Pokemon: Radical Redux-Chapter 328: Battle for Eclipse Castle

Just outside of town, Ilunas stood at the head of his army, gripping the Clear Bell in his hands. The Pokémon surrounding him shifted restlessly; Butterfree flapped their wings in agitation, Beedrill hovered with their needles gleaming, and dozens of glowing red Gastly eyes lurked within the mist.

Jessie, James, and Meowth stood behind him, watching with growing unease.

"Uh, I know we're supposed to be taking over the castle and all... but this is just weird," Meowth muttered as he sat atop Growlie, riding him like a horse.

Jessie crossed her arms. "We're just here for the payday. If he wants to do the whole mysterious villain thing, that's his business."

James frowned. "But aren't we usually the villains?" he asked as Mime Jr. jumped onto his shoulder, crossing his arms to mimic him.

"I don't know, I'm just glad someone else is doing the dirty work for once. I just got my nails done," Jessie said, holding onto her Cubone, who was nibbling on a little snack.

Wobbuffet suddenly popped his head out. "Wooooobbuffet!!"

"Hey, enough out of you," Jessie huffed, returning him to his Poké Ball.

"Why do you seem so annoyed with him?" James asked, putting a hand on his chin. Mime Jr. copied him.

"None of your business, that's why!" Jessie blurted out.

Meowth leaned in close to Growlie and whispered in his ear, "My money's on her secretly liking him," only to receive a swift kick to the face from Jessie.

Ilunas ignored them. He took a deep breath and raised the bell high.

"Hear me!" His voice rang through the mist. "The Eclipse Castle will either be mine, or it will fall. No more will my family hide in the shadows; no more will we live in shame! My time has come!"

The wild Pokémon let out cries, screeches, and hisses. None of them really cared what happened to the castle, what mattered to them was the Clear Bell. and if they had to listen to this manchild to do it, then so be it

Ilunas smirked. "We move now."

With that command, the army surged forward, closing in on the castle.

—-

Chloe had just finished recounting the situation to the group. A heavy silence settled over them as they processed her words.

"So let me get this straight..." Green crossed her arms. "The new liege of the castle is a girl called Soleil, and she looks exactly like you. Someone mistook you for her, tried to attack you—potentially kill you—and they're still out there somewhere, and you have no idea where?"

"Pretty much," Chloe said breathlessly.

Ethan ran a hand down his face. "This just keeps getting better..."

Misty rubbed her eyes. "Tell me about it..."

"Is there anything else?" Kris asked, already reaching for her Poké Balls. "If there's an attack, they'll probably try again. What if they actually go after Soleil?"

Yellow clutched Pikachu tighter. "But what about Ash?"

"Yeah, where's my big brother?" Molly asked, hugging her Teddiursa plush closer.

"He's already at the castle," Chloe said. "He went to find Soleil—probably to protect her."

"Then we should go after him," Green said urgently. "Whatever is going on, he might need help."

Silver, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke. "I agree. We should go help Ash."

Before they could acknowledge or agree, a low rumbling filled the air, accompanied by the soft chime of a bell. People nearby shifted uneasily, and some children moved closer to their parents.

When they turned toward the source of the sound, they saw an army of Pokémon emerging from the forest surrounding the castle.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." Kris mumbled.

Misty immediately noticed the overwhelming number of Bug-types and gulped. "Oh no..."

Ethan smirked and stretched his arms. "Looks like we've got a fight on our hands."

Green gave a cheeky grin. "Ash can handle himself—for now~" She glanced at Ethan. "Wanna bet who can take down the most?"

"You're on! I'll take down 69 billion trillion of them!" Ethan said smugly.

"You can't do math!" Kris yelled in frustration, dragging a hand down her face. "But fine, I guess we're doing this."

Silver sighed, glancing away as his hand drifted to his belt, fingers brushing against a Poké Ball.

Chloe and Regina exchanged uncertain looks. Since they weren't trainers, they knew they'd only get in the way, but that didn't stop Eevee from bouncing excitedly at their feet.

—-

At the top of the castle, Ash, Soleil, and Helia stood watching as the invading Pokémon flooded into the town. Some began shooting webs across buildings, creating makeshift bridges as they advanced.

They could see townspeople sending out their Pokémon to fight, but most weren't professional trainers and struggled to take down even a single opponent. The only ones holding their own were Ash's group.

But there were too many. Eventually, they would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Helia swallowed hard as she scanned the chaos below. "We need to do something. I'm going to try calling Morty. Ash, can you keep Soleil safe?"

"I can. Don't worry, I'll protect her," Ash assured her.

Helia nodded and rushed out of the room to try and contact Morty.

Ash grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt and walked to the edge of the balcony. "Might as well send in some reinforcements."

