Latias Report

Latias (the Eon Pokémon) is a legendary Dragon/Psychic-type Pokémon found in places all around the world, though only on rare occasions. Traveling in small herds and staying hidden from humans most of the time, Latias are beautiful creatures that are always willing to lend a help to Pokémon in need, even at the risk of their lives. Few trainers are ever lucky enough to see a Latias in their lifetime, but if you have a good heart and a kind spirit you have no need to worry, as you're almost guaranteed to see one before your time is done!

Latias possess a special type of down that naturally refracts light, in turn allowing them to stay hidden from sight almost 100% of the time. Although their movements can still be detected by radar, this is rarely ever an issue because they almost never appear near humans or even other Pokémon; unfortunately, this has in turn essentially made any studying of their social patterns extremely difficult if not entirely impossible. However, it is apparent that they possess some control over the functionality of this down as they can subtly cover it up with their other feathers in order to reveal themselves; in addition, Latias can utilize their psychic powers and their special down to actually change their appearance in the eyes of humans (as the human eye and the eyes of most Pokémon function by taking in light reflected by objects). Under combat situations, Latias can even combine this down with their natural psychic powers to produce an energized ball of down capable of damaging and restricting the special powers of an opponent (this attack, known as the Mist Ball attack, is completely unique to Latias). In this way, Latias can often travel and even live among humans for extended periods of time without ever being noticed; however, their one weakness in this scenario is that they lack the ability to actually speak in a human language. Instead, Latias communicate with people through telepathy. Despite this handicap, Latias are incredibly intelligent and are perfectly capable of understanding human speech. Furthermore, Latias are much like humans in that they are highly sensitive to emotions. If they sense any hostility in an individual, Latias will ruffle their feathers and cry shrilly in order to intimidate their enemy; if that doesn't work, they resort to running away in order to preserve their life. Not surprisingly, this also means that Latias tend to avoid cruel or mean-spirited people and instead prefer to live among kind-hearted people that they can trust with their secret in case it were to ever be revealed by accident.

Latias seem to share an interesting connection to Latios that goes beyond reproduction in that the two never interbreed. Latias and Latios tend to stay by themselves in separate herds, but every so often a pair will break off from their respective groups and decide to live together; not as a couple, though, but in more of a brother-sister relationship. This has proven to be an extremely difficult circumstance to understand, as it does not explain how Latias and Latios are born; Latias are always exclusively female while Latios are exclusively male, yet they are not capable of breeding with each other. This mystery has plagued scientists for many decades, but it appears that a study in Switzerland may have revealed part of the shocking (and perhaps grotesque) truth. Close analysis of the genomes of Latias and Latios have revealed that, while Latios are automatically born sterile, Latias are not; in fact, they are more than capable of producing eggs…but not with other Pokémon. This could mean that Latios are simply genetic abnormalities created due to the reactivation of normally-deactivated genes within the Latias lineage that alter the structure of their sex chromosomes, which might explain why Latias and Latios usually travel in separated herds. The most shocking revelation, however, is that there is one particularly type of organism that Latias could potentially breed with without encountering the issues normally associated with trans-species reproduction: humans. Despite how ridiculous it may sound, this would not only explain why Latias prefer to remain among themselves and humans but also why they are predisposed to react so strongly and human-like to emotions; until more evidence can be brought up in support of this hypothesis, however, the true answer behind the reproduction of Latias and Latios will remain a mystery.

In addition, there is one other particular object of interest that needs to be addressed in regards to both Latias and Latios: the Soul Dew. Soul Dews are exceptionally rare items that are said to be formed from the crystallized remains of Latios souls after the creatures' bodies die; while this has not truly been scientifically proven, the nature of Soul Dews is so mysterious that it nonetheless makes one pause in consideration. Imbued with mysterious power, Soul Dews are guarded by their owners and caretakers around the world because there are not many left; as written history has shown, most have been discarded or destroyed in ancient times because their significance was never considered. While little is known about them, Soul Dews do have one exceptional effect: When a Latias or Latios holds a Soul Dew, its Special Attack and Special Defense automatically increase by 20%. Although their true origins may be questionable, this at least proves that the items are somehow related to the creatures.

