So, just a heads up, three chapters uploaded today. I meant to do 34 and 35 a few days ago, but something was up with the site and it wouldn't let me publish the chapters. It's working now though, and I just finished 36 so I decided what the heck, upload all of them! Enjoy.
Chapter 34: The Diamond Dust Girl
It was slow going, pushing my way through the fresh snow towards the port city of Snowpoint. It didn't help that the forest was thick with trees, obscuring what little of the path I could actually make out. If it wasn't for the fact that Barry was walking into what could only be a deathtrap I wouldn't be in such a hurry. As it was, I redoubled my efforts, forcing myself through the slush.
Not long after parting ways with the dumb blonde, I heard a faint noise in the distance. Listening in, I discovered that it was music, old classical stuff to be exact. Odd as it was to hear it out in the woods, I took it as a good sign. I must be close to the town I thought, altering my direction slightly to head towards the source of the music. A particularly thick bunch of brush blocked my path, and I broke through it roughly, falling into a clearing. I had expected to find a person or two on the outskirts of the city. What I had gotten threw me for a loop as it was the weirdest thing I had ever seen in my entire life.
A Snover, a grass/ice-type pokemon, was sitting in the middle of the clearing, leaning against a stump that had once been a great tree judging from how wide it was. The pokemon was conical in shape, white at the top and brown on the bottom. The top of its head spread out a bit, forming a little "hat" over its eyes, which were closed as it hummed to itself. Its small feet clicked together happily and it twiddled its green thumbs in its lap. All in all, it wasn't that odd, except for that was behind the Snover on the stump. There was an old record player, its horn the source of the classical music as the record turned and turned on the body. That Snover is listening to classical music in the middle of a clearing I thought, trying to make sense of the situation. That's it. Now I've seen everything.
I called Moka out of her pokeball, gesturing lightly at the zoned out tree pokemon. "I guess we should catch him, he's the first one we've found." I muttered, still reeling over the ridiculousness of the whole thing. She complied, knocking him down with a weak Air Cutter. He pulled himself up out of the snow, dazed and confused. Before he could recover from the surprise attack, I tossed out a pokeball, capturing him. As the ball was sent away to the PC, I moved over to the record player, turning the music off. Moka hovered over my shoulder, examining it.
"Should we take it with us?" she asked, clearly unsure about what to do in the situation.
"It seems wrong to leave it." I agreed. "I mean it was probably his, right? I guess we can take it." I grabbed the heavy machine and tried to take a step with it. In the snow, it just wasn't going to happen, so I put it back on the stump. "Well shit, that's not going to work." I wheezed. That's when I got a bright idea. Recalling Moka, I released Kamina from his own ball. "Hey, try to pick this up for me." I asked, indicating the music player. He lifted it easily, hoisting the large machine onto one shoulder.
"Where to Nick?" he asked lightly, like this wasn't the craziest thing ever. Maybe it isn't to him, he's still just a kid I reminded myself.
"Hold on a moment." I said, grabbing Cerberus' ball. After being released, the Houndoom took one look at Kamina and fell to the ground, rolling in the snow and cackling madly.
"Oh god! That is just rich!" he crowed, finally getting enough air to speak. "You look -hehehe- you look so fucking stupid!" he wheezed, falling into another fit of laughter. I sighed, deciding to let him get it out of his system. Kamina looked from me to the hound, confused. "I don't get it. What's so funny?" he asked innocently, causing Cerberus to dive into another fit of laughter.
"Forget it, we've got to get going." I grumbled, turning my attention to Cerberus. "If you're done being an asshole, I've got something I need you to do." I snapped.
He chuckled a few more times, settling down. "Fine, fine, whatever." he chuckled. "Anything's great after seeing that. God, it was priceless." He purposely looked anywhere but Kamina, trying to avoid another laughing fit I imagine. "What do you want?"
"I need you to clear the snow in front of us. It's taking to long to get to Snowpoint this way, it'll be easier if you just melted it." I explained. As he moved to do just that, I rushed forward slightly. "And don't burn down the entire forest while you're at it!" I added.
