Pokemon Heart Soul Adventures
Welcome back, everybody! This story has reached the 15th chapter, and now two teams are about to face a few very important battles! On one hand, Ash and his team are facing Hunter J and Team Vicious inthe bowels of Mt. Ember, with Moltres on the line... and on the other, we'll have Zoey, Candice and Maylene getting into trouble on their own while they try to climb their way up Mt. Coronet! Someone is out there, keeping an eye on our "lovely angels" trio...
If you think this will be a recipe for a nice battle, you're absolutely right! In fact, this chapter will mark the start of a few chapter full of action, which hopefully will satisfy the Pokemon fans reading! But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the AAML angle, and our favourite Pokemon couple will slowly but surely get closer with time! I just wanted to develop it at a good pace, but rest assured you'll start seeing something soon!
That said, I think I've said everything I needed. Hope you like what you'll be reading now, and see you soon!
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Chapter 15 - Battles of Ice and Fire
"Hmm... so that's how it is, huh? That's a lot more interesting than I first thought..." Giovanni murmured to himself, stroking his white Persian's fur like the villain in a James Bond movie. The Team Rocket don was sitting at his desk, a last-generation laptop in front of him and watching the images on the flat screen... which were, in fact, the images caught by the bug Domino had planted on Ash. Thanks to this, he had managed to get a good idea of what was going on in Sevii Islands, without even moving from his seat!
"Domino really has done a good job. I will have to reward her, once she's back. But for now, let's just sit back and enjoy the show..." Giovanni said. "With this, I'll be able to think more carefully about my plan..."
oooooooooo
Mt. Coronet, an harsh place with a summit almost perpetually covered in snow and ice, known for being the object of countless legends, especially the ones regarding the creation of the world, and the three Legendary Pokemon representing the universe's main principles - Dialga of Time, Palkia of Space, and the unfathomable Giratina of Antimatter.
That was the dangerous, unexplored place Zoey, Candice and Maylene were headed to: the girls had just left the paved road and were walking in a forest of snow-covered firs and impressive scenarios - places that seemed to be enveloped into eternal ice. The temperature had fallen considerably since the girls had left the small chalet they had spent the night in... to the point where Maylene had been forced to leave her dislike of footwear aside and put a pair of snowshoes on!
"Okay, girls, I think we're getting closer..." Zoey commented, using a hand to shield her face from the wind as she looked in front of herself. "That should be the place where the avalanche started... now that I see it, I can believe that all the more!"
"Indeed... be careful, girls, I'm afraid the snow might still be unstable, around here..." Candice warned. "We don't wanna cause another slide..."
"Al... alright!" Maylene gulped, getting some safety distance from the place from which the body of snow had detached itself. A hole of considerable size was in the mountain's snowy side, and a few nearby trees had literally been uprooted by the slide's overwhelming force, creating a really shocking sight. The fact that the avalanche had left quite a bit of destruction in its wake didn't help either, and the girls couldn't suppress a fearful shiver as they walked around the large hole...
"It's even worse than I thought..." Zoey commented, trying not to look down. She was about to add something, but a dangerous-sounding noise of cracked branches and leaves forced her to turn that way! There were a few roars of rage... and soon after, a trio of Abomasnow leapt out of the fir forest with maddened screams, running towards the three girls with clear aggressive intents!
"SNOOOOOW!" the head Abomasnow roared. raising his powerful arms! His two companions did the same as they charged menacingly towards Zoey and her friends... but the girls, after a brief moment of shock, grabbed their Pokeballs to defend themselves!
"A... a bunch of Abomasnow? What's the meaning of this?" Candice exclaimed, surprised by the normally peaceable Pokemon's aggressive behaviour.
"I'm afraid these Pokemon have been made nervous by what happened lately..." Zoey replied. "We have to face them, we don't have much of a choice..."
"Okay!" Maylene answered as she let out one of her Pokemon. "Come on, Lucario! WE need your help!"
Candice nodded before letting one of her fighters out. "Glaceon, it's your turn now!"
"Ninetales! It's time to fight!" Zoey exclaimed, surprising her two friends, who didn't know she had a Pokemon like that. Before the three girls, standing between them and the Abomasnow, three fierce-looking Pokemon appeared: a small humanoid jackal with blue and black fur, and pointed spikes on his hands and chest; a fox-like Pokemon with short white-azure fur, large blue fringes on her forehead and long pointed ears; and a large nine-tailed fox, whose soft and fluffy white fur had flames running all over it!
"A Ninetales? Didn't know you had one, Zoey..." Maylene said, looking at the nine-tailed fox in admiration as it prepared to fight.
The red-haired coordinator nodded with a small smile. "Yeah... I didn't tell you, but I caught this Pokemon a little while ago; I noticed my team lacked a good Fire-type Pokemon... and this Ninetales, who was just a Vulpix back then, solved this problem. But now, let's take care of those Abomasnow!" she exclaimed. The three Grass/Ice Pokemon had begun backing away, knowing all too well how dangerous the kitsune Pokemon's attacks would be for them...
"If it's possible, I'd rather knock them out without hurting them too much... think we can do this, girls?" Candice asked. Maylene and Zoey nodded in assent, and the young martial artist began the assault, just as the biggest Abomasnow stepped forward to attack Ninetales with an Ice Shard!
