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The Journal of Team Nexus: Training Latias

So far, the day had been pretty good.  The warm sun shone above the three as they stood in a grassy meadow, the breeze pushing the grass as it passed through.  For many other pokémon, it was the type of day that one would lay outside and enjoy the fall weather.  But not for the three who were standing near a group of straw targets.  One of the targets had already been destroyed, a large hole punched through it by a blast of psychic energy.
For the second time that day, the grass was suddenly parted as a sphere of purple energy shot over it, bolts of white energy flowing off of it like lightning as it raced through the air.  After a few seconds of travel, the orb stopped, striking a target over thirty yards away.  When it did, one of the three pokémon turned to a red and white, bird-like pokémon floating beside it.
“As you can see, Latias,” the white pokémon explained, “the power our type possesses can be manipulated into a physical manifestation that will do damage to an opponent.  As I have explained to you before, while this form of attack is not commonly used by our type, the energy ball technique is very effective except against opponents that are strong against psychic type pokémon.  You must focus your energy into a physical form, and then unleash it.  Clear your mind of all other thoughts except the ones from which you gain your energy.”
The flying pokémon nodded and began to focus.  As her eyes closed, Latias tried to focus what energy she could gather into the form that Mewtwo had been talking about.  Unfortunately, the psychic pokémon had always failed to mention what kind of thought she should focus on.  After a minute, Latias was able to begin to form the ball of energy in her hands.  But as she tried to unleash that energy, the sphere wavered and vanished.
With a silent groan, the flying pokémon refolded her arms to her body sadly, her wings drooping.  For the last week, Latias had been trying to learn to use the attack.  But every time she got close, the same result happened.  Instead of copying what Mewtwo had done, her energy had withered away.
“Of course, this will still require time to perfect, let alone begin to stabilize.” Mewtwo said without emotion, “You will need to continue practicing.”
As she sighed, Latias felt a hand gently touch her wing, “Do not despair because you cannot achieve this yet.” The third pokémon said in a soft, female voice, “Just practice reaching the point where the energy becomes physical.  We will continue with this tomorrow, alright.”
“Alright Gardevoir.” Latias replied sadly, “But thank you both for helping to train me.”
Gardevoir nodded as Mewtwo just glared.  The psychic pokémon wasn’t one to usually show any emotion aside from a glare or a slight hint of a smirk.  Latias had learned this after the first few days of her training.
As Latias flew back to the base, Mewtwo looked to the female gardevoir, “Tell me again why we are attempting to teach her how to truly use her power?”
“Because not only is it good for her to learn these techniques,” Gardevoir replied, “But because it will help her to reach her goal of being a productive member of Rescue Team Nexus.  If she cannot draw enough power from her mind to attack a more powerful enemy, she knows that she will not be the strong, productive member Eevee needs her to be.”
Mewtwo sighed and shook its head, “I still do not see the point of training her to use techniques that are obviously above her current level of skill.  After a week of these failures, I would believe that Eevee would agree with me that this is too much for her.”
“How else will she improve if we do not push her to do so?” Gardevoir replied, “Latias needs this training, Mewtwo.  If she did not need it, Eevee would not have asked us to try and train her.  Besides, you know as well as I do that she can do this.  She just needs more time.”
Mewtwo sighed impatiently, “Fine, we will continue to train her.  But if she cannot succeed soon, I do not see the point in continuing to try.”
“Just give it a little more time.  I am sure she will achieve it.” Gardevoir replied.
*           *          *
That night, Latias decided to try and clear her mind.  After saying goodnight to her brother, Latios, the eon pokémon took to the night sky.  The cool fall air felt good as she flew the bright stars and full moon above her lighting her journey inland from the Southern Islands where her brother, Latios, and her lived when the Nexus Team didn’t require their services.
But, just because they were not always needed, did not mean that Latias and her brother stayed on the grassy island all the time.  Some of Latias’s time was spent training herself for when she was needed, but a lot of her spare time was spent with the one she loved, one of the two leaders of the Nexus Team who had saved her life two and a half months ago.  The fox pokémon Eevee.
