Scene 4 - Charmeleon

Kenta and his two Pokémon slowly made their way through the caverns. It was quiet, but he could have sworn that he felt rumblings underground. Kenta just chalked it up to being earthquakes. Kanto had earthquakes frequently, so it wasn't something that would have surprised him. But still, it made him uneasy to be in such an unfamiliar place.

"Pika!" his Pikachu cried out, breaking Kenta's trance. He pointed towards a pile of stones. They had appeared to have been crushed by some sort of attack.

Kenta ran to the stones and observed them. There was a knocked out Pokémon laying underneath a couple of the stones. Kenta recognized it as a Seel, which he had battled at the Cerulean Gym. It was one of his first wins without the necessity of a rematch.

With the help of his Pokémon, they moved the rocks off of the Seel. It looked up at Kenta weakly.

"You'll be okay!" Kenta said. He dropped his backpack on the ground and then pulled out a small case for berries. He popped it open and then fed the Seel a blue and round berry. "It's an oran berry! It'll help you recover quickly!"

"Char," his Pokémon muttered. The Fire-type grabbed Kenta's sleeve and brought his attention to the rest of the room. Countless Seel were laid out on the icy path, all unconscious.

"What happened?" Kenta asked himself. "This would have had to be recent, right?" He looked into his berry case. He had planned to use the berries in case he were to be put into a tough situation, but at the moment, it looked like the Seel needed the berries more than he would. He handed out a couple of the berries to his Pokémon and then ordered them to feed the Seel. Once all of his berries were gone, he sighed and then put the case back into his backpack.

"Pika?"

"I'm starting to think that coming here wasn't a great idea. At least, we should've just stayed outside," he muttered. "Let's look for an exit. There's something here, and it's dangerous."

His Pokémon nodded. Pikachu returned to Kenta's shoulder, and Charmeleon took a position in front of his trainer so he could light the way. The three left the Seel after they saw positive recovery from the berries, and then they were on the path to finding an exit.

But every room that they entered was icy and impossible for them to climb. They found deep holes within the cavern, and the last thing that Kenta wanted to do was go deeper. The three would walk into a room, find a dead end, and then walk out, finding yet another dead end.

And no matter where they went, the rumbling would continue. Kenta felt like it was growing in intensity. He stopped walking and sighed, making sure to observe the current room that he was in for any sign of an exit.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

Then, the cavern started to shake. Charmeleon drew in closer to Kenta's leg and examined the room. What followed was a loud nasally shriek. The three turned to find a herd of yellow Pokémon with large bills stampeding their way. The Pokémon scrambled and trampled all over one another, seemingly unaware of the damage they were doing to each other.

"Psyduck!" Kenta yelled.

Although a singular Psyduck didn't scare Kenta, an entire herd of them terrified the trainer. He picked up Charmeleon in his arms and then ran as fast as his legs could take him. The ground was slippery, which made it easier for him to move quickly, but he lacked any control. The Psyduck also gained speed on the ice, and they were used to the environment. They moved too quickly, and Kenta was caught in their stampede. He tripped and fell. He made sure to place Charmeleon and Pikachu under his body and tuck his head as the Psyduck trampled over him. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity until the Psyduck disappeared.

Kenta looked up and sighed. He tried to get back up, but his hands had no traction on the ice, and he fell on his face.

"Ouch."

He laid there for a while and thought over the past few moments. He knew his Pokémon didn't care and no one else could see him struggle, but he was embarrassed by everything. He was embarrassed because he couldn't capture the Shellder. He was embarrassed because he fell into the caves. He was embarrassed because he now couldn't stand up on the ice.

"Char?"

"I'm okay," he said. "Maybe the rumbling was just the Psyduck. They might have also trampled all of those poor Seel. I'm just letting the nervousness get to me, I guess."

Then the rumbling returned. He looked up. There were no more Psyduck. The ice below him shook, and it started to crack.

"Um," he uttered, but before he could try to stand back up, the ice shattered, and he dropped. He held Pikachu and Charmeleon close to his chest while the three of them screamed for their lives. They were all certain that they were soon going to die.

But then, Kenta landed, splashing water into the air. It was a puddle or a pond. He couldn't tell. It was deep enough to cushion his fall but shallow enough to where he wasn't immediately submerged. He held Charmeleon up high to prevent the Fire-type's tail from touching the water. This illuminated the room that they were in, revealing walls of solid ice. It had a different look to them than the higher level. This ice was untouched and shone like crystal.

