Chapter 9
The higher he climbed, the colder it got. He was already beginning to regret not taking Megans advice. There was so much snow around him, he had a hard time seeing. Cyndaquil, being a cold blooded creature, was right at home. When they reached a level surface, they looked around to see whatever they could find. Frost had to make sure to be extremely quiet, less he frighten off the Pokémon that could reside up here. They circled around the rocks for quite a while before he found something special. A Froslass, what luck! Just sitting there, eating frozen plants.
Frost analyzed Froslass in his Pokédex:
Froslass: The Snow Cloak Pokémon. Froslass freezes its foes to a temperature of minus sixty degrees.
Frost pulled out his Pokéball, and sent Cyndaquil in there to attack. He spat a Smoke Screen, which didn't help, the area was already foggy, and he wind blowing did not help out either. Froslass stood up, and floated around the cloud. He didn't move, and instead waited for another attack. Cyndaquil leapt from behind him, and went right through him. Frost had forgotten that Froslass were duel type Pokémon, both Ice, and Ghost, so Normal attacks like Quick Attack, and Tackle were useless.
Froslass rolled his eyes, unimpressed by his attacker. Ice type attacks would not do any good either, what rotten luck. Frost sent out…Sneasel. He could have used Sneasel in the gym. Yes, nothing but good news for our hero today. Sneasel ran in, and gave Froslass a swift Slash attack! That one hurt him, and Sneasel gave him one more. Froslass tried to flee, but she was too hurt by the attacks to move very fast. In a moment, Frost had thrown the Pokéball, and it sucked him in. One shake, two shakes, three shakes, and Froslass was his. Frost wanted to cheer, but he wanted that, less than how much he wanted to start an avalanche. So he snuck quietly away.
Now, just one more. John for instance, had many Pokémon, Frost didn't even want to know how many, but he wasn't even close. John...if John hears about his defeat, there was no way Frost would ever hear the end of it. Best to keep that to himself, and between his friends. He sat and waited in a cave, behind a large boulder waiting for a Pokémon to wander close. After several hours went by, Frost had an idea. He reached into his bag and pulled out some food, and placed it over and away from them.
Now, he simply had to wait for some poor soul to take his bait. Not so much later, one did. An Abomasnow, more luck! What are the odds that he would catch two rare Pokémon in one day? With a little help from his Pokédex, Frost had acquired more information.
Abomasnow: The Frost Tree Pokémon. Abomasnow tend to live in snowy mountain tops, and create blizzards to stay camouflaged.
The Frost Pokémon? Appropriate, seeing how it was going to be Frosts newest Pokémon. Grass and Ice, Perfect combination to beat Candace. Frost sent Butterfree out to paralyze, and hopefully put it to sleep. She sprayed her different pollens over the Pokémon, who really took little notice. Butterfree then swooped down for a Tackle attack, and knocked him over, almost completely, but he caught his balance.
Abomasnow retaliated with a swift Wood Hammer attack, and Butterfree took it directly! Spiraling out of control, she did her best to spray more paralysis powder upon the target. Abomasnow still held his ground, and took another swing, this time missing. With one more spray of her Sleep Powder, Abomasnow fell into a deep slumber, and went into Frosts Pokéball with ease. Now Frost had everything he needed to challenge Candace again.
When Megan and Brett finally found Frost he has looking at his belt with six Pokéballs on it. "So you finally have a completed team huh?" Megan smiled. "What Pokémon were unfortunate enough to be caught by you?" She joked.
Frost chuckled sarcastically. "If you must know, I have just acquired an Abomasnow, and a Froslass," He bragged. Brett was most impressed at this. "Yes it would seem, that once again, destiny is on my…" before he could finish, he tripped over a rock, and slid down the slope of the mountain, screaming the entire way. When Brett and Megan found him, he was completely pale, and needed to warm up. So they set him in a warm tub at the Pokémon Center.
He was shivering something fierce, and could not speak. Megan poured some hot water into the tub. Frost was sitting in a chair with his feet in the water, and a towel wrapped around him. "Maybe next time, you'll remember to bring a coat," Megan shrugged. "So, you have everything you need to beat Candace?" Frost was too busy shivering to say anything.
"I can't believe you lost? John couldn't stop laughing, he is probably still laughing now," Brett bantered. Frosts thermometer glowed a fiery red. He spat it out and leaped out of the tub.
