Polaris–Ponyta, Tsuki–Serperior, Mamoru–Samurott, Tlaloc-Braviary, Carrara – Liepard, Croatan - Scolipede

Thaw

All of us studied the block of ice in stunned silence. Still hesitant, I reached out telepathically. I could feel the flicker of consciousness coming from Virizion, Cobalion, and Terrakion, but it was faint and unsteady.

"We've gotta get them out," I blurted.

"I'll smash the ice," Keldeo growled.

"Wait!" Drew exclaimed, startling everyone. He shifted uneasily. "I think we should make a plan first. This is really weird ice, and, well… I don't want them to get hurt when the ice is breaking, you know?"

"He could have a point," Ben murmured. "We should use the evening to make a plan, and then we can come back in the morning and try it out. I can use my computer to run some tests on the ice. Maybe we can get some sort of analysis on how this stuff works."

"I did something like that before," Drew said. "You might have a different program though, so it wouldn't hurt to try again."

I let out all of my Pokémon, and Ben did the same. It what was left of the evening, we tried various methods of chipping and melting the ice. N even went out, looking for wild Pokémon to help.

But for all of the burning, smashing, and slicing, we were only able to make a few feeble chips in one corner of the giant ice block. Polaris reared up and hammered at the ice with her hooves. Keldeo mimicked her. Ponyta hooves are hared enough to crack diamond. And this ice did crack, but not very much. By the time she dropped to all fours in exhaustion, she'd only managed to break off a piece the size of a volleyball. Her shoulders glistened with sweat, and she panted, frustrated at her lack of progress.

I rubbed her neck, trying to soothe her. "Let's all take a rest. It's pretty dark out, so we should set up camp. It's okay. Keldeo still has some trump cards to try, right?"

Keldeo nodded, but he seemed troubled. I hoped that it was nothing serious.

Ben worked on running analysis through his computer, but he said that data would take a while to process. The reception out here wasn't very good, so it might not be ready until the next morning.

We set up camp in the woods, a little bit away from the burnt area. Just as we were getting ready for bed, I noticed that Drew and Keldeo were missing.

I glanced back at the camp of people and Pokémon. Hari was already passed out alongside Croatan, Tsuki, Carrara, and Gro. Ben was typing at his laptop, trying to get in a little more data before he went to bed. N was sitting with Mamoru and Tlaloc. His Sawsbuck had left when we got camp set up.

Do you know where Keldeo is? I asked Polaris.

Her head was already lowered in a drowsy way, but she looked up. I hear him and Drew speaking, over that way. She pointed with her nose.

I followed her direction until I came to the edge of the ashy field. A jagged block of empty ice was in front of me. And behind it, I could hear the voices of Drew and Keldeo.

"I felt it too," Keldeo murmured.

I inched closer, crouching behind the ice.

Drew sighed. "When I did computer tests, I realized that it was a possibility. But it looks like you found out on your own."

"Yes, but I'm glad you told me. As we were attacking that ice, I felt an odd aura about it. Attacking it made us all a lot more tired than it should have. If I use my special attacks on that… It could hurt me a lot. It might…" Keldeo broke off.

"It might even kill you," Drew finished. "That's why I tried to stop you from going all out."

"But you knew," Keldeo insisted. "You knew this all along, and you still came to find me to break the ice. Why bring me here only to stop me?"

"I hoped there might be another way… but honestly at first, well," he seemed hesitant to go on, but finally did. "At first, I was just desperate to fix the mistake I made of luring Kyurem here. I wanted to free those three Pokémon at any cost. I'm sorry. For a while there, I almost lost sight of the value of your own life. But now, I really don't want you to do this."

"I understand. Thank you for your concern. Even so, I need to find a way to free my friends."

"I'll do whatever I can to help," Drew promised.

The two of them started coming towards me, and I backed away, keeping the ice between them and me. Once they had safely passed, I called out telepathically, Keldeo, can you come back for a minute?

Keldeo paused and doubled back to meet me. "So, you heard."

"I did," I admitted. "But I think there's a way to get around this. If we could get another legendary Pokémon to come and help, then it would probably split the damage between you two. You both might be tired, but you could recover."

Keldeo sighed. "It's possible. But what if it backfires? What if it kills both of us? And besides, where are you going to find another legendary Pokémon anyway? We're not easy to track down, and we have our own jobs."

