Sorry for the wait, I was finishing season 2 of My Korra. Now onto chapter 29.

Chapter 29

A Frozen Day

Oliver P.O.V.

I don't know how long we were out, but I started to wake up to see the sun setting, everyone unconscious on the ground, and Ba'ul and the ship nearby, with the ship damaged from Estelle's blast. Then I noticed Ava near me. "Ava." I said, as I crawled to Ava. "Ava. Ava are... you okay?" I asked Ava, as I pulled her up a bit. "Define... okay?" Ava said to me Goaning a little. "Anyone… Else… Alive?" I asked everyone through the pain. "Uhh… I'm alive." Yuri said, as he started to get up. "Ugh." Yuri said, as he stood up. "Don't overwork yourself... We were lucky to be alive after everything that happened to us." I said to Yuri, regraining a bit of my strength.

"Did everybody make it?" Yuri asked everyone. It was at this point everyone weakly got up. "I'll be all right." Judith said to Yuri, as she held her right hand on her left arm. Then Repede got up and barked weakly. "Ugh… I'm alive, but I can't say much more than that. Feels like I might've snapped a few bones." Raven said to Yuri as he sat up. "Sounds like we're all alive, but that's it." Hugo said to everyone, as he got up, supported himself, by placing his hands on his knees. "The same couldn't be said for the ship." A voice said to Hugo.

We all looked up to see Patty, Slowbro, and Cramerant still on the ship, and then jumping off it. "The ship's a mess too… You won't get away with this, Alexei… Ow, ow, ow…" Patty said to everyone. "Maybe next time you don't jump off the ship, when you're hurt." I said to Patty. "Yuri… Oliver… It hurts…" Karol said to me and Yuri, as he laid on the ground. "Considering that Estelle sent us flying, it could've been worse." Ava said to Karol, as me and her stood up. "That thing Estelle did… It was like Dein Nomos… Must be what happens when you get a few apatheia together at once..." Rita said to everyone, as she sat up.

"Don't try to talk. We're gonna get you both to a doctor. Try and hang in there for a little longer." Yuri said to Karol and Rita. "We all need a doctor." I said to Yuri. "Can't Audino use Heal Bell or Heal Pulse?" Rita asked everyone. I looked at Audino to see swirls in her eyes. "No, she's out cold, and I don't know when she'll walk up. Skiddo can you carry Audino?" I said to Rita and asked Skiddo. "Skiddo." Skiddo said to me, nodding his head, and allowing me to place Audino on his back.

"Thank you, old friend. We owe you so much." Judith said to Ba'ul. Ba'ul then let out a cry. "He doesn't sound like he's in the best of shape." Hugo said to Judith. "It looks like Ba'ul won't be able to give us a lift for a while." Yuri said to Judith. "No. He'll have to rest somewhere until his wounds are healed." Judith said to Yuri.

"You've done more for us than we could ask. Take care and rest well." Yuri said to Ba'ul. "And stay safe out there." Hugo said to Ba'ul. Ba'ul then let out a bellow, before flying away with the ship.

"What about Estelle…?" Karol asked everyone. "Yeah…! If we don't hurry…" Rita said to everyone. "You've got plenty to worry about without thinking about Estelle." Yuri said to Rita. "He's right. We're lost and hurt. We need to find a doctor and find out where we are. If we don't, then we might not save Estelle." I said to Rita. "Aye… If we go after Alexei like this, we're sure to get our butts handed to us." Patty said to Rita. "Or maybe get lost and never find/save Estelle." Ava said to Rita.

"Then it's settled, we find the nearest town and doctor. Now, any ideas about where we are?" Hugo asked everyone. "It seems we're somewhere near Capua Nor. Let's go to Nor Harbor. There's bound to be a doctor there." Judith said to everyone. "So Capua Nor it is." Hugo said to everyone. "Yeah." Yuri said to Hugo, as heard some thundering sounds and noticed a hit of red in the sky.

"I don't like that sky. The aer is boilin' like thunderclouds. There's a mean storm brewin'..." Raven said to everyone. "Then let's not stay here. Let's move." I said to everyone. "Okay. Delphox return." Ava said to me, before returning Delphox to her Pokeball. "You to Vaporeon." Hugo said to Vaporeon, returning Vaporeon to her Pokeball. "Let's not forget you Doublade. You've had enough craziness for a while." I said to Doublade, before returning him to his Pokeball. After that we all started to move to Capua Nor.

After limping for a bit, we made it to Capua Nor, where a crowd of people were outside, trying to figure out what happened. "They're really in an uproar. Not that I blame them." Judith said to everyone. "I'll bet things are pretty crazy in the capital, too." Yuri said to everyone. "Considering how it looked before we got blasted, most definitely." I said to Yuri, as a man ran to us.

"Where did you come from? Did you hear anything?" The man asked us. "No, we were…" Yuri said to the man, before another voice interrupted him. "Why are all of you here?" The voice asked us. That's when we turned to see Teagle and Buizel, but Buizel was different, he was bigger, looked meaner, his floatation ring was around his back, with it going over his arm, which now had longer blue fins. "Teagle good to see you and it looks like Buizel evolved into a Floatzel." I said to Teagle. "A Floatzel?" Rita asked me. "Here." I said, pulling out the Pokedex

Floatzel

The Sea Weasel Pokemon

Water

It floats using its well-developed floatation sac. It assists in the rescues of drowning people.

