Celadon City's bustling downtown area was particularly lively under the setting sun.
The streets were lined with colorful shops, pedestrians came and went, and the air was filled with the aroma of various snacks.
Ash, Xiao You, and Brock walked through the crowd, Pikachu perched spiritedly on Ash's shoulder, occasionally attracted by the goods of street vendors.
"It's even more prosperous here than I imagined," Xiao You looked around, her eyes sparkling, "I heard Celadon City's game arcade is famous, should we go check it out later?"
Brock flipped through the tourist guide in his hand: "The game arcade is indeed famous, but I'd rather visit the Pokémon Center here.
It's said that Joy in Celadon City has unique insights into Pokémon care."
Ash was about to answer when he suddenly felt someone hug him tightly from behind.
It was a middle-aged woman, wearing a simple dress, her hair a bit disheveled.
"Xiao Cheng! Mom finally found you!" The woman's voice trembled, tinged with a sob, "Where have you been, child? Mom was so worried!"
Ash froze in place, Pikachu's ears perked up alertly.
Xiao You and Brock exchanged glances.
"Auntie, you've mistaken me for someone else," Ash gently broke free from the woman's embrace, turned to face her, "I'm not your son."
The woman froze for a few seconds, her gaze quickly shifting from expectation to disappointment, and finally to deep sadness.
She took a step back, carefully scrutinized Ash's face, then covered her mouth: "I...I'm sorry...you and my Xiao Cheng look so much alike..."
Brock stepped forward: "Is your son missing?"
The woman nodded, tears silently streaming down her face: "It's been three days...the police said many children have gone missing recently..."
She suddenly grabbed Ash's hand, "You're Trainers, right? Can you help me find Xiao Cheng? Please!"
Ash felt the woman's hand trembling, that desperate touch reminded him of his own mother.
He looked at his companions, Xiao You and Brock both nodded at him.
"We'll help you," Ash said firmly, "Can you tell us more?"
The woman, who introduced herself as Mayoko, led them to a small restaurant nearby.
There weren't many people in the restaurant; in a corner sat a Jenny in uniform, examining a document.
"Jenny!" Mayoko hurried over, "These Trainers are willing to help find Xiao Cheng!"
Jenny looked up, a flicker of hope in her tired face.
She closed the document and gestured for everyone to sit down: "Thank you for your help.
I am Jenny of Celadon City, and I'm in charge of the recent child disappearance cases."
A waiter brought several cups of hot tea, and Jenny continued: "Over the past week, six children have gone missing in the downtown area, all between 6 and 10 years old.
The strange thing is, there are no witnesses; the children seem to have vanished into thin air."
Brock frowned: "What about surveillance footage?"
"All checked; the children's last known locations vary, but all are within this area," Jenny pointed to several red dots on the map, "And..." she lowered her voice, "...before each disappearance, nearby Pokémon would exhibit unusual behavior."
Pikachu suddenly yawned, its ears drooping.
Ash noticed its unusual behavior: "Pikachu, are you tired?"
"Pika... (A little)" Pikachu forced itself to perk up, but its eyes were noticeably dimmer than usual.
Jenny keenly observed this: "Your Pokémon are also showing symptoms of fatigue?
Recently, Joy at the Pokémon Center reported that many Pokémon are inexplicably listless."
Xiao You picked up her Ivysaur, finding it also drowsy: "This is so strange, Ivysaur is usually very energetic."
"Let's go to the Pokémon Center first," Ash suggested.
The Pokémon Center was much quieter than usual.
The lobby was full of Trainers, but their Pokémon were all listlessly lying beside their owners.
Joy and her Chansey were bustling around, yet couldn't explain why the Pokémon were collectively dispirited.
"This situation has been going on for three days," Joy wiped sweat from her forehead, "Routine checks show they are all healthy, but they just can't get energized, as if something has drained their energy."
Jenny took a metal instrument from her bag: "Let me check with the police's energy detector."
The detector beeped, and a wave pattern appeared on the screen.
Jenny's expression turned serious: "Indeed, it's sleep wave interference.
These Pokémon are all under a strong hypnotic influence."
Ash closed his eyes, trying to sense the Aura around him.
Since mastering Aura, he had become exceptionally sensitive to the flow of energy.
In a chaotic swirl, he caught a faint, regular fluctuation, like a rhythmic hypnosis.
"Over there," Ash suddenly pointed to the ceiling, "There's an energy source in the direction of the rooftop."
Everyone followed Ash to the rooftop, where they found it had been converted into a small open-air club.
A dozen people sat in a circle, and in the center were a Hypno and a Drowzee.
The Hypno held a pendulum, swinging it rhythmically, emitting a faint, almost invisible pale purple glow.
"This is... a Pokémon fan club?" Xiao You asked doubtfully.
A middle-aged man with glasses stood up: "Hello, we are the Insomnia Support Group.
Over the years, the stress of city life has given us severe insomnia, and only Hypno's hypnotic waves can help us sleep."
Ash frowned: "But your hypnotic waves have affected Pokémon throughout the entire area, and even led to children disappearing!"
The club members exchanged glances, looking confused: "Children disappearing? We didn't know about that."
Jenny stepped forward: "Please stop the hypnotic activities immediately.
According to our investigation, the last known locations of the missing children were all around your club."
The man with glasses' face changed dramatically: "Oh my god! We just wanted to get a good night's sleep... we never thought..."
Just then, Ash's Aura perception suddenly picked up a faint distress signal.
He closed his eyes, concentrating intently on tracking this fluctuation: "Underground... children are trapped underground!"
The club members became even more panicked: "Underground? Below our club, there's only a storage room!"
Jenny immediately called for backup.
The police quickly arrived, and led by the club members, everyone went to the basement.