"Let's go, then! Lucario, use Flash Cannon!" the pink-haired martial artist exclaimed. The small Steel / Fighting Pokemon concentrated for a little while, creating a shining sphere of energy in his hands and shooting it towards the ground! The snow under the biggest Abomasnow's feet was smashed apart, and the large Pokemon sank in the snow, up to his waist, with a surprised grunt.
"Nicely done, Maylene!" Zoey commented. "Now... Ninetales, stop them with Confuse Ray!"
"Glaceon, use Water Pulse!" Candice exclaimed.
Before the Abomasnow could get their act together, Ninetales affixed one of them with a penetrating glare, letting out a low growl. Her eyes lit up with a strange, otherworldly glow... and the Abomasnow froze in place, while Glaceon shot a large water sphere against her opponent, striking him head-on and stunning him for a while! The attacks worked just as expected, and the two smaller Abomasnow began swaying from side to side, confused. The small group of exploreres had managed to get some advantage on their attackers, and they wisely chose to use it to get away!
"Okay, girls, let's take advantage of this to get away from here!" Candice said. The ice and wood behemoths were still trying to gather themselves, and the two who had been confused were helplessly flailing around, bumping into each other. The girls and their Pokemon had no problem escaping, and in a short time, the team reached a small path sneaking into the evergreen forest, leaving the clearing and the Abomasnow's enraged roars behind them!
"Phew... girls, I have to confess I was afraid for a second there! Thanks, Lucario..." Maylene commented as she patted her top Pokemon on the head. Lucario kept his noble countenance, and nodded in acknowledgement. "I have this uneasy feeling we're nearing the completion of the puzzle..."
"Yeah, me too..." Zoey affirmed, gently stroking her Ninetales' head. "Just like Candice said, Abomasnow are usually kind and peaceful, and don't attack humans. If those three were so nervous... that's probably because of the avalanche, and the cause of it might not be that far away!"
Candice nodded as the girls resumed their journey, this time keeping their Pokemon at their sides for safety. "It's true... keep your eyes peeled, everyone, if that's true, then those Abomasnow won't be the only wild Pokemon we'll meet along the way..."
"Okay!" Zoey and Maylene answered, and all of their Pokemon nodded as well, unaware that they were being watched from a safe distance! A Noctowl, flying several dozens of feet above the snow-covered forest, was watching them with his unerring eyes and, after swiftly maneuvering in mid-air, he flew to one of the nearest snowy peaks, unseen and above suspicion...
oooooooooo
"Stop it, J! Don't think you can get away with it!" Ash exclaimed as he ran as fast as he could in the rocky corridor. Sadly, it was so narrow that neither the young boy nor Phoebe could run that fast, and they often had to zigzag among the jagged rocks, with barely enough light to keep themselves from hitting the walls.
"Stay calm, Ash! That woman wants you to lose your cool!" Phoebe advised. "She hasn't become one of the most infamous Pokemon hunters in the world by being stupid... she's got a lot of tricks up her sleeve, and she's just waiting to use one on us!"
"And... what should we do, then?" Ash asked in slight frustration. Their opponent was obviously up to something, even he knew that, but he couldn't just stay there and wait for things to happen!
"Wait, I'll take care of this." Phoebe answered. "Come out, Dusknoir! We need your help!"
The disquieting cyclops Pokemon appeared in front of the Elite Four member, the fake face on its chest briefly distorting in a sardonic grin. "DUSKNOIIIR!" the Ghost-Type Pokemon howled, floating a few inches above ground. Rotom, still floating near Phoebe's head, flashed a couple times to greet his companion and give him a few pointers.
"Rotom! Rotom!" the plasma spectre exclaimed, pointing to the end of the corridor. Dusknoir frowned and nodded, signaling to the trainers to follow him. In a few seconds, he guided his trainer and the young aspiring Pokemon Master to the end of the corridor, towards a huge cave, from which an horrific heat could be felt coming, along with a bright, firey red light. It was clear that the two champions and their Pokemon were nearing the core of the volcano...
Dusknoir motioed for the trainers and Rotom to stay back... then, he slowly peekd out of the corridor, and a faint, almost inaudible, sound caused him to raise his head and look up, just in time to see a bright yellow net made of pure energy drop down upon him! Luckily for him, Phoebe was quick to react, and to have her strongest Pokemon react!
"Shadow Claw!" the island girl exclaimed. Dusknoir's arm shot up, and a well-aimed slash of his claws struck the energy net, short-circuiting itand tearing it to pieces that scattered harmlessly around the massive Ghost-type. Ash and Pikachu stood on guard, as sarcastic clapping announced the return of their opponent: J was on the other side of the firey grotto, and she hardly seemed impressed by the fact that her opponents had disarmed her trap.
"Very good... but that's to be expected from an Hoenn Elite Four!" J affirmed. "I was kind of hoping to capture and neutralize you as soon as you came out of that corridor, but I guess it was too obvious a trick for you, right?"
Ash grit his teeth and blamed himself for his lack of prudence: it was lucky Phoebe had warned him, or he would have fallen for that trap alright...
"I don't know what to do with your praise, J!" Phoebe cut the discussion short, facing the evil huntress with Rotom and Dusknoir by her sides. "You, on the other hand... answer my question! What are you going to do with Moltres? Why have you come to disturb his sacred sleep?"