It was towards his home, the main base of the Nexus Team, that Latias flew.  While the small building didn’t look like much, almost more like a large house than a rescue team base, it was perfect for the team.  The Nexus Team had grown considerably over the nearly two years since it’s beginning of just Eevee and his best friend and partner, a charmander simply nicknamed ‘Charm’.  Now, the rescue team was composed of over two hundred different pokémon with multiple smaller teams under the original team’s command.  While those teams usually now handled most of the jobs received by the team, Eevee and Charm still led missions.  While Charm liked to take charge of missions with other pokémon he found skilled, Eevee took new recruits on missions to train them.
But now as she landed, Latias felt that her beloved eevee should be home.  While the base now housed a medical wing, two meeting and briefing rooms, and a kitchen for anyone staying there, it still had the original, tiny house Eevee lived in.  But when Latias looked into the window, she saw that Eevee’s straw bed was empty!
“Great…he’s gone.” Latias thought sadly as she began to float away, then she turned back and went into the main section of the base, “But maybe someone knows where he went.”
As she wandered inside, another pokémon noticed her, the nurse who took care of anyone that had been injured in the field.  Her naturally armored, light blue and tan skin was covered by an apron with a red cross on it, a white hat with a similar design on her head.  While she was a large pokémon, Nidoqueen was also one of the most careful and caring on the team from when it had been a very small team during the early days of the team’s creation.  But Nidoqueen had also developed a sort of sixth sense about when someone needed help.  Even if they refused to say anything, Nidoqueen had managed to figure out what it was.
When she saw Latias enter the building, the armored pokémon knew immediately that something was bothering the female.
“What’s on your mind Latias?” Nidoqueen asked Latias.
Startled, Latias turned around quickly to find the nurse who had taken care of her.  As her heart raced, Latias took a deep breath to calm it.
“I was just looking for Eevee.” Latias said, trying to keep her voice calm, “Is he here?”
Nidoqueen shook her head, “Unfortunately, he’s not here right now Latias.”
When she saw Latias’s head and wings droop sadly, Nidoqueen felt bad for the pokémon before her.
“But if it would help, I think I know where he went.” The nurse said.
At these words, Latias looked up at her, her wings rising back up in hope.
Nidoqueen smiled, “I overheard him saying something about heading towards the training area near Sinister Woods.”
Latias’s eyes brightened as she nodded, “Thank you Nidoqueen!”
The female pokémon nodded, “Anytime, just be careful.  The bug types in there get pretty restless at night.”
Latias nodded and left the building.
*           *          *
A good flight time later, Latias landed in the clearing where, half a month ago, she had admitted her feelings for her leader, and had been surprised to find that he felt the same way about her.  Now as she landed, Latias looked around the dark clearing.  A few seconds later, she saw a form she recognized.  The small body, long, rabbit-like ears, and the puff of fur around the neck told her that this was an eevee alright, but was it her eevee?
“There’s only one way to find out.” She thought as she called, “Eevee, is that you?”
The fox pokémon’s ears perked up, “Latias?”
When he saw her, Eevee smiled and got up, “What’re you doing way out here?”
Latias blushed, “I-I was looking for you.”
Eevee sat down again, looking up at her, “Well, you found me, but why would you come looking for me during the night?”
Latias sighed softly and floated up beside him, laying down on the rock the eevee was perched on overlooking the river below them, “I just need a little help to relax…and maybe a little help with something else.”
“What’s on your mind?” Eevee asked.
Eevee laid down to listen to her.  Even without asking Latias if she wanted him to or not, the fox pokémon always seemed to know when she needed someone to listen.
Latias sighed, “That’s just it.  I have too much on my mind.  Mewtwo says I have to clear my mind in order to control my power better.  But…I can’t seem to do that.  I’ve been trying all week, but I just can’t find the thoughts Mewtwo says I need to gain control of my power.”
“Well, what did you think about when you tried?” Eevee asked.
“I tried to think about when I felt most powerful.” Latias said, “Like when I helped Ash to save my brother and the jewel.  But it didn’t work.  Today I tried to draw the strength from anger, but the result was the same as it has been every time.”
Eevee thought for a minute, then remembered something Ninetails had told him when the legendary nine-tailed fox pokémon had given him his hyper beam attack.  In order to use his power, the fox pokémon had to relax and think about a time when he was the happiest.
“Maybe you’d draw that power from a different type of memory.” Eevee stated as he sat up, “Like a happy time in your life.”
