"I don't think I understand." Silver said, trying to figure out everything Joe and Winter had just told him. "You're saying that, when you first met Ralph, he had a tag like this one on him, except there weren't any numbers on it, nor the insignia."

"Yes." Joe told him. "That part seemed to have been ripped off."

"And, if I'm understanding correctly, after you battled a couple of Rocket grunts at Vermillion pokémon centre and you'd battled the Pewter City gym leaders, you started having weird dreams of a shadowed man." Silver repeated what he'd been told in his own words.

"That's correct." Joe told him.

"And then…" Silver continued. "You ran into Team Rocket's Commander, Cheng, who later turns out to be your father."

"Yes."

"And then you keep running into him."

"Yes."

"And you run into other commanders."

"Two others."

"And, as you, Winter and your other friend, Rocky, are continuing to travel around Kanto, you have more dreams… except they're start to become more like visions."

"Yes."

"And then you're confronted by Archer, Team Rocket's big boss, on top of the Silph Co building."

"Well, we confronted him." Winter corrected him.

"And he defeats you…" Silver continued.

"Yes." Joe said.

"With the Nidoking that attacked Ralph…"

"Yes."

"And possibly that houndoom that attacked us in Mount Mortar?"

"Maybe."

And it turns out that Mew is the one sending you these dreams…"

"Yes."

"And it turns out that Giovanni is helping you, too."

"Were you even listening to me a second ago?" Joe interrupted, getting impatient with his reciting.

"Just give me a second." Silver told him. He was counting on his fingers, looking puzzled as he did so. "And then it turns out that this boy, Samuel or something, has been following you over Kanto and is also Giovanni's apprentice. Then it turns out that Ralph is one of Giovanni's pokémon who was released. Then it turns out Archer used to work with Giovanni but split off after Giovanni stopped wanting to be an evil person…"

"Just get to the point already!" Joe snapped.

Silver paused.

"So, what I'm confused by…" He said slowly. "Is… what the hell does this tag actually mean?"

Joe punched the ground angrily where he was sitting.

"That's what we're bloody asking!" He snapped.

"Joe." Winter said calmly. The boy inhaled deeply.

"Sorry." He muttered. Silver made a surprised face.

"Didn't expect you to react like that." He muttered to himself.

Joe stood up, dusting specs of ground of his legs. He turned and looked up at the path ahead of them. A cave entrance was poking out from the short mountainside ahead. It was the only way on to Blackthorn city. If they were to get there they'd have to enter it. The entrance was covered in frost, and a cold breeze seemed to be escaping from within, creating a billowing hollow groaning call. He blinked slowly.

"I don't understand it." He muttered, just loud enough for the others to hear him. "It makes no sense. So Archer made his own genetically enhanced pokémon. Why? Since when did Team Rocket ever have access to that kind of technology?" He pondered.

"Archer did have that power glove." Winter reminded him. "The PMED, or something like that. But he had that at a time when Team Rocket was still regrouping. Maybe they had access to more in the past. You said in one of your dreams Giovanni mentioned cloning a crobat that looked similar to Ralph and naming him that." Joe glanced back at her. "Maybe they did something similar with other pokémon." She suggested. Joe shrugged.

"Maybe." He agreed. "But… well, I'm confused." He told them. "Why would Archer want to throw away his pokémon? I mean, they were his pokémon. I'd recognise that Nidoking anywhere. Only he had one that strong." He paused. "None of this makes any sense anymore." He explained. "Why would he kidnap a legendary pokémon but not openly use it? Why would he throw his own pokémon away? Why would my father thing he's searching for some mythological 'Great Destroyer?" He scoffed. "Even if something like that did exist, and no one had ever found it, how would Archer do so? Could he even do so?" Joe glanced to Ralph. "What's your say on this, Ralph?" He asked

Ralph looked up slowly. He was sitting to the side of the group, looking at the ground and thinking to himself. His mind had still been focused on earlier that morning, when he and the wild Aipom who'd helped him out had to battle Nidoking. He wondered what would happen to her now, and her family of defenceless pokémon. Where would they go? Were they able to dispose of that Nidoking? He sighed. He wished he could have left them on better terms, but after finding that tag he knew he'd had to show it to Joe quickly. His friend deserved to know. Aipom had been kind to him, even though half her family had wanted to throw him out. She said a nice thankyou as he'd left, a thanks for helping defend her family. A part of him felt that he'd miss her. She had spirit, a lot of it. The kind that most pokémon trainers would kill to see in there pokémon. He hoped she was safe, that she was happy wherever she ended up next. A small part of him hoped that, someday, he might see here again. He hadn't wanted to end up in a fight a Nidoking that day, but if he hadn't he wouldn't have made a new friend. It was at this point in his train of thought that he realised Joe had asked him something. He looked up?

"Cro?" He asked.

"I just asked what you think on this tag thing." Joe asked him. Ralph looked at the tag in his trainer's hand, the one he'd taken from Nidoking. He looked back and shrugged unsurely.

"You said Cheng seemed very serious when he told you about it." Winter reminded them, speaking up suddenly. "He told you he was trying to be a better parent, so maybe he really isn't joking about this. Maybe there actually is some great destroyer here in the Johto region." Joe looked at her, stunned.

"You can't seriously believe that may be real." He said. "He said Archer is searching for it, but Archer's mad! It might never have even existed!"

"I don't know any more than you, Joe." Winter said calmly. "I'm just suggesting…"

"Well don't!" Joe interrupted her. There was silence for a while. Winter sat back again, seemingly deflated.

