped on the back of the swing, illusionary feet on either side of Ash's rear as she grabbed the ropes and began swinging the both of them. Seemingly taking this in stride, the trainer looked over his shoulder and asked in a curious tone, "Hey, no offense, but I thought Latias was the name of a Pokemon?"

Her grandfather stifled a chuckle as Latias' smile grew, and her form shimmered and changed to that of her true appearance.

With a cry of alarm, Ash jumped away from the swing and ended up face planting on the stone, making Bianca wince. Latias immediately zipped over and helped him sit up straight, hovering close as she inspected his face. At her concerned cries, the trainer grinned and reassured her, "Thanks, but I'm okay! Thanks, a lot!"