Latias’s mind raced, searching for those memories.  But as it did, she realized that there were many times when she was happiest.  On the swing with the trainer she had loved named Ash Ketchum, her first kiss with him in her human disguise, lying in his arms after they had defeated the ones trying to harm her and her brother, and finding out a few days after it had all happened that her brother could be removed from the jewel safely.  And current times when she was reunited with her brother after Eevee and Charmander had saved her, when she had admitted her feelings for Eevee and found that he had the same ones for her, and the few times they had been cuddling alone, keeping their love secret between them.
“But there are so many of those memories.” Latias replied as she thought of these and more, “I couldn’t focus on just one.”
Eevee smiled, “Well, what if you don’t have to focus on just one?  If that’s the source of your power, focusing on more than one might strengthen your attack.”
Latias looked up at the fox pokémon, “Do you really think that might help?”
Eevee shrugged, “I’m not sure, Latias.  But I’m not really the best one to ask about it.  I’d probably talk to Gardevoir or even Mew tomorrow before training.  They’re both more likely to give you an answer than Mewtwo.”
Latias nodded and floated beside him, watching the moon above them slowly rise into the night skies.  The wind slowly began to pick up, blowing a chilly breeze through the night air.
“But what if I keep failing?” Latias asked herself as she shivered a little, “What if I can’t do this?  Will...will Eevee still love me?  And what about Ash?  If I ever see him again…will he still care about me as well?”
“Come on, let’s head back to base.” Eevee said, taking an orb out of a pack that had been lying beside him.
Latias nodded and watched as her beloved eevee activated the escape orb.  With a  blinding flash of white light, the two vanished from sight.
*           *          *
The next day, Latias had decided to take Eevee’s advice.  Now, she was floating beside the one pokémon that might be able to help her the most.  The always delightful Mew.
After explaining everything to the psychic pokémon, Latias begged, “Please, I really want to know if that will work.”
Mew thought for a minute, spinning in the air as she did.  Finally, she giggled.
“I would certainly believe it could work.” Mew replied happily, “After all, that’s how I gain power for the attack when I use it.”
“So…it could work for me?” Latias asked.
Mew nodded, “You won’t know until you try.  So I say try it.”
Latias nodded, “Thank you for the help Mew.”
The psychic pokémon nodded as Latias began to fly off.  But before she could Mew felt that she had to tell the flying pokémon something.  But she’d have to say it so that Latias would be forced to think about it.
“You don’t need to become more powerful to please them, Latias.” Mew said, almost too calmly, “They’ll love you no matter how strong or weak you are.”
Suddenly, Latias stopped as if she had been yanked back by a powerful force.  Nervousness gripped her heart as she looked back at Mew.
“W-what makes you think I’m doing this to please anyone?” Latias asked, her voice trembling from her nervous mind.
Mew simply smiled, “Just keep that in mind.  It might help you.”
Latias hovered there for a second, looking at Mew.  But the psychic pokémon simply kept smiling her mysterious smile.  With the knowledge that Mew was not going to say why she had said what she had, Latias took the skies again to meet with Gardevoir and Mewtwo for her training lesson.  Then, she made sense of what Mew had told her.  Stranger yet, she felt calmer thinking about it.
“She may be a very odd pokémon, but she’s right.” Latias thought as she flew, “Eevee and Ash don’t care about raw power.  They care about my heart a lot more than they do about my strength.  But I will not let the rest of the team down.  I will master this and I will become stronger.  I’ll still need it if I ever want to be able to protect myself without Eevee, my brother, or even Ash if I ever see him again.”
*           *          *
“Alright, I am going to hazard a guess and say that you did try to practice harder last night.” Mewtwo said in his usual, emotionless voice, “So, it is now time to see if you have made any progress at all from this week.”
Latias nodded and looked to Gardevoir.  The human-ish pokémon nodded for her to continue.  With a sigh, Latias closed her eyes and focused.
“Find the thought and draw power from it.” Mewtwo explained for the umpteenth time.
Latias took a deep breath and thought of what Mew had said.  Her realization that Eevee and Ash would care for her no matter what happened today.  Today, she would get this right!  She was sure of it.
Within seconds, a ball of shifting energy formed in Latias’s hands.  The purple sphere sat there, growing as it gained energy from Latias as she focused on the happy memory she had found first.
