PMD: Explorers of Light and Shadow
Chapter 34: Treasure of the Sky
The third station pass was completely unchanged from the first. Unlike the second pass, which was burned away in a great fire, this pass featured tall grass, healthy vegetation and towering trees. Basically, everything down at the first station pass.
"Here we are again with the same Pokemon, environment and atmosphere" Aria sighed, then glanced at the sky "Although we're at a higher elevation now. It's slowly getting harder to breath"
"You can notice that?" Zach took a deep breath, but didn't feel anything different "Feels the same to me"
"Maybe Aria's weather manipulation gave her some awareness or something" Henry offered "That makes sense, right?"
"Mm, maybe…" Aria stared at the cliff side beside us "I can sense the air thinning out the higher we hike. Storm clouds are coming in from the west, so we should expect a downpour soon"
"Huh, so you CAN sense changes in the weather. Go figure" Henry took to the sky, narrowing his eyes to the west "But… I don't see any storm clouds coming in. Just the clear blue sky and the bright sun"
"Believe me, I can feel it" Aria insisted "But the rainstorm shouldn't come in a few hours. We're good for now"
"The rain would help the ruined second pass" Shaymin noted "Ever since the great fire, the nutrition in the earth has burned away. Even now, decades later, the land is still recovering and is nothing more than a barren wasteland"
"And to think, a simple Eruption and Blast Burn caused all that" Aria shuddered "I should be more careful with my Flamethrowers"
"You don't need to worry. Your fire is only a fraction of the Typhlosion, Magmorter and Camerupt's power" Shaymin reassured "Not only did the three Fire types use the strongest Fire moves in creation, there's also you know… three of them. Their power alone was three times stronger than yours Aria"
"That doesn't mean I can't cause a fire though…" Aria breathed a short flame onto a blade of grass, which quickly burnt to a crisp "If I'm not careful, I could fire a stream of flames over the grass and well… cause a wildfire"
"Hey, at least you're not spewing flaming volcanic rocks or sending out shock waves of godlike fire" Henry said "Surely, your Flamethrower can't destroy an entire mountain pass, right?"
"I guess…" Aria frowned and fired a Dragon Pulse at a opposing Raticate, as if wary of using Flamethrower again "I'll just stop using it for the time being, just to be safe"
"Your call" Zach shrugged, then focused ahead "Are we almost to the fourth station, Shaymin?"
"I can spot a clearing and the burning of a campfire ahead, so I say yes!" Henry called from above "Looks like Team Frontier already set up a base!"
"Damn, those guys are fast" Aria remarked, impressed "They have four slow-looking Pokemon carrying stacks of heavy crates and yet, they still make it here faster than we do"
"Maybe they hired bodyguards to protect them" Zach offered "After all, I doubt anyone could fight if they had to carry four heavy wooden crates on their shoulders"
"Either that or they just ignore all the wild Pokemon attacking them" Aria nodded "But anyhow, here we are at the fourth station base"
Just as we made it into the sunbathed camp, an Octillery ran down as fast as he could from the trail ahead. Well… more like Octillery was propelling himself forward with his tentacles to run.
"HELP! We need help!" Octillery cried as he came into the base, panting hard.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Mawile asked worriedly.
"The explorer Sneasel is getting attacked by a strange group at the fifth station clearing!" Octillery explained "He's surrounded six to one! We need to help him!"
"Team Frontier, move out! To the fifth station clearing!" Machoke ordered and Breloom nodded.
"Roger that. Let's go!" Breloom turned to Mawile and Heracross "Come on, you two. We have to hurry!"
The five Pokemon ran ahead and Shaymin stared ahead with a worried expression.
"Who could this "strange group" of Pokemon be…?" Shaymin murmured, as if asking herself the question "The fifth station clearing… a group of six Pokemon…"
Suddenly, the Shaymin snapped, as if she realized something horrible.
"Oh god no! The Carnivine!" Shaymin gasped, then turned to us "Guys, we have to hurry to the fifth station clearing. If we don't catch up, Team Frontier might accidentally kill the Carnivine!"
"The Carnivine… you mentioned that they were friends with the Shaymins for centuries, right?" Aria said slowly, like she was trying to remember "Didn't they chase you out the last time you went to visit them?"
"Yes, but I feel that now it'll be different! If we let Team Frontier kill them, then well…" Shaymin gritted her teeth "We shouldn't let them kill innocent people! We need to go up and stop them!"
"Hold up Shaymin. Didn't Octillery say that the Carnivine attacked a lone Sneasel?" Henry interrupted "In that case, aren't they the bad guys here?"
"I just want to see the truth for myself. Is that too much to ask?" Shaymin snapped, then took a deep breath "Sorry. But please, we need to see what's going on"
"Let's just comply with Shaymin's wishes, alright?" Zach said "Besides, we have to go up these passes to reach the top anyways. No harm in trying to catch up to Team Frontier"
"Other than tiring ourselves to death" Aria sighed "But whatever. We've wasted enough time here. Let's hurry to the fifth station clearing"
The fourth pass was a blur, mostly because we were too busy running as fast as we could to catch up with Team Frontier. Nothing changed with the atmosphere and the only thing different were the enemy Pokemon. Alongside the usual list of Grass types, Hitmonchan, Bibarel, Ursaring and Primeape were also present. Luckily, none of them were a threat to us aside from the Fire and Thunder Punching Hitmonchan for Shaymin and Henry.
"By the gods, these guys are prepared for almost anything…" Zach remarked as he dodged a Mach Punch from a Hitmonchan and retaliated with a Thunder Fang "They strike fast and have elemental punches that can hit anything for super effective damage"
"Not dragons though. We're resistant to all the basic elements!" Aria boasted, then gasped in pain when a Hitmonchan struck her hard with Ice Punch "Gaahh…. W-what…?"