"W-wait, what are you doing?" Soleil asked, still looking nervous. Espeon and Umbreon pressed closer to her, ears twitching.

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Without answering, Ash wound his arm back and threw the Poké Ball like a baseball. It spun through the air, landing near the center of the approaching Pokémon before snapping open.

With a flash of light, Nidoking emerged. He took one look at the battlefield, grinned, then charged straight into the enemy ranks, tearing through the opposing Pokémon with sheer force.

"Um... okay..." Soleil murmured, watching in stunned silence as Nidoking bulldozed through the invaders.

"What do we do now?" Soleil asked, turning to Ash.

"For now, we need to figure out why they're attacking," Ash said, frowning. "Pokémon don't just attack like this unless something is threatening them."

Suddenly, from beneath the balcony, the sound of flapping wings reached Ash's ears. He reacted instantly, grabbing Soleil and leaping backward just as a Noctowl shot up from below, an [Air Slash] cutting clean through the spot where they had been standing. Deep gashes marred the balcony floor.

Perched on Noctowl's back was Ilunas, his face still hidden behind his mask. He scowled, frustration evident in his stance.

"You again." His voice was sharp with irritation. "You're getting annoying. That's twice now you've gotten in my way."

Ash set Soleil down as her eyes widened at Ilunas's words. "Twice... does that mean you went after Chloe?!"

Ilunas narrowed his eyes. "Huh. So you used a body double... That makes sense. Fine, but it changes nothing." He pointed at Soleil, who instinctively stepped behind Ash.

"I've come to claim my rightful place as lord. Relinquish the title to me, or I'll destroy Eclipse Castle."

Soleil narrowed her eyes as she noticed something glinting on Ilunas's belt—one of the legendary Clear Bells. Then it hit her.

"So that's why... You brought them here! You stole the Bell and are forcing them to attack!"

Ilunas smirked, rubbing the bell between his fingers. "Good guess. That's exactly what happened." His voice was smug. "Now they listen to me—unless they want their precious bell to be shattered."

Soleil hesitated. The Pokémon continued marching closer, barely being held back by the few trainers fighting them. But before she could react, Ash raised his hand in front of her, blocking her path.

"So what you're saying," Ash said, cracking his knuckles, "is that all I need to do is beat you and take the Bell off your hands?"

Ilunas scowled and pulled out two more Poké Balls. "This is none of your business. Leave now. Or better yet, help me. I'll compensate you once I become lord."

Ash snorted. "Yeah, thanks, but I think I'll pass." He twirled three Pokéballs between his fingers. "Now, let's do this."

Ilunas clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Fine. Ariados, Ursaring, go!" His two new Pokémon emerged, joining his Noctowl, which hovered menacingly at his side.

Soleil clutched her hands together. "Ash... please be careful..." she murmured, as Espeon and Umbreon stepped protectively in front of her.

Ash rolled his shoulders and smirked. "It's fine. Let's dance."

With a flick of his wrist, he threw his three Poké Balls into the air. With a flash of light, Mareep, Heracross, and his shiny Noctowl came out to battle.

Ilunas's eyes narrowed when he saw the shiny Noctowl. His jaw tightened, and he clicked his tongue in irritation. "You... Fine. I'll make you regret that."

He pointed forward, and his Pokémon charged. Ash, unfazed, simply snapped his fingers, signaling his team to counterattack. Meanwhile, Ilunas reached for the katana at his waist, his gaze locking onto Ash, who twirled the kunai he had taken from him with a mocking grin.

—-

The gang fought as hard as they could, fending off the wild Pokémon that continued their relentless assault.

Ethan had Aibo out, taking down two Pokémon at a time. He reached for another Poké Ball, but before he could throw it, Kris smacked him over the head.

"Don't even think about it," she scolded. "We're in a forest, we don't need to set everything on fire!"

Ethan sighed, reluctantly putting the ball back.

Meanwhile, Kris had her Hitmonchan in the thick of battle, throwing rapid punches at any Pokémon in reach. Silver followed closely behind with his Croconaw, who leapt onto Green's Venusaur before using it as a springboard to chomp down on a Beedrill midair.

Green gave him a thumbs up. "Nice one!"

Venusaur, in turn, used its vines to create barriers, blocking more of the invading Pokémon from entering the town. Yellow stood nearby, playing support with Pikachu and Chuchu, sending out bursts of electricity when needed.

Misty sighed as her Wartortle blasted another Butterfree out of the sky. "There are way too many of these gross, icky bugs!"

Brock's Golem held the line while Chloe and Regina stood further back, keeping Molly close with Eevee and Mirche at their feet.

Kris wiped sweat from her brow and suddenly grinned. "You know, this might not be the best time, but I'm not gonna waste this chance."

She pulled out about ten Poké Balls, dropped them to the ground, and expertly bounced them off her foot like a soccer player.

