Chapter 24: The Mahogany Tales
I ran down the corridor with Lucario and Typhlosion by my sides. For the most part it was empty save for the Persian statuettes up against the cold metal walls. Gleaming red eyes shone like rubies in the stark white lights. Footsteps rang out against the floor and two Rocket agents rounded the corner, skidding to a halt when they saw me coming. In a flash, two pokeballs were out and two Zubat were flying straight at us.
"Flamethrower!"
Typhlosion obliged and a cone of flame engulfed the two unevolved Pokemon, knocking them out flat.
"Lucario get the radios!" I had spotted one of the duo reaching for a radio from his belt, and Lucario clearly followed my line of sight, bounding forward. I lashed out with the quarterstaff, knocking the device out of the man's reach. The aura Pokemon took another bound, landing deftly on the device and crushing it.
"Hold onto them!" Typhlosion moved the two knocked out Zubat to the side as the Rockets tossed out another set of pokeballs. A Grimer and a Drowzee formed in front of Typhlosion and the fire type wasted no time, blasting the duo down as well.
"Specter! Hypnosis!" I tossed out the ghost type Pokemon and pointed at the two rocket agents that Lucario had lifted by their collars.
A wicked grin spread across the Gengar's face, showing its teeth as its eyes began glowing red. The two uniformed individuals fell under quickly, moved to the side of the corridor as Lucario found the pokeballs and recalled the fallen pokeballs.
"What kind of joke is this. I kind of expected more from Team Rocket." I frowned and looked at Typhlosion. "You're coming back in for now buddy. Keep your strength in case we run into something big and we actually need the firepower."
Typhlosion growled in assent as I recalled it, gesturing forward to Specter and Lucario. The red eyed fighting type looked around the corner, gesturing with its paw. I ran forward, Specter by my side as we crossed another statuette, eyes gleaming creepily. I stepped into the second corridor only to hear a massive thud.
I whipped around to find another Drowzee knocked out on the ground in front of Lucario. The fighting type leaped forward and slammed its fist into a chattering Raticate, hitting the normal type back into the wall.
"Specter! Take them out!" The ghost type followed through, chasing the pair of agents who had appeared down the corridor and cornering them. It's eyes glowed red once more and these two fell under the effects of Hypnosis quickly as well, slumping to the ground where they sat.
"Where are they coming from?" I frowned and looked around the corridor. There was nothing there. No cameras were visible, Lucario would have felt a pressure plate, and even I would have felt a tripwire. That only left a laser grid. But there were no emitters around either. This wasn't some ninja movie where they could just originate from a wall seamlessly without a receiving sensor either. There was just another Persian statuette. Whoever did the décor had questionable taste. Which begged the question. Why was there even décor… Unless…?
"Lucario, Specter, be ready."
I walked across the statuette, staring at the eerily gleaming ruby eyes as I passed by. Sure enough, two more agents came running down the corridor, ready to attack. Another Raticate and a Zubat followed out from their pokeballs as Specter leapt into action, unleashing a dark pulse that knocked them both out. The trembling blanket like wave of darkness stopped just short of the two Rockets, creeping up to them before retreating. They fell over each other, tripping and collapsing to the ground as Specter ensnared them in Hypnosis as well, knocking them out clean.
"So. Let's just avoid these things all together." Lucario bounded over the top of the statuette and Specter phased through the wall, joining me as I slipped through an open passage to the side, emerging in yet another corridor.
I clambered over the top of the next Persian statuette, walking with bated breath as no Rocket agents materialized. Heaving a sigh of relief, I kept moving with Lucario and Specter, following the corridors until I reached a fork. There was a path forward, obstructed by yet another surveillance statuette, and a passageway to my right leading into another corridor. Following my instincts, I ducked into the corridor to the right and followed it around a bend. No statuettes guarded this stretch, but when we rounded the bend it was almost a dead end. There was a small lounge, fit into the width of the corridor, with some boxes and a workstation at the end of it. a lone scientist stood at the computer, eyes on the screen as he typed away furiously.
I took another step forward towards him and suddenly he turned towards me, eyes wide.
"You're the intruder! Magnemite! Swarm him!" he tossed three pokeballs up, releasing a trio of floating electric types at me.
"Dark Pulse and Drain Punch!"
Specter led the attack, knocking the three Magnemite backwards. Impressively, they survived the first hit, unlike most of the Pokemon we'd seen so far, but not the second. Lucario leaped forward and smacked two of them with Drain Punch, dealing a glowing roundhouse kick to the third one as Specter effortlessly took care of the scientist. I stepped up to the workstation. A serial monitor was outputting data in one window, and another showed, to my immense delight, a layout of the entire base, dotted with glowing Persian statuettes.
"How do I turn them off…" I ran across the plans for the three floors on the screen, sending snapshots of them off to Lance. The top floor seemed to be devoid of anything important, but the middle floor housed a locked off, large room. The third floor down seemed to be largely occupied with workstations and one larger office suite in the middle.
"How do they turn off!?" I ran through every screen open, pulling up the command prompt and trying the generic commands Brendan had shown me once like end and trap, before something else caught my eye.
Mounted right behind the screen was a switch plate. I flipped it and looked at the map, eyes widening as the Persian statuettes were marked inactive one by one down the entire schematic.
"Lucario, break that switch in the current position, for good measure."
'Sharp thinking trainer-friend. Step aside.' I moved back as Lucario walked up to the wall and lined its palm up with the switch, smashing through the physical toggle without adjusting it back to the active position.
With a nod, we started running again, heading back to the fork and following the other path past a few Persian Statuettes with eyes that were now dull and grey, no longer active. No rocket Agents bothered us as we made our way to the staircase. Presumably they were all occupied with packing up shop and closing themselves off from the world since they knew they'd been found.
We hurried down a floor and almost immediately reached a sealed gate for the main room I had seen on the schematic. A digital controller was mounted on the wall, regulating the locking mechanism on the massive gate.
"Lucario, try knocking it down." I stepped back, watching the aura Pokemon lay its palms up to the heavy steel doors. Glowing blue, they pressed into the gate, only to throw Lucario backwards into the wall.
'I can't trainer-friend.'
I looked over the fighting type, taking stock of no bruises or visible injuries as it stood back up.
"I guess we know where they spent their money instead of training their agents. Sort of works." I shrugged and thought back to the map. "Let's see if we can find someone who can let us in there."
We ran down the hall and to the third floor, where we finally found a group of agents shuffling around a pile of boxes.
"Intruder!" I tossed out another pokeball, releasing Typhlosion to stand by my side again as they tossed out their Pokemon. Two Golbat, a Grimer and a Raticate entered the fray, leaping out against my Pokemon.
"Drain Punch! Dark Pulse! Brick Break!" I called out, glaring at the group with something akin to hatred in my eyes. Lucario and Typhlosion immediately took on Grimer and Raticate, swiftly disposing of them as Specter toyed with the Golbat, tormenting them for a few moments before letting them collapse.
