Chapter 60 7th Street

Gardevoir: And THAT, kids, is how you storm a castle~

Cain: I mean, if you can call this a castle.

Ash, Delia, Radomus, Cain, and Luna are now outside of the Subseven Sanctum, and they are glad to see everyone safe.

Radomus: Gardevoir is capable of calling anything whatever she wishes, and she will readily do so without a care.

Luna: I'm so grateful to everyone for coming to save me. I would like to formally apologize for the inconvenience I've caused.

Delia: Luna, darling, you know all of us would never abandon you!

Luna: Yes, of course. Thank you so much, Mother.

Cain: Haah, I need to stop getting my butt captured, too~ I'm never gonna be the very best like no one ever was at this rate.

Radomus: That's all well and good, but perhaps we shouldn't chit-chat idly right on our enemy's doorstep.

Luna: Master is right. I wish to quit this place.

Ash: But where can we go right now? The Castle?

Radomus: It will not do to return to the Castle at this point. At least, I will not be returning. Apologies, Cain, but we will not be able to have our battle just yet. I have another business to attend to just now. Though I do thank you for the lead from before. Gardevoir?

Gardevoir: Ta-ta, dears~ Stay tuned for our next big entrance!

Cain: Wait, what do you mean 'Thanks for the lead'?

Radomus gives Ash and Delia a hug before leaving with Gardevoir.

Cain: ...So, I guess they won't be answering that question then.

Luna: Ahaha~ Master does love his mysteries, doesn't he? Perhaps it's better if he doesn't say.

Delia: As for me, I got a call from Ame that Adrienn is asking to rebuild the city, so I'll be back at the Grand Hall.

Ash: Okay, Mom.

Then Delia also leaves with her Charizard, leaving the three of them left.

Luna: Hearts beat faster in the darkness. Do you know why?

Cain: Because it's better with the lights off?

Luna: Oh, my. Well, be that as it may, it wasn't quite my intention. But in a different vein, darkness is quick to fester in one's heart. (Turns to Ash) Tell me, Ash, are you afraid of the dark?

Ash: I'm not that scared since I have seen darker things.

Luna: (Nods) Good. Please, take this.

Luna gives Ash a Red Crystal Key, much to his confusion.

Luna: With this, you will be able to enter Iolia Valley. As for how to find it... There is a single tree within my master's Labyrinth. Just behind that, and you can figure out the rest, right? (Leaves) The darkness in Master's heart bores a hole that I cannot hope to fill alone. But I can pretend, can't I? Ash, I'll be waiting.

Cain: (After seeing Luna leaves) Sooooo I have no idea what she meant by any of that, but I'm gonna get going too! Since Radomus flew the coop, I guess I'll see if I can give those guards at Agate a wake-up call in a bit. I guess that's still on the other end of Route 1... If you're going to the labyrinth right away, wanna walk together until the road splits?

Ash: Well, I want to do some things first, so I'll see you then.

Cain nods as he leaves, Ash then decides to do some things right now.


Back at 7th Street, Ash decides to look for some things, but he also hears something disturbing.

Craudburry: Miserable lout, PATHETIC inventory, if this is really all you've got, you ought to be ashamed of your scruffy-rumped self! Don't call again until you have something worth my time!

Ash notices that Craudburry just walks out of the place where they sold Pokemon in cages, and Craudburry also spots him.

Craudburry: Oh, it's you. I should have known I'd see low-life scum like you lollygagging around down here. Don't look at me, criminal swine, you aren't worth my breath! Driveling mucus with every step... Bah!

Ash really doesn't like this woman as she leaves, then Archer walks up to him with a sigh.

Archer: Quite the mouth that one has, doesn't she? Perhaps, unfortunately, the street-savvy aren't the only ones with influence down here. There are always people like Craudburry. She pretends to be such an upstanding citizen, but she just plays the streets down here with her wealth. You recall the Pokémon we stole from her, yes? That was one she purchased illegally down here. That's why I had no regrets about targeting her. Nonetheless, her attitude is insufferable. Yet, no one down here stands up to her. After all, they dare not risk her patronage. I'm thinking, though, perhaps we might better everyone's lives down here if we, how do you say, teach her a lesson?

Ash: You mean something like defeating her in a battle? Count me in.

Ash and Archer then arrive at her house, with Archer standing on guard while Ash deals with her.

Craudburry: So the filth has followed me back here, has it? Do you intend to desecrate my house again? Shit on my life once more? I could pay the dogs in 7th Street to kill your family if I wanted! Do not cross me, wretched pigling! If you won't leave, I'll MAKE you leave! After the last little incident with your pack of flea-bitten hounds, I decided to invest in a bit of self-defense. I've already bought the best Pokémon 7th Street has to offer, and they'll make you regret the day you crawled into this world!

Then she tries to use Victreebel, Slaking, Qwilfish, Crabominable, and Amoonguss to stop her, but without the bond of Pokemon, Ash manages to defeat her with ease.

