Scene 3 - Parasect

Kenta arrived at the Seafoam Islands within only a couple of hours. His Poké Balls didn't malfunction and open as the captain had predicted, so he spent the extra money for no reason. But that was all behind him now as he stood on the islands.

They weren't forested like Kenta had built himself to believe, but rather rocky. Ice crystallized at the entrances of each one of the caves, making Kenta fear what was on the inside. He was afraid of going into the cave, as he wasn't a fan of the cold, but he prepared himself mentally for that possibility.

For the time being, he wandered alongside the outer edges of the caves, looking for Pokémon that lived near the water. Poké Ball in hand, he was ready to launch into battle if it ever became necessary. He climbed the small hill and cupped his hands over his eyes, looking out for anything out of the ordinary. Cupping his eyes like he did didn't help make anything better, but he felt cool doing it, like a pirate.

Pikachu also kept an eye out, and he pointed to the distance, far past the Seafoam Islands.

To the far west of the islands was Cinnabar, a place that he had heard a lot about. The volcano at the center of the island seemed a little bit more active than usual, and black smoke billowed from the top. Little did Kenta or anyone else in Kanto know, but the volcano was preparing to erupt. In a matter of days, all of Cinnabar Island would be covered in black ash and solidified lava.

Kenta was familiar with the gym leader there, a man who went by the name Katsura. He used Fire-type Pokémon and told riddles. Kenta was well prepared with Wartortle, and he read a multitude of books on riddles to try to outsmart the man just in case. He hoped that if he could keep up with Katsura's tricks, he'd take it easier on him. He had heard stories of people getting past gym leaders by simply making a good impression. Kenta believed that if he could earn a badge without battling, then he'd be conserving his team's health.

But now was not the time being for Kenta to be looking ahead. He had to focus. He squinted his eyes and perused the landscape until something stuck out to him, a small purple creature with a pink tongue hanging out of its shell. Kenta started to make his way down the side of the hill, unable to keep his footing. He slipped and tumbled down, but he quickly recovered, and then slowly approached it. He drew out his Pokédex and scanned, making sure that it was in fact a Pokémon.

"Shellder, the Bivalve Pokémon. Its hard shell repels any kind of attack. It is vulnerable only when its shell is open," the Pokédex chimed.

"Oh yeah?" Kenta questioned. He unclipped a Poké Ball from his belt and then held it out. "Not if I have anything to say about it! Go, Parasect!"

His Pokémon emerged from her Poké Ball and landed in front of the Shellder. She snapped her pincers together menacingly but got no reaction from the Water-type Pokémon.

"Para-secto?" the Pokémon questioned. It nudged the Shellder slightly, but nothing happened.

"We'll have to force it open!" Kenta exclaimed. "Use Fury Cutter!"

"Para-" the Pokémon cried while lifting her pincer into the air. She slashed downwards onto the Shellder. "-secto!"

Nothing happened.

"One more time!"

"Para-secto!"

"One more time! One more time!"

"Para-secto! Para-secto!"

The two shouted, and Parasect repeatedly bashed her pincers into Shellder's shell, but no matter how loud they were or how strong Parasect struck, the Shellder remained still. The two, now out of breath, took a step back and sighed.

"This is the perfect Pokémon to add to my team!" Kenta said. He howled with adrenaline and raised his arms into the air. "Yeah! Yeah! If it can take an attack as strong as my Parasect's Fury Cutter, then it's more than strong!"

"Para-secto!"

Kenta grabbed an empty Poké Ball from his pocket and expanded it. "We're gonna skip the battle and go straight to the catching! Go, Poké Ball!" The red and white orb bounced off of Shellder and into the air. It opened up wide and absorbed the Water-type Pokémon before hitting the ground and then beginning to wobble back and forth.

"Got 'em!" Kenta exclaimed proudly.

But then, the ball exploded open, and Shellder emerged.

Kenta sighed. He was an excited but superstitious kid. Anytime that he tried to catch a Pokémon, if he took his eyes off of the Poké Ball before the capture was complete, the creature would break free. If he managed to contain his excitement and look at the ball the entire time, then, well, roughly 50 percent of the time it worked.

Finally, Shellder opened its shell, two glaring white eyes appearing from the darkness.

"Oh."

"Para-secto?"

The Shellder let out a deafening screech before it widened its shell a little bit more. It unleashed a jagged beam of light blue energy, which blasted into Parasect, knocking her into the air.

"Parasect!" Kenta yelled while watching his Pokémon collide with the ground. He turned back and glared at the Shellder as it slowly rocked its away towards the edge of the water. It couldn't walk on land, but it had developed a way to move, even if it was slow.

"I don't think so! You're not getting away from me!" He quickly drew another empty Poké Ball from his pocket and then threw it forward.

The Shellder responded by opening up its shell. At the last second, it clamped down, destroying the Poké Ball completely. Kenta was left in shock, allowing the Shellder to rock its way back to the water. With a small plop, it disappeared into the sea.

