Pokemon: Radical Redux

In a town in Johto, a girl was walking out of her academy. She had long blonde hair with blue stripes and pink tips, and green eyes. Her name was Risa.

As she walked out, she waved goodbye to her friends. She couldn't go hang out with them like she usually would, she needed to go to the hospital to help take care of her little brother. He had broken his leg, so he couldn't do much.

As she walked into the courtyard, she stopped when she heard the sound of running. She looked over toward the field and saw the track team running. Risa looked at it as her hand tightened on her bag.

She used to be a part of that too, probably one of the best. She might have even been able to become a professional athlete after graduation. But after an accident, she had to drop out. Sure, her leg healed, but she'd been scared to run track again. It wasn't really her injury holding her back, it was her own low self-esteem. But she didn't want to say it.

So she turned and left, running toward the hospital. Once she got outside her little brother's room, she stopped at the door and took a deep breath, composing herself. Then she opened it and walked in like everything was fine.

Her little brother, Rick, was in the middle of doing something on his computer. When he heard the door open, he looked up, "Yeah? Oh, it's you, Sis."

Risa held out a bag and put it on the bed, "Change of clothes," she said, then looked over at his cast. "How's your leg?"

Rick took the bag and looked down at his leg, "It's just fine as long as I don't move it around too much." To prove his point, he started to shake his broken leg around, but he accidentally knocked it against the hospital table, "Ow!"

Risa chuckled a bit, "You've gotta be more careful!"

Rick sighed, then looked down at Risa's legs, "Well, what about your leg? So... are you running?"

Risa froze and looked down, "I… You just worry about yourself, okay?"

Rick frowned and nodded sadly, "Okay."

 Then he quickly tried to change the subject, knowing it was a touchy issue, "Hey… Risa? You ever heard of the Wind Festival in Fula City?"

"Yeah, I've heard of it. What about it?" Risa nodded, looking up at him. "It's supposed to be a really big event."

Rick scratched his cheek, "So... about that... I wanna ask you a favor. Could you… catch a certain Pokémon for me?"

Risa blinked, "A Pokémon?" she repeated.

Rick nodded eagerly, "Yeah! There's one I really want to see, and I heard it might be at the Wind Festival in Fula City!"

Her eyes widened, and she quickly took a step back, knocking against the wall, "Me? Catch a Pokémon?! No, no way! Absolutely not!" She waved her hands in front of her frantically.

"But Risa!" Rick pleaded, dragging out her name dramatically. "I'm begging you!"

"Not a chance! Why are you even asking me?!" She stared at him like he'd asked her to fly a spaceship.

He raised an eyebrow and gestured toward his cast, "Come on! Would you take a look at my leg? What if I went out and suddenly collapsed?" He slumped against his pillow with a weak groan, pretending to faint, "And nobody was around to help? I mean, there I am, losing consciousness, and the only person I'm thinking about is my amazing sister!" His voice cracked with mock despair.

 "Is that what you want? I mean, how could you?" He peeked at her from under one eye.

Risa stood there frozen, mouth half open, trying to process Rick's dramatic act. Her little brother lay on his hospital bed with one arm thrown across his forehead like a dying prince in a stage play, peeking through one eye to see if she was buying it.

"Seriously?" she muttered, arms crossed.

Rick didn't flinch, "I'm fading fast… Tell Mom I was brave…"

"Rick," Risa said flatly.

"No, don't speak. Save your strength for catching that Pokémon…" He coughed into his fist for effect. "...for meee…"

Risa groaned and dragged a hand down her face, "Huh?! Okay, fine! I'll try! But no guarantees, got it?!"

Rick sat up straight in an instant, all signs of his tragic performance gone, "All right!" he beamed. "But I don't expect you to do it for nothing."

He reached over to the side table and picked up a small box. Handing it to her with a grin, he said, "Here."

Risa blinked, "What's this for?"

Rick gave a small shrug, leaning back on his pillow, "Something to say thank you."

Risa slowly opened the box, and inside was a sleek pair of black sunglasses with red rims.

"Wow! They're pretty cute! Not too shabby, little brother," Risa said as she held them up, trying them on to see how they looked on her.

"Okay, now I can count on you, right?" Rick said with a mischievous smile.

Risa looked at him and sighed, "Fine… Just what Pokémon do you want?"

Rick smiled, "Okay, I want you to find a—"

—

In Fula City, three people stepped off a bus and looked around at the lively festival. One of them was a little girl, around Molly's age, her name was Kellie. The second was a woman, the girl's mother, named Mia.

And the third was Mia's brother and Kellie's uncle, his name was Callahan.

Callahan was already spinning a new story for Kellie, speaking confidently even in public where most people might feel nervous or embarrassed. He puffed out his chest and spoke with pride.