"Hang in there, Aria!" Henry swooped down like a wild raptor and took Hitmonchan's neck clean off with Aerial Ace "Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah, I think…" Aria stared at the permafrost slowly spread over her body "I'm s-so cold…"
"Blow fire over your body to melt the ice!" Zach urged, stared at the widening permafrost "If you don't, the frost is going to spread and eventually freeze you solid. Do it, even if it hurts!"
"Oh, I'm not worried about toasting myself Zach. Don't you worry" Aria turned her head down and unleashed a torrent of flames, completely wreathing the Dragonair in an inferno. When the fire died down, the ice covering Aria's body was completely melted.
"You know what? Let's just avoid the Hitmonchan" Aria said, like blowing fire over yourself was a normal thing to do "Either that or nail them from a distance. They're too dangerous up close"
"Only I can fight the Hitmonchan up close" Zach glanced around for any incoming enemies "Not only do they not have a super effective move against me, I can attempt to frighten them so they back away"
"What makes you so scary that you can frighten a Hitmonchan?" Aria asked and Zach smiled darkly.
"Have you ever had a electrically powered lynx stare you down with bloody jaws bared?"
"Okay, I see your point now. Go ahead and scare away the Hitmonchans and Ursarings for us then" Aria said, shooing Zach away with her tail playfully "Me and Shaymin will be back here, firing attacks from a distance and Henry's… doing what Henry does"
"Hit and run attacks from the sky" Zach glanced up to see Henry gliding through the air, diving down to catch a Primeape or Bayleef by surprise with his talons. When you watched it, it was terrifying how many lives Henry could take so easily. He would glide in the air, patiently waiting for his prey to lower their guard and then come down, talons open to crush their neck.
"Hey Zach! Pay attention!" Aria snapped as a Ursaring nearly took Zach's head off with his giant claws. The Luxray slashed back with an electrified claw of his own and forced the Ursaring back, electrical discharge sparking over the bleeding claw wound. Shaymin followed up with a blast of Energy Ball, knocking the giant bear to the ground.
"I see the fourth station clearing up ahead everyone" Shaymin said "Just one more pass and we'll be at the fifth clearing"
We took a short break at the fourth clearing and continued onwards as fast as we could. There were no signs of Team Frontier around in the fourth or fifth pass. It was almost unnatural how fast they were moving.
"I don't like the way those Fearow are looking at you Shaymin…" Zach glanced at the Fearow flapping nearby uneasily "They look like they want to snatch you up and eat you for lunch"
"You have permission to smite them then" Shaymin nodded "I've personally never been a fan of the Fearow anyways. Down in the village, I've heard horror stories of Fearow snatching up unruly Shaymin in the night and carrying them to their nest up high on Sky Peak. What they do to the Shaymin, I'll never know"
"Guess we'll never know" Zach summoned an sparking electrical orb and sent it into the sky, discharging the electricity in a web of lightning. All the Fearows in the nearby area were electrocuted and dropped to the ground like stones. Henry landed next to Zach with an irritated look.
"Ah, come on Zach! I was having the best air battle up there!" Henry pouted, poking Zach's head with his massive wings "There was even a nice looking Fearow lady up there I wanted to impress. Now look at all of them. Dead on the ground"
"Uhm.. sorry for killing your lady?" Zach suppressed a laugh "But those Fearow looked like they wanted to eat Shaymin so... "
"Oh yeah, they wanted to devour Shaymin good" the Staraptor nodded "I overheard a conversation about a diversion. Apparently, a flock of Fearow would distract us three while another flock would attack Shaymin and abduct her"
"Wait… the Fearow EAT Shaymin?!" Aria deadpanned, then glared at the Fearow flying by above us "There's no better time than now to have that Thunderbolt TM…"
"The Shaymins and Fearows were never on good terms" Shaymin glanced nervously at the Fearow slowly circling above us "Like all bird Pokemon, Fearow eat primarily Grass and Bug types for food. Us Shaymin are no different, despite being one of the rarest Grass types alive"
"There's ton of other, more common Grass types in the area for food. Why do they insist on eating your kind specifically?" Aria watched the two Fearow above us slowly descend, as if they were about to attack. The Dragonair shot a column of flames into the air to scare them away.
"From what I heard, Shaymin are like Gummis to Fearow" Henry explained "To them, Shaymin taste just as good or better than Sky Gummies. That's why they actively hunt Shaymin whenever they come up this pass"
"Then we should stop walking and start running" Zach summoned another electrical web above the four to shield against incoming Fearow "The longer we stay here, the more Fearow are going to target Shaymin. I'm not sure us three can guarantee Shaymin's safety"
"Good idea. Are you three fine to run?" Shaymin asked, brushing her paw against the tall blades of grass "I only let us slow down to get a break after all. We still have to catch up to Team Frontier and Sneasel"
"Oh! I'm such an idiot…" Aria slapped her face with her tail "Why didn't I think of this sooner?"
"Think of what sooner?" Henry asked.
"This" Aria vigorously moved her body side to side, drastically increasing Zach, Henry and Shaymin's speed with Agility. A smoking white aura surrounded all four Pokemon, indicating the speed boost.
"Fantastic! This should get us to the fifth clearing quickly!" Shaymin grinned "Okay everyone, let's go!"
Thanks to Aria's Agility, we got to the fifth clearing at light speed, where we found Team Frontier facing down a group of six Carnivine surrounding Sneasel.
