Chapter Thirty-five: Old-fashioned
Fighting For Everything
A light flurry surrounded Gabite and I as we trained. Because she was obedient, now that she saved my life and all, I wanted to thoroughly train her. She helped me train Lucario as well. She was in fact a girl, just like Ember had said, but she wasn't terribly disobedient. She seemed quite sheepish and shy. But she listened well and was tough. Training a Steel Type was easier than I thought. I assumed it would be like training a Dragon, turns out I was wrong. Lucario was actually trainable. I got excited for the gym.
"Alright Gabite, you did well." Gabite nodded her head. She was so tall and tough, she would evolve any moment now. I hoped she wasn't trying to postpone it again, but that's what I felt was happening. She should have evolved a while ago, but was purposely holding herself back. Why? I didn't know. She just was.
I returned my Pokémon and turned towards Snowpoint City. I thought it was about lunchtime, Volkner and I agreed to meet up at the Mart for lunch. I adjusted my winter jacket and started my trudge through the ankle-deep ice.
Once I made it into the town, it started snowing heavily. Apparently that was typical, or so said one of the locals we talked to. A bit of flurry in the morning, and then once noon hits a blizzard hits. That would explain why everything was coated in the white stuff.
The only way you could make it through the town was by the lanterns at every door. Houses sprinkled the town; there were no big buildings except for the Mart, Center, gym and temple. The last two, however, I haven't even seen yet. They were on the outskirts of the town.
The lanterns would shine so bright you could see them through the snow, and it practically made a perfect pathway to the Center, boat docks and Mart. Therefore, it was an easy-to-navigate city.
Soon I made it to the Mart. I walked in and warmth from the fireplace smacked my freezing face. Volkner stood nearby, he smirked and came over. "Hey." He greeted.
"Hello." I unbuttoned my coat and unwrapped my scarf. He handed me a loaf of Pokébread.
"I got you lunch."
"Thanks." We hadn't talked much since we arrived the day before, we woke up, agreed to meet up for lunch and went our separate ways. I broke off half of the warm bread and handed him one half. We began eating.
"I talked to some locals. I tried to find information on the Leader."
"Haven't you battled her?" I asked. Why would he need to get information if he knew her?
"Yes, but she's…Weird."
"How so?" I asked in-between bites.
"She changes her Type's a lot. Apparently, she believes that Pokémon are made to be free, so she has her set for a while, then sets them free for a new set. When I fought her, she had Psychic Types. Last I heard, she had Water Type's. I asked around and found out that when she heard about you, she got a new set of Type's, and kept it a secret. No one knows."
"That is weird. I bet that means she's really strategic."
"Yes she is, but so are you." He smirked.
"I guess I am…But not knowing what I'm getting into…That's kind of scary."
"Is there a Pokémon Type you can't beat? You have a Water Type, Grass Type, Flying Type, Ghost Type, Fighting Type, and a Dragon Type. Unless she's a Dragon trainer, I wouldn't be worried."
He had a point. I grinned. "You're right. I'm not worried." I kept eating the bread.
"I also asked about the temple you were so interested about."
"And?" I perked up at that. The temple interested me, and I wasn't sure why.
"There are two people we can talk to, the Snow Sisters. They're ancient and know everything about everything, as long as it has to do with Snowpoint."
"Great, where can we find them? I would like to talk to them as soon as possible."
"That won't be hard." He turned to the side and pointed to the check-out counter. Two old ladies stood behind it. They looked completely identical, I assumed they were twins.
"What are we waiting for? Let's talk to them." I stuffed my last chunk of bread in my mouth and walked over to them. Their skin was covered in wrinkles, paste-white like they've never seen the sun, and so droopy their eyebrows hung over their eyes. "Hello." I greeted. I was a bit hesitant, they were so old I felt intimidated.
"Hello! How may we help you?" The sisters said in unison. They were very cheery.
"We wanted to ask a few questions about—" Volkner got cut-off.
"Snowpoint? We're the right sisters!" They said together…Again.
"…Yeah." Volkner wasn't too happy about the interruption.