"No way!" Kenta exclaimed. He sighed and then ran to his downed Parasect. He knelt over and pet her on her mushroom-like shell. "You did good, but it looks like Shellder got the best of us. We'll just have to be better next time!"

"Para-secto," the Pokémon cooed softly before allowing the red light to return her back to her ball.

Kenta sighed and then looked around. "Maybe I've just gotta man up and go into the caves."

"Pika?"

"Yeah! You know what, that's where all of the strong Pokémon are! I guarantee it! We'll find something to catch though! What do you say?"

"Pika-chu!"

Kenta took in a deep breath and marched over to one of the cave entrances. He peeked inside. There were no lights. It reminded him of the cave between Cerulean City and Lavender Town, which took him a week to get through and left him with a lasting impression on caves.

He took his first step into the cave and put his hand against the side of the entrance. It was freezing, almost to a point where it stung his skin. He quickly retreated his hand, but then he lost his balance.

He slipped on the ice and then began a long slide into the cavern. The light from outside quickly disappeared, leaving him and Pikachu in total darkness, sliding without any idea where they were going. Eventually, he hit a pile of snow, which forced him back to a standing position. He was unable to catch his balance though, and he fell forward, landing face-first into it. When he finally gathered his thoughts, he pushed himself out of the snow and looked up. Some light trickled from the ceiling of the cave where there was a small hole. That was probably where the snow came from.

He stood up and looked around. Besides his one small area, there was no other light in the cave. For all he knew, countless Pokémon were staring at him, ready to strike. He shivered and then dropped his backpack, pulling out a small jacket. He wasn't prepared for it to be as cold as it was, and the jacket would only provide him with a little bit of warmth.

"And now for the light problem," he said while fiddling with his belt. He found the Poké Ball that he was looking for and raised it. It opened and his Charmeleon emerged, his tail immediately giving more light to the cavern.

"Well, we're stuck here for now," Kenta said. "Let's keep looking for a Pokémon! Who knows? Maybe we'll find that Articuno!" he joked. His Charmeleon laughed, loving his trainer's sense of humor. Someone had to.

In another part of the cave, much deeper, the sound of steel boots scratching against the ice echoed off of the walls. The man known as the Blizzard King had been tirelessly exploring the cave for a day, and no matter how many Ice-type Pokémon he brutally battered, their guardian would not come out to play.

He continued to search deeper and deeper into the islands until he found a room completely made of ice. Maybe many years ago it had been just another part of the sea. It wasn't natural like the caverns that had been formed by water corroding away and creating tunnels in the rocky surfaces made by the volcanic activity from Cinnabar. This room was crystallized, smooth, and created by someone.

Or something.

The Blizzard King sparked a match and lit a small flare stick, revealing the crystalized surface of the ground. The ice was so thick and deep blue, but the Blizzard Kind believed that on the other side of it was the depths of the sea.

He threw the flare across the room to get a better view of everything. It clanged against the ice and rolled around. It slid across the surface, appearing as though it wouldn't stop until it hit a wall on the other.

Then, a large talon appeared, crushing the flare and putting out its light. The Blizzard King was now in complete darkness and silence. But he knew on the other side of the room stood his target. He could hear it adjust its wings, its feathers rustling.

He slowly pulled a canister from his pocket and popped it into a flare gun. He pointed the gun at the other side of the room and fired it, sending the red spark soaring. It exploded seconds before it would have reached his target, lighting up the room and revealing the legendary Pokémon.

The Blizzard King whistled. "Come here, darlin' Articuno."

The legendary Pokémon screeched while it came forward. It unleashed a beam of jagged blue ice from its beak, which made more thick stalagmites instantly form from the ground.

"Cloyster!" The Blizzard King yelled. He put his Poké Ball in front of him, and it opened, revealing a large purple Pokémon. It snapped its shell shut, defending itself and the Blizzard King from Articuno's attack.

"You're mine!"

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

My biggest weakness as a writer is letting scenes simmer. I'm really bad with description, I think. But with these movie stories, I kind of like to experiment. Although it's no T.S. Eliot, I think this chapter is some of my better description, especially since I can't get away with using dialogue to save me. However, I decided to make my setting pitch black. I'm a moron.

Finished posting for this week. I'll return to four chapters a week next week with two from Overcoming the Orange Islands, one from Ascending Alola, and one from this story.

REVIEWS

CrescentApple - "The little moments I find make the story feel so much more grand was when Kenta headbutt the wall. Simple, but expressed how he felt from that one action." - I think that small details are what makes characters unique. Also, I thought that detail was funny.

UKEagleClaw - "Great opening to the second scene in this chapter. I liked how the first scene, short and snappy, gives you a quick look at Kenta until you reveal more detail on his appearance and character in the second scene. Like that Kenta formed a bond with the local Nurse Joy, both because it's a cool detail and because it shows how long he's been in Fuchsia for." - That was something that I was hoping to show. He's been in Fuchsia for a while, so I imagine that he would have befriended the Nurse Joy.