"Hey! What are you doing there?" Mawile called, alerting the six Carnivine "Sneasel, are you alright?"
As we arrived on the scene, Shaymin gasped in shock.
"I knew it! The "strange" group of Pokemon on the fifth clearing is the Carnivine!" Shaymin itched in between Machoke and Mawile and faced the Carnivine at the front "Stand down everyone! The Carnivine are innocent!"
"What?! What kind of "innocent" Pokemon gang up on a explorer six to one?!" Mawile growled angrily "No more talk! Carnivine, we're Team Frontier and this time, we're your opponents!"
"Oh ho, that sounds good. Carnivine, surround them!" the lead Carnivine commanded as the other five surrounded us and Team Frontier.
"No, no, no! Everyone calm down! DON'T FIGHT!" Shaymin yelled, but nobody listened. Team Frontier and the Carnivine were already engaged in combat. Machoke evaded a Vine Whip from a Carnivine and struck back with Cross Chop, knocking the bug catcher Pokemon into another like bowling pins. Breloom's eyes glowed with blue light, the result of Mind Reader as he launched ferocious combos of Mach Punch and Dynamic Punch.
"Take this!" Breloom slammed a Carnivine in the face, causing a series of violent explosions that knocked the bug catcher Pokemon down, covering it in burns. Mawile caught a Carnivine's Vine Whip with her back-mouth and swung him around, slamming the enemy Pokemon into a tree. Machoke powered through a Carnivine's Crunch and slapped it unconscious with Wake-Up Slap.
"Hey! Where did Sneasel go?!" Zach called in the midst of the chaos. Past the attacking Carnivine, the sharp claw Pokemon ran off, leaving Team Frontier and Skylar to take care of the Carnivine.
"He wasn't injured at all! He provoked the Carnivine so they'll delay us! He wants to get to the treasure first!" Aria dodged a Carnivine's Faint Attack and retaliated with a weak Dragon Pulse, pushing the bug catcher Pokemon back "Wait… what is Shaymin doing? Why is she glowing green…?"
"EVERYBODY STOP!" Shaymin yelled as she expelled a powerful green shockwave with Seed Flare. While the attack wasn't directed at anybody, the force was enough to knock all of us down onto the ground. Nearby, trees snapped and entire fields of grass were sliced as the shockwave dissipated.
"That was… that was…" Mawile stared at the demolished trees and blades of grass with a mix of awe and horror.
"Carnivine! We told you this many times before!" Shaymin chided "We told you not to bother the explorers coming up Sky Peak and yet here you are again, harassing a lone Sneasel!"
"Who took advantage of the chaos and ran off…" Zach murmured quietly.
"Yeah b-but, he started it!" The lead Carnivine rubbed his leaf hands together "We found some treasure earlier, but that weasel snatched it from right under our noses!"
"Hey, wait a minute! Where did he go?" Another Carnivine looked around the clearing, but Sneasel was already far off "That little…! He ran off while we were fighting!"
"Ah! So we…" Breloom hung his head in shame "We automatically assumed you were the villains first without knowing the details. Sorry about that"
"Well… I can't exactly say they're the good guys either…" Shaymin frowned and the Carnivine balked in surprise.
"Oh come on! You haven't seen us for so long and this is how you treat us?" The lead Carnivine sighed "Oh well. You're a Shaymin, so I'll let it pass. We'll try not to harass explorers anymore, but we don't like Pokemon doing things as they please"
"Alright, I'll tell the others when I get back to the village" Shaymin nodded "See you around!"
"Bye!" And the remaining Carnivine left the clearing.
"I apologize for that. The Carnivine here marked the fifth pass and clearing as their territory" Shaymin explained "They're really nice, but rough when they speak. They're… misunderstood, so to say"
"We're also to blame here. We jumped straight into the fight without knowing all the details" Mawile crossed her arms and stared at the ground regretfully "Sorry for that Shaymin"
"That's why you shouldn't judge by appearances… or outsider information" Breloom said "It's only until you see the truth for yourself that you can make decisions"
"Well… now that that's taken care of, we need to go back to the third clearing" Machoke said "There's two shipments of supplies left to deliver. We need to set up a base here and at the seventh clearing"
Mawile groaned "After that fight, I'm not sure I can even carry supplies up one pass. Hopefully we can find more volunteers who could help…"
"Heracross and Octillery should still be at the third clearing. If they left, they'll be around the fourth" Machoke stared down the mountain path "Those two could help"
"Oh thank goodness" Mawile sighed with relief "Then let's hurry along then. Good luck climbing the rest of the peak, Team Skylar!"
Once Team Frontier left, Shaymin turned to us.
"So anyways, welcome to the fifth clearing! We're halfway up the peak!" Shaymin grinned, staring at the summit that pierced the clouds in the distance "Only five more passes and we'll be at the summit"
"What are we waiting for then? Let's get going!" Henry took flight, soaring over the sixth pass "Come on everyone!"
Like the second pass, the sixth pass was gradually devoid of the grass and trees that covered the first five passes. Instead, grey stone, pebbles and gravel littered the ground and the peaks beside us grew starker and taller, the tops covered with snow. The enemy Pokemon remained the same, with a mix of Grass, Normal and Fighting type Pokemon.