Cerberus stopped, glancing back at be behind one of his silver horns. "You're no fun." he grumbled before doing as I asked, unleashing a small, controlled flame to disintegrate the fresh powder before us. As we walked, Kamina behind me and Cerberus in front, we slowly but surely made our way to Snowpoint. It wasn't much faster than before, there being a layer of snow under the fresh powder that turned to slush under the heat, but it was still easier going than before. After about an hour of walking, we had made it to the city.
Snowpoint was a pretty small town. There were only three reasons to really come here, other than liking the cold. There was the port, which had ships that would take you to most anywhere else in the world. Another popular spot was the Snowpoint Temple, a place of intrigue for many archeologists and researchers. And of course, there was the gym, which I would have made a beeline to if it wasn't for the large record player my Lucario was lugging around, drawing us a decent amount of awkward stares.
Recalling Cerberus, the walkways being paved and easy to walk on, I lead Kamina to the PokeCenter, hoping to get things cleared up with the Snover I had caught and find out what to do with the damn player. I quickly withdrew the ice-type from the PC, and released him in the lounge area, sitting on a couch.
The Snover looked around, curious at his sudden change of location. He didn't pay me or Kamina any mind until he spotted the record player placed on the couch next to Kamina. "My records!" he announced, suddenly voiced because of the Nuzlocke. He had a deep tone, one that brought to mind a distinguished englishman from the Victorian era. He rushed over to the player, inspecting it for any damage and mumbling to himself. Apparently satisfied that everything was fine, he turned to Kamina and me, bowing slightly. "Forgive me for my manners. I merely wanted to ensure that my most prized possession was in pristine shape. Allow me to introduce myself-" he stopped suddenly, a look of realization on his face. "Oh, forgive me. I'm just so flustered I forgot that humans cannot understand my speech." he said.
"No I understand you just fine." I replied. That certainly got his attention, and he straightened up, shock written all over his face.
"You do!?" he asked. "Well, that certainly fixes all kinds of problems! Well then, without further ado, allow me to introduce myself. I am known as Sir Redwood, and judging from that pokeball you're holding, I am at your service." He bowed again briefly before coming back up. "And I must thank you for securing my record player. It's one of my favorite pastimes, listening to the music of the old masters."
I couldn't help but laugh at the little guy. Everything about him made him one of the oddest, yet coolest pokemon I'd encountered in this whole run. "No problem Redwood. I just wanted to make sure it was yours before putting you back in the box. I'll take good care of it, I promise." I returned him to his pokeball and put it away, frowning at the music player. "That still leaves the problem of what exactly to do with it though." I muttered.
I flagged down a wandering Nurse Joy, who came over promptly. "What can I help you with?" she asked sweetly.
"This is gonna sound strange, but this old record player here belongs to a Snover I just caught." I explained. "It's to heavy for me to carry around all the time and I'm not even planning on taking him out of the PC anytime soon. Is there a way I can have this mailed somewhere, or-"
"Well why don't you use one of these?" she asked, withdrawing a small square device. Looking close at it, it looked a lot like a pokeball, only square. "What is that?" I asked. "It's a PokeBox!" she explained. "It's used for transporting large items safely, just like a pokeball does for a pokemon. Here." she leaned forward and pressed the cube against the record player. It instantly dematerialized and zapped into the small cube. "There! Now you can carry it around in your bag!" she said, handing me the cube.
I stared at it in wonder. "Wow, that's so cool!" I exclaimed.
That comment seemed to confuse the nurse, as she tilted her head slightly and pursed her lips. "You haven't seen a PokeBox before? I thought most trainers use them for things like their bike or fishing rods."
I grinned sheepishly, remembering how I had to abandon the Old Rod and Bicycle after using them a few times because I couldn't carry them around. Man, I'm an idiot. "So anyway, thanks for the box!" I said, dodging the question and getting to my feet. I took off, not waiting for a reply and left the center, heading for the gym.
