Chapter 32 – Battle in the Ice Cave
May and I proceeded up Route 44, following the mountain trail that led up to the Ice Cave, May riding on Fierymane and me riding on Tauros. I wore the heavy jacket over my favorite black "elemental flame" t-shirt, and the hood covered my short brown hair. May's jacket covered her pink t-shirt with a white daisy, and the hood covered her long blond hair. It was definitely getting colder, and my glasses were starting to fog up! I think May and I were both glad to each have a Vulpix in our laps to help keep us warm – of course, May also had Fierymane's flames to keep her warm! Both of us were anxious to meet Martin.
Soon, we saw a sign that read "Ice Cave – 2 miles ahead". I said to May, "We're almost there!" The ground all around us was white with snow now, and it was much colder at this higher elevation. Our Pokemon pressed on, carrying us and our Vulpixes to our destination, and Firestorm continued to follow us alongside. In no time at all, we reached the opening to the Ice Cave. May recalled Fierymane and I recalled Tauros, and we entered the large cave that led us inside the mountain, accompanied by our fire foxes. At first, it was kind of dark, but there was a definite bright light coming from the caverns ahead. I could see Zubats asleep, hanging from the roof of the cave. "This place is creepy!" May said to me. I replied, "I don't know – I think it's kind of cool!" She remarked, "Do you mean that figuratively or literally?" We proceeded to the caverns ahead, and passed through another opening. Inside, there were naturally occuring crystal formations that let out a bright white light, which lit up the caverns. It was quite beautiful. Our fire foxes coloration was much more pronounced against the bright white of the icy cave walls and floor – Flamefox was very orange-ish/brown, with deep red-orange curls of hair on his head, and his six tails were an equally deep red-orange, while Amber was such a light tan, with six orange tails, and orange curls of hair on her head, with a pink bow in the center curl, and on both foxes, their brown paws were very striking, like little brown boots, in the snow. At the same time, Firestorm's fur, mane, and tails glistened a beautiful golden white against the bright white background. He was almost blinding to look at! Anyway, we all continued walking ahead. We could see stalactites hanging from the roof of the cavern, high above us. All of a sudden, we heard a beautiful sound – Lapras singing! "Do you hear that?" I asked May. "Yes. It's very beautiful!" she replied. "It's a Lapras. I wonder if it's Martin's?" I asked. "If it is, I sure hope he lets us see it!" May exclaimed. Suddenly, a Golbat flew down at May from out of nowhere, and I shouted, "May, look out!" She ducked just in time, and it flew back up. May yelled, "Amber, flamethrower!" Amber launched the fiery attack, but missed, and the Golbat flew off! "Quick, after it!" she shouted. We ran through the passage ahead, chasing the Golbat. This place was huge inside! I could see more passageways leading to upper and lower chasms! We continued to chase the Golbat for several minutes. As we ran, I said, "May, this place is gigantic, but so far, I haven't seen any cavern that looks habitable! I wonder if Pryce was sure he meant THIS Ice Cave!" She said, "Right now, I'm more interested in catching that Golbat!" Amber was gaining on Golbat, and May shouted, "Amber, try flamethrower again!" This time, Amber hit the Golbat! It's wing was hit, and it turned around and hit Amber with giga drain! She fell down, drained of a good deal of energy. "Amber!" May shouted and then ran over to pick her up. I grabbed a hyper potion from my backpack, handed it to May, and said, "Here, give her this! We'll catch that Golbat for you!" May replied, "Thanks!" and opened the vial of hyper potion for Amber to drink. Flamefox stayed with Amber and May, while Firestorm and I continued chasing the Golbat. "Firestorm, try your flamethrower on it!" I ordered him. Firestorm launched the attack, and nicked the Golbat's wing, but the Golbat kept flying ahead, and flew into a hole in the wall in front of us. "Rats!" I shouted. May, Flamefox, and a fully-restored Amber came running up behind us. "No luck, huh?" May asked me. "It got away in that hole" I replied, pointing to the hole in the wall it had flown through. Then I turned to look at May, and in the passageway behind her, I thought I saw something black whiz by. "What the…" I started to say. May turned around to look. "What? What did you see?" she asked. I answered, "I'm not sure. Something black. It ran by too fast to get a good look." She returned her gaze to me and said, "You better not be trying to scare me!" I said, "No. I saw something. Well… never mind! Let's see if we can find Martin." We started walking along the wall with the hole that Golbat had disappeared into, when Flamefox got all excited, and said, "Vulpix, vulpix!" I asked him, "What is it, boy?" He led me over to another part of that wall, and there were 