"You look terrible! What happened to you?" Teagle asked us. "We've been through a lot. Do you know any doctors around here?" Yuri asked Teagle. "Sure, I know a doctor, but…" Teagle said to Yuri. "Well, do ya think ya might be able ta bring the doc to the inn. We're too beat to even walk anymore…" Raven said to Teagle. "All right, me and Floatzel will be back soon." Teagle said to us, before he and Floatzel left.

Once they left, we limped to the inn. And a few minutes later, Teagle, Floatzel and a doctor showed up. Pulse Kellas, Pauly and their Pokemon, which have evolved as well. Aipom was now bigger, and had an extra hand tail, with the tip of his hand tails being red. And Chespin was now bigger, and in the shape of a ball, with small arms and legs, two long pointy horns on his head, and a pointy tail.

"Pauly, Kellas, it's good to see you." I said to them. "Hey Oliver. Look, Chespin changed into a, I think he said Quilladin." Pauly said to me. "Yes I see. And it's called volve. And it looks like Aipom evolved into Ambipom." I said to Pauly. "Quilladin? Ambipom?" Rita asked me. "Here." I said to Rita pulling out the Pokedex.

Ambipom

The Long Tail Pokemon

Normal

It uses its tails for everything. If it wraps both of its tails around you and gives you a squeeze, that's proof it really likes you.

Chespin

The Spiky Armor Pokemon

Grass

They strengthen their lower bodies by running into one another. They are very kind and won't start fights.

After I put the Pokedex away, the doctor started to treat us. And after a couple hours of treatment, the doctor finished healing us, but Rita, Karol, Patty and most of the Pokemon, were still tired, and layed on the beds or the floor. "Thank you so much, Doctor." Teagle said to the doctor, before the doctor left the inn.

"Thank goodness you came. You'd returned from Heliord, then?" Yuri asked Teagle, Kellas, and Pauly. "Yes. I still can't thank you enough for your help before." Kellas said to Yuri. "Hey, what are friends for?" I asked Kellas. "Oh, hello there. Are you with them too?" Kellas asked Patty. "Aye." Patty said to Kellas. "What? Do you know them?" Yuri asked Patty. "After I got Pauly back to his home, they let me sleep over and eat with them." Patty said to Yuri. "Oh right… After you left Ragou's Palace." Yuri said to Patty.

"Now that there's a new magistrate. Nor had become a much nicer place to live… but now, with that sky looking the way it is…" Teagle said to everyone. "Oliver, Oliver, didja hear it? There was a loud sound like BOOOOOOOM and then everything was shaking like an earthquake!" Pauly said to me. "Yeah we hear it." I said to Pauly. "A town official is currently going to see what happened." Kellas said to everyone. "Hey Oliver, where's that nice lade who was with you? Is she gone?" Pauly asked me. I said nothing.

"Now that I think of it, that girl would've been able to heal your wounds. What happened to her?" Teagle asked everyone. "It's complicated." I said to Teagle. "No it isn't. A certain worthless idiot handed her over to the bad guy, now we're chasing after them." Raven said to Teagle. "I see… I guess I shouldn't have asked." Teagle said to everyone. "Yeah you shouldn't have." Hugo said to Teagle. "I'm sorry, but she's away for today." Judith said to Pauly. "Oh, really…" Pauly said. "Don't worry, the next time we come we'll bring her with us for sure." Rita said to Pauly. "Really?! Yeah!" Pauly said to Rita.

"For now, you should just get some rest." Yuri said to Rita. "Yeah, me and Yuri will go see what the situation is." I said to Rita, before me and Yuri left, leaving Bantte and Bisharp.

Once we left the inn, we saw the new magistrate talking to a man in a suit. "Y-your Excellency. It's horrible! The road, The road… It's gone! There's a giant hole on the other side of Ehmead hill. It's burning hot all round it. I wasn't able to get very close." the man said to the magistrate. "What? Just like that? I suppose that was what all the rumbling was earlier…" the magistrate. "Even if we were able to get near that hole, getting across it would be impossible. No one will be able to go past Ehmead Hill like this!" the man said to the magistrate. "So then. Nor is cut off from everyone else?" Another man said. "This is bad. This is real bad." A third man said.

"Could this be… the blast from the Heracles' cannon? What have they done?" Yuri asked me. "No idea, but why would they need a cannon with that much power? You know what never mind, Heracles is dust. Let's head back to the others and tell them about Ehmead Hill." I said to Yuri, before walking back into the inn.

Once we got back to everyone, Pauly, Kellas, Quilladin, and Ambipom left for the night, and we then explained what happened to Ehmead Hill. "So it did end up hittin' somethin', after all." Raven said to everyone. Thankfully it missed hitting any of the towns." Judith said to everyone. "Yeah, thank Arceus, and Zygarde." Hugo said to Judith. "You guys sure you're all right?" Yuri asked Rita and Karol. "No, I hurt all over, but… Estelle's in trouble. I can't just lie around." Karol said to Yuri. "Yeah. What he said." Rita said to Yuri.