Just to give more emphasis to the Elite Four's question, Ash took out a Pokeball... but once again J hardly seemed worried, and the young trainer did not like how in control of the whole situation she seemed. "Hmph... as I said, a professional never reveals her employer's name." she stated. "And you shouldn't be worried about what I plan to do with Moltres, but what my Pokemon plan to do with you! Come, my faithful Pokemon! Show them what I mean!"
J took four Pokeballs from her belt, one after the other... and once again, Ash noticedthat they weren't normal Pokeballs - they were black all over, with violet lines vertically placed across their surfaces, giving the balls a somewhat sinister look. Now more than ever, Ash had the feeling he had already seen something like that, but his memory was failing him at the moment... And even that criminal group's name, Team Vicious... there was something rather familiar about it...
"Pika pi!" Pikachu called to him, pointing to his opponent. Ash shook himself out of his thoughts, just in time to see J throwing her Pokeballs, which snapped open and released clouds of thick purple vapor, that soon after turned in a bunch of familiar yet still unsettling, Pokemon: an Electrode, a Donphan, a Medicham and a Bibarel, each of them sporting an unsettling and cruel look. There was obviously something wrong with those Pokemon!
"Hehehee... so, what do you think? You really think you can hold a candle to my Dark Pokemon? I warn you, they're much stronger than their normal counterparts!" the gray-haired woman said triumphantly. Phoebe, who until then had been watching in wonder as the criminal woman's Pokemon placed themselves in almost too perfect a straight line in front of thei owner, felt a surge of anger rapidly coursing through her. "J! What's this about? What have you done to those poor Pokemon?"
"Me? Nothing, I was just given these Pokemon, telling me I could use them however I wanted to accomplish my mission... and I follow orders! That's what I was paid for, after all." the woman indifferently explained. "But one thing's for sure... my Dark Pokemon are more than a match for your teams!"
"Dark Pokemon..." Ash murmured to himself... and a few seconds after, his eyes widened and his jaw fell as he remembered just what was it that bugged him so much, with so many hints cropping up in such a short time. "Of course! Now I know! They were... the Pokemon used by the Iron Masked Marauder after being brainwashed! So he's the one you're working for now!"
"The Iron Masked Marauder?" Phoebe asked, having heard that name for the first time.
"Yes, miss Phoebe... a very nasty person I, Misty and Brock met some three years ago. He wanted to get his hands on Celebi, a legendary Pokemon... by using his Dark Pokemon, which he created thanks to a new kind of Pokeball he had worked up. So he's the one behind all this mess! Isn't he, J?" Ash answered, once again glaring at an indifferent opponent.
The woman chuckled, which Ash took as an affirmative. "Well, even if it was, it hardly matters at the moment. Come, my Dark Pokemon! Take out those intruders!"
"Not so fast!" Ash answered. "Go, Bayleef, I choose you! Gotta Catch 'Em All!"
Bayleef appeared in a flash of light in front of Ash... and soon after, much to the young trainer's surprise, she started nuzzling affectionately upon him, like she always did even back when she was a Chikorita! Ash chuckled in embarassment, and Phoebe sweatdropped...
"Hahahaaa! Hey, take it easy, Bayleef! I'm not a chocolate cookie, you know! Heheheee..." the young champion laughed. "I... really appreciated that, Bayleef, but at the moment I kinda need a hand... could you help me and Pikachu against those guys, please?"
"Bayleef?" the Grass-type Pokemon asked as she glared at the approaching enemy. J's Dark Electrode seemed to have picked Bayleef as his opponent, and was now rolling towards her, grinning maliciously. Immediately, Bayleef detached from her trainer and placed herself in front of him, determined to defend him to the end! Pikachu nodded and stood on guard himself, causing Bayleef to sigh inwardly at the idea that, once again, she would have to share Ash's attention with the ever-present electric mouse...
"Thanks, Bayleef!" Ash answered. "Pikachu, you can take care of that Medicham! Be careful, his attacks are nothing to sneeze at!"
"Pika!" the electric mouse answered. Dark Medicham had already struck a meditating pose in front of him, and Dark Bibarel and Dark Donphan were advancing towards Phoebe's Rotom and Dusknoir...
"Both of you! Rollout!" J ordered her Donphan and Bibarel. "Electrode, use Thunder Wave... and you, Medicham, attack that Pikachu with Fire Punch!"
The Ground-type elephant and the Water-type beaver both rolled into a ball and threw themselves at Rotom and Dusknoir, who reacted just in time to avoid getting hit! The plasma ghost used a Thundershock attack to stop Bibarel in his track and knock him down, while Dusknoir, as soon as Phoebe commanded him to, unleashed an Ice Punch attack on Donphan, intercepting him with a fist coated in white freezing energy. Both Pokemon were knocked down, but they stood up almost immediately and got ready to attack again, which caused quite a bit of surprise from Phoebe.
"They took a super-effective hit, and they're standing up already?" Phoebe asked herself. "Now more than ever I'm sure there's something wrong with those Pokemon..."
