FelixStormwolf99- Cracking guess at who it is. Machoke was the only one out of the six who I didn't plan.
Cheers for all the reviews. Means a lot.
I Own Nothing
Chapter 29- Fire & Ice
"A Bagon?" Wartortle said "that's unusual."
"Hey" she said glaring at him "there's nothing about me that's unusual."
"Yes, there is" Wartortle said "you're not from Kanto. We're in Kanto. And your species are very rare in your region. So yeah, you're unusual."
"You take that back!" she said running forward and headbutting him in the stomach. Sadly, she forgot that Wartortle have really hard shells and even though her head is thick she bounced back. Chuckling Ash walked forward.
"You're feisty, I'll give you that. But a word of warning, if we're not training you do not attack my Pokémon." Ash said.
"You can't tell me what to do" she said defiantly as she tried to charge at Ash. As she leapt towards him though she was plucked from the air by an irritated Charizard who gripped her by the back and turned her to face him, glaring menacingly down at her.
"I'll try and be polite as I can" he said earning snorts from everyone else "you do not attack any of us unless you're training with us. And Ash is the one person in the world that can tell us what to do. Now, if you desire to be the strongest you can be I suggest you listen to him. If you just want to waste our time, I suggest you tell us now and we'll find you somewhere else you can live. Is that clear?"
Meekly she nodded "Yes Mr Charizard" she replied.
"None of that!" he said sternly "I'm not a 'Mr' anything. None of us are. Now, tonight we will go over the ground rules for being a part of this family. They're not optional either. We are a family, and we fight dirty to protect each other. I'll give you this, it takes guts to attack a trained Pokémon like you did. But it also displays idiocy. So, I'm going to place you down so you can introduce yourself."
As he did so he apologised to Ash "I apologise if I've stepped over any line here."
"You have not" Ash said patting him on his wing as he walked forward to kneel in front of a very nervous Bagon. "What Charizard said is true. We will go over what it means to be a part of our team later on. We will give you until we leave Cinnabar, that's this island, to decide whether you want to be a part of this family. I will not pretend that I'm a very nice person Bagon. I don't tolerate disrespect, nor do any of our family members but what we do is talk to each other. If there's an issue any of us have with the other, we talk about it and come to a decision as a group. And every issue is decided as a group. Should you decide to stay we will fight fiercely to protect you." standing up he recalled Bagon and turned to the group "I think she'll stay. But I want to thank you all for your loyalty over the last eight months. I'm glad you've all stuck by me."
"You know the issue I had with Oaks Charizard?" Charizard asked which earned wary nods "seeing Bagon just then, I get it."
Chuckling Ash patted him on the wing and recalled everyone. "I better scan her first before we head to Blaine's Gym"
Taking out Dexter he bleeped
"Bagon, Pokedex Number 371, The Rock Head Pokémon. This Pokémon is female and has the ability Sheer Force and a Naughty Nature. BAGON has a dream of one day soaring in the sky. In doomed efforts to fly, this Pokémon hurls itself off cliffs. As a result of its dives, its head has grown tough and as hard as tempered steel. It knows the moves Headbutt, Ember, Dragonbreath, Tackle, Leer and Bite. She also has the egg move Hydro Pump, but it has not yet been unlocked.
"Wow" Ash said, "she's quite a Pokémon with that ability and move set." Which earned a nod from Pikachu. "Now, let's go find Blaine. He mentioned an Inn the other day. Let's start there shall we?"
Walking towards the Pokémon Centre Ash asked a local for directions to the Big Riddle Inn. Noting them down mentally Ash walked towards the direction. Ironically enough it was situated on the side of the volcano where the fissure was. it was a three-story building with a red roof. Apart from that there was nothing remarkable about it. Walking inside he noticed the man from the other day standing at the desk. As soon as Ash walked in though Ash sensed his demeanour change. He had decided last night that he wouldn't confront Blaine, he likely wouldn't hear anything different than what he read in his diary. And he believed the passages that concerned his dad so there was no point in asking him about him.
"Hello" Ash said walking up to the counter "I'm here for a gym battle with Blaine."
"I'm afraid I don't know where he is" Blaine said.
"Cut the crap Blaine" Ash said interrupting him "I know it's you, I've known since I met you."
"How?" Blaine asked warily.
"Your answers were entirely too convenient" Ash said "and I felt you tense up when I mentioned Agatha, just like I did just now. So, can we have a battle?"