"From this pass onward, you won't be seeing anymore Grass type Pokemon" Shaymin said, cocking her head at the gravel hills and mountains of stone around us "Due to the lack of grass, nutrition and well… everything except rocks, Grass types have a hard time thriving here. This is their border in Sky Peak. To them, travelling onwards is forbidden and suicidal"
"That's reassuring. At least we won't be fighting the same Grass types over and over again" Aria sighed with relief "I've already consumed three Max Elixirs just for Flamethrower"
"Ezra's going to scold you for overdosing when we get home" Henry joked "According to her, overusing Max Elixirs can lead to dizziness, nausea and uhh… I think vomiting. Your skin starts feeling hot too"
Zach gave Henry a confused look "How would you possibly remember all of that? If I recall correctly, you have no interest in medicine or alchemy like Ezra is"
"Aw, you wound me Zach!" The Staraptor laughed "I just… end up in the infirmary a lot, so Ezra scolds me often. One time, I drunk four Max Elixirs in one dungeon session and well… got all the symptoms I just listed"
"Oh, I remember that" Aria frowned "Poor Ezra had to monitor you all night to make sure you don't choke on your own puke. I found that Absol collapsed on her desk, sleeping long past noon the next day"
"We really don't give enough credit to her or Sara. They honestly do take care of all of us" Zach noted.
"It'll be a good idea to give our first Sky Gifts to them" Aria agreed "Speaking of which, have any of you found any?"
"Nope" Zach shook his head, then pointed to Henry in the sky "If Henry can't see them from the sky, I can't either"
"Oh? What's that lying in the ground there then?" Aria slithered over and dug out a small light blue gift box with her tail "How do I have better eyesight than both you and Henry?"
"And I'm the one with the x-ray vision…" Zach groaned "Fine, you're on. Let's see who can find the most Sky Gifts before we reach the clearing. Go!"
With the power of Aria's Agility, we collected Sky Gifts all the way until they made it to the seventh clearing. The ground beneath them was blanketed with snow and snowflakes fell gently from the sky.
"Here we are the seventh clearing everyone!" Shaymin turned to us and grinned at the amount of Sky Gifts we found "Wow, you three found a lot of Sky Gifts!"
"Fifteen gifts in total" Aria nodded, pointing to the obvious bulge in her treasure bag with her tail "That'll be enough to give everyone at camp two gifts"
"No better way to remember our journey than this" Zach agreed, then frowned at something in the corner of the clearing "Hey, what's going on there? Team Frontier are huddling up with someone…"
We made our way to the scene and saw that Sneasel was collapsed on the ground, out cold. He was shivering and his skin was tinted blue from the cold.
"Whoa, what happened here?!" Shaymin asked worriedly.
"I don't know. We just found him collapsed here" Breloom informed, fidgeting with his red clawed hands nervously "I don't know if it was because of the cold or he ran out of items, but this is dangerous"
"We need to bring him back to the fifth clearing for treatment! I think there's an emergency Wigglytuff doctor down there" Mawile urged, but Shaymin cleared her throat.
"There's no need. I know someone who can help" Shaymin said, then cocked her head at the eighth station pass "Up ahead at the eighth clearing is a local Ampharos who is an experienced doctor. He'll be able to help"
"Finding Ampharos will be easier than bringing Sneasel all the way back down to the fifth clearing" Machoke nodded "Okay, we'll watch Sneasel while you four fetch Ampharos, alright?"
"Sounds like a plan. Let's get going everyone" Shaymin told us and after a short break and resupply at the Kangaskhan Statue, we continued onwards.
"Brr… it's getting a little cold here…" Aria shivered, then pulled out a light yellow scarf from her bag to wrap around herself "Curse my skin for being so… so thin…"
"I feel your pain. I can hardly fly with the frost spreading on my wings" Henry flapped his giant wings again, expelling a layer of snow off "And the closer I get to the clouds, the m-more snow piles up on me. It's… it's cold…"
"Hang in there everyone. Ampharos's station is not too far from here" Shaymin stared at the snowflakes falling from the grey clouds above us. The view below the cliffside was only white mist. We could barely see the ground anymore.
"I have never been more thankful for my evolution than now" Zach shook the snow off his fur "Before this, I hated how the fur on my body obstructed my eyes and made me ridiculously hot down in the lower passes. Now it's much better"
"G-good for you…" Aria chattered, then stared at Shaymin in amazement "How are you not freezing to death? Is the grass on your back warm like Zach's fur?"
"No actually. Under normal circumstances, I'll be just as cold as you" Shaymin laughed "And unlike you, a scarf would bury me whole. I've just climbed Sky Peak so many times I got used to the cold"
"Do you know Ampharos personally like the Carnivine? Because I doubt many Pokemon can survive up to this point to be honest…" Henry wrapped his wings around himself as he shivered.
"Actually yes. Ampharos is one of my best friends" Shaymin explained "I wish he lived closer, but he says that his family's been living in the eighth clearing region for centuries, so I'll have to tolerate it. Nevertheless, my visits to see him gave me a tolerance to the cold"
"W-what kind of Pokemon could possibly live in this environment…?" Aria mumbled "Probably only Ice types…"
"You'll be surprised because there aren't any native Ice types here" Shaymin's eyes darted to the Ursaring and Bibarel lumbering around the mountains, gathering food or huddling in their caves "In reality, the snowy region near the summit is inhabited by mostly Normal types. There's the occasional Primeape, Hitmonchan, Skuntank…"
"... Anything else?" Zach asked, absently drawing a Z in the snow with his claw "You paused for a second"
"Well, there ARE two more native Pokemon here" Shaymin's gaze seemed to be more focused, like she was looking for something specific "They are just rarely seen. Marowak and Shedinja"
"Who are those two Pokemon?" Henry asked.