Ash and his Pokemon were meanwhile trying to keep Electrode and Medicham at bay... which was proving to be quite a bit harder than they thought! The Pokeball-like Pokemon had unleashed a powerful Thunder Wave that Bayleef had just barely managed to avoid, getting away from its path and countering with a volley of Razor Leaf attacks... that bounced harmlessly on the Electrode's metallic shell. Pikachu himself had just dodged a dangerous Fire Punch attack from Medicham, and was trying to fight back.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash hastily ordered. After squeaking in assent, theelectric mouse spun on himself and threw himself at his opponent, whacking him upside the head with his now steel-hard tail! Medicham was hit and reeled back, giving Pikachu a small reprieve... but the Psychic / Fighting Pokemon stood up immediately and resumed his fight pose, without showing neither pain nor fatigue.
"As you can plainly see... my upgraded Pokemon are more resistant than any other trained Pokemon." J explained. "I'm curious to see if you can keep up with them."
"Pika pika... CHUUUUU!" Pikachu decided to answer in a way that required no translation - he charged up for just a second, and unleashed a mighty Thunderbolt attack on Medicham, who quickly raised his guard and blocked the worst of it. Electrode, on the other hand, shot out a quick and accurate Swift attack, forcing Bayleef to brave the hit. Then, much to Ash and his Pokemon's surprise, the giant Pokeball-like creature began floating weightlessly in the air, never once ceasing to grin.
"Well? I guess you're surprised... but Electrodes can learn the Magnet Rise attack, which allows them to detach from the ground and become immune to Ground-type attacks, among other things! Now, Electrode... use a Thunderbolt yourself!" J explained with clear satisfaction.
The spherical Pokemon flashed twice, then shot a powerful electrical discharge towards Bayleef, hitting her head-on and causing her to briefly cry out in pain. Luckily, she was back on her feet a second later, and retaliated efficiently.
"Alright, then, Bayleef! Use Sweet Scent to hold that Electrode!" Ash exclaimed. Bayleef dodged her opponwnt's next attack, then concentrated just for a second, emanating a sweet, penetrating perfume that entered the opponent's nostrils, stunning him for just a second and giving the cute animal a chance to counterattack!
"Great! And now... keep up with a Body Slam attack!" Ash continued. Bayleef nodded in assent and flung herself with all of her strength against Electrode... but the inorganic Pokemon managed to snap out of his funk and dodged the blow!
Ash frowned as he saw Pikachu attacking Medicham with a Volt Tackle, only to be stopped by a quick and deadly Karate Chop. Luckily, the small yellow rodent manged to roll with the blow and landed nimbly on the rocky ground, before getting up. J's Pokemon were proving to be tougher than what their appearence might have suggested, and even Phoebe was quite amazed at their stamina.
"Bibarel! Hit that little pixie with Bubblebeam!" J exclaimed. "And you, Donphan... use Earthquake against that Dusknoir!"
The beaver Pokemon opened his mouth wide and shot a volley of bubbles against Rotom, who tried to shield himself... but some of the bubbles slipped through, bursting on his luminous body and setting off a volley of orange sparks! Then, Domphan lifted his front paws and slammed them both on the ground, causing a shockwave that hit Dusknoir and staggered him... but luckily, the cyclops ghost managed to pick himself up soon and shook his head in determination. Rotom had been hit a little more seriously, and only barely managed to avoid a Water Gun attack Bibarel followed up with.
"Tch... alright, then, you buffoon, you're asking for it!" Phoebe growled, her patience at an end. ""Rotom! Dusknoir! The kiddie gloves are off! Rotom, hit with Ominous Wind! And you, Dusknoir... strike Donphan with Will-o-Wisp!"
"Rotom!" the plasma ghost exclaimed. He floated upwards, a strange purple aura surrounding his body... then, before Bibarel could attack again, he shot forth a massive burst of violet energy that completely enveloped the beaver, before slamming him against the wall and leaving him stunned for a few seconds! Rotom's eyes went wide and shone a green light, and Phoebe smiled to herself as she recognized Ominous Wind's secondary effect of powering up her Pokemon... and at the same time, Dusknoir opened his huge hands and created a pair of blue flames in his palms, before shooting them at Donphan, hitting him on the side! The Ground-type elephant bellowed in rage and pain as a black mark appeared on his side...
"Ominous Wind has a small chance of raising all of the characteristics of the user, just like Ancient Power..." Phoebe explained, staring straight at J's eyes. The huntress didn't seem to be so self-assured now. "And I'm afraid that, no matter how strong your Pokemon are, they won't be that strong after taking a Will-o-Wisp!"
"Hmph..." the grey-haired woman answered. "Don't think this will be enough to stop my Pokemon..."
"Come on, just a little more... I just need to hold these fools for a few minutes..." the huntress thought to herself, as Bibarel and Donphan picked themselves up. Pikachu had just managed to hit Medicham with a Slam attack, slapping him with his tail and making up for the earlier disadvantage, as Bayleef unleashed a flurry of Razor Leaves on Electrode! The orb Pokemon raised a Barrier in front of himself, trying to think of a way around that...
oooooooooo
In the meantime, the battle between Ash's friends and the members of Team Vicious was entering its climax, and the multitude of special effects and colourful lights gave a clear idea of how fierce the combat was! Team Vicious' Purugly flung himself at Brock's Crobat, who slapped him in the face with a Wing Attack and followed up with a fierce Cross Poison attack. The fat cat hissed ferociously and staggered back, as Crobat got ready for a new attack.
"These guys are pushovers!" Gary commented with a smirk, as he saw his Arcanine dropping an opponent's Kirlia with a well-placed Body Slam, and his Kingler squeezing a Pelipper in his main claw. "We're stomping them and not even paying attention!"
