This is a short filler chapter. Things pick up again after this one. Thanks to Aqua644 for reviewing chapter 16!
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Chapter Twenty One: Red Hot, Ice Cold
Entering the Snowpoint gym gave her temporary relief from the biting cold. Summer was supposed to have already started, but snow was still falling, and according to the locals, this could go on for a few days before dying completely. It was still cold inside the gym, but at least there was no foul wind in here. Wrapping her arms around her body, she moved towards the door leading to the battle arena when she was stopped by the gym advisor.
She was pleased to know he too was shivering. "Welcome to Snowpoint Gym," he said through chattering teeth. "The coldest battle of your gym career begins here, no pun intended. You'll be fighting in an ice-skating rink so make sure you help yourself to some ice skates right by the corner as you enter the hall."
Ice-skating rink? She had always wanted to go ice-skating before, but never had she imagined she'd be doing that in a gym. She hoped her Pokemon could stay upright on the ice otherwise this was going to be quite an embarrassing battle. "Okay. Anything else?"
"As you'd expect by the design of this place, all the trainers here use Ice-type Pokemon. You'll be able to melt them with a fire-type Pokemon, but be warned – if the fire burns too hot, the ice will melt and you'll find yourself standing in a puddle of water. Fighting-type and Ground-type moves will help you here as well if you don't want to run the risk of melting the ice. You'll need to fight at least two trainers to battle Candice." He winked. "Good luck!"
Dawn headed into the next room and found the skates leaning up against the wall to her right. She removed her shoes, placed them on the bench then picked up the skates and sat down to put them on. Having never skated before, she wasn't quite sure how this experience was going to go. She took a cautious step forward, keeping her arms outstretch to steady herself. Cautiously, she stepped onto the ice and immediately fell over, landing on her backside. Falling on the ice was so much worse than she imagined.
This was far worse than the fighting gym – she was battling with elements this time and it hurt like hell. Her backside stung and her body had become numb thanks to the cold. Grumbling to herself, she took baby steps forward only to fall down again. This was the worst. She climbed to her feet again and steadied herself then moved forward. With persistence, she managed to skate over to the first trainer, after sustaining a couple of injuries in the process.
A female looked down at her, dressed in thick warm orange clothing. Dawn noticed she wore a nametag reading, 'Alicia'. "You are feeling cold, aren't you?" Alicia said, pulling her hood down, revealing long black hair. "Let's have a battle to keep you warm. Go my twin Sneasels!"
Two bipedal weasel-type Pokemon emerged from their pokeballs. Dawn brought out her Pokedex and held it before her.
Sneasel. A smart and sneaky Pokemon. A pair may work together to steal eggs by having one lure the parents away.
Dawn placed her Pokedex in the pocket of her jacket and stared down at the strange looking creature. It had the shape of a weasel, but a face that reminded her of a feline, only it lacked whiskers. "Go for it, Houndoom!" She threw out her pokeball. Houndoom smacked his tail against the hard surface, chipping away a bit at the ice.
Dawn knew she had to be careful here and ensure she didn't use any overpowering fire area effect moves otherwise she'd create a hole and fall in water. Flailing around in freezing water wasn't something she was eager to experience. She summoned her second Pokemon, Haunter, knowing her other remaining Pokemon were extremely weak to ice-type moves.
"Sneasels, use Slash!" The agile twins dashed forward, swiping their claws at their opponents. Haunter was temporarily knocked out of the air while Houndoom received a gash on his face. Houndoom growled.
"Houndoom, use Fire Fang!" Houndom lunged, his fangs burning hot, sinking them into the flesh of the first Sneasel. The Sneasel howled, and tried to free himself, but Houndoom's grip was too strong. The creature turned limp and Houndoom released it letting Sneasel land on the ice, black scorch marks left on its neck. The other Sneasel hissed. "Now Haunter, use Confuse Ray!" Haunter floated towards Sneasel, his claws outstretched then reached down, pressing a finger against the Sneasel's forehead. Sneasel's eyes turned a misty grey.
"Sneasel, use Slash again!" Sneasel ignored its command, choosing to run around in circles instead, chasing its red tail feathers. The trainer groaned. "Oh no, my poor Sneasel!"
