Pfff, she so could have told a better story.
"Do you folks want to hear a spooky tale?" Belinda asked. She glanced up as she heard a screaming howl of the wind outside. They were nearing the exit of the tunnels.
"Go for it." Mack said eagerly, always enjoying to hear new stories.
"Well, some say that a mysterious, but powerful trainer lurks around this very mountain." Belinda coughed into her hand to take on a more spooky-voice to suit the part.
There was a pause as Belinda crossed her arms, proud to have finally shared a story.
"Is that it?" Mack uttered.
"...Pretty much." Belinda shrugged, scratching her head. She was never the kind to tell tales, but at least it was something for everyone to imagine.
"The red-eyed man, with a rare flaming dragon?" Falkner turned his sharp-eyes to the woman, who blinked, a little taken aback at his urgent response.
"Yeah, I think that's it. Why, you seen him?" She asked, now curious of any possible stories he may have to share. Falkner calmed down, his eyes lowering to the rocky ground below.
I thought I did, a long time ago... It was almost like a nightmare, if he wanted to be more accurate. The trainer came, and left- with both victory, and his badge. It went by so fast, he wasn't sure if it was just a dream, or if it really happened. Other Gym Leaders all over Johto claimed that they had the same vision, or at least deny it very bitterly; But the rumor still holds strong. He was real, somehow.
It only just occurred to the group that they had finally arrived at the exit. The entrance yawned out illy, the snow billowing inside, raging to get inside. The howling wind was louder than ever.
"Get your coats ready, everyone. And stay close. Min, get the rope." Belinda's inquisitive eyes of hearing what Falkner had to say quickly turned more stern. She did have a group to make sure they came back out of the mountain alive. Min obeyed and brought the rope out. She collected one end of the rope, and began to tie everybody's wastes up with the rope.
While Belinda was at one end of the rope, Falkner was at the other; With both Min and Mack at the middle.
Tightening the rope firmly, Belinda gave a sure nod to Falkner. "Are you sure your Pidgeotto can handle it? I know you're a Gym leader, but I like to be careful. You never know."
"I'm very sure, thank you for your concern." Falkner replied. Belinda hesitated, but accepted his decision. It wasn't her fault if the half-evolved bird got swept away in the blizzard, after all.
Once everyone got their goggles and hoods over-heads, it was time to set off outside. As soon as Falkner stepped outside with everyone else, he was instantly greeted with a powerful blast of wind. Pidgeotto cried it's bell-like cry, and released a powerful gust of wind of it's own, blasting another gust of wind away to stop everyone from falling over at the force.
"Keep the wind and snow away, Zephyr." Falkner grinned confidently to his loyal companion. It replied with a chirp, and released another powerful blast of wind, sending the billowing rain of snow to spiral away as if it was carried away by an invisible ghost.
"That's one impressive bird you got there." Belinda stared, watching the Pidgeotto create a windy-force field to protect everybody from the snow and harsh winds.
"I know." Falkner shrugged as if it was no big deal. Belinda rolled her eyes at such a casual response, expecting a 'Thank you', at least, before heading onwards.
"It's so close! My Tracker is going crazy." Mack exclaimed, knocking on his device a few times to keep it going.
Falkner felt as if he was inside a reverse snow-globe; Inside the windy-force field of Zephyr's, they stayed safe and sound, while outside they watched the snow furiously fly about as the winds roared vigorously. Along with the wind's calls, he thought he could hear another cry from afar. It started off with a low shout, then a spluttering screech. It was loud and sounded as if it was amplified.
"Did you hear that? It's near!" Mack, now, was hopping with excitement.
"Be on your guard, everyone." Belinda called out, pulling the rope along. As Falkner thought he saw a flash of something red behind them, he turned around, feeling his waist tug him along forcefully as Belinda pushed through. Up in the skies above, he could see something.
At first it was just a shadow among the crowd of pure-white snow- with two wide wings, gliding down towards them. It was then he saw the shadow's eyes open, revealing a piercing red on each eye. Out the shadow called again, with the same cry as last time- but it was far louder, as it was diving up them.
"Zephyr!" He called out. The Pidgeotto didn't need to be told. It flapped it's at everybody, creating a blast of wind strong enough to send everyone flying back. Yelping and shouting, everybody fell into the snow, getting half-buried in it all.
The shadow finally revealed itself, as it slammed it's talons into the snow just metres away from where Falkner and everybody else had previously been. Pidgeotto cried out as it was buffeted by the snow as it's wind-forcefield went momentarily down. The snow tackled Falkner down along with everybody else, threatening to tumble them back into the snow.
