Crystal Empire, late afternoon.
Rainbow Dash and Soarin had just arrived at the Cyrstal Empire. They missed out on the whole Sweet Scent debacle that happened during the afternoon.
"What did we miss?" Rainbow Dash asked as she and Soarin went up to Rarity and the others.
"Not much honestly. But there was a fairly entertaining situation with Ash." Rarity replied.
"Sure was." Spike nodded. "Especially on Hearts and Hooves day."
"Oh, it's today?" Soarin said. "Geez, this festival's distracting."
"And that train was so slow..." Rainbow sighed. "It's almost already night right now."
"Ah, but the day isn't over yet. There's still a lot to do before midnight." Rarity walked off.
"Well. Guess this is where we part ways, huh?" Soarin turned to Rainbow.
"Mhm." Rainbow flew up. "See ya in our next Gym Battle. Or back at the academy, I don't know."
"See ya too." Soarin and Rainbow Dash bid their farewells as they went their separate ways, most likely to see each other again somewhere else.
Many trainers were deciding to clock out of the day as well. They had their own eventful day as their Pokemon had also been involved with the whole Sweet Scent debacle. Their own Pokemon almost left them for some fragrance.
The calming aura of the orange sun slowly setting was enough to make anyone drowsy. Even the Pokemon that are nocturnal by nature.
"Chiko..." Chikorita yawned as she was placed on a Crystal Empire guest room bed by Fluttershy.
"There you go," Fluttershy said to her partner. "Get some good rest. We might head over to another location tomorrow. Maybe." She put the bedsheets over the Leaf Pokemon.
"Ko..."
"Audi. Can you stay here and watch over Chikorita for me?"
"Audino!"
"Good. I'll be right back." Fluttershy fluttered out of the room, leaving everything to Audino as a caretaker to Chikorita while she goes off to finish a few things up before midnight.
With how the sun was setting, it looked to be a peaceful and calm night like usual. But, something was amiss. Chikorita began to doze off, letting the orange glow of the sun be her method of sleeping as Audino kept watch.
As for others who were tired themselves, they had entered the guest rooms for some rest with their Pokemon.
Bayleef, who had come all the way from Kanto to meet Ash wanted to stay here and be with Ash, refusing to head back to Professor Oak's lab.
But Ash had gone to the guest rooms for some rest. Bayleef didn't want to disappoint Ash and make him upset any further, so she willingly took herself back home.
If she can come from Pallet Town to the Crystal Empire in a few hours then it wouldn't be a huge problem for the Leaf Pokemon to return to Oak's lab.
Celestia decided to set the sun herself while all the way back in Canterlot, Pyrestar would be the one to raise the moon instead of Luna, who's whereabouts are still unknown.
Overall, the last and final hours of the second day had been fairly slow and calm in contrast to the hyperactive morning and early afternoon shenanigans that occurred.
But sometimes, the night can get just as wild.
Along came the night. The festival was still lively at night but not as much as in the morning or afternoon. Lights were everywhere to illuminate the darkness. Most of it was actually coming from Rarity's Ampharos due to him being the ultimate light source.
Up in the night sky, a shooting star could be seen passing by. Although, there's a 50% chance that it could just be a Minior. It was still beautiful to look at.
Fluttershy was out with Twilight and the others, just having a normal chat and discussing what they would end up doing for tomorrow.
So far, they were all tempted to head over to Manehattan since they were curious as to what that part of the festival has to offer for them. Everywhere, there's a different attraction with some reoccurring ones after all.
As for their Pokemon, most of them had split up to do their own thing instead of hanging around their trainers like they always do.
Sometimes, at night, the Pokemon have their own adventures that they get up to when their trainers are either asleep or chatting with each other.
"Aaah..." Pikachu stretched his arms as he came out of the castle. "Lucky for me, I didn't get any Sweet Scent on me." The Electric Mouse Pokemon, unlike his trainer Ash, got off easy from the Sweet Scent Event.
He couldn't begin to imagine what would've happened if some of it got on him. He would have Pokemon of all kinds chasing him which wouldn't spell well for a Pokemon of his size.
"It's not close to midnight yet." Pikachu looked up in the sky. "What to do..." He began pondering on the spot. Just then, along came Absol who looked completely out of it as he was groaning.