"Marowak is the evolved form of Cubone. It's said that it wears the skull of its departed mother and relentlessly hunts their mother's killers for revenge" Shaymin explained with a tone of sinister darkness "They are experts of using a bone as a weapon. They either use them as a close range club or throw them like boomerangs"
"A boomerang bone club…?" Aria wondered aloud "How does that even work? If I recall, bones aren't exactly aerodynamic…"
"I personally don't know much about it myself. Sorry" Shaymin apologized "Although I read a tale about a Machamp blacksmith who created boomerang throwing axes and javelins. His creations led on to be staples in human wars"
"Interesting. What about Shedinja?" Zach asked.
"Shedinja is arguably the scariest legend talked among the Shaymins. Folklore says that Shedinja is the possessed, leftover husk of a Nincada after it evolves into Ninjask" Shaymin explained "It's apparently near impossible to kill and peering into the crack of its back is said to rob the souls of the living. Best not to get close to it, should you see it"
"... Okay, let's hope we don't meet any of them…" Aria stuttered, then froze in her tracks in fear.
"Huh? What's the matter Aria…?" Henry trailed off and he was left speechless as a floating, cracked husk of a beetle was right behind Aria's head. It's black, cold and dead eyes bore into the Dragonair's skull like it could see right through it.
"You say Shedinja is near invincible. How do you kill it…?" Aria whispered, her voice tainted with fear and unease.
"I don't know. Nobody I've heard of has ever defeated it" Shaymin whispered back "He doesn't seem to be attacking. Maybe try to strike him with your moves…?"
"Okay, I'll… slowly back away from it…" Aria slithered away from the silent Shedinja nervously. It's stillness and silence was eerie.
"I'll take the first shot" Zach's fur pulsed with electricity and the lynx lunged, ripping through Shedinja with Spark. But as he did, Zach passed through Shedinja like it was a mirage and landed on his feet behind it. From there, he could see the crack in Shedinja's back. Almost instantly, Zach nearly passed out.
"You weren't kidding when you said peering into the back steals your soul" Zach groaned, forcing his head into the snow, careful to lift his head "But how did I pass through it? He's Ghost type clearly, but I used Spark…"
"What about this?" Aria charged a sphere of ethreal energy into her mouth with Dragon Pulse and fired it at the floating husk. Like Zach, the Dragon Pulse passed through the Shedinja like it wasn't there, much to Aria's surprise and horror.
"Will this work?" Henry shook the snow off his body and flapped his wings viciously, stirring up a whirlwind. The fierce winds blew the possessed husk around and made it crash against a mountainside, breaking into pieces.
"Is… is it dead?" Aria stared at the broken shell carefully, but it didn't move. The Shedinja's shell was broken and the spirit passed on.
"Hmm… the Shedinja legend DID mention something about it having an ability called Wonder Guard" Shaymin curled her lip "So that explains why nobody has killed it. Wonder Guard makes it immune to certain types of moves…?"
"If so, they why did Henry's whirlwinds work on it?" Aria asked as we continued up the path.
"Luck probably" Shaymin shrugged "Or maybe Wonder Guard makes Shedinja immune to all attacks aside from its weaknesses? Shedinja IS Bug/Ghost type after all"
"Perhaps" Zach pursed his lips "Nevertheless, now we know how to deal with them. Not so scary after all now"
"The look on Aria's face was priceless though" Shaymin giggled and Aria turned red with embarrassment "She literally froze up and looked so terrified!"
"Cut it out, you little hedgehog!" Aria pouted "I'm sure you'll be scared to death if a possessed beetle husk floats behind you and breaths on your neck"
"I'm so small that he wouldn't be able to float behind me!" Shaymin laughed, then focused ahead "Ah! There's Ampharos's home!"
We walked into a clearing free of snow. A spring of water was flowing in the corner of the home and a campfire sizzled nearby. Several logs covered the clearing and a slightly opened crate full of apples was beside us. Nearby the Kangaskhan Rock was an Ampharos, who was mulling about while cleaning his home.
"Ampharos!" Shaymin called and the Ampharos turned with a smile on his face when he saw Shaymin.
"Oh hello Eliana! Long time no see!" Ampharos greeted cheerfully, crouching down to Shaymin's height to pat her head.
"Eliana? That's Shaymin's real name?" Aria asked curiously and Shaymin glanced at her, embarrassed.
"Sorry about that. Since our job is to escort travellers up Sky Peak, we typically don't give out our real names" Shaymin explained "The journey up Sky Peak is mostly a one-time thing for people, so there's little point in remembering the Shaymin guides specifically"
"Well, that's a little bit more we know about you. That's always nice" Zach nodded "And Eliana is a beautiful name"
"Awh, thank you Zach!" Eliana gushed, then turned to Ampharos "Anyways Ampharos, we didn't come up here for a reunion. There's a Sneasel down at the seventh clearing who has fainted. His skin is cold and feverish and he's shivering like crazy!"
"Ah, I see. The seventh clearing, you say?" Ampharos walked over to his Kangaskhan Statue and drew out a blanket, a cup and a jug of hot, medical tea from the pocket dimension "Alright, you four stay here and wait for me. I'll go help the Sneasel"
Back down at the seventh clearing, the snow began growing stronger by the second. Only an hour later, Team Frontier is going to have to deal with a blizzard.
"D-damn it all… where is this Ampharos…?!" Mawile chattered, holding her arms while shivering "I'm f-freezing and Sneasel's not doing any better!"
"Hello! I'm here to help!" Ampharos's voice echoed from above the mountain path and the light Pokemon trudged down to the clearing, carrying his supplies "Are you three alright?"