"What's our next move, though?" Raven asked everyone. "He's got a point we can't go throw Ehmead Hill." Ava said to everyone. "If the road to Ehmead hill is out, couldn't we take a boat around?" Rita asked everyone. "I'm afraid not. A little while back the Knights came and took any boat that could make a long trip. Thanks to them, the harbor's dead empty." Teagle said to everyone. "Even when she's not, Sodia is still causing trouble." I said to everyone.

"How 'bout repairing the Fiertia and headign around by sea?" Raven asked Patty. "The keel's all smashed up, so it'll take a while to fix." Patty said to Raven. "Damn, at a time like this… Can't we use Flygon and Noivern to fly over it?" Yuri said to everyone, and asked Hugo and Judith. "Probably not a good idea. If it's as hot and big as they say. Then Flygon and Noivern will probably pass out from exhaustion before we all get over it." Hugo said to Yuri.

"There's gotta be a way to the capital from here? Teagle any ideas? You live here, do you know of any other way to the capital?" I asked Teagle. "Well, there is one way, but I'm not sure how I feel about recommending it to you." Teagle said to me.

"If it'll get us through. Let's hear it, we've got to get to the capital fast." Yuri said to Teagle. "I'm afraid it'll end up taking you a fair bit out of your way, but…" Teagle said to Yuri. "Teagle, we need to move. If it can get us on the other side of Ehmead Hill then we have no choice." I said to Teagle. "If you go north, just before Ehmead Hill, there's a thin strip of coastline. It'll eventually come to a dead end, but in this season it freezes over and becomes an ice floe." Teagle said to me. "The Blade Drifts of Zopheir." Judith said to Teagle.

"Right. If your lucky, you should be able to make your way across the floe on the ice." Teagle said to everyone. "So, in other words, if we go across there, we can take a detour to the middle of the continent." Patty said to everyone. "The Blade Drifts of Zopheir, huh...? I heard nobody goes there- not even fishermen- because of the stories." Karol said to everyone. "You're also gambling on nature here, so there's no guarantee you'll be able to get through." Teagle said to everyone.

"Nature, after all, is more often the enemy of man." Patty said to everyone. "Quite the keen observation, Patty." Raven said to Patty. "If that's our only way then we'll have to go for it." Rita said to everyone. "We'll have to leave first thing in the morning." Ava said to everyone. "No, we have to leave now!" Rita said to Ava.

"Rita, It's late and look at this." Ava said to Rita, pulling out the map. "The Blade Drifts of Zopheir, is probably this." Ava said to Rita putting a finger on the map. "According to this map, by the time we reach it, it will be the middle of the night, and it doesn't sound like the kind of place you want to be in when it gets dark. Pulse, we've had a really long day. From everything in Myorzo, Estelle getting captured, The Shrine of Baction, and Heracles. We're all tired and hurt. If we head for The Blade Drifts of Zopheir as we are now, we'll probably die crossing it." Ava said to Rita.

"She's right Rita. We can't save Estelle if we drop dead while trying to rescue her. We'll leave at first light. Hopely things won't get worse." I said to Rita. "But Estelle…" Rita said to me, but I interrupted her. "If she was here, she would be saying the same thing I'm saying." I said to Rita. "You're right." Rita said to me.

"Thanks for your help Teagle." I said to Teagle. "Least I can do. There wouldn't be much left of this family if it weren't for you all. Only thing I'll ask is that you don't disappoint my boy." Teagle said to me. "Wouldn't dream of it. And tell him, when we come back it will be with Estelle, and me and him will have a battle Trainer to Trainer." I said to Teagle, before holding out my right hand. Teaglel then took my hand and shocked it, before leaving with Floatzel.

We then went to bed, but I noticed Yuri acting weird. He was looking at his sword hand. "Yuri, are you okay?" I quietly asked him. "I'm fine." Yuri quietly said to me. "Is it about Estelle? I thought I heard her say something before we got blasted, but I didn't hear it." I quietly said to Yuri. Yuri then let out a groan. "I'm going to bed, good night." Yuri said to me, before going to sleep. I guess Yuri knows something after all. I'll have to talk to him in the morning.

And I did. I tried to talk to him all the way to The Blade Drifts of Zopheir, but he just changed the topic, or told me to focus on moving to The Blade Drifts of Zopheir. That didn't stop me from presticing him about it every step of the way. We reached The Blade Drifts of Zopheir, around midday, it looked like a battlefield, with giant swords sticking out the rocks of the area and patches made out of crunches of large ice, it was snowing a little bit, and had a small freezing wind blow. This cold environment was making Togeic, Skiddo, Flygon, Shelgon, and Cramernat shiver, but Raven was having a much worse time.

"Brrr… B-b-brrr… It's c-cold… S-so… very… C-cold." Raven said to everyone. "Okay, old man, we get it already." Rita said to Rave, crossing her arms. "The aged have lower body temperatures. Ya know, ahh, what I wouldn't give for the heat of that dessert." Raven said to Rita. "Well now we know Raven is definitely a Ground type with the Chlorophyll ability." Ava said to Raven. "Ha ha." Raven said to Ava, before taking a few steps forward.

"You're gonna slip and fall if you don't shut up… Oops, too late." Yuri said to Raven, before slipping, and crashing into Karol. "Watch it there. We old folks are fragile." Raven said to Karol. "S-sorry." Karol said to Raven. "Man, this is really some place. Sort of a cross between mysterious and just plain creepy. There are swords coming up out of the ice." Yuri said to everyone. "Yeah, they seem to be all over. Just what kind of place is this?!" Rita asked everyone.

