A thick blanket of dark clouds rolled over the Giant Chasm. A cool winter breeze blew over the unforgiving forest, giving chills to the weak. The forest itself was unmoving, as if it was afraid that if it moved, the world would end.
In the center of the gorge was a lone figure. He wore all black outfit: a tight jacket wrapping around his torso and pants swallowed tall boots. Fingerless gloves covered his hands. But darker than his attire was his shaggy coal-black hair. His determined eyes were dark brown, even looking black in most light.
On the man's shoulder was a large orange mouse with thick brown stripes on its back. Its long wire-like tail ended in a lightning bolt that swayed back and forth. It had large fan-like ears that were sensitive to the faintest of sounds, twitching constantly. A Raichu. It clung on to its trainer as he climbed over the untrimmed forest.
"Creepy place, huh?" the trainer commented to his Pokémon.
"Rai…"
"Well, we asked for it, didn't we?" The man gave a laugh. "But it'll be worth it. I think I might call it after this, Raichu."
"Rai?"
The man grinned. "I have my own life now. I want to live it. I guess I'm only doing this to leave a lasting impression." He looked at his partner. "Do you think he'll understand?"
"Rai-chu!"
The Pokémon's trainer smirked again as he trained his gaze in front of him. "I guess we'll find out."
Soon they came across a clearing. The man quickly noticed the mist disappeared here. That was when he noticed the jagged large crater in the very center, like it was a mini-chasm itself. With one final glance with his partner and a small swallow, he cautiously neared. He peered over its edge to find a shallow pool in the very bottom. It was completely unmoving and flat, like it was an actual mirror. It looked almost icy, but it was hard to tell as it reflected the world perfectly. As the man stared at it, he found himself citing what he had been told through a mutter.
"There is said to be pool at the heart of the Chasm. It is a seal. If it is simply neared, the seal will be unlocked."
With the line in his head, he cautiously shuffled to its very edge, his toes almost hanging off. He waited patiently for a few moments, but nothing happened.
He pursed his lips. Maybe it was false. That the legends were just fairytales. But while he was considering this, he sensed something. He didn't know how he sensed it; he just did. He felt a shift in the air. No, it was more than that. He sensed the shift at the strings of Fate as they were being pulled.
He closed his eyes and hummed. No turning back now.
"Raichu." When his Pokémon acknowledged him, he ordered, "Thunder, please."
"RAI!"
Immediately the elder Mouse Pokémon leaped from his shoulder and onto the ground. It tucked its body in and lifted its paws.
"Rrraaaiii—CCCCHHHHUUUU!"
Automatically giant volts of intense electricity reached out and engulfed the peaceful pool. There was a brilliant flash of light and a clap of thunder that rolled across the Chasm.
The dragon snapped its eyes open. What was that? What was that? Immediately it extended it senses, desperately trying to find the source. It was found.
A growl came from the dragon's throat. And then the growl was replaced by thunder as the dark cavern shook. The ice cocoon wrapped around the frozen being began to crack. It started with just a few crevices, but grew and grew until it was like the block of ice was wrapped in black cobweb with chunks of ice falling. And then in a single moment, the ice broke, and the enraged monster was released.
The man walked calmly in the cold cavern. His little evil plan worked, he could tell. Now for the next phase.
He shuddered at the chilly air, the frigid temperatures seeping through his protective suit. Even his large and thick-furred Raichu complained every once in a while. But they went on, determined to finish what they started. They soon got their reward.
Suddenly the mist thickened and the air chilled dramatically, increasing the frequency of the travelers' shivers. The trainer was startled at first, then realized this was it. Then it came.
At first it was a whisper, but quickly grew into a lingering hiss. It sounded like a sinister snake that was giving a strict warning to its opponent. The sound first came from a distant part of the fog before filling the entire air. Raichu murmured and its trainer gulped.
But he swallowed his anxiousness and called out in a daring voice, "Are you there, Legendary?"
A shorter hiss was the reply, followed by a boom. At the same moment, the ground shook and a large figure appeared from the mist. At first all could be seen were the two glowing yellow orbs before the creature neared and the fog cleared enough to reveal its features.
