Just as the young man and the girl were playing together affectionately, someone else passed through the unlatched wall and entered the Secret Garden.
But it wasn't Lorenzo and Bianca, instead it was...
"Pikachu, wait for me, don't run so fast!"
Entering Lorze's and Latias's line of sight were a yellow Pokémon and a hasty boy.
Huh, even without Latias leading the way, Lord Ash and Lord Pikachu still found this place?
Truly worthy of the Pikachu-brand Legendary Pokémon radar!
Originally, when facing intruders, Latios should have indignantly repelled them, but now he...
Sudden dashed towards Ash!
Only it wasn't an attack, but hugging Ash and crying out loud!
"Pika-pi?"
Ash was originally a bit bewildered, until he realized, didn't this Pokémon look exactly the same as the stone statues on the pillars in the plaza?
"Eh, eh? Y-You're Latios!?"
When facing Pokémon, the high-EQ Lord Ash suddenly came online—the boy smiled gently and softly stroked Latios's head.
"What's wrong? Did something unhappy happen?"
"Woo woo, my sister was snatched away by a stinky man..."
Of course, Ash couldn't actually hear such words, but Lorze heard them.
Hey, hey, no matter how you put it, calling me a stinky man is going too far!
Even if we are blond bastards, we are very high-quality blond bastards, right? Probably...
"Who exactly are you people, and why are you here!"
A high-pitched, reprimanding female voice rang out. The newcomer looked almost exactly the same as the girl Latias had transformed into, but she had a drawing board under her arm and wore a painter's beret on her head—it was the real Bianca!
On Lorze's side, the red-haired girl shrank her neck as if she had done something wrong, acting like a well-behaved kitten, not daring to make a sound.
"U-Um! It's not like that! I'm a Pokémon Trainer from Pallet Town, Ash, and this is my partner, Pikachu! Pikachu suddenly started running in a certain direction, and then I just followed him and chased him all the way here..."
The interrogating look on Bianca's face didn't fade in the slightest. Instead, she got closer, pressing step by step!
"So suspicious—"
See, even though their appearances are exactly the same, Bianca is not even half as cute as our little sister!
The air was as tense as if it had frozen. Although Bianca was interrogating both Ash and Lorze, the sly Lorze just hid to the side and quietly watched the drama unfold.
No need to defend himself, because the savior had already arrived—
Grandpa Lorenzo, save us!
"Bianca! Don't be so rude."
"Grandpa Lorenzo! But..."
The kind old grandpa made a "shh" gesture to Bianca, and then turned to Latias and Latios.
"Latias, Latios, you want to play with these two Trainers, right?"
"Eh, Latias? I don't see her..."
Lorze smiled: Because there are two "Biancas" here.
The young man turned to the red-haired girl beside him. She was looking down, rubbing her small hands together, her toes unnaturally scuffing the grass just like when they first met.
The look of a girl who did something wrong, with a somewhat green sense of youth.
Lorze smiled and took Latias's small hand: "Although it feels a bit mean to say this only now... but actually, I've always been able to hear what Latias says~"
The girl's eyes suddenly widened. Eh, eh?! Lorze knows telepathy too!? Doesn't that mean everything I said was heard clearly by Lorze!?
Latias's face suddenly turned bright red, and her head felt dizzy. Ah, ah...
"I also want to see Latias's original form, is that okay?"
"O-Okay... but I still think Sister Bianca's appearance looks better."
Despite saying so, the girl still somewhat shyly let go of the young man's hand. She stretched her arms backward and transformed into the red dragon sister, whose body resembled a jet plane!
"M-My name is Latias. This is my original form now... As expected, Sister Bianca's appearance is still—"
Before she could finish, Lorze threw his arm around Latias's long neck.
"Not at all, Latias is cute. I like you even more now~"
"M-Mmm, thank you, Lorze!"
The blushing dragon sister hugged Lorze with her small hands. Originally, she wanted to take the opportunity to hook her arms under the young man's and carry him up to fly, but after some effort, she had to give up with a blushing face.
Mmm, my strength is still too small, but I really want to fly together with Lorze...