"They're relics of a battle that happened long ago between pirates and the empire." Patty said to everyone. "Hm? N-Now that you mention it. I-I've heard about that." Raven said to Patty. "Must have been a very big battle." I said to everyone. "You're just full of information, aren't you?" Yuri said to Patty. "It's stuff that I picked up when I was researching about Aifread."

"I thought Zophier got its name from the sharp cold, but I guess I was wrong." Judith said to everyone. "I don't think you were too far off with "cold as a void"." Raven said to Judith, shivering, before Repede started to bark.

"What… What's wrong with him? Aaah!" Rita said, before we all reached for our weapons. The reason why was that there was a big fish in the water, it was grey and blue, with two large fins on the side of its body, and I noticed four small fins on its belly, it's top half looked like armor with blades in it, a blade tip tail, and a large green curve horn on top of it's head. And it went right under us. "Wh-what was that?!" Karol asked me. "It's big… I-is that an Entelexeia?!" Rita asked Judith.

Judith then closed her eyes for a few seconds. "No. I don't sense intelligence in it." Judith said to Rita. "So it's a monster, right?! We'd be in trouble if that thing attacked us." Karol said to everyone. "It's a Baitojoh." Patty said to everyone. "A, what now?" I asked Patty. "A monster with a rigid, sparkly back and a super strong body." Patty said to me. "It shouldn't bother us if we leave it alone. Forget about it." Yuri said to me. "Let's go." Yuri said to everyone.

"Fine, but first. Aurorus come on out." I said, before letting Aurorus out of her Pokeball. "You to Avalugg." Ava said letting Avalugg out of his Pokeball. "Don't forget Mamoswine." Hugo said letting Mamoswine out of his Pokeball. "A-Are you sure. B-big Pokemon l-like A-Aurorus, A-Avalugg, and M-Mamoswine are a g-good idea?" Raven asked us. "Maybe, but this place is similar to environments Aurorus and Mamoswine naturally live in, and it's an environment like this that Avalugg's kind calls home. So they'll have an easier time traveling through this place then we will. Now let's move on." Ava said to Raven, before everyone, but me and Karol started to move.

And the reason we weren't moving was because we were looking in the direction the Baitojoh went. "Karol! Oliver!" Yuri said to us. "Huh, oh, right!" Karol said to Yuri, as he started to move. I started to walk as well, wondering if we are lucky enough that the Baitojoh will leave us alone. Who am I kidding of course it will attack us, we're never that lucky.

And I was right, as we walked through The Blade Drifts of Zopheir, the Baitojoh smashed through chunks of ice right in front of us. "Wahhh!" Karol said, before he fell into the water, but I caught him and pulled him back onto stable ice. "You need to take a chill pill." Rita said to Karol. "It looks like he's taken a liking to us." Judith said to everyone, as Aurorus, Avalugg, and Mamoswine, started to growl in the direction the Baitojoh went. "Doesn't sound like the feeling's mutual." Hugo said to Judith, petting Mamoswine. "Same, I prefer dates who are a little less aggressive." Yuri said to Hugo.

"I wonder if we can catch it somehow." Patty said to everyone. "With what a Pokeball?" Ava asked Patty. "Why do you want to catch it? You want to eat it or something?" Yuri asked Patty. "Cold-water fish have more fat to insulate their bodies from the low temperatures, making them so delicious! White meat is just perfect for skewers!" Patty said to Yuri. "Uh, that's not a fish, y'know? That thing's a monster…" Karol said to Patty. "Let's just keep moving. It looked like it opened another path for us." Hugo said to everyone, before we started to move.

But then after walking for a bit and noticing that there wasn't a single monster here besides the Baitojoh, the Baitojoh did it again, smashing the ice that was our path forward, making Raven hack and cough. "I got water up my nose! So salty… So cold!" Raven said to everyone, as Aurorus, Avalugg, and Mamoswine started to growl again. "I can't tell who's more energetic, you old man or the Pokemon." Yuri said to Raven. "I-if we s-sit around t-talkin', we're gonna f-freeze our b-butts off! Ah, achoo!" Raven said to Yuri. "Patty… This would be a great time for some of yer p-p-pipin' hot skewers…" Raven said to Patty.

"It's frozen!" Patty said to Raven, pulling out a skewer that was completely covered in frost. "Ah… Achoo!" Raven said. "How annoying…" Rita said to everyone. "Agreed, now let's get back to moving and finding a way out of here." Ava said to everyone, as we started to move again.

But again after walking for a bit, the Baitojoh smashed into the ice in front of us, breaking our current path and making a new one. "It's weird. That monster seems to have times when it bothers us and times when it leaves us alone." Judith said to everyone. "Yeah, I don't like it one bit." Yuri said to Judith. "I don't like it either. It's like it's leading us somewhere." I said to everyone. "But if we stand on really thick ice I don't think that we need to worry about being attacked." Karol said to me.

"I'm going to worry anyway. It won't be going through this much trouble to lead us, if it didn't have a plan." I said to Karol. "If that thing comes at us, we can just kick its butt! Bring it on!" Patty said to me. "I can't tell if that is bravery or foolishness." I said to Patty. "In any case. I'd really prefer not fighting something like that head-on at the moment." Yuri said to everyone.