"Sorry." She muttered. Silver glanced between the two of them, not too sure why Joe was angry. He decided, wisely, to stay out of it. Joe closed his eyes, scolding himself for his attitude.

"I don't know what to think of this." He said simply. He held up the tag, looking at it thoughtfully. "But I know that we need to keep going." He continued. He turned back to the icy cave ahead. "Blackthorn City's just through there." He told them. "Once we're done with the gym there, we can move on and confront Archer, before he pulls off whatever plan he has in mind."

"If he hasn't already done so before then." Silver interrupted. Joe gave him a cold stare, almost as cold as the frost around the cave path's entrance. The redhead boy fell quiet again.

"Then we'd best hurry before they do." Joe continued. "You can either stay here, or you can come with me. Either way I'm moving on." He glanced back. "You coming Ralph?" He asked. Ralph nodded uncertainly. He glanced at Winter, who was clearly a little upset, before getting back up into the air and flying over to Joe's side. The trainer patted him on the back. "Good boy." He said warmly. They walked away, heading towards the ice path. Joe glanced back, feeling a little bad that he'd snapped at his oldest friend. But he had to shrug it off. All that mattered right now was getting to Blackthorn City, defeating the gym leader and then finding out where Archer was and what he was planning. He kept walking, Ralph still by his side, looking rather concerned for him.

Winter sighed. She was still feeling quite hurt that Joe had snapped at her. She knew he was probably under stress knowing what he'd just learned, added in with the recent reappearance of his long lost father. But he didn't need to take it out on her. She decided it was best to shrug it off. It was only a snap. It probably wouldn't happen again. Silver stood up, seeming rather lost and confused. He turned to follow after Joe, but stopped for a second to offer winter a hand up. She took it, smiling weakly.

"Thank you." She muttered.

"Don't worry about it." He told her. He glanced back at Joe. "It's probably best we give him a bit of space for now." He told her. "He's probably very tired." Winter nodded in agreement.

"You're right." She said. "He has been running around all day looking for Ralph. He just needs a rest. And when we get to Blackthorn city we can have that." She had to admit it was weird being told something reasonably smart by Silver. She could only hope this was him getting smarter, and not her getting dumber. With a short sigh she followed after them.


It didn't take them too long to reach the entrance to the ice path, two minutes at most. But when they did reach it they regretted the fact that they weren't wearing arctic clothing. The cave was freezing, more so then Pryce's gym had been. In fact it was the coldest place any of them had been in in their entire lives. Even Winter, with here long comfortable green coat found herself shivering seconds after they entered. Joe folded his arms and rubbed his hands together to create some form of heat.

"W-well, w-what are we w-waiting for?" He shivered. "We should g-get going, before we f-f-freeze to death in here."

"We'll probably get u-used to it soon en-n-nough." Winter told him.

"I h-hope so." Silver said, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. "I don't think I c-could stand walking in this c-cold."

They continued their walk into the cave, and sure enough it turned out that Winter had not been wrong. It didn't take them long to adjust to the climate inside the winding cavern. As they walked they found that most of the cave was quite thin. There were no winding areas of tunnel like there had been in the other caves they'd travelled through. It was all just one long winding path ahead. Some small parts of the cave were covered in ice, with large boulders placed on it at random points. Thankfully on the first floor these icy parts weren't necessary to travel across. However when they got down to the second level down they were confronted by a giant lake of ice, directly in front of them. Joe was the last one down the ladder, Ralph following after him, still shivering. His body was taking longer to adjust to the cold but it was slowly getting there. Joe stepped of the ladder, turned, and groaned. The entire room was covered from floor to roof in ice. It was like someone had thrown a bucket full of water at the coldest point on the world, and the water had frozen almost instantly. The three trainers looked at the huge rock room. There seemed to be another area of cave to the east side, but getting there would be really tough.

"What do we do now?" Silver muttered.

"We skate across." Winter told them simply. Silver looked at her.

"You're not serious?" He demanded. "Can any of us skate? And with what, I might add?"

"You could always try running across." She said, giving him a slightly spiteful glance. Silver glared back.

"Alright." He agreed. "But I'm not planning to break any bones today, so if we can go slowly…"

"Can we just get going?" Joe asked. They looked back at him. Then they shrugged. "Maybe we could use fire to clear a path." Joe suggested.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." Winter told him. "You might melt the whole place down."

"Not if it's a controlled, small amount of fire." Joe said. "If we did that we could melt away a small path for us to safely walk on."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Silver agreed. "Let's do it."

"I still wouldn't…" Winter tried to say, but she was ignored yet again. The boys were already acting out their plan. Joe's newly evolved Typhlosion, Quill, jumped out of its pokeball and appeared on the small area of dry rock ground, looking excited to be given some freedom once again.

"Quill, could you melt a path to that boulder just there?" Joe asked, pointing at the closest boulder on the east side of the ice, dotting a line of them leading ahead. Quill looked at the boulder, then turned back and nodded. "Good." Joe pointed a finger to the icy ground ahead. "Use flamethrower!" He instructed. Quill blasted a pillar of heat at the floor ahead of him. The icy floor evaporated in half a second, leaving a thin dry stone path a few feet ahead for them to follow. "Good work." Joe told him. "Now just keep going till we get there." Quill waddled quickly to the end of the new path and performed another flamethrower, melting more ice ahead and leading the path onwards. Joe followed behind him, with Ralph close beside, followed by Silver behind and Winter at the back. She was still pretty uncertain about what they were doing.