"Houndoom, finish this with Fire Fang!" Once more, Houndoom lunged forward, using his fore paws to knock the confused Sneasel onto its belly. Vulnerable, Houndoom opened his jaws and clamped them around its lean body, causing the Pokemon to scream in pain. Houndoom held the Sneasel in place for a couple of moments then dropped it on the ground. Sneasel remained still. Victory number one, thought Dawn.
While the trainer recalled her Pokemon, Dawn shuffled forwards, slowly making her way to the next trainer, her Pokemon safely back in their pokeballs. Soon, she found herself facing the next trainer, a female called Savannah. There were three pokeballs around the girl's waist. "Do you have what it takes to defeat my icy trio? Show me!" She summoned her three Pokemon.
Two small, black Pokemon with ovoid shaped bodies appeared, it's circular, light blue eyes peering up at Dawn with interest. It was quite an ugly creature and Dawn found herself thinking ice-type Pokemon were freaky looking. This one had wide teeth, and seemed to lack digits on its hands and feet. The other Pokemon was a levitating spherical rock covered in ice with two large black horns on its head.
Once again, she pulled out her Pokedex for information, moving it to the twin ovoid Pokemon.
Snorunt. It is said that several Snorunt gather under giant leaves and live together in harmony.
She moved her Pokedex to the floating rock.
Glalie. Glalie is one of Snorunt's final evolutions. If female, Snorunt evolves into Froslass when exposed to a Dawn Stone.
She put her Pokedex away again, and summoned her Houndoom once more, knowing his fire-type moves would make short work of the ice-type Pokemon, but who else to use as back up? She decided to use Honchkrow and Zweilous hoping their power and speed would be of use here. "Houndoom, use Fire Fang! Honchkrow, use Wing Attack! Zweilous, Dragon Pulse!"
For the third time during this gym challenge, Houndoom used Fire Fang, throwing himself at the Glalie. He used both his fore paws to knock it out of the air then pounced and bit into the ice rock casing. The ice started to melt, drops of water landing on the floor, forming into a puddle. Honchkrow took to the air and rained feathered arrows down, his feathers pelting the Glalie's head. Zweilous joined in releasing a powerful beam, knocking the Glalie out of the air.
"Snorunts, use Icy Wind!" The two Snorunts danced around each other, their little feet kicking up clippings of ice into the air. They changed their dance pattern, moving in an anti-clockwise direction, whipping up a wind, so cold Dawn thought she was going to turn into a human popsicle. Thank Arceus I purchased these clothes, she thought, wrapping her arms around her body, as the cold air brushed up against her, sleet hitting her face.
Her face stung, but at least she hadn't been turned into an ice cube. Honchkrow and Zweilous froze in place as an ice case formed over their bodies. Houndoom's naturally hotter body temperature prevented him from suffering the same fate. The ice casing shattered to pieces as the wind died down. Honchkrow and Zweilous were no longer frozen, but they did not move. Dawn recalled her two fainted Pokemon and sent forth Torterra and Haunter as back up.
"Houndoom, use Fire Fang!" Houndoom pounced on the fallen Glalie and sunk his fangs into the rock hard defence again, causing the ice to melt at a faster rate than before. The Glalie was now lying in a pool of its own water. Savannah called her Glalie back. "Haunter, use Shadow Ball!" Haunter lifted his claws and conjured up a black glowing ball. Once the ball was twice his size, he hurled it forward, knocking down one of the Snorunts. "Torterra, use Earthquake!"
Torterra stomped all four feet onto the ice, causing the ground to shake violently. A crack appeared and the remaining Snorunt fell into the freezing water, flailing its arms around helplessly, trying to stay afloat. The temperature might not have been an issue for it, but the Pokemon wasn't built for swimming. Savannah retrieved her Pokemon the moment the ground stopped shaking. "Smart strategy. I can see how you've made it this far. Go on and fight our leader if you wish, or you can take the remaining trainers out for practice."
She was running low on revives and healing potions now and she didn't want to keep wasting her special pouch of Sacred Ash. She decided to skate on past the remaining trainers heading directly for the leader who was standing on the opposite end of the rink. Wasting time wasn't an option anyway with Galactic grunts on the attack – the quicker she obtained this badge, the better.
