Pokemon: Radical Redux-Chapter 319: Night town?

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After the group left the Dojo, not much happened on the road, honestly. There was some pointless filler that did not progress the plot in any meaningful way.

The main thing was that Ash started training his Pokémon more, since he was planning to go after Ecruteak. He knew he would have to deal with Ghost-types, mainly the Gengar line, so he was definitely going to take Haunter, Stantler, and Noctowl.

He trained Haunter for special attack and to potentially evolve. He also went ahead and gave her a Timid Mint.

With Noctowl, he gave him a Calm Mint, since he knew Noctowl would have to deal with special attacks. He also taught him some new Psychic moves.

For Stantler, he gave him a Jolly Mint, and after some more practice with [Zen Headbutt], Stantler finally managed to learn [Psyshield Bash], which was great, now Ash could help him evolve.

Other than that, the Larvitar brothers and Ash's Aerodactyl had matured enough to start training as well. Since Rock-type Pokémon are the third fastest to mature behind only Bug and Normal-types, they could begin training them.

When they stopped to set up camp, after everyone was fed and had gone to sleep, Ash sneaked out and walked a good distance away. Once he was far enough to avoid waking anyone, he pulled out Stantler's Pokéball and released him.

When Stantler emerged, he walked up and nuzzled Ash's hand, looking happy just to be alive.

Ash rubbed Stantler's head. "Hey, bud, I want to ask you something. Do you want to evolve?"

Stantler tilted his head in confusion. He didn't think he could evolve his parents and all the other Stantler in his herd were just that: Stantler.

Ash pulled out his Pokédex and showed Stantler a picture of Wyrdeer. "You can become this, but only if you want to."

Stantler looked at the picture, his little eyes lighting up. He let out a happy grunt and nodded excitedly.

Ash chuckled slightly and rubbed his head. "Okay. Do you remember that move we learned together, [Psyshield Bash]?"

Stantler nodded, his head beginning to glow with bright purple energy.

Ash nodded back, then pointed at a tree. "Then let's start. [Psyshield Bash] over and over again."

Stantler obeyed, charging at the trees and bashing into them repeatedly, while Ash gave him pointers to get even faster. Whenever his head started to hurt, Ash healed him with Aura.

After breaking a few trees, Stantler used [Psyshield Bash] for the 20th time. As he slammed into the tree, psychic energy surged around him, enveloping his body as he began to glow.

As he ran, he grew. His fur became fluffier, his body nearly doubled in size, and his horns extended and grew. When the glowing stopped, Wyrdeer stood before Ash.

Wyrdeer looked down at his new body, letting out a pleased grunt before running up to Ash and nuzzling into him, burying Ash in his thick chest fur.

Ash felt the soft fur, pulled himself out of the floof, and started petting Wyrdeer. As a reward, he gave him his favorite treat, a banana. While Wyrdeer ate, Ash checked the Pokédex and smiled seeing what he was looking at.

This would be very useful. Professor Oak would probably be shameless and want to study him, but Ash wasn't about to let him have Wyrdeer this time. If Oak wanted to study one, he could catch his own.

Ash let Wyrdeer back into his Pokéball to sleep, since it was the middle of the night, then walked back to camp to get some rest.

—

As they got back on the road, they were getting close to Ecruteak, but they wouldn't be able to reach it by the end of the day. Thankfully, they found a nearby town where they could rest in an actual hotel and restock their supplies.

However, as they approached the town, they saw something strange. In the sky, there was a distinct line that seemed to divide the town at night. On one side, it was dark, with stars shining in the sky, while just a single step back, it was still broad daylight. The phenomenon formed a perfect circle around the town.

"What's going on here?" Misty asked, furrowing her brows.

Brock checked his phone. "It shouldn't be night. It's noon," he said while holding Bonsly and feeding him from a bottle.

Yellow glanced up at the sky, an uneasy feeling settling in her chest. "I don't like this... It's weird," she mumbled, hugging Chuchu tighter.

Ash looked up, frowning, while Pikachu's ears twitched, sensing something was off.

Meanwhile, Ash crossed his arms, deep in thought. This seems familiar... but why? It was like an itch in the back of his mind, urging him to remember. But it had been so long since he last watched the anime, his memory was near perfect, but he did forget things sometimes.

As they stepped into the town, they saw people going about their daily lives as if nothing was wrong. Children were walking home from school, people were chatting and strolling through the streets, but the perpetual darkness cast an eerie atmosphere over everything.

As they passed through town, they overheard snippets of conversation:

"Good morning."

"No, it's evening right now."

"Oh... really? It's so hard to tell with all this darkness."

"I know! I hung my clothes out to dry two days ago, and they're still wet."

The group exchanged glances as they walked by.

"It must be really hard for people to live like this," Ash said, looking around at the dimly lit town.