Dawn's Pachirisu got in front of his opponent, a Raticate, and after striking a cute pose, he raised his tail in the air and used a Cute Charm attack, throwing a bunch of pink heart against the giant rat and hitting him in the face. Raticate squeaked in irritation and stumbled back... which allowed the white squirrel to follow up with a Spark attack, his body wrapped in a mighty electric aura with which he shocked his opponent!
"Well done, Pachirisu!" Dawn cheered, as her Buneary struck a Dunsparce with an Hi Jump Kick, fainting the strange cave-dwelling Pokemon. "But let's not cheer too quickly, at least not until we've taken out the last one of them!"
"No worries, Dawn! We're quite close to that!" Misty exclaimed. The redhead's Starmie had just used Rapid Spin to knock away a persistant Linoone, while Damien's Hypno seemed to be faring a little bit better... although Misty's Gyarados was still clearly superior to him!
"Ugh... darn!" the blue-haired bully cursed, seeing how a Psychic attack hadn't done much to the gigantic sea serpent. "You don't think it ends like that, do you? Hypno! Get back at him with a Thunder Punch!"
"Careful, Gyarados! Dodge that!" Misty tried to warn her Pokemon, but Damien's Hypno was faster than she expected and hit Gyarados with his fist coated in an electric aura, sending hundreds of volts in his massive body! The sea serpent, who was prticularly susceptible to this kind of attacks, roared in pain and fell, his body still twitching a little... and Misty held her breath, hoping that her Pokemon could manage to get up. Luckily, Gyarados grit his teeth, bore the pain and stood tall again, his eyes almost flashing in rage! Suddenly intimidated by the opponent's sheer size, Damien's Hypno paced backwards a little, and Damien himself paled in fear, asking himself how was it possible that an Electric-type attack hadn't immediately dropped Gyarados...
Misty almost seemed to read his mind, as she immediately turned to him and stared sternly at him. "I'm afraid you forgot about Gyarados' special ability. His size puts fear in his opponents who cannot strike him with their full power. And Hypnos aren't known to be physical attackers anyway..." she explained. Gyarados, however, decided that further elaboration was necessary and swung his massive tail around, coating it in a roaring wave-like mass of water!
"Gyarados! Aqua Tail!" Misty exclaimed. The blow connected, sending Hypno flying and slamming him on the wall before letting him fall limp and unconscious! Damien stood there in wide-eyed wonder, in disbelief that his Pokemon could be taken out that easily. "What... what's this about?" he mouthed. "My Hypno's Thunder Punch... should have done a number on your Gyarados! How can this be... how did you defeat me, you scrawny brat?"
"Pity. Had you trained your Hypno yourself, instead of just having him handed to you by your bosses, you might have known him better and you might have beaten me. But I guess you wanted to skip the 'boring part' of training your Pokemon and estabilishing a bond with them." the redhead exclaimed, as she approached her Gyarados and caressed him on the side. "Well, as you can plainly see... I and my Gyarados don't have this problem!"
Gritting his teeth in rage, Damien turned around... and was disappointed to see that most of his companions had already been beaten, and the remaining ones weren't doing well. Only a Skarmory was still up and about, facing Brock's Steelix and managing to put a small dent in his armor with a Steel Wing attack, but the steel serpent was still able to fight back, and hit before Skarmory could try again!
"Steelix! Knock Skarmory out with Rock Slide!" the dark-skinned boy exclaimed. Steelix grunted in response and slammed his massive tail on the ground, causing rocks to rain down on Skarmory and knock him out of the air! The steel raptor shrieked helplessly and lay down on the ground, his eyes turning into spirals... which ended the fight once and for all, and made Damien and his companions realize that they were now defenceless!
"Guess the battle is over now." Gary said. "For all your boasting, you sure didn't put up much of a fight."
Damien stepped back, almost ending up slamming his back on the stone wall behind him. "Ugh... you... you don't think you've won, right?" he murmured, gritting his teeth. "While you were wasting your time with us... your friends were up against Miss J, and she's a whole other can of worms compared to us! They won't win that easily!"
"I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with that!" Dawn shot back after congratulating Pachirisu and Buneary over their victories. "Ash alredy managed to defeat J in the past, and one of Hoenn's Elite Four is with him now! So... I kinda think it's your boss that should be worried!"
"We'll... see about that soon!" another Team Vicious member tried to answer, but despite the mask on his face distorting his voice, it was clear that he was only putting up a front. In fact, none of Ash's friends really cared about him, as they recalled their Pokemon.
"Okay, these guys are accounted for..." Brock stated. "Now, we just have to hope Ash and Phoebe have fared just as well..."
oooooooooo
Zoey wasn't the kind of person who complained a lot, but she had to admit that walking on a snowy road extendind for what looked like miles in a deep, dark forest wasn't exactly her favourite activity, and the fact that they had found nothing yet was testing her patience. Even Candice and Maylene were beginning to feel the fatigue from walking for so long, in such freezing temperatures and with their backpacks on... and in the end, the black-haired Gym Leader let out a sigh of relief as she stopped and raised her hand.
"Candice, what's up?" Zoey asked, turning to her friend. "Are you sure you're feeling well?"