"Let's start with Snowpoint's origin." The way they talked together was a bit freaky. They walked together over to the wall behind them. They pointed to the old picture. It was a white background with yellow dots. "That is Snowpoint. The snow is so thick, the only things you can see are the shimmering lanterns. The lanterns represent the citizens of Snowpoint, we shine through the snow. Long ago, when me and my sister were just babies, Snowpoint Tribe was born. It was founded by a small group of travelers, who were lost somewhere on Cornet. They said that a mysterious light led them here, where it was safe enough to make camp. The ocean gave them great resources, food, water and such. Snowpoint Tribe grew larger, the group expanded. This is about the time East Sinnoh and West Sinnoh started warring. East Sinnoh was the superior side, of course, so when West Sinnoh needed more recruits, they wanted Snowpoint to join them. Snowpoint didn't want to war, so they rejected. Then East Sinnoh and West Sinnoh turned on Snowpoint because they both wanted this land, making Snowpoint have their own warriors. Snowpoint Warriors fought hard for their neutral land, and out of all odds, they prevailed. They say that Legendaries helped them win. When Snowpoint won the battle, all of Sinnoh became neutral, and East Sinnoh and West Sinnoh, once separated by Mt. Cornet, became one."
"The Ice Temple was built to thank the gods who helped Snowpoint prevail. It's a place of sacredness. It used to be welcomed by all, but then the Blizzard of Death hit. The temple was lost in the drifts. Ever since, people have been afraid to look for it, because they say the Blizzard of Death was brought on by Legendaries because they didn't want anyone to find the temple again. In other words, the grounds are cursed."
That was a bit unnecessary. Volkner and I looked at each other. I looked back at the Snow Sisters. "Not to be rude, but everyone knows about the East and West Sinnoh war. That was over three-hundred years ago. We just wanted to know about the temple…Which I guess we won't be going to."
"No, you shouldn't go. Anyone who has gone has never returned." They said together.
"Well what if we wanted to go anyway, where—" Volkner asked, aggravation growing in his tone.
"Is it located? In the back of Snowpoint, in the outskirts where the snow is deep and the blizzards are the worst."
"Why does everyone think the Legendaries don't want people to go there? It was a temple, people went there for meditation." I asked.
"Ice Temple, along with Snowpoint, was built on sacred ground. That place held many secrets. Legend has it that Legendary Pokémon hid in the ice walls. The Pokémon wanted the place for themselves."
"Again, not to be rude, but isn't that selfish?" I asked.
"The Legendaries have their ways, child. It's best if we don't question them."
I looked at Volkner. He shrugged. He looked at the sisters. "Do you know—?"
"Anything about the gym leader? Zoey understands that Snowpoint is a sacred place."
That's helpful. "No, I mean what Pokémon does she have?"
"Tough ones."
"Right…Well, thanks for your help." Volkner turned to leave, I did the same.
"Another thing about Snowpoint," the sisters continued, "is we are traditional. When someone challenges the gym, we dress in our traditional apparel. Purple robes, with white powder covering our faces. That was the Warriors attire. We wear the powder to cover our red, cold-bitten faces. To symbolize that not even snow can weaken us. All building are hundreds of years old, except for the Mart and Center of course." They grinned and chuckled, revealing toothless mouths. "Also, Snowpoint is known for sugary treats." The two of them lifted up a tray of cookies, appearing out of thin air, and sat it on the counter. "Treat?"
"No thank you." We smiled sheepishly and quickly escaped. "That was…Strange." I said.
"Yeah it was. I hope you learned what you wanted to." Volkner said, aggravation still nipping at his tone.
"I did. I think we should go looking for the temple after my battle."
"Miss Cynthia, they said that no one has returned. It's lost in the snow. Where the blizzard hits the worst. Cursed ground. Does that mean anything to you?"
"That's all 'legends' that scare Lea, not me. According to the map, the outskirts of town isn't that far from here. I have a Flying Type to get me there and everything, it won't be a big deal."
Volkner smirked. "I admire you, you know that?"
I frowned. "I hate it when you say things like that." And that was the truth.
His smirk grew. "I know."