"Let's get back to land as soon as we can." Rita said to everyone. "And back ta someplace warm! Achooooo!" Raven said to everyone. "That's going to be hard with that Baitojoh smashing the out ice paths. Now let's hurry before it breaks all of the paths." Hugo said to everyone. We all nodded yes, and started to move again.

But then after walking for a bit we found ourselves on a giant rock, with three large green, lightly glowing, crystals sticking out of it. "Hey, what's with this? I know I've seen this somewhere…" Raven said to everyone. "It's an aer krene!" Rita said to everyone. "Huh, there's one even out here." Yuri said to everyone. "It's not putting out an aer, though. Maybe it's what's left over when they dry up." Judith said to everyone. "This area doesn't seem desolate enough for that, though." Rita said to everyone.

"Everyone, be on your guard!" Judith said to everyone. "Why?" I asked, as we all turned around and noticed the Baitojoh in the water behind us. "Oh man, th-there it is again!" Karol said to everyone. "We're up on this rock right? We'll be fine." Raven said to everyone.

Then the Baitojoh jumped out of the water, and started to fly in the air. "Or not." Raven said to everyone. "You just had to say it, didn't you?" Ava said to Raven, before the tip of the Baitojoh's horn started to glow, making the aer krene pur out aer making us all unable to move. "The aer krene?!" Rita said to everyone. "It's a trap." Hugo said to everyone. "Look out!" Yuri said, as he pushed Karol out of the trap. "Aurorus." Aurorus said, as she used her tail to whip Skiddo and Mawile out of the trap.

This made Karol, Skiddo, and Mawile roll back a bit. And I noticed Karol pulling off Yuri's keystone as he rolled. "Aah. Y-Yuri?!" Karol said to Yuri, after he, Skiddo, and Mawile, stopped rolling, and stood up. "Uagh…!" Yuri said, before dropping to his knees. "A monster that uses an aer krene to trap its prey?" Judith said to everyone. "At least now we know why it was smashing our paths." Ava said to everyone. "How could I have been so careless…? I should've known..." Patty said to everyone.

Then we noticed the Baitojoh turned to Karol and his Pokemon. "Karol, run!" Yuri said to Karol. "Yeah, take Skiddo and Mawile and get out of here!" I said to Karol. "N-no way! You guys'll all get eaten up!" Karol said to us. "This isn't something you can beat on your own!" Yuri said to Karo, trying to get up. "Not even Skiddo and Mawile can beat something like this." I said to Karol. "But!" Karol said to us. "No buts now run!" I said to Karol. Then the Baitojoh flew at Karol, Skiddo, and Mawile, knocking them down. Then the Baitojoh flew back to us and roared at us. So this is how it ends uh.

But then I noticed Karol with his axe in hand, Yuri's key stone on his hand, and Skiddo and Mawile standing next to him. "I gotta do this… We gotta do it now." Karol said to Skiddo and Mawile. "Karol!" Yuri said to Karol. "Now or never!" Karol said to Skiddo and Mawile. "Skiddo!" Skiddo said to Karol. "Mawile!" Mawile said to Karol. "Yaaaaah!" Karol yelled, as they all charged at the Baitojoh. The Baitojoh noticed this and turned to them.

"Skiddo use Leaf Blade, and Mawile use Crunch." Karol said to Skiddo and Mawile. "Skiddo." Skiddo said, as his horns glow green, flip around and connect forming a green curve blade. "Mawile." Mawile said, as the fangs in her ponytail became longer and sharp.

But before the three of them could attack the Baitojoh, it dived into the ice, breaking through it. And then it came bursting out of the ice, making Karol, Skiddo, and Mawile roll away. "Waah!" Karol said,as they all rolled back a bit. "L-looks like we've gotta be careful. Skiddo Rock Slide. Mawile Iron Head." Karol said to everyone, as they got up and he and Mawile charged at the Baitojoh. "Mawile." Mawile said, as the top of her ponytail-mouth became silver and rough. "Skiddo." Skiddo said as rocks started to fall from the sky.

The Baitojoh flew around in the air, dodging the rocks, and knocking a few rocks at Karol and Mawile with its horn. Karol and Mawile used their axe and ponytail to knock the rocks away. Then the Baitojoh ame and tail whipped all three of them, making them roll. "Ow… oof… N-no problem. This is nothing! Right Skiddo and Mawile." Karol said to Skiddo and Mawlie, as he got up. "Skiddo." Skiddo said, as he got up and shook his head. "Mawile." Mawile said as she jumped up.

"Mawile use Crunch again, and Skiddo use Leech Seed to hold it." Karol said to Mawile and Skiddo. "Skiddo." Skiddo said, as he fired seeds at the Baitojoh, making it wrapped vines around the Baitojoh. This made the Baitojoh crash into the ice. "Mawile." Mawile said, as the fangs in her ponytail became longer and sharper. But then before Mawile and Karol could attack, the Baitojoh fired a burst of cold air forcing Karol and Mawile back to Skiddo, but they were still on their feet. "I, no. We've gotta protect them. No more running…!" Karol said to Skiddo and Mawile. "Skiddo/ Mawile." The two of them nodded their heads before charging at the Baitojoh.