Every movement she made sent a shudder of pain throughout her body, but she gritted her teeth and powered on, determined to claim the seventh badge so she could move on and defeat Team Galactic. The gym leader smiled, throwing Dawn off guard. She always imagined an ice-type specialist would be cold and distant like their Pokemon, but that didn't seem to be the case here.
"You want to challenge Candice? Sure thing! I was waiting for someone tough! But I should tell you, I'm tough because I know how to focus. Pokemon, fashion, romance… It's all about focus! I'll show you just what I mean. Get ready to lose!"
What a strange girl, Dawn thought to herself. Candice was dressed in a simple uniform. Wasn't she cold? She thought. Perhaps wearing outfits not designed to keep a trainer warm was part of the training of becoming an ice-type specialist. "Go Houndoom!" Houndoom leapt forward. This time, she was not going to hold back on area affect attacks.
"Go for it, Sneasel!" Sneasel dragged its claws across the ground, scraping off bits of ice. "Use Aerial Ace!" Sneasel took a running leap into the air, and slashed the tips of his claws against the back of the Houndoom. The Sneasel moved so quickly, it was just a blur to her eyes. Houndoom wasn't able to evade the blow and yelped as Sneasel made contact, his claws leaving a deep gash on his back.
"Houndoom, use Fire Blast! Take him down, now!" Houndoom planted his paws into the ground and lowered his head, opening his mouth to spit forth a large ball of flame. It moved along the icy terrain, causing the ice to shatter into pieces as the flames intensified. Sneasel evaded the blast by rolling to the side, but it did little to save itself from the ice melting underneath. He slipped over on the ice and stabbed its claws into the flooring to keep itself upright.
"I can sense your will to win, but I promise you I'm not about to lose!" Candice called out. "Sneasel, use Aerial Ace again!" Sneasel pulled his claws out and rushed forward, jumping into the air again, crashing down onto the Houndoom's back. It slashed again, creating another deep gash, prompting her Houndoom to howl in pain.
Houndoom shook his body and threw the Sneasel off then bounded forward, throwing his entire weight against the smaller creature. Sneasel tried to evade, but the slippery ground caused it to stumble over. Houndoom skidded across the melting terrain and smacked into his opponent. "Houndoom, use Fire Fang now!" Houndoom picked up the Sneasel around its neck, holding it in place while his fangs turned a glowing orange. The Sneasel turned limp in his jaws. Houndoom spat it out.
One down and three more to go, Dawn counted. Candice smirked. "Not bad, but that was just the beginning. It was smart of you to take advantage of the environment, but will that do you more harm than good?" She reached down for her next pokeball. "Go for it, Piloswine!"
A large mammoth-like Pokemon with shaggy brown hair appeared. Its entire body was covered by the long hair, except for the large tusks protruding from the sides of its snout. Dawn referred to her Pokedex for information.
Piloswine. The evolved form of Swinub. Covered by a shaggy coat, it is strong against the cold. Its tusks of ice thicken when it snows.
"Houndoom, use Smog!" Opening his mouth again, Houndoom breathed a cloud of purple mist adding some much needed colour to the otherwise mostly white landscape of the gym's interior. The Piloswine walked through the mist, its shaggy long locks protecting it from breathing in any of the poison.
"Piloswine, use Hail!"
The ceiling opened. Piloswine reared on its two legs and brought them down as hailstones fell from the clouds above, striking everything caught in its path. Dawn covered her head with her arms, a hiss of pain escaping her throat, as hailstones struck her on her arms. There was no room to hide – her only option was to endure the pain and fight on and pray this battle was a short one. "Now Houndoom, charge forward and use Fire Blast up close!"
Houndoom sprinted through the falling hailstones and jumped on the Piloswine's back. Piloswine swayed back and forth in an attempt to throw the canine off, but Houndoom held on for dear life until the mammoth creature stopped. Now steady, Houndoom aimed a ball of fire on the Pokemon's back. The stench of singed hair filled the air. The mammoth collapsed causing the a few more cracks in the ice to appear. It wouldn't be long before the ice beneath them gave way to freezing water.
"Abomasnow!" A large, bipedal creature covered in shaggy fur appeared. With the exception of its limbs and tail, its entire body was as white as the snow. Hailstones pelted its head, but it remained unaffected, as if it was accustomed to this type of weather. Pale purple eyes with bushy eyebrows covered its face, staring at Dawn, sending a shudder down her spine. It was like looking at a snowman from her nightmares. "I must say, I've warmed up to you! I might even admire you a little," said Candice.
