Episode 30: The value of strategy
The trip through Twist Mountain didn't take too long—less than a day. By the afternoon following Niko's battle against Marshal of the Elite 4, the trio had arrived in Icirrus City, which was resting at the base of the mountain range on the other end of Twist Mountain.
Icirrus City was, understandably, covered in a thick blanket of snow, as it was now deep into winter. The city itself was a collection of frozen lakes and ponds with houses and buildings surrounding them, to give it the appearance of a large village as compared to a city. Windmills were abundant southeastern edge of the city, close to their location. Off to the north, Niko noticed a massive tower peering into the clouds high above—much like Celestial Tower, but taller and older-looking.
"What to do first?" Warren asked as they sat down in the local Pokémon Center to warm themselves up. Even with layers of clothing, Charlotte and Warren were still freezing cold. Niko, who was somehow more adept to the cold weather, was fine, but still appreciated the warming-up with hot tea and a warm meal, both courtesy of the Pokémon Center.
"Well, I'd prefer to stay inside, if possible." Charlotte said before drinking hot tea, careful not to accidentally spill any on her thin, forest green sweater.
"Agreed." Warren said, then eying Niko on the opposite end of their booth. "Niko?"
"Well, maybe we can head for the gym tomorrow? I think later I'll go out and train with some of my Pokémon. I know you are both pretty cold, so you don't have to join me."
"I will." Charlotte said, albeit with less enthusiasm than she otherwise would. A surprised Niko nodded with a smile.
"I might as well, but I want to get some writing done first. I didn't really document your battle with Marshal yet." Warren said in response to Niko's offer.
"Fair enough. Be nice to Rufflet in it, will you?" He said with a smirk.
"Of course I will. I love your Rufflet." Warren replied.
That evening Niko, Litwick, Boldore, and Solosis all stood on the snow-packed practice battlefield. Charlotte was sitting on the sidelines watching with Deerling, who hardly seemed to have a problem with the cold weather. In the room that they were staying in Servine, Tynamo, and Rufflet watched. The latter, eager to get out there, was instructed by Niko to stay put, since like Servine he couldn't handle the cold weather, especially at night. Smeargle kept them company with a fire lit in the room to warm them up. Warren and his Pokémon also sat in there, watching while the trainer wrote in his booklet.
"Niko, here's a combination your Litwick could try." Charlotte said, standing up off of the bench to approach her friend while he was giving commands. Once Boldore was off to practice rock slide, and Solosis to practice her psychic moves and hidden power, he turned to his friend.
"What's up?"
"Litwick can learn will-o-wisp. You know what that does, right?"
"Burns the opponent, yeah." Niko replied. "Generally ghost types learn that."
"Yep. But Litwick can also learn hex, like Smeargle did. Do you know what its side effect is?"
"No, what?" Niko asked.
"Hex doubles in power if the target is afflicted with a status condition, like a burn." Charlotte said with a smirk.
"That's genius. Thanks, bud." Niko said, side-hugging Charlotte before addressing his Pokémon. "You heard that, right Litwick? Let's give it a shot!" Niko said, turning to Boldore, who had just failed once more to learn rock slide. "Hey Boldore, do you mind practicing with Litwick, I want to try a new combination."
Boldore nodded, waddling over to give ample space between him and his teammate.
"Alright Boldore, fight Litwick as you would with any opponent, alright? Litwick, use will-o-wisp!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand forward.
Blue flames emitted from around Litwick as she fired them off at Boldore, one-by-one. Each blue fireball hit the Ore Pokémon, who tried to retaliate with rock slide, but failed to land a single rock on Litwick.
"Now, hex!" Niko shouted. Litwick eyes began to glow purple and red while she thrust her stubby wax arms out forward to conjure a sphere of black energy. She then fired it at Boldore, who was cringing from the burn. Even though Boldore was a rock type, and hardly affected by any of Litwick's moves, this hex attack seemed to do a significant amount of damage, as it struck the Ore Pokémon with enough force to launch Boldore into the air, nearly crashing into Solosis and the wall separating the Pokémon Center from the rest of the city.
"Wow…" Charlotte said as she marveled at the power Litwick emitted.
"Great job, Litwick!" Niko shouted happily. "I had no idea that could work!" He turned to Charlotte, eyes glowing with pride. This was enough to make Charlotte smile as well, turning a light pink in response. "We're going to beat the Icirrus Gym with no trouble at all!"