Kenta stood up. He was soaking wet, and he started to shiver. The room was warm enough to not freeze the puddle, but they were still surrounded by ice, which made it feel like he had stepped into a walk-in refrigerator.

Charmeleon didn't wait for Kenta to give him a command. He dropped and then blew fire from his mouth, making sure to keep the temperature as low as he could. Kenta had been in a similar situation before, so Charmeleon knew what he was doing, and in a matter of moments, Kenta's clothes had been dried.

Kenta felt at his hair and then grinned. "Hey! I still have a full head of hair! And eyebrows!"

Charmeleon scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"I say that we get out of here-"

There was a sound of an explosion from the room next to theirs. The walls of ice lit up, revealing two massive silhouettes on the other side.

Kenta, Pikachu, and Charmeleon all paused. They looked at one another, hoping that someone would suggest something. Kenta examined the room, finding that there was only one exit, which was bound to lead into the room next door. He groaned and then walked over to the exit. He peeked his head out and got a glimpse of the battle taking place. Two Pokémon being commanded by a large man were teaming up to fight a Pokémon that he had never seen before. It was blue with large wings and a long tail.

He slowly drew out his Pokédex and scanned the unfamiliar Pokémon.

"Searching. Searching. Searching," the Pokédex said in its robotic voice. "No data found."

"No data found?" he wondered.

"Who's there?" the large man yelled. He turned around and faced Kenta.

"Hello!" Kenta exclaimed. "I'm just looking for an exit! Thank you very much!"

The man glared and then raised a Poké Ball. "There are to be no witnesses! Go, Jynx!"

His Pokémon emerged from her ball. She was slightly crouched down upon appearing, but then she looked up, her eyes peeking through her blonde hair.

"Ice Beam!" he commanded.

"Wait! Time out!"

But Jynx wasn't going to grant Kenta a time out. It blasted a jagged beam of ice from its lips, straight towards Kenta. Pikachu and Charmeleon took action into their own hands. They circled Kenta before unleashing their attacks. Fire and electricity clashed against ice, creating a quick explosion that filled the air with smoke.

Kenta began to cough. "Wait! I don't want to battle you!"

"You don't get to decide, little boy!" the man yelled. "No one is allowed to watch the Blizzard King when he's performing his art!"

"The Blizzard King?" Kenta murmured. "You a pro wrestler or something? That's awesome!"

"Are you mocking me?" the Blizzard King asked. The smoke had now faded away, revealing his angry expression.

"No! I promise! I was just curious!"

"Jynx, freeze them! Use Ice Beam!"

"Flamethrower! Thunderbolt! Go!"

Once again, the three attacks clashed, and just like before, the chemicals of the attack exploded into smoke. Kenta reached out and grabbed his Pokémon, tucking them under his arms. He then dashed, making sure to run along the side of the wall as he looked for an exit. But before he could get too far, Jynx suddenly appeared, gliding on the ice in front of Kenta.

"Oh no!" Kenta yelled.

"Char!" his Pokémon roared as he unleashed more flames. These flames connected directly with Jynx, dragging her body along the icy floor until she crashed into a wall.

Kenta stopped running and then looked back at the man and his two other Pokémon. The beast that they were fighting appeared worn out.

An avian creature with beautiful wings and a tail that stretches a mile long, Kenta thought. He gasped. "Articuno!"

The Blizzard King stomped his feet. "I told you, kid! You're not getting out of here! Jynx, use Ice Punch!"

"Pikachu, Quick Attack! Charmeleon, Metal Claw!" Kenta said while loosening his grip on his Pokémon.

Pikachu ran forward before crashing the entirety of its body into Jynx's midsection. The Ice-type was put to a momentary stop, allowing Charmeleon enough time to slash, knocking her into the air. She hit the ceiling of the cavern and then came crashing down, her body flattening comically.

Kenta pointed out. "What do you want with Articuno?!"

"Enough, kid! I'm gonna sell this bird for a lot of dough. It's not something you could understand!"

"Oh, I understand! I spent a lot of money on a soda just a couple of hours ago!" Kenta yelled. "We're not gonna let you!"

The Blizzard King looked back at his Pokémon and then at Kenta. He waved for Abomasnow to come to his side and battle.

"Articuno is almost weak enough to be caught, Abomasnow. Beat down the kid for me. I have to focus," he directed.

"Aboma."

"Oh boy," Kenta muttered as the Pokémon got closer. It was much larger than Jynx was, and it towered over Kenta and his Pokémon.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Charmeleon, Flamethrower! Go!"

