"All right, here we go!" Ash said. "Time for the Battle Factory!"

"Isn't it the third time you've said that?" May asked.

"I'm still excited," Ash retorted. "I'm just looking forward to a good battle, that's all – I didn't really get a chance at Rota, so it's been pretty much just sparring since the Ever Grande conference… and that got cancelled."

"Don't we know it," Pikachu muttered.

"At least you got a battle against Sparky," Lucario countered. "I was looking forward to having a good one… pity the rematch against Cid wasn't going to happen, though."

"There's so many of you it's probably hard for Ash to keep track of who needs battles," Brock pointed out. "Perhaps Dexter could set up some kind of database."

Don't pin this work on me.

"It's kind of a pity Misty's not living at Cerulean any more, actually," Ash said. "I mean, we could have visited her – and Max could have gotten a Badge off her."

"Maybe we should visit Cerulean Gym anyway," May suggested. "What do you think, Max?"

"I don't think so, really," Max frowned. "I did the Sootopolis gym really recently, so another Water gym doesn't seem right."

"Fair enough," May shrugged. "I don't really have to think about that as a Coordinator."

"There's the Factory roof," Brock pointed out. "I think we can make it there before sunset."

"Unlike last time," May jibed.

"I said I was sorry," her brother shot back. "And at least I'm better at this than Ash."

"She's got a point," Ash agreed.

"So… who are you going to use?" Lucario asked, touching his new gauntlet for a moment. "Is this going to be where I get to use my new Mega Evolution?"

"I don't know," Ash said. "But I don't really think so… the Battle Factory's kind of unusual."

"Aren't all the Battle Frontier places?" Max asked.

"They are, actually," Ash agreed. "But this one's odd because I have to pick the Pokemon to battle as well… at least, that's the way it went last time. There was an Articuno, which was… thinking about it, that was the first time I'd seen someone with a friendly Legendary they used for battles."

Is that what gave you the idea of having Ho-Oh go with you? Jirachi asked. Does that mean it's why I can go with Max?

"No, Ho-Oh asked to come with me," Ash corrected. "Actually, I should probably make sure Ho-Oh has a battle in the Battle Frontier too."

Better get some pens and paper.

"Maybe," Ash shrugged.

The friends walked on in companionable silence for the next few minutes.

"Ash?"

Ash looked left. "Latias?"

"I was wondering – do you think I can have this one?"

The draconic Psychic-type did a roll. "I mean, I've not really had a chance to have a gym kind of battle, and this sounds like a place I could have a battle that could test if I'm as good as I want to be."

"It might be harder than you're expecting," Ash warned. "I was thinking of picking Articuno as the Pokemon I battle, if it's just one, and Articuno's strong against Dragon types."

"I don't mind," Latias said, then crossed her arms and shook her head. "No, I do care about that – I want my battle to be against a strong opponent, so I can be more sure if I win."

"And have a ready excuse if you lose," Pikachu observed.

The Psychic-type spread her hands. "Well, there's that too..."

"It's still kind of odd to see you talking to thin air," May said. "Even after months travelling with you, Latias."

Latias blinked, then decloaked in a flash of blue. "Wait, I was invisible all that time?"

"Correct," Lucario confirmed.

"But I was using hand gestures!"


"Okay, I think that's enough for now," Noland said. "What do you think?"

Articuno backwinged, exhaling a blast of ice towards the arena floor. A spire of ice built up, shaped like a T, and he alighted on the perch before folding his wings.

Then he gave Noland a dignified nod.

"I mean, I'm kind of running out of Pokemon," Noland added, looking down at the various tired-out Battle Factory Pokemon. "You're definitely getting better at that."

Articuno chirruped, emphasizing the point with one wing.

"Not that you weren't good already, man," Noland amended. "Oh, that reminds me – if you can stay overnight, I'm planning on trying out a new wing tomorrow morning."

The Ice-type perked up, looking interested.

"Yeah, it's got a better chord on it, I'm hoping it'll do away with the need for the canard," the Frontier Brain elaborated.

Any further discussion of aircraft wings was interrupted by the sound of a doorbell.

"Oh, huh," Noland frowned. "I guess someone wants to talk. Well, I'll be back in a few minutes – there's some rice in the cupboard if you can't wait for a snack."

As he left, Articuno's gaze took in the sight of the microwave, just visible in the breakroom through a large door.

Now, how did one work that thing again?