The following afternoon, Niko spent some time training with his Pokémon—this time with his full team. He and Litwick practiced their new combination move a couple more times (at Boldore's expense) before healing up, eating, and making their way towards the Icirrus City Gym.
Before leaving the Pokémon Center, they noticed a familiar face entering it. Niko and Warren had to do a quick double-take before realizing they recognized the tall man with light blue hair. It was Brycen, the gym leader-turned-actor that they met in Virbank City.
"Brycen?" Warren asked, as if to confirm his suspicions. This time, Brycen wasn't in a costume for movie. He was dressed in a light blue Kimono with navy blue athletic pants that were rolled halfway up his leg. His hair was braided upwards and tied with a navy-blue tie. Finally, he wore a pale blue mask around his eyes.
"Hello? Oh…hi. You two look familiar. The lady…not so much. Hi, I'm Brycen, actor."
"Charlotte, traveler." She said quickly.
"We met you in Virbank City." Warren explained. "You said that next time you met my friend, Niko, you'd challenge him. He now has six gym badges, and is about to go get his seventh at this city's gym"
"Ah, right. I remember now. You were very enthusiastic about your friend. But, unfortunately when I left the gym there was no replacement. It's now more of a training ground, with no official gym leader. I come by on occasion to help up and coming ice type specialists, in hopes of finding a real replacement. It's been a couple years, and still haven't found anyone yet." He then looked at Niko curiously. They were roughly the same height. "But, I did accept your challenge before. So how about this—I will battle you at my old gym, but if you defeat me, you won't earn an official gym badge from me. Does that sound fair to you?"
"Yes. Yes it does." Niko said, much to Warren's shock. Acknowledging it, Niko added. "Any practice is good practice, right?"
"Right." Warren said, nodding in agreement.
"Indeed it is. Let me show you to the gym once I heal up my own Pokémon." Brycen said with an eager smile.
After half an hour, the former gym leader took Niko, Charlotte, and Warren to the northern end of the city, where they arrived at a cave entrance resting under the top of a small hill. On the inside, two light blue doors sat in a closed state until Brycen unlocked them and walked inside.
"Looks like the keys haven't changed at all." He said with a smirk. "That's a good thing."
"When was the last time you visited this gym?" Charlotte asked.
"Maybe a year ago. I've been busy with the Brycen-Man movie series." He replied as they entered the main room of the gym which was, as Niko imagined, an ice battlefield. Large ice-covered rocks were scattered across the field. "This is where I used to battle trainers when I was still a gym leader. Looks like it hasn't changed much here, either. Anyway, this battle will be three-on-three. I assume that, since you have six gym badges, you likely have more than three Pokémon?"
"Yes." Niko said simply as he stood at one end of the field. Brycen took the opposite end, and smirked. Warren took on the duty of being the referee for the match, while Charlotte sat with her Pokémon in the stands.
"I might not be a gym leader anymore, but I believe I've still got it. Vanillish, I choose you!" He shouted. Out of the first pokéball came an odd-looking Pokémon, one that resembled a vanilla ice cream cone. Its eyes were dark blue with small, ice crystals at the sides. It had a dark blue mouth, two ice crystals below its mouth, and two stubby limbs that resembled icicles. The lower half of its body resembled a large icicle, or a cone.
"Vanillish, the Icy Snow Pokémon. Ice type. They cool down the surrounding air and create ice particles, which they use to freeze their foes." Charlotte's pokédex read.
"Boldore, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his Ore Pokémon. "Use smack down!"
"Vanillish, mirror shot!" Brycen commanded. Vanillish's body began to glow a light blue color, which formed into a light blue orb of energy. The Icy Snow Pokémon then fired the attack at Boldore. It met with the smack down move and exploded in the middle of the battlefield.
"Boldore, rock blast!" Niko commanded. The Ore Pokémon then conjured a series of rocks that each hit Vanillish. However, the ice type retaliated by conjuring another mirror shot and firing it at Boldore, forcing the Ore Pokémon backwards. "Smack down!"
"Acid armor!" Brycen commanded. Vanillish then coated itself in cold air, almost making it invisible. The golden orb that Boldore fired off successfully hit Vanillish, but it hardly seemed to have an effect. "Now, mirror shot!"