"Urgh..." The Disaster Pokemon walked past Pikachu.
"What's wrong, Absol?"
"Mrrgh..." Absol fell flat on his face. "That Sylveon...Sticking to me for most of the day...What did I do to deserve this?"
"No need to worry." Pikachu patted Absol on the head. "Wait. Does that mean you won't be doing your night watch like usual?"
"No way." Absol shook his head. "Not this time. I don't wanna stay awake with Sylveon around." He shuddered. "I'll just head to bed instead. Hopefully, we head somewhere else tomorrow.."
"Well, I heard earlier that we might be heading to Manehattan. You're gonna love it!"
"Really?"
"Oh yeah!" Pikachu nodded. "It's a real blast! Kinda reminds me of Castelia City a bit."
"As long as it means getting away from Sylveon..."
"Getting away from who?" The voice of Sylveon reached Abosl's ears, startling the Disaster Pokemon. Sylveon was right behind Pikachu and Absol alongside her fellow Eeveelution, Eve.
"Gah!" Absol jumped back. "Y-You're not asleep with your trainer?!"
"Not at all!" Sylveon grinned.
"Why are you so scared of her?" Eve wondered. "Sylveon here doesn't look that harmful at all."
"It's not the look..." Absol growled. "It's the Fairy magic. It just makes me uncomfortable..."
"Oh, that makes sense now?" Eve nodded. She understood that being a Dark-Type meant that Fairy magic was a bit of a hazard for him.
"Aw, my Fairy magic isn't bad at all. It's soothing. Here. Let me show you." Sylveon approached Absol.
"No...Stay back...!" Absol's legs quaked as he slowly backed away from the approaching Fairy-Type.
"Don't be scared, Absol. Embrace it!" Sylveon lunged at him.
"A-Ah!" Absol used Quick Attack to evade but Sylveon also used Quick Attack to chase after him. "Get away from me!" Very soon, the two of them entered a chase sequence with Absol trying to escape from Sylveon as if his life depended on it.
"You can't run forever, Absol~!"
"She's a bit different with Absol, huh?" Pikachu said.
"Well, it's obvious. Sylveon's not what she seems." Eve nodded.
"She's not?"
"Not at all." Eve then shook her head. "Behind that cute and adorable face is a fiendish Pokemon who enjoys making others her playthings for her own amusement.
"...Oh." Pikachu's eyes widened as he gulped.
"But she means well. I think."
"Yeah...Hopefully" Pikachu laughed nervously.
Whilst he and Eve had a midnight chat, all the way back inside of the guest room, Audino was trying her best to stay up to keep watch of Chikorita.
"Can't...fall...asleep," Audino grumbled as she leaned back on the wall. Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly a nocturnal Pokemon, despite those sensitive ears she has.
The same goes for Chikorita and most Grass-Types since being out at night in the harsh cold can be a bit unhealthy for them at times, depending on the Grass Pokemon. Except for Oddish who loves moonlight.
However, this night was different.
Chikorita was having a case of somnambulism. Also known as sleepwalking. "Mmm..." The Leaf Pokemon sat up from her bed, undergoing her first-ever sleepwalking case.
"Hm?" Audino could hear Chikorita getting off the bed as she noticed the Grass-Type walking out of the guest room. "Chikorita? Where are you going?"
"Aha..." She didn't respond to Audino at all.
"Wait..." Audino figured it out as she lowered her voice. "Is this sleepwalking?!" She knew not to raise her voice since waking up a sleepwalker, while not exactly dangerous, can lead to some disorientation.
However, the major difference between a sleepwalking Pokemon to say a sleepwalking human or pony is that if a Pokemon wakes up after sleepwalking, the results could be destructive.
"Ah..." Chikorita mumbled in her sleep.
"What to do..." Audino bit her hand. She decided to follow Chikorita, making sure that she doesn't end up harming herself. When someone is sleepwalking, their movements tend to be complex and unpredictable which can prove to be a problem for someone trying to stop them from harming themselves.
The sleepwalking Chikorita wandered the halls of the Crystal Castle as she gained the attention of the guards who were stationed to keep watch at night.
They saw how Audino was gently running towards Chikorita, trying not to wake her up but also attempting to keep her away from any harm.
