The afterglow of the setting sun cast its light upon the ridges of Mt. Moon, painting the entire rock face in hues of orange. Ash wiped the sweat from his brow, gazing up at the towering peaks.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu leaped from Ash's shoulder, excitedly pointing at the winding mountain path ahead.
"According to the map, we'll reach Cerulean City after crossing this mountain," Brock said, spreading out the map and studying it carefully. "However, it's said that Mt. Moon has quite a few rare Rock-type Pokémon..."
"Then let's go quickly! Maybe we'll encounter new Pokémon!" Ash's eyes lit up, and he eagerly started walking.
Xiao You shook her head with a smile: "You, you can't sit still the moment you hear about rare Pokémon. But..." She lowered her voice, "Does your azure flute react here?"
Ash subconsciously touched the mysterious pendant hanging around his neck and shook his head: "No special sensation for now."
As the three were talking, a sharp Growl and human cries for help suddenly echoed from a cave ahead.
"That's the sound of Zubat!" Brock immediately identified. "And someone is calling for help!"
"Pikachu, let's go!" Ash rushed towards the cave without a second thought, with Pikachu close behind him. Xiao You and Brock exchanged glances and quickly followed.
The cave was dimly lit, with only sporadic crystals reflecting faint light. By this light, Ash saw a group of Zubat attacking a young man in a white lab coat. The man was tightly clutching a metal box, desperately dodging the attacks.
"Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!" Ash shouted.
"Pika—chu!" A dazzling bolt of electricity streaked through the cave, accurately hitting several Zubat. The startled Zubat swarm immediately scattered but quickly regrouped, emitting piercing sonic attacks.
"Xiao You, Brock, help!" Ash called out.
"Go, Bulbasaur!" "Go, Geodude!" Both released their Pokémon simultaneously.
"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!" "Geodude, Rock Throw!"
Leaves and rocks intertwined, forming a barrier in the narrow cave. The Zubat finally gave up their attack and flew away in all directions.
"Phew... Thank you so much." The man slumped to the ground, panting heavily. "I'm Researcher Li Ke from the Pewter Museum of Science, and I'm here researching Moon Stone."
Ash reached out and helped Li Ke up: "Are you alright? Why were the Zubat attacking you?"
Li Ke patted the dust off his clothes and gave a wry smile: "Perhaps I got too close to their nest. I'm looking for a legendary large Moon Stone, which is said to greatly enhance a Pokémon's power."
"Moon Stone?" Brock's eyes lit up. "That's a rare stone that can evolve certain Pokémon!"
"Exactly," Li Ke nodded. "According to my research, there should be a huge Moon Stone deep within Mt. Moon, guarded by a group of Clefairy."
Ash excitedly clenched his fist: "That's great! Let's go see it together!"
Li Ke hesitated for a moment: "That place is very dangerous, and the Clefairy don't like to be disturbed..."
"It's alright, we'll be careful," Xiao You smiled. "Besides, there's strength in numbers, and we can look out for each other if danger arises."
Finally, Li Ke was persuaded and led the three deeper into the cave. As they went further, more and more crystals appeared, emitting a soft blue light that illuminated the path ahead.
"It's so beautiful..." Xiao You murmured, reaching out to touch a crystal. "It's like the starry sky."
Suddenly, Pikachu's ears perked up: "Pika!" It looked warily ahead.
"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
"Pika... Pika Pika (Over there... there are Pokémon...)" Pikachu gestured, but Ash had already understood its meaning through the azure flute.
"You mean there are Pokémon ahead? And they're very special?" Ash asked in surprise.
Pikachu nodded. Li Ke looked at Ash in surprise: "You can understand Pikachu's words?"
Xiao You quickly interjected: "They've been together for a long time, so they naturally have a tacit understanding."
Ash gave Xiao You a grateful look, not explaining about the azure flute.
Continuing forward, after turning a corner, the sight before them made everyone hold their breath—on a protruding rock, a pink Clefairy was cradling a Moon Stone that emitted a soft glow, curiously looking at the intruders.
"Clefairy!" Ash exclaimed in surprise, subconsciously reaching for his Poké Ball.
"Wait!" Li Ke quickly stopped him. "Don't startle it! Clefairy are very shy Pokémon, and trying to catch them by force might harm them."
The Clefairy looked at everyone warily, but when its gaze met Ash's, it suddenly tilted its head, showing a confused expression.
"Hello there, Clefairy," Ash smiled, communicating directly with the Clefairy through the power of the azure flute. "We're not here to harm you."
The Clefairy's eyes widened in surprise: "Clefairy (You can understand my words?)"
Ash nodded: "Yes. We're just passing through, and we heard there was a Moon Stone, so we wanted to see it."
The Clefairy hesitated for a moment, then jumped off the rock and walked closer to Ash: "Clefairy (Few humans can communicate with us. You... are special.)"
Li Ke stared dumbfounded as Ash and the Clefairy "conversed," while Xiao You smiled beside them.
The Clefairy thought for a while, then suddenly made a decision: "Clefairy (Follow me, I'll take you to meet the other Clefairy.)"
"It wants to take us to see more Clefairy!" Ash excitedly told everyone.
"This... this is incredible!" Li Ke's voice trembled with excitement. "No one has ever been able to get this close to a wild Clefairy settlement!"
Following the Clefairy through a hidden tunnel, everyone arrived at a huge underground cavern. Countless glowing crystals hung from the cavern ceiling, illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime.
Even more astonishingly, dozens of Clefairy were frolicking and playing there; some were dancing, some were Singing, and others were gathered around a giant Moon Stone, seemingly performing some kind of ritual.
"Wow..." Ash murmured, afraid of disturbing the dreamlike scene.
