"Ariados, get the Pikachu!" Annie shoved the Pokémon off her and pointed from the bottom of the pile, voice sharp with fury.
Ariados scrambled upright and lunged.
Pikachu's entire body crackled. Every hair stood on end, golden electricity wrapping around him like a second skin, and the sheer pressure of it stopped Ariados cold mid-lunge.
Then Ash stepped out of the shadows behind him.
He'd been a few seconds behind Pikachu the whole way, held up by James and Meowth trying to keep pace. He didn't need to say anything. The Rinnegan did the work for him, three tomoe spinning slowly in each eye, fixing on the two women in the boat with a weight that made them go completely still.
Annie and Oakley had heard stories. Most people in Team Rocket had heard stories. Staring at the reality of it from the bottom of a canal boat was a different experience entirely.
"You two," Ash said quietly. "Were you about to do something to my Pikachu?"
Neither of them answered.
...
He'd been about to move on them when something made him pause. His Aura shifted, reaching back toward the girl Pikachu was still standing in front of, and what it found wasn't human. The mental structure was completely different, and the body temperature read far too low.
He turned slightly. "Latias?"
The girl blinked. Then she nodded once, slowly, and pulled Pikachu into a hug, burying her face against him.
Meowth arrived a few seconds later, took one look at Annie and Oakley, and pointed. "Those are the two we've been tracking. One hundred percent."
"Then they're not leaving." Ash stepped onto the speedboat in a single motion, caught Ariados mid-lunge with a roundhouse that sent it skidding across the hull, and locked eyes with both sisters simultaneously.
The Sharingan's genjutsu triggered without a word. Annie and Oakley went rigid where they sat, locked in place, eyes glassy.
"James. Tie them up. Hotel. No attention."
"Understood." James already had rope out. Meowth produced the compression bags from his pack, the collapsible kind that folded down to the size of a sheet of paper and expanded into a full suitcase. Within two minutes both women were secured, compressed, and packed. Meowth hefted one under each arm without ceremony.
...
Ash turned back to the canal path where Latias was still standing, Pikachu cradled against her chest.
"I'm Ash," he said simply.
Latias's whole body glowed soft blue. The human form dissolved, and a red and white Pokémon hovered in its place, smaller than he'd expected, with wide bright eyes and a warmth about her that was immediately distinct from the Legendaries he'd met before. She smiled at him, genuine and unhesitating, and bumped her cheek gently against his.
"She's saying thank you," Meowth offered.
Ash reached up and scratched behind her ear once. "You're alright now."
...
The attack came from above and to the left, a crackling orb of energy that detonated against the canal stones two meters short of Ash's feet. He'd already moved before the sound registered, landing on the speedboat roof with Latias pulled close.
"Stay away from her!"
A girl dropped from the footbridge overhead, landing in a run, white hair flying. A blue and white Pokémon swept in beside her, wings spread, body low and ready.
Latios.
Latias made a sharp sound and immediately pulled free of Ash's arm, moving to intercept. She positioned herself directly between Ash and her brother, waving both small arms and calling out rapidly.
Latios watched his sister for a long moment. The tension in his wings eased, fraction by fraction.
The girl with white hair skidded to a stop, breathing hard, and looked past Latias to where James was standing next to two very neatly packed suitcases.
"...What's in those."
James opened the corner of the nearest one. Inside, Annie stared up with tape across her mouth and murder in her eyes.
"Mmmph."
The girl stared. Then she looked at Latias, who nodded emphatically.
"I'm so sorry," she said, turning to Ash with genuine embarrassment. "I thought you were trying to catch her. I'm Bianca."
"Don't worry about it," Ash said. He glanced at Latios, who was still watching him with careful, measuring eyes. "You were protecting her. That's the right instinct."
Bianca looked like she was about to say something polite and forgettable, then stopped. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Wait. You're... I know you." She pointed, and then her expression lit up completely. "You're the one who stopped everything in Johto and Kanto. The one everyone's been talking about!"
"Yeah," Ash said.
The first time someone had looked at him like that, he genuinely hadn't known what to do with it. He still wasn't entirely sure.