"Some of the legendary Pokémon are my friends. I could call them here to help. Mew, or Celebi."

He shook his head. "Those aren't Pokémon from this region. How long would it take them to get here? Too long."

"Well, maybe they can hook me up with a legendary Pokémon that's nearer."

"It's not like all legendary Pokémon know each other," Keldeo murmured, turning and heading back to camp.

I fell into step besides him. "I'll figure something out. I promise."

Keldeo gave a small smile. "Thanks. I appreciate you trying to help me like this." I stopped and he moved on ahead of me. I'd have to find some way to bring at least one other legendary Pokémon to help. But I really didn't' know any legendaries here in Unova. Maybe I could find a way to transport Phantom over. Mewtwo was off traveling somewhere, so he probably wouldn't be able to make it. Could Mew teleport this far? I had no idea where she was at the moment.

"You're friends with legendary Pokémon?"

Startled, I turned to find N.

"Now you're spying," I grumbled.

"No more than you were."

"Great. So, how much did you hear?"

"Almost as much as you." He looked troubled. "Do you really think you can help Keldeo?"

"I wouldn't have said so if I didn't." I continued back to camp. "It might be tricky though. I'll have to focus on reaching out to all my friends, to see who's available. Can you make sure no one bothers me?" Which was my way of saying that I didn't want him bugging me about it tonight.

N nodded. We were back at camp already, so I sat down on top of my sleeping bag and closed my eyes.

I reached out to Mew. I'd known her longest, and she seemed like she had some pretty good connections among other legendary Pokémon. After all, she'd help organize a rescue team when I'd gotten sucked through one of Palkia's portals.

After about a minute, I finally made a telepathic link with Mew. I think I'd caught her asleep, because she seemed groggy.

Hi, Cara. Is something wrong?

I explained the situation to her.

Hmm. I think I can find someone in the area to help. Can you give me a few minutes?

Yeah. Thank you so much!

No problem. I don't mind helping fellow Pokémon.

I curled up in my sleeping bag, waiting for a reply. I ran over some possibilities of who might come to help. Manaphy probably wouldn't work, nor would Kyogre since they were bound to the sea. Rayquaza might be nearby. But he was so big that his attacks might accidentally hurt Virizion, Cobalion, and Terrakion.

Finally Mew's voice called out. Okay, I asked around. Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf are a bit too far to come, but they'll try to make it if it's really important. Same with Cresselia and Meloetta. There's a Victini pretty close to you, but I think he's not very mobile right now. You might be able to go and find him if you have to. He's on an island, offshore from Castelia City.

Great. All the way back at Castelia City.

But, there are a few Shaymin migrating nearby. One of them sounded like she'd be willing to help. I don't suppose you have any gracidea flowers nearby, do you?

I don't know, I admitted.

Well, Shaymin can release a burst of energy during part of their purification process. Do you have any toxins that you can use to fuel Shaymin's powers?

You know, there's a factory nearby. I'll bet we can find some nasty stuff there.

Great! I'll tell Shaymin to meet you there as soon as possible.

Thank you so much, Mew!

Sure. Good night.

…

Cara! Cara!

Something nudged me in the side and I opened my eyes, resentful at being disturbed when it was barely light out. Startled, I found Polaris and Carrara leaning over me.

"What is it?" I asked sleepily.

Get up, Carrara barked,

Keldeo and Drew are gone, Polaris said urgently. I think they went to break the ice!

I sat up and flung my sleeping bag away. Barefoot and in my pajamas, I started to run through the woods.

Polaris galloped up beside me. What are you doing? Climb on!

She knelt, letting me jump onto her shoulders. I clung on as she galloped out of the trees and across the scorched earth. Carrara bounded along beside us and Tlaloc swooped overhead.

We rounded the hill and saw the block of ice with the three Pokémon frozen inside. Drew and Keldeo were there, and Keldeo's horn was a blaze of light. He was ready to attack the ice.

"Tlaloc, fly ahead!"

He tucked his wings and dived. I stopped breathing as Keldeo charged the ice, ready to slash at it with his glowing horn. Tlaloc closed the distance, and slammed his wings forward in a jet of air. The blast of wind knocked Keldeo off of his feet and sent him and Drew tumbling backwards.