"I know. It feels like we should all be getting ready for bed," Yellow added.

Ash nodded, watching the children rushing home from school. "Man, can you imagine having to go to school under a night sky like this?"

"Yeah, that would be crazy," Brock agreed.

As they continued walking, they passed through a park where an elderly man was working out with his Sudowoodo. He paused for a moment to catch his breath.

"Hello! Good afternoon," Brock greeted as he approached.

The old man looked up at them. "Evening... if it is good," he muttered. "I do my best to exercise, but it's hard to find energy when it's always dark."

"Hey, we're travelers, so we just got here," Brock explained. "If you don't mind us asking... Why is it dark?"

Bonsly, curious, wiggled out of Brock's arms and hopped over to look up at the Sudowoodo.

The old man sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. It's been like this for... a little less than a week, I think."

He glanced around the shadowed park before continuing. "Without sunlight, no one knows when to eat, no one knows when to sleep. The flowers and gardens can't grow..."

Sudowoodo nodded sadly. "Sudo..."

Then, a small Murkrow flapped weakly and perched on a nearby tree, looking injured—like someone had thrown things at it.

The old man sighed and held out some bread for the bird. "And we don't even have it the worst. These Murkrow... they're treated like bad omens. People are trying to drive them away."

The Murkrow hesitated. It looked like it wanted to fly off, but hunger won out—it hadn't eaten in days. Slowly, it hopped down and began pecking at the bread, glancing around warily.

Yellow's expression fell. "That's terrible..."

The old man nodded. "It is. But I've been around long enough to know these little guys are innocent."

"I see... poor thing. They're actually kinda cute," Misty said, leaning down to try and pet the little crow.

Murkrow looked up, panicked, stuffed the rest of the bread into its beak, and took off as fast as it could, thinking Misty was going to hurt it.

"Hey... I'm not that scary... am I?" Misty asked, looking at the others.

No one answered. Instead, Brock scanned their surroundings. "So... it's night, and people think the Murkrow are causing it. But if they're not... then what is?"

"Not hearing a yes or no... starting to feel a little self-conscious," Misty mumbled, rubbing her arm.

"I don't know, but I'm starting to feel sleepy. I think it's time to go home. Sudowoodo?" the old man said.

Sudowoodo nodded. "Sudo!"

As the old man stood up, Brock waved. "Okay, take care."

Yellow waved too. "Good night!" Then she froze, realizing, "Uh... I mean, evening! Wait... that doesn't make sense now."

Ash chuckled and patted her head. "Don't worry, nothing ever makes sense."

Bonsly jumped happily, saying goodbye to his new friend. "Bon!"

Sudowoodo waved back. "Sudowoodo!"

Once the old man was gone, the group sighed and kept walking, hoping to learn more about whatever was going on in this town.

As they passed a playground, a little girl noticed them and waved, "Good evening!" she greeted playfully.

"Oh, hello there," Misty said, smiling. "You're pretty cute! What's your name?"

"I'm Tiara! So, are you all out here looking at the stars?"

"Stars, huh?" Ash said, glancing up at the sky. A shooting star streaked across the darkness. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt if we were."

Pikachu's eyes sparkled as he rubbed his cheek against Ash. "Pika!"

Chuchu watched Pikachu, then looked up at Yellow with a soft "Chu..."

"O-oh, you wanna sit on my head like Pikachu does? O-okay," Yellow stammered as she gently lifted Chuchu onto her head so she could see the stars better.

Bonsly, noticing this, turned to Brock with hopeful eyes. Brock let out a helpless chuckle and lifted Bonsly up. "There you go, buddy."

Tiara's smile faltered slightly as she watched them with their Pokémon, all happy together. It reminded her of something... something that made her heart ache.

Ash noticed her expression change, so he knelt down beside her. "Hey, Tiara, do you like the stars?"

"Well... not exactly," Tiara admitted. "I'm trying to find Cleffa's star. Cleffa became a star, you see?" She pointed at the sky as if they could see exactly what she meant.

As the group processed her words, a woman in a blue dress approached them.

"Tiara, it's time to go home," she said, noticing the group.

Tiara looked up and beamed. "Mommy! These people are nice enough to look at the stars with me!"

Her mother smiled and gently patted her head. "That's awfully kind of you all. Thank you."

Tiara then gave her mother wide, pleading eyes. "Mommy? Can I look a little longer?"

For a moment, her mother's expression turned somber. Then, she sighed with a small smile. "Okay, okay, just a little longer. But don't give me that face—you know I can't say no to you."

Tiara grinned, hugged her mother, and ran off to find the highest spot she could sit on. Meanwhile, her mother took a seat on a nearby bench.

Brock, seeing his chance, began to slide closer, only for Misty to grab him by the ear and yank him away.

Ash and Yellow sat down beside Tiara's mother, their Pokémon resting on their laps. After a moment, Yellow glanced over at her.