"It's capture time!" she shouted as she kicked Poké Balls one after another, precisely hitting and catching wild Pokémon in each throw.

Green, watching in awe, grinned. "Okay, that was actually really cool. You gotta show me how to do that!" She turned back to the fight and commanded, "Venusaur, Solar Beam!" A blinding blast of energy shot into the crowd of Pokémon, dispersing many of them.

As the dust settled, the smaller Pokémon began retreating, leaving only one left standing before them, a massive Ursaring.

The group instinctively took a step back as the towering bear Pokémon let out a deep, earth-shaking growl.

"Oh... great," Ethan muttered. "That's definitely gonna be a problem."

Silver was the first to notice the incoming danger. He clicked his tongue and glanced over at Ethan. "Throw Croconaw at it!"

Ethan raised an eyebrow but quickly caught on, smirking. "Got it. Aibo, you heard the man!"

Aibo grabbed Croconaw with his tail and hands, spinning before launching the Water-type Pokémon toward the massive Ursaring.

As Croconaw neared the bear, Silver shouted, "Now, [Fishious Rend]!"

Croconaw's jaw glowed with an intense light as he latched onto Ursaring's neck, flipping around with the force of the bite in an attempt to bring the bear down. At first, Ursaring resisted, using its superior muscle strength to fight back. But then, Croconaw began to grow, his body swelling until he became the size of Ursaring, evolving into Feraligatr.

Now at equal size, Feraligatr used his newfound strength to flip Ursaring, sending the bear crashing onto its head. Feraligatr finished it off with a powerful stomp, knocking the Ursaring unconscious.

"Woo!" Green immediately started clapping, her face lighting up with pride. "That's my little brother right there. Leave it to you to do something extra but still cool."

Silver nodded slightly in acknowledgment, though the moment was interrupted when Ethan slapped him on the back. "Nice team-up, man!"

Silver scowled and pulled his shoulder away. "We're still not friends."

"Aww, come on! I said I was sorry!" Ethan muttered sheepishly, scratching his head.

"Guys, not the time!" Brock called out, snapping them back to focus. "We can do this later. We're still being overrun!"

As the group fought on the front lines, the civilians, Chloe, Regina, and Molly, were staying safe behind a wall of vines that Green's Venusaur had created to protect them farther back

But while the main group was distracted, the back line was suddenly overrun by a swarm of Parasect. The wall of vines was quickly cut down, leaving the civilians exposed.

Panic spread through the group, including Chloe's classmates, who were also hiding behind the defenses. Molly clutched her plushy tightly, visibly scared, but Chloe was the first to spring into action. She stood ready to fight.

Regina, on the other hand, was paralyzed by fear, closing her eyes tightly in dread. Mirche, seeing Regina so frightened, felt her anger rise.

With a determined growl, Mirche rushed forward, her fur turning cold. She threw her head back, preparing to attack. Eevee noticed Mirche's readiness and became excited. With a focused expression, Eevee used [Mimic] to copy Mirche's stance.

Together, Mirche and Eevee launched a powerful [Blizzard], sending a barrage of icy winds toward the incoming Parasect. The freezing gusts quickly created a massive block of ice, cutting off the opening and freezing the Parasect solid.

Once Mirche's Blizzard had finished, everyone was taken aback, but it was a positive surprise. Those who had been afraid of Mirche after she froze Ash now cheered for her.

"Wow, that was great!" Chloe said, giving Regina a thumbs-up. Regina, still shaken from everything, looked over at Mirche.

Regina's eyes softened as she smiled at Mirche. "Mirche..." she started, about to step forward to embrace her, but before she could, Mirche suddenly collapsed.

Panicked, Regina rushed to her side, but as soon as she touched her, she recoiled. Mirche was freezing, so cold it burned.

Regina's heart raced as she pulled her hand back, but she barely had time to react before a swarm of Beedrill, Butterfree, and a few Gligar swooped over the ice wall, heading straight toward her.

In a panic, Regina held Mirche tightly, trying to shield her from the oncoming Pokémon. But then they heard something.

"Jei Jei~"

From the shadows around them, a massive hand appeared, reaching up and grabbing the flying Pokémon, slamming them into the ground with force, knocking them out instantly.

The shadow curled up and formed into a Gengar, who let out a hearty laugh as it wiped tears from its eyes.

Everyone looked confused for a moment before they heard another voice, "Good work, Gengar!"

From above, Morty and Eusine floated down on Jumpluff, landing in front of the group.

The crowd's mood shifted in an instant, filled with newfound hope. Morty, the Gym Leader, had arrived. He looked over everyone then back at the fighting with a calm expression.

"Don't worry, from now on, I'll take care of this," he said confidently, snapping his fingers. From his own shadow, three more Gengar emerged, flying out to join the fight, to play support.