"Hypnosis!" Specter unleashed a wave on three of them, knocking them out as Lucario grabbed hold of the fourth, holding his hands behind his back and restraining him as I looked up to him.
"Give me the password to the room."
"Why should I?" He snarled, struggling in Lucario's grip.
I pressed the base of my staff lightly against his throat, holding it there. I pushed just a little bit, increasing the pressure on it as his eyes widened.
"I don't have the generator room password." He spat out, missing my shoe with the blob of spittle. I glared at him as Specter leered over my shoulder. "Only the boss has it."
"Where is he?"
"In there." He gestured with his head at the room behind him, another metal door set blocking it. "Password is raid on the city. You won't stand a chance against the boss twerp. He's not weak like us. Everyone fears him."
"Oh really? Specter, knock him out." the Gengar happily obliged and Lucario let the man drop to the ground, walking over to the gate behind us. I approached the door and looked at the control unit on the wall, spotting the green button. Preparing myself as Typhlosion walked up to me, I pressed it, watching the mic light up.
"Raid on the city."
A moment passed and nothing happened. I turned towards the collapsed agent with a glare, before turning back to the door. Still nothing happened, so I walked back over the group and gestured towards another of the grunts. Lucario picked the woman up and restrained her as Specter woke her up. In a moment she was staring at me with a loathing look.
"Give me the password to the boss's office."
"He'll just destroy you anyway kid." The woman sneered at me as Lucario tightened its grip slightly.
"I'll tell him you said that." Typhlosion uttered a low growl from my side as I continued to glare at the woman. I spun the staff in my hand and lashed out, stopping it just an inch away from her.
"Knockout, evil tusks." She trembled a tiny bit as she spoke, her eyes fixed on the solid end of the staff hovering an inch away from her midsection.
"Hypnosis." Specter's grin widened as he put the woman to sleep again, floating back to the door with me.
'Trainer-friend. Neither of them were lying.'
"So, it's a two-part password. Knockout evil tusks, raid on the city…." I put a hand on my chin and stared at the control pad. "Knockout evil tusks, raid on the city, knockout evil tusks, raid on the city, knockout evil tusks…"
Typhlosion butted its head into my leg. I turned to stare at the fire type in bewilderment as it darted to the two fallen agents, running first to the man and then the woman. Slowly realization dawned on me.
"You want me to do it the other way don't you…" Typhlosion nodded and came back, waiting in front of the door, ready to strike. "Raid on the city, knockout, evil tusks…. Damnit you're right. It's rocket."
"Get ready guys." I pressed the button once more, looking at the mic and confidently speaking. "Raid on the city, knockout, evil tusks."
The system rumbled and the sound of multiple locks unlatching echoed throughout the hall. Slowly, the steel blast doors swung open and let me into the room. The office was quite nicely decorated. Twin tan leather couches made up a seating area with a glass coffee table between them and a thick green rug on the wood paneled floor. A mahogany desk, not quite as big or overstated as Pryce's stood towards the back of the room, with large potted plants on either side and a bookshelf behind it.
Standing behind the desk, facing the book shelf, was a tall broad-shouldered man. His black hair was slicked back over his head with gel and his black suit was ironed to perfection. His back was perfectly straight. Slowly he turned around and my heart rate picked up as his midnight black eyes caught mine, focusing on me as a sharp smile formed on his pale face.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Think you can take on the legendary Giovanni you petulant little child? We'll see just how long you actually last!"
Silence reigned supreme as he reached for a pokeball casually, moving slowly as though he were taking a piece of a delicate dessert with a fork.
"You're not Giovanni." I raised an eyebrow as my heartbeat settled down a bit.
"What?" His hand stopped midair, a few inches away from his pokeball as he frowned at me.
"You're not Giovanni." I repeated, more confident in my words than last time.
"What gave it away?" He frowned and crossed his arms. I didn't miss the fact that he had managed to take a pokeball and slip it between his fingers. Lucario nodded to me, having let me know the man was lying from the get go.
"You're not Giovanni enough. You don't inspire fear." I replied, readying myself to fight.
"You're right… I'm not Giovanni." The man popped out a pair of contact lenses, revealing dark black eyes, and peeled off a form fitted face mask. The sharp, squarish jawline disappeared, revealing a narrow long face with slightly darker skin and a short purple beard. He pulled off hair cap revealing the slicked back purple hair atop his scalp, and removed the suit jacket, showing the black jumpsuit with the bold red R across the front.
A greasy smile stretched across his face as for the first time I noticed the Murkrow sitting on the coat rack in the corner of the room. He placed his hands on his hips, twirling his pokeball between his fingers. Without the padded shoulders and arms of the jacket, his narrow frame was slouching forward.
"Team Rocket Executive Petrel, at your disservice." He snapped his fingers, tossing his pokeball up and down. "You're right you know. Nobody is quite like Giovanni. It's why we're trying to find him after all. But I think I can inspire a little fear. Crobat! Weezing! Raticate! Rip the twerp to shreds!"
He tossed out a pokeball straight at me and I knocked it back with the staff. From within it, and the two others he had thrown, a trio of Pokemon took to the room. These three were far more aggressive than any of the Pokemon we'd encountered inside the base so far. This would be a real fight.
"Flamethrower, Shadow Claw, Aura pulse!" I called out pointing at the three opposing Pokemon.
"Sic 'em!" Petrel didn't bother with further instructions, instead leaning back against his desk as his Pokemon engaged mine.
Crobat tangled itself up with Specter, slashing at it with its wings repeatedly as the Gengar landed a few off hits on it with Shadow Claw raking across the poison type's body. The duo crashed the ground and Specter sank into it, leaving the poison type unaware of what was going on. Specter floated back out from the wall and blasted a Shadow Ball into the poison type, sending it scrambling as it avoided the chaos Specter so loved to ensue.
Over to the other side, Typhlosion had taken on Weezing, bathing the floating Pokemon in flames as it tried to attack. A sludge blast narrowly missed Typhlosion as Weezing tried to recover from the burning heat and intensity of Typhlosion's attack. To their left, Lucario slammed a vicious attack into Raticate, throwing the normal type back up against the wall.
"Hyper Fang!" Petrel frowned as he looked at Raticate and the normal type leaped to its feet, gnashing its teeth at Lucario.
Typhlosion diverted for a moment as Lucario tried to avoid the attacks, slamming a brick break into the normal type and tossing it aside. With the room to breathe, Lucario blasted an Aura sphere into Weezing's open mouth, knocking it back and causing smoke to billow out of its open maw.
Specter was grappling with Crobat. A few Air Slash's had injured the ghost type, but it was fighting hard, knocking Shadow Ball and Dark Pulse into the resilient flyer repeatedly.
"End this with Weezing and Raticate!" Lucario dove into Close Combat, picking up Raticate and dealing an array of intense blows to it, using the final one to toss it at Weezing. Distracted, the poison type failed to avoid the oncoming Flamethrower attack from Typhlosion, taking the brunt of it and collapsing.