I attached my six Pokéballs to my belt loops, put on my jacket, wrapped my scarf around my neck, fixed my hair into a Ponyta-tail, and took a deep breath. It was time to challenge the gym. I put my hands in my pocket and left my room. Once I reached the lobby, Volkner met me at the door. We just looked at each other. He looked pretty enthused that he was coming with me to my battle, and I wasn't totally against it. It was comforting to have someone go with me, although a part of me wanted to be alone.
We started to the gym. It, surprisingly, wasn't snowing. It was still freezing, but not snowing. We followed a lantern-lit path until we came to big snow drifts. I called out Togekiss and went into the sky. We flew over some drifts and trees until we saw a large, old building with lanterns lining the front. Thumper landed in front of it and I returned him.
"Here we are." I said, my breath turning into moisture.
"Ready?"
"Of course." I smirked. We entered the building. Instantly I was warm. In fact, I was hot. Around the battle field, fire rose to the ceiling. There was a flameless pathway where a girl, a few years older than me, was walking towards us. She wore a purple robe, and had white paint covering her face. The traditional Snowpoint Tribe getup. She had short, black hair with a few streaks of white all throughout it.
"Welcome, welcome." She said. She had to yell so you could hear over the roar of the blaze. She snapped her fingers, the fire vanished. "I'm Zoey." She looked at Volkner. "Very nice to see you again, Volky." She smirked. I looked at Volkner. He blushed and scratched his head.
"Uh, hi." He muttered.
She looked back at me. "I've been preparing for you for a while. I've watched your battles and talked to some other leaders, if I were you I would be scared." She grinned and turned around. She walked towards the field.
I looked at Volkner. "Volky?" I whispered. He blushed and shrugged sheepishly. I snickered.
"Shut up!" He murmured. I followed Zoey on the field.
"I've decided that I don't like this cold snow anymore." Zoey grimaced. "I like being nice and warm. Particularly, I like fire." She pulled a Pokéball from her pocket. "Go Rapidash!" She released a large Pokémon. Rapidash is the evolved form of Ponyta, a much stronger and faster version. She has a great fire mane and flames covering her body. She looked fierce.
I got Milotic's ball ready, she would be essential in this battle. "Milotic, fight well." She came out looking as elegant as ever. She purred, or whatever you call what she does, and looked towards me and nodded. I knew we would be on the same page today,
"Rapid, use Quick Attack." The foe sprinted to Milotic and rammed her with her head.
"Aqua Tail!" I yelled. Milotic's scaly tail turned into a waterfall of crystal clear water. She wacked the watery tail on the opponent. Rapidash was thrust to the ground and scrambled to get up.
"Fire Blast!" Rapidash spewed fire at my Pokémon. She winced and tried to dodge the attack. Some of her scales were burnt, that was a tough hit.
"Hydro Pump." Milotic emitted loads of water at the rival. Rapidash was thrown across the field and thumped on her side. She stood up slowly. She didn't have much left.
"Quick Attack." Zoey commanded. Rapidash basically disappeared and reappeared just in time to smack Milotic to the ground. "Fire Blast!" My Pokémon tried to escape Fire Blast, but couldn't. She took a good hit, but nevertheless, got back up.
I debated using Hydro Pump, but that really took a lot out of Milotic, and I needed her. Rapidash was about to go down, so all I needed to use was a strong, but not too strong, move. "Water Pulse." That was easy enough. Pulsations of water hit the rival. She tried to stand her ground, but ended up failing. She hit the ground; no hope of recovery.
Relief flooded over me. One down.
"Infernape, beat this rival!" A large monkey-like Pokémon came out. His colors were mainly cream and orange, with some white fur places. He had gold plating on his wrists, knees, shoulders, and chest. And to top it off, a crown of flames. This would be interesting.
"Milotic, Aqua Tail!" My Pokémon used the move flawlessly, and Infernape took a beating. But he still stood strong.
"Flame Wheel." Infernape became covered in blaze, and he rolled over to Milotic at great speeds. He charged into her and pushed her to the ground. "Mach Punch." The foe's fist enlarged and he punched my Water type. She was pushed back and came to my feet.
"Come on, get up." I whispered. She get her snake-like body up and waited for a command. "Hydro Pump." She opened her mouth, and gushed water at Infernape. He was thrown into the air and slammed back against the wall behind Zoey.
