Pokemon: Radical Redux-Chapter 324: Prince of Johto?

"Thanks, but I've done the whole Rainbow Hero stuff before, so I hope I'm not supposed to go on a quest or anything," Ash said sheepishly, still surrounded and casting a little glance over at his friends, who were still processing this.

"Oh no, we don't have a quest for you. If Ho-Oh chose you, that's enough," one of the Kimono girls said, clapping her hands together happily.

"Right, and besides, if you're the Rainbow Hero, then you should take part in the festival as well," another added excitedly.

Ash raised his eyebrow. "I'm sorry, what now?"

"Yes! We can have you play the Prince of Johto, and you can help us during the upcoming Eclipse Festival," another said.

At that, his friends stumbled over their words. "P-Prince?!"

"Eh, wait, I'm not really the prince type, and besides, isn't it kinda bad? I mean, I'm not from Johto, I'm Kantonian," Ash said, holding his hands up in protest.

"Don't worry, you're not actually going to become a prince. Johto doesn't have a monarchy — it's more of a title, like the Rainbow Hero, and it's just for the festival," Morty reassured him. "Besides, where you're from doesn't matter. You were chosen by Ho-Oh and Lugia — if they saw something in you, then everyone else will too."

"I uh..." Ash tried to say. This wasn't going as he planned, he wanted to show them the stuff and ask if they knew anything about his ring, but now he was about to play prince or something. This was getting ridiculous.

"Oh, please say you will! We've always been prepared for a Rainbow Hero, but none ever came. Now that you're here, we can finally use everything!" Another Kimono girl said, grabbing Ash's hands.

"I mean, I guess... I don't see why not," Ash said, scratching his cheek.

"Wonderful!" the Kimono girls said in unison. "We'll get everything set up. The Eclipse Festival will be on the last day of the festival, but until then, be sure to enjoy yourself, dear Rainbow Hero!"

Morty chuckled and patted Ash's shoulder. "Good luck. Anyway, I need to go, gotta handle my duties as a Gym Leader. See ya around," he said as he walked out of the dance hall.

Just then, Virgil walked up, clapping softly. "This really is interesting... I didn't think anything like this would happen."

"Oh, hello there! Can we help you?" one of the Kimono girls asked.

"Hi there, I'm Virgil, and I actually wanted to ask something of you girls," he said, looking at the Kimono girls.

"Oh, really?" the one in the blue kimono said. "What can we do for you?"

"You see, I'm from Unova, and I traveled all the way here because I wanted to ask the legendary Kimono girls to help train me to be better," Virgil explained as he grabbed his Pokéballs and tossed them out.

From them, his team of Eevee appeared, all eight members standing at attention, looking up at the Kimono girls and the Eeveelutions beside them.

From behind, Chloe's Eevee and Mirche peeked out. Eevee gazed at them with stars in her eyes, while Mirche looked surprised and intrigued, though she stayed silent.

The Kimono Girls exchanged glances, their eyes twinkling with amusement and intrigue. The one in the blue kimono, who had spoken earlier, stepped forward gracefully.

"A trainer from Unova, wishing to learn our ways?" she mused, her gaze flicking over Virgil's team of Eeveelutions. "It is rare for someone outside of Johto to seek our guidance. What is it you wish to learn?"

Virgil knelt down and gently rubbed Eevee's head. "Well, for one, I want to learn how to use my team better, and also... I want Eevee here to evolve into Sylveon."

The Kimono girls exchanged looks before chuckling softly. "We can certainly help you become stronger, but... well," the one in the orange kimono said, scratching her cheek.

"The thing is, we used to have another member who had a Sylveon, but she, well, Valerie moved to Kalos to become a Gym Leader..." added the one in the black kimono.

"But if you'd like, we can call her and ask for her advice on training and evolving a Sylveon, if you're willing to wait. We still have some time before the festival," the blue-kimono girl offered.

Virgil considered this for a moment, glancing down at Eevee, who looked up at him expectantly. He then looked at his team, they all nodded in unison. With a small smile, he turned back to the Kimono girls and nodded. "That would be great. I don't mind waiting if it means training with you all in the meantime."