Audino's large body compared to Chikorita's small size meant that she had to keep a safe distance away from the Leaf Pokemon without making any direct contact.
Eventually, Chikorita's sleepwalking and Audino's pursuit led the duo to the outside. But instead of going through the main castle doors, they ended up at the less well-known back doors. Out there, they were behind the castle itself and a bit distant from everyone else at this point.
"Behind the castle?" Audino turned around. "We can't get too far away...Fluttershy doesn't even know about this part of the castle."
It wasn't time to panic yet for Audino since Chikorita was still in one piece and unharmed. But moving further away from the castle and the festival as well was a bit of a red flag for the Hearing Pokemon. She was hoping that this would end soon.
Chikorita's little adventure led Audino further away from the Crystal Empire. The Hearing Pokemon looked at her surroundings as she noticed that they were entering a snowy area that wasn't the Frozen North since they've technically gone South instead.
This could be considered uncharted territory to them as the snow here, while not as violent as the frozen north, was still aggressive and harsh.
So harsh that it was kicking up a mist that covered the area, making it harder for anyone's vision to work properly. Unless it's a Pokemon with amazing eyesight. Unfortunately, Audino and Chikorita don't exactly have amazing eyesight and Chikorita's still sleepwalking.
"Oh, dear..." Audino gulped as she noticed that the view of the Empire was being blocked out by the mist around her. If there was any time to panic, it might be now. But Audino was keeping her cool.
"Fluttershy..." Chikorita spoke in her sleep.
"Oh, I wish I had Psychic-Types moves right about now...." Audino whimpered. She knew not to make contact with Chikorita as she is now but if this keeps up throughout the entire night until morning whilst treading in uncharted territory, there might be heaps of trouble coming their way.
And indeed, in an area like this, there was trouble lurking around the corner. But for once, the trouble wasn't a horde of Sableye scampering around.
It was something much worse.
Audino stopped as she noticed a familiar figure in the mist. The silhouette of the figure was in the shape of a spike ball with arms and legs sticking out.
Just one look and Audino already knew exactly who it was. And it immediately made her shudder as a voice came from the familiar figure.
"Well! How convenient!" That voice belonged to the rival of Mayor Mare and the demon in angel's clothing, Togepi as the mist revealed the Spike Ball Pokemon.
"Togepi?!" Audino gasped as Chikorita suddenly stopped while still asleep.
"Out alone here, are you?" Togepi grinned. "Too bad."
"Why of all times...?" Audino groaned as she looked down at Chikorita who wasn't walking anymore. But she was still in a sleepwalking state.
"Hm?" Togepi herself also noticed how Chikorita was asleep on the spot, out in this cold weather which was bad for a Grass-Type Pokemon. Especially one as young as her. Togepi felt like taking advantage of the situation around her because of this.
"Why are you here?" Audino got in front of Chikorita.
"Pssh. None of your business. But since I bumped into you two..." Togepi eyes were shining as she was about to use the move Mega Punch. "I'll keep you two in my custody for the time being!"
Togepi planned on keeping Audino and Chikorita as her captives for the same reason as always. She wants to grab the attention of Mayor Mare since Audino and Chikorita are essentially citizens of Ponyville.
Any chance of getting back at her archenemy was a catch in Togepi's eyes as she rushed towards the duo.
"Oh, no!" Audino screeched as she now had to figure out how to fight Togepi off while protecting Chikorita.
The Spike Ball Pokemon raised her stubby arms, ready to smash them onto the Hearing Pokemon. Audino decided to use Protect as a means of defence. A green barrier formed in front of her and Chikorita, blocking the Mega Punch from succeeding.
"Heh." Togepi grinned, knowing that Protect can't save Audino from her forever. The Spike Ball Pokemon jumped back as she had other means of attacking.
Perhaps her most useful move was Psychic, allowing her to manipulate her opponents with her mind. Physically not mentally, much to her dismay.
The Fairy-Type's eyes illuminated blue as she lifted Audino and Chikorita with her mind, holding them both in place. Thankfully, Chikorita hadn't woken up since Psychic isn't about physical contact but this was still a bad situation.
"Gotcha!"
"Not for long!" Audino opened her mouth as she was about to fire off Hyper Beam as an orange ball of energy formed inside of her mouth.