Vanillish conjured another light blue orb of energy and hit Boldore once again, knocking him to the ground this time, breaking some of the ice beneath him. Now with his feet stuck in the ice, Boldore found himself unable to move anywhere. On Niko's command, he fired off another smack down which hit Vanillish and brought the Icy Snow Pokémon to the ground as well, but was forced to endure yet another mirror shot attack.
"Boldore, you can do this! Remember—you're stronger! You've mastered powerful moves before, like smack down! I know you've got it in you! Boldore, use rock slide!" Niko shouted, thrusting a fist into the air.
Boldore, hearing this, raised his head to the sky, conjuring a wave of rocks, all on varying sizes, that crashed down onto the field, shattering the ice around it and slamming right into Vanillish, knocking the Icy Snow Pokémon backwards. It then rolled, in the wake of the attack, towards Brycen, where it lay defeated.
"Vanillish is unable to battle, Boldore is the winner!" Warren declared. "Brycen will now send out his second Pokémon!"
"Cryogonal, I choose you!" Brycen shouted, throwing out a second pokéball. This time, the Pokémon resembled a blue, hexagonal snowflake. It's facial expression—aggressive-looking—is frozen still. Small snowflakes surrounded its body.
"Cryogonal, the crystallizing Pokémon. Ice type. They are composed of ice crystals. They capture prey with chains of ice, freezing the prey at -148 degrees Fahrenheit."
"Cryogonal, use aurora beam!" Brycen commanded. Boldore, while still immobile, retaliated with smack down, which blocked the aurora beam, and gave him the opportunity to use rock slide from above. Cryogonal, somehow sensing the rocks, weaved in and out of them before launching an aurora beam up close on Boldore. The force of the attack was enough to knock the Ore Pokémon out of the rut he was in and flip backwards, eventually landing face-first into the ice floor, unable to battle.
"Boldore is unable to battle, Cryogonal is the winner!" Warren declared, throwing his hand up towards Brycen.
"Return, Boldore. Great job, too." Niko exchanged pokéballs, trying to figure out who he wanted to use this time. The safest bet would be Solosis or Litwick. Deciding to save the latter for last, he chose the former. "Solosis, I choose you!"
"Cryogonal, use rapid spin!" Brycen commanded.
"Solosis, hidden power!" Niko shouted, knowing that his Cell Pokémon had a fire-type hidden power. Solosis waited for Cryogonal to get close before moving out of the way, forcing the Crystallizing Pokémon into the ground before summoning a series of orange orbs, firing each one in succession at her opponent. Small burst of fire erupted as they hit Cryogonal, who roared out before spitting out an aurora beam at Solosis, who took the hit and was thrust backwards, in an archlike motion, into the ground.
"Frost breath!" Brycen called out. Cryogonal rose back into the air before spraying snow from its mouth towards Solosis, who was forced along the ground from the force of the attack. "Now, rapid spin!"
"Rollout!" Niko commanded. Solosis quickly got back up, floating a few inches into the air before breaking into a spinning motion, aiming to hit Cryogonal. They collided, forcing Solosis to bounce off of her opponent due to her gelatinous body. She rolled to the side and then, on Niko's command, summoned a hidden power from behind Cryogonal, forcing it into the ground. "Finish it off with psywave!"
Solosis commanded a wave of psychic energy from her mind, hitting Cryogonal—who was lying face-first on the ground—and dragging it along the icy floor like it did with Solosis moments earlier. Realizing Cryogonal might still have more in it, Niko commanded Solosis to use rollout once more. Upon impact, Solosis seemed to win the match.
"Cryogonal is unable to battle, Solosis is the winner! Brycen will now send out his third and final Pokémon!" Warren declared.
"Beartic, I choose you!" Brycen shouted, summoning a familiar Pokémon, at least to Warren. "Swagger!"
"Solosis, hidden power!" Niko shouted. It didn't seem to have much of an affect, however—Solosis instead put up a light screen, for whatever reason. "Okay…Solosis, you need to listen to me, please. Use hidden power!"
"Beartic, brine." Brycen simply said. The Freezing Pokémon summoned a burst of salty water towards Solosis, who was hit and pushed backwards across the battlefield before ultimately dropping to the ground. "Now, slash!"