Gardevoir smiled as Mewtwo simply nodded, “Now, unleash that energy.  Strike the target with your full force.”
When Latias opened her eyes, her golden, kind eyes had begun to glow white with her newly awakened ability.  She pulled back her right hand and twisted her body, the sphere resting in it like a baseball about to be thrown.  With a cry, the flying pokémon fired the sphere, throwing it as if she were tossing a ball.
Her heart raced as the sphere flew across the field as if it had been shot from a cannon.  The energy ball sparked, shooting off golden streaks of energy as it not only struck the target, but also knocked it back a few feet before it tumbled to the ground!
“That was great!” Gardevoir said happily, clapping, “Very well done, Latias.”
“I must admit, even I did not find it to be a waste.” Mewtwo stated calmly, “Although your form could stand for some work, I am pleased that you have done this.”
“I did do it!” Latias thought happily, “I really did it!”
But as that thought occurred, Latias realized something else.  Something no one had mentioned.  She felt tired, as if most of her energy had been sapped.
“It would seem that you placed a little too much power in your attack.” Mewtwo observed, “Apparently, the thought you found has much more power than you realized.  Thus, this resulted in an overpowered attack that drained much more energy than required.”
Latias simply nodded.
“Get some rest.” Gardevoir said with a smile, “You have done well.  Tomorrow we’ll try to refine your form.”
Thanking them, Latias took off happily, flying back towards the Southern Islands.
As they watched her go, Gardevoir smiled at Mewtwo, “You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”
“I had a feeling, yes.” Mewtwo replied, bringing the training dummy to them, “But I did not expect that she would have this sort of power.  After all, she is only half psychic.”
“Yes, but even you know how strong the dragon types are.  As a psychic/dragon type, Latias has a strong power to draw from.” Gardevoir stated, “And you seem to be losing your touch, not being able to sense the power she holds inside.”
“Losing my touch?” Mewtwo asked in annoyance, “I am not losing my touch.  I simply did not believe it to be relevant today.”
“If you say so.” Gardevoir replied smugly, thinking to herself, “But even Mewtwo knows Latias will only grow stronger from here.  It will not be long before she is strong enough to make a fine member of the team.”

Description
The Journal of Team Nexus: Training Latias

So far, the day had been pretty good.  The warm sun shone above the three as they stood in a grassy meadow, the breeze pushing the grass as it passed through.  For many other pokémon, it was the type of day that one would lay outside and enjoy the fall weather.  But not for the three who were standing near a group of straw targets.  One of the targets had already been destroyed, a large hole punched through it by a blast of psychic energy.
For the second time that day, the grass was suddenly parted as a sphere of purple energy shot over it, bolts of white energy flowing off of it like lightning as it raced through the air.  After a few seconds of travel, the orb stopped, striking a target over thirty yards away.  When it did, one of the three pokémon turned to a red and white, bird-like pokémon floating beside it.
“As you can see, Latias,” the white pokémon explained, “the power our type possesses can be manipulated into a physical manifestation that will do damage to an opponent.  As I have explained to you before, while this form of attack is not commonly used by our type, the energy ball technique is very effective except against opponents that are strong against psychic type pokémon.  You must focus your energy into a physical form, and then unleash it.  Clear your mind of all other thoughts except the ones from which you gain your energy.”
The flying pokémon nodded and began to focus.  As her eyes closed, Latias tried to focus what energy she could gather into the form that Mewtwo had been talking about.  Unfortunately, the psychic pokémon had always failed to mention what kind of thought she should focus on.  After a minute, Latias was able to begin to form the ball of energy in her hands.  But as she tried to unleash that energy, the sphere wavered and vanished.
With a silent groan, the flying pokémon refolded her arms to her body sadly, her wings drooping.  For the last week, Latias had been trying to learn to use the attack.  But every time she got close, the same result happened.  Instead of copying what Mewtwo had done, her energy had withered away.
“Of course, this will still require time to perfect, let alone begin to stabilize.” Mewtwo said without emotion, “You will need to continue practicing.”
As she sighed, Latias felt a hand gently touch her wing, “Do not despair because you cannot achieve this yet.” The third pokémon said in a soft, female voice, “Just practice reaching the point where the energy becomes physical.  We will continue with this tomorrow, alright.”
“Alright Gardevoir.” Latias replied sadly, “But thank you both for helping to train me.”