But obviously, Togepi wouldn't let herself get hit by such an attack. So, when Audino fired Hyper Beam which tore through the air, the Spike Ball Pokemon used Substitute to avoid it.
Togepi moved back quickly when the Hyper Beam came close as she created an afterimage of herself. When the afterimage was hit, it had disappeared.
But not only did it hit the afterimage, but the ground as well. Any time Hyper Beam hits the ground, there is bound to be some hefty destruction.
Which is what was happened right about now.
The snow around the ground had been blown away by the explosion of Hyper Beam as a massive crater had been formed. But it didn't stop at just an explosion and a crater, the snowy hills around the area had crumbled as the ground itself was shaking.
Audino was losing her balance as she realized she put too much power into that Hyper Beam. Now the ground was covered in more snow that fell from the hills.
"Missed!" Togepi taunted. "Now it's my turn!"
"Ugh..." Audino fell on her knees, as she had to take a rest after using Hyper Beam, unfortunately. This allowed Togepi to strike while the iron was hot.
And she did so by using Dazzling Gleam. By creating a rainbow sphere in her arms, Togepi sent a large array of rainbow beams towards the defenceless Audino who still hadn't recovered after using Hyper Beam.
Audino gasped as she put her body over Chikorita without making contact with her, hoping that she could withstand the beams of Dazzling Gleam while protecting Chikorita too. From how fast they were moving, she knew that this might pummel her violently.
She was prepared for the worst to happen.
"Mmm..." But then, as Chikorita grumbled in her sleep, something unusual happened. A piece of her leaf came out, flowing in the wind as it landed on Togepi's head.
From Togepi's point of view, she witnessed the multiple beams of Dazzling Gleam bombard Audino and Chikorita, making it a direct contact.
The beams were pouring on them as multi-coloured explosions graced Togepi's eyes. It looked like her attack was a success and she had successfully knocked them both out.
But that's when the unexpected happened. Togepi's eyes had suddenly blinked as an instant flash happened before her eyes. The Spike Ball Pokemon rubbed her eyes, wondering what that was flash was.
Once she got done rubbing her eyes, it was revealed that Dazzling Gleam hadn't hit Audino and Chikorita. Almost as if they had missed. Which was odd.
But even more unusual, Togepi said something she had already said earlier.
"Missed! Now it's my turn!" That's when it hit her. "Huh...? Didn't I say those words earlier?"
"What...? What happened?" For Audino, it was a different experience. While Togepi thought that the attack had missed, Audino realized that Togepi never fired the attack in the first place.
"Must've been a dud. Let's try this again!" Togepi sent more Dazzling Gleam beams towards the duo once more. She was expecting to hit them this time.
"Mrrgh..." Once again, Chikorita grumbled as another tiny piece of leaf came off her, landing on Togepi's head.
That same mysterious flash happened to Togepi's eyes as the moment she rubbed them, she saw that yet again, Audino and Chikorita were completely fine.
"What's going on?!" Togepi screeched. "Let's try a new attack then!" She switched it up, going for Flamethrower this time. A blast of fire came out of Togepi's mouth as she knew that an attack this wide was unlikely to miss. The raging fire melted the snow around the area as an orange glow illuminated Audino's back.
Audino covered her eyes as a third tiny piece of leaf came out of Chikorita's head, phasing through the fire itself as it landed on Togepi's face.
The fire had engulfed Audino and Chikorita as the Hearing Pokemon cried out in pain. From how she was screaming, Togepi thought that it was a success since Audino generally sounded like she was being burned by intense flames.
But lo and behold, the flash happened once more. And to Togepi's shock, Audino and Chikorita were fine yet again. They looked like they hadn't taken any damage whatsoever, their bodies weren't burned and what's more, the snow hadn't been melted by Flamethrower like what Togepi saw.
Naturally, this freaked the Spike Ball Pokemon out. She slowly backed away, flabbergasted and confused about what was going on.
It was almost as if something was changing the outcome that was less favourable to Togepi and more favourable to Audino and Chikorita.
Similar to changing fate itself.
Audino shook her head as she herself had no idea what was going on, so she quickly stood up as she was about to perform something very risky. She was going to make contact with the sleepwalking Chikorita.
"Sorry about this, Chikorita." Taking the risk, Audino placed her hands on the Leaf Pokemon, raising her as she made a run for it.