Which was especially impressive… considering the whole thing was a complete lie.

Nothing he said was true. He was just saying it to impress his niece.

"It happened long, long ago. It was a cold day. I had just arrived in town for work… when suddenly, I saw a red glow up on the mountain. Then it hit me, the red glow was a fire! I screamed, 'Townspeople, listen to me! The fire's coming closer! Run!' I called for Lugia, hoping for help… and Lugia came and put out that mountain fire! Since then, the town has been living happily ever after. The end! Thank you."

People clapped at his performance, he sounded so convincing, even though most of them could tell it was clearly made up.

But Kellie didn't. She clapped her hands excitedly, "Uncle Callahan, awesome! Yay!"

She ran up and gave him a high-five, then darted ahead, looking thrilled.

Mia walked closer to her brother and whispered, "You lied. Why do you do that?"

Callahan lowered his voice, too, "It's not lying. It's called dramatic license. Besides… anything for her…"

To be honest, Callahan wasn't lying because he wanted to lie. He just wanted Kellie to enjoy herself. This was the first time she was well enough to go out and enjoy a festival like this. She had an illness that affected her energy, and Callahan wanted to make this day feel magical for her. If that meant stretching the truth, then so be it.

Callahan shook his head with a grin, "Hey, Kellie! Come here, you little gremlin," he called playfully, jogging up and scooping her into his arms. He lifted her onto his shoulders, "How about we go see lots more, okay?"

Kellie laughed and clapped her hands, "Okay! You're the best, Uncle Callahan!"

As they marched away, a green-haired boy in a lab coat and yellow-tinted sunglasses stood nearby with a Chansey. His name was Toren. He had been watching Callahan's performance, the way he spoke so confidently in front of everyone.

Toren looked down, a mix of admiration and envy in his eyes.

He wished he could be like that.

Not this nervous wreck that he was.

But he wouldn't say that, not out loud, not with everything going on. There was a project that was supposed to be announced today, but the speaker had canceled at the last minute. How was he supposed to tell his colleagues that?

 What was he going to do?

"Oh… this is terrible…" he mumbled, looking down as he began to walk away. He didn't feel like he even deserved to look anyone in the eyes.

—

Back near the mansion on the edge of town, another little girl, also around Molly's age, was stepping out. With a bag filled with, something important

She had short magenta hair, purple eyes, and wore a pink and white dress. Her name was Margo.

As she came outside, she spotted her father getting ready to leave for the city. After all, he was the mayor, "Good morning, Father!" Margo called.

Her father, a man named Oliver, looked like a stern businessman at first glance, someone who might even give Giovanni a run for his money. But the moment he heard her voice, his face softened with a warm smile, "Good morning, Margo! Are you heading to the Wind Festival?"

"Yeah!" Margo nodded happily.

Oliver smiled back, "Okay. Be safe, and have fun, okay? Love you."

"Love you too, Papa!" Margo waved as she grabbed her bag and began running toward town, or more accurately, behind town.

—

Meanwhile, at the same time, Ash and Molly were walking into the heart of the city, with Pikachu and Vee riding on their shoulders and peeking around at all the delicious food.

Molly was practically drooling, just like the two Pokémon, "Big Brother, it all looks tasty! I can't decide what to get!"

Ash chuckled and rubbed her head, "Well, how about we try one of everything?"

"Really?!" Molly's eyes sparkled like a kid in a candy store.

Pikachu and Vee's ears perked up too. They both nodded excitedly.

"Pika-chu!"

"Vee-Vee!"

"Sure," Ash said with a smile. "It's not like I'm short on money. Besides, what kind of big brother would I be if I couldn't spoil you?" He booped her nose, making Molly giggle.

They began wandering down the main path, lined with colorful food stalls, music, and street performers.

They started simple, grabbing a few candy apples. You can never go wrong with those.

Except… Pikachu and Vee ended up eating Ash's before he could take a bite. But at least Molly looked happy, which made it worth it.

As they continued walking, Ash noticed a group of kids running a lemonade stand. A cheerful Phanpy was marching beside them, helping out.

Just ahead, an old woman with a cane was passing by. She wore gloves, but only on one hand.

One of the kids called out excitedly, "Hey lady! How about some lemonade?"

The little Phanpy marched next to him, raising its trunk with a cheerful, "Phaa!"

But then one of the kid's friends suddenly panicked and ran up behind him, "Hold it!" he shouted. But it was too late.

The old woman looked down and saw the Phanpy staring up at her. Her expression twisted into one of disgust, "Now what's going on here?! Keep it away from me!" She tried poking it with her cane, but Phanpy thought she was trying to play and happily grabbed it with its trunk.