"I don't think we should do this." She said. Silver scoffed.

"It's just ice, Winter." He told her a little mockingly. "I mean, if we don't step on it what's it going to do back?"

What Silver didn't realise, because he was so thick skulled, narrow minded and visually unaware, was that there were wild pokémon that lived in the caves too. There were more than just the occasional zubat that would flap by, screeching to gain an echo located view of the cave. There were other pokémon in there too, ones that enjoyed the ice and were quite happy to keep it in a not melted state. And a few off those pokémon had just woken up, seen what the humans who had entered their home were doing, and were pretty unhappy about it. They planned revenge, and didn't take long to act it out.

"We're nearly there." Joe said, as they closed in on the boulder they'd been trying to reach. Quill was only a metre away from it now. His flamethrower would melt that ground away with ease. He was just taking a quick breather to get his energy back. "You ready to keep going?" Joe asked the large fire mole pokémon he owned. His typhlosion nodded, inhaling the cold cave air deeply. Small wisps of smoke escaped from his mouth. "You've got this, buddy." Joe told him. He took a step back. "Watch it, Ralph." He said, turning to his companion. "You don't want to get in the way of the fire." Ralph nodded in agreement, shuffling backwards in the air.

"Once we get past this rock, we should be able to get across to the other side." Silver said. "Then we can keep going through the tunnel and hopefully out the other side."

"I still think it wouldn't been quicker to try and skate across." Winter said, unheard.

"You can still try." Silver told her. "Unless you don't want to break you ankles." Winter scowled.

"Oh shut up, Silver." She muttered.

"Sorry." Silver said back, a small cheeky grin on his face. "I was just trying to…" He stopped. Winter looked at him.

"Trying to what?" She asked. Silver didn't respond. He stopped walking, causing her to fall to a halt. "What are you doing?" She asked, slightly demandingly. Silver had his ears keen. He seemed to have heard something. Then Winter realised that she too could hear something. It sounded like something climbing, maybe crawling across some kind of Ice surface. But as she looked around she saw nothing, bar the occasional zubat or golbat in the distance. Nothing that could make that sound. "What is that?" She whispered curiously.

"I don't know." Silver responded, his voice quiet too. A few small specs of frost fell down on top of them, showering them in a small cloud of dandruff-like cold. Suddenly they realised where the sound was coming from. Together they glanced upward, towards to roof. Several dark skinned forms were hanging from the small icicles and rocky cracks above them. They had big keen eyes, large pointy ears and sharp white two fingered clawed feet and hands. They stared down at the human children bellow them, two of which were staring back. Then they let go of the ceiling, and dropped down on top of them.

Winter exclaimed as one of them slashed at her, cutting her fringe slightly with a sharp claw. She fell backwards, falling onto the ice and sliding for a few feet on her back. Silver stumbled back, his hand reaching for a pokeball. His left foot stepped on the ice floor and he nearly slipped as he tried to gain balance. The ground was frictionless, so much so his legs may as well have been wheels. Joe spun around, spotting his friends tumble and the multiple black skinned pokémon land beside them, their clawed feet stopping them from sliding on the ice. His brain gave him no time to act. He saw Winter fall, he saw the pokémon attack her, then turn on Silver, and his moth acted for him.

"Hey!" He shouted. All six of the pokémon glared at him, their mean eyes narrowing, and the red ovals on their foreheads shimmering in the icy light of the cave. Joe glared back, trying to show them that he wasn't to be medalled with. "Leave them alone!" He bellowed. The six pokémon looked at each other. Then they smiled mischievously.

Two of them broke off from the group, rushing at Joe to attack him. They quickly found however that he was not undefended. They had failed to notice Ralph flying beside him. With a strike of his wing the two icy pokémon went skidding backwards, falling flat and sliding across the ice. The other four pokémon looked surprised. Quickly they turned, leaving Silver and Winter alone and instead going for the bigger, tougher target. They rushed Joe and Ralph, jumping and lunging with open claws. Two of them managed to grapple Ralph, their sharp claws piercing his shoulder skin. He yelled in pain, spinning on the spot, trying to shake them off again. He succeeded, sending the fast little pokémon flying across the ice.

The other two attacked again, this time lunging at Joe. He was lucky enough to dodge one of them, but the second one caught hold of his hood and pulled him down, smacking his head on the ice with a painful thud. He slid back across the floor, lying in a small curled up form. The pokémon skidded with him, eventually letting go and skidding to a halt, using its claw as a sharp anchor. It glanced up, saw the unmoving trainer and rushed in again to finish him off. Inches away from its target it was struck in the side by a large purple wing, and was sent flying to the side, where it struck a frosted boulder, Ralph floated above his friend, defending him from the attackers. Joe still didn't move.

"Joe!" Winter cried. She crawled onto her feet and tried running over to him. It ended up being a skid, as she was unable to wall without slipping up a little. She made it over to his side as quickly as she could. Silver attempted to help Ralph in holding the pokémon back, releasing his Magnemite to send out a few thunder waves.

"What are these things?" Winter asked, as one of the black skinned pokémon lunged past her, aiming its claws at her throat and fortunately missing.

"Sneasel!" Silver exclaimed, Magnemite zapping one of the pokémon that tried to get closer and leaving it to convulse with electronic static. "They usually live in cold climates like this, but they tend not to randomly attack humans. We must have done something to set them off."