Kenta's Pokémon attack, but Abomasnow wasn't afraid. It waved its arms in the air, unleashing a powerful wind from its body. The wind swirled through the room, carrying along with it snow and ice. It deflected the attack and then blasted directly into Pikachu, sending the Electric-type flying. Kenta leaped into the air and caught his Pokémon, who lay limp in his arms.

"Not good," Kenta said as he withdrew Pikachu. Charmeleon was still capable of fighting, but he bobbed up and down from heavy breathing. "Wartortle, I need your help!"

Wartortle emerged, immediately finding it difficult to stand on the ice. He slowly looked up, an expression of shock coming over his face once he noticed the large Abomasnow.

"We gotta rush 'em!" Kenta said. "Together! Let's go! Rapid Spin and Metal Claw!"

The two Pokémon used their attacks. Charmeleon swiped his claws wildly while Wartortle glided across the field and rammed his body into Abomasnow's lower half. Unexpectedly, Kenta followed. Although he was still much smaller than Abomasnow, he tackled into the Pokémon with as much force as he possibly could. It didn't do much if anything at all, but the Pokémon was surprised by Kenta's action. The three hundred pound Pokémon grabbed Kenta by the backpack before tossing him to the side.

Kenta landed hard on the ice. The ground had no give, and it was a lot more solid than he had expected. However, he smiled. He was now much closer to Articuno and The Blizzard King, which was exactly what he wanted. His two Pokémon stood at opposite ends of Abomasnow and were ready to strike in unison.

"Flamethrower! Water Gun! Go!" Kenta commanded.

But before his Pokémon could strike, Abomasnow started to spin, releasing leaves and spines from his body. He created a small storm around himself, and he unleashed it, sending both Pokémon backward. They landed on opposite sides of the room, Wartortle near Kenta and Charmeleon on the other side. The Fire-type's body cracked against the icy wall before he slid down, unconscious. His tail still provided light to the room.

"Charmeleon!" Kenta yelled. He turned to Articuno, who also appeared weak. He tried to approach the legendary, but it lashed out and flapped its massive wings at Kenta, forcing him to stop. Kenta glared. "Hey! I'm trying to help you! Don't be a jerk! If we team up, we can beat him!"

"It's useless to try to reason with it. It's a beast. It doesn't think," the Blizzard King said.

"Don't listen to him, Articuno! We can work together!"

Articuno screeched and unleashed a jagged beam of ice from its beak straight towards Kenta. The beam created more stalagmites that protruded from the ground, and Kenta was on track to be impaled. But before he could be, Wartortle withdrew into his shell and then spun into Kenta's side, knocking his trainer to the right of the stalagmites. Wartortle then took the attack directly and was flung into the air. When he crashed into the ground, he slowly came out from his shell, his limbs limp.

"No," Kenta muttered. "Wartortle!"

"Weak Pokémon and weak trainer," the Blizzard King said. "You deserve what's coming to you, but first, I have to take care of business. Cloyster, use Icicle Spear!"

The Blizzard King's Pokémon that had remained still suddenly unhinged its shell. It released multiple pointed shards of ice from within its body. Each shard collided with Articuno, making it shriek every time. The legendary Pokémon finally collapsed to the ground, and it trilled weakly.

"Articuno. No."

"Go!" the Blizzard King shouted while throwing a specialized Poké Ball into the air. It connected with Articuno before absorbing the legendary Pokémon in a flash of white light. The ball hit the ground and started to rock back and forth.

Ding.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I forgot to post up last week's schedule, so sorry for the overload of updates this week.

Looking at my schedule, it appears that I'll be finishing this story next week. We got one more chapter to go. Any predictions for how the rest of this will go down (at the time of writing this A/N, I haven't decided what I'm going to do to end it)?

REVIEWS:

CrescentApple - "Wow, I dont know if its a testament if strength on Shelder's pet, or if Parasect is really that much weaker. I don't think Shellder was even trying. Its a cool bit of description for the caves. My favorite is flare lluminating parts of the cave before Articuno snuffed out the flames. And it really shows the confidence in Blizzard King if he is willing to walk in a legendsry pokemons den in the dark. Articuno seemed more menacing in its vague appearance in the darkness!" - So, yeah. Parasect (Kenta in general) is pretty weak here. Kenta's team is kind of a reference to a Blue version team that I had awhile back. There was a Parasect on the team that was my worst member, but I kept her around anyways for laughs. And I wanted to show how much of a power difference there is by having The Blizzard King have no fear against Articuno.