"Help Specter!" The duo turned towards Crobat, when suddenly, the poison type disappeared in a flash of red light. Distracted by the Petrel recalling Crobat, I almost missed the incoming attack. As fast as I could react, I jabbed the base of the staff into Raticate's maw as it tried to bite me with its Hyper Fang. I felt the burn in my muscles as I forced it over my head, letting Lucario take it from there and knock the normal type out. With another red flash, Petrel recalled it.
"I know when I'm beat kid. You want the password to the generator room? It's Hail Giovanni." Petrel had a leering grin across his face.
'He's not lying trainer-friend.' I could hear Lucario panting from the exertion as it evaluated Petrel's statement.
"But good luck trying to get in! It's keyed to my voice!" Petrel laughed pulling his arms around from his back and revealing an Abra. "Teleport!"
In a flash, he disappeared as Hypnosis hit the wall aimlessly and Specter snarled, glaring in frustration.
"Damnit. How do we do this now."
"Hail Giovanni." Petrel's voice sounded from the corner of the room and I whipped my head around, looking for the man. For all I knew he hadn't really left.
"Hail Giovanni." My eyes drifted to the dimly lit corner of the office where the Murkrow was standing with its wings spread atop the coat rack.
"You're a smart bird."
"I'm not training this one. I'm not training this one." Murkrow replied in a woman's voice.
"Do you not have a trainer?"
"I'm not training this one. Honchkrow wouldn't like him." Murkrow responded in the same woman's voice.
'I think that means Murkrow might be our friend and not their Pokemon trainer-friend.' Lucario lowered its paws and looked at the flying Pokemon oddly.
"Why don't you come with us?"
"A foolproof plan! Squaaaaawk!" Murkrow repeated in another man's voice, hopping down from the coat rack and sitting there.
I reached for any empty pokeball from my belt before hesitating. If I caught Murkrow now it would just get sent straight to the PC.
"Come on. I can't catch you until you've unlocked the doors."
Murkrow squawked, hopping across the floor with a few short flights as it led me out of the room, before looking around confusedly.
"You don't know the way, do you…" I looked at Murkrow. "Follow us."
I turned and led the way, Typhlosion by my side. I pulled a hyper potion spray bottle out of my bag and applied some of the medicine to Typhlosion as we walked up, beckoning for Specter to come. It was a bit trickier to handle the ghost type. Finally, I sprayed some of it onto Lucario as we neared the staircase back up to the second floor.
The entire corridor shook with as a massive thud resonated throughout the building while I was healing Lucario. I quickly put the potion away and ran up the stairs with my Pokemon. Standing in front of the gate to the generator room was a massive Dragonite with a few battle scars running down its side.
"Lance!"
The dragon master turned and looked at me in surprise, gesturing for Mel to stop.
"Ethan! What are you still doing here? Didn't you get my message to leave and let me take care of this?"
"Um… no?" I shrugged. "I've been cleaning up down here, and I've got a way into the generator room!"
"Well. You have done a good job. Show me what you've got."
Murkrow hopped around from behind Lucario and flapped its wings a few times, settling onto the fighting type's shoulder. Lucario pressed the button on the keypad and Murkrow inhaled, screaming into the speaker in Petrel's voice.
"HAIL GIOVANNI!" I grabbed my ears, as did everyone except Specter, as the door finally clicked unlocked and slowly rolled back into the walls, unveiling a massive room filled to the brim with technology I had no understanding off.
A massive generator of some kind, made of steel and plastics, dominated the center of the room. Energy lines connected it to six containment pods, three on each side, housing Electrodes. Screens and operating machinery dominated the rest of the room. the only other occupants were a red-haired woman in a white suit with an R embroidered on the crest, and another black uniformed rocket agent.
"If it isn't the champion himself. And who's the brat?" The woman sneered, speaking in the same voice Murkrow had mimicked. Before anyone else noticed, I quickly tossed a pokeball at the bird, catching it and watching the red orb disappear as it went to the PC.
"Doesn't matter boss. We'll crush 'em anyway!" the agent snapped and released his Pokemon into the room, A Muk and a Hypno formed on the ground, followed rapidly by Ariana's own Pokemon. A Vileplume appeared, spraying paralytic spores immediately, which Specter blasted back with a Dark pulse and a frown. Immediately, a long, heavy Arbok followed, taking its place on the battlefield alongside a glaring Honchkrow.
"So that's what Murkrow was talking about." I murmured to myself. "Typhlosion! Eruption! Lucario, Close Combat! Specter, Shadow Ball!"
Typhlosion roared and blasted an eruption up from beneath Vileplume, magma engulfing the grass type Pokemon and burning it. Immediately Typhlosion went on a secondary assault, leaping in with a flame charge to strike Vileplume. Lucario gracefully bounded over to Arbok, tangling with the big serpent as Specter began firing attacks off at Hypno.
From where it stood, Mel locked eyes with Honchkrow and the Muk backing it up. An icy breath formed in its mouth and it flapped its wings forward, sending a freezing Blizzard at the duo. Honchkrow retreated into its wings as Muk bore the brunt of the attack, almost collapsing from the one blow as it was. Recognizing its moment, Dragonite slammed a Dragon Tail into the poison type, sending sludge everywhere and knocking it out. Elsewhere, Specter had subdued Hypno and took a moment to focus a Hypnosis on the Rocket Agent, putting him soundly to sleep.
A vicious razor leaf cut into Typhlosion's flank as it growled and unleashed a flamethrower into Vileplume, knocking it out cold. Arbok had Lucario wrapped up in constrict to the side, diverting Specter and Typhlosion's attention. The duo engaged Arbok together. A stray razor leaf hurtled at me and I stepped out of the path. Watching the leaf cross by me, I cursed as I noticed its trajectory and shouted.
"Lance duck!" I stuck my staff out in the path of the leaf, watching the grass type attack shear through it before sailing over the champion's tall red hair.
Specter blasted it with Dark Pulse, knowing the attack would do little to Lucario as Typhlosion charged it from behind with flame charge. Making a quick choice, Arbok let go of the weakened Lucario and slammed its tail back into Typhlosion, sending it flying into one of the walls.
Specter's Night Shade engulfed Arbok, giving the others time to get their bearings. Inside the sphere of darkness, the serpent writhed in pain. From outside, Lucario fired in an aura sphere, letting Specter disperse the attack and take a breath. Typhlosion bathed Arbok in flames, pushing it to the brink of collapse as it was recalled from afar. I turned my head to see Mel's thunderbolt strike Honchkrow as the bird was also recalled. With a snap of her fingers, another Abra had come and gone, taking Ariana with it.
"Damnit!" I swore, slamming the side of my fist into the wall.
"It's alright Ethan. We got them out of here, and we'll catch them later. They won't escape me. For now, let's set these Pokemon free and get out of here. The Mahogany police are on their way." Lance put a hand on my shoulder and walked me over the screens, where he began typing away. I looked around at the generator in the middle. It was a titanic metal structure in the center with whirring going on inside of it and feeds from the Electrode around it shining bright. A few moments later, the containment fields for the Electrodes collapsed, and the Pokemon fled, dispersing into the hideout just as uniformed police filtered into the generator room.