2 tall rocks, one that stood about 3 feet tall, and another that stood about 5 and a half feet tall. They stood just opposite each other on the wall, and looked very out of place! "That's interesting. Everything else in here is crystalline or ice, but then there's these 2 rocks!" I observed. "They look like someone put them there. Maybe Martin?" May asked. Then we both turned around as something black ran between caverns, too quickly for either of us to get a good look. "I saw something!" may frightfully said. "Me too! Don't panic! Just stay cool!" I replied. Then I put my hands on one of the rocks. "I just wonder something…" I said, and I started to pull on the rock. Instead of sliding across the floor like I expected it to, it tipped forward, towards the floor! "Interesting!" I said loudly. Then I said, "May, pull on the other rock!" She pulled on it, and it did the same thing, tipped forward towards the floor. Suddenly, the wall started shaking! We all watched as the wall opened up like a giant door – it WAS a giant door! May, Amber, Flamefox, Firestorm, and I entered this new opening. As we entered, we all jumped back as a 3 foot tall black creature with sinister eyes, long sharp claws, purplish ears and tails leapt in front of us and hissed loudly! Flamefox, Amber, and Firestorm took defensive stances in front of me and May. "What is it?" May fearfully asked. "I… I don't know!" I replied back. I pulled out my Pokedex and pointed the lens aperature at the creature. The voice box said, "Pokemon unknown". "Pokemon unknown?" I repeated. Then we both heard a man's voice say, "Kat, back down!" The creature turned around and ran over to a man and climbed up onto his shoulders. He looked to be about 20 years old, and he had spiky brown hair and a light mustache, and he wore a heavy leather jacket, a hat, and gloves. Then he asked us, "Who are you, and how did you find this place?" I said, "I'm Joseph Ehlle, from Crimson Town." May said, "I'm May Redfield from Violet City." Then I said, "Pryce, the Mahogany Town Gym leader, sent us here to visit his son, Martin." He looked angry as he said, "Father knows I don't like visitors!" May exclaimed, "You're Martin?!?" He said, "Yes. Welcome to my humble abode! But it's location is supposed to be a secret. So tell me – how did you find the secret entrance?" I answered, "Those 2 rocks just looked very out of place among the ice and crystals. We each pulled on one, and the door opened! I had no idea it was a secret entrance, honest!" He replied, "Hmph, I'll have to take care of that and put up a secret lever that's less obvious." Then he looked at our fire foxes and asked, "So I take it one of them is responsible for burning my Golbat's wing?" I asked, "That was YOUR Golbat?" He answered, "Yeah, he was trying to scare you away, but I guess he didn't do a very good job. My Pokemon are very protective of me!" I replied, "We can relate – our Pokemon are very protective of us, too!" May said, "We were more scared of that thing" and she pointed to the black creature on Martin's shoulders. "What IS that, anyway?" she asked. Martin said, "I'm surprised my father didn't tell you that, too! This is the new Pokemon I discovered! It's a Sneasel, and her name is Kat! Say hello, to them, Kat." Kat replied, "Sneasss". Martin continued, "Kat was the first Sneasel I discovered and caught. I also caught her mate, who I named Slash. We're all inseperable now." Suddenly, we all heard the Lapras song again. "Is that your Lapras singing?" May asked. "No, not mine. Wild Lapras lurk around in a lake that's a few chasms below. But their song can be heard echoing throughout all the Ice Cave caverns". May said, "It's quite beautiful. I guess that would be a nice thing about living here." Martin said, "Yeah, that and the solitude". I asked, "How do Lapras get in an underground chasm?" He answered, "The chasm leads to an ocean if you follow it far enough." Then he said, "Well, come on in! As long as you're here, you might as well meet the entire Sneasel clan!" May said, "That's right! Your father told us you were a Pokemon breeder! I'd love to see your baby Pokemon! I want to be a breeder myself, someday!" The serious look on Martin's facesuddenly turned to a little smile, and he said, "In that case, I'd be glad to show you!" The large door closed behind us as we followed Martin into the huge facility, carved into the Ice Cave, itself. He led us into a room where there was another adult Sneasel, and several smaller ones. "They're about 6 months old now. Oh, and that big one, that's Slash!" Kat climbed off of Martin and ran over to her mate and they nuzzled – they reminded me of Flamefox and Amber! May crouched down by the younger Sneasels, and scratched their chins. "They're SO cute!" she exclaimed. Martin then asked, "I don't suppose the 2 of you would like to be the first recipients of some well-bred Sneasels?" May and I looked at each other. "Really?" May asked. "Wow, thanks!" I said. Then he said, "But before we do that, how about a Pokemon battle?" May