"We can hold out for a while longer" Machoke answered "But I think it'll be a good idea to bring Sneasel up to your home before this blizzard hits…"
"That's exactly what I'm doing. Machoke, carry Sneasel for me" Ampharos handed Machoke the unconscious Sneasel, who was wrapped up in a thick, wool blanket "Mawile and Breloom, defend us as we hike up the seventh pass. I need to carry back this cup and tea jug in case he regains consciousness"
"Very well. Let's hurry up then" Breloom glanced nervously at the grey clouds, which were raining snowflakes at a much stronger rate than before "If we stay here any longer, I might just die of hypothermia…"
"Same for me…" Mawile chattered "L-let's go…!"
Team Frontier made it to the eighth clearing just as the blizzard struck the seventh pass. Machoke laid Sneasel down onto the bed per Ampharos's orders and undid the blanket on him, covering it over Sneasel's shivering body.
"He doesn't look okay. I can see the permafrost spreading on his legs and arms…" Aria murmured to Zach "If he doesn't get warmed up quick, both limbs could be disabled for life…!"
"Oof… uunngg…" Sneasel groaned and everyone snapped to attention, watching for Sneasel to make sure he was alright. After a few seconds, Sneasel blinked his eyes open and rubbed his eyes.
"Uunh… w-where am I…?" Sneasel asked weakly.
"You're at the eighth station clearing. We found you collapsed on the seventh clearing" Mawile explained.
"If Team Skylar didn't find Ampharos and brought you here, things wouldn't have gone good for you. Seriously" Breloom added.
"You… you did that for me…?" Sneasel murmured, dumbfounded.
"It wasn't just me. Everyone here came to your rescue" Ampharos handed Sneasel a cup of hot medicinal tea "Drink this. In an hour, the frost spreading on your arms and legs should melt and heal. Your internal organs should be warmed up to normal levels too"
"T-thank you…" Sneasel nodded and accepted the cup, drinking from it gingerly.
"The rest of you should be continuing ahead. I can take care of Sneasel" Ampharos told all of us "You're heading to the summit, right? This is the eighth station, so you're almost there"
"W-well… sorry if we're out of line but…" Mawile crossed her arms "We just want to keep an eye on Sneasel. Just to be doubly sure he's alright"
"You don't have to lie to say that you don't trust me with Sneasel's life" Ampharos replied, making Mawile flinch "Don't worry, I'm a professional. Ask Eliana"
"Ampharos can handle this. Don't worry" Eliana insisted "You won't accomplish anything by staying here. We should continue on to the summit and leave Sneasel in Ampharos's care"
"Well… if you say so Eliana" Breloom frowned, but relented nevertheless "Alright, we'll go ahead. But we're going to rest here for a while. You can go first"
"Sure. Are you three good to go?" Eliana asked us.
"Good as I've ever been. Let's move" Zach nodded and we departed from the eighth clearing, beginning our hike up the ninth station pass.
The moment we left Ampharos's home, the blizzard came down at full force. Snow piled the mountain path and Aria was forced to melt it away with Flamethrower for us to go through. Henry couldn't even get in the air to fly, so he was stuck on the ground, wrapping himself with his wings to keep warm.
"By the gods it's cold…" Aria murmured, blowing an intense column of flames over herself to keep warm "Even after I coat myself in fire, my skin still feels like it's freezing over"
"S-speak for yourself…" Henry chattered, pulling a borrowed blanket from Ampharos over himself "Please tell me the summit isn't c-cold like this… it'll ruin the view…"
"Don't worry. The summit is nothing like this" Eliana reassured, then pointed to the clouds "Sky Peak's summit is above the clouds, so only the sun hits it. You'll find the summit almost never blanketed by snow or rain"
"T-that's good…" Aria glanced ahead, watching the snow gradually pile up more and more "Don't tell me wild Pokemon live here. I don't think I have the strength to fend them off in these conditions"
"No wild Pokemon live in these parts. Too cold" Eliana shook her head "Absolutely no food grows in this region and running water is all but frozen over. So anyone who tries to live here ends up dead within the year"
"How does Ampharos survive then? His home is right in the middle of this infernal blizzard" Zach said.
"On rare occasions, Ampharos travels down to the lower station passes to gather large quantities of food and supplies" Eliana explained "Then he brings it back to his home and hoards it to outlast the blizzard until it's safe to go out again"
"Oh! So he kinda hibernates" Aria realized "Gathers food, water and supplies when the snowfall goes down, then hoards it while the blizzard hits. Smart plan"
"Ampharos's home at the eighth clearing is the borderline of "liveable" territory on Sky Peak" Eliana nodded "From this point to the summit, no Pokemon live here due to lack of food, water and oxygen"
Aria took a deep breath, then exhaled, expelling a cloud of visible cold air "Yeah, you're right. The oxygen up here is much thinner than it was back at the third pass hours ago. Go any higher and we could pass out"
"Fortunately, that usually doesn't happen" Eliana reassured "The lack of oxygen just stops people from living here, as daily activities like hunting and gathering food takes too much for them to bear"
"Hey! I see the ninth clearing!" Henry called and we arrived at the snow covered clearing that was constructed of dark grey stone. An aura of darkness and miasma hung in the air, which Eliana picked up on quickly.
"Hmm… something seems different from here the last time I went up…" the Shaymin murmured, then shook her head "No, it must be my imagination. Anyways, welcome to the ninth clearing! We're only one pass from getting to the summit!"
"Let's rest for a little bit before continuing on" Aria said, but Eliana stopped her.
"No, we should get moving right away" the Shaymin glanced at the clouds nervously "The blizzard's coming down harder by the second. If we linger here for too long, the storm will become too strong for us to move on. We need to break the clouds and reach the summit fast"
"Yeesh, now you're making this intense" Henry grit his teeth "But I'm all in for seeing the treasure of Sky Peak, so let's move on"
"I agree with Henry. Would be a waste to go back down after all our effort" Zach nodded "Let's go"
The final station pass was made entirely of the dark grey stone from the clearing. While it made the pathway look grand and foreboding, the air of toxicity and darkness persisted, making Zach twitchy.
