Pokemon: Radical Redux

Chapter 576 576: Petrel news

The gang were in a cabin, finally changing into winter clothes. You see, after May's win at Purika City, they had to make plans to go get Ash's last badge or May's last ribbon. For Ash, it would be Sootopolis City, and for May, it would be Pacifidlog Town.

When they looked at the map, they saw that they would need to take a boat either way, and the two places were more or less the same distance away from where they were. But they would decide that later. First, they needed to get to the place where they could board the ship and head to the port.

And that's why they were in this cabin. The ship that could take them to the next island was on the other side of the island, and the fastest way there was through the mountain. While Hoenn doesn't usually get snow due to its tropical weather, mountains like these were another story.

And plus, it was December now. They were officially in winter, so they had to dress appropriately. They weren't about to go out into the cold unprepared. Ash and Brock just got their usual coats, while Pikachu and Vee snuggled into Ash's jacket to share his warmth.

Max put on a dark green jacket, earmuffs, and snow gloves so he could play in the snow in the mountains, while May got a new pink coat with a dark pink scarf, and she put on leggings to stay warm.

Oh, and by the way, Wally wasn't forgotten, obviously. He was along for the ride now, but the thing was that the badges he needed were also over in Sootopolis, and Norman was there too, so it was on the way either way. Since no doubt after May got her ribbon, the first place they would go was back home. He just wore a nice trench coat.

But anyway, they were here in the cabin to rest for the night. It was one of those places where you could stay for free if you were traveling through the mountains. The only downside was that it didn't have any heating, but that was fine. The gang had blankets and Fire-types to hug.

So that's how they got to where they were now, sitting together while Brock started a fire to cook dinner, and Max was outside playing in the snow.

Ash sat on a log while reading a book. Pikachu and Vee were still inside his jacket. Vee opened his eyes and nudged Ash, pointing down to his ring.

Ash didn't even need to look. He just turned his ring to Fire Stone mode and booped Vee with it, sending him into Flareon Mode. Now that he was much warmer, he snuggled comfortably, and Pikachu also enjoyed the extra heat.

"Pikaaa…" Pikachu sighed happily.

"You guys are cheating," May laughed, rubbing her hands together near the fire, "They're basically portable heaters."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Ash said, "This mountain is freezing!"

"You think this is cold?" Brock smirked, "Hey Ash, remember when we had to try to get to the Mahogany Gym and it was inside a frozen mountain?"

Ash immediately groaned, "Don't remind me." Then he smirked, "I still remember when I kicked you so hard you were pulling snow out of your ears for hours."

"Ah, you know, in hindsight, I did deserve it. I'm just more surprised Misty didn't kick me again after she pulled me out," Brock said, scratching the side of his cheek.

Brock laughed softly, shaking his head as he stirred the soup hanging over the fire, "Trust me, after that, I learned my lesson."

"For like...a week," Ash snorted.

"Two weeks," Brock corrected proudly, "And that's the old Brock. This new Brock finally has a girlfriend. No more flirting with every beautiful girl I see!" he said proudly.

Ash leaned over to May and Wally and muttered, "Let's see how long that lasts." Since Ash knew Brock's taste, it was only a matter of time before the topic got brought up again. But that time was not now, and that was a problem for future Ash to deal with.

"What? Why? Are they having relationship problems already?" Wally asked innocently. He didn't know the depravity that was Brock's dreams.

"Oh Wally, sweet, sweet Wally, don't worry about it," Ash said, patting his head.

Meanwhile, May was looking at Ash still, specifically at Vee snuggled up inside his jacket, looking all fluffy like that as she muttered, "So unfair."

But then, as she sulked and considered asking Ash to borrow Vee for some snuggles, May felt her Poké Ball belt shake.

May blinked, "Huh?"

A red light flashed before her Eevee popped out on her own, landing softly on the snow. The second she spotted Vee all bundled up against Ash, she immediately perked up.