"Search the building and apprehend all individuals, uniformed or not. Shut this place down and take them back to the station for interrogation." Lance instructed, gesturing out the door.
"Let's go. It's time for another debrief."
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Later, in Pryce's office…
"So, Team Rocket has been down there using radio signals and transmission towers to try and trigger evolution in Pokemon, and generally to change their biology of physiology." Lance summed up for Pryce, sitting with his head in his hands.
"Petrel said something about trying to find Giovanni. They might be using radio broadcasts to try and catch his attention." I mentioned, running a hand through my hair and looking at the two of them.
"Pragmatically, I don't think Giovanni is coming back. I think they definitely have something more going on than just this though. They had to have been trying to pack up shop and take it somewhere else. I just don't know where." Lance gritted his teeth and massaged his temples.
"We will find them Lance. We will find them and purge them from Johto properly. I will be there this time. We will freeze them out of their hiding places."
"Thank you, Pryce." Lance sighed and stood up, cracking his spine as he did so. "Ethan, I'll hear what happens in Blackthorn. Good luck."
"See you around." I gave him a small wave and turned back to Pryce. The old man's eyes were hard to read, giving me a look I couldn't fully place as he scrutinized me.
"I will almost certainly be keeping the Mahogany Town Gym closed for the majority of tomorrow while we sort through the apprehended criminals. But I will be expecting you at six the day after."
I sat up with a start, having almost forgotten about my gym battle in the wake of the recent events.
"Yes sir."
|\/|~^-_-_-^-_-_-^~|\/|
January 10th, 05:53…
I stood outside the gym in a thick coat, and a scarf, looking at the array of Pokemon scattered around me. Typhlosion was standing near me and radiating some of its heat to keep me warm. Lucario was sitting against a tree, meditating in the background. Specter was flitting around the trees aimlessly. Electabuzz was standing not far from Typhlosion and Rhydon was sitting on the ground in front of me. Scizor was standing next to me.
The giant rock type was subdued. Its red eyes were pointed at the ground and it was just breathing.
"Look. You can work with us, and we can be a team. Look at how well it worked out for the others. I know you get a high from winning, from battling hard. Trust me, so do I."
Rhydon gave a weak snort and looked up at me.
"Come on. Look, you saw those Gyarados. Those were untrained, powerful wild Pokemon, and let's be honest, they showed you we have work to do. Work with me. We're going into a gym challenge today, and if we're fighting trainers in there, I'd like to try this out with you and maybe we can get you on track to fighting at these guys level. I know you can take on Electabuzz, but the others are a bit out of range right now."
Rhydon simply stared at me as I spoke, a quiet expression on its face.
"Let's take this on and see how it goes." I crossed my arms and recalled everybody except Scizor, waiting for Rhydon.
Slowly, Rhydon stood, whacking its tail into the ground for support as it did. A small shockwave made the ground ripple beneath my feet as it raised itself up to its full height. Another moment passed as it stared at the sky and finally nodded its assent, allowing me to recall it and walk inside. A receptionist with dark blue hair and a pink blazer was standing behind the desk inside the gym.
"Ethan Photon here to challenge the Gym Leader."
"The Gym Leader has requested you make your way through the gym rooms and to him. You will have the chance to heal your Pokemon before fighting him." The woman inclined her head politely as I looked out to the room with a nod. "ID please."
The floor was frozen solid almost all the way to the door into the next chamber. Frozen rocks and blocks of ice about as large as a Graveler or a Golem decorated the room, placed haphazardly across the floor.
"The idea is for you to slide across the ice. You'll use the solid objects as stopping points to navigate the maze." The receptionist told me helpfully. "Here's your ID. Good luck!"
"Thank you." I slipped the card back into my pocket and stepped towards the ice. I was fighting gym trainers on the way which meant the line of sight rule applied. It was the same rule that many trainers tried to use outside of gyms, but that was kind of just pointless. Inside gyms it made sense. If you were running the gym challenge and you had to traverse a maze or a challenge like this one, or just walk up to the leader, you would battle any gym trainers along the way whose direct line of sight you crossed (given they would stay in the same place looking at the same thing).
Right now, I wanted to fight them as well, since I needed to get Rhydon and Electabuzz some experience and training. I looked around the field. There was one trainer standing in this part of the room, a girl with black hair in a thick pink jacket. Without hesitation, I slid forward on the ice, coming to a stop by a boulder. Immediately, I pulled my hands off of the frozen rock and pulled my gloves on, cursing myself for forgetting to put them on again.
Casting a glance around, I slid off to my left and to the wall, using it to guide myself to another boulder. I planted one foot firmly on the rock and pushed off, sliding across almost the entire width of the room before I reached another boulder.
"You know the rules!" the girl called out, having watched me slide right by her.
"Sure thing!"
She released a Jynx onto the ice, letting it get its bearings as I fumbled about for my pokeballs and released Rhydon. The hulking Rock type took in the sight of the ice type Pokemon, and the battlefield surface, looking back at me. The slick battleground was making it uncertain, something I wasn't sure I'd see for a while.
"It's all right, we've got this." I looked over at Jynx, looking at the eerily flowing blond hair stretching off of the Pokémon's head.
"Stone edge!"
Rhydon roared and thrust its arms up, complying. Shards of frozen rock broke free from a number of the nearby boulders and hurtled themselves at Jynx, battering and cutting the ice type.
"Use your tail for support and Rock Blast it!"
Pressing the thick grey appendage into the ice hard enough to crack the surface, Rhydon slammed a foot into the ground. Immediately a large chunk of rock rose up from somewhere beneath the earth and blasted itself at Jynx, catching the ice type in the gut.
"Powder Snow!"
I grimaced, noting the fact that there wasn't really a way to avoid Powder Snow. No doubt Pryce would be using the attack.
"Shield yourself!"
Rhydon held its arms ahead of the frosty blast and wrapped its tail around its midsection to little effect.
"Use your tail again and use Hammer Arm!"
Rhydon unwrapped its tail and pushed it into the ground, using it along with its feet to propel itself towards Jynx.
"Protect!"
Rhydon's fist began to glow a bright orange and it destroyed the shimmering barrier, crashing straight through it and landing a devastating blow on Jynx that knocked it back against the wall.
"Jynx! Blizzard!"
"Stone Edge!" I called out, watching Rhydon make the final move as the Blizzard started, knocking Jynx out.
"You can go ahead." The girl recalled her Jynx and gestured towards the door to the second room. I recalled Rhydon with a small nod in its direction and slid over to the door, using the boulders scattered around me for support.
The second room was similar in construction to the first, albeit with a different pattern to the maze. There were more people in this room though. Three trainers stood scattered about the entire place.
"Can I just challenge you guys instead of having to slide in front of you?" I called out, looking somewhat apprehensively at the complex mess of boulders.