"Good evening," Noland said, pulling the door open. "Welcome to the Battle Factory, I'm afraid it's – wait, I know you."

He pointed. "You're one of that family who runs Pewter Gym. I recognize the eyes."

"How?" Brock asked. "I'm pretty sure you can't see mine."

"Good one," Noland chuckled. "Okay, and I'm pretty sure I saw you on TV – Top Coordinator?"

"That's me," May said. "Thanks for noticing!"

"And… you're Ash Ketchum, right?" Noland said. "Actually, never mind – the Pikachu, the Lucario and the Latias make it pretty clear. So, you're taking the Battle Frontier challenge?"

"Yep!" Ash nodded.

"Great to have you," Noland added, shaking his hand. "And you guys too, of course."

Max waited.

"Oh, I guess you guys were all involved with that thing with the meteorite?" Noland checked. "Brandon told us all about it. Sounds like really impressive stuff."

Max waited.

We helped with the space shuttle! Jirachi said. I got it ready in seconds!

Noland blinked, then snapped his fingers. "Right – Jirachi, huh? Nice."

He stepped back. "Well, come in, I guess. I've got some guest rooms which don't have Articuno in them, so that should do – I'm afraid most of my Pokemon are tired out at the moment, though."


"This place is pretty impressive," Max said, looking around. "How many Pokemon do you have in here?"

"Dozens," Noland answered. "I try to make sure that I have a wide choice of Pokemon for whoever challenges me – because part of my gimmick as a member of the Battle Frontier is that my challenger has a choice. Either they battle one powerful Pokemon, or multiple weaker ones – either way, it's a test of their abilities."

"That does sound interesting," Latias said. "I wonder if you have more Pokemon than Ash..."

"That's a good question," Noland said. "I think I probably have more, but Ash might have more he-"

BANG!

"Ow!" May winced, hands flinching up towards her ears. "What was that?"

"Did something explode?"

"Pardon?" Max asked.

"What's that?" Brock said.

The next door ahead on the left swung open, letting out a cloud of smoke and a coughing Articuno. "What just happened? I'm sure I did everything right!"

"Is that an Articuno?" May said.

"Pardon?" Articuno asked.

Someone around here really needs to have Soundproof, Dexter stated, then lit up his projector.

Attention, the words on the walls stated. You have been deafened by a small explosion. Please remain calm.

"An explosion?" Noland said. "What exploded?"

As he spoke, the words appeared on the wall with his name next to them. They hung there for a moment, then faded.

"That's neat," Max said.

"Articuno – what happened?" Ash asked.

Articuno didn't spot the question, too busy looking back through the door smoke was still drifting out of.

Then the fire alarm went off.


"Okay, I think I get it," Brock said, some minutes later. "So… Articuno was making himself some rice."

"I was trying to, yes," Articuno agreed.

"And you put the rice in the microwave without opening the top of the packet," Brock went on. "How long did you do it for?"

"I… guessed it should be about ten minutes?" Articuno admitted. "That's how long it takes to make rice, isn't it?"

"That's how long it takes to boil rice," May said. "Microwaves are generally faster. And if you didn't open the top..."

"It's worked before," the legendary Pokemon said, shaking his wings defensively. "I remember doing it just like this once before."

"I think maybe you punctured it with your claws," Brock mused. "That would let the steam out."

"Okay, I think everything's under control," Noland reported, coming into the room with a faint smell of burned insulation following him. "The microwave's pretty much a lost cause, but we've got a spare and I can fix it as a project."

"Good," Articuno said, relaxing. "I was worried I'd done worse than that."

"Now," Noland went on. "It's too late for a good battle – especially one that goes outside, but knowing your reputation we might wake up half of Cerulean – but it might help if you picked the Pokemon you're going to battle now, Ash."

"That sounds like a good idea," Ash agreed. "Uh, let's see… how many is it?"

"Pick one first, and I'll tell you," Noland replied.

"What if I want more than the number you tell me?" Ash asked. "Is there a way to handle that?"

"I… suppose there has to be," Noland frowned. "I've never really considered it from that point of view. But I suppose if you do want extra challenge, go ahead."

"Then I'd like to battle Articuno," Ash said. "And apart from that, I'm not sure – do you have somewhere all your Pokemon are so I can see?"

Articuno and Noland exchanged a wordless look.

"Ash, you're way more eager than I was expecting someone to be," the Frontier Brain said. "Even for people who take the Battle Frontier challenge, you're something else."