Even Maylene was quickly at Candice's side to see if she was doing alright. "If you're cold, we'd better try and find a place to rest, and then stop there..." she started saying, but Candice smiled in reassurance and set her backpack on the ground, then she sat under the branches of a snow-covered pine tree. The feeling of taking such an heavy weight off was simply marvelous...
"Don't... worry, girls, I was just a little tired, is all!" Candice reassured her friends. "I just needed to stop and catch my breath... what do you say we stop here and resta little?"
"In fact, we've been walking since sunrise..." Zoey stated. "And it's almost midday anyway, so we'd better eat something. You're right, Candice, after all a little rest won't hurt! You okay with that, Maylene?"
Maylene nodded, and both she and Zoey dropped their backpacks and sat beside Candice in the shallow snow. The place had a calm, soothing feeling to it, as if time itself was frozen, and only the whispering of the wind, and the sounds of a few wild Pokemon roaming around, broke the silence from time to time.
"Phew... still, it's a bummer that we've been walking for so long, and we still are nowhere closer..." Maylene sighed, moving her aching knees. "Maybe we ought to be looking elsewhere?"
"Don't think so..." Zoey answered, her back laid on the tree trunk behind her. "This was the only real lead we had, and that mass of snow began sliding from here... so, I don't think the guilty party could get too far away. And even if they did, they couldn't have done so without leaving at least some tracks behind... so, we have to keep searching around here. Something will turn up, I'm sure of it."
"Sadly, we don't have much time to search... as soon as night falls, we'll haveto get back to the inn as soon as we can. It would be too risky to stay out..." Candice rightly said. "If only we knew where to look..."
A sudden noise alerted the young Gym Leader and her friends that someone was nearby, and Candice immediately shut up and listened, her eyes glued to the snow-covered bushes on the trio's right. Zoey and Maylene did the same, feeling the tension rise when another noise came from the branches on the other side...
"What's going on? What's that?" the young martial artist said in a whisper.
Zoey frowned as she looked at a vaguely distinguishable shape moving among the vegetation, causing some snow to fall. "Dunno, Maylene, but I kinda get the feeling we're drawing close..." she said as she grabbed a Pokeball. More ominous sounds were heard around them, reinforcing their fear that they had fallen into a trap...
"I fear so as well... somebody decided to keep us company here!" Candice said. Their attackers were approaching more and more, and the voices were heard even more clearly... together with the sound of Pokeballs opening and Pokemon coming out!
Zoey, Maylene and Candice stood wating for a while... then, before the enemy could move, they each sent out one of their Pokemon: the red-headed coordinator let out her Gastrodon, a giant sea slug with zigzagging horns on the sides of her head and three black eyes, one of which was in the center of her forehead. Pink in colour, which identified her as a West Sea specimen, her head and back were brown, with golden streaks along her soft body.
Candice's Pokemon was a beautiful, frail-looking Ghost Pokemon whose body was somewhat reminescent of a white kimono, a red band on her waist and overlarge sleeves. Horn-like glass spurs emerged from her head, and some violet skin was visible through a few holes in her incorporeal dress, along with a pair of blue eyes with yellow pupils. She was obviously a Froslass, a Ghost / Ice Pokemon noted for being a rare Snorunt evolution, and reminescent of the Japanese Yuki-Onna legend.
Finally, Maylene had sent out her mighty Machoke, who was now flexig his arms and showing his intimidating muscles. For a moment, their attackers seemed to be thinking twice before tangling with such strong opponents... but not a second later, the disquieting sounds continued, and a threatening, while somewhat muffled, voice called out to them.
"Whoever you are, go away from here at once!" a man wearing a black uniform with a reversed R drawn upon it, and a gas mask on his face said as he emerged from the snowy woods, a spiky, electricity-charged Jolteon at his side. Soon after, another man and a woman appeared in front of Maylene and Candice, wearing the same uniform and gas mask, and with some dangerous-looking Pokemon at their sides: the second man had let out a Probopass, an awkward-looking creature looking like an head sculpted in blue stone, with an enormous red nose, a thick moustache, and an hat-like magnet on top of his strange body.
The woman, on the other hand, had a Grumpig with her: a strange Psychic-type Pokemon similar to a bipedal, purple-and-black pig, a spiralling tail and overlarge ears, with two black pearls on his forehead. They were surrounding the girls, not allowing them to push through...
"Hey! Who do you happen to be?" Candice exclaimed, instantly recognizing them as members of another criminal cartel, though she had no idea what the symbol stood for...
The shady guys got closer, and the three friends stepped backwards, almost ending up back to back. "It does not matter who we are." one of the masked villains said. "Wht does matter is, you kids are meddling in things that don't concern you. This is adult business, so... scram and go back home, unless you wanna get hurt!"
"This DOES concern us, actually." Candice shot back. "From what we could see, a huge mass of snow detached from here and fell on Snowpoint City... my hometown! Three people died under the ruins, and there are still people the police can't find... if it was you and your team to do that, you'll have to answer to me as Snowpoint City's Gym Leader!"
"Yeah, to us too!" Maylene shot back, striking her Machoke's own fight pose. "We are Candice's best friends, and we aren't going to just let you wreck her city!"
The man with the Jolteon laughed heartily. "Hahahaaa... my, my, aren't you a little toughie? Maybe you need to be shown just who's in charge here... Jolteon, use Charge Beam! Take out that ugly slug!"