Zoey growled. "Infernape, Flame Wheel!" The opponent used Flame Wheel again, sending Milotic back to the ground. This time she got back up right away.
"Water Pulse!" Milotic quickly used the move. It knocked Infernape down. It was an instant knockout. Zoey frowned and returned her Pokémon.
Two down. I was doing good, at least I thought I was. Milotic was about to go down though. But I still had my full party left.
"Magmortar, do your worst!" Zoey released a huge, dangerous looking Pokémon. It was bipedal with two large claws on both feet, and two cannon-looking arms. The thing chuckled wickedly. It had a very deep voice. This was going to be hard.
"Hydro Pump, quick!" Before Milotic goes down, getting a Hydro Pump out there was the best thing. She spewed the water best she could, and it slammed against the Fire Type's body, but nothing happened. No falling to the ground, crashing into walls, nothing. He just stood there, looking unaffected. "Oh goodness." I muttered, but as I muttered, Zoey gave a command.
The huge rival held up his arm, and fire burst out of it like a gun or cannon. It engrossed Milotic, I could hear her shrieks of pain. I winced until the shrieks ended. The flames dispersed, and Milotic lay limp on the ground. I returned her and tried to keep my calm.
I got Gabite's Pokéball, she could do some damage here. "Gabite, win for me!" She came out and roared. She didn't seem the least bit intimidated by the giant Fire Type.
"Lava Plume, now!" Zoey shouted. Magmortar shot more flames at my Pokémon. Gabite swatted at them and tried to dodge, but the fire was fast and accurate. She took a hit.
I racked my mind for a move. Then I remembered training in Canalave, when she started listening to me, she used a new move. "Dig!" I commanded. Gabite shot down into the ground, which was made of solid rock, and then shot up under the foe. Magmortar was pushed to the ground. "Dragon Claw!" Gabite's claw glowed bright and she struck it across the fallen rivals back. He roared and jumped up, swinging his big arm at her. Gabite leapt into the air and dodged the swing.
"Flamethrower!" Magmortar shot fire at Gabite, again, and she fell to the ground. She hissed and got back on her feet.
"Dragon Rage." She opened her mouth and the purple stuff engrossed Magmortar. He freaked out and waved his arms about. He must not have liked being totally covered.
"Fire Punch." Zoey commanded. Magmortar non-cannon hand became covered in blazing fire. He punched Gabite. She slammed on the ground and growled. She shot back up.
"Dragon Claw!" She scratched Magmortar hard, he roared. She jumped backwards and glided over to me. "Dig again." She jumped back down in her hole, which Zoey did not like the fact she had a hole in her floor, and Gabite popped back out under Magmortar, creating another hole.
"Lava Plume, now." Magmortar used his deadly Fire move. Gabite fell to the ground, and I knew she wouldn't be getting back up. I returned her. Zoey was smirking. I also knew Magmortar didn't have much left in him…But I didn't know how many Pokémon she had left. There was a chance that that was her last Pokémon, but somehow I doubted that.
I quickly decided on my next Pokémon. It was between Spiritomb and Lucario. "Go, Lucario!" I released my newest Pokémon. She got in the battle stance and looked tough. I decided to act fast and get the first move in. "Quick Attack!" She sprinted to the rival, which she was insanely fast, and tackled him. He fell to the ground. "Metal Claw." She held up her paw. It over coated in steel. She sliced it across Magmortar's chest. He roared and his body raged in flames. She leapt off and yelped at the burns on her knees and paws.
"Flamethrower!" Even from the ground he emitted flames. Lucario held her paws out and looked at me, like waiting for a command. I didn't know all her moves, I didn't think Quick Attack or Metal Claw would help in a time like this. The flames engrossed her. She escaped them and looked at me again.
"Quick Attack." She obeyed and attacked the foe, he fell to the ground with a great bang and fainted. I stood on my toes, waiting to see if she had another Pokémon.
Zoey recalled Magmortar, and grabbed another Pokéball. "Abomasnow, beat this Pokémon!" A large Snow Type came from the ball.