Gardevoir nodded as Mewtwo just glared.  The psychic pokémon wasn’t one to usually show any emotion aside from a glare or a slight hint of a smirk.  Latias had learned this after the first few days of her training.
As Latias flew back to the base, Mewtwo looked to the female gardevoir, “Tell me again why we are attempting to teach her how to truly use her power?”
“Because not only is it good for her to learn these techniques,” Gardevoir replied, “But because it will help her to reach her goal of being a productive member of Rescue Team Nexus.  If she cannot draw enough power from her mind to attack a more powerful enemy, she knows that she will not be the strong, productive member Eevee needs her to be.”
Mewtwo sighed and shook its head, “I still do not see the point of training her to use techniques that are obviously above her current level of skill.  After a week of these failures, I would believe that Eevee would agree with me that this is too much for her.”
“How else will she improve if we do not push her to do so?” Gardevoir replied, “Latias needs this training, Mewtwo.  If she did not need it, Eevee would not have asked us to try and train her.  Besides, you know as well as I do that she can do this.  She just needs more time.”
Mewtwo sighed impatiently, “Fine, we will continue to train her.  But if she cannot succeed soon, I do not see the point in continuing to try.”
“Just give it a little more time.  I am sure she will achieve it.” Gardevoir replied.
*           *          *
That night, Latias decided to try and clear her mind.  After saying goodnight to her brother, Latios, the eon pokémon took to the night sky.  The cool fall air felt good as she flew the bright stars and full moon above her lighting her journey inland from the Southern Islands where her brother, Latios, and her lived when the Nexus Team didn’t require their services.
But, just because they were not always needed, did not mean that Latias and her brother stayed on the grassy island all the time.  Some of Latias’s time was spent training herself for when she was needed, but a lot of her spare time was spent with the one she loved, one of the two leaders of the Nexus Team who had saved her life two and a half months ago.  The fox pokémon Eevee.
It was towards his home, the main base of the Nexus Team, that Latias flew.  While the small building didn’t look like much, almost more like a large house than a rescue team base, it was perfect for the team.  The Nexus Team had grown considerably over the nearly two years since it’s beginning of just Eevee and his best friend and partner, a charmander simply nicknamed ‘Charm’.  Now, the rescue team was composed of over two hundred different pokémon with multiple smaller teams under the original team’s command.  While those teams usually now handled most of the jobs received by the team, Eevee and Charm still led missions.  While Charm liked to take charge of missions with other pokémon he found skilled, Eevee took new recruits on missions to train them.
But now as she landed, Latias felt that her beloved eevee should be home.  While the base now housed a medical wing, two meeting and briefing rooms, and a kitchen for anyone staying there, it still had the original, tiny house Eevee lived in.  But when Latias looked into the window, she saw that Eevee’s straw bed was empty!
“Great…he’s gone.” Latias thought sadly as she began to float away, then she turned back and went into the main section of the base, “But maybe someone knows where he went.”
As she wandered inside, another pokémon noticed her, the nurse who took care of anyone that had been injured in the field.  Her naturally armored, light blue and tan skin was covered by an apron with a red cross on it, a white hat with a similar design on her head.  While she was a large pokémon, Nidoqueen was also one of the most careful and caring on the team from when it had been a very small team during the early days of the team’s creation.  But Nidoqueen had also developed a sort of sixth sense about when someone needed help.  Even if they refused to say anything, Nidoqueen had managed to figure out what it was.
When she saw Latias enter the building, the armored pokémon knew immediately that something was bothering the female.
“What’s on your mind Latias?” Nidoqueen asked Latias.
Startled, Latias turned around quickly to find the nurse who had taken care of her.  As her heart raced, Latias took a deep breath to calm it.
“I was just looking for Eevee.” Latias said, trying to keep her voice calm, “Is he here?”
Nidoqueen shook her head, “Unfortunately, he’s not here right now Latias.”
When she saw Latias’s head and wings droop sadly, Nidoqueen felt bad for the pokémon before her.
“But if it would help, I think I know where he went.” The nurse said.
At these words, Latias looked up at her, her wings rising back up in hope.
Nidoqueen smiled, “I overheard him saying something about heading towards the training area near Sinister Woods.”
Latias’s eyes brightened as she nodded, “Thank you Nidoqueen!”