Articuno sat on the roof, icy feathers glittering faintly in the light of the crescent moon and the starry sky overhead.

There was a soft sound, and the Ice-type turned to look. "Good evening."

"And a good evening to you as well," Entei replied, padding out to sit next to Articuno. "It's a very clear night."

"I like nights like this," Articuno agreed. "They're often cold, and that makes me more comfortable at ground level."

He shook his wings. "So – I can see the rumors are correct."

"I'm surprised they're still just rumors," Entei replied. "Ash caught us more than a year ago and we've all been on television at least twice."

"It's surprising how few televisions can be found in the wild," Articuno countered. "And, after today, I think that might be a good thing – I would probably find how to make one explode."

"It's not as hard as you may think to operate a television," Entei said, tail whipping back and forth. "And the rewards can be considerable."

"I'll take your word for it," Articuno said.

They sat there for a few minutes, then Articuno cleared his throat.

"What's it like, being a Pokemon with a Pokeball?" he asked. "I've sometimes wondered about asking Noland about the subject, but I've never worked up the courage – and when I ask his Pokemon about it, they don't seem to have the same perspective as me. But you've been a wild Legendary for longer than my parents have been alive, so surely you know..?"

"The decision to allow Ash to chase us – and catch us, if he could – was not one I or my siblings made lightly," Entei answered. "It was based on respect, and an understanding of how Ash deserved it – and that's an assessment he has well fulfilled."

The Fire-type tapped a paw on the ground. "As for the results – they have all, without question, been positive. I remain as free as ever to travel the world, my duties unhampered, while I have gained friends – many of them Pokemon I would never otherwise have met – and learned things I do not think I could have come to learn without meeting Ash."

He looked over, fixing Articuno with his gaze. "Ask yourself this – do you think Noland would betray your trust? If not, then you have nothing to fear – and much to gain in friendship."

Articuno was silent.

"It is not an easy decision to make," Entei agreed, standing. "Make it at your leisure, and do not feel ashamed of it no matter what it may be. It is in your wings alone – whether you value more freedom or friendship, and whether you feel it is right to trade one for the other. I cannot tell you what to do, only tell you how it went for me."

"And I thank you for it," Articuno replied, nodding with respect towards the Fire-type Beast. "I will value your perspective."

There was a pause.

"By the way, do you have any tips for battling Ash's Pokemon?"

"Yes, actually," Entei said, to Articuno's surprise.

"Really?"

"Yes. To defeat Mawile, it is preferable to use Ground-type attacks and to not assume she is not dangerous."

Articuno nodded, waited, then tilted his head. "Wait, is that the only advice you're giving?"

"Yes," Entei answered.

"And what are the chances I'll actually be facing Mawile?"

"About zero," the Fire-type said. "Next time, ask more carefully."


"So, just to make sure the rules are clear," Noland began. "A win earns two points, a draw earns one point each and a loss earns no points. You must earn more points than me to win."

He gestured up into the sky. "As for the battlefield – well, we're going to have to hold the first battle up here on the roof."

"Yeah, the indoor space didn't look big enough for a good flying battle," Ash agreed. "Ready?"

Articuno flared his wings.

"Articuno looks pretty ready," Noland nodded. "So, Ash, who are you using as your first challenger?"

Ash pointed. "Latias!"

There was a bright blue flash as Latias dropped her invisibility.

"Interesting," Noland said, and glanced to his side. "Remember, she's weak to Ice attacks, but don't rely on that. You know the tricks."

Articuno nodded, eyeing his opponent and tilting his head on one side, then sprang into the air.

"Begin!" Noland pronounced, and Latias shot skywards after him.


Articuno accelerated hard, wings beating as fast as he could, then drew them in and half-rolled about his axis.

Reopening his wings again, he let out a loud shout and a burst of ice-and-snow, which hung in the air around him and which made Latias swerve away from a simple Extremespeed attack.

The Ice-type's next move was to expand out his quick Ice-type field. Swooping upwards into the sky, keeping one eye on Latias as she lined up for her next attack, Articuno charged up – then fired a huge icy blast, which detonated overhead into a thick cotton-like cloud and began to hail.

"Good!" Noland called up from ground level. "Now, just stay in the snowstorm and it'll be harder for her to sneak up on you!"

"I know," Articuno muttered to himself.