All the while, Togepi stood there, confused, befuddled and lost on what she had just witnessed. She could've sworn that Dazzling Gleam and Flamethrower connected.
If the attacks missed, then she would've seen them miss. But instead, each time she unleashed an attack, this mysterious flash happened in front of her eyes as she also noticed that a leaf came close to her.
Togepi quickly snapped out of it as she chased after Audino and Chikorita. "Come back here!"
"Just have to find the castle! If I can pick up on the sound of the festival..!" Audino exclaimed as she turned around to see Togepi running after her.
"You won't get away from me!"
"Mrrgh..." Being grabbed by Audino meant that Chikorita had been woken up, breaking out of her sleepwalking. "A-Ah-Ah..."
"Chikorita?"
"AH!" As expected, waking up a sleepwalking Pokemon resulted in less than stellar results. Not only was Chikorita's heart beating fast, but she released a ton of Grass Infinity energy from her body, creating a powerful pulse of energy that spread across the area.
This was one of the many reasons why no one ever wakes up a sleepwalking Pokemon. The Infinity Energy inside of their body will overload and they'll unleash an energy pulse so destructive that it surpasses their limitations. Especially the pre-evolved Pokemon.
This pulse was so strong that it not only destroyed the ground beneath Chikorita, Audino and Togepi, but it also made each of them fall into the large hole.
Well, Togepi used Substitute to save herself from falling as she watched Chikorita and Audino fall instead, hearing their screaming.
"Hmph. It's better if they're left deep down there...." Togepi grimaced as she used the move Ancient Power to block off the hole with large ancient rocks of the past.
After being woken up and exerting all of her energy, Chikorita had gone back to sleep due to that power overload. But she and Audino were still falling down a seemingly endless abyss.
Audino screamed as she had let go of Chikorita. "Chikorita! You're going back to sleep now?!"
"Mmmm..." She smiled in her sleep.
"Ah!" Audino curled up as she saw that there was no end to this fall. It could go on forever. She closed her eyes in instinctive response because of this. "Not like this!"
"Mmmrgh..." Chikorita grumbled in her sleep as yet again, the leaf on her head was acting up. But this time, instead of one, two tiny pieces of leaves came out of Chikorita's leaf as they both flew over to Audino who hadn't seen the leaves fly over to her.
Once the leaves touched her head, that same mysterious flash forced Audino to open her eyes as she had seen it appear before her eyes.
This flash lasted longer than what Togepi saw from what it seems. About 5 seconds. Almost as if an explosion was going off. And the last thing Audino saw was a green light and that was it.
"Ugh..." Audino had woken up after the flash, seemingly alright and in one piece. But there was an even better result than just being okay and healthy.
Audino sat up as she noticed that not only was she in one piece with Chikorita by her side, but she was safely on the ground as if the impact had been cushioned mysteriously.
Even the rocks that Togepi created were gone too.
"W-What happened...?" A befuddled Audino stammered.
"Mrrgh..." Finally, Chikorita was waking up, no longer in a sleepwalking state. She didn't let out any infinity energy since she woke up by her own will without contact. Once she opened her eyes, the Leaf Pokemon noticed that they were in an underground area all of a sudden. "Huh? What? Audino?"
"Chikorita. You're awake?"
"Mhm." She nodded gently. "Where are we?"
"Far from the Crystal Empire and the Pokemon Festival. Underground too. But we're okay...somehow. You were sleepwalking and we ended up here from me following you."
"Oh. Okay." Chikorita yawned. "I didn't know I could sleepwalk. That was my first time."
"Hopefully, it's the last." Audino stood up as she picked Chikorita up. The Hearing Pokemon noticed that they were at the absolute bottom of the underground.
Whatever saved them from having a horrible landing, brought them to safety at the lowest part of the underground.
Audino couldn't even see the entrance. Mostly because the main problem was that this hole was unnaturally deep. with only a small ray of moonlight beaming through. That moonlight wasn't enough to cancel out the darkness, unfortunately.
After all, Audino did see it as an endless abyss when she was falling. But obviously, there was a way out of here somehow. So the two of them would most likely have to search for a way out.
But that didn't need to happen because they weren't alone underground. Right next to them, a group of Drilbur's popped up, startling the duo.
"Howdy!" The group greeted.