"Hey... why does Tiara like looking at the stars so much?"

Tiara's mother sighed. "She's... well, she's looking for Cleffa's star."

Misty returned and took a seat on another bench. "Yeah, she mentioned that. What do you mean?"

"Cleffa and Tiara loved each other," her mother said, pulling out her phone and showing them a picture of a baby Tiara with a Cleffa in her arms. "They spent every waking moment together."

"But then... well, Cleffa died. There's no sugarcoating it, she's gone." Her voice softened as she looked down at the photo. "When I had to tell Tiara, I just couldn't bring myself to say it outright. So... I told her Cleffa became a star. Ever since then, she's been coming here every day at the same time, searching."

"Oh... that's so sad..." Yellow murmured, hugging Chuchu closer.

Brock returned, still rubbing his sore ear. "My condolences. That must have been hard for both of you."

Tiara's mother looked up again. "There's one thing I've been wondering about. Something Tiara said a week ago. She told me she met an odd Pokémon... something long, with an eye."

"A Pokémon...?" Brock muttered, rubbing his chin in thought.

Just then, Tiara ran over, full of energy again. "Mommy, I'm ready now! Let's go!"

Her mother smiled. "Alright, let's go buy some yummy groceries, then we'll head home." She turned to the group. "It was very nice meeting you all. Stay safe."

"Bye-bye!" Tiara chirped, waving as they walked away.

After parting ways with Tiara and her mother, the group stopped by a diner to grab something to eat. As they settled in, Brock flipped through a pamphlet about the town.

"You think we should find a hotel?" he asked.

"What meal is this?" Yellow asked as she picked up a sandwich.

"Lunch," Misty confirmed, eating her salad.

Yellow took a bite of her sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. "It's kinda weird to have lunch at night," she mused.

Meanwhile, Ash was still lost in thought.

"What's on your mind, Ash?" Brock asked.

"I'm thinking about what Tiara's mom told us," Ash said, grabbing some fries. He held one up toward Pikachu, who was clutching the ketchup bottle. Pikachu eyed the fry before carefully squeezing out just a little ketchup like he was rationing it

"The weird Pokémon?" Brock nodded, crossing his arms. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It seems familiar, right?"

"Yeah... I think it's the Unown again," Ash said, crossing his arms.

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"The Unown again?" Misty repeated. "That... would actually make a lot of sense. The whole 'eternal night' thing? And the last time we ran into the Unown was way longer than a week ago."

"It would make sense... but if that's the case, why would they go to Tiara?" Brock asked.

"Maybe... maybe the Unown like little girls. I dunno. First it was Molly, now Tiara," Ash said casually.

Everyone immediately stared at him.

Brock cleared his throat. "You realize how creepy that sounds, right?"

"Oh, completely. But I'm not the one doing it," Ash shrugged.

"...I guess that's fair," Misty admitted with a shrug. "Anyway, what should we do? It's not like there's some big museum of ruins around here that we can check out for answers."

Brock smirked, leaning in and holding up the pamphlet. "Well, actually~"

(Five minutes later...)

"You have got to be joking..." Misty muttered, her eye twitching as they stood in front of a museum of ruins.

Ash smirked. "You know, our support group says your negativity is affecting us."

Misty whirled around. "Since when do you have a support group?!"

Brock immediately caught on to the joke. "Wow, so we can't seek support from the abuse? Unbelievable. You do realize I still have trauma from all the times you pulled my ear~"

"H-hey, that's not fair! Yellow, you're with me, right?" Misty asked, looking at Yellow hopefully.

Yellow flinched, clearly unsure what to say—until Ash casually stepped in front of her.

"Sorry, our client will refrain from answering any questions," he said smoothly.

Misty's jaw dropped. "Wha—?! You're not a lawyer!"

"I'm not," Ash admitted. "That's why I have Lawyer Pikachu."

He held up Pikachu, who was now wearing a tiny black suit, arms crossed and chest puffed out with a serious expression.

Misty stared in disbelief. "...Let me get this straight. You bought and custom-made a suit for Pikachu. For a bit?"

Ash grinned. "Don't underestimate how petty I can be. I once rearranged the keys on a keyboard just to mess with Gary. I can do so much worse."

Misty sighed, rubbing her temples. "...Let's just go."

With that, she marched into the museum, and the rest of the group followed.

Inside, the place was practically empty—probably because most people were asleep or trying to adjust to their messed-up sleep schedules. However, at the back of the room, a small group had gathered around someone.

As they got closer, Ash's eyes widened. He recognized her immediately.

Long blonde hair cascading down her back. A sleek, all-black outfit. Even though she looked younger, maybe around fifteen, there was no mistaking her, It was Cynthia.

And the moment Ash saw her, everything about this town suddenly clicked into place.

---

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