He banked, tail streaming, and fired down an Ice Beam at Latias. The Psychic-type blocked it with a Psybeam, the two attacks forming a bubble of conflicting energy for a moment and then exploding outwards in all directions – the cloud of diamonddust that resulted making it harder for the two Legendaries to see one another.

"Latias, counter shield!" Ash instructed.

There was a flash of green Dragonbreath from below, then Articuno spotted Latias again – this time coated in a spiralling green shield which didn't look like anything he'd seen before.

"Blizzard her!" Noland called up.

Articuno complied, building up ice under the scoops of his wings, then abandoned the energy for a moment to switch to Steel Wing.

His stiff wings hit Latias' own with a kerrash which echoed through the sky, and both Legendaries bounced away at an angle to their previous path – Latias going upwards through the snow cloud, Articuno having to twist to recover his flight regime and get back into his snowy area of airborne terrain.

Then a Psybeam punched down through the cloud, missing Articuno by about a foot.

Articuno blinked, then dodged to one side and avoided being hit by the second Psybeam. The third connected, knocking him bodily downwards, but by then he'd worked out a counter tactic and had balls of cold air building under his wings.

He waited for the fourth, then slammed to a halt in mid-air just after it came down through the cloud – missing him by inches – and turned nearly upside down with how hard he braked.

The Ice-type sighted along the line the Psybeam had come down, and slammed his wings together to send a rolling, damp wave of sleet-laden air back along the path the Psychic attack had taken.

Flipping back upright, Articuno followed it through and out above the clouds with a globe of blue light forming in his beak.


Latias blew the incoming Blizzard apart with a push of psychic energy, then saw a flash of blue-white light coming out of the clouds – giving her just enough time to throw up a Safeguard shield before the Ice Beam hit.

However, the Ice Beam didn't just last a second or so. It kept coming and coming and coming, Ice-type energy battering at her shield and making it flare, and she couldn't see quite well enough to pinpoint Articuno through the shield-scatter.

Deciding to get out of the line of fire – or ice – Latias accelerated, curving around in a circle, only to find that Articuno was managing to hold the Ice Beam on her despite her high-speed movements.

Then a Blizzard smacked into her barrier.

It still held, kept in place by the force of a Psychic-type Legendary Pokemon, but that hadn't been the point – the blizzard Articuno had put together was damp and slushy, so when it splashed off her Safeguard it just gave the Ice Beam plenty of new material to freeze.

For a moment, Latias was completely trapped inside a solid ball of ice. Then her eyes flashed, and she blew the shield apart from the inside – going invisible in the same moment, and firing a curl of Dragonbreath which shot off in a different direction.

Articuno's Ice Beam followed the sphere of Dragonbreath like a laser, hitting it four times in two seconds and making it fall apart.

"Articuno, watch out!" Noland's voice came, faintly.

Flipping end-over-end, Latias shot off to the south – gaining distance with incredible speed, before turning around to come back at Articuno before he could set up a larger Hail field.


"That ice thing was pretty cool," Ash said. "I mean – was that a trick you'd already worked out?"

"Yes, that's right," Noland agreed, watching the skies. "It's one we worked out to deal with Psychic-types and other Pokemon with powerful shields – you can try to push through the shields, or you can turn it almost into an advantage. What about that fire shield?"

"That's the Counter Shield," Ash explained. "It's something I teach a lot of my Pokemon, in different forms."

"Nice," Noland nodded. "I might have to reverse engineer that."

He cupped his hands. "She's coming from the south!"

Ash did a double-take. "Wait, how do you know that?"

Overhead, Articuno's Ice Beam flicked out – scoring a direct hit on the incoming Psychic-type.


Latias screeched in pain as the ice bit into her, wrenching her off course and making her tumble.

She dropped subsonic and decloaked, focusing her powers on this new task, and forced the splash of ice along her side to heat up and fall away. That took only a couple of seconds, but by the time she switched her attention back to the world she was…

...well, she wasn't sure quite where she was, but she was definitely out of control.

Some Flying-types would have trouble recovering from a tumble like this, Latias knew. But she was much better than that.

She just stopped in mid air, cancelling out her momentum with a burst of psychic effort, then reorientated and dove out of the way as Articuno stooped on her position with his wings glowing in a Steel Wing.

"Latias!" Ash called up, and she adjusted her trajectory to pass lower and closer to him. "Don't go supersonic and try to be invisible – Articuno is spotting the shockwave!"

Latias nodded to herself, already heading back into the sky. That did explain a lot… so, how to land another good hit on Articuno?