The female pokémon nodded, “Anytime, just be careful.  The bug types in there get pretty restless at night.”
Latias nodded and left the building.
*           *          *
A good flight time later, Latias landed in the clearing where, half a month ago, she had admitted her feelings for her leader, and had been surprised to find that he felt the same way about her.  Now as she landed, Latias looked around the dark clearing.  A few seconds later, she saw a form she recognized.  The small body, long, rabbit-like ears, and the puff of fur around the neck told her that this was an eevee alright, but was it her eevee?
“There’s only one way to find out.” She thought as she called, “Eevee, is that you?”
The fox pokémon’s ears perked up, “Latias?”
When he saw her, Eevee smiled and got up, “What’re you doing way out here?”
Latias blushed, “I-I was looking for you.”
Eevee sat down again, looking up at her, “Well, you found me, but why would you come looking for me during the night?”
Latias sighed softly and floated up beside him, laying down on the rock the eevee was perched on overlooking the river below them, “I just need a little help to relax…and maybe a little help with something else.”
“What’s on your mind?” Eevee asked.
Eevee laid down to listen to her.  Even without asking Latias if she wanted him to or not, the fox pokémon always seemed to know when she needed someone to listen.
Latias sighed, “That’s just it.  I have too much on my mind.  Mewtwo says I have to clear my mind in order to control my power better.  But…I can’t seem to do that.  I’ve been trying all week, but I just can’t find the thoughts Mewtwo says I need to gain control of my power.”
“Well, what did you think about when you tried?” Eevee asked.
“I tried to think about when I felt most powerful.” Latias said, “Like when I helped Ash to save my brother and the jewel.  But it didn’t work.  Today I tried to draw the strength from anger, but the result was the same as it has been every time.”
Eevee thought for a minute, then remembered something Ninetails had told him when the legendary nine-tailed fox pokémon had given him his hyper beam attack.  In order to use his power, the fox pokémon had to relax and think about a time when he was the happiest.
“Maybe you’d draw that power from a different type of memory.” Eevee stated as he sat up, “Like a happy time in your life.”
Latias’s mind raced, searching for those memories.  But as it did, she realized that there were many times when she was happiest.  On the swing with the trainer she had loved named Ash Ketchum, her first kiss with him in her human disguise, lying in his arms after they had defeated the ones trying to harm her and her brother, and finding out a few days after it had all happened that her brother could be removed from the jewel safely.  And current times when she was reunited with her brother after Eevee and Charmander had saved her, when she had admitted her feelings for Eevee and found that he had the same ones for her, and the few times they had been cuddling alone, keeping their love secret between them.
“But there are so many of those memories.” Latias replied as she thought of these and more, “I couldn’t focus on just one.”
Eevee smiled, “Well, what if you don’t have to focus on just one?  If that’s the source of your power, focusing on more than one might strengthen your attack.”
Latias looked up at the fox pokémon, “Do you really think that might help?”
Eevee shrugged, “I’m not sure, Latias.  But I’m not really the best one to ask about it.  I’d probably talk to Gardevoir or even Mew tomorrow before training.  They’re both more likely to give you an answer than Mewtwo.”
Latias nodded and floated beside him, watching the moon above them slowly rise into the night skies.  The wind slowly began to pick up, blowing a chilly breeze through the night air.
“But what if I keep failing?” Latias asked herself as she shivered a little, “What if I can’t do this?  Will...will Eevee still love me?  And what about Ash?  If I ever see him again…will he still care about me as well?”
“Come on, let’s head back to base.” Eevee said, taking an orb out of a pack that had been lying beside him.
Latias nodded and watched as her beloved eevee activated the escape orb.  With a  blinding flash of white light, the two vanished from sight.
*           *          *
The next day, Latias had decided to take Eevee’s advice.  Now, she was floating beside the one pokémon that might be able to help her the most.  The always delightful Mew.
After explaining everything to the psychic pokémon, Latias begged, “Please, I really want to know if that will work.”
Mew thought for a minute, spinning in the air as she did.  Finally, she giggled.
“I would certainly believe it could work.” Mew replied happily, “After all, that’s how I gain power for the attack when I use it.”
“So…it could work for me?” Latias asked.
Mew nodded, “You won’t know until you try.  So I say try it.”