"Hmmm" Blaine said looking at him appraisingly as his whole demeanour changed "we can have one later. For now though you need to pass my gym challenge. You've already passed the first test by finding me. Now you need to find my gym."
"I have done" Ash said, "in fact I found it yesterday."
"How?" Blaine asked astounded.
"How many people you know think of flying into the mouth of a volcano?" Ash said smirking "I was flying on my Charizard when I saw several platforms above the lava inside the volcano."
"Ah" Blaine said "no, that one is for my elite challenges. My other gym is located inside the Volcano. You have two hours to find it. If you haven't by then I will return here and declare your challenge a failure. I'll give you a few riddles to try and locate it. Apart from that you're on your own."
"Fine" Ash said taking the piece of paper and perusing them chuckling Ash walked out of the door leaving a worried Blaine to look after him.
Ash had always been good at riddles. They're simple logic puzzles that people tend to over analyse. The clues are always in the riddle, and often the simplest answer is the true one. Looking at the paper Ash read it aloud to Pikachu.
What do tourists think is hot and cool?
"Well, we know that the gym is located inside the Volcano. He pretty much told us that one. So, the hot coolness in the first riddle is likely a hot spring. So, let's go find one. I suspect it's near this place though because he has to be able to get to the gym before we do, and he's not left through the front door."
Walking around the hotel Ash saw a huge wooden fence just behind it. Scaling it he hopped onto the other side and was immediately blasted with steam from the hot springs dotted around area. While he was technically trespassing, he had been given permission by Blaine to hunt for this place, so he decided to carry on with the challenge. Reading the next clue out he looked around.
The water breathing dragon is not just for show.
"Water breathing dragon" Ash muttered as he walked around the area. "Water breathing dragon."
"Gyarados is a water breathing dragon" Pikachu said pointing to a statue of a Gyarados' head "could it be that?"
"Excellent work Pi" Ash said as they walked over to the head. Inspecting it Ash noticed that it had a hollow hole just behind it. Pushing the head inwards it finally clicked, and a door opened up a panel at the side. A button came out so Ash did what anyone else would do and pressed it. Immediately the water began to drain away in the Gyarados spring, and the panel shifted to block the water outlet. They Gyarados head came back out and rose up into the air revealing a tunnel. "Onwards Pi" Ash said as he began the walk down the tunnel. The air began to get very humid and sticky as he walked. After around a hundred meters a door came into view. Remembering the last door handle he grasped without thinking Ash grabbed his bandanna, wrapped it around his hand and opened the door. Walking through Ash walked out onto a rocky outcrop. In the centre of the room was a huge stone column, easily sixty meters wide, and across from Ash was another mini outcrop where Blaine was standing.
"So, you found it then?" he said cheerfully "I have one last riddle for you. It's not a hat, but it keeps your head dry. If you wear it, it's only because you already lost it. What is it?"
"It's the wig you've been wearing since the moment I met you on the beach" Ash said dryly "as I told you earlier on, I knew it was you straight away. So, can we get on with this?"
"Very well" Blaine said taking off his wig and sunglasses revealing a very tall, bald man "this battle will be three on three, knockout style. The winner will be whoever has one Pokémon remaining. In the event of a tie, the Gym Leader wins."
"That's new" Ash said nodding "lets go Machoke" he said releasing his fighting type.
"Arcanine, to the battlefield" Blaine shouted releasing a huge dog.
"Flamethrower Arcanine" Blaine shouted after a minutes stand-off. Arcanine obeyed and sprayed a huge stream of flame towards Machoke.
"Match it Machoke" Ash said as his Machoke released its own Flamethrower surprising Blaine.
"Extremespeed Arcanine" Blaine shouted as his dog set its paws on the field and took off with such speed normal people would have had a hard time keeping up with. Ash however was used to dealing with Pikachu so could track it all the way.
"Impact in three Machoke" Ash shouted as the dog smashed into a Machoke who had just crossed its arms in time. "Revenge"
Blaine was shocked that Machoke not only took the attack head on but stayed on its feet. What shocked him more was the speed that Machoke raced at a recovering Arcanine who grabbed it and slammed it onto the ground. "Don't let up Machoke. Leer and Rock Slide" Machoke grabbed the Arcanine by its head and looked directly into its eyes as an unseen force made it whimper before it was thrown ten feet away as Machoke punched the ground creating debris and threw them at the injured Arcanine. The poor dog had no choice but to take the attack and was thrown a further ten feet by the impact. It struggled to its feet but valiantly did so letting out a roar that echoed around the volcanic chamber. Before Blaine could react though it flinched and collapsed onto the ground where it lay unmoving.