said, "Okay. I beat your father already" and she showed him the Glacier Badge. He said, "Good work! But I was thinking… Joe" and he looked at me. I asked, "You want to battle me?" He replied, "Yeah, that's what I said! I challenge you to a battle!" I said, "Okay, I accept your challenge!" He led us into a large, empty cavern. Kat and Slash followed him inside. He said, "This will be a 3 on 3 battle, okay?" I replied, "Fine with me! Go, Flamefox!" and my Vulpix stood ready to battle. Martin said, "First up, I choose Golbat!" and his Golbat came flying out of nowhere. "Golbat, use supersonic!" Martin ordered. Golbat released a high pitched sound, and it had it's desired effect – Flamefox became confused. "Flamefox, try to shake it off! Then use flamethrower!" I commanded. He tried, but his attack completely missed Golbat, who now had the field advantage. "Use wing attack, Golbat!" Martin ordered. Golbat furiously flapped his wings and sent a powerful g-force at Flamefox, which impacted him and knocked him down. He stood back up, but was still confused. "Flamefox, try flamethrower again!" I shouted. He launched another flamethrower, but in his confusion, he missed again! This looked bad! "Golbat, use giga drain!" Martin ordered. Golbat launched the energy draining attack at my Vulpix, and it hit! Flamefox fell over, drained of a good deal of HP! "Flamefox!" I shouted, and ran over to him. "It's okay, buddy. You did your best! I'll pull you out of the battle now." To that, Flamefox stood up and shook his head. He was no longer confused! I said, "Do you think you can do it, Flamefox?" He nodded, "Vulpix!" I heard Martin yell, "Golbat, one more giga drain!" I responded, "Flamefox, agility!" Flamefox ran in a blur as he dodged the attack. "Now use confuse ray!" I shouted. He did so, and the attack was a direct hit! Golbat flapped around in circles, confused! "Let's finish this! Use fire spin!" I ordered. Flamefox's body glowed brightly, and his eyes grew bright white, as he released the tornado of flames from his mouth. Golbat got wrapped up in the swirling twister of flames. Once the flames dispersed, Golbat fell to the ground, defeated. "Golbat, return!" Martin said, recalling his Pokemon. "You did your best." Flamefox then collapsed from exhaustion. I ran over to him, picked him up, and said, "Good job, my friend! You deserve a good, long rest now!" I put him down next to Amber, and he fell right to sleep. Amber curled up next to him. Then I took out a pokeball, and shouted, "Go, Tauros!" He materialized from the bright light of the pokeball, and stood ready to battle. Martin then said, "I choose Feraligatr!" and released the final evolutionary stage of Totodile, a large, blue alligator-like Pokemon with red ridges on his head, back, and tail. My large, buffalo-like Pokemon stood, snarling, ready to battle, scraping his front right hoof against the floor. "Tauros, use take down!" I ordered. He charged forward, full speed. "Feraligatr, use hydro pump!" Martin commanded. Feraligatr launched a strong cascade of water from his mouth that hit Tauros and pinned him against the wall! Aside from May, Martin was proving himself to be the strongest trainer I'd battled thus far. When the attack ceased, Tauros fell to the ground, but landed on all fours, and prepared to attack again! "Tauros, use earthquake!" I ordered. He reared up on his hind legs, then crashed down on the floor with his front hooves, causing a fissure to open in the ground underneath Feraligatr, which he fell into. However, Feraligatr managed to climb back out, and I ordered, "Tauros, try a body slam!" As Tauros again charged at Feraligatr, Martin shouted, "Use ice beam!" Feraligatr launched the ice attack from his mouth at my charging Tauros, and Tauros was frozen in a block of ice! "Oh no! Tauros!" I shouted. Then Martin commanded, "Now use iron tail!" Feraligatr spun around and whacked my ice encased Tauros with his tail, sending the entire ice block crashing against the wall, where it shattered open and Tauros was freed. He fell to the ground again, but weakly stood back up, still full of fight! "I don't believe it!" Martin said. I ordered, "Tauros, take down, now!" Tauros charged at Feraligatr, and this time, their bodies crashed against each other, and Feraligatr fell backwards. As he stood back up, I yelled, "Horn attack, Tauros!" Tauros again charged at Feraligatr, but Feraligatr grabbed his horns and the 2 of them pushed against each other. Feraligatr would not let go of his horns, no matter how hard Tauros pushed. But after a while, it got to be too much for Tauros, and Feraligatr actually pushed him to the ground! I thought this was it! "Good job, Feraligatr! Now finish the battle with a crunch attack!" Martin commanded. Tauros actually stood back up as Feraligatr came at him and I shouted, "Tauros, use thrash!" Tauros began to thrash about wildly in all directions, and hit the Feraligatr with his front hooves, rear hooves, and horns, beating the pulp out of him! Feraligatr fell onto his back and I