After a moment's thought, she giggled as an idea struck her.


"How much of that is planned?" Noland asked, interested, as Latias phased out of visibility. "Do you go into a Pokemon battle with a concrete plan?"

"Not really," Ash replied with a shrug. "It's more like… we work out bits of a plan, and then Latias assembles it as she's battling."

"That sounds hard to train," Noland mused. "But, then, you have so many Pokemon you can probably make it work… actually, my own strategy is more like that than I first thought."

"I guess both of you have so many Pokemon it's easy to train them against a wide variety of other Pokemon," Max volunteered.

"Yeah, that makes sense," May agreed. "I mean, we've-"

There was a sudden burst of white-blue light overhead.

"Whoa!" Ash said, shading his eyes. "What's that – oh, I see!"

Articuno shot past the roof, flying low enough that the wind-shock blasted cold air at them, then rose again with his tail feathers streaming out behind him.

A bright glow was hissing off the tail, forming a glowing trail which hung in the air, and Articuno banked in on himself to turn it into a complete loop – then began weaving around it.

"That's… I think it's Icy Wind?" Ash asked. "How come it's staying there?"

"It's very cold overhead," Noland answered. "And that means the actual ice can be very small bits – the rest of it's Ice-type energy he's channelling through his tail, which freezes the bits in place and means the trail stays in one place."

Ash opened Dexter. "Are you taking notes?"

Of course I am taking notes. I exist to take notes. And calculate pi.

That's a boring hobby, Kris contributed. At least calculate something a bit harder, like phi.

Ethan let out an electronic sigh. Am I the only one who writes?

"I should get a Porygon," Noland mused. "I bet they're pretty good to bounce ideas off… hey, Ash, where is your Latias? She's supposed to actually take part, you know."

"Over there," Ash said, nodding.

A faint flash came from behind a low rise.

Then something came charging out into the air. It moved deceptively slowly, at first, but it quickly became clear it was really going very fast indeed – and it seemed to be made up of very large rocks, glowing and spinning in an eye-confusing pattern.

"What?" May asked. "What? Did your crazy Latias just use Counter Shield with a Draco Meteor?"

She frowned. "That's… actually a logical progression, and I don't know why I was so surprised."

"Articuno, look out!" Noland shouted. "Aurora!"

"Shouldn't that be Aurora beam?" Brock asked.

"Latias, Water Pulse!" Ash instructed.


Articuno fired his Aurora Beam into the swirling sky-writing he'd been leaving behind for the past minute or so.

The whole thing lit up instantly, his artificial cirrus strengthening the pulse of Icy energy and catalyzing it, and within a second there was a beautiful rainbow glow all around his position.

Then it began to pour towards the ground, a glowing barrier of rainbow light which left frost behind where it hit the ground and made several startled Pokemon run for cover.

For a moment, that was all there was, as Articuno spun in mid-air to face where Latias would have to come over the Aurora.

Then Latias broke the rules.

Her Water Pulse smacked into the rainbow-like shield, and then she smashed right through the rapidly freezing water – Counter Shield a little wet, but still intact, and Articuno had to quickly redirect his attention to attack Latias as she bored in behind her fast-moving pile of meteorites.

The Ice-type drew deeply on his reserves, turning an Ice beam into a Blizzard and then into a Sheer Cold as he poured energy into the attack to neutralize Latias' attack. A drop of water hit him on the head, and he studiously ignored it – not wanting to flinch.

Then a claw tapped him between the wings.

Startled, he lost concentration for a moment – and the last few meteors in the Draco Meteor hit their frozen fellows, smashed them into shrapnel, and one of them caught Articuno a glancing blow in the side which knocked him across the sky.

As he recovered, shaking his head and trying to work out what just happened, a small ball of white light drifted lazily towards him.

"Mist Ball," Latias announced.

Then it exploded.


"So, uh… what happened?" May asked, as Articuno staggered through the air.

As they watched, the Ice-type rallied. He rolled onto his back, firing an Ice-type attack which hit Latias squarely and made her squeak with surprise-

"Pull up!" Noland called.

Disoriented, Articuno pulled up – forgetting he was upside down.

Everyone winced at the crash as the Ice-type hit a tree.

"I think we're going to need the action replay," Brock said.

"Articuno, can you keep going?" Noland asked.

Articuno fell out of the tree, hit a bush, and started snoring.

"I think that's a no," Max ventured.