Dawn held up her Pokedex again.
Abomasnow. It evolves from Snover. They appear when the snow flowers bloom. When the petals fall, they retreat to places unknown again.
That was one Pokemon she didn't want to cross paths with come Christmas time. "Houndoom, use Fire Blast!" If she could melt the ice around the Pokemon then it would fall into the water. Something with that shape and bulky form couldn't be able to swim, right? She thought to herself. Houndoom charged and jumped.
"Abomasnow, use Water Pulse!" The snow man brought its hands forward, sending forth cannonballs of water. Water clashed with fire.
"Dodge it, Houndoom!"
Houndoom sidestepped as his flame was doused out by the water. He panted, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, drops of saliva landing on the floor. Another use of Fire Blast and her canine would probably faint from exhaustion. She glanced down at the ice and thought hard. With the exception of Sneasel, Candice's Pokemon appeared to lack speed. Relying on speed and making use of her surrounding environment was her only chance to win this. Reviving her fainted Pokemon wasn't an option – they were super weak to Ice.
"Keep dodging, Houndoom!"
"Abomasnow, use Water Pulse again!"
The ice beneath his feet began to split as the canine ran around in circles. Abomasnow's cannonballs of water missed him each time, unable to keep up with Houndoom's superior speed. Whenever there was an opening, Houndoom took the opportunity to bite down on the snow man. Each time it would step forward to throw a punch, causing the ground around it to shake slightly.
"Use Avalanche, Abomasnow!"
The snowman stomped causing the cracks to deepen. Chunks of ice split off, one of them isolating her Houndoom from land. The piece Abomasnow was standing on also broke off as layers of snow poured down through the ceiling opening covering all standing its path. Dawn hurried out of harm's way. Houndoom jumped to the stable land to avoid the avalanche, but didn't quite make it, and fell into the pool with a splash. Dawn immediately recalled her Pokemon. She called out her Haunter.
"Use Hypnosis, Haunter!" He floated forward, hovering above the snowman's head then reached out to press a claw against his forehead. The Abomasnow's eyes squeezed shut and it flopped forwards. The platform dipped into the water from the force of the impact and Abomasnow slipped in, head first.
Candice called her Pokemon back. "I can't say I've ever seen any trainer do that before – you're a very special trainer… but now I'm going to break the ice and bring out my last-resort Pokemon! Go Froslass!" A humanoid Pokemon with a hollow torso resembling a kimono appeared, a red band wrapped around its waist. It didn't appear to have any feet so it floated in the air in the same manner as Haunter. Relying on the water wasn't going to help her here. Crystal blue eyes peered at through two of the holes on its face.
Froslass. The final evolution of a female Glalie. It freezes prey by blowing its minus fifty eight degree Fahrenheit breath. It is said to then secretly display its prey.
"Froslass, use Blizzard!" The Froslass whipped up a powerful windstorm, drawing in the falling hailstones, using that as a weapon. Broken pieces of ice lifted up into the air and merged in with the blizzard forming a lethal wind of destruction. Dawn's teeth chattered. She wrapped her jacket tighter around her body, but it did nothing to stop the cold. The water she had worked hard to create turned back into a solid again as the intensity of the blizzard continued to build.
Sleet struck her face. The higher up gym battles felt more like an endurance test than a Pokemon battle. Her face numbed lessening the pain, but now she just felt stiff. "Come on, Haunter! I know you can do this! Get up close and use Shadow Ball!" she called over the howling wind. Haunter floated forwards, shielding his face with his claws, protecting his eyes from damage. The power of the wind pushed him back, but her Haunter remained determined to endure the elements.
Dawn copied her Haunter's posture and shielded her face with her arms then moved forward, hoping her Pokemon could draw on strength from the bond they shared. It seemed like a crazy theory, but right now she was desperate to ensure she won the battle. Each step felt more exhausting than the previous, but she was making ground and Haunter too seemed to be moving in closer to the target.