"Something must be wrong. The air here feels so… dirty and rough. It's making Eliana turn purple" Zach murmured to Aria.
"You're right. The air here…" Aria sniffed the air briefly "It used to be clean and fresh, like the rest of Sky Peak. Now… it feels like an infestation of something foul has invaded"
"The final pass was recreated with grey stone to make the "staircase beyond the clouds" look majesty and grand" Eliana explained, oblivious to Zach and Aria's conversation "The Shaymins's ancestors created the pass after journeying up the second time"
"You weren't kidding when you meant "staircase beyond the clouds"" Aria stared ahead, where a set of stone steps led into the clouds, which were still pouring down sheets of snow "So the summit is right up ahead?"
"Yep, a simple, straight forward path made by my ancestors" Eliana nodded "Only a few more steps to go. Pace yourself"
We hiked up the stone steps and passed the clouds, leading into the summit. Zach expected a beautiful, verdant field of flowers atop the peak with a clear blue sky with the sun. Instead, he found a field of wilting flowers and an absolutely foul smell in the air.
"W-what is going on…?" Eliana gasped in shock "The field of Gracideas… it's been…"
"By the gods… the smog is even covering up the sun!" Henry pointed to the cloud of dark purple smog in the air, covering the entire field in darkness.
"Eliana, just what is going on here?" Zach asked "Clearly, you expected something different but…"
"I don't know! This has never happened before! What could…" Eliana gasped "No… not them. I told them to stay away from the summit!"
"Who are you talking about?" Aria asked.
"Looks like someone got here first" Breloom interrupted as Team Frontier came onto the scene, taking in the desecrated field of flowers.
"What… what is this…?" Mawile stuttered in surprise, picking a wilted flower that turned a horrible shade of dead grey "This is the summit?"
"No, this isn't but…" Eliana was interrupted by multiple voices that sounded like cartoon sludge monsters. Which meant the voice sounded like someone chewing something while speaking.
"Icky, sticky… grimy, slimy…" The voices chanted, like some sort of incantation "We loovvee dirt and slime…"
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" Eliana growled. Zach was surprised by how fierce Eliana's voice was "What have you done to Sky Peak?"
Without responding, the owners of the voices showed themselves and quickly surrounded us and Team Frontier. It was a horde of four Grimer and four Muk.
"You! We told you to stay away from the summit!" Eliana snarled at the Muk leader "This isn't your home! Please go back to where you belong!"
"No, nooooo…" One Grimer responded drunkenly.
"Lies, lieesss…" Another Grimer said.
"We drive away cleanliness…." A Muk added.
"Looks like we have no other choice but to fight" Eliana sighed "Everyone, I'm counting on you. Let's go!"
"Team Frontier, you'll be covering out backs?" Zach asked as the fight begun and the Grimer and Muk closed in.
"We'll do that, Team Skylar! Take the front!" Machoke nodded as he drove a powerful Dynamic Punch down a Muk's mouth, causing a series of explosions that knocked several of the enemy back. Mawile feinted an attack to the right, then struck on the left of Muk with Faint Attack, but she got a noseful of Muk's stench, causing her to back away coughing. Taking advantage of this, a Muk fired Mud Bomb at Mawile, but Henry slapped it away with his large wings.
"Is that all you got? Come on!" Henry barreled into a Grimer and Muk with Tackle, then sent them flying up with Wing Attack. The Staraptor then took flight and grabbed the two Pokemon with his talons, slamming them into the ground hard. Meanwhile, Aria took covered Eliana from a Muk's Sludge Bomb and got poisoned in the process, but the Shaymin let loose a gentle green aura from her body with Aromatherapy, curing everyone of poisoning.
"Watch your right, sir!" Breloom called as two Grimer attempted to pounce on Zach. The Luxray sidestepped and roared fiercely, calling down a thunderbolt from the sky to strike down the two Grimer. They were blasted away and left steaming in the corner. A Muk slapped Breloom down with Poison Jab, but the mushroom Pokemon released a cloud of spores on contact, putting the Muk to sleep.
"I got this one! Watch your back Breloom!" Aria blasted a column of blue and yellow energy with Dragon Pulse, slamming the sleeping Muk into the summit hillside. Breloom closed his eyes and concentrated briefly. When he opened his eyes again, they were glowing neon blue with Mind Reader. The mushroom Pokemon proceeded to fire an intense bullet-fire of Bullet Seed at the opposing Grimer, pushing them into Machoke's mighty Cross Chops and Dynamic Punches.
"Oh, I'm taking my revenge for this one!" Mawile got over her poisoning and launched herself at the last Muk remaining. She dodged a Poison Jab and leaped into the air, headbutting the sludge Pokemon with Iron Head. Mawile then followed up with a vicious Crunch, finishing off the Muk. Zach cut down the last Grimer with an electrified claw and the battle was over.
"Uwahh…! So strong!" One Grimer moaned in defeat, struggling to get up.
"Do you understand now Grimer and Muk? Have you come back to your senses?" Eliana asked and the Muk and Grimer looked around in confusion before collectively gasping.
"Wait… this isn't the summit right? This isn't our hooommmee…?" One Muk asked.
"No, it isn't. This is the summit. This isn't your home" Eliana replied decisively.
"But it's all grimy and dirty. It must be our home" A Grimer protested.