Two small purple-and-yellow rocks flew through the air. They passed clean over Cerulean, slowing markedly as air resistance buffeted them, then arced towards the nearby beach.

Rapidly losing energy, the last two components of Latias' Draco Meteor blew an 8-shaped crater about six inches long.


Dawn turned. "Are you okay, Piplup?"

Piplup shrugged.

"I heard you sigh," she said. "Is there something wrong with the theme? Do we need to loosen the tuxedo a bit?"

The Water-type shook his head, then mimed something.

"Uh… hold on," Dawn said, watching closely. "You're happy… and feel a bit lucky… that you didn't get… flattened?"

Her starter hopped back to his feet from his splayed-out tongue-out 'flattened' pose, and nodded.

"Why?" she asked.

The only reply he could give was another shrug.

"Well, at least you're getting better at charades," Dawn chuckled. "Okay, let's try that again?"

Piplup nodded.


"Okay, got him," Latias said with both her mind and her voice, floating up over the roof with the unconscious Articuno in her arms. "I don't think he's too badly hurt…"

Brock stepped forwards, and gave Articuno a look over as Latias put the other Legendary down. "You're right, I think – we'll have to wait for him to wake up, unless he gets healing, but I can't see any signs of a wrenched wing or something else serious."

"Should I heal him?" Latias asked. "I think I've worked out Wish, so I can do it without nearly passing out."

"It's your choice, I think," Brock said.

"Nice work, Latias!" Ash grinned, patting her on the shoulder. "That was a really high speed battle – does that help?"

"Yeah, it does," Latias agreed, turning to face her trainer. "I was wondering if I might have trouble, or, uh… freeze up?"

"Well, you did great," Ash told her. "I don't think you need to worry about that."

He gave her a look over with Aura sense, and frowned. "You do seem tired, though – I think you should make sure to have a good rest."

"That would be nice," Latias agreed. "Brock? Do you have any warm blankets? I think some of those Ice attacks were colder than I was expecting."

"I've got one in my bag, yeah," Brock confirmed.

"Okay, I'll help heal Articuno, and then we can go inside," Latias said.

She glanced up at Noland. "We can go inside, right? That's the plan?"

"Yes, that's the plan," Noland confirmed. "You picked Typhlosion, right, Ash?"

Ash nodded.

"So..." Max said, as Latias got ready to heal Articuno up. "This means Ash just needs a draw, right?"

"Yes, a draw in this second battle would win him the Symbol," Noland told him. "But if Ash is as skilled and dedicated as I think he is, I'm sure he'll be aiming for a win just as I will."

"You bet!" Ash agreed.


"Ah, that's better," Latias sighed, leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of her cocoa. "Ooh, there's marshmallows in this."

"I should really learn how to use that machine," Articuno said to himself. "How does it work?"

"It's probably best if Noland teaches you how to use the microwave," Brock informed him. "He's going to want to know if there's a chance it might explode again."

Articuno nodded reluctantly.

"Where did the deck chair come from?" he asked. "Aren't those normally found on human beaches?"

"Ash had one in his bag," Brock answered. "I've given up keeping track of what's in that thing."

Latias adjusted her blanket. "I'm not complaining."


"Sorry, can you repeat that?" Noland asked. "You're going to be fighting Typhlosion… with your Glalie."

"Yeah?" Ash said. "Why?"

"Oh, just… I would have thought you'd not rely specifically on Pokemon with elemental weaknesses to mine," Noland replied. "It's sort of the main advantage of being able to pick which of my Pokemon you fight."

Ash shrugged. "I don't think type effectiveness is more than a guide anyway."

"Well, it's your battle," Noland said, spreading his hands in a shrug. "Okay, Typhlosion – go!"

Glalie looked down at his opponent, horns crackling faintly.

"Begin!" Noland added.

Glalie's horns flashed bright blue, and the ground became a pristine, reflective sheet of ice. "It's a mirror match!"

The Fire-type took a step, slipped a little, and dug in his claws. Then he caught fire, melting the sheet around him, and spat a Fire Blast up at Glalie.

"Whoops!" Glalie said, shooting backwards, and an icy Articuno intercepted the attack – exploding into hundreds of pieces, which somewhat hampered the Ember shot up at him immediately afterwards.

"Okay, now that I'm actually in this battle I'm questioning my own decision to go for it," Glalie mused."Let's try this!"