Winter sighed, glancing at the melted path they'd made, that Quill had only just finished off. "I have a pretty good idea what." She muttered, knowing she'd been right in her belief. She slipped don't her knees, sliding under another lunge from a now tiring sneasel and quickly making her way to Joe's side. Ralph covered her back, striking the sneasel attacking her away with an accurate steel wing. This time the sneasel did not come back to attack again. "Joe!" She exclaimed, rolling her friend onto his back. He had a small trail of blood coming from a tiny gash on the side of his forehead. It wasn't serious looking, but was a little worrying. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving. She rested his head under her arms and shook him, trying to weak him up. "Joe, come on!" She yelled. Joe didn't wake. She put a hand to his neck. She could feel a pulse, and he was still breathing. He was just unconscious. That was a mild relief, but now someone would have to carry him.

Quill turned around, having reached the boulder using his flamethrower and finally he realised what was going on. Without instruction he curled up into a ball form and set himself alight, rolling in a rampage towards the crowd of Sneasel. All of them turned at the sound of his approach. The ice melted under his massive form, crushed up by his weight and evaporated by his heat. The brave sneasel stayed, determined to fight further. But the more popular cowardly sneasel turned tails and bolted, running away from the inferno steamrolling very quickly towards them. Quill was a rampage. He left no one spared. One by one he ran down and crushed the sneasel in his wake. Woe betide anyone who would attack his trainer, or his friends. When Quill was done he turned back around and waddled over on all fours back to his trainers side, leaving only a trail of melted ice and unconscious ice pokémon (and a few unlucky members of the zubat family) lying on the ground where they'd been struck. Silver whistled in amazement.

"I cannot believe I ever gave you up." He muttered as Quill walked past. The typhlosion gave his previous owner a disrespectful and slightly hateful grunt. Silver shrugged. "Well, there's no need to be like that." He muttered. Quill rolled his eyes and kept walking, heading back to his trainer. Joe still hadn't woken, and Winter was getting worried. She'd relieved him of his back, so he could lie down properly. Casey had struggled out of it, having nearly been crushed as Joe fell on it, and was standing by Winter, looking over his trainer. Casey couldn't understand why he wasn't responding. His mind was too young to understand fainting, or unconsciousness. This trainer not responding to his calls was beginning to make him cry. Winter comforted the young togepi, cuddling him to her chest as she knelt beside her friend. Ralph seemed the second most concerned of them all. He wasn't as upset as Casey, nor as worried as Winter, but he was mostly feeling lost. He had a horrible dread that, if he wasn't helped soon, Joe may never awake again. He wasn't going to watch that happen.

"Come on, Joe!" Winter insisted, shaking her friends shoulder. "Please wake up! You can't leave us! You can't leave me! I need you!" Joe didn't stir. She sniffed a little. She could tell if it as because of the cold or because she was close to crying, but she wiped her eyes, shaking a little.

"Winter, he's not going to respond." Silver told her, not emotionally sensitive in the slightest.

"I'm not…" She struggled to say, her voice wavering as emotions wracked her. "He must… has to wake up!"

"He's out cold." Silver said. "And that's no pun intended. We need to move him somewhere safe and less slippery." He explained, kneeling beside her. "We can try and wake him then." Winter sighed. He was right. Goddamn it, Silver was right again.

"Alright." She agreed. She stood up and turned to Quill. "Could you melt us a path across?" She asked. Quill nodded, and immediately set to work. He took a few steps ahead so that the trainers wouldn't get scorched by backlashing heat, and used his flamethrower to quickly melt them a path across. Winter turned to Ralph. "Keep an eye out for more of those pokémon." She instructed. Ralph nodded. He wanted to see his trainer safe just as much as she did. He would defend him past his dying breath and beyond the grave if he had to. Casey was still sobbing by Joe's side. Carefully Winter lifted him up and placed him into her bag for now, so he could be safe and out of any danger. She knelt down again and looked up at Silver. "You take his legs, I'll take his shoulders." She instructed. She got no response. "What are you waiting for?" She asked. Still Silver said nothing. There was the sound of a pokeball popping open and releasing its red beam. Winter looked up again. Silver was standing a few metres away, looking down on the sneasel he had paralysed. The empty pokeball he'd just thrown engulfed it in a red beam and sucked it in, snapping shut again. "What are you doing?" She asked angrily.

"Just catching a sixth pokémon." He told her, picking up the pokeball again. It snapped shut for good, the wriggling stopping as the pokémon inside gave up its struggle. "Now I have a full team finally." He muttered with a smile. Winter continued to stare at him.

"Our friend is unconscious! He may have seriously damaged his head, and you're busy catching pokémon!" Silver glanced back at her a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, but I couldn't let this chance get away." He told her. "I mean, it was paralysed. It was perfect for the taking."

"Your friend, one of the only ones you have, in unconscious and freezing on the floor!" She reminded him. "Now, if you ever want to see him awake again, help me bloody carry him!" Silver sighed.

"Alright." He muttered, walking over and grabbing Joe's feet. "I was going to help anyway." He helped the orange haired girl lift the brown haired hat wearing boy up into the air, holding him by their assigned body parts. "This is just like that time he and you had to carry me when I was unconscious." He reminded her as they started walking across the dry area of ground Quill had made for them. Winter glared slightly at him.

"That was back when we barely knew you." She reminded him.

"You could have decided to leave me there." He told her straightforwardly.

"But we didn't." She said. "Even though we may have wanted to. You were hurt. We couldn't leave you alone in the woods like that."

"If you had, I wouldn't be here to help you now." He added. She stared at him.

"Just help me carry him, Silver." She muttered.