"Ah!" Chikorita and Audino jumped back.
"You two lost?" A single Drilbur spoke.
"Lost?" Then after that, they all spoke in unison.
"Oh, um yes." Audino nodded. "We've fallen underground sadly. And now we're just looking for a way out."
"Ah, that's easy enough!"
"Easy enough!"
"We'll get you out of here in no time. Where do you two wanna pop out?"
"Just up near the Crystal Empire. Oh, but, you don't know what that is, do you?"
"Oh, that large place with those crystals and stuff? We know it. Pretty shiny!"
"Pretty shiny!"
"We'll get you there lickety-split!"
"Lickety-split!"
"Neat!" Chikorita squeed. They had the perfect guide out of this underground in the form of Drilbur's who were already drilling experts. How lucky.
The Drilbur's didn't need to dig in order to guide them out. Since they've dug in this underground area so frequently, many holes are plastered all over the place with their own exits and entrances. Although they might have to dig a hole when they reach their destination.
Along the way, Audino noticed that Chikorita looked a bit different. The leaf on her head was missing a few bits. It looked like a Rattata had nibbled on it.
"Say, Chikorita..." Audino spoke.
"Hm?" Chikorita turned around.
"What happened to your leaf? It's missing some parts."
"Oh?" Chikorita looked up. "Ah! My leaf! Is this bad?! Am I in danger?!"
"I don't think so." Audino shook her head. "But it is a bit surprising."
"Mrrgh..." Chikorita grumbled. "Fluttershy's going to be so upset when she sees this."
"But, one thing that has me curious...those flashes. Where did they come from?" Audino wasn't sure what caused those sudden flashes.
But what she could tell was that somehow, in some way, these flashes saved her and Chikorita from being hurt. Not only that, but Audino noticed how the number of flashes that she saw was identical to the number of leaves that Chikorita leaf was missing.
Audino thought it was a coincidence as she shook her head. She believed that the reason why they were still in one piece was due to a Pokemon that was so fast they could only see it as a flash of light.
At least, that's what Audino believes.
The helpful Drilbur's eventually led them out of the underground as they appeared right underneath the house of a crystal pony.
"We're here!" A Drilbur popped up. "All safe and sound."
"Safe and sound!"
"Thank you all so much." Audino thanked them as she and Chikorita climbed out of the hole, finally reaching the surface as they were back in the Crystal Empire.
"Catch ya later!" All the Drilbur bid their farewells as they descended underground, getting back to work.
Audino and Chikorita decided to return to the guest room by acting all stealthy. They were hoping that Fluttershy didn't already know they had left the guest rooms. The last thing they want is the Stare.
But, since they were gone for a while, Fluttershy already knew as she spotted her Pokemon walking at a slow pace, trying to be sneaky.
"Audi! Chikorita!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she flew over to them. They had been caught in the act by their trainer.
"Dino?!"
"Chiko?!"
"Where have you two been?! I've been so worried about you?!"
"A-Audino..." Audino gulped as she was fearing the worst.
"And..." Fluttershy also ended up noticing Chikorita's leaf was different. To Fluttershy, she thought that a smaller Pokemon attacked it.
"Chiko..." Chikorita hid behind Audino.
"Audi! You were meant to keep watch of her! What happened?!"
"Audino..." Audino whimpered as she knew she had to spill the truth to her. "Dino. Audino..."
"Sleepwalking?"
"Audino." She nodded.
"Hm." Fluttershy sighed. "I guess that would explain it...But what about her leaf?"
"Audino..." She didn't know. Audino couldn't answer the part about Chikorita's leaf.
"Okay...As long as you two are alright. That's what matters the most. Come on. Let's get to bed. We're heading to Manehattan tomorrow."
Their fear of being scolded by Fluttershy almost came true which is something Audino and Chikorita would never want since they're so well-behaved.
But, after a simple explanation, Fluttershy understood the scenario. But still, the biggest mystery to Audino were those flashes. There might be a chance they'll show up again and perhaps, they'll save her from harm once more.
The second day of the festival comes to an end as the group are setting off to Manehattan next. But along the way, a certain Pokemon Hunter may have a chance of crossing paths with them. Who knows. Right now, they're just going to enjoy this festival through and through as the journey continues.
Chapter 309 End.