"Suit yourself." The trainer standing nearest to me shrugged. He gestured towards an easy to reach open patch of ice near my end of the room and I slid there with relative ease, lining up next to a boulder for support. He came over quickly, a pokeball in his hand.
Immediately, I pulled out Rhydon's pokeball again and tossed it out, releasing the rock type again.
"Swinub!" The opposing trainer release his Pokemon, letting the small Ice and Ground type take the floor.
"Ice Shard!"
"Hammer Arm!" I watched carefully, hoping Rhydon had learned from the previous battle. Sure enough, it was using its tail to support it and stop its slipping on the icy ground as it slammed its Hammer Arm into the Ice Shard and shattered it. Batting the attack away invigorated it, and it almost charged Swinub head on before I called out to it.
"Rhydon no! Use Earthquake!" it stopped before it picked up much momentum and slammed its tail into the ground, sending a rippling shockwave the threw Swinub into the air.
"It's a small target and its faster than you. Tackling it head on is useless." I explained to Rhydon, never taking my eyes off of the ice type. "Let's work on fighting tactically. It'll save you a lot of energy."
Rhydon emitted a low rumbling sound with its mouth just barely open from the edges, turning back towards Swinub.
"Rollout!"
"Meet it with Stone Edge!" I called out.
Swinub charged head on, picking up speed and falling into a rolling spin as it charged Rhydon. Unfortunately for it, it couldn't see very well when curled up, and Rhydon's stone edge caught it head on, tossing it back to its trainer knocked out.
"Alright. Fair play. Maybe you'll like this one more." The trainer grinned, putting the pokeball away and removing another from his orange jacket. "Piloswine!"
Where Swinub was barely a foot tall, Piloswine was around four feet tall, and much heavier. The Pokémon's thick fur covered its legs to the point that they weren't visible, and barely anything could be seen of it other than the brown coat.
"Charging head on might work here. Drill Run!" I pointed at Piloswine with added flair, just for the heck of it. Honestly. Battling was fun.
Rhydon charged the ground type, knocking it back with a powerful Drill Run. Piloswine responded in kind with a Take Down, sending Rhydon sliding backwards as it nursed its own injuries.
"Stone Edge and Rock Blast!"
Rhydon effectively combined the two attacks, acting almost as fast as I could expect one of the more experienced team members to. Stone edge was followed by Rock Blast with an almost imperceptible gap in between, both slamming into Piloswine as a Blizzard roared from the other end of the field.
Rhydon knelt to the ground, trying to take the brunt of the attack on its back and weathering the storm. Slightly crumbling boulders flew at Rhydon, encasing the knelt over rock type completely as they slammed into its hide. There was simply a pile of rock left where Rhydon was, covering its entire body.
"Stone edge!" A moment passed and nothing happened, the trainer with the Piloswine smiling and reaching for his pokeball. Before he could recall Piloswine, the rocks around Rhydon levitated up into the air, each cracking into smaller, sharper shards. Rhydon rose, glaring at Piloswine, before launching the entire batch of rocks at the large Pokemon.
"Hammer Arm!"
Rhydon obliged, following the blast of stones and slamming its fist into Piloswine. With an earthshaking thud, the Pokemon fell over, being recalled almost instantly by its trainer.
"Alright. Who's next!" I took out what remained of my last hyper potion spray bottle and applied it to Rhydon, watching as it cracked its spine and stood up.
Frowning, I inspected its back carefully, running a hand down the hard plates. A small crack in its plates had been filled in by a different kind of stone. The wound had almost sealed over, but it was perceptible. It was slightly rounder, and seemed much more porous than the dense, solid plates around it. I looked at Rhydon's face carefully, taking in its expression. It didn't seem to be in pain, or acknowledging the odd crack in its plates.
'It's probably best if I let it be for now and we head over to the Pokemon center after this to get it checked out.' I shook my head and looked over at the guy who had come to stand at the other end of the battlefield. He was wearing an orange jacket as well, similar to the previous trainer's, and a white beanie to go along with it.
One of his hands gripped a snowboard, the other a pokeball which he was tossing into the air and catching. He looked at me and nodded, priming the ball and pressing the button. A flash of white light formed into a Seel on the field, flopping its flipper happily as it surveyed the area.
"Seel! Water pulse!"
Before Rhydon could react, the water type attack poured over it, causing it to roar in pain.
"Stone Edge!" Rhydon roared twice more, blasting two swathes of jagged rocks at Seel. The water type ducked under the first one, avoiding the hit entirely, but the second batch knocked it aside, cutting into its thick hide.
"Earthquake!"
"Water Pulse again!"
Rhydon slammed its feet into the ground, bearing the brunt of the water pulse as the Earthquake did its job and knocked out Seel, sending it crashing to the ground.
"Alright. Dewgong!" Seel's older sibling followed it out onto the field, immediately firing yet another water pulse.
Rhydon's knees buckled under the force of the attack, and the exhausted rock type collapsed to the ground. I frowned and recalled it, whispering a few encouraging words to the pokeball before clipping it back onto my belt. There must not have been much left in the spray bottle.
"Electabuzz! Electro Ball!"
Electabuzz took stock of its surroundings briefly, before wind-milling its arms rapidly and blasting off a crackling ball of electricity, right into Dewgong's hide.
"Now use Light Screen!"
A shimmering shield popped up in place in front of Electabuzz just as a Water Pulse hit. Spray poured over the edges of the light screen, collapsing the ground when Electabuzz released the screen after the brunt of the attack.
"Dewgong, use Ice Shard!"
"Duck!" Electabuzz fell flat to the ground as the massive chunk of ice sailed over its head, clambering to its feet right after.
"Water pulse!"
"Left and use Shockwave!" The concentrated blast of water clipped Electabuzz's side as it shuffled away. Soaking wet and irritated, it did its best to keep calm and blasted a shockwave directly at Dewgong, striking the water type with the unerring precision innate to some techniques.
"Aurora Beam!"
"Discharge!" Electabuzz's attack met the shining beam of colors in the middle of the field, nullifying it with a small explosion. Immediately out of the chaos, another Aurora Beam followed, clipping Electabuzz's side as the electric type fired another Shockwave.
When the smoke cleared, Dewgong was unconscious, and Electabuzz was growling at it. The trainer recalled his Pokemon and nodded, looking over at Electabuzz before walking away. A girl in a pink snow coat holding skis came and took his place, releasing an almost identical Dewgong to the one we had just defeated.
"Electabuzz, Thunder Punch!" I called the first move, watching Electabuzz hurry down the field and jab at Dewgong.
The water type ducked around the attack and bit Electabuzz with an Ice Fang, only to be met with another Thunder Punch to the face. It reeled and yelped, letting go of the Electabuzz.
"Discharge!" at close range, there was little Dewgong could do to avoid getting blasted back into a boulder by the electric type attack, taking excessive damage due to type weaknesses.
"Shockwave!"
"Ice shards!" two ice shards shot around the shockwave attack. Of its own volition, Electabuzz managed to avoid one, but fell down as the other struck it in the leg.