After moving aside a pile of clutter, they discovered a hidden small door.
The door was locked, but Ash easily vibrated the lock open with his Aura.
Behind the door was a small room, where six children lay quietly on the ground, as if fast asleep.
Mayoko immediately recognized her child and rushed over, crying: "Xiao Cheng!"
Joy breathed a sigh of relief after checking: "They're just hypnotized; their bodies aren't injured."
Ash knelt down, gently placed his hand on a child's forehead, and released a gentle Aura energy.
The child's eyelids fluttered a few times and slowly opened.
"Mommy...?" The little boy looked around confusedly.
Mayoko hugged her son tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.
The other children also gradually woke up under Ash's Aura.
Jenny directed the officers to safely return the children to their parents.
The man with glasses lowered his head in shame: "It must have been Hypno's hypnotic waves that were too strong, unintentionally affecting the children who passed by... We truly didn't know..."
Brock patted him on the shoulder: "Next time, you need to control the intensity of the hypnotic waves, or find a place far from residential areas."
After the matter was resolved, the parents of the rescued children rushed to thank Ash and his companions.
Most of them were businessmen from the area, with affluent family backgrounds.
"Please accept our gratitude," a well-dressed gentleman handed over a check, "This is a small token of appreciation from our families."
Ash glanced at the number, surprised to find it was a staggering 100 million Poké dollars.
He initially wanted to decline, but seeing the parents' earnest eyes, he accepted: "Thank you, I will use this money to help more people and Pokémon in need."
In the crowd, a couple approached with their recently rescued daughter.
The man introduced himself: "I am Kenta, the owner of the ite shop, and this is my wife, Reiko.
If it weren't for you, our Aoi might have..."
The woman wiped away tears: "We don't have anything valuable, but we have some rare ites in the shop.
Please choose one as a thank-you gift."
Ash initially wanted to politely refuse, but Xiao You's eyes lit up: "ite? Ash, hasn't your Rainbow Eevee been looking for a special ite?"
Thinking of his special Eevee, Ash nodded: "Then I'll impose."
Kenta's shop was located in the center of the commercial street, with various colored ites displayed in the window, glittering under the lights.
The interior of the shop was elegantly decorated, with several glass display cases holding even rarer varieties.
"These are Fire Stone, Water Stone, Thunder Stone..." Kenta rattled off, "And over here are Moon Stone, Sun Stone..."
Ash's Rainbow Eevee jumped out of its Poké Ball, curiously looking around.
This Eevee's fur was not the usual brown, but a shimmering rainbow of colors, sparkling with a dreamlike luster under the lights.
Kenta and Reiko's eyes widened in surprise: "This... this is a Rainbow Eevee?
We've never seen one before!"
"Yes," Ash proudly stroked Eevee's head, "It's very special; it doesn't react to ordinary ites, so we've been searching for an ite that suits it."
Kenta pondered for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands: "Wait!"
He quickly walked to the back room and, a moment later, emerged with an exquisite black velvet box.
"This is an 'Ice Soul Stone,' extremely rare, said to allow specific Eevee to evolve into Glaceon."
He carefully opened the box; inside was a crystal-clear blue stone, with what looked like snowflakes drifting within, emitting a faint chill.
Ash's Eevee was immediately drawn to it, sniffing the stone and letting out an excited Growl.
"Can we try it?" Ash asked.
Kenta nodded without hesitation: "Of course, please do."
Ash picked up the Ice Soul Stone and gently placed it in front of Eevee.
The moment the Rainbow Eevee touched the stone with its nose, the stone suddenly erupted in a dazzling blue light, illuminating the entire shop.
Eevee was enveloped in the light, and its body began to change.
After the light receded, a slightly larger, more magnificent Rainbow Glaceon appeared before everyone.
Its fur had a translucent, icy quality, and rainbow lights flowed within its body, like a living rainbow ice sculpture.
"It's so beautiful..." Xiao You exclaimed.
However, the transformation was not over.
A few seconds later, the Glaceon's body glowed again, and it reverted to its original Rainbow Eevee form.
Kenta excitedly recorded the process: "It's amazing! It absorbed the energy of the Ice Soul Stone, capable of temporarily evolving into an ice form, and then returning to its original state!
This means it now possesses the ability of Ice-type evolution!"
Reiko knelt down and carefully stroked Eevee: "This type of evolution is unprecedented... We are willing to purchase this Eevee at a high price for research..."
Ash immediately pulled Eevee back into his arms: "Sorry, Eevee is my partner, not a commodity."
Kenta gave an embarrassed laugh: "Of course, of course... we were presumptuous."
He thought for a moment, "How about this: if you encounter other special ites in the future, please contact us.
Our shop has various detection equipment that can help you research Eevee's evolutionary potential."
Ash nodded, taking out his rotom phone—a special black and blue model, with a Rotom on the screen playfully winking.
Kenta also took out his rotom phone, and the two exchanged contact information.
"We will notify you immediately if there is any news of rare ites," Kenta promised.
By the time they left the shop, night had fallen.
Celadon City's neon lights glowed, and the streets were still bustling with people.
Ash looked at Pikachu on his shoulder and Rainbow Eevee at his feet, smiling contentedly.
"Today we not only helped those children but also helped Eevee gain new abilities," Xiao You said with a smile.
Brock looked at the map on his phone: "Where next? The game arcade or back to the Pokémon Center to rest?"
Ash stretched: "Let's go get a good meal first; my treat—using that prize money."
The three exchanged smiles and blended into Celadon City's bustling night.
Pikachu cheerfully called out "Pika Pika," and the glow on Rainbow Eevee's body flickered under the neon lights, as if foreshadowing their even more exciting adventures to come.