Both his horns lit up, one flicking out a burst of ice to counter Typhlosion's Flamethrower and the other striking the thin layer of ice left at one side of the arena.

"Jump!" Noland ordered.

Typhlosion did so immediately, leaving off on his attack, and an icy Rhyhorn went past just below him.

"That's an impressive jump," May commented, as the Fire-type landed on two legs and bellowed a challenge.

Then she raised her hand to block some of the heat as Noland's Typhlosion blew the Rhyhorn to fragments with a Fire Blast.

"You know, I have this strange sense I know how most of the battle's going to play out," Max snarked. "Does Glalie have any other tricks apart from conjuring ice Pokemon?"

"I'm… sure he must," May replied uncertainly.

"It's not just a matter of what tricks you have, but how you can use them!" Ash said. "Glalie, Ice Shard!"

Glalie spun in place, ice beams flickering around him like a hyperactive 3D printer. A whole flock of frozen Spearow appeared in moments, and he sent them flying towards Typhlosion like a real Spearow flock – bunched up, seeming to warp and distort to open up holes in an otherwise contiguous blob.

Noland winced. "Oh, this is going to take a while to fix – Eruption!"

Typhlosion used Eruption, blasting all the little ice constructs to pieces with a torrent of flame. Melted instantly, they splattered down across most of the rest of the arena with a complex splitterplish of a sound.

As the fire attack faded, Noland breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, the floor survived… that's better than last time."

Typhlosion shot his trainer a look, then spotted something out of the corner of his eye and spun. Inhaling, he launched a Fire Blast right down the throat of the icy Salamence coming down towards him and blasted it apart.

"This battle's just dragon on," Glalie quipped, then was forced to form a shield of ice to protect himself from a follow-up Flamethrower. "Okay, that was a little cold, but just chill, man! You seriously need to cool down and stop breathing fire at everyone."

"Now I'm really dedicated to win this one," Typhlosion said to himself, crouching back down. His ruff blazed up, then he pushed off in a lunging pounce of a Flame Wheel which hit Glalie's ice shield and forced off a shower of fragments.

Landing, Typhlosion crouched and lunged again. This time, Glalie levitated higher – dragging his ice glacis with him, so Typhlosion couldn't quite reach it.

"Can't touch this," he told the Fire-type.

Blank looks all around, even from those humans who could understand him.

"Fine, that was a bit of a stretch anyway," he said to himself, and dropped the ice on Typhlosion.

"Eruption!" Noland snapped.

This second plume of flame was if anything a little more powerful than the first. The central spike of it blowtorched into the middle of the hollow cube, melting through the area Glalie had been, and detonated hard enough to blast the entire spherical shield shell into three nearly-equal pieces which slammed to the ground on all sides of Typhlosion.


"Hmmm..." Latias said, leaning forwards. "Is it me, or is there a lot of ice on the battlefield? That might be interesting..."


"Typhlosion, don't let Glalie set the tempo of the battle," Noland warned. "Hit him with an Inferno!"

The mammalian Fire-type reared up, ruff blazing, and exhaled a globule of purplish-blue flames dripping with latent heat.

Glalie countered by forming a frosty-white Milotic, conjuring the tail even as the front end hammered into the Inferno and melted near-instantly. Steam hissed, a few droplets of boiling water spitting out from the contact point, and through it all the icy Milotic – now down to just a torso section – was being manufactured by Glalie at the rear end very nearly as fast as the Inferno was melting it at the front end.

Eventually, though, it got to be too much for the Fire-type attack. Destabilizing, it exploded in a heat pulse which blew away the remainder of Glalie's construct before dissipating and leaving the room a little hot and steamy.

"That looked different," Noland said to himself. "So… was that ice? It looked more like… snow, if anything."

He snapped his fingers. "Of course – snow is reflective, and has air in it as an insulator, so it's harder to melt."

"I'm not sure that's how it works," Brock replied, frowning. "Wouldn't heating up the ice for a solid ice block be harder than heating up the same amount of air? Water – and ice – have a huge amount of heat capacity."

"That might be right..." Noland agreed. "But if it is… why did Glalie do it?"

Even as he spoke, Glalie switched back to attacking – forming a trio of Fearow made out of ice, one of which dove right into the Flamethrower Typhlosion launched up while the other two stooped down on him.

Typhlosion launched out a dome of flame, shredding both of the remainder, and they collapsed onto the floor.

"Wait," Noland said suddenly. "That wall – Typhlosion, Glalie's built a wall around the arena! Why?"