"Electro Ball!" I called out, watching as the orb blasted and missed Dewgong. "Light Screen!"
Electabuzz managed to get the Light screen up halfway through a water pulse, avoiding taking the entire blow. It looked through the shield carefully spotting Dewgong atop a boulder.
"Shockwave!" the attack blasted into Dewgong, knocking the ice type back off its rock just as an ice shard was launched our way.
"Duck and use Electro Ball!" Electabuzz managed to avoid the attack and stayed on its knees, firing the last Electro Ball of the battle to knock out Dewgong.
"Congratulations. You can go to the next room now."
"Thank you." I bowed my head respectfully and recalled Electabuzz, sliding off on my way to the door. Walking through it, the last room was visibly different than the previous two. There was no maze in this one, and the boulders were scattered mostly around the edges. One trainer waited for me just past the doorway. Beyond the patch of ice, I could see a platform with a wicker chair, where Pryce was sitting, reading a book with his cane propped up against the wall. There was a healing station against the wall right by the door, but I recalled I was only to use it before fighting Pryce. A vaulted skylight dominated the ceiling allowing shafts of light to pour in through the hoarfrost creeping over the top of the glass.
"Welcome to the last room of the Mahogany Gym. Would you like to battle?" the man in the orange jacket was huge, with arms that were straining the puffy sleeves to their limits. A thick brown beard covered most of his face, even when he spoke.
"Yes please." I released Electabuzz, inclining my head for a moment and waiting as he released his Pokemon. When I looked back up, a large Cloyster was floating opposite Electabuzz with a wicked grin spread across its face.
"Thunder Punch!" Electabuzz charged forward, fists wind-milling until it reached the opponent, only to strike a closed shell.
"Withdraw is a powerful tool for a Pokemon like Cloyster." The man replied with a short laugh. "Shell smash!"
Cloyster slammed into Electabuzz, tossing it backwards like a ragdoll. The electric type landed on its back, laying there a moment before it stood up.
"Shockwave!"
"Pin Missile!"
The two attacks passed through each other, landing blows on either end. Arguably, Shockwave was much more effective, but almost all of the shots fired in the Pin Missile had made contact with Electabuzz.
"Light Screen!"
"Water Pulse!" The water smashed against the shimmering shield, threatening to break through it as Electabuzz strained to keep it up for a moment.
"Electro Ball!" The crackling orb was flung across the field before Cloyster could react, landing right in the opening of its shell. A screech emanated from the other side of the field as an array of Pin Missile's fired with no notice, the majority striking Electabuzz. The standard gym psychic barriers fizzled into place to stop two which were off course, heading in my direction.
"Apologies." The man frowned, looking at Cloyster. "Icicle Spear!"
"Discharge!" Electabuzz parried the attack using the full force of the electric wave to shatter the icicles hurtled at it. "Shockwave!"
The lightning bolt arced across the room, making contact with Cloyster's horn and conducting through its body as the Pokemon screeched again.
"Electro Ball!"
"Ice Shard!" The duo of attacks phased through each other, Electro ball first slamming the unaware Cloyster with another blast of electricity. It fell to the ground, shell clamped shut, and rolled five feet towards its trainer as the shard of ice hit Electabuzz in the gut, knocking it down again.
"Electabuzz, return!"
"Cloyster, good work." The bearded man recalled Cloyster and nodded his head at me, gesturing towards the healing machine. I slotted my Pokemon in and healed Rhydon and Electabuzz, taking their pokeballs back and looking across the room. Now only the Mahogany Town Gym Leader remained.
I slid across the plain icy field, crossing over to the base of the platform where Pryce sat with his book. The old man looked at his watch, putting the book away with a red leaf in between the pages as a marker.
"Forty-five minutes… not terrible." Pryce rose from his chair, taking his cane as he stepped onto the ice. Despite the slick surface, the cane seemed to grip it quite well, as did his thick boots.
"Do you understand why my gym is laid out as such Ethan?" He gestured around the room with the end of his cane.
I turned my head and took a look around me, at the frozen floor, the icicles and the boulders. The slick ground was a challenge to traverse if you didn't have a good sense of your bearings.
"Is it supposed to resemble the Ice Path sir?"
"Quite observant." Pryce's lips were upturned in a wry smile as he folded his arms behind his back. "Most trainers who are brave enough to challenge the Blackthorn Gym are also quite likely to stop by the Mahogany Gym. And so, I modeled the interior of my Gym on the floors of the Ice Path."
Pryce stopped and looked up at the sunlight filtering in through the roof. A ray of light was visible in between the two of us, some five feet away from me. Little particles of ice were floating about in the air, sparkling like diamond dust in the morning light.
"The Ice Path is long and harsh, and many trainers are severely underprepared for the trek through it. It is where I learned my trade." Pryce's eyes twinkled with memories of old as he spoke. "This was merely a small sample to see if you could handle slipping around on the ice, or if you were better prepared and brought boots for the weather. Clearly you weren't, but it was a mistake I'll excuse. The frigid temperatures inside here are close to those inside the Ice Path, but you will be inside for days. Are you ready to traverse it?"
I took a deep breath as I though about the prospect of spending five days inside the frigid cold and relative darkness of the cave, versus the easy route of simply flying through the mountains to Blackthorn.
"Yes. I am." I bowed my head to Pryce as he nodded firmly, looking at me.
"Mahogany Town was once known as the home of the shinobi. What children these days would call ninjas. Masters of covert warfare and tactical battling. Deception and disguise were the expertise of those who lived here. It was how we protected ourselves from the brutal strength of the Blackthorn Clan and their dragons in days long gone."
"The Ice Path was a natural formation, but it was not originally as treacherous as it is now. The shinobi of Mahogany Town learned to work with the ice Pokemon in order to have a strong defense against the dragons. Together, we spent decades extending the ice path and making it harder and harder to traverse with the hot-blooded drakes in mind, resulting in the Ice Path of today. We guarded the mountain passes carefully, and kept our attention on the skies in case of dragon-fire. It is not uncommon for houses to have underground rooms and bunkers in Mahogany Town."
"With our history, it makes my blood boil that Team Rocket managed to infiltrate my city. That they were able to wreak havoc on our natural ecosystem from right under our noses." Pryce's voice had shifted from the fond warmth with which he spoke about the history of Mahogany to a harsh, cold tone. "When the great champion united Johto, we no longer needed to defend ourselves against the dragons, but we still maintained our heritage. It is only since the first great war that we moved towards a more modern lifestyle. Now it is time for us to unite under our new champion, the drake himself, and to purge Johto of the threat that is Team Rocket. Do you understand Ethan?"
"Yes sir." I kept my head bowed as Pryce spoke. Silence prevailed for a minute until he tapped his cane against the floor thrice.
"Now. It is time to battle. How many badges do you have?" A coy smile had replaced the frown and the anger in his eyes.
"Six from Johto sir, but this should really be a battle for an eighth badge or beyond." I replied honestly, raising my head and looking straight at him.