"Eeebee!"

"Oh no," May said instantly.

Her Eevee started happily trotting toward Vee with stars in her eyes. May lunged to grab her, and she did as Eevee struggled, but another Poké Ball burst open beside her.

"Skiiiitty!" her Skitty jumped out next.

"Skitty?!" May squeaked, letting go of Eevee. At least Eevee had more fur to stay warm. Skitty was not made for cold climates like this.

But Skitty didn't seem to care. When she saw Vee, she also tried going over, but May managed to grab her and shove her into her bag.

"There, stay warm."

But that gave Eevee enough time to get over to Ash, jumping up on his shoulder and looking down at Vee with her usual sparkling, love-filled eyes.

Vee immediately made the most alarmed sound Ash had ever heard from him before burying himself deeper into Ash's jacket, fluff-first.

Ash snorted, "Wow. She's got you cornered."

Pikachu snorted too, "Pika. [What's wrong, bro? Girl problems~]"

Vee poked his head out and glared at Pikachu, "Vee...[I know you're not talking. Say it again and I'll tell Chuchu what you do every week when you think we're all sleeping.]"

Pikachu immediately gasped in horror. No, he couldn't let that secret get out, his secret of sneaking out to drink ketchup in the middle of the night when he promised Chuchu he would cut back.

Ash chuckled before glancing at May, "So...have you actually thought about what you want to evolve your Eevee into?"

May blinked, "Huh?"

"You know," Ash said teasingly, "evolution. That big step where your Pokémon changes form."

May looked down at her Eevee, "I...actually haven't thought about it much," May admitted, "I mean, there's so many…"

"Pretty important choice," Wally said softly.

May hummed thoughtfully before suddenly snapping her fingers, "Wait!"

She leaned over, opening her bag carefully without disturbing Skitty too much. After digging around for a moment, she pulled out a slightly bent Pokémon magazine.

May flipped through the pages before finding a big colorful spread showing every Eeveelution.

"There we go!"

She walked over and carefully laid the magazine open on the snow in front of Eevee.

"All right," May said with a smile, kneeling down beside her, "Which one do you like best?"

Secretly, May found herself hoping for Sylveon. It was the prettiest one, though Flareon was also incredibly tempting right now. A big fluffy cuddle buddy during winter? Yes please.

Eevee tilted her head, studying the pages carefully and looking at the pretty pictures. Then she looked back up to where Vee was, and Vee immediately got nervous and quickly went back to base form.

Eevee gave a pout, but then looked back at the pages again. She raised her little paw, and it landed directly on Glaceon.

"Glaceon?" May said, slightly disappointed she wouldn't get a cuddle buddy. But she didn't hate the idea of a Glaceon. They had a more refined beauty.

Eevee nodded happily, then, to emphasize her choice, she jumped and fell into the snow, leaving only her lower half sticking out. Then she dug down and popped back out covered in snow and looking happy.

Ash smiled as he watched Eevee happily burrow through the snow, "Yeah...I can see it," he admitted, "A Glaceon really fits her."

Eevee popped back out of the snowbank with a proud little "Eevee!" before shaking herself off dramatically, spraying powder everywhere.

"Hey!" Max yelped from outside as snow hit him in the face, "Friendly fire!"

Everyone laughed.

Meanwhile, Ash turned his ring to Ice Stone mode and raised it, "Want me to evolve her for you?"

May blinked and looked at Ash, "Oh right," she blinked, "You can just...do that."

Ash shrugged, "Pretty much. So, want me to do it?"

May looked down at Eevee, where Eevee immediately lit up and wagged her tail.

"Eevee!!"

"She seems pretty sure," Ash laughed.

"I guess she does," May snorted, then leaned down to rub her fur, kind of saying goodbye since she'd lose this fluff when she evolved. RIP to the floof, "Okay, if you want to evolve, go for it."