Zoey's wary expression turned to one of puzzlement as Jolteon, after letting out a keening sound, shot a crackling golden laser towards her Gastrodon, who did not even bother trying to dodge - and she was far too slow to do so anyway. However, the attack didn't even faze the giant slug, and the electricity just rolled off Gastrodon's body like water on a duck's feathers!
"Wh... WHAT?" the man exclaimed as his Jolteon ceased the attack and shook his head. "My... Electric Pokemon... didn't even faze that Water-type?"
"Er..." Zoey murmured. She was so surprised that she couldn't believe that guy had made such a silly mistake. "Actually, Gastrodon is a Water / Ground type. Don't tell me you didn't know this!"
"Actually, no..." the masked crook answered. There was not much Zoey could do if not put her hand to her face in disappointment.
"I can't believe it... is this guy really that daft?" Candice asked. Her Froslass shrugged and shook her head, as Maylene's Machoke crossed his arms on his chest in disapproval. "Well, we aren't going to cut such a poor showing! Froslass, hit that Grumpig with a Blizzard attack!"
"Let's show them what we've got, Machoke!" Maylene said, striking a pose. "Use Cross Chop on that Probopass!"
"Gastrodon, use Earth Power!" Zoey called to her Pokemon.
The snowy phantom raised her arms and summoned a chilling wind around herself, as Machoke advanced towards Probopass to hit him with his strongest attack, and Gastrodon, after nodding once, closed her three small eyes and concentrated, a few shockwaves rising from the ground around her! Intimidated by this unexpected display of strength, the three shady individuals stepped backwards, as their Pokemon tried to stand their ground...
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"Rotom, finish him off with Thunderbolt! Dusknoir... Shadow Claw again!"
Keeping up admirably with two Pokemon at once, Phoebe gave her next orders... and Bibarel's Water Gun attack was dissipated by a lethally accurate electrical bolt, discharged from the Ghost / Electric type's diminutive body... and while the cave was briefly illuminated, the unprepared beaver was hit by the powerful attack, shrieked in pain and finally slumped helplessly on the ground. Dusknoir, in the meanwhile, flew towards Donphan and slashed him with his mighty claws, enveloped in an innatural black-purple flame than went through the Ground Pokemon's formidable natural armor! Donphan bellowed as he was lifted clean off the ground and sent hurtling to the wall behind him, breaking a few rocks with his weight! The elephant-like Pokemon crumpled to the ground and remained there, as Dusknoir narrowed his single eye, as if he was silently celebrating his victory. "Duuuusknoir..."
Ash and his Pokemon were doing a good job themselves - Electrode's blinding speed and electric attacks were proving to be of little use against Bayleef's stamina and defensive skills, as the Leaf Pokemon struck him with powerful Razor Leaves and similar attacks... and Pikachu, thanks to his quick leg work, and the tricks he had learned during his and Ash's journey, was giving Medicham a run for his money! The Psychic / Fighting tried a Bric Break attack, but Ash and Pikachu countered with an Agility move that allowed the yellow mouse to avoid the hand chop... then, after gaining some speed, Pikachu threw himself at his opponent, surrounded in a crackling electric aura!
"Great, Pikachu! Hit him with Volt Tackle! And you, Bayleef... use Energy Ball and end this battle!" the young trained ordered. Pikaachu squeaked in assent, sped up a little more and struck Medicham head-on, administering a mighty shock to him and causing his face to comically scrunch in pain and surprise before he was sent tothe ground in exhaustion! Bayleef, on the other hand, closed her eyes and concentrated for a few seconds before opening her mouth and shooting a glowing green sphere towards Electrode... and the Pokeball-like Pokemon had no choice but to take the blow, which went through his Barrier and exploded upon him, sending him to the ground under J's cold, merciless glare. The battle was over, with J on the losing side, and both Ash and Phoebe congratulated their Pokemon and turned to their opponent.
"Whatever they were... those powered-up Pokemon weren't really that useful." Ash affirmed, surrendering to the temptation of boasting a little. The two trainers were sure they had the whole thing under control... at least until the undaunted J recalled her Pokemon and smirked in victory!
"I'm afraid I'll have to crush your illusions, then." the cruel huntress said. "You see, even if you have defeated my Pokemon, that hardly matters for me. Don't you think it's a little strange that I chose this, of all places, to fight against you?"
Phoebe frowned, an odd feeling growing inside of her. In fact, it was kind of weird that J had left her minions to fight Ash's friends... while she ran away in another room, but in the heat of the moment, neither she nor Ash had thought much of it. "What? What do you mean?" the Hoenn Elite Four demanded.
"What I mean is..." J answered calmly as she pressed button on her bracelet. "That this is the place where I wanted to fight you. Did you actually think I didn't have a backup plan for catching the Legendary Pokemon dwelling in this volcano? My men, the tea your friends were facing back there, became useless the moment we stopped here to fight."
As if summoned by J's words, an otherworldly red-orange glow erupted from the crater behind her, together with a sinister shriek that caused the walls to shake, and the ceiling was hit by something big and heavy, and crumbled into the crater, transforming into red-hot magma! A small earthquake shook the ground under Ash, Phoebe and J's feet, and the Ghost Pokemon expert immediately felt a gargantuan surge of energy coming from the lava pit.
"I thought that an intense enough battle could have awakened the Fire Titan, Moltres, from his slumber... and it seems that my gambit was right on the money. Winning or losing mattered little to me." J explained. Her huge flying machine could be seen from the hole that had been blown in the room's walls...