It was a giant monster that seemed like mixture of a dinosaur and a dragon. It balanced on two oversized legs and its two tiny arms hung uselessly. Its large head swung back and forth, large teeth projecting from its powerful jaws. When the jaws parted, a strange steam would rise from the corners of its mouth. A second glance would confirm the steam was actually ultra-cold air. A crown lined the top of its head, like the creature was wearing a weird helmet. Crooked, pathetic wings hung from its back, ending with two deadly spikes. They were barely in one piece and frozen. The dragon's gray skin rippled and appeared like armor as it glistened from the frozen ice in its scales. The man peered around to see the monster's large, engine-shaped tail.
The creature appeared oblivious to its surroundings, or better yet him, until finally its pupilless eyes rested on him. Some invading instinct forced the intruder to flinch and freeze in place from its gaze alone. The two stared at each other for a long time, until finally the dragon lifted its head, like it decided it was bored. Completely ignoring the human, it slowly began to walk past him. Each step created a sound of thunder along with a trembling earthquake. The man simply gawked and stared, still unmoving, until finally warmth filled his cold veins. He realized the dragon was headed for the entrance. Oh, no, it wasn't getting away that easily!
The man snarled. "Oh, I don't think so!"
He tossed a Pokéball in front of him, summoning a Pokémon. It was a large, dinosaur-like Pokémon standing on four stubby legs. It appeared like a walking plant, especially with the giant exotic plant on its back.
"Venusaur, Frenzy Plant!" its trainer yelled in order.
The Seed Pokémon reared before slamming its front paws with all its weight. It was then thick, giant roots spouted from the frozen ground before racing towards the dragon. The roots diving and weaved like a dozen serpents in water, creating thunder of their own. They wrapped around the dragon's ankles and dragged it down. The monster gave a moaning roar as it slammed onto the ground.
The man smirked before tossing another Pokéball. This one contained a large dog that had fiery orange fur with pitch-black stripes and a bushy white mane. Arcanine.
At its trainer's order, it summoned a powerful Overheat. The beam of concentrated fire struck at the fallen form and the cavern shook from the explosion impact. The trainer and his Pokémon stood in place, staring at the dying smoke uneasily.
The silence was broken as without warning, a powerful, giant Ice Beam shot from the black cloud. It struck Venusaur square on the head, making the starter cringe in anguish. The attack was able to slip under its belly, where it sent the large Pokémon flying in a blood-curdling scream. The monster was sent over its comrades' heads and disappeared to the other side of the cavern.
Before anyone could work up a good yell, another attack shot out. This one appeared like a gigantic Hyper Beam. This one hit Arcanine.
The trainer and Raichu covered their faces as the blast exploded before them, the force of the wind smacking their faces and smoke blowing by them. The man anxiously waited for the explosion to die down. Only when it did, his stomach knotted. The smoke cleared to reveal the charred remains of his beloved canine.
Raichu fell into shock while the trainer bit his lip in a cringe of outrage. "YOU BASTARD!"
He didn't hesitate to toss two more Pokéballs. From them came a giant snake made of large boulders, coated in impenetrable steel. Hovering by its head was a large brown bird with red feathers covering its eyes. Steelix and Staraptor.
They didn't hesitate to charge when their long-time trainer roared for them to attack with all their power. Immediately they raced forward—Steelix in a Double-Edge and Staraptor using Brave Bird.
By now the smoke on the other side of the cavern was clearing, revealing a standing dragon coolly stepping forward, glaring at its opponents. The trainer's Pokémon were halfway to it when suddenly the dragon tossed it head and snapped its wings. The air surrounding it was blasted in all directions in a visible shockwave of super-cold air. The Pokémon screamed as the strange attack was a direct hit.
They both crashed onto the ground simultaneously. Frost covered their bodies, quickly hardening into a layer of ice. The perpetrator only gave a snort as it settled into a relaxed pose. It was far from sweating.
The trainer almost fell to his knees. There was no way! These were his most powerful Pokémon! They were with him for years and he trained them to the very best of their species. And this demon from hell was acting like they were nothing.
Humph. Maybe they were nothing. Despite his bubbling rage, the man closed his eyes. This creature was not an ordinary Legendary. Simple Pokémon could not defeat it. He should run away. But he won't. It was too late for that. He could feel it. He could feel the hands of Fate manipulating him. He would not give up until the very end.