Returning it Blaine looked on in shock. The last person he had fought who had such ferocity was Ash's father. The fact his child had that same kind of fire wasn't surprising. Wondering how he should proceed he looked at the Machoke who was slightly panting. Arcanine had clearly done some damage as it was favouring its right leg. Remembering what Ash had done, he smiled. He could use that. "Rhydon to the battlefield"
"You're sending out a Rock type against a fighting type?" Ash asked perplexed.
"It's no threat to us because of you" Blaine said smiling "Rhydon Take Down."
Perplexed Ash waited until Rhydon was close before shouting "Brick Break" Both Pokémon crashed into each other and did quite a lot of damage.
"Disqualification" Blaine shouted stopping the match. "Machoke will be forfeit."
"Why?" Ash asked surprised before remembering "shit, I already locked in my four moves in the first battle."
"You did indeed, which was my plan all along" Blaine said as Ash apologised to Machoke and recalled him before sending out Wartortle.
"No, it wasn't" Ash said snorting "it was your plan after he had beaten Arcanine. You were fortunate. You've messed up now though. Wartortle, Hydro Pump." Immediately a geyser of water came flooding out of Wartortle and crashed into the Rhydon sending it flying into a rock at the side of the field. Surprisingly it stood back up, wincing heavily as it did so.
"My Rhydon is no ordinary Rhydon" Blaine said "I found him just outside of Olivine City. He taught himself to swim to get at some apples. Took a while to beat him too. Rhydon use Take Down again"
"Wartortle use Ice Beam on the ground" Ash shouted as he saw Rhydon get nearer. Wartortle complied as it jumped out of the way and Rhydon went skidding across the battlefield. It was just temporary though as the ice soon melted in the heat of the volcano. This gave Ash an idea. "Wartortle use Aqua Jet" Wartortle withdrew into its body and shot towards Rhydon who had just turned around only to take the attack to its face sending it sprawling again. "Finish it with Sheer Cold" Ash shouted.
"Rhydon, you must escape" Blaine shouted frantically as a huge blizzard came shooting out of every one of Wartortle's gaps in its shell. Sadly, Rhydon couldn't escape and was hit with the super-effective attack which encased it in ice. Fortunately for Blaine they were inside a volcano and the ice soon melted off Rhydon and it faceplanted into the ground. Blaine recalled it and looked at the Wartortle who didn't look tired at all. He knew his final Pokémon would struggle against it, but he was a gym leader and he'd already set the rules out. Having said that Ash didn't know what his final Pokémon was supposed to be. Plus, he wasn't really being out of bounds as Ash had faced the Elite Challenge in three other gyms.
"Our final battle will take place atop the gym on the Elite platform. To your right are stairs. Go up them, I'll meet you up there" Blaine walked into the door behind him and used an elevator to get to the top. Confused Ash recalled Wartortle and walked up the steps. There must have been at least a hundred so when he reached the top, he was slightly winded. Normally he'd have used Charizard to reach the summit, but he was fearful of getting Wartortle disqualified by doing so. Plus, this may have been another test.
"Well done" Baine said. "I used to be able to do that part of the challenge myself but I'm not as young as I once was. You have done well so far but my final Pokémon will test you like no one else has so far."
Ash released Wartortle from his pokeball onto one of the rocky platforms. There were nine surrounding a huge platform in the centre. "Last battle Wartortle. We still have one Pokémon in reserve, but I'd like to get this match squared away with you." Wartortle nodded and set itself.
"Normally I'd question your arrogance as overconfidence, but your Pokémon are extremely well trained for someone not even a year into their journey." Blaine said.
"It's assurance" Ash said looking at Blaine "we trust each other completely. Wartortle had a really shit life before he joined us. and I'm honoured he chose to stay with me. I pay that in several ways. One of which is training him to be the best he can be. And any failures we deal with together. So, who's your final Pokémon?"
"One last riddle" Blaine said smiling "what Pokémon would a firefighter struggle to combat?"
"Not Wartortle" Ash said smiling as his Pokémon chuckled "given that he trained with The Pokémon Fire Brigade along with his Squirtle Squad."