"Wonderful. Just remember, our training may not be as practical as you expect. We don't focus solely on battling, so don't expect an obstacle course or combat drills," the girl in orange warned lightly.

"That's fine. My team and I are ready," Virgil said, his Eeveelutions crying out in unison.

At that moment, Chloe's Eevee lit up, letting out an excited "Vee!" and suddenly leapt from Chloe's arms.

"Wait, Eevee no!" Chloe exclaimed, scrambling after her Pokémon.

Eevee darted between the other Eeveelutions, tail wagging enthusiastically as she took in the sight of all her evolved forms. Chloe finally caught up, scooping Eevee into her arms. "I'm so sorry for disturbing you! Eevee just gets so excited," she said, frantically apologizing.

The Kimono girls exchanged surprised glances before quickly surrounding Chloe.

"Lady Soleil? What are you doing here?" one asked, her voice a mix of confusion and concern.

"Shouldn't you be at the castle, preparing for the Eclipse Festival? And... what are these clothes you're wearing?" another questioned, tugging at Chloe's sleeve, inspecting it curiously.

"Where did you get this Eevee? And... where are Espeon and Umbreon?" yet another asked, gently taking Eevee from Chloe's arms to examine her more closely.

Chloe's face flushed, caught completely off guard by the sudden attention. She stammered, "W-wait... w-who is Soleil? My name is Chloe, and Eevee is mine."

The Kimono girls blinked, processing her words. It was hard to believe, but her confusion seemed genuine.

"You... you're being serious, aren't you? You're not Soleil?" one of them finally asked.

Before Chloe could respond, Ash raised his hand casually. "As much as I'd love to tease her, yeah, her name is Chloe. She's from Kanto, just like me."

The Kimono girls exchanged another glance, then quickly bowed. "We're sorry — we mistook you for someone else," the girl holding Eevee said, stepping forward and returning the little Pokémon to Chloe.

"O-oh, it's okay," Chloe replied, still a bit flustered as she cradled Eevee again.

Eevee, however, remained fixated on the Eeveelutions, her tail wagging even faster. "Vee vee!"

The Kimono girls smiled softly. "It seems little Eevee here is excited to see so many of her evolved forms," one said warmly.

Chloe let out a small laugh, scratching the back of her neck. "Yeah... Eevee has a little, I don't want to call it a problem, but she doesn't really know what she wants to evolve into. We've tried using the evolution stones, but... nothing works. She just really likes looking at all the forms she could take."

"Oh, I see," one of the Kimono girls said thoughtfully. "In that case, would you like to join us too?"

Chloe blinked, wide-eyed. "U-um, r-really?"

"Of course! It will be fun," another chimed in, clasping her hands together. "You can spend more time with all of the Eeveelutions, and maybe Eevee will find the one she wants to evolve into. Wouldn't that be exciting?"

Chloe shifted uncomfortably at the sudden attention, but before she could respond, a familiar voice called out softly behind her.

"Um... Chloe?"

Turning, Chloe saw Regina peeking from behind her, looking unsure. It hit Chloe then — Regina didn't really have anyone else to spend time with right now, given how most people still seemed too intimidated to approach her.

"I'm sorry," Chloe said gently, "but I can't leave my friend alone."

The Kimono girls followed Chloe's gaze and noticed Regina standing with her Glaceon. The girl in the blue kimono smiled warmly. "That's no problem at all. She's welcome to join us too. In fact..." She slipped a Poké Ball from the folds of her kimono, and with a soft flash of light, a Glaceon appeared.

Regina's Glaceon, Mirche, stiffened slightly, watching the new Glaceon with cautious eyes. But Virgil's Glaceon gave a friendly hop, and the Kimono girl's Glaceon playfully mirrored the movement.

"I... um..." Chloe mumbled, still uncertain, glancing between Regina and Eevee.

"Come on," Ash said, his signature smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "It's a great opportunity, right? You did promise Eevee you'd help her figure out which evolution she wants."

Chloe looked down at Eevee, who wagged her tail expectantly, then over at Regina. Though she still seemed nervous, Regina's gaze softened as she watched Mirche interact with the others. With a small, determined nod, she clasped her hands together.

Chloe let out a sigh. "Alright... I guess I don't see why not. Maybe it'll be fun."