The young man stood on his tiptoes and stroked Latias's smooth head, taking the opportunity to lightly stroke her cute long ears.
"It's okay. You'll be able to carry me eventually. I'm really looking forward to Latias taking me flying~"
"Wow~"
Elated, Latias let out an ethereal cry and began to fly nimbly in circles around the young man.
On the other side, after noticing some commotion over here, Mewtwo unhurriedly led Kirlia back, just in time to see everyone gathered together.
"Can Latias also play with little sister Kirlia and that big sister over there?"
"Of course. That would actually make me quite happy!"
Mewtwo smiled and picked Kirlia up, seating her securely on Latias's back. "Then I'll leave her in your care~"
"Yes, Big Sister!"
Mewtwo waved her hand. If it's that boy Lorze... he can definitely pick up this little sister, right? At least in her eyes, Latias was already family with herself and Kirlia.
On the other side, Latios stuck out his tongue and licked Ash's Pikachu. The latter nimbly scrambled up a tree, took a flying leap, and was caught securely by Latios!
The two red and blue sibling Pokémon, carrying the two little cuties on their backs, nimbly shuttled through the woods of the garden, bathed in the occasionally dappled sunlight.
"Big Sister Latias is also so amazing, and so cute!"
"Hehe, thank you, little sister Kirlia!"
Watching the reconciled siblings and the happily playing Latias and Kirlia, a relaxed smile appeared on Lorze's face.
On the tree-lined path, the group chatted amidst the backdrop of the red and blue water capital deities.
"My name is Bianca. I'm really sorry for my attitude just now."
"It's no problem!" "Yes, after all, Ash and I did intrude without permission, so we are also at fault. We've caused trouble for both of you, haha~"
Grandpa Lorenzo, leading the way in front, nodded—
"Our family has inherited our ancestors' traditions for generations. Every generation of descendants guards this Secret Garden for the Latias and Latios that visit this island."
The young girl beside him enthusiastically introduced the sibling relationship between the two Pokémon, which surprised Ash very much.
Lorze, following beside the group, chuckled dumbly, unaware that the mischievous little sister was dive-bombing towards him!
"Wow~"
"Woo woo woo, Big Brother Lorze, save me!"
The one calling for help was Kirlia. Even though Latias mischievously threw her down, the young man caught the girl securely and held her in his arms.
"There, there, Kirlia, everything's fine now~" "Mhm~ I love Big Brother Lorze the most!"
Pushed by Latias to the edge of the pool, Latios set down Ash's Pikachu and then dove headfirst into the water!
At the same time, Latias's eyes emitted a faint blue light, allowing everyone to see the beautiful scenery Latios was seeing underwater.
Lorze quietly admired it from the side. Although he had seen it in the movie, experiencing it firsthand felt very different.
But Lord Ash couldn't hold his excitement and clicked his tongue in wonder.
"This is 'Sight Sharing'. Simply put, the siblings can share the scenery they see with everyone."
"Exactly! You know quite a lot, young man."
"You flatter me. I just have some understanding of Alto Mare's past, so I also know some things related to Latias and Latios."
"So that's how it is. No wonder Big Brother Lorze seemed so familiar with Alto Mare!"
No, that's because I did my homework with the mobile GPS navigation...
After that, the group came to the high terrace, leaning over to inspect the stone tiles on the ground. Lorenzo and Bianca recalled the legends of Alto Mare and the Soul Dew.
Turning to look at the pool, the crystal-clear and beautiful orb lay quietly on the pedestal in the pool, strings of tiny bubbles emerging from the bottom...
"Is that the Soul Dew?"
"That's right. Our ancestors built a device that could use the power of the Soul Dew and Latios's kind to protect this island... So regarding what happened here today, I hope you two can keep it a secret."
Lorze and Ash exchanged a glance and nodded quite seriously.
"Wow~"
Latias rubbed her cheek against Lorze very affectionately—
"Hahaha, n-no, it tickles, Latias!"
"Hehe~"
But in the dark where no one noticed, the crisp sound of a wind chime rang out, and a tiny monitor nimbly poked out its camera—
"Found them, sister~"
"Uh-huh, then let's wait until they're resting... and catch them all in one fell swoop!"