That's not Fire! I thought. Oh Sinnoh, I hope this is her last trick. "Lucario, use…A move!" Zoey looked confused at this. I should have trained more with my new teammate. Lucario looked at her paw, a blue thing appeared in her hand. It looked like a bone of sorts, and I instantly knew the move: Bone Rush. She ran to the foe and hit him over the head with the bone. He roared and waited for a command.
"Use Wood Hammer!" Abomasnows arm turned into a tree trunk, and he slammed it on Lucario. She fell and slid across the floor.
"Metal Claw." Lucario jumped up and ran to the foe. She sliced a red line across his stomach. "Quick Attack." She charged at him, he fell to the ground.
"Icy Wind!" Abomasnow blew a gust of wind at Lucario. She stiffened up. She didn't freeze, but she got cold. "Razor Leaf." The opponent made leaves appear and shot them at my Pokémon. Lucario winced at the hits.
"Use another move, Lucario." I yelled. It was tacky of me to say that during a battle, but I was focused on winning. My Pokémon pushed her paw out towards Abomasnow and hit him hard. Her paw was glowing a white-blue color, and the rival and acting like he was really taking punches.
Abomasnow slumped to the ground, and Lucario stood tall proudly. I knew what had just happened. Zoey returned her Pokémon, and I waited to see if she had another, when she started walking towards me I knew I had just won. I returned Lucario and met Zoey in the middle. Up close, I could see that she had a gold, dangling nose ring. That didn't seem very traditional.
"Cynthia, I deeply respect you." She bowed and handed me my badge and a wad of money. I took it and bowed back.
"Thank you, the battle was fun."
"Yes it was very fun." She smirked. "Maybe you are hope for humanity, after all." Volkner came over to us. She looked at him. "Now all you have to do it beat Volky." He blushed again. She laughed. "Come on, people are waiting outside."
"What?" I asked. Zoey pushed me over to the door and opened it. A group of people stood there. I walked out. They looked like they were anticipating something. I looked down at me hand. I held up my badge and grinned. They cheered. They were all wearing purple robes and white face makeup. It was a really interesting sight to see. I felt amazing.
Everyone cheered for another moment, then a few came up and congratulated me. After, Volkner and I walked back to the Center. I was waiting for my Pokémon to be healed and he went out to get soup. Soon he came back and we ate together.
"So I was thinking," Volkner started, "that we could have a good night's rest tonight and leave out in the morning for my place." He smirked.
"That sounds good but…There's just one place I really have been dying to see."
He sighed. "Please, don't make me go out there."
"Fine, I wanted to go alone anyways." I said.
"No, if you're going, I'm going, so by me asking you not to make me go, I'm asking you not to go."
I blinked. "If you're trying to trick me some way, it's not working. I'm going whether you are or not."
He rolled his eyes. "Just tell me when we're leaving."
A while later we were flying on Thumper headed towards the outskirts of town. "According to the map," Volkner, who got his title of map holder back, started, "the temple should be somewhere past Frost Forest." I looked down. We were currently over a bunch of trees.
"Is this Frost Forest?"
"Yep, so start looking for a big ice building that's lost in the drifts." I could hear the sarcasm in his tone.
A few minutes later, the trees ended. I looked ahead for any signs of drifts, but instead I found a huge building. "Volkner, is that it?"
He looked up ahead. "Yeah that's it alright."
"I thought it was buried in snow."
"Me too. Let's land and take a look."
I landed Thumper and returned him. The snow was knee-deep, but the temple was right there. Not hidden or buried. "The Snow Sisters lied." I said. "It's here."
"So, it may not be buried, but it still may be on cursed ground." Volkner said.
We started walking towards the entrance. "Oh please, this ground isn't cursed." I rolled my eyes.
Of course I would be wrong. Just then, someone jumped from the roof and landed in front of us, waving a long silver sword in our faces.
Authors Note: We have official cover art! To see it full scale and to learn more, visit my blog. ablogforgamers. The link is on my profile. So who liked that Old Sinnoh history lesson?! Oh yeah.
Espeon: Well, I can't express how sad I am! I will miss both of your stories. But I'm glad I'm not losing you as a reader, so that's a plus.
Thanks for reading!