"Darn! And we fell or it hook, line and sinker!" Ash exclaimed in frustration as he picked up Pikachu and Bayleef and tried to keep his footing among the quakes. The air had gotten a little more breathable, but now it was heating up again, and the orange glow coming from the pit was getting more and more intense, as if a miniature sun was about to rise from there. J pressed another button on her device, and a small ladder came down from her flying machine, allowing her to get a grab on it.
"Now I've done a good part of the job." she affirmed as the ladder was lifted up again, taking her along. "Now all I have to do is capture Moltres as soon as he takes flight. I have no more business with you, so if you want to burn to ashes, you can stay there. I don't really care."
"She's right..." Phoebe answered, sweating copiously. "If Moltres is rising from there, this place will soon get too hot for us to survive. We have to go away now!"
"Hold on a second, miss Phoebe..." Ash tried to argue, but he too didn't want to stay there much longer. The room was getting to look more and more like a sauna... "We... we need to find a way to stop J from catching that Legendary Bird!"
"Right, and we can't do that if we get turned to crisps here!" the island girl cut the argument short, grabbing Ash's hand and dragging him back through the tunnel they had come out of. "Come with me, let's get back to Misty and the others! I hope they won against those thugs..."
"Pika!" Pikachu exclimed in assent, he and Bayleef running through the corridor. Ash wisely decided to do what he was told to and followed Phoebe out of the cavern, with J already at a safe distance from the flames. Huge flames began to surface from Moltres' resting place, and the Legendary Pokemon's mighty shrieks shook the firey cavern once again, echoing ominously even outside the mountain...
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The heat soon became difficult to bear, and Misty and her friends felt themselves sweat as a faint red-orange light began invading the tunnels! A low rumbling came from the volcano's belly, like an enraged giant's roar, and the Team Vicious grunts they had been facing quickly turned tail and ran away!
"Ah! What's going on?" Dawn exclaimed, frightend by the ground shifting under the soles of her boots. "Is that an earthquake?"
Brock grit his teeth as he held to a wall, noting it was already hotter than it had been when they had entered. "Ugh... I don't like this one bit! I'm afraid the Pokemon who lives here has awakened, and he's angry about it!" he exclaimed. "I don't know how J awakened it, but it doesn't matter now! We ave to find Ash and Phoebe, and get away from here!"
Luckily, they didn't have to search for their friends, as they soon emerged from the corridor J had taken earlier, Pikachu and Bayleef in tow, much to their friends' relief.
"Ash! Miss Phoebe! Glad to see you're alright..." Misty affirmed. "What about J? What's with this earthquake?"
"Bad news, everyone..." Phoebe explained. "Moltres has awakened because of all the fighting... J brought us here because it was her plan all along to use the sounds of battle to wake him up! This place will soon become a lethal trap! We have to run away from here, and think of our next move! If Moltres isn't kept in check, none of the Sevii Islands will be safe anymore!
"Yeah, but we can't let J catch Moltres either!" Ash answered, as the team started on their way out of the tunnels, who were heating up too quickly for their liking. "If she manages to do this, we're all in deep trouble!"
"Let's think of this when we're out of danger, okay?" was Gary's answer. Bayleef squeaked affirmatively, as the team started running away from that place...
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"Aaaargh What's going on now?" Jessie screamed, unsuccessfully trying not to show fear as the sudden quake shook the cavern they were in. James got away from the wall he had been hanging onto with a brief cry of fear, and even Meowth let his fur stand on end, his face pretty much screaming that he was trying his best not to panic. Like the day really needed to get worse...
"Ugh... Jessie, I'm afraid the volcano is erupting!" James exclaimed. "It's gotten quite a bit hotter, don't you think so? We won't be able to stay here anymore, if this keeps up!"
"Then let's make like a tree and leave!" Meowth answered. "I hope you do remember which way we have taken, otherwise we're trapped!"
"Er... of course I do remember, Meowth! Who do you take me for?" Jessie rudely answered. Team Rocket wisely chose to run away from there and get out, even at the cost of crossing the Slugmas' territory again...
"Me and my stupid idea of trailing those twerps!" Jessie screamed as the ground began fracturing under her boots. "This place is becoming a death trap!"
oooooooooo
Menacing blue-black clouds were covering the sky above Knot Island, and the once calm waters of the ocean started literally boiling under the inhabitants' stupefied eyes. Many of the Knot Island people were fleeing for their lives and trying to get as far as possible from the volcano, from which a river of red-hot lava had begun flowing. A red thunderbolt struck the sea, raising up a huge mass of water and creating some innatural scarlet spectacles, while purplish flames danced on the water.
And, shrieking inindignation, the Fire Titan, Moltres, took flight in the skies of Kanto!
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TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Note: Woah, things got real pretty fast, and the Sludge Bomb just hit the fan, didn't they? Of course, Damien and his friends were no match for Misty, Dawn, Brock and Gary, but the same can't be said of Moltres, who will shortly begin happily rampaging his way through the Sevii Islands, uless Ash and his friends find a way to stop him! And that's what they'll be trying to do in the next episode... with some unexpected help!
What am I talking about? Stay tuned, and you'll see! For the moment, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I wish you all good luck until next time!
Please review! I'm always glad to read what you think of this story!
See you soon!