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The Kimono girls beamed. "Wonderful! Then come with us — we'll get you both situated." One of them turned to Ash, "And you, dear Rainbow Hero, enjoy the festival for now. We'll call for you when it's time for your part."

With that, they gracefully guided Virgil, Chloe, and Regina away.

Ash, meanwhile, took a moment to relax — but it didn't last long.

"Ahem!"

He flinched at the unmistakable sound of an annoyed voice behind him. Slowly turning around, he found Misty standing there, arms crossed, eyes narrowed in that signature glare of hers.

Brock stood next to her, arms also crossed, though his expression was more bewildered than angry. "So," Misty began, "how is it that you somehow became a prince, met Ho-Oh and Lugia, and never thought to mention it?"

Ash laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "I... I mean... it never really came up?"

Yellow tilted her head, a bit more curious than upset. "I think it's really cool... but why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"Well... it happened during the time we were apart, before the S.S. Anne," Ash explained, his voice a bit too casual. "I told you I went on an adventure."

Misty's glare didn't budge. "And why didn't you tell us after we reunited?"

Ash shifted awkwardly. "We were kinda... occupied when the S.S. Anne sunk," he mumbled, rubbing his cheek.

Brock blinked, then reluctantly nodded. "That... is actually a really good excuse."

Ash seized the moment. "See? Thank you, Brock."

Brock added, "I mean, that's also when you told us about your... you know." His voice dropped to a whisper, careful not to mention certain secrets aloud.

Misty, however, wasn't letting this go. "Okay, fine, but why didn't you tell us after that?"

Ash opened his mouth... then closed it. Finally, with a shrug, he muttered, "...I forgot."

Misty and Brock deadpanned in unison. "We don't believe you."

"Which is fair," Ash admitted, already sidestepping. "Now let's have a nice day, yeah?"

Misty blocked his path, her glare intensifying. "Oh no, you're not getting off that easy. How did you meet Ho-Oh? What happened?"

"Ok ok..."Ash threw his hands up in mock surrender. "...I went for a walk."

Misty's eye twitched. "I will punch you in the face."

—-

{Ashtwo}

Ash just got his next shipment of rotten eggs. He scanned them, took the DNA points from them, and fed most of them to Muk. He also went back in and switched a few interesting eggs with the rotten ones, buying a random egg just to not raise suspicion.

Once he finished his usual routine, he had Drowzee teleport to drop off the eggs he didn't want, but also didn't want Team Rocket to have, at the Rangers' station.

He checked his DNA points. He had gathered a good amount. He would have used them on the eggs he had, but the ones he wanted to affect had already hatched, so that was a no-go. Now, though, he could start using the points on future eggs.

Maybe he could find Pokémon he was interested in. As of now, nothing had caught his eye, but that could change. He wouldn't mind finding a Slakoth and changing its ability.

That was a plan for later. For now, as Ash walked out of the shops, he headed to the cafeteria to get Meowth something to eat, since she was snuggled inside his scarf, being extra needy today.

Speaking of which, after that mission, a lot of people had been trying to get on his good side and hang out with him. Afterall he did save like a bunch of them after the thing,

But he kept to himself, still pretending to act as cold as possible to everyone, but it wasn't really working so he tried ignoring the grunts.

When he got to the cafeteria he sat down and got some food for Meowth, as she happily munched Ash pulled up his computer to check how much money had stolen from Team Rocket already.

He had a very large amount of money, he could probably retire and never work a day in his life right now, not that he will, but he sighed wondering what next, it's been a month so he'll probably get taken to a mission soon, hopefully it's a small one.

Just as he was lost in thought, he opened his eyes to see Jay running over to him, waving his hand. "Hey bro, haven't seen you in a while!"

Behind him, he could see Helena, Domino, and Enid walking up too, all slightly more disheveled—presumably just coming back from a mission.

"Hey..." he said as Jay helped himself to the seat next to him.

"We just got back from this super cool mission. You should have seen it, man! Enid nearly fell into a hole like 100 feet down—it was hilarious seeing her ask for help!"

"Yeah, yeah, hilarious," Enid muttered, crossing her arms. "At least I wasn't the one who tripped over his own feet and nearly set off an alarm," she said, looking over at Domino.