Blaine immediately stopped smiling. It seemed his opponent had a counter for everything "Come on out Magmar" he shouted down to the lava. Nothing happened for a good ten seconds but then the lava began roiling and moving. Surprisingly it started to rise as a head broke the surface and a Pokémon rose to the top of the volcano and set foot on its own platform with bits of lava was spraying from its body. This Magmar was huge Ash observed as he took out Dexter.
"Magmar, Pokedex Number 126, the Spitfire Pokémon and the evolved form of Magby. This Pokémon is male. Born in an active volcano. Its body is always cloaked in flames, so it looks like a big ball of fire."
"A very impressive specimen" Ash commented "let's do our best Wartortle. Hydro Pump" a huge geyser of water sprayed towards Magmar who didn't even try and move.
"Flamethrower" Blaine commanded. Surprisingly the fire managed to push back the water. It was only Wartortles quick thinking that enabled it to Aqua Jet away.
"Magmar is more powerful than Wartortle" Ash murmured so only Pikachu could hear "I don't think we'll win this one, but we'll do as much damage as we can."
The battle raged on as Wartortle and Magmar traded blows as each trainer called out various attacks. While Wartortles attacks were doing some damage it wasn't enough as Magmar was stronger. Their cardio workouts though soon came into play as Wartortles engine seemed to be much better than Magmars so the battle was fairly even. Eventually though Magmar landed a Thunderpunch that sent Wartortle sprawling. Landing heavily on its own platform Magmar panted and glared at its opponent who struggled to its feet.
Wartortle was furious. He hadn't been this angry since the day he was caught by Ash. It was clear to him that he was close to Magmars level, his attacks hurt his opponent a lot, but it seemed experience and power were going to be the deciding factor here. Well, he wasn't going to go out without a fight. Standing as tall as he could he dug deep, and a ball of water formed in front of him that grew larger and larger. Soon it was the size of Wartortle who was straining to contain it. Roaring his name, he launched the ball at the Magmar who was surprised his opponent was still standing.
"Fire Blast Magmar" Blaine commanded hurriedly. Magmar had barely got the move off before it was swamped and encased within the ball of water that carried on traveling and smashed against the side of the volcano itself. Wartortle however didn't get off lightly as the Kanji shaped burst of fire hit and knocked Wartortle clear off the platform. Ash recalled Wartortle before he could fall into the lava. Magmar however fell down the side of the lava and into the volcano pit.
"Did we win?" Ash asked confused.
"No" Blaine said as from within the lava Magmar burst out, landing on the platform and stared at Ash.
"Damn" Ash said quietly "it seems to have healed itself somewhat in the lava."
"I commend you Ash" Blaine said "it's only because I have homecourt advantage here in the volcano that we're still in this fight. I have no idea what move you used but it was very powerful."
"Something we've been working on" Ash said as he took out his last Pokémon. Pikachu was about to protest when Ash shook his head "not this one Pi. He's asked for this one specifically."
Ash threw his pokeball up into the air and Charizard landed heavily on the platform. Snorting smoke he observed his opponent and glanced at Ash.
"Wartortle very nearly won the battle" Ash said answering Charizards unasked question "but unfortunately his last move knocked Magmar into the volcano where it healed itself. It's not at full health unfortunately, but this is the final battle."
"I suppose it will have to do" Charizard growled making Magmar narrow its eyes in anger. It had never been so disrespected in its life.
"You may win this one lizard, but you will always know I was never at full health when we battled." Magmar said panting.
"Blaine" Ash called over "How long does it take Magmar to heal itself in the volcano?"
"Depends on how injured he is. Usually about five minutes to get to full health. Why do you ask?" Blain asked.
"Magmar" Ash said calling over to it "go heal yourself. We'll wait."
"What?" Blaine said "why?"
"I want Magmar to know that when Charizard is standing with its foot on his head that it was at full health and lost to a stronger fire type." Ash said looking direct at it "I want it to be under no illusions that it lost fair and square to a better Pokémon" angrily Magmar jumped off the platform and into the lava.
"Charizard, while you wait do some laps of the volcano. Get yourself warmed up." Nodding Charizard did so taking off and performing a few aerial manoeuvres.
"You're a strange one Ash" Blaine shouted over "you could have gained yourself a badge. Now you might not get one at all."