Tlaloc landed between them and the ice. By the time Polaris skidded to a halt in front of them, Drew and Keldeo were on their feet once more.

Keldeo stomped forward to face us, and pawed the ashy ground in frustration. "You! What is with you? Why do you want to stop me?"

"There's another way!" I shouted.

Keldeo snorted. "Yeah, your vague plan to lure some other legendary Pokémon here to help!"

Drew glanced between us, looking bewildered. This was obviously news to him.

"It's not a vague plan. A Shaymin is on her way here right now."

Keldeo looked disbelieving. "A Shaymin. Why would a Shaymin come here?"

"I told you. Some legendary Pokémon are my friends. I can contact them through telepathy. I said I'd find help, and I did."

The anger was fading from Keldeo's expression, but he said, "I don't see Shaymin anywhere."

"She's on her way. We only contacted her last night, so she hasn't had time to arrive yet. Shaymin can only fly during the day."

Keldeo sighed and his head drooped towards the ground. "Do we have long to wait? I hate seeing my friends like this."

I glanced over at the frozen forms. It must be so scary, seeing such powerful friends trapped and helpless. "I know. We'll get them free as soon as possible. Until then, we can do something to prepare fro Shaymin."

"Hang on a sec," Drew said, looking completely lost. "What are you talking about? Are you saying that Keldeo doesn't have to get hurt? What's a Shaymin?"

…

That evening, Shaymin, in her sky form, soared over the forest and landed in front of the block of ice. Keldeo galloped towards her and skidded to a halt. Shaymin backed away, startled.

"Thank goodness you're here," Keldeo said, breathless. "We've been waiting all day, and gathering this weird black stuff so you can blast it out to get power and…"

"Slow down!" Shaymin exclaimed. "You talk too fast, and I only heard half of what you said."

"Basically what he said," I replied, approaching to greet her, "is that we're really glad to see you."

Shaymin smiled. "Of course."

N, Hari, Ben, and Drew greeted Shaymin as well.

"Can you really purify all this gunk?" Hari asked, pointing to the tubs of sludge we'd hauled over from the factory.

Shaymin cocked her head. "Well, usually I purify things in a gaseous state."

"Perhaps we could evaporate it," N suggested.

I cringed. "Only if we could find some way to contain the smoke. I don't fancy inhaling any of that."

"No kidding," Ben said, grimacing. "Some of the stuff in there would seriously be bad for your lungs."

"My Gothitelle can create a barrier to contain the smoke," Drew offered.

"By the way," Shaymin said, "It's going to be dark soon, and I'll lose my sky form. Are there any gracidea flowers nearby that I can use in the morning? I need to rejoin my friends."

"What do gracidea flowers look like?" Drew asked.

"I'll find a picture," Ben said, going to retrieve his laptop.

"I've seen those" Drew said as he examined the pink bouquet on the laptop screen. "They sell them at the florist in Driftveil."

"Excellent," Shaymin said with a satisfied nod. "So then, what's the plan?"

Most of the plan was already set up. N had found a wild Swoobat and Duosoin to help. They would use their psychic powers to shield Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion from being harmed when Keldeo and Shaymin unleashed their power.

And now we only had the final touches to set in place. We worked quickly, wanting to finish before dark.

Gothitelle created a psychic bubble just above the hunk of ice, and we dumped the buckets of sludge into it. Polaris blasted heat at the bottom of the bubble, making the scum evaporate until it filled its confines in a nasty spewey smoke. It looked truly toxic.

Keldeo climbed the hill, stopping at a point just above the target block of ice. And then Swoobat and Duosion set up shields to protect the frozen Pokémon.

Everything was ready.

Shaymin took a deep breath leapt at Gothitelle's bubble. Gothitelle opened up a gap in the bubble for the split second it took Shaymin to enter, and then the bubble quickly sealed again. Shaymin floated near the top of the hot bubble, her nose wrinkled in disgust. Then the gas began to seep into her flower, turning its bright pink into a dull violet.

All of the rest of us quickly backed away. The last of the gas disappeared, and Gothitelle turned and fled as well, letting the psychic bubble burst.

For a moment, Shaymin hung in the air above the ice, her body glowing brightly with the energy of Seed Flare. Then in an explosive burst, the attack unleashed and shattered into the ice below. Before the energy cleared, Keldeo leapt down from above, his horn blazing. He swung his head down and smashed into the glass with his horn.