He looked at Raichu, who had clutched to his shoulder the entire time, wearing a stern expression. The Mouse Pokémon sensed it, too, maybe even better than him. With a trustful agreement, they pulled their last stand.
The trainer threw a Pokéball with all his might. A light flashed before a large blue dragon emerged. It had blood-red wings with steel-like armor on its underbelly. It immediately glared with its pitch-black eyes and its razor-sharp teeth flashed in its snarl. A Salamence.
Raichu leaped from its perch and took his new spot on the dragon's head. With a single flap of its wings, the Salamence charged at the rival dragon with incredible speed. Halfway to its target, the Dragon Pokémon's head began to glow a bright orange. It used years of practice to concentrate its attack to focus the power within its jaws, opening its mouth to have a glowing orb of swirling energy form between its teeth. And then finally it released its almighty attack: a concentrated form of Draco Meteor.
The gigantic beam of pure dragon power raced at the enemy dragon. Raichu added a powerful Thunder to combine with it. The result was the most significant attack ever seen. But that even failed.
The enemy dragon sucked in a deep breath, parting its jaws wide. An orange glow appeared from the back of its throat. And then just before the legendary attack hit, the monster unleashed a gigantic Dragon Pulse of pure power. The attacks mixed, where an explosion equal to a nuclear bomb shook the entire cavern.
The man lost his balance and fell, but his Pokémon were able to keep going. Big mistake.
Their senses covered, they blindly charged right into the creature's jaws. Salamence was completely defenseless as the rival dragon simply snapped its jaws and plucked its prey out of the air. The dragon-type Pokémon gave a startled scream and Raichu was helplessly thrown away. Salamence's scream was suddenly cut short. There was a sickening crunch of breaking armored scales and bone. The enemy carelessly flung its defeated opponent to the side like a ragdoll.
Raichu had fallen back halfway to its trainer and was limp on the hard ground, but luckily still breathing. Its trainer had recovered from his ordeal to see his partner. He found himself captured by impulse as he leaped to his feet and sprinted to his Pokémon. With a yell of dismay, he scooped up the large mouse and cradled it, hugging it tightly to his chest.
But before he could properly check over it, the ice dragon struck again. It summoned another Hyper Beam, this one thankfully weaker than the first, but still packed a punch. It struck at the human's feet, creating an explosion on impact. The man yelled and found himself flying through the air.
He lost his grip on his Pokémon and distance quickly separated them. Like a ragdoll, the man slammed onto the ground, skidded, and slammed again on his head. He gave a grunt of pain, but despite his spinning head, he was able to hear a thud of Raichu's landing. With a loud moan, the man squirmed, desperately trying to stand up. But his body wouldn't obey him. Nevertheless, he tried again, only for the glaring monster to part its jaws and give a frustrated growl. The intruder was almost in a sitting position when suddenly a powerful Ice Beam was fired at him. Instead of freezing, this attack was another explosive. Its victim cried as his treatment was repeated. The end result was him rolling onto his side, unmoving and giving whimpers of pain.
He waited for his attacker to finish him off, but he only heard a deep snort. The dragon turned away from him and resumed its slow journey to the entrance. But his victim was only amused by this. A remote-like device made it to his hand and finger resting patiently on the only button. He smirked.
"I don't think so," he hissed. The button was pressed.
On the opposite side of the cavern, the dragon was oblivious to what was above his head. Suddenly over a dozen red LED lights turned on with a ring. The monster was directly below them when the ceiling exploded.
With a sound louder than thunder, everything from fine dust to great boulders fell, crashing down onto Kyurem. The Boundary Pokémon gave a startled roar, but it was cut off as the Great Dragon of Ice was buried in debris.
The man didn't need to watch to know it was over. He smiled, relieved. But a few moments later, the smile slowly faded.
Soon the freezing temperatures of the catacombs would claim his body. The Pokémon's bodies were to freeze to solid ice along with their master. Later the frozen would become eternally part of the endless catacombs and to be erased from the world.
Ash screamed. He made no attempt to jump up—only rolling back and forth like a baby in a crib. He screamed at the top of his lungs and sobbed, only for the tears that formed would immediately freeze.
His guards were slightly startled by the sudden outburst, but made no further acknowledgement. Deeper into the caverns, a slumbering Kyurem would open its eyes, but would make no intervention.
It would be a long time before Ash would recover.
He had just witnessed his father's death.