But then the Baitojoh broke free, hitting everyone, scattering Karol, Skiddo, Mawile, and sending Karols axe flying into the water. "Karol! Stop this! It's crazy!" Judith said to Karol. "I can't watch this! I told you to get out of here!" Yuri said to Karol. "He's right, just take Skiddo and Mawile and run!" Hugo said to Karol. "If you all keep this up, you're gonna die!" Patty said to Karol, Skiddo, and Mawile.

"I-I'm fine… we-we're fine…" Karol said to Patty, as Skiddo, and Mawile nodded their heads in agreement, but having a hard time standing. "You most certainly are not!" Rita said to Karol. "Even we can tell from here, that you all are in pain." Ava said to Karol. "No, it's all right, you guys are all here with me. And I'm not fighting alone." Karol said to everyone. "Karol… don't…" Yuri said to Karol. "You're all right behind me. And Skiddo and Mawile are right beside me. So no matter how bad I'm beat up. I can't lose." Karol said to everyone. "Move, damn it! If ya don't, the kid's and his Pokemon gonna…" Raven said to all us that were trapped. "I KNOW!" I yelled at Raven.

Then I noticed Karol running at the Baitojoh and the Baitojoh charging at Karol. Then I noticed Karol getting tossed into the air by the Baitojoh, with a large sword in his hands, and a stone getting tossed into the air as well. "KAROL!" Me and Yuri yelled, as a blue light started to shine. "How did he…!" Judith asked. "Where did he get that sword, and what's the light?" Ava asked, as we noticed the light was coming from Skiddo, who jumped up into the air, right below the Baitojoh, and getting bigger.

Skiddo was now much bigger, it's bush was bigger, and it's horns were longer and covered back. Then the glow stopped, showing it a new tan color coat. The Skiddo's horns glowed green and flipped over, becoming two green curve blades. "You're ours!" Karol said to the Baitojoh, as he came down on the Baitojoh, and Skiddo came up from below. The three blades clashed together, breaking off the Baitojoh's horn.

This made the aer krene stop glowing and free us. This made us all run to Karol, who was on the back of Skiddo, with his new sword anchored in the ground, helping him stay stable on Skiddo's back. "How the hell did they pull that off? Hey, is he alive? What happened to Mawile? And when did Skiddo get so big?" Raven asked everyone. "Yes, barely, no idea, and Skiddo is a Gogoat now." I said to Raven, pulling out my Pokedex.

Gogoat

The Mount Pokemon

Grass

It can tell how its Trainer is feeling by subtle shifts in the grip of its horns. This empathic sense lets them run as if one being.

"Hey guys! What do you think of Skidd's new look?" Karol asked everyone, as I put my Pokedex away. "He looks awesome. Just like you." I said to Karol, as I noticed his new sword. It was white a great sword, with a rough silver edge, a smooth bronze edge, and a handle guard. "And we're sorry for being late, traffic was awful. You doing all right?" Yuri asked Karol. "Y-yeah. Of course! But I don't know where Mawile is." Karol said to Yuri. "We'll find her later. First this Baitojoh is in need of some payback." Hugo said to Karol. "Yes, let's play this guy back double for all those knocks you took!" Yuri said to Karol.

"Y-yeah." Karol said to Hugo and Yuri. "Why don't you let us take the lead. You deserve a break." Ava said to Karol. "O-okay." Karol said to Ava. "I get first crack at this thing. Reuniclus use Psyshock and Metagross use Zen Headbutt." Rita said, as she charged a dark spell. "Reuniclus." Reiniclus said as she started to make purple orbs. "Metagross." Metagross said, as the X on his face started to glow light blue.

Metagorss them slammed into the Baitojoh, making it crash into the ice, and roar in pain. Then Metagross jumped back, right before Rita finished her spell, making a ball of dark energy burst into the Baitojoh face, and as Reuniclus fired her orbs at the Baitojoh, hitting it lower body. Then, me, Yuri, Hugo, Judith charged at the Baitojoh.

"Bisharp use Metal Claw, Banette use Shadow Claw." Yuri said to Bisharp and Banette. "Bisharp." Bisharp said, as he made long couver silver blades came out his wrists. "Banette." Banette said, as his claws became wrapped in black energy with a purple outline. "Excadrill help them with Metal Claw as well. Same for you Sableye use Shadow Claw." Raven said to Excadrill and Sableye, as he, Ava, and Raven tried to get a clear shot of the Baitojoh. "Excadrill." Excadrill said as his claws turned silver. "Sableye." Sableye said, as his claws became wrapped in black energy with a purple outline.

Then we all slammed our weapons and claws into the Baitojoh belly, making it roat in pain. Then the Baitojoh flapped its wings and got up into the air, making us slide back in the process. Then the Baitojoh fired another breath of cold air from its mouth. "Audino use Light Screen." I said to Audino. "Audino." Audino said to me, before making a glass barrier blocking the force of the cold air, but not the cold of it.

The Baitojoh then started to fly around, whipping its tail at all of us. "Flygon use Dragon Breath, and Shelgon use Flamethrower." Judith said to Flygon and Shelgon, as we used are weapons to block the Baitojoh tail. "Flygon." Flygon said, as he fired a burst of teal energy from his mouth at the Baitojoh hitting it in the Baitojoh chest for a bit. "Shelgon." Shelgon said before he shot out a stream of fire at the Baitojoh. The Baitojoh was able to dodge it.