Bursting through the doors, I saw large arena with many smaller levels descending to the middle like a reversed pyramid. The bottom level was barely large enough for four people. The entire thing was ice except for small patches for people to stand on scattered here or there, and large icicles sticking out of the ground to block our path. On top of all that, there were trainers spread out everywhere. A pair of double doors on the other side, flanked by icicles, promised to be the entrance to the actual battle arena.
I sent out Lola, grinning to myself. "Alright, let's do this."
Lola performed flawlessly. She blazed through the gym trainers, taking down their pokemon swiftly and easily. The puzzle itself wasn't that hard, though it was tough not to shatter my skull on the slick ice. In the end, I burst through the double doors, arriving in the ice rink that served as the gym arena.
"Welcome challenger! I am Candice, the gym leader!" A girl standing on the other end of the arena called. She was barely older than Maylene, probably close to my age. Despite the cold weather that persisted even inside the gym, she wore a schoolgirl uniform with a white long-sleeve shirt, a light-blue necktie and a tan short-skirt. Kneesocks with light-blue stripes and a light jacket in the same color tied around her waist completed the outfit. Her black hair was tied in two pigtailish braids that fell over her shoulders. "Ready to battle?" she asked confidently.
"Yeah, look, I'm sorry to ask this, but I'm kinda in a hurry." I said, releasing Kamina and Cerberus. "Also, I have a Lucario and a Houndoom, both ready to roll, so can we just skip the battle and you give me the badge and HM now?" I asked.
There was a pause where she just stared at me, silence covering the arena like it's own person. Anger quickly replaced shock on her face and she stamped one foot down, a loud crack echoing in the large room. "How dare you!" she shrieked. "You think that just because you have a few pokemon with a type advantage, I should just hand over the badge!? Who the hell do you think you are!? Sneasel! Get in there and show them we're not something to laugh at!" she roared, tossing a pokeball and releasing the small feline pokemon.
I resisted the urge to smirk at Kamina, and just sighed. "Alright, whatever makes you feel better, let's wrap this up." I said, waving Cerberus forward.
The battle wasn't a battle at all. It was a slaughterhouse. The Sneasel was faster, landing a Slash attack on Cerberus' flank, but the retaliatory Flamethrower took it down in one strike. Probably looking to take advantage of Cerberus' fire typing, Candice sent in a Piloswine next. Before the large brown-furred boar could get an attack ready, I had switched in Kamina who took it down with a vicious Close Combat. Sending out the big guns, Candice moved on to an Abomasnow. The large white and green snowman roared in defiance at Cerberus, who merely responded with another Flamethrower, toasting it into oblivion. I could practically see the stress in Candices' face as she sent out her last pokemon, a Froslass, and immediately went on the defensive with Double Team. Cerberus wasn't going to be fooled by that, however, and merely shot down all the floating ghosts with a large Flamethrower, eventually hitting the real one and taking it out as well.
The whole fight took less than five minutes. After jogging over to collect my badge, Candice refused to look me in the eyes, probably out of spite. "Just take the badge and get out." she grumbled, thrusting a hand out with the Icicle badge in the palm.
I grabbed it and quickly stuffed it in my pocket. "Thanks, and I'm sorry about what I said earlier, but I really am in a rush to help my friend." I explained as I turned to head out of the building. On my way out I heard her call after me. "Battle me again sometime, I'll wipe the floor with ya!" I grinned as I exited out the front door. I was almost out of town before I realized something. "Oh my God I don't have the Rock Climb HM yet." I gasped.
"Rock Climb HM? Here, I've got one for ya!" A rough voice said behind me. I spun around and saw a familiar face. It was the Hiker from Oreburgh Gate, the one who had given me the Flash HM.
"Hey! I thought you were ate the gate?" I asked as he handed me the disc.