Latias nodded, “Thank you for the help Mew.”
The psychic pokémon nodded as Latias began to fly off.  But before she could Mew felt that she had to tell the flying pokémon something.  But she’d have to say it so that Latias would be forced to think about it.
“You don’t need to become more powerful to please them, Latias.” Mew said, almost too calmly, “They’ll love you no matter how strong or weak you are.”
Suddenly, Latias stopped as if she had been yanked back by a powerful force.  Nervousness gripped her heart as she looked back at Mew.
“W-what makes you think I’m doing this to please anyone?” Latias asked, her voice trembling from her nervous mind.
Mew simply smiled, “Just keep that in mind.  It might help you.”
Latias hovered there for a second, looking at Mew.  But the psychic pokémon simply kept smiling her mysterious smile.  With the knowledge that Mew was not going to say why she had said what she had, Latias took the skies again to meet with Gardevoir and Mewtwo for her training lesson.  Then, she made sense of what Mew had told her.  Stranger yet, she felt calmer thinking about it.
“She may be a very odd pokémon, but she’s right.” Latias thought as she flew, “Eevee and Ash don’t care about raw power.  They care about my heart a lot more than they do about my strength.  But I will not let the rest of the team down.  I will master this and I will become stronger.  I’ll still need it if I ever want to be able to protect myself without Eevee, my brother, or even Ash if I ever see him again.”
*           *          *
“Alright, I am going to hazard a guess and say that you did try to practice harder last night.” Mewtwo said in his usual, emotionless voice, “So, it is now time to see if you have made any progress at all from this week.”
Latias nodded and looked to Gardevoir.  The human-ish pokémon nodded for her to continue.  With a sigh, Latias closed her eyes and focused.
“Find the thought and draw power from it.” Mewtwo explained for the umpteenth time.
Latias took a deep breath and thought of what Mew had said.  Her realization that Eevee and Ash would care for her no matter what happened today.  Today, she would get this right!  She was sure of it.
Within seconds, a ball of shifting energy formed in Latias’s hands.  The purple sphere sat there, growing as it gained energy from Latias as she focused on the happy memory she had found first.
Gardevoir smiled as Mewtwo simply nodded, “Now, unleash that energy.  Strike the target with your full force.”
When Latias opened her eyes, her golden, kind eyes had begun to glow white with her newly awakened ability.  She pulled back her right hand and twisted her body, the sphere resting in it like a baseball about to be thrown.  With a cry, the flying pokémon fired the sphere, throwing it as if she were tossing a ball.
Her heart raced as the sphere flew across the field as if it had been shot from a cannon.  The energy ball sparked, shooting off golden streaks of energy as it not only struck the target, but also knocked it back a few feet before it tumbled to the ground!
“That was great!” Gardevoir said happily, clapping, “Very well done, Latias.”
“I must admit, even I did not find it to be a waste.” Mewtwo stated calmly, “Although your form could stand for some work, I am pleased that you have done this.”
“I did do it!” Latias thought happily, “I really did it!”
But as that thought occurred, Latias realized something else.  Something no one had mentioned.  She felt tired, as if most of her energy had been sapped.
“It would seem that you placed a little too much power in your attack.” Mewtwo observed, “Apparently, the thought you found has much more power than you realized.  Thus, this resulted in an overpowered attack that drained much more energy than required.”
Latias simply nodded.
“Get some rest.” Gardevoir said with a smile, “You have done well.  Tomorrow we’ll try to refine your form.”
Thanking them, Latias took off happily, flying back towards the Southern Islands.
As they watched her go, Gardevoir smiled at Mewtwo, “You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”
“I had a feeling, yes.” Mewtwo replied, bringing the training dummy to them, “But I did not expect that she would have this sort of power.  After all, she is only half psychic.”
“Yes, but even you know how strong the dragon types are.  As a psychic/dragon type, Latias has a strong power to draw from.” Gardevoir stated, “And you seem to be losing your touch, not being able to sense the power she holds inside.”
“Losing my touch?” Mewtwo asked in annoyance, “I am not losing my touch.  I simply did not believe it to be relevant today.”
“If you say so.” Gardevoir replied smugly, thinking to herself, “But even Mewtwo knows Latias will only grow stronger from here.  It will not be long before she is strong enough to make a fine member of the team.”