"This isn't about me or my wants" Ash shouted back "I don't think I could put up with Charizard moaning forever more about this." Ash had to dodge a Flamethrower from above as Charizard had clearly overheard him which made him chuckle. Movement from the volcano drew their attention. Charizard landed just as Magmar appeared from the lava and jumped onto its own platform.
"Ok Ash" Blaine said "given this has already become a strange yet enjoyable battle, as gym leader I hereby take the shackles off us both. No move limit, no time limits. May the best fire type win. What do you say?"
"Agreed" Ash said, "do what you do Charizard."
Charizard's perspective
Immediately he rose into the air dodging a Flamethrower. The heat that came off it made Charizard smile. At last, a worthy opponent or a close approximation anyway. He was quite content doing loops in the air while the Magmar exhausted itself. Every now and then he'd dive bomb the Magmar causing it to dodge before he was back in the air. He did this just enough times before he grew bored. The heat from the flamethrowers had lessened significantly, or maybe it had figured out it would get nowhere wasting energy. Looping back around Charizard lined it up and created a huge Hurricane with its wings which buffeted the Magmar and gradually moved it closer and closer to the edge. When it was on the edge Charizard did a barrel roll and coated himself with flames. While he had nowhere near perfected this move, he knew that he would have to get past the recoil at some point.
He distantly heard Ash warn him about something. Looking through the fire he noticed there were several rocks being thrown at him. Grinning he ploughed straight through them and smashed into the startled fire type and carried him to the volcano wall where he became embedded into it before starting to fall headfirst into the lava. Charizard roared before alighting on one of the pillars. He heard Ash say something but couldn't hear him over the noise of the volcano. Looking at Ash he struggled to listen but picked up the words 'Volcano' and 'heal'. Understanding dawned on Charizards face. Any damage he did would be healed if Magmar touched the lava. Quickly he took off and flew after the falling Magmar but wasn't quick enough as Magmar fell headfirst into the lava. Cursing himself he quickly flew to the top of the volcano and alighted on the rim while looking down into the fiery furnace. Irritated with himself Charizard narrowed his eyes as Magmar came bouncing out of the volcano and stood on one of the pillars and smirked.
Shaking his head Charizard looked around and noticed something very strange. He would have to talk to Ash about it afterwards but for now he had a match to win. He rose into the air to evade another Rock Throw before swooping down again. This time he flew headfirst into a Fire Blast which sent him hurtling off to the side. Angry at being hit like that Charizard righted himself mid-flight and sent several Air slashes at the Magmar who had to weave in between them to evade them. Taking advantage, he homed in on the Magmar who sent rocks flying at him. Deciding that he'd have no chance of evading he coated himself in fire again and ploughed straight through them and into Magmar only this time he grabbed hold of it and carried it up into the sky. The fall would likely cause damage, but Charizard was irritated that he'd let the Magmar heal twice already, even if one was on Ash's orders so he lined up the very central platform, tightened his hold and decided to use one of his most powerful moves. Charizard prided himself on his speed, he knew he was far faster than a Charizard normally is, couple that with his power and it led to a massively destructive Seismic Toss attack.
Landing on the ridge again Charizard blew smoke out of his nose as he waited for the dust to settle. Finally, it did and Charizard was astonished to find Magmar looking at him, scuff marks and bruises all over its body. Looking defiantly at Charizard it grunted "Good match, Lizard" before falling forwards onto its knees and then onto its face. Snorting Charizard landed next to the fallen Magmar, lifted it up and threw it backwards into the lava before flying over to Ash, butted his head and turned to face an astonished Blaine.
Normal perspective
"Well Ash" Blaine said, "that was one hell of a battle, and you have one hell of a Pokémon there."
"He certainly is" Ash said, "we'd all be worse off if he wasn't around."
"Keep that mindset" Blaine said "we'll meet back downstairs on the original gym. I can talk to you properly there rather than shouting." He stopped speaking as Magmar made his reappearance and landed at the side of Blaine. Nodding at Ash, he recalled himself to Blaines pokeball.
Making his way down Ash recalled Charizard and eventually met face to face with Blaine.
"Here" he grunted "it's the Volcano badge. You've more than earned it. Also, there's this too. Its TM 38. Fire Blast. It's one of the most powerful fire type moves there are. I'm sure you can put it to good use."