"John knows?! How did he find out? He's never going to let me hear the end of this!" He screamed. So loud in fact, that it woke up Nurse Joy, who was most irritated at all the noise.
"Why on Earth, are you all so loud? Go to bed!" She shrieked. Frost sat right back down, and they said nary a peep, until she was back in bed.
Megan chuckled. "What has got her goat?" She asked. Bret shrugged it off.
"Don't worry, she'll be in a better mood in a few days," He shrugged. They all went to sleep, and by the next morning, Frost was ready for his rematch with Candace. He had all of his Pokémon out, in a line.
"Listen up, we are going to battle Candace, for a chance to win her badge. My defeat, was fast and brutal. Which means my victory, has to be even faster, and at least twelve septillion times more brutal. Abomasnow, you have Grass and Ice moves, you are going to be our Go to Guy, understand?" Abomasnow nodded, and was ready for his first battle.
"Froslass, you will be my secondary weapon, if Abomasnow falls, you will have to win the battle for us," Frost continued. "We have fallen behind; the Pokémon League is in just five months. Yet, we still have many miles to travel. So we have to pick up the pace with these gym battles," Frost re-called his Pokémon, and ran to the gym. On his way in, he was taken by surprise as the door swung open, hitting him in his face. John came out grinning.
"Well, look who it is. Destined champion, turned loser," He chuckled. "Going in for a rematch I suspect, I sure hope you win this time,"
"You won't be disappointed John. Just go away," Frost groaned. "I'm trying to win a gym battle here, and I don't need you here to ruin it," He walked in the gym. John stopped him, and showed him the gym badge. It looked like a raincloud with a few drops of rain coming from it.
"This is the Hydro Badge. I got it on my first try. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm the worst trainer ever. So for me to get the gym badge, and not you…well that must be hard for you," John smiled. Frost was doing his best to not punch John in his clown face. Instead, he said nothing and continued into the gym. John left the building, once again taking the lead. Frost had too many things to worry about, without having to deal with that punk beating him.
Candace was there, and was smiling, still trying to be nice, even though she was taken back by how sore of a loser Frost was, despite his Monk heritage, and ideologies. "Welcome back," She greeted him. This time, Frost remembered his manners, and responded kindly, before requesting another challenge. Now he had a better chance of wining, now he was ready.
"Froslass, come on out!" He yelled, Froslass entered the field and floated on top of the pool. Candace sent out Gyarados, Frost was always impressed that a pathetic Pokémon like Magikarp could become a Pokémon with actual power and potential. "Froslas, use Hypnosis!" Froslass glided forward, and sent out her attack. Gyarados fell asleep quickly, and Froslass began to suck away its dreams. Gyarados cringed and struggled in its sleep, almost as if it was aware of what was happening. Gyarados was taken care of quickly, and Froslass stood there like a boss.
With only one Pokémon left to defeat, Frost was sure the gym badge was as good as his. Candace set forth Kingler, who Frost had been beaten by last time, Frost sent out Abomasnow. "Kingler, use Crab Hammer," Candace ordered. Kingler began to swing his iron claws at Abomasnow, who was too large, and too slow to avoid them! He held in there, enough to send out an Ice Beam attack! Kinglers left claw was caught in the ice, and he couldn't break free. Abomasnow beat him mercilessly with his Wood Hammer, which was super effective against a Water type Pokémon! Kingler didn't stand a chance, and Candace was at a loss for words, at how quickly she had been defeated.
"Well, that certainly was an interesting battle," she observed. "Congratulation, I guess," She pulled out the Hydro Badge. Frost was super excited, but before snatching it from her hand, he took a deep breath and relaxed. This was not his first gym badge, and certainly would not be his last. He took it, and thanked her, before he left, Candace told him something interesting. "Winning a battle is more than just having powerful Pokémon,"
Frost turned around, not really interested in what she had to say. "Then what is it about?" He asked churlishly. "I have things to do, and places to be," Candace was not flattered by him. In fact, she was quite displeased by his attitude.
"I will overlook your discourteous tone, if you heed to mine. You must remember that your Pokémon are your friends, not weapons. Even that other boy cared for his Pokémon more than you," She must have meant John. Frost could feel a fiery rage building up inside him. To think that someone with an IQ over zero would think that John was a superior trainer, nonsense!