"Very well. Take your position." He gestured towards the end of the ice field nearer to the door, and I retreated promptly. The old man settled himself upon his wicker chair once more, but this time his focus was on the battlefield. "This will be four versus four."
Pryce fiddled with a remote in his hand and a referee came running out of a side room, activating the display, showing the battle tracker.
"Both contestants will release their Pokemon together." The referee called out, priming himself with a whistle. I picked one off of my belt and readied myself to fight, watching the battlefield.
A sharp burst sounded from the whistle and I tossed the pokeball into the air, releasing Specter onto the field. The Gengar flitted around the shadows of the boulders for a moment before melting into existence with a terrifying grin on its face. Almost immediately, the grin melted right away as it noticed the Weavile standing on the opposite side of the icy field.
"Night Slash!"
"Dodge it!" Specter melted into one of the few shadows just as Weavile neared, the Night Slash cutting through plain air.
"Shadow Claw!"
"Parry!"
Specter melted out from behind Weavile, locking eyes with it and lunging forward with a glowing jagged claw. The dark type deftly shifted to the left, matching Specter's attack with one of its own. The two held in a deadlock momentarily before Specter's Shadow Claw overpowered Weavile's, but at that point it was in the wrong direction and simply hit air.
"Dark Pulse!" Specter immediately blasted out a wave all around, catching Weavile by the midsection and tossing it backwards. The lean Pokemon landed on its feet thought, sliding across the ice for a moment before it let its claws out to grip the ice and stop.
"Icy Wind!" Pryce called out from the far end, watching as Weavile smirked and inhaled, blowing out an impossibly long and cold gale. The wind howled against Specter, hurting it as it tried to hold on, before giving up and dissipating into a mix of poisonous gases.
Pryce held up his hand for Weavile to stop as the wind dispersed the purple haze that was a Gengar, watching it blend into the surroundings carefully. Weavile stood on its toes, ready to strike as it looked around.
"Thunderbolt!" Specter reformed on the other side of the field from its gaseous form, blasting a bolt of electricity right at Weavile.
The dark type swiveled around, taking the brunt of the attack head on. The smell of singed fur spread across the room as Weavile chittered angrily, blasting a Dark Pulse at Specter.
The ghost type blended into the shadows again, but I could tell the attack had clipped it before it managed to hide. I let Weavile sit in anticipation for a few moments again before I gave another instruction.
"Brick Break!" Weavile turned its head again, looking at the boulders and the corners of the room. Pryce's eyes narrowed as Specter caught the dark type unawares, emerging from Weavile's own shadow and socking it under the jaw with Brick Break.
Having hurled the ice type into the air, the Gengar immediately went on the offensive, lashing out with a shadow ball that exploded in Weavile's face. The ghost bounded upwards with a Sucker Punch ready, only to be met with a shadow claw.
"Night Slash!"
Weavile snarled aggressively as its attack ripped through Gengar's body, forcing it to disperse once more. The ghost type simply formed without warning this time, right behind Weavile as it socked the Dark type with a Sucker Punch.
Weavile chittered briefly before firing out a Dark Pulse in all directions, catching Specter and tossing it back to the boulders. The ice type turned around promptly and exhaled another, assaulting the Gengar with everything it had. Thunderbolt blasted back through the wind, forcing Weavile to abort the Icy Wind and leap forward.
Its eyes held a vindictive look as it charged Specter. The ghost type was exhausted, and bluntly, on the brink of defeat.
"Brick Break!" Specter gritted its teeth with a snarling frown plastered on its face as it took the Night Slash in order to slam a Brick Break into Weavile's gut, collapsing as it tossed the dark type backwards.
"Return!"
"Gengar is unable to battle. It's four to three in favor of the gym leader!" The referee called out promptly, looking at the battlefield.
I focused on Weavile, observing it carefully and weighing my options. The ice type's breathing was heavy. It was most certainly worn down. For the type disadvantage, Specter had done and amazing job defending and raining hell upon it. Typically, Pryce's team featured his Piloswine or his Mamoswine, and usually his Dewgong. Weavile I hadn't been expecting. If I chose Typhlosion, the obvious choices were Dewgong and Mamoswine, both of which could eliminate the fire type with water and ground moves. If I brought out Lucario, it was more than likely Mamoswine for ground type moves and its sheer bulk.
I tossed Scizor's pokeball out, releasing the agile bug type onto the field. It had the best defense against Mamoswine or Piloswine's ground typing with its wings, and its agility probably meant Pryce was less likely to choose the bulky Pokemon either way after Weavile.
A sharp whistle blast sounded as Scizor blasted a Signal Beam at Weavile, narrowly missing the dark type. Weavile hissed aggressively, bounding forwards with a Brick Break of its own glowing in its hand.
"Fury Cutter!" Scizor side stepped the exhausted dark type's attack and slashed at it with two consecutive bug type moves, hurling it back into the wall. Weavile hit the icy surface with a thud and collapsed to the ground, flat on its face.
"Weavile is unable to battle! Its three all!" The referee readied his whistle again as Pryce smiled, tossing out another pokeball. As I had guessed, Dewgong appeared on the battlefield, taking the place of its fallen comrade as the referee blew his whistle.
"Aurora Beam!"
"Scizor dodge it and use Vacuum Wave!" The bug type leaped out of the way, unleashing a vortex like blast at Dewgong, leaving cut marks on its hide.
"Waterfall!" Dewgong yipped and summoned a massive quantity of water, sending it crashing down on Scizor from above. The water swept Scizor along and smacked it against wall of the room.
"Flash Cannon!" Scizor aimed its pincer, focusing and unleashing a blast of silver energy right at Dewgong. The opposing Pokemon sent an Aurora Beam back at Scizor, but the steel type move obliterated the icy attack, continuing through and slamming Dewgong against an icicle.
"Iron Head!" Scizor bounded forward, smashing its glowing head into Dewgong's belly.
"Horn Drill!" My eyes widened as Pryce called out the famously dangerous technique. Dewgong lowered its horn and jabbed at Scizor. With its close proximity, the spinning horn immediately made contact with Scizor's exoskeleton, jabbing against it rapidly for a moment before grinding to a halt.
"Impressive." Pryce called out from the other side of the field as I heaved a sigh of relief and called out my next instruction.
"Bullet Punches!" Scizor rapidly slammed its pincers into Dewgong four times in succession before bounding away from the ice type.
"Ice Beam!"
Scizor tried to avoid the shot, but got caught out on one of its wings by the move as Dewgong charged forward in the aftermath.
"Metal Claw!"
"Double Edge!"
Scizor raked its shining claws against Dewgong and did its best to redirect the heavy ice type away as it charged recklessly at Scizor. The attack landed on Scizor's side as the bug type pushed Dewgong away and into a boulder, ending its reckless charge.
"Dewgong is unable to battle. It is two-three in favor of the challenger!" The referee called out as Pryce recalled his Dewgong.