"Hey, in my defense, I was busy... with... stuff," Domino tried defending herself as she looked at Ash, then quickly looked away.

"Anyway, we snagged some old data files. Most of it was junk though," Jay said, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "I was hoping for something exciting."

"I told you they aren't junk," Helena said, with the egg she received from Ash still snugly in her arms. "I told you this reeks of the occult, and I want to see them!" she added with her creepy smile.

"I still don't get why you're so interested in that, you Hex maniac," Jay rolled his eyes. "Anyway, we're gonna go give these to Boss Archer and then relax for a bit."

"Right, well, have fun with that. I'm busy," Ash said, resting his chin on his hand.

"You know, you act all cold and detached, but you're totally curious," Helena said.

Ash just shrugged. "Curious or not, I've got my own work to deal with."

"Come on. I mean, we don't even know what you look like under that scarf. Can't you at least show us your face—or your name? Kinda getting bored with calling you D," Domino said, wanting an excuse to see Ash's face.

As soon as she asked, Jay and even Enid were shaking their heads frantically, forming their hands in an X, telling her to back off. They knew why—and even Enid knew it wasn't good to ask.

Helena, also curious, ignored Jay and Enid. She stood with Domino. "Yeah, I wanna see. I mean, come on—it won't hurt. We promise we won't tell anyone!"

As Jay and Enid tried to make them take it back, Ash saw this as a chance. He lowered his scarf, revealing the scarred face. "There. You happy?" he said, his voice dripping with annoyance. "I had an accident, so can you shut up about it?" He put the scarf back, furrowing his brows, acting like he was mad now.

Helena and Domino stayed quiet in surprise. No wonder when Enid made fun of D for covering his face, he got annoyed.

Then Ash got a notification. He checked. "Just peachy. I have a mission—how lovely," he said, sounding annoyed.

"Um... well, from who? Is it from Archer, or the big boss?" Jay asked carefully, wanting to deescalate the situation.

"Neither. It's from the Masked Man," he revealed as he stood up. "Helena, let's go," he said, walking past her. He needed to take her since, technically, she was his sidekick, so he had to bring her on all missions.

"U-um... okay..." she said quietly.

Domino shook her head, snapping out of her daze, and softly raised her arm. "W-wait, um... why don't we go with you?"

"Yeah, I mean, we're a squad, right? And we worked pretty well together," Jay agreed.

Enid crossed her arms and scoffed, but deep down, she wouldn't mind—so long as she got to be the leader. She was the 'main character,' after all. "I suppose I can go with you... as long as you beg."

But Ash turned back and squinted. "Excuse me? I don't remember us being a squad," he said coldly, making them flinch.

He continued, "After all, I thought you said we weren't even friends," his words laced with venom, clearly directed at Enid.

Enid opened her mouth to respond, but Ash cut her off. "I already said I don't need anyone. I work better on my own. It's bad enough I have to take Helena with me, now leave me alone, I don't need you messing things up like you did back in the Raider base!"

He turned away. "I do my best on my own. That's how it's been, and that's how it will be," he said, walking out of the cafeteria, leaving everyone stunned.

Helena shook her head and ran after him. "I'll try to make sure he's okay. We do have to do this mission together," she said, giving a quick goodbye before hurrying out.

Enid, Jay, and Domino exchanged glances.

"Is he mad at us...?" Domino asked softly.

Jay shook his head. "I don't know. He's definitely mad at Enid. He might just be frustrated at us."

"Hey! Why would he be mad at just me?" Enid shot back, trying to defend herself. "I'm the least hateable person here!"

"Maybe because you made fun of him, said you weren't friends, and still haven't apologized. I'm pretty sure he's been mad at you," Jay said, crossing his arms.

"That's... shut up," Enid muttered, storming off. But no matter how hard she tried to push it aside, she couldn't shake the weird feeling gnawing at her.

Jay sighed. "This is all getting so complicated..."

—-

{Meanwhile}

The Masked Man stared at a picture of D, then shifted his gaze to the secret cameras placed across the base. His eyes narrowed as he replayed the moment D revealed his face.

"Interesting..." he muttered, his voice low.

Reaching for his communicator, he spoke calmly yet firmly. "Start making a custom mask."

---

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