Grunting and kicking the snow away from his legs, Falkner quickly scrambled to his legs, and began to make his way towards Zephyr, was distracting the Pokemon who finally reveals itself in a storm of snow and wind.
"Articuno! It's here!" Mack gasped, failing to get himself out of the snow. Belinda helped pull him out while staring at the Legendary bird.
"Can your Pidgeotto distract it long enough?" Mack asked urgently. "Quick, get the ball out, get it out!" He shouted urgently at Min, who struggled to even get her/his hands into the bag. Articuno's eyes blazed a deep red, heating up in a deathly-glow, along with a bright-blue ball of light that was forming within it's grey-beak.
I don't get it... Dad said that it only defends itself. Unless it's defending something else... Articuno aimed it's head towards the group.
"FeatherDance!" Falkner bellowed.
A faint screech, and suddenly a blur of brown and red zoomed right across Articuno's head, followed by a storm of feathers that began to whip and spin all over the place around the Ice bird as it was powering it's ice-beam. Confused by the sudden array of feathers flying literally into it's eyes, Articuno turned away, and released it's ice-beam out into the sky. The icy-beam shone like ice in the sunlight, dazzling and bright, and brief. Once it faded out, the ice bird gave out a shrill cry, seemingly making more snow appear out of nowhere.
Pidgeotto made it's way back towards Falkner, who cheered for his bird Pokemon's last-second rescue.
"My turn!" Mack was holding a strange Pokeball in his grip, and he pushed his way past Falkner. "Our proto-type Pokeball, that absorbs all ice from a Pokemon!" Mack waved the Pokeball at everybody.
"Just throw the damn thing at it already!" Belinda shouted. Blinking and realizing what was at stake here, he quickly turned around, and threw the Pokeball. At first Falkner feared that the ball would drift off into the wind, but it opened wide, creating a bright glow almost as bright as Articuno's ice-beam, and bright beams of light shot out of it, stinging at Articuno's wings. The icy bird's piercing eyes glared at the Pokeball, and gave one beat of it's magnificent wings.
Only that was enough to send the Pokeball flying away, lost out in the snow. Mack stared, dumbfounded.
"Was that your plan?! Just use that oh-so-special ball and just catch it like that!? You have to weaken it first, you idiot!" Belinda roared as furiously as the wind, and whacked the man's head. Mack yelped, rubbing his head.
"I said it absorbed ice, not wind! Kid, get your Pidgeotto to- uh oh!" He stared wide as Articuno made a low growling screech, and was diving right towards everybody.
"Duck!" Belinda pulled both Mack and Min down, while Falkner remained standing, staring into Articuno. The ice bird narrowed it's eyes, spreading it's talons wide open, and hurled forward in a dive-attack.
"Mirror move." Falkner, this time, didn't have to shout. Out of the blue, once again, the far-smaller Pidgeotto bounded out of the snow-filled skies out of seemingly nowhere, and created the exact-same powerful blast of wind that Articuno has made. The ice-bird screeched as it was buffeted out of the way by the far-smaller bird.
"Plan B, everybody. Get back into the cave!" Belinda shot a glare at Mack, before pulling the rope along. "Oh, this plan is full-proof, he says! I just need someone to escort me, he says!" Belinda growled, throwing her arms up in the air. Falkner wasn't paying attention, he was barely keeping up with the other three. When he turned back to Articuno, he found that Zephyr was having a hard time getting out of the spinning snowy-vortex that the Legendary bird has made.
"He's in trouble!" Falkner pulled at the rope, urging everyone to stop.
"Soon we'll all be in trouble if we don't get back into the cave!" Mack retorted just as loudly. Falkner gave him a venomous glare that made Mack shrink back in shock that such a pretty face could become so bone-chilling, and turned to Belinda, hoping that she'd change the gym leader's mind.
The immense ice-bird shot up into the dark skies and out of sight, but not without plucking Pidgeotto from the very sky and into it's beak, hauling him along with it. Widening his eyes but with no sound coming out, Falkner struggled against the rope to follow after Articuno, but it was three out of one, and he was pulled back.
Turning back around and pulling at the rope, his vain pulls almost turned into begging, until something shot out and suddenly snapped the rope apart. It was a spark of electricity, but as Falkner got back to his feet to see where it came from, whatever it was, it was gone. His other group members disappeared, cowardly hiding away back to the caves. Frowning and hardening himself against the blizzard, he made his away towards the other direction in where the ice-bird took his Pidgeotto.