ordered, "Tauros, body slam, now!" Tauros leapt at the downed Feraligatr and landed his large body onto him, crushing him against the floor! Feraligatr yelled out in pain before fainting. He was officially defeated! But Tauros was totally wiped out! "Tauros, return!" I shouted, recalling him to his pokeball. Martin said, "Feraligatr, return!" and recalled his Pokemon. Then I took my next pokeball and said, "For my last Pokemon, I choose Jolteon!" and I released my electric dog from his pokeball. Martin said, "I will use a Sneasel for my final Pokemon. But I will let you decide which one. Choose – Kat or Slash?" I looked at him, as each of his Sneasels stood to either side of him. I decided since Kat was apparently used primarily for breeding, she must not be as strong. So I replied, "Use Kat!" He said, "Very well then. Kat, it looks like you're up!" "Sneass sneasel!" she replied. I ordered, "Jolteon, use thunderbolt!" As he launched the electric attack, Martin shouted, "Use your agility, Kat!" The black, cat-like Pokemon ran out of the way in a blur, dodging the attack! Then Martin ordered, "Use attract!" Kat gazed at Jolteon's eyes, and I yelled, "Jolteon, close your eyes! Don't let her hypnotize you!" It was too late! Jolteon fell under the spell of attract, which meant he would not attack a female Pokemon! "Okay, Kat, use shadow ball!" Martin commanded. Kat held her claws out in front of her, and a ball of dark energy formed above them. Then she threw the ball at Jolteon, and it exploded on impact, causing Jolteon to fall to the floor. He stood back up. "Jolteon, try using your agility to avoid it!" I yelled. It was no good – he was still under the influence of attract. "Hit him with another shadow ball, Kat!" Martin commanded. She manifested another ball of dark energy and threw it at Jolteon, who was once again knocked down from the impact of the dark energy explosion! Once again, he stood back up, and now, it looked like the attract was wearing off. "Jolteon, use thunderbolt!" I shouted. "Kat, use reflect!" Martin ordered. The thunderbolt bounced off Kat and was sent back to Jolteon! He was hit by his own attack! "Jolteon!" I shouted. "Now use slash, Kat!" Martin shouted. Kat leapt at Jolteon and slashed at him with her long, sharp claws! Jolteon screamed out in pain, then collapsed to the floor! He was defeated. "Jolteon, return!" I said, recalling him to his pokeball. Kat ran back over to Martin and he picked her up and said, "Excellent work, Kat!" May came up behind me and hit my shoulder. "Ow, what was that for?" I asked her. "For underestimating a female again! You should have seen that coming! You had a choice of a male or female Sneasel, and you went with the female! You should have realized she might possibly know attract!" I realized that May was right, and I hadn't thought this battle out as carefully as I could have. Martin said, "Hey, you did pretty good! Your Pokemon all put up a good fight!" I said, "Yeah, so did yours. Congratulations on winning the match! Now I'd better go to the Pokemon Center and get my Pokemon treated." He said, "Don't bother with that! I can treat your Pokemon right here. Besides, it's a long hike back to Mahogany Town!" I replied, "Really? Thanks!" We all returned to the room he led us to originally, where Slash and the younger Sneasels were. While Martin was treating his Pokemon and mine, May and I watched the 6 month old Sneasels running around the room and wrestling with each other. May said, "Aren't they just adorable? Oh, I can't wait to go into breeding on my own! Then I'll have baby Vulpixes to play with!" Martin interjected, "It's a lot of work, though. But it sure is fun!" Then he said to me, "You're Pokemon are as good as new! Just let them rest for a while." At that, Flamefox ran over to me, and hopped back up on my shoulders. "Thanks Martin" I said. Then he asked, "So, did you each pick a Sneasel yet?" I said, "They are cute! But the thing is, we're on our way to the Johto League, and I'm trying to keep my current party strong. Plus, since they're not official yet, I'm not even sure we can use them for official League battles." May said, "I was thinking that, too. Plus, they are still so young. But I'd sure love to take one!" Martin said, "I think you'll find that they're fast learners. But you don't have to use them for battling right away." I said, "I guess we'll have to see what Professor Elm says about us having 7 Pokemon with us, even if we're not using the 7th one to battle." Suddenly, we heard Lapras song again. "There it is again!" May said. Then I said, "Can you take us to the cavern the Lapras are in? I'd love to try catching one!" Martin said, "Okay. We'll take you to the underground caverns tomorrow. You should let your Pokemon rest today. But don't be fooled – Lapras are gentle by nature, but they can put up a good fight if they're forced to!" Martin let us stay overnight in his hidden cavern. Flamefox, Amber, and Firestorm had lots of fun playing with the young Sneasels. Tomorrow, we'd go looking for Lapras!