"Cheers Blaine" Ash said putting them both away "it was a great battle. We'll have to do it again someday." Ash contemplated saying something about the diary but decided against it, he already had all the information he'd need, and he didn't know where Mewtwo was so it would be wasted air. Ash nodded at Blaine and left via the door he came through. He quickly made his way out of the spa, through the Big Riddle Inn and onto the path towards the Pokémon Centre. His mind was a whirlwind of activity.
Blaine watched as Ash walked out of the arena. He could see he was going to ask him something, Blaine suspected it was about the Mewtwo project but strangely Ash just left. Standing there for a good few minutes Blaine called out all his Pokémon. "Well guys, I suspect the end is in sight. Please don't mourn, I've led a privileged life. And we can say that we went down fighting. It's been an honour." His Pokémon all nodded at him before making their way indie the facility. All except Magmar. "Not this time old friend. I've been living on borrowed time for the last ten years; we both know this. I need you to stay here and look after the Volcano. It's your home after all. It's been an honour Magmar." Silently Magmar looked at Blaine before turning around and jumping into the lava leaving Blaine to look across the battlefield. Turning around he walked back into the tunnel that connected to the battlefield. Making his way to his room he stopped dead in he wasn't alone.
"Hello Blaine, long time no see old friend".
Ash healed his Pokémon and sat down wondering why he hadn't asked Blaine anything. Shaking his head, he gathered his things from his room and picked up his belt. Walking down to Nurse Joy, he thanked her for healing his Pokémon and gave her the room key back. He walked down to the beach he let Charizard out and climbed onto his back.
"We're heading for Seafoam Islands Charizard" Ash said, "it's due east from here, should be half an hour's journey."
Nodding Charizard took off and headed off out towards the open sea. "Magmar left those marks inside the volcano" he said suddenly making Ash perk up.
"How do you know?" Ash asked curiously.
"His attacks that missed me hit the side of the volcano. They matched up with the scorch marks that were left next to the fissure." Charizard said.
"We suspected it was a fire type. I didn't know what he had but Magmar makes sense. Cheers Charizard." Ash said receiving a grunt in reply.
Forty minutes later an island hoved into view on the horizon. Landing just outside a cave entrance he recalled Charizard and pulled out a map he had printed off as well as his cold weather gear that was in his bag. "We're here looking for a few items for Professor Oak. They're called an Ice Stone and Nevermeltice. They're supposed to interact with Ice Types very strangely, so he wants to study them more. Now this is likely to be very dangerous. We're allowed to roam freely on the top three floors. Below that is restricted. Luckily, I have authorisation from Sam, but the terrain will be treacherous. We know of at least four people that have died down there in the last five years. There's been stories of treacherous seas churning on the bottom floor, and lethal Pokémon. We need to take this seriously."
Ash quickly got dressed into the cold weather gear and entered the cave. immediately the bitterness hit him. It was stark contrast to the weather on Cinnabar which was sweltering while the cave was frigid. Walking through the cave Ash wondered how the hell he was going to find the items given he was only given basic drawings. Seriously, Ash thought? Why couldn't he have been given actual pictures of the damn things? Who the hell uses pencil and paper to draw a picture of a bloody rock?
He soon came out to be on a huge walkway above an infinitely huge seeming cavern below him. Every now and then he'd see other walkways going off in different directions into various tunnels underneath him. Steadily the walkway headed downwards into another cavern. Ash decided to stay on the same path, at least until it ended. He walked past several Pokémon roaming around living their usual existence. Half an hour later Ash paused. He was at a ladder that led downwards only you couldn't see the bottom of it. Now normally he'd be straight down there but this was the ladder that led to the underground caverns. Instead, he decided to get his rope out and attach a light to it before letting that go down. his rope was thirty feet long so he knew it would reach underneath, the question was how far it would go. He was wrong. The rope still hadn't settled on solid ground when he reached the end. And peering down the ladder he could only just see the torch swinging in the abyss.
"I don't like this Pi" Ash said looking at him "that's a thirty-foot rope I've just dangled that still hasn't touched the ground. Surely the next level isn't that deep?"
"I fear the only way of knowing is to descend the ladder of doom" Pikachu said laughing at his joke. Shaking his head Ash secured the rope to his backpack, climbed onto the ladder and steadily made his way down. after ten feet he felt the rope lurch behind him but not as though it had been grabbed. It seems something was walking away with it at the same pace as he was descending. As he travelled further down, he quickly came to where the ladder stopped. Only underneath him was no ground. It had disintegrated. The path was still only a step off the ladder, but Ash didn't know how secure the path was given how some of it was no longer there. The torch issue was solved though, underneath the path was a stream, heading the same way the path did. It seemed his torch had hit the stream and was being carried away with the current.