"Solosis, hidden power!" Niko shouted. Unfortunately, Solosis didn't hear Niko, and Beartic was closing in quickly on her, with its claws now glowing bright white. Beartic slashed down on Solosis, breaking the ice around and under her. It lifted up its claw to reveal a defeated Solosis, lying unconscious in the broken ice.
"Solosis is unable to battle, Beartic is the winner! Niko will now send out his third and final Pokémon!" Warren stated, throwing a hand up in Brycen's direction.
"Solosis, return. I don't know what happened there, but we'll figure it out soon enough." Niko said. "Litwick, let's go!"
"Niko, swagger confuses the opponent." Brycen instructed. "Your Solosis wasn't listening to you because it couldn't. It was too focused on Beartic, and had difficulty hearing or seeing anything else. Anyway, Beartic use brine!"
"Litwick, block it with flame burst!" Niko commanded. The Candle Pokémon spit out a ball of fire that, upon contact with the brine, burst open, turning the water into vapor. "Now, will-o-wisp!"
"Block it with icicle crash!" Brycen commanded. As if it were throwing knives, Beartic threw out a series of icicles, each of which successfully hit the small blue flames. Litwick, however, was more agile than either Brycen or Beartic had expected, and was already using will-o-wisp once again. "Brine!" He shouted. This time the water blew past the blue flames and successfully hit Litwick, knocking her backwards. Litwick rolled through the air before regaining her composure and using hex on Niko's command. This was again blocked by icicle crash.
Frustrated, Niko tried to think of a better strategy while Litwick and Beartic blocked one another's attacks. Soon enough, he noticed Litwick starting to get tired. It was clear that she wasn't used to exerting so much energy at once.
"Litwick, we have to get closer! Use flame burst on the floor!" He shouted. Litwick nodded, spitting out a fireball at the ground, which created a thin cloud of vapor. Litwick, understanding what Niko was getting at, moved through the cloud just as it was swept away by a brine, carrying her along with it. Litwick crashed into the ground, wet from the brine, and unable to continue battling.
"Litwick is unable to battle, Beartic is the winner! The victory goes to Brycen of Icirrus City!" Warren declared, thrusting an arm towards the former gym leader.
"Well done, Niko." Brycen said as he returned Beartic and slid across the icy battlefield towards his defeated opponent. "I can see that you've certainly earned those six badges. But…I'm noticing a problem here."
"What's that?" Niko wondered.
"You're relying too much on your Pokémon's moves. It sounds silly, I know, but most of our battle—particularly Litwick vs. Beartic—was just us blocking each other's moves. I saw improvement there towards the end, but I was able to see through your strategy and blow it away, so to speak. Pokémon battles are much like chess—you have to think multiple steps ahead if you wish to win. I believe you can do that, as you're already doing so here. So…keep it up!" He said kindly, placing a hand on Niko's shoulder.
"Thanks, Brycen. I really appreciated the chance to battle you, even if it was just a practice match."
"Of course, Niko. Of course. Now, I've got business to attend to in the city, but if I get another chance to see you, update me on your progress. Another battle might be in order." He said with a smirk.
Niko nodded. "Of course, Brycen. You bet!"
Brycen nodded, said farewell to Warren and Charlotte, and ran off in the direction of the exit, leaving the trio alone on the icy battlefield.
"It's weird, not seeing you get a gym badge." Warren said.
"Yeah, I know. But I still learned something, right?"
"Mhmm. Indeed. C'mon, let's go explore the city a little bit." He said. Charlotte and Niko followed him out of the gym.
They had just gotten to the Pokémon Center when they saw police vehicles blaring by the, heading in a northwards direction. Confused, Niko turned to Warren and Charlotte, who both shrugged. Niko instinctively ran inside and hurriedly asked Nurse Joy if he could heal his Pokémon up. Within ten minutes they were feeling better, and soon enough Nurse Joy gave him the pokéballs back.
"What's with the haste?" Warren asked.
"You didn't hear those sirens?" Niko asked. "Something's wrong."
"And we're going to check it out?" Charlotte asked, looking more alarmed than usual. When Niko nodded, she sighed slightly before agreeing to go with her friends. As soon as they exited the Pokémon Center, Niko looked north towards the sky-high tower in the distance.
"I think the action's happening there." Niko said, pointing to the tower.