Eevee nodded and looked up at Ash expectantly. She'd seen him use that thing on Vee a few times, so she knew what was coming. Ash pointed down and booped her nose, and immediately Eevee began to evolve.

She got taller, her ears grew, and she gained bangs, while her tail got longer and sharper. Then, when the light faded, there she was, a Glaceon, still wagging her tail happily.

"Glaaace!" she cried happily.

May's eyes lit up instantly, "She's so PRETTY!!"

The Glaceon immediately pranced over proudly before rubbing against May's legs affectionately.

May dropped to her knees, hugging her tightly despite the freezing fur, "Okay wow, you are VERY cold!"

"You get used to it pretty quick," Ash called out. After all, May raised that Eevee with hugs. She wasn't gonna stop demanding her hugs now that she was slightly bigger and colder.

But as they laughed and Max was still building a snow Pikachu in the background, something from the tree fell down and landed right on the snow Pikachu's head, popping it and leaving it stuck upside down in the snow.

Max jumped back slightly as his little Kangaskhan jumped up in front of him protectively, who, by the way, 1: also had a little scarf, and 2: was growing and now big enough that Max couldn't just carry him around anymore.

The gang heard Max's yelp and immediately ran over. Ash and May, who were sitting closest to where Max was, got there first, then Wally, and then Brock in that order.

"Max, what's wrong?" May asked.

Max pointed at his snow Pikachu that had two little legs flailing from where the head used to be, "I-i-it-that thing!"

"What's that? Is it a Pokémon?" Wally asked from behind May. As he was about to scramble and look for his Pokédex to scan it, Ash just walked up to it and grabbed it by the foot casually. Then he tugged the little thing out, and everyone could see what it was.

It was just a little Snorunt that had fallen from the tree while it was probably watching them. The Snorunt shivered, tugging its yellow cloak around itself tighter while also looking scared.

"Aww, it's kinda cute," May said, but then she leaned in for a better look, "Oh, she…she is kinda cute, sorry," May apologized.

Ash didn't mind this outcome as he flipped the Snorunt right side up. He was actually gonna come here to look for one, not for his Hoenn team, since he already had more than enough, but he might use it over in Sinnoh. After all, Froslass is pretty neat, and she got a Mega, so that was nice.

But RIP to Ash's Glalie. If this was a guy, he might have used it, but nope, it's a girl. Then again, it wasn't like OG Ash even used Glalie that well anyway. Most people probably didn't even remember Ash using Glalie, since Ash sent him off to Professor Oak's lab immediately after they finished in Hoenn.

He didn't even bring it with him to the Battle Frontier. Really a waste. But oh well, he isn't OG Ash. He'd save that for later, but for now he had to catch this little Snorunt.

Now, the process of catching a Snorunt is a very hard and dangerous one that requires a lot of finesse, so watch closely as the master does it.

Ash looked at Snorunt. Snorunt looked at Ash with fear and nervousness in her eyes.

Then Ash just threw a Poké Ball at her face.

Snorunt got hit, stumbled back, and got pulled into the Poké Ball. The ball didn't even roll. It just clicked shut.

"Wow, that was underwhelming," Brock said. Then he turned on his heel, "Anyway, back to cooking."

Wally looked at the destroyed Pikachu snowman and then at Max, and he nervously offered, "Do you need help building another one?"

"Wait, really?!" Max's earlier disappointment faded.

"Oh, sounds like fun. Why don't we all help make one?" May offered

Ash snorted, "Fine, fine, but we've gotta build the biggest snow Pikachu ever then."

"Yes!" Max pumped his fists excitedly, "Let's do this!" he cheered, making everyone laugh.

—

Alain was investigating some more ruins. He'd been in Hoenn for a bit now, trying to find the origins of Mega Evolution just like Lysandre asked him to, but so far he hadn't found anything of note.

And he'd investigated as many ruins as he could, even using Lysandre's influence and money to let him get into more restricted ones, but yet again, nothing useful. He didn't even find any Mega Stones.