She brought her arms down briefly to look ahead. Haunter was only a few feet away from the Froslass, close enough to ensure his Shadow Ball didn't get blown away in the wind. "Now Haunter! Attack!" Haunter raised one claw and conjured a sphere with a purple aura and hurled it forward. The ball struck the Froslass in the back of her head ruining the Pokemon's concentration. The blizzard down died much to Dawn's relief.
"Froslass, use Shadow Ball!" Froslass conjured her own ball of shadow and launched it at Haunter. The ball struck him in the face knocking him back a few inches, a hiss of pain escaping his mouth.
Dawn remembered ghost-types were weak against their own types, but apparently Froslass was weak to ghost-types as well. She had to hope her Pokemon would come out the winner. "Haunter, use Shadow Ball again!" Haunter hurled another ball, striking the opponent in the face, knocking her down to the ground.
"Froslass, use Psychic!"
Froslass closed her eyes and opened them again, her crystal blue eyes turning white. Haunter was thrown across the room by an invisible force, his body slamming into a wall, knocking it down. Haunter remained on the floor and Dawn returned him. She still had her exhausted Houndoom left, but did he have enough endurance to win? She called her canine out.
"Okay Houndoom, it's up to you!"
"Froslass, use Blizzard!"
Froslass summoned another snowstorm although it didn't hit as strongly as it did before, but it was still strong enough to freeze the surrounding environment. Glass windows shattered into thousands of pieces, scattering across the ground. Natural snow fell through the roof merging with the Pokemon-created blizzard adding more power to it.
Dawn's hair blew in the wind, making it difficult for her to see what was going on before her, as she struggled to come up with a strategy to combat the blizzard. If only she could use the power of the wind against the Froslass… Wait. That's it, she thought. "Houndoom, use Fire Blast!" Houndoom expelled a ball of fire into the blizzard. It exploded, and flames burst merging with the windstorm, turning it into a howling inferno instead. Froslass was trapped in the vortex, her pained cries ringing throughout the gym.
It was freezing earlier, but now it was boiling hot. The ice in the gym started to melt and before Dawn knew it, she felt water seeping into her shoes. Houndoom's legs buckled and he landed on the floor, too exhausted to continue fighting on. The fights leading up to this moment had drained his energy. "You did well, Houndoom," Dawn said, recalling her Pokemon back to the safety of his pokeball.
The firestorm died down. In its place was a burned Froslass, standing in a pool of water. Somehow, the Pokemon survived despite being severely injured in the process. Candice wiped her brow. "Wow! You burn hot! But I'm still standing and it doesn't seem like you have any Pokemon left!"
She was right. Honchkrow, Zweilous, Houndoom, Haunter and Torterra had all fainted… but she still had Eevee. Eevee didn't have the power to stand toe to toe with the Froslass, but the ice-type was so weak now, any move would knock it out. "Okay Eevee, go for it!" Eevee jumped out of Dawn's bag and skidded across the melting ice. "Use Quick Attack!" She hurried across the surface and jumped into the puddle the Froslass was standing in. Eevee rammed her head into Froslass and knocked the weakened Pokemon over.
Candices' jaw dropped. "Wow! You are great!" she said, recalling her Pokemon. "You've earned my respect! I think your focus and will bowled us over totally!" She walked around the growing puddle of water and sauntered over to Dawn. "Don't worry about the gym – I'll freeze it after you leave. You're not the first trainer to use fire-type moves against me, but I've never seen anyone turn my own move against me. Oh, that's right! I'm supposed to give you this!" She dug a hand into the inside of her skirt, pulling out a tiny little badge.
In Candice's palm was a badge that resembled twin mountains. Dawn accepted it and placed it in her badge case. "Thanks."
"That's the Icicle Badge! You don't need to thank me – you totally earned it," she gushed. "Do you think I should try to act more like an ice-type gym leader? Like, do you think I should be more cool and distant? That sort of thing I have trouble with." She shrugged.
Was that a rhetorical question? It seemed like the trainer already answered her own question. "Okay."
"Anyway, your next destination should be Sunyshore, but I wouldn't recommend going there right now – the city is having some power problems at the moment. Besides, I hear there is something major happening in Veilstone City so you should probably go there and check it out. I would myself, but I need to fix up the gym. Catch you later, sometime!" Candice waved and Dawn made her way out of the gym, skating to the other side.
Now it was time to put an end to Galactic's plans once and for all.