The ice split, throwing out beams of fragmented light. Shards of ice scattered across the ash. And then everything was silent.

By eyes burst with the afterglow, and I couldn't' see what had become of the ice. I blinked and stumbled forward, desperate to find out what had happened.

The center of the ice was torn open and several figures were sprawled amongst the cold rubble. None of them were moving.

I quickened my pace, throat dry and breath shallow.

A small green form was at my feet. Shaymin had faded back to her hedgehog form. I quickly knelt and picked her up. A flood of relief hit me. She was only unconscious. N passed me and made for Keldeo. Still holding Shaymin, I followed him.

Keldeo was flopped over a jagged hunk of ice. N placed a hand on Keldeo's head.

"How is he?" I asked, breathless.

N nodded. "He's alive."

I gave another sigh of relief and headed for Virizion, who was passed out among the rubble. Drew checked on Terrakion, who was still partly imbedded in the ice. So was Cobalion.

"They're all alive!" Hari exclaimed. "They're all okay!"

"Okay" might have been stretching it a bit. They were all unconscious. But that was the best we could have hoped for anyway.

Hari dove into his bag and began mixing up medicine to revive the exhausted Pokémon. Ben and Drew carried Keldeo away from the ice. Gothitelle's psychic powers helped lift Virizion, who was too big to carry. Polaris used her hooves to smash the remaining ice that clung to Terrakion's ankles. Cobalion was a different story. His back half was still entrapped. It was a strange sight, his hind legs straight while his forelegs were buckled with his head resting on a pillow of frozen water.

By the time we got Terrakion out, Hari had finished making the medicine. I joined him as the others continued smashing at the ice.

We poured some of the medicine into Shaymin's mouth. Her sleeping face grimaced as she swallowed. I laughed. Hari's potions didn't always taste very good, which I knew all too well. By the time we gave medicine to Keldeo and Virizion, Shaymin's eyes had opened slightly.

"Did it work?" She asked weakly.

"Yep!" Hari exclaimed brightly. "We're getting the last one out now."

Keldeo woke up and saw Virizion lying next to him. He smiled. "They're free. Thank goodness."

Virizion began to stir. I moved next to her and supported her head as she tried to look around.

"What happened?" She asked blearily.

Hari and I helped Keldeo explain. I'd only planned on a quick explanation, since we'd need to repeat it for Terrakion and Cobalion too. But Hari launched into all the details. Then he headed over to wake Terrakion.

Cobalion still wasn't free.

"Let me help," Virizion insisted.

I hesitated. "Can you stand?"

Virizion tried to get her legs under her, and winced. Keldeo tried to rise to help her, but cried out and collapsed.

"Hang on!" I explained. "We'll help. Don't hurt yourselves."

Polaris and Croatan came to support Virizion, and we hobbled over to the still unconscious Cobalion. Virizion's sword horn flickered feebly to life, and she stabbed it into the ice, ripping out a hunk of it. And the rest of us were able to slowly ease Cobalion from the wreckage.

With the last of tem free, all of us collapsed in relief.

…

None of the legendary Pokémon were well enough to move for the rest of the day. In fact, most of them passed out again in a resting sleep. That was after we managed to get everyone back to camp and away from the ice and ash.

By breakfast, all of the Pokémon were awake. None of them were leaping around, but the sword Pokémon were at least able to stand. And all of them felt better after Hari shared a smoothie with them. He seemed to make an effort to have this one taste nice, at least.

He shrugged. "Well, the strongest medicine usually tastes the worst. You don't want to dilute with other flavors, or it'll lose its power. This is just a drink to give everyone more energy."

Apparently it worked, because by lunchtime, the sword Pokémon announced that they had to be on their way. They were still a bit wobbly, but they could move around decently.

Cobalion bowed his head. "Thank you again for freeing us."

"And helping us get well," Terrakion added.

"Thank you Shaymin," Virizion said, smiling."

Shaymin grinned back. "It's fun to meet other legendary Pokémon. If I ever fly past here again, I'll stop to say hi."

Keldeo stepped forward last. "Thank you too, Cara. For stopping me, and for bringing Shaymin here."

"Yeah. It was nice meeting all of you." I was honestly just thrilled to meet more legendary Pokémon.

The four sword Pokémon bowed their heads once more, and then took off through the woods.