But he wasn't gonna give up. Lysandre gave him a goal, and for the sake of the mission, and for the sake of Professor Sycamore's good name, it was all for him.

As he walked through another field, the fog was thick. He could barely see more than a few feet in front of him, but he pulled out his holo communicator and checked the coordinates he got.

"It should be around here," he muttered as he continued walking.

But as he took another step, he ended up slipping on the grass and sliding down the hill.

But he managed to roll and catch himself, landing back on his feet before he could get hurt in any way. Still, his heart sped up a little bit.

Then a hand came down in front of him, held out to help him up, and he heard a voice.

"Are you alright?"

He looked up, and there he saw a man with ice-blue hair holding out his hand to help Alain up.

It was Steven.

Alain accepted the hand and was pulled up. Then he politely bowed to Steven, "I thank you."

But as he did, he noticed the stickpin Steven had on his suit held a Keystone.

"You have a Keystone." Alain noted.

Steven nodded, "And you do too," he said, looking down at Alain's bracelet. Then, noticing the Kalosian accent in Alain's voice, he added, "I see. You must be from Kalos. That's a long way from here. What is it you're looking for here in Hoenn?"

"That can wait," Alain said as he raised his bracelet, "Do you want to have a battle?"

Steven gave a small shrug, "I may not look it, but I'm actually a busy man."

"Oh, this won't take long," Alain said confidently, "I'm going to defeat every Mega Evolution Pokémon and become the greatest Mega Evolution user."

Then his eyes narrowed, "If you're a trainer, making eye contact is the signal to start a battle."

Steven looked at him, then closed his eyes, "I see. Well, that is correct."

To be honest, this conversation had already given him a pretty good understanding of how Alain was as a trainer.

And based on this, it meant that Alain was either overwhelmingly powerful or overconfident, and considering Steven, while acting as Champion, had never heard of him, he was inclined to believe the latter.

So Steven sighed. He really wasn't in the mood to do this. He came out here to find some ruins that held the secrets of another trio of Regis, since he needed to prepare some things for the worst-case scenario.

And after the talk with his father, he hadn't really been in the mood to battle. He still didn't know what he should do about his father. He'd been doing his own investigation, but with things as complicated as they were, he didn't really know if he could make the right choice in his current state.

But then again, he hadn't spoken to anyone since that happened, so maybe a battle was just what he needed to take his mind off these things.

So with a sigh, he held up a Poké Ball.

"Very well. If that is what you wish, then who am I to stop you?"

Alain nodded and stepped back while Steven did the same. He was confident he would win, even though he didn't know who he was facing. Alain had actually been on a losing streak so far, so he thought a victory like this was just what he needed.

"My name is Alain. What's yours?" Alain asked as he raised Charizard's Poké Ball.

"I am Steven. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said, bowing slightly before holding up Metagross's Poké Ball.

—

{with Ashtwo}

D was sitting with Helena in the training rooms. They came here to try and train the darkness D had now since he needed some much-needed training. The rest of the gang followed since they didn't have anything better to do, and they also totally didn't want to keep an eye on them after the misunderstanding that happened before.

Jay was sitting backward in a chair near the wall, eating chips like he was watching a movie.

Domino sat beside him pretending to read a mission report while very obviously not reading a single word.

Annie and Oakley were whispering to each other every thirty seconds while Orm sat in the corner with three baby Shuckles climbing all over him peacefully.

Enid at least had the decency to look mildly ashamed about being there.

Meanwhile, Helena sat across from D on the training mat, trying very hard not to think about the cafeteria incident.

Anyway, with some guidance, D managed to gather darkness in his hand, creating a small orb, which was different from Helena's.

But that wasn't surprising. As far as she knew, most Hex Maniacs had different ways of using their hexes, and they all had different effects. Like, take Lorelei from the Kanto Elite Four, she could freeze people by creating an ice doll and performing a type of voodoo.