Eventually they reached the other side, laying Joe down by the tunnel entrance and taking a quick second to rest. For a teenage boy he was quite heavy. Winter was surprised by that. Still, at least she'd been holding his upper body. She and Silver rested their friend on the cold ground, taking a moment themselves to sit down, their backs against the icy rock walls. They were tired already, mainly because they'd been carrying Joe across the ice, but also because they hadn't had much of a rest. It wasn't easy sleeping outside. There was always something making noise around you. The cave wasn't much quieter. There was the background sound of zubat screeches and in the far distance something moving around. Winter wiped her forehead, shivering in her coat. It was getting colder somehow. She was mainly trying to stay warm now. Her legs were aching, and her lungs were begging for clean open air, but most off all she wanted warmth. Silver sat down a foot away from her, allowing her space.

"What a trek this has proved to be." He muttered.

Winter scoffed. "No kidding." She muttered. "Talk about cold! I thought the see in December was cold, but this is awful." She shivered a little more under her jacket.

"Why did we have to come this way?" Silver muttered, shivering. "Surely there was another path around or over the hills."

"We need to get to Blackthorn city quickly." She responded automatically. "This is the fastest way through."

"You sound like him when you say that." He said, nodding to their unconscious friend, who was lying next to her. She felt a little depressed by that comment.

"I guess he's had some influence on me then." She muttered, unsure what she could say in response.

Silver shrugged. "Maybe he has." He muttered. Quill curled up beside Joe, flaring up a little to keep him warm but being careful not to burn him at the same time. Ralph sat down beside Winter, seeming just as worried as she was. He never took his eyes away from his trainer, checking that he was constantly okay. Silver shifted where he sat. "Could I ask you something?" he asked suddenly. Winter glanced at him.

"It depends what." She said simply. Silver shrugged.

"I just wanted to ask how you and he met." He said.

"I thought you already knew how we met." She said.

"He told me, yes." Silver agreed. "But I'd like to hear your version."

Winter looked at him. Then she shrugged herself. "It feels like forever ago now." She admitted. "I was outside of Viridian City, doing a bit of light fishing at one of the small ponds, when I was suddenly knocked over and dragged along by a massive ball of two bodies." She chuckled a little. "When it finally stopped I found myself lying against the walls to Viridian City, and two others were with me. One of them was Ralph. He was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes again, because he was on top of me. And the other was Joe. He apologised, although I remember not having any of that. I remember being angry at him for crushing me the way he had." She paused for a second, feeling a little embarrassed she'd gone into it in so much detail. "Then we headed off to the pokémon centre. He had no idea where he was going, so I took him to it. We got our pokémon healed up, but as we did so the centre was attacked by two team rocket thieves. They locked us up in a janitor's closet." From the side she heard Silver chuckle a little. She glared at him. "Stop it." She snapped. "Anyway, after a while of trying to escape, he seemed to be hurt. He told me a beedrill had stung his arm, so I helped heal it up. After that, well… we just seemed to click. I don't know how to explain it, but after that we didn't snap at each other once." She fell quiet.

"It sounds like there's something else." Silver told her, a meaning to his words for once. She glanced at him.

"What?" She asked quietly.

"You sound regretful." He told her. "Why?" Winter looked at the floor, uncertain herself by what she felt.

"I don't know." She told him.

"I think you're lying." He said simply. She glanced back at him.

"What would I lie to you about?" She demanded. "I don't lie to people. There's no point to it."

"But you lie to yourself." Silver told her. She looked confused.

"What are you on about?" She asked.

"Winter, I'm sorry but it's obvious." He stated simply.

"What is?" She demanded.

"You…" He glanced at Joe. "And him." Winter was getting annoyed now.

"What are you trying to say, Silver?" She asked. Silver sighed.

"Oh for lord Arceus's sake, Winter. It's so obvious!" He snapped. "You. Like. Him." He said those three words so slowly he practically spelt them out. Winter's eyes opened wider.

"I don't!" She snapped. "I don't feel anything like that." She bit her lip a little, glancing at her unconscious friend for a split second. Silver folded his arms.

"See. You're lying to yourself." He told her.

"Just drop it!" She snapped, looking away to hide her slight blushes.

"Why haven't you just told him?" He asked her. She looked back, angry at him.

"And what would I say?" She asked. "How would he take it if I did say anything? How do I even know what he feels? What if he just stops wanting to talk to me?"

"You're thinking to cruelly." Silver told her simply. "He's your friend already, isn't he?" He stated. "So, if you did ask and he said no, why would that destroy your friendship?" Winter fell quiet. She didn't know what to say. "You just need to be confident and say something. You don't have to say it bluntly, you can do it subtly if that's easier. But either way saying nothing is just lying to yourself."

"And who suddenly made you the relationship specialist?" She demanded, turning on him suddenly. "How many people have you liked before? And where is that girl you were with now? Have you seen much of her recently?" Here words were colder than the cave they were in. Silver didn't say anything. He just sat staring at her. Winter sighed. "I'm sorry." She muttered apologetically. "That was a bit too harsh of me." Silver just sat back against the rock, looking hurt and glaring at her.

"Maybe he's rubbing of on you more then you know." He muttered. "You're even starting to sound like him."