"Yes but… the summit hasn't been visited in so long that nobody has taken care of it" Eliana explained "I'm sorry, but this IS the summit"
"Really? Ooohhh noooo…" A Grimer threw his hands into the air dramatically.
"I understand why you think this is your home, but it isn't. Please go back to where you belong" the Shaymin pleaded.
"Oookkkay. Sorry Shaymin. We didn't notice this was the summit" A Muk apologized "We'll go back home now"
"Thank you" Eliana smiled "See you later!"
As the Grimer and Muk left, Eliana turned to us.
"We have to clean this place us and restore it to its former beauty" the Shaymin said "Now don't fret about it. I can do it myself"
"How? This place is so dirty already… How could you alone clean it up?" Mawile asked.
"We Shaymin have a special power to clean up land by absorb dirt and things" Eliana explained "Please stand back"
We and Team Frontier stood back as Eliana began glowing with green light, similar to went she unleashed Seed Flare. A wild circle of white energy whirled around the Shaymin, ripping wilted flowers out of the earth by the dozens. As Eliana was doing this, the grass on her back turned dark purple and the smog in the air slowly vanished.
"Get down please!" the Shaymin cried as circles of green light begun to glow bright around Eliana's body. We hit the ground and Shaymin unleashed a blinding flare of light. When the flash cleared, the field was completely transformed. Beautiful pink flowers covered the entire summit and the setting sun shined in the distance. The entire sky was lit orange from the sunset.
"This is the summit? It looks so different from what we saw before…" Mawile marvelled "It's amazing beautiful…"
"I've never seen anything so breathtaking before…" Breloom agreed.
"Welcome to the summit of Sky Peak!" Eliana congratulated.
"Woo hoo! We did it!" Henry cheered and Breloom joined along, pumping his fist into the air while laughing.
"Hey everyone! Look over here!" Aria called and we all joined the Dragonair at the cliffside overlooking the clouds. Below us, tall peaks pierced the clouds like pyramids and the sea of clouds rushed by like jetstream.
"So this is what they meant by Sky Peak's treasure being superior to all other treasure…" Mawile murmured "I'm speechless. I've never seen anything so…"
"Shaymin, thank you so much for guiding us up this mountain. It has been an amazing journey" Breloom grinned.
"It was my pleasure. I had a lot of fun guiding you up the mountain" Eliana smiled back, then turned to Zach "I'd like to ask you something Zach"
"Oh? What is it Eliana?"
"It was an incredible journey coming up Sky Peak with you three and I feel like I learned a lot. So… what do say to me joining Team Skylar?" Eliana asked shyly and all three of us nodded instantly.
"Looks like you're all in agreement. Congrats on joining an exploration team!" Machoke laughed.
"Once we head back down to the base, we'll bring you back to camp and introduce you to the others" Aria promised, then paused "... Wait, how will we get back down to the base?"
"Aah! We didn't plan a way to get back down the mountain!" Breloom cried "That means we have to…"
"Climb the mountain all the way down!" Mawile put her hands on her head and cursed "Ugh, stupid me…!"
"Ha ha, don't worry about that" Eliana laughed "I can bring you all back down to the base by myself"
"Huh? How could you do that?" Mawile asked, dumbfounded.
"Well first…" Eliana looked at Henry "Henry, are you strong enough to fly?"
"Of course I am! What do you want me to…" Henry paused, then nodded "Ohhh. I see what you're getting at. But I can only carry two Pokemon max on my back so I wouldn't crash"
"That's where I come in" Eliana touched a pink flower on the field and white light surrounded her briefly, transforming the small hedgehog into a white deer with a red flowing scarf. Eliana seemed to be levitating off the ground at all times in her new form.
"Wow…" Breloom was speechless "Are you always this adorable, Shaymin…?"
"In my Sky form, I can fly super fast and carry multiple Pokemon on my back" Eliana explained "I'll take Team Frontier and Henry, you can carry Team Skylar"
"Got it" Henry nodded and a few minutes later, we were soaring back down to Shaymin Village via Henry and Sky form Eliana. When we reached the village, Team Frontier thanked us for helping them climb the peak and said their farewells before leaving. Eliana took another one of those pink flowers with her before departing with us as well.
"Are you sure you're okay leaving Shaymin Village to be with us? This IS the place you've been raised for your whole life you know" Aria said and Eliana simply shook her head.
"I want to explore the world and see more than just Sky Peak and the village. Plus…" the Shaymin shifted a little closer to Zach "Exploring Sky Peak with you three was different than the rest. I feel that your team is something special and worth being in"
"Well, we don't know that, but we're happy you're with us" Zach smiled and glanced at the moon rising over the night sky "We should be back at camp in a few hours. Then we'll introduce you to everyone in the morning"
"Should be fun" Eliana nodded "Lead the way"
Our team:
- Zach, Luxray
Level 53
Moves: Thunder Fang, Crunch, Spark and Charge
IQ Level: **
- Henry, Staraptor
Level 49
Moves: Tackle, Wing Attack, Quick Attack and Close Combat
IQ Level: **
- Aria, Dragonair
Level 47
Moves: Dragon Pulse, Flamethrower, Dragon Rush and Agility
IQ Level: ***
- Shaymin
Level 54
Moves: Energy Ball, Natural Gift, Aromatherapy and Synthesis
IQ Level: ***
Sorry for taking so long on this chapter. Honestly, writing a 10 pass dungeon with half of it having the same enemy Pokemon is hard, tedious and mentally exhausting. Up next is the Blizzard Island arc where Team Skylar cross the sea to rescue the lost explorer Scizor. Favorite and follow if you want to be notified of when a new chapter comes out and review if you want to give me constructive criticism or praise. Until next time!