"Okay, so it looks like it's kinda like darkness...stuff," Helena said, looking at the orb. But she also felt a small suction effect. It became more noticeable as her hair was being tugged toward the swirling orb.

"Sooo, is it like a black hole?" Jay asked while eating one of his chips.

"Nononono," Helena quickly shook her head, "Thank goodness it's not. It's not that strong."

"Okay, so what's next? Are you gonna make D create cool things out of darkness? Oh man, that would be cool if you-"

"I can't teach him that!" Helena exclaimed, "My thing is kinda different," she said, slightly embarrassed.

"Wait, what?" Annie asked, leaning forward, "What's yours like then?"

"Errr...it's kinda hard to explain, and it's not as cool as D's," Helena said embarrassedly, "Um, the best way I can say it is I can kinda make spell tags that do things…"

"Hey, that's pretty cool," Annie nodded, "It's not like any of us can do it, so it's awesome to me!" she said with a thumbs up.

Helena blushed red from embarrassment and covered her face.

"Okay, so you can do darkness stuff. Anything else?" Enid asked. She wasn't even gonna try to ask where D managed to get powers from, or if he'd had them the whole time and just never brought it up.

"Well, I think I can do one thing, but it's just...well," D started, "It's easier if I show you."

As he spoke, he could hear the king in his head complaining about how he was using his power for party tricks. Because yes, D could hear him too. The king could see through both D and Ash, but what was he gonna do, tell people while he was sealed in his head?

Although it was getting a little annoying hearing his voice in his head. He originally only kept him around in case he could steal more from him and use him as a battery, but this was quickly becoming more trouble than it was worth.

Besides, after taking his cursed energy, Ash noticed his body could now produce its own cursed energy, so that made the king even less useful. He just had to wonder if he could use him for anything else before he got rid of him for good.

But anyway, when D got up, he looked down to the edge of the training room they were in. He spread his darkness through his body. As a certain white-haired man once said, cursed energy is negative energy, it can enhance the body.

And ever since he got this, he'd been taking some notes from a certain alien, and if he was right, then he should be able to do this.

So D got into a stance, then, in front of everyone, D seemed to move so fast he shot to the other side of the field.

Unfortunately, D ended up crashing and falling over, feeling dazed.

D felt ringing in his ears as he could hear the group running over to pick him up and help him sit down while processing what just happened. But that confirmed what he thought.

D had just moved at a little slower than the speed of sound, but that was just because that's what his body could handle. Believe it or not, moving fast puts a lot of strain on the body due to air pressure.

Even if it was the main body, he doubted they could move at their current max speed for long since they weren't used to this. They could maybe move at Mach 2 or 3, but that would cause their bodies to start falling apart from the pressure.

And if D's thoughts were right, it was possible he could reach sub-light speeds with this since darkness moves as fast as light. It was just a matter of making his body capable of handling movement that fast.

Man, it would be really nice if he could use Reverse Cursed Technique, but he didn't even know if he coul- wait a minute, why couldn't it exist? He already knew that the hex stuff was negative energy, so if he tried multiplying it by itself, he might be able to create positive energy.

And he already had Aura, which was positive energy, so he might be able to use that as a base.

But of course, this was all easier said than done. If it was that easy, then everyone in JJK could use RCT, so it was gonna take some trial and error.

But speaking of that, D was dragged out of the training room to go rest since he did hit his head. When he got put down to sit, he slowly started being able to hear everything again, still hearing everyone nagging at him.

But once his hearing came back, suddenly everyone heard the sound of running, and through the door came Petrel. He ran in and looked around frantically, "I need to talk to Matori. I have information, and she's not gonna like it!"

D and everyone blinked in surprise. Man, they hadn't seen Petrel in months, and now he had more information for them. This couldn't be good.

D stood up, still holding his head in slight pain, and called over Petrel, "Right here. I'll take you to her. Tell us on the way."