"His name is John, and he is a horrid trainer! Absolutely atrocious. You take one look t him, and you know, that he is a total, complete, and an all-encompassing loser," Frost growled angrily. "Maybe you are just such a bad trainer that you decided to let him win. Just out of pity," He stormed out the door, and Candace was furious at his boorish behavior. Frost took a deep breath and enjoyed his most recent success. What a fool she was, a silly, incompetent fool. How could a Gym Leader be so stupid? Oh well, he had the badge and that was all that mattered. He had acquired his fifth gym badge, only three to go before he was able to register in the league.
He met up with Brett and Megan again, who were heading to the gym to see Frost battle. "So…how did it go?" Megan asked. Frost thought about his response for a moment before showing them his badge.
"Of course I won. After all, I am fantastic," Frost bragged. "I brought her to her knees in a minute flat!" He laughed. Megan and Brett exchanged looks. Frost was becoming more and more intolerable.
"Congratulations," Megan said, of course her compliment was halfhearted, as it should be. Frost took little notice and instead took to the road. His energy was at its peak, his enthusiasm was sky high, and his ego was almost as big as Santem itself.
"Frost is changing," Brett noted. "What is going on with him?" He looked to Megan for help. She and Clefairy were drinking some water. Clefairy took the canteen, much to Megan''s dismay, and drank what was left, and Megan rolled her eyes.
"I don't know, I better talk to him. No offense, but I know him better than you. I think I had better be the one who talks to him," She apologized. Brett understood, and so he followed her to catch up with Frost.
When they found him, Frost and Cyndaquil were passing by a valley. In the valley, was an old abandoned ghost town. Neither Frost nor Cyndaquil knew what it was, but when Brett caught up with him, Frost wished he hadn't heard about it.
That village, some hundreds of years ago, was an old mining town. Now, according to legend, some hundreds of years ago, there was a great flash of light that turned to fire, and incinerated all that was caught in it. No one knows what caused the fire, or what happened to those who were fortunate enough to survive, but some of the hear telling, rumors, and speculation cover in vague detail, a metal object ascending from the smoke. What it was, where it went, and why it was there, is a mystery.
"How many people dies in that fire?" Frost asked nervously. Brett's story was making him nervous, and he really did not want to stay by this place any longer.
Brett shrugged, not knowing the exact number. "I would say at least five hundred, maybe six," Frost took swallowed and continued walking.
Megan quickly stopped him. "Hey, Frost, can I talk to you?" Megan pulled him over behind a tree.
"What's going on?" Frost asked impatiently. "I have to get to the next gym as fast as possible," He grumbled.
"frost, have you noticed anything…different lately?" Megan asked. Frost looked around, he saw her, Brett, Clefairy, and Cyndaquil were playing. All was the same, there was nothing to notice.
"No, I don't, now that you mention it," Frost said. "What on Earth do you mean?" He questioned. Megan rolled her eyes, and groaned.
"Are you sure you don't notice anything? Nothing at all?" She insisted. "Because, Brett and I couldn't help but notice that you have been having an attitude problem lately,"
"What on Earth do you mean, attitude problem?" Frost crossed his arms stubbornly. "I don't have a problem," He snuffed.
"It's just that we are worried about you, Brett feels the same way," She told him. Frost groaned.
"Brett? He looks up to me, as he should. I am a Pokémon Master," He gloated.
"You're not a Pokémon Master yet," Megan reminded him.
"I will be!" Frost bellowed, which took Megan back, she did not expect Frost to be so belligerent. Frost took a deep breath. "I will be a Pokémon Master, and talking to you, is only slowing me down," He scoffed, and continued walking.
"Frost, listen to me," Megan begged. "You've changed, and not entirely for the better if I may say so,"
"I'm exactly the same, you're being obtuse," Frost retorted, not wanting to get caught up in an argument. "I'm going to be a Pokémon Master, and nobody is going to stop me. Not that they can, even if they try, I have the prophecy at my back," He sneered.
"You have changed. The Frost I met so many months ago would never be so pig headed. Nor would he be so rude to not only his best friends, but Gym Leaders. What has happened to you?" Megan cried. "Why can't you be the Frost you once were?"
Frost payed no attention, for the next city was only a few miles away. There, at the top of a hill, they could see Jeneville City. Quite a small place, a town really. Jeneville was where Frost was going, and the gym was waiting to be conquered.