He looked from one end to the other, then saw it – the room was built on a slight slant, and all the water from the ice and snow Typhlosion had been melting for the last few minutes had been running down towards the drain.

But hadn't reached it – the wall of ice had kept it in place.

"Water you so upset about?" Glalie asked, horns lighting up, and a flickering stream of icy blue light played over the wall and the bits of shattered ice he'd left.

"That was just dreadful," Typhlosion said, taking a wary step back, then watched as Glalie started to pull together all the detritus of his previous attacks. The movement made a great grinding, splashing sound, and a pair of huge icy wings began to take shape.

The Fire-type raised a paw, fire curling around it, and nodded towards the glacial Flying-type rapidly forming at the other end of the battlefield."What move is this, exactly?"

Glalie hummed, thinking. "Let's go with – Braviarylanche."

His ice Braviary let out a cry, the sound made from shrieking ice moving against ice, and launched itself into the air.

Within a second of the shout, Typhlosion hunkered down and used Blast Burn. The spike of Fire-type energy punched straight into the ice Braviary – less powerful than one from a Charizard but still melting off layer after layer of compacted ice in the space of less than a second, and then the whole thing fell apart.

And released over fifty gallons of water held inside the body of the faux Flying-type, sending it raining down over the startled Typhlosion.

Glalie's horns flashed bright white and sent a spherical pulse of energy into the room, hitting Typhlosion with a high-powered Freeze Dry. It flash-froze all the water that had just covered him, trapping the Fire-type in place inside a skintight prison of ice.

"Flame wheel!" Noland ordered. "Melt your way out!"

For a moment, there was no response – then a bright orange light shone from inside the ice, accompanied by a steadily rising shrill tone.

Glalie dropped like a rock, slamming his full weight down just next to the ice prison. His Ice Beam played over the surface, reinforcing it and making it harder and thicker, and for a few seconds it looked like he'd actually succeed.

Then, with a whoosh of escaping steam, Typhlosion's ruff broke through the ice. He snarled, frost around him sublimating straight into steam, and smashed his way through the remaining prison with two quick movements.

"Hey," Glalie said.

Typhlosion blinked, looking down at the Ice-type.

"I'm having a blast," Glalie told him, and Exploded.


Typhlosion went flying backwards, did a slow-motion cartwheel in mid-air, and hit the wall with a whack.

"Ouch," everyone winced.

Latias held out her arms, and caught the Fire-type as he dropped off the wall. "I think he's probably defeated," she said, lifting Typhlosion up.

"Looks that way to me as well," Noland said, returning his Pokemon with a sigh. "Well, I don't need to know if Glalie is still conscious or not – you've certainly won, Ash. Congratulations, you've earned the Knowledge Symbol."

"Great!" Ash grinned.

He looked over at Glalie. "Actually, are you…?"

"I'm fine," Glalie said, wobbling back into the air. "By the way, I'm not certain but there might be some ice fragments stuck in the wall. You might want to get that looked at."

The Ice-type began to drop again, and Ash returned him. "I think we might need to go to the Pokemon Centre," he said, wincing.

"Well – good luck with the rest of the Battle Frontier," Noland said, shaking Ash's hand and passing him the Knowledge Symbol. "I'll get all the details from everyone else!"


Delia Ketchum opened the door, somewhat awkwardly as she tried to keep beating the eggs for her meringues. "Yes – who is it?"

"I'm looking for your son, madam," said a man in a very loud Alolan shirt. "I've got an offer to make him."

"Oh, well..." Delia frowned. "I'm afraid he's not in at the moment."

"I see," the man replied. "that's a real pity – I had a great offer to give him. I can see you're busy, so thank you for your time and I'll see if I can find him elsewhere."


Scott sighed, looking down at his PokéNav as he walked down the drive. "Well, no luck there… where am I going to find Ash Ketchum?"

He shook his head. "If there's anyone who would be a great test for the Battle Frontier, it's him..."


AN:


First Battle Frontier battle!

It was fun writing a Legendary-vs-Legendary battle, and of course with Glalie there was a lot of cryokinesis going on.

If anyone's wondering – firstly, these tricks by Articuno are things he didn't use against Charizard because they're mostly very vulnerable to Fire attacks. And second – this isn't the first time a Blast Burn has been shown as an attack less powerful than the Charific Valley one. Koji's Typhlosion did one in the Silver Conference.