"Well sure, that's where I work, but I'm on vacation now!" he explained. "I was hiking up through Route 217 there and I ran into that HM out in the snow. You have no idea what trainers loose during those freak blizzards!" he said cheerfully. "Have a nice day!" And with that, he moved off towards the forest, whistling a tune to himself. My mind raced, trying to figure out who I should teach the HM to. I'm probably only going to use it once, so I really don't want to teach it to anyone on the team. An idea struck me and I tore back to the PokeCenter.
Not half and hour later I was back at the entrance to Lake Aucity Rebecca the Bibarel by my side. I had stored Lola in the PC to take out the beaver pokemon, teaching her the Rock Climb HM to go with the Cut one she already knew. "Alright girl, help me up there. Rock Climb!" I ordered.
She tore up the cliff like it was nothing. I held onto her flat paddle tail for dear life, the speed at which she climbed almost making me nauseous. As we reached the top, she flung her tail up and over, effectively throwing me down onto the snow covered rock. I lay there, indented in the snow a few inches as she grinned goofily over me. "Great job." I wheezed, returning her to her pokeball. I climbed out of the snow and ran down the path to the lake. I knew going in one team member short wasn't the best idea, especially one as strong as Lola, but I needed the most diverse types to be ready for anything. One thing I wasn't ready for is what lay in wait for me.
The first thing I noticed was the blood. There was a lot of it, spread out all over the snow, staining it crimson. Way to much for one person to loose without being in serious trouble. Fortunately, or maybe not, the next thing I noticed was that it wasn't all from one person. It was from seven, the beaten and broken forms of Barry and his team spread out on the edge of the lake. William, George, Erik, Henry and Hercules, along with a Munchlax I hadn't seen before, were all spread out in a circle around Barry, who lay in the middle, unmoving.
My heart lost a beat as I sprinted over to his prone form, sliding roughly to a stop next to him as I put my ear to his chest, listening intently for a heartbeat. There! I thought as I found it, weak but steady. I glanced around at the pokemon, quickly realizing that they were in much worse shape than Barry. They must have been protecting him I thought, my mind flashing back to Verity and Mars trying the same stunt on me and Dawn. I grabbed his pokeballs and returned his team, taking a few tries to figure out who belonged in which pokeball. Either the Munchlax was his, or it was a wild pokemon that had tried to help. Either way, it went into the sixth pokeball without a fuss. Now I had to figure out what I was going to do with Barry. There's no way I'm going to get him down that cliff, not with Rebecca. I looked around, trying to find something I could make into a stretcher.
I realized that there wasn't going to be time for that, and I had to figure out a different way. I grabbed Barry and slung him over my shoulders in a fireman's carry. He groaned lightly, but didn't wake up. "It's alright man, you're gonna be okay." I assured him, retracing my steps back to the cliff hoping I would come up with an idea by the time I got there. I had hoped for nothing as the cliff appeared in front of me all to soon, and I still had no idea on how to get him down. Going with the best I could think of on the spot, I adjusted Barry on my shoulders and grabbed Kamina's pokeball. Releasing him, I waited as he stretched lightly before he spotted Barry and I. "Nick! What happened, who is he?" he asked, voice thick with concern.
I was put off for a moment by his question before remembering that he had never actually met Barry. "This is Barry, he's my friend, and I guess you could say rival." I explained. "Team Galactic did this to him, and he needs to get to a hospital fast. Can you carry him down this cliff and back into town?" I asked. Kamina glanced down the drop before nodding. "Good. Be careful, he's lost a lot of blood." I cautioned as I handed the blonde over to the pokemon. Kamina carfully slung him over his shoulders like I had before stepping off the edge of the cliff. I watched as he moved from one small outcropping to another before lightly landing in the snow. He wasted a single second to look back at me, hesitating. "Go! I'll fly to Snowpoint with Moka!" I called. He didn't have to be told twice, sprinting off through the woods.
I released Moka like I had said and asked her to fly me to Snowpoint, following Kamina. As we watched the blue and black pokemon through the trees, I could only pray and hope for Barry's survival.