Winter looked down at the cold floor. He was right. That was something Joe would have said, except he wouldn't have said it so cruelly. He'd have just used it as some kind of throwaway insult. What was happening to her? Why was she acting like this? Everything that was going on was beginning to get to her, and not just her. She, Joe and Silver were all under stress. Team Rocket were still around, and their heads were on their target list. Maybe she was still upset after Joe had snapped at her. It wasn't the fact that he'd got angry that upset her. It was the fact he didn't apologise afterwards. He'd just shrugged it off, as if it was nothing. Was that what he really thought of their friendship? Winter glanced at him now. He was still lying on the ground beside her, Quill curled up around him, his neck flames alight and pumping heat, melting the area of ice around him. She sighed. She hoped he was okay. She needed him to be okay. She couldn't live another day not knowing he wasn't alright.


In the darkness Joe's mind was awake, fully open eyes staring into nothing. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He was practically paralysed from the neck down. And in his ears he heard a voice. No, that wasn't right. It wasn't one voice he could hear. It was three voices. He realised that what he was hearing was in fact a heated discussion. He tried to look around, but his head wouldn't move. He tried to call out but his mouth would not open. All he could do was lie there, in the darkness of unconsciousness. And then the voices began to grow louder. It wasn't like they were getting closer. It was more like someone had just turned up the volume of them, like the sound on a TV. And now he could figure out what they were saying.

"Do you think the boy's ready?" One asked, a slightly effeminate voice that had a slight wispy rattle to it, like wind blowing through grass.

"I think he's been ready for a long time." Another, much higher pitched and childlike voice said. Joe recognised this one. It was Mew. He thought Mew had promised not to give him any more visions. Unless maybe this wasn't a vision. A third voice spoke up now, except this one didn't just sound childlike. This voice sounded like an actual ten year old child was speaking.

"When the time comes he will prove himself." It said. "They all will. I can read his thoughts. He is a good person. He will win this fight."

"But suppose he doesn't." The wispy voice suggested. "Then what? The bad man will destroy everything we know. He'll hunt us down, cripple us and most likely have some scientist somewhere experiment on us."

"Calm down, Celebi." Mew said in a calming voice. "That's why you are hear. If he does happen to fail, we can go back and try again, with someone else if necessary. We've done it before."

'Celebi?' Joe thought. He knew that name. Then he remembered. There had been a shrine to a pokémon called Celebi back in Ilex forest, the same one Silver had punched. And when it had responded with a psychic blast, he'd seen something small and green fly out from the roof and into the distance. And what had they meant by going back? More worryingly, what did they mean by saying they'd done it before? Suddenly he realised they were talking again.

"I think, for now, we should let him sleep." The third voice said wisely. "He is in no danger yet, although his friends will be very soon."

Joe felt a surge of horror run through him. 'Winter and Silver, in danger?' He quickly realised he had to wake up. He had to help them. He struggled to move, just to stand up, but his body was clamped down at every muscle. Moving was not an option.

"Surely we should let him help his friends then?" Mew suggested. The third voice probably shrugged.

"He will awake once I let him." It said, but not maliciously. It didn't sound like he was keeping Joe unconscious because he wanted to. "I think we are done here." The third voice told its friends. "You two can go now." It said simply.

"But, Meian, surely there's more we can do to help?" Mew said, sounding a little pleading.

'Meian?' Joe didn't recognise that name. He'd never heard a name like it before.

"There is nothing you can do right now." The third voice, Meian, told them simply. "But there will be soon enough. When this all starts, he'll need all the help he can get. Let's just hope he's ready, and that he'll know what to do when the time comes. Or he may lose everything." The voices fell silent. In the distance Joe heard what sounded like two beings teleporting away. It sounded faint for some reason, as if someone had failed to mix the two sounds properly on an editing software. There was silence for a few seconds. Then the third voice spoke again.

"Joseph Glende, I speak only to you now." It stated simply. Joe looked on into the darkness.

'What am I doing here?' He asked, his mind speaking for his mouth.

"Don't worry. I won't keep you long." The voice told him. There was a short quiet. Then it gave a small chuckle. "You are afraid." It told him simply. "You are afraid of what is to come."

'How can you tell?' Joe asked it.

"Because I can read your mind." The voice said simply. "I see your thoughts and a feel your emotions, like they were my own. You are fearful of what you could lose. One person in particular you fear for." The child's voice paused. "The young woman who travels with you." It said finally. "You worry for her safety, yet she is the strongest friend you will ever have." His voice stopped. "I am curious. Why do you fear for her?" He asked.

'Because she is my friend.' Joe told him simply. 'I don't want her getting hurt for me.'

"Like it or not, in war people always get hurt." Meian told him wisely. "And this is war, even if it doesn't look like it yet." Joe struggled to move again.

'Why are you talking to me?' He asked. 'Who are you?'

"I wouldn't worry about that." Meian told him. "We will meet face to face soon enough." He seemed to sigh. "But I have kept you long enough. You want to get back to your friends, so I will let you." He paused. "But heed these parting words." He said dramatically. Joe felt a presence getting slightly closer in the dark. "By the end of this war, someone you put your trust in will betray you, and someone you love will be lost forever. Remember who your friends are, Master Glende. They will defend you beyond life itself if they must, but remember also that love is a two way trial. You must care for them, as they care for you. If you do not, you will lose them." The child's voice was so stern that for a second Joe forgot he sounded younger that ten years old. And then suddenly a form appeared from the darkness in front of him. It was yellow and small, with two toed feet and two toed hands, levitating in the air on a crossed lap. A small head looked at him with closed eyes and a tail whipped slightly behind it. "Good luck." Meian told him. Then the blackness faded away, and Joe was thrown suddenly back into consciousness.