"Cramerant use Scald, and Slowbro use Water Pulse." Patty said to Cramerant and Slowbro, as she fired her gun at the flying Baitojoh. "Cramerant." Cramerant said, as he fired a stream of scalding hot water at the Baitojoh, but the Baitojoh dodged most of it, but still got a little burn on it's side from scalding hot water. "Slowbro." Slowbro said as she fired a ball of water at the Baitojoh, and hit one of the Baitojoh fins.

"Togetic use Air Slash. Aurorus uses Hyper Beam." I said to Togetic and Aurorus, as Raven and Ava shot arrows at the Baitojoh. "Aurorus." Aurorus said to me, as she fired a large burst of light blue energy at the Baitojoh. The Baitojoh was able to dodge it, but it did leave a scar over it's left eye, and damaged it a little. "Togetic." Togetic said to me, as she flapped her wings firing two wind blades, cutting two holes through one of its wings. These holes made the Baitojoh crash into the ice.

"Did we do it?" Rita asked everyone. But before we could answer her, the Baitojoh burst out of the ice in the middle of us, and sent us all flying. "Nope." I said, before the Baitojoh dove back into the ice. "How can we beat it now?" Patty asked everyone. "Gogoat." Gogoat said, getting our attention. When we turned our heads to see Karol get off Gogoat's back.

Gogoat then closed his eyes and lowered his head. Then Gogoat's horns started to glow light green. Then Gogoat started to charge. That's when the Baitojoh burst out of the ice, and Gogoat rammed his horns into the Baitojoh. This forced the Baitojoh back, and made it glw light green. Then, ords of green light flew out of the Baitojoh and into Gogoat. "Nice work with the Horn Leech Gogoat. Now Avalugg crush him with Heavy Slam." Ava said to Gogoat and Avalugg. "You use Heavy Slam as well Mamoswine." Hugo said to Mamoswine.

"Avalugg/ Mamoswine." the two of them said, as they charged at the Baitojoh, and jumped into the air right above it, and came crashing down on the Baitojoh, making a crater and large cracks appear all around the crater. Then as Avalugg and Mamoswine moved back to us, we noticed the Baitojoh crawling out of the crater still having some fight in it. "What's it going to take to finish this thing?" I asked everyone. "Mawile." Mawile said, as I felt something pulled on my leg.

I look down to see Mawile with a silver crystal and a yellow and gray core in it's ponytail-mouth. "A Mega Stone! Wait, was this that rock I saw get tossed into the air? Hugo what Mage Stone is this?" I said to myself, before asking Hugo. "looks like Mawilite." Hugo said to me.

"So this m-means... Mawile c-can Mega E-Evolve...?" Karol asked me. "Yep." I said to Karol. "Then r-ready, Mawile...?" Karol asked Mawile. "Mawile." Mawile said nodding her head yes. "No matter what we face, no matter what happens, we will not run, now MEGA EVOLVE." Karol said, as he touched Yuri's Key stone. Then three streams of energy came out of the key stone. Then three streams of energy came out of the crystal in Mawile's Ponytail-mouth. The energy then connected and Mawile started to glow light blue.

Mawile got bigger, gained a second ponytail-mouth, and her ponytail-mouths became larger and meaner looking, even her pig tails got longer. And when the light faded, we could see she was her normal colors, but now had violet pants like fur, and the end of her arms right before her three fingers were violet as well. "Mawile!" Mawile said, getting a feel for her new body. "Looking g-good Mawile." Karol said to Mawile. "Here it comes." Judith said, as we noticed the Baitojoh flopping towards us.

Mawile then stood in the path of the Baitojoh. Then the teeth in Mawile's ponytail-mouths started to glow white and became sharper. Mawile then flipped her ponytails and camped them down into the Baitojoh's neck, stopping it in its tracks, and making it roar in pain. Mawile then used her ponytails to lift the Baitojoh up a bit and then slammed it back into the ice. She did this a few times. Then she let it go, and the Baitojoh didn't move, it just sat there and started to breathe heavily. "Mawile." Mawile said, as the top of her ponytail-mouths turned silver and rough. Mawile then slammed her ponytails into the right and left side of the Baitojoh head, finishing it.

"We did it! " Patty said to everyone. "With Karol and Mawile being the heroes of the hour." I said to everyone, as Mawile turned back to her normal form. "You idiot, what were you thinking, doing that stunt… Karol!" Rita said to Karol, before Karol fanited. "Karol! Hey! Karol!" Yuri said to Karol, pulling Karol close to him. "Come on! Keep it together, kid!" Raven said to Karol. "Mawile/ Gogoat." The two of them said, as they ran and nuzzled Karol.

"Audino use Heal Pulse." I said to Audino. "Audino." Audino said, as she started to send out a pink pulse, healing us all, but Karol was still out of it. "Is he okay?" Rita asked everyone. "He's all right. Once he calmed down it all went out of him. He's just passed out." Judith said to everyone. "I guess even a heal move can't do much, when you're exhausted." Ava said to everyone.

"This kid… what if you'd checked out before we even rescued Estelle?" Rita asked everyone. "Cut him a little slack, now. Facin' down challenges like that is part of becomin' a man. Not to mention he, Gogoat, and Mawile saved our butts." Raven said to Rita. "Yeah, all three of them proved themselves today. So give them a break." Hugo said to Rita, as he took the Mega Stone from Mawile, and put it in his bag. "Yeah. We would've been lunch without Karol, Gogoat, and Mawile." Yuri said to everyone.