"I hate to ask this Pi, but can you leap to the path? You're lighter than me." Ash said looking worried "it's either that or I fall into the icy stream and we both get carried away to who knows where."
Grumbling Pikachu did just that and hopped around on the path testing its sturdiness "It seems ok Ash. But I'd jump and move as far from the edge as you can as quickly as you can." Nodding Ash looped his leg and arms through the rungs, wound up the torch and placed it back in his bag. Throwing his bag onto the ledge he leapt after it and quickly grabbed his bag and sprinted ten feet away from the edge. Looking back, he saw that it was still perfectly fine. Shaking his head, he carried on down the path, with the stream at his right-hand side. Every now and then he'd see a Pokémon pop out of the water, but it would quickly disappear.
The temperature had been steadily declining the lower he went. After a while he was starting get a bit concerned that they'd never find the items they were looking for. He was reading little bits from a book Sam had given him on the two items. The Nevermeltice looked like a piece of crystal, was translucent and a baby blue colour. It's biggest indication however was the chill it gave off regardless of the weather around it. The Ice stone however was a different matter. The book thought it would look exactly like a normal evolution stone only encased in clear rock. Why could Sam have printed off pictures rather than reading a book with incomplete information in it? He could be here for centuries and not find the bloody thing. the whole place was encased in ice and snow.
After an hour of walking down various passages Ash heard something in the distance. Experience told him it was a waterfall. But they were at least seventy feet underground, how could a waterfall be happening here? Heading towards the noise Ash stopped at the edge of the path. Below him was a humongous cavern, at least three hundred feet in diameter. On the other side of where Ash was however was a hole in the ceiling, judging by the ray of light coming down Ash would guess he was on the other side of the island. How there was a hole though was a mystery to Ash. Suddenly Ash was startled by a noise that was coming from down within the cavern. He had to really strain to hear it, but it was there. Creeping up to the edge he glanced down and nearly fell over the edge in shock. Down at the bottom of the cavern was a huge lake. That wasn't the shock. What was the shock through was seeing an Articuno with a baby chick chittering away to each other.
Ash realised that he was stuck. He couldn't go back up as it would take forever to reach the summit. His only option was to go forward. And he hadn't found what he was looking for either and the best chances of getting the two items were likely down there. Sighing Ash crept back up the path until he was twenty feet away and called out Charizard.
"We have an issue. We need to get to the bottom only there's an Articuno and a chick in the nest down there. Can you and Pikachu go and explain that I'm here, that I have no intention of trying to capture her or her chick and that I'm simply here to look for a few items. Please?" Ash asked.
Snorting Charizard grabbed a startled Pikachu and flew further down the path and into the cavern proper. Ash quickly crept back to the ledge to see what was said.
"Greetings my lady" Charizard said as he landed thirty feet away from Articuno who had quickly gathered her chick behind her and looked fiercely at them. "We promise you we are not here for you, to do you any harm or be a nuisance in any way."
"And how do I know that?" she screeched walking forwards. She wasn't as huge as her brother Zapdos but the chill she was emanating was felt even by Charizard.
"You have our word, my Lady" Pikachu said walking forward "we have no intention of harming you or your chick. Our trainer has been given a task. He is up there now but sent us to let you know he's here so you wouldn't be startled and attack first."
"I've had several trainers say exactly the same thing over the centuries" She said eyeing them "why should I trust you?"
"Well, he is the Chosen One" Pikachu said offhandedly looking at Charizard "if that helps." He finished looking back at her.
"He's Lady Arceus' chosen?" she said looking at Pikachu "can you prove that?"
"Yes actually" Pikachu said as he concentrated. From his cheeks came the light ball that he had been training with this week "Lord Zapdos, my grandsire gave me this when we saved his life a few months ago. He also explained how you three had offspring. It's how I know he's my grandsire."
"You bear his power" She said looking at him regally "very well. Bring him here, but I will not be afraid to attack should he try anything."
Charizard nodded and flew back up to Ash. Climbing on Ash flew down with Charizard and stood face to face with his third legendary Pokémon. He didn't count Mew and Arceus as they weren't in his reality when they spoke to him. He was taller than the Articuno but something confused him.