Winter sat down again, laying her friend down beside her with the help of Ralph and Silver. They had tried to continue on and get out of the icy cave, but the weight of their unconscious friend had slowed them down a lot, and their tired arms couldn't keep him up anymore. They were so close to being outside again. Just a small climb up and then they'd be free once more. They'd already made it through the icy tunnel before them. But they couldn't keep it up. They had to stop and rest. Joe's skin was going whiter, as the frost around them froze up his body. Reluctantly Winter removed her coat, wrapping it around them to keep them both warm. She shivered as her back touched the cold ice covered rock, but at least neither of them would freeze now.

"He's still not waking." She muttered, her voice quieter than usual and wavering a lot with every shiver. Silver shook his head in agreement. It was beginning to get worrying. The cut on his forehead had stopped bleeding at least, and he was still breathing. But the fact he hadn't woken up was alarming in itself.

"Just give me a second to rest." Silver gasped. "My arms are killing me, and I need air. Let me just… sit down for a minute."

Winter placed a hand on his forehead. It was warm on her skin, warmer than the air around them certainly. She knew he would wake up eventually. He wouldn't leave her like this. She certainly wouldn't let him. He was her only friend. She wasn't going to leave her friend behind.

"We need to get him out of here soon." She said. "If he hasn't awoken by now then he could be in serious trouble."

Silver sighed. "Alright." He agreed. "Just… one second." He sat silently for a minute, before pushing himself up onto his knees, then onto his feet once more. Winter was surprised by how much Silver was doing for her, and for Joe. He had already walked across so much ice, just to keep him safe and moving. It was amazing he hadn't slipped once. He'd even been taking most of the weight. But it was clearly beginning to show. He was exhausted already. But he wasn't stopping. "Okay…" He muttered, grabbing Joe under his legs again and preparing to lift him up once more. "Let's get him moving again."

There was a sudden sound from down the tunnel they had just walked through. Both trainers froze, stiller then the cold air that blew over them. Winter, Silver and Ralph, who had been sitting by Joe's side also, all turned back and glanced down the tunnel. At the far end they could see light coming towards them. Fire light.

"There are no fire pokémon in this tunnel." Silver muttered, an air of confusion in his voice. .

"They're not fire pokémon." Winter realised, her eyes widening slightly. She glanced into the dark, and saw that the flames were small, and burning on the ends of stocky wooded torches, held in the hands of men and women in black jumpsuits. "It's Team Rocket!" She muttered.

Sure enough, as she said it the shouts of "There they are!" and "Over here! We found them!" Echoed up from the tunnel. Silver growled and reached to his pokeball belt.

"I'll take care of them!" He said simply, stepping forwards. "You look after Joe."

"You're too tired." Winter called after him. "Let me deal with them."

Silver stopped. He glanced back at the ginger haired girl he travelled with, and gave her a comforting smile. "I think he's more likely to wake up if he knows you're next to him." He said kindly. "He probably doesn't like me much, anyway." He turned back and charged down the cave, running to meet the rocket grunts head on.

Winter glanced over at Ralph. "Go with him." She asked off him. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Ralph gave her a look that asked what she was going to do. "I'll stay with him." She told him simply, glancing down at Joe. "I'll keep him warm." Ralph gave her a grateful smile. It was almost slightly cheeky, but Ralph probably didn't know how to do that kind of expression. He took off and sped off after Silver, reaching him in seconds.

The duo stopped one fourth of the way into the tunnel. The grunts were nearly half way up it now, still charging. At their front line a row off pokémon rushed, a mixture of raticate, sandslash, koffing, zubat and Golbat, ekans; the usual species that grunts were supplied with. Silver unclipped two pokeballs.

"You ready to fight, Fella?" He asked confidently, turning to Ralph.

"Cro!" Ralph exclaimed in agreement. Silver smiled.

"Good!" He turned back to the charging grunts. A few of them had pulled out nets. Silver readied his hands out. "Go, Magnemite! Go Sneasel! Take these grunts down!" Silver threw his pokeballs. With a flash his two newest pokémon appeared on the field. Instantly they got to work. "Magnemite, use thundershock! Sneasel, use Icy Wind!" Both pokémon pulled back their heads, Magnemite gathering static and Sneasel breathing in deep. When they pushed forwards again, a bolt of static was fired and a gust of freezing, ice shard wind was thrown down the tunnel. Both attacks hit, Magnemites thundershock striking an eager golbat from the air and Sneasel's icy wind freezing up several pokémon up front. Silver turned to Ralph. "Your turn." He said simply. Ralph grinned sinisterly. He fluttered forwards, preparing to attack. The grunts rushed closer and closer.

Ralph extended his wings out, spreading them wide and tough. Seconds later they were glittering metal like a star of steel in the dark sky. He narrowed his eyes on the approaching enemy, then he dived. He sped towards them like an arrow head with extended bladed attacked to it. When he struck, he knocked the front line of three grunts flat onto their backs. The others ducked down, some trying to grab him as he did so but none of the m succeeding. He flew back across while they were recovering, flying back down the tunnel and gaining speed. As he did so the grunts got back up, preparing to keep fighting. He reached Silver again and turned around in front on him and his pokémon, lashing them with a small gust of air. Silver's hair flicked as it washed over him.

"Attack again!" He instructed. Magnemite fired a sonic boom, while Sneasel rushed in with Ralph, throwing a frozen ice punch at the nearest Sandslash. Ralph swung his winds down, crossing them in a poisonous X over a small group of huddled up raticate. The pokémon that were struck went down with ease, a slash of diagonal air hitting a small zubat off to the side of the collection. The grunts weren't giving up however. There didn't seem to be a commanded with them, but even so they were proving to be ruthless and unyielding.