It is further noted that Latias is one of only 46 species of Pokémon known to be capable of undergoing Mega Evolution. Triggered by the presence of a held Latiasite, Mega Evolution does not change the overall anatomy of these creatures very much but it does nonetheless make them far more of a threat in battle than ever before. In Mega Evolving, these creatures change color and size considerably, altering from their normal red coloration to purple and changing the structure of their front limbs into giant, makeshift wings. These structures do not add much in the way of additional flying expertise, but they do provide much more stability than normal in flight and in turn enable Mega Latias to soar high up in the sky even where the air might otherwise be turbulent or stormy. The reason why this change takes place in this fashion is not fully understood, but the strange purple coloration of their Mega Evolved state at least demonstrates that they and Latios without a doubt directly related genetically, seeing as it is a blending of their color patterns. Interestingly enough, if trainers have access to an item known as an Eon Flute and have the ability to make a Latias Mega Evolve, they can ride their Mega Latias high into the clouds and soar high above the ground, even where most Flying-type Pokémon prefer to stay away from due to turbulence. As such, they can serve as useful agents of transportation and do not seem to mind acting as such as long as the trainer summoning them is someone they feel that they can trust. In terms of stats, the act of Mega Evolving moderately increases Mega Latias’ base Attack and Special Defense stats and considerably increases their base Defense and Special Attack stats; in turn, they gain the highest base Special Defense stat out of all Dragon-type Pokémon (tied with Goodra). These creatures might not be extremely unique on their own, but there is no doubt that they are far stronger than your average Latias and are more than capable of putting their full power to the test when called upon in battle.

While Latias and Latios generally remain outside the viewing pleasure of the media, there is one recent event involving one of each species that should be mentioned: the Alto Mare Incident. The port town of Alto Mare is a beautiful resort town well-known for its intricate canals and homely atmosphere, but what most people don't know is that the town was once almost completely destroyed by a massive tsunami and a sudden attack by prehistoric Pokémon like Kabutops and Aerodactyl; the town was saved by the timely intervention of a sole Latios, though, which used its own power to stop and destroy the forces threatening the city. This so drained the creature of its life energy that its body died, leaving only the crystallized remains of its power behind in the form of a Soul Dew. Afterwards, the people of Alto Mare built a powerful weapon (the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare, or DMA) that would protect the city in case such a crisis were to happen ever again; although the device was designed to utilize the Soul Dew as a power source, because it was never used, both the machine and the Soul Dew faded into history. 13 years ago, however, after the city's annual Tour de Alto Mare (a human-and-Pokémon swimming competition designed to give thanks to the great guardian that saved the city long ago), a pair of spies from the former criminal organization Team Rocket (known only as Annie and Oakley) attempted to take the DMA and use it as a weapon by capturing both of the descendants of the original Latios (a Latias and Latios) and using them in combination with the Soul Dew (all of which had been under the care of a local boat maker and his daughter) to activate the ancient machine. Unfortunately, the situation escalated out of control when the Soul Dew was used for too long and finally broke, causing the machine to go out of control and generate a massive tsunami capable of swallowing the entire town. Thanks to help of a few visiting trainers, however, both the Latias and Latios were freed, in turn allowing the Latios to do what its ancestor had done. This sacrifice deactivated the DMA and saved the town from destruction, but the massive loss in energy caused the Latios to die, leaving only a Soul Dew behind in its demise. Records of events following the incident, particularly involving the now sibling-less Latias, have been kept under close wraps by locals, most likely in an attempt to completely bury the town's history in case someone else were to reactivate the DMA again.

Although little might be known about their true lifestyles or social structures, it cannot be denied that Latias are beautiful and magnificent creatures. With an impressive variety of unique techniques and a kind nature sure to make just about anyone feel welcome, Latias are strong fighters that won't be afraid to take on opponents if they have to and will do so gladly. If you happen to be that opponent, be prepared for the worst; they might seem too delicate to do much damage, but you would be surprised to see how dangerous one of these elegant creatures can be if made uncomfortable!

Professor Wormwood