The Clefairy noticed the strangers and immediately became alert, but the leading Clefairy quickly explained the situation. Gradually, the Clefairy relaxed their guard, and a few even curiously approached Ash, gently touching his fingers.
"They say this large Moon Stone is their guardian stone, and it has been here for many years," Ash translated. "Every full moon night, they dance around the stone, and it's said that this grants them power."
Li Ke excitedly recorded everything: "This is too precious! This is the first time humans have witnessed a Clefairy ritual firsthand!"
Just then, Pikachu suddenly became alert: "Look over there!" It pointed towards the entrance.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked, but he no longer needed an answer—three familiar figures appeared at the cave entrance.
"Since you asked so sincerely!"
"We'll tell you with great compassion!"
"To prevent the world from being destroyed!"
"To protect the peace of the world!"
"To carry out evil of love and truth!"
"The cute and charming villainous characters!"
"Jessie!" "James!" "Meowth!"
"We are Team Rockets, traversing the galaxy!"
"A white hole, a white tomorrow awaits us!"
"Team Rockets!" Ash gritted his teeth. "How did you get here?"
Jessie laughed smugly: "Of course, we followed you! Such a precious Moon Stone, of course, belongs to Team Rockets!"
"That's right, Meowth!" Meowth rubbed its paws. "Such a big Moon Stone can sell for a lot of money, Meowth!"
James had already pulled out a Poké Ball: "Stop talking nonsense, let's just grab it! Go, Weezing!"
A battle was imminent. Ash immediately shouted: "Pikachu, Thunder Shock!"
"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!" "Geodude, Rock Throw!" Xiao You and Brock also quickly joined the battle.
Although Team Rockets' Pokémon were strong, they were quickly defeated under the combined attacks of the three. However, Jessie revealed a cunning smile: "Do you think this is over?"
She suddenly pressed a button, and the cave ceiling exploded, sending rocks showering down.
"Look out!" Li Ke shouted, and everyone quickly dodged.
In the chaos, Team Rockets took the opportunity to rush towards the giant Moon Stone in the center. Several Clefairy tried to stop them but were repelled by James's Pokémon.
"Stop!" Ash tried to intervene but was blocked by falling rocks.
The three members of Team Rockets worked together to pry the Moon Stone from its pedestal, and Jessie laughed triumphantly: "Hahaha, now it's ours!"
The Clefairy let out mournful cries, gathering together, watching helplessly.
Suddenly, the leading Clefairy stepped forward and said to the other Clefairy: "We can't let them take our guardian stone! Everyone, use Metronome together!"
All the Clefairy immediately formed a circle and began to wave their fingers, with different colored lights glowing on each Clefairy's finger.
"What are they doing?" Xiao You asked in surprise.
Ash understood the Clefairy's intentions through the azure flute: "They're going to use Metronome together! It's said that when many Clefairy use it together, it creates incredible power!"
Team Rockets also noticed the anomaly, but it was too late. The Clefairy's fingers stopped waving simultaneously, and a dazzling pillar of light shot up from their midst, directly striking the Moon Stone in Team Rockets' hands.
"What is this, Meowth?!" Meowth shrieked in terror.
The moment the pillar of light touched the Moon Stone, it erupted with intense energy fluctuations, and the three members of Team Rockets were directly flung back, crashing against the cave wall. The Moon Stone slipped from their grasp and rolled back among the Clefairy.
Even more miraculously, several Clefairy that came into contact with this energy began to glow, and their bodies gradually changed.
"This is... evolution!" Li Ke shouted excitedly.
When the light faded, several Clefairy had already evolved into Clefable, and their power had clearly increased.
Team Rockets scrambled to their feet, and seeing this situation, knew it was impossible to succeed. "Darn it! We're retreating!" Jessie shouted unwillingly.
The three fled the cave in a hurry, leaving only a reverberating "We'll be back!" in the cave.
Ash and the others ran to the Clefairy and Clefable: "Are you alright?"
The leading Clefairy—now evolved into a Clefable—smiled and replied: "We're fine, thanks to everyone's unity, the guardian stone was saved."
Li Ke watched all this, tears welling up in his eyes: "It's so beautiful... This is the harmony that Pokémon and nature should have."
He suddenly made a decision: "I want to stay here, to record and study the lives of the Clefairy, and to protect them from outside disturbance."
Ash looked at him in surprise: "You're going to stay here alone?"
Li Ke nodded firmly: "This is my mission as a researcher. And..." He looked at the Clefable, "I want to learn more about them."
The Clefable seemed to understand Li Ke's meaning and danced around him in a friendly manner.
Farewell moments always come quickly. The next morning, at the cave entrance, Ash and his companions bid farewell to Li Ke and the Clefairy.
"Take care," Ash said, shaking Li Ke's hand. "We'll come back to see you if we get the chance."
A Clefable walked up and handed Ash a small fragment of Moon Stone: "Clefairy (This is a gift for you, thank you for your help)."
Ash was moved as he accepted the stone: "Thank you, I will cherish it."
After leaving Mt. Moon, the three walked on the road leading to Cerulean City. Brock finally couldn't help but ask: "Ash, can you really talk directly to Pokémon?"
Ash touched the azure flute around his neck and nodded: "Ever since Arceus gave me this pendant, I've been able to understand the language of Pokémon."
Xiao You explained to Brock: "This is a power Arceus gave to Ash. In any case, being able to communicate better with Pokémon is always a good thing. Oh, the Cerulean City Gym is Water-type, Ash, are you ready?"
Ash smiled confidently: "Of course! But before that..." He looked at Pikachu, "We need to find a place to train properly first!"
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu responded cheerfully.
The sun shone on the three of them, and new adventures awaited them ahead.