Winter watched with worry as Silver, his pokémon, and Ralph held back the attackers. She worried that at any moment they'd break through, and then she'd have to fight too. She wasn't going to let them get near Joe, not even close. She was so concentrated on Silver's fight that she failed to hear her coat rustle slightly with movement.

"Where am I?" Someone very recognisable suddenly said. She jumped, almost out of her skin. The shock had been so sharp, it had jolted her completely. She looked back. Joe was sitting up, his expression exhausted, but he was at least conscious again.

"Joe!" Winter exclaimed. "You're okay!"

"Of course I am." He muttered, rubbing his forehead. "You thought I wouldn't be?" Winter smiled as she rushed up to him again.

"Of course I didn't." She smiled. "I knew you'd be okay." She hugged him tight, causing they boy to flinch slightly and make a light groan.

"Winter, that's too tight!" He muttered.

"Sorry." She said shyly, letting go of him again. She sat back, giving him some air. "I was just a bot worried. You've been out a while."

Joe shrugged and wriggled against the wall, trying to sit up properly. "Now… what on earth happened?" He asked. He glanced down. "Am I wearing your coat?" He asked.

Winter blushed a little, awkwardly. "Yes." She said straight. Joe blinked.

"Why?" He asked.

"You were cold." She told him simply. "I wanted to keep you warm."

"Oh." Joe muttered. "Well, thanks I guess." Back down the tunnel they heard Silver shout to them.

"Is he awake yet?"

Winter turned around. "Yes. He's awake!" She called.

They heard Silver sigh with relief. "Oh good." He called back. "Now we can finally get out of here." There was the following sound of a grunt screaming, and a punch being thrown. "Can we please hurry up? These guys are getting a lot closer!" Silver called more, sounding a lot more desperate to go then before.

"What's happening?" Joe asked.

"It's Team Rocket." Winter explained simply. "They're attacking again." Joe groaned.

"Really?" He muttered. Winter nodded sadly.

"I don't even know how they found us in here." She explained. Meian's words echoed in Joe's head. 'Someone you put your trust in will betray you.' Was it possible that this was related to that betrayal? Even if it wasn't, he'd have to be careful with his trust from now on. But this wasn't the time to dwell on that. Team Rocket were attacking them, and he had to do something.

"How many of them are there?" He asked.

"Around ten." Silver shouted back. "Maybe fifteen."

"Right." Joe stood up slowly, Winter helping him back onto his feet. "We need to block this tunnel and stop Team Rocket following us further."

"Block the tunnel?" Winter repeated, seeming stunned by his words. "Joe that would also block the way for other trainers coming this way."

"Do you have a better plan?" He asked, a little too rudely. "We can inform people at Blackthorn about the tunnel blockage and they can clear it afterwards. But right now we need to get out of here, and if we don't do something those grunts will just follow after us." Winter said nothing in response. "Silver?" Joe called.

"Yeah?" Silver called back.

"What can you do to block the tunnel off?" Joe asked.

"I could get Magnemite to sap some ice down, or get Sneasel to freeze it up. But that won't be easy to do while I'm being attacked."

"What about Quill?" Joe asked. "Where's he?" As if on cue the fuzzy flaming Typhlosion uncurled from his corner, where he'd been heavily asleep, and waddled over, giving Joe a cute salute.

"I guess he could melt the roof away maybe." Silver agreed. "But that's not likely to do much."

"What about Ralph?"

"He's helping me."

"Okay." Joe muttered. "Maybe we don't need to collapse it. We just need to block it off. Get your sneasel to freeze up a wall in front of you!"

"On it!" Silver called.

"Now we should go." Joe said, turning back to Winter. "Silver, come after us once you're done."

"Okay." Silver agreed. He glanced to Ralph. "You should go with them." He said. Ralph nodded and flew back down the tunnel, following after Joe as he and Winter began climbing up the ladder that lead outside. Silver turned back to his pokémon. "Are you ready?" He asked. They nodded.

Silver gave a quick glance to his metal magnet pokémon. It had just flashed bright White. Now it was a three metal magnet pokémon. His newly evolved Magneton sparked, preparing to attack. Sneasel readied her claws, also getting ready to fight.

"Magneton, use Zap Cannon on the ice floor in front of us. Sneasel, freeze Magneton's attack!" Silver instructed. The two pokémon nodded and made their attacks.

The components mixed so quickly it was tough to properly make out what had happened, but the result was obvious. The large ball of electricity that had struck the frozen floor caused large shards of ice to fly upwards from it, breaking of the stone floor. Then sneasels frozen breath had fixed them solid, melding the still sparking static to the massive sharp icicles sticking out from the floor. The frost filled up the areas between the giant wall-like ice shards with fresh frost, solidifying the pieces together and keeping them up. The grunts skidded to a halt in on the opposite side of it, sending their pokémon to bring it down. But none of them could. The ice was to thick, and when they struck it they were shocked by the frozen electricity inside.

Silver gave a small smile and walked away, taking his pokémon with him as the furious grunts were left stuck on the opposite side of the wall. All they could do was shout at him in anger as he left them behind. It would take them ages to bring the ice wall down.


Hey guys. I just wanted to say sorry if this chapters rather slow near the end or boring. I was struggling a lot to find the right way to end it and I'm not very happy with it. If any of you think I could do it better please let me know and I'll go back and try to fix it. But either way I hope you keep reed. I'll put more effort into the next chapter, I swear. The end is coming soon then you may think, so lets hope I can keep you interested till then.