The boy's friends rushed up and quickly pulled him and Phanpy away, "Sorry! We didn't mean it!" They dragged him into an alley as the old woman huffed and stormed off.

Inside the alley, the group huddled, panting, "Dude, didn't you know? That lady's world-famous for hating Pokémon!"

"Are you serious?" the boy asked, wide-eyed.

One of the others nodded, "See her hand? Who wears only one glove like that?"

As they were talking in the narrow alley, Margo came running from behind the buildings. She didn't notice the boys were there until she was already too close, and accidentally bumped into their cart, knocking over some of their lemons.

The lemons tumbled to the ground, rolling across the cracked cobblestone.

Margo gasped and stumbled back, clutching her bag to her chest to keep anything from falling out, "S-sorry! I didn't mean to—"

The boys scrambled to grab the fallen lemons, "Whoa! Hey, watch where you're going!"

One of them paused when he recognized her, "Hey, it's the mayor's kid."

"I'm sorry! You see, I'm in a hurry—" Margo tried to explain, but they weren't listening.

One of the boys picked up a lemon and scowled, "Don't give me that! You made us drop our lemons. You're gonna pay for this!" He hurled the lemon at her.

Margo froze, her eyes wide. She closed them in fear—

But a hand reached out and caught the lemon mid-air.

"Hey," a calm voice said, "that wasn't very nice, you know."

Margo slowly opened her eyes, and saw Ash standing in front of her, casually spinning the lemon in his hand.

"Three against one. That doesn't seem very fair," he said coolly. "Maybe you should feel it first."

He tossed the lemon back, and it smacked the boy in the forehead, knocking him flat on his back.

One of the other boys glared, "What, hey, you! Fine, Phanpy, use Rollout!"

Phanpy jumped up and curled into a ball, rolling straight at Ash like a bowling ball.

But Ash just snapped his fingers.

Vee darted forward and slammed into Phanpy with an [Iron Tail], sending it flying backward like a baseball, crashing right into the boys.

The two remaining kids froze up, stunned by how quickly things had turned. Without a word, they scrambled to pick up their fallen friend and Phanpy, tossed them onto their cart, and started running away.

As they fled, one shouted over his shoulder, "No way, we're going home! We won't forget this!"

They dashed past Molly, who had been watching the whole thing. She sat nearby with Pikachu on her lap, both of them still munching on their candy apples.

Ash turned back to Margo, "Hey, you alright?"

Margo blinked, catching her breath. Then she smiled in relief, "Yeah… thank you. Both of you. I'm Margo."

Ash gave her a nod and smiled back, "I'm Ash. And it's no problem."

Then Molly ran up, eyes sparkling, "Wow, Big Brother! That was so cool! You totally taught those bullies a lesson!"

Ash chuckled and booped Molly's nose again, "Of course! I'm your super heroic, strong, smart, and handsome older brother, aren't I?" he said, very humbly, of course.

Margo smiled, "Ah, so you two are here together. Did you come for the Wind Festival?"

Molly looked at Margo and nodded eagerly, "Yep! My Big Brother brought me all the way here!"

Margo clapped her hands, "Okay then! How about I show you something super cool as a thank-you for saving me?"

Molly's eyes lit up, "Wow, really?! Big Brother, can we? Can we?!"

Ash smiled helplessly, "Well, when you ask like that, how can I say no? Let's do it."

"Yay! Let's go!" Molly cheered as they followed behind Margo, excited.

Meanwhile, just behind a tree, a certain trio was watching.

What a coincidence, it turned out that after Wendy blatantly targeted Jessie at work (despite being in Human Resources), she ended up giving the trio a few vacation days as an apology…

…at the Wind Festival, of all places.

What a coincidence indeed.

"Impressive," Jessie said, arms crossed as she watched Ash in action.

"Indeed," James nodded thoughtfully.

"So… what plan to pinch Pikachu is on today's menu?" Meowth asked.

"The right one," Jessie said confidently, holding up a glittering glass of freshly-squeezed Lum Berry juice, "We start… our own juice business."

"A perfect idea, of course…" James said, nodding along, though the words hadn't quite registered yet.

Meowth nodded too, "Let's get started!"

Then he froze, "Wait… you're not serious?!"

Jessie shook her finger like a CEO with a vision, "We can help these thirsty folks. Success is the right product at the right time, and we've got both! We're cool cash magnets!"

"What about Pikachu? How does that relate?" James asked, glancing at Meowth. "Do you get it?"

Meowth was already scribbling numbers in the air and had a calculator like he was in the middle of tax season, "Wow! Cash relates to everything!"

James sighed. Jessie stood proud, hands on her hips, looking smug as ever

And from the bushes, Wobbuffet popped out and saluted, "Woooobbbbuffet!"