"Mamoswine!" Pryce released his behemoth partner onto the icy field. Its thick brown fur and bright blue eyes paled in comparison to the massive white tusks it had. Standing above eight feet tall, it was a force to be reckoned with. "Earthquake!"
"In the air!" Scizor bounded upwards, struggling to keep itself afloat as the battlefield was torn apart by the ground type attack with its slightly frozen wing. It settled down to the ground just before the shockwaves ended, taking a light hit from the attack.
"Iron Head!" Scizor leaped forward, slamming its head into Mamoswine's flank. I grinned as the force was actually enough to move the titanic ice type, even if it was only a few feet.
"Ice Shard!" The frozen attack knocked Scizor back against a boulder. I bit my lower lip as it slowly stood up again, looking at Mamoswine with a determination.
"Flash Cannon!"
"Icy Wind!" Neither attack interfered with the other, both sailing through and making impact. The shining white beam hit Mamoswine head on, forcing it a few feet back as it dug its feet into the ice to hold its ground. In contrast, Scizor tucked its wings back to avoid getting fully carried away by the frigid air blast, holding out just barely.
"Fury Cutter!" Scizor bounded forward, ready to slash with both pincers at Mamoswine.
"Giga Impact!" Pryce pulled his trump card, watching as Mamoswine rammed head on into the incoming Scizor. The steel type was hurled backwards like a rag doll and it hit the wall near me, collapsing to the ground.
"Scizor is unable to battle! Two all!" I recalled it hurriedly, looking at Mamoswine. Scizor had definitely dealt some damage, but the majority of the battle was still to be fought.
"Lucario!" I released the aura Pokemon onto the ground as it plucked the scenario from my head and looked around, taking in the earthquake-ruined battlefield and the titanic Pokemon standing on the other side.
"Earthquake!" The ground rippled and trembled as the shockwave blasted through it, upsetting Mamoswine and almost knocking it over as it bore the burnt of the attack, not expecting a reversal of its own move from Lucario. "Aura Sphere!"
Lucario bounded into the air as Mamoswine stamped its own feet in return, avoiding the Earthquake and firing a glowing blue blast into Mamoswine's side. The ice type roared in pain at the consecutive attacks and the onslaught from Lucario.
"Extreme Punch!"
Lucario blurred forward with Extreme Speed, lashing out briefly at Mamoswine before switching to a Drain Punch and hitting the side of Mamoswine's head.
"Blizzard!" Icy wind and Powder Snow were attacks in the same strength range, but Blizzard far outranked both. The howling gale filled with shard of ice and snow blasted Lucario backwards towards the boulders.
Rotating its body, Lucario angled itself to land on its feet, using the boulder as a launching point to leap up into the air above the range of the Blizzard (almost to the top of the skylight). In the air, I could see the beginning of an orange glow around its fist as it sailed upwards. Taking the time in the air to charge the attack, Lucario felled downwards onto Mamoswine's back, using gravity to aid its Focus Punch as it unleashed the titanic attack into the ground type. Mamoswine roared as its legs buckled, sending it to the ground on its belly.
"Ancient Power!" Pryce called out with a vindictive look, watching as Mamoswine's eyes glowed white, summoning massive glowing boulders which slammed into Lucario from all sides. Mamoswine stood up, and the rock encased Lucario fell to the ground, shattering the earthen shell as Mamoswine stamped its feet into the ground and sent a massive Earthquake rippling through.
Unable to get up in time, Lucario took the hit, standing up afterwards on slightly trembling legs. I focused on Mamoswine, taking in the damage we had dealt to it over the course of the battle.
"Close Combat!"
"Superpower!"
Lucario whipped around, releasing some of the mental restraints on its muscles as it dealt a rapid, intense series of blows to Mamoswine, culminating in a strike to the top of its head. Lucario fell to the ground, kneeling as Mamoswine reeled back, stumbling. The giant regained its balance, and slammed into Lucario, all the restraints on its strength gone momentarily. Lucario was tossed backwards into a boulder, sending up a cloud of ice particles are Mamoswine collapsed on the spot, forcing Pryce to recall it. The haze settled down to reveal Lucario just barely standing as it was.
"Lucario's out!" I recalled the fighting type, knowing it would have been pointless to keep it out further. "Good work."
"It's one all!" the referee readied his whistle as I tossed Typhlosion's pokeball out, releasing the fire type. Steam radiated from its back as its volcanic pores radiated heat, melting the condensed air. "This is it pal."
"You've certainly played your strategy well." Pryce nodded his head and tossed out his last pokeball. "Abomasnow!"
One of the few Sinnoh Pokemon I recognized on the spot formed. The temperature in the room dropped slightly as the seven-foot ice and grass type took the field. Small pieces of hail started to fall from the air, most missing Typhlosion as its heat melted them into insignificant droplets of water.
"Perfect. Typhlosion! Flamethrower!" The cone of flames engulfed Abomasnow, wreaking havoc to it as Typhlosion refused to relent, keeping the attack up as long as it could.
"Earthquake!"
"Jump!" Typhlosion leaped up, landing towards the tail end of the attack and taking a light hit from it. "Eruption!"
The already ruined ground cracked open further around and beneath Abomasnow as Typhlosion's back flared up. Magma exploded out from the ground, flying up and covering Abomasnow as Typhlosion threw everything into the attack. To its credit, from inside the lava, Abomasnow triggered a Magical Lead attack, the sharp projectiles cutting Typhlosion all over as the attack stopped.
"Wood Hammer!" Abomasnow charged forward, slamming the attack into Typhlosion and knocking it backwards. Eruption and flamethrower had done their job, dealing heavy damage to the Pokemon. After all, Abomasnow had twice the weakness to fire of a normal ice type.
"Typhlosion, end this with Overheat!" With a growl, the fire type bounded forward and onto Abomasnow, grabbing a hold of it and releasing waves upon waves of fire and heat, searing Abomasnow as the ice type sank to the ground.
"Abomasnow is unable to battle! The challenger is victorious!" The referee called out as Pryce returned Abomasnow, shaking his head slightly.
"Typhlosion! Great work! Get some rest!" I patted the fire type on the head and scratched its ears as it scampered over to me, panting. Giving it a little more care and affection, I recalled it, walking across the ruined battleground to Pryce's platform once more.
"Thank you for the battle Gym Leader." I bowed my head respectfully as Pryce examined me.
"Congratulations Ethan. I look forward to seeing what you're capable of as your go further. Here." I looked up to see Pryce's palm outstretched with a shining blue badge in his hand. The hexagon was patterned like a snowflake. I accepted it and looked at it, holding it up to the light to see the almost frost like sheen.
"Thank you." With a respectful nod, I made my way out of the gym, collecting the challenge prize money at the desk before stepping out. In the open air, I removed my badge case from my pocket and opened it, slotting the Glacier Badge into place. Only one left. The badge of the Blackthorn Gym. The most difficult badge to claim in all of Johto, maybe even Indigo now. The Rising Badge. Tucking it away, I looked off to the east, to the mountains and Blackthorn beyond with a victorious grin.
"Ready or not Clair, here I come."