Craudburry: (Angry) BAAAAH! WORTHLESS. These Pokémon are WORTHLESS! I paid good money for these- that shady vendor, that treacherous PIG! I should have him ARRESTED.

Archer: (Walks in) Sounds like a bad plan.

Craudburry: AAAAGH! Get out of my house!

Archer: Now why would I do that? Will you force me out with your fearsome illegal Pokémon? Indeed, you could not possibly have that vendor arrested; you willfully participated in illegal trade yourself. You'll ruin yourself if you try to do anything.

Craudburry: How DARE you!

Archer: So that's just it. Our terms are as such: Firstly, you will stop your fiendish screeching. Secondly, you will never return to 7th Street. Are we clear?

Craudburry: (Angry) Grrrrrr...

Archer: Agreed, then. Ash, let's go.

Ash nods as they leave the place, and after getting outside of the house, Archer and Ash are talking privately.

Archer: Well done. I do believe that will be sufficient to see her excised from 7th Street. I'll see you around.

Ash nods as he bids farewell to Archer, and then he decides to go back to 7th Street, and he finds Maxwell, the leader of Magma Gang there as well.

Maxwell: Ash, right? Man. I used to be king of the jungle called Reborn City. 'Till you showed up and dethroned me. Magma Gang's no more. That's your fault. Here I am, alone in this dump. That's your fault, too. There's no glory in this. But...I've been waiting for this. I hoped I'd see you again... because it's time to reclaim my fame! Ash! Let's do this! For glory, baby!

Maxwell tries to fight Ash using Ninetales, Heatmor, Charizard, Houndoom, and Turtonator to defeat Ash, but Ash still wins the game with ease.

Maxwell: Urf... Back up. Hold on. Time out. Redo! No? I still can't- Man, what's it take to beat you? Cheating? I've been lingering here in desperate hope that if I beat you, I could rebuild my family. But it seems that won't happen. Maybe it's time to move on from glory. Take up a factory job and live a real-life or something. I've been wasting my time all along... That's humiliating. I'll die here. And I'll be reborn, a normal person. Thank you. In the end, glory was a prison. (Leaves)

Ash feels bad for the Magma Gang, but he knows that he is doing the right thing, so he decides to leave and see what this place has to offer. He finds a house where someone is worshiping the Helix Fossil, and after giving him a Farfetch'd, he gives him a Jaw Fossil so he can use it to revive Tyrunt. Then he decides to purchase the Pokemon that are in cages, fortunately, they are sold by shards.

Man: Welcome to my little shop! All these Pokemon are straight up for sale, provided you got the Shards for 'em, anyway. I got a strict confidentiality what-not policy: I ain't tell where I get 'em, and I ain't tell where I sell 'em. That means you can be sure any deals we strike are completely secure. Look around, why don't you!

Ash decides to buy all of the Pokemon since he wants to give them a home. Vanillite sells 3 Purple Shards, Loudred sells 5 Blue Shards, and Roggenrola sells 3 Red Shards.

?: Hey, you. Come here.

Ash is confused as he notices the man, so he walks towards him.

?: Who are you? I've been keeping my eye on this place for a while, but you don't seem like this guy's typical customer to me.

Ash: My name is Ash and this is Pikachu.

Arclight: Well, I'm Arclight- DJ Arclight, to be specific. I run the Nightclub up in the Obsidia Ward. You can just call me Arc. Anyway. Look, I've been keeping my eye on this place for a while. I'm pretty sure that these Pokémon he's selling are stolen, and I ain't about that. Most of his customers don't care a thing about Pokémon. They usually end up abusing them.

Ash: (Grits his teeth) I knew it...

Arclight: If these Pokémon really are stolen, it's probably hopeless to find their original owners, but, I figure at least we can get them to a good place. And I'm thinkin' you might be that good place. So I'll tell you what, Ash, I'm gonna leave it to you to buy up the rest of these guys. He won't sell to me; I've raised hell here in the past. And once we've cleaned his stock, then I'll bust in and clean his clock. Make sure this guy gets shut down for good. Sound like a plan? I'm countin' on you.

Ash nods as he continues to buy the Pokemon, Abra needs 8 Purple Shards, Lickitung for 7 Blue Shards, Makuhita for 3 Green Shards, Jigglypuff for 5 Green Shards, and Cyndaquil for 9 Red Shards. That's all the Pokemon Ash has purchased.

Arclight: Yo. Ash. Looks like you did it, huh? I owe you one, for sure. I can rest a bit easier knowing that those Pokémon will be taken care of no matter what. It might not be a bad idea to hang onto them just in case though. As for that guy... I won't do anything out in the open. But let me put it this way- Next time you're around here, don't expect to see him again. Anyway, here's a little 'thank you' from me. Do what you will with that. If you ever get into the Nightclub, hit me up for sure!

Ash gets a Lucky Egg from Arclight, and then he puts it away as he continues to explore the place.


I'll end the chapter here, but 7th street is far from done. I hope you like this chapter and the next chapter will be the Iolia Valley.