"Facin' down challenges…" Patty said to everyone. "It's part of life. We all have challenges we face, and it's how we face them that makes us better or worse. And in Karol's case. It made him better." I said to everyone. "Exactly. It's times like this when ya just know you can't turn tail 'n run. Hell, everybody has those moments at least once in their life." Raven said to everyone.

"Let's get out of here quickly, Heal Pulse might have healed us, but Karol is tired, and his place can't be good for him." Judith said to everyone. "Right." Rita said to everyone. "Gogoat." Gogoat said, lowering his front legs. "You want to carry him?" I asked Gogoat. "Gogoat." Gogoat said, nodding his head yes. "Okay then." I said as me and Yuri helped Karol onto Gogoat's back. "We owe you one, Boss." Yuri said to Karol. "That was very impressive." Judith said to Karol, as I placed a hand on Karol, keeping him steady on Gogoat's back.

"Avalugg can you carry Karol's sword?" Ava asked Avalugg, as she took Karol's sword. "Avalugg." Avalugg said, nodding his head. Ava then placed the sword on Avalugg's back, and we started to move.

After walking for a bit we finally found the exit. "Whew… Hey, does that look like an exit ta anybody else?" Raven asked everyone. "Tired already?" Rita asked Raven. "We old folks lack stamina…" Raven said to Rita. "Really cause it looked like you had a lot of it in the desert." Ava said to Raven. I then heard a small chuckle and felt Karol move a little. "Karol… you're awake, aren't you." Yuri asked Karol. "N-no I'm not!" Karol said, still laying down on Gogoat's back.

"Okay Karol, that's enough playing around." I said to Karol, shaking Karol's head, making him sit up. "Wow, Karol. You're really good at pretending to be asleep." Patty said to Karol. "Just how long have you been pretending to sleep?" Ava asked Karol. "Ah how cares, not like he slept through anything important." Hugo said to Ava.

"Mister Karol. You're made of tougher stuff than I might've guessed." Raven said to Karol. "Feeling better, Karol?" Yuri asked Karol, as Karol got off Gogoat's back. "Yeah." Karol said to Yuri. "We were really worried about you." Judith said to Karol. "Yeah you almost gave us all a heart attack." Hugo said to Karol. "You two didn't look that worried to me." Rita said to Judith and Hugo. "Really? That's weird." Judith said to Rita. "I could have soon, we were." Hugo said to Rita.

"Just never do that again, okay? We're all in this together." Rita said to Karol. "Okay." Karol said to Rita. "And I believe this is yours." Ava said to Karol, pulling the sword off Avalugg's back, and handed it back to Karol. "Thanks." Karol said to Ava, taking his sword back. "Oh Yuri, this is yours." Karol said, handing Yuri back his keystone, having a big smile on his face. "Mind telling me what's so funny?" Yuri asked Karol, as he put his keystone back on. "Hey. Easy. Yuri. I was just remembering something The Don said…" Karol said to Yuri. "Take care of your friends and they'll be there when you need them… was that it?" Yuri asked Karol.

"Yeah. I was thinking maybe this is the kind of thing he meant." Karol said to Yuri. This made Yuri and me look at each other before looking at the sky. "Well, if you feel like you understand what he said. I'm sure you're on the right track." Yuri said to Karol. "I hope so." Karol said to Yuri. "I'm sure you are." I said to Karol, rubbing his head. "All right. The exit's right in front of us. Let's go." Yuri said to everyone. "Everything all right?" Judith asked Rita, making us notice she was lost in thoughts.

"What's up Rita?" Ava asked Rita. "I was just thinking that maybe the ice here was made by the aer." Rita said to everyone. "The ice? From the ear?" Karol asked Rita. "Well, if all things are made up of aer, that would make sense." Judith said to Rita. "What makes you think that Rita?" I asked Rita. "The aer krene here was actually quite stabilized. Enough for a monster to control it. Maybe, if huge quantities of aer could be made solid, it would help stabilize things." Rita said to everyone.

"You mean something like that could restore the ear imbalance and stop that disturbances?" Yuri asked Rita. "I'm not sure. It would probably need to be more efficient, and it would take a lot more aer…" Rita said to Yuri. "It sure would be awesome if we could do that, though." Patty said to Rita. "So you wanna stay here and research this aer krene?" Raven asked Rita. "No. There isn't time for that." Rita said to Raven. "Besides, we can come back here another time. It's not like it's going anywhere." I said to everyone.

"Yeah, and we've already burnt enough time here as it is. Let's go." Yuri said to everyone. "Estelle, please be okay…" Rita said, making Yuri scoff. "Once we're out of here, let's ask somebody what's happening in the capital." Karol said to everyone. "Sure thing." Raven said to Karol.

"Then we'll head for Halure. That's the nearest city to the capital, and it's the only place we head to from here." Ava said to everyone. "Why do I feel a "but" coming on?" I asked Ava. "Cause you know your girlfriend so well. But it will be nightfall when we get there. So we'll have to rest there when we get there." Ava said to me and everyone. "Guess it can't be helped." I said as we started to walk to Halure.

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