"You're not Lady Articuno" he blurted out without thinking.
Immediately she flared up in anger at the disrespect Ash had given her "HOW DARE YOU!" she immediately made the air frigid as she launched an Icy Wind at him.
"Take it easy" Ash shouted back at her "you silly sod."
"How dare you speak to me like that" Articuno screeched at him flapping her wings in his direction, pummelling him with snow.
"What did I say that was wrong?" Ash shouted over the noise.
"Your disrespect will not be tolerated" she screeched as an attack of pure light blue formed in her mouth before she was cut off by a huge Flamethrower from Charizard who had had enough. Screeching in pain she turned to Charizard before she was hit with a Thunder Wave and the wind and snow died down.
"You need to calm down my Lady" Pikachu said.
"She's not Lady Articuno" Ash said walking over to the paralysed legendary bird. Running his hand on her he pulsed his aura out and gradually began to heal the paralysis. "And don't try and pretend you are. Pi, we felt the power of Lord Zapdos, and he was on deaths door when we did so. We still would struggle against him even with all the training you've had since. We have just beaten her with a Flamethrower and a Thunder Wave. So, I suspect you're a daughter of hers. Am I correct?"
"Yes" she muttered furiously as the paralysis wore off. Shaking her wings, she glared at Ash before turning around. In her anger she had forgotten about her daughter who had ran and hidden behind a rock. Hopping over to her she cooed at her coaxing her to come out. Eventually the baby did. She looked to be around a few months old. Her colouring was startling to Ash though. Where her mother was a beautiful pale blue this one was an icy blue.
"A shiny Articuno?" Ash breathed out "she's beautiful. How old is she?"
Still looking at Ash warily she spoke "five moons old. She cannot yet take flight, but her wings are developing rapidly. In another month she will be ready to leave here."
"Where is your usual nesting ground?" Ash asked curiously as he crouched down to be on the baby's level. Surprisingly the baby hopped over to Ash and rubbed its head on his hands. Infusing it with aura he stroked her mane, astounded at how cold she was already. Reaching into his backpack he pulled out one of Charizards pokeblocks and split it in half. He opened his palm, and the Ice legend began to devour it. Chuckling Ash stood up as it squawked at him in anger.
"She has a Mild nature; she's going to be a handful" he said as he threw the other half at Charizard who snatched it out of the air with his mouth and ate. The little bird hopped over to Charizard and began to cheep at him. Looking down Charizard looked confused before he sighed and lowered his mouth and opened it to show there was none left. Immediately she recoiled from the heat but still braved his maw. "she's also very brave."
"Are you really the Chosen One" Articuno asked after observing the interaction "why you?"
"Honestly, I've no idea." Ash said sighing "Arceus chose me when I was six, told me I was born to be her voice on earth and it's my job to cleanse the planet of people who would look to do Pokemon harm. Far too many people use Legendaries for their own ends, and Arceus' ridiculous edicts prevent you guys and her from retaliating unless your lives are at risk. So yeah, I was created to be that bridge between her, Pokémon and people."
"You question Arceus?" Articuno asked amazed.
"Don't you?" he retorted "you must have heard stories from your mother or other legendaries you've been around about them hunting you guys and being left to fend for yourselves without any way of retaliation. Honestly it stinks. We killed people in Power Plant because Lord Zapdos was half an hour away from dying had we not interfered. And Arceus still didn't intervene."
"I have to admit I did want to question it, but as I am only a youngling compared to the others I didn't feel as if I had a right to" Articuno said nodding "why are you in my home anyway?"
"Oh" Ash said surprised. "We came here looking for two items, both said to help Ice Types in different ways. A Nevermeltice and an Ice Stone. Honestly though, we doubt they're in here as we saw nothing on the way down. We were about to descend down here when we saw you."
"Indeed" Articuno said "I have no knowledge of the items you are after, but you are free to look around. You only have a short amount of time though before this area becomes unbearable for humans. Something happens to the rocks and water, add that in with my cold nature and the fact we sleep in blizzard conditions, this place quickly becomes inhospitable."
Nodding Ash gave the baby one last stroke on her head, recalled Charizard and wandered around the huge cavern looking for the two items. Pikachu decided to stay behind to entertain the baby legend. He had a stroke of luck with the Nevermeltice. Hanging from the ceiling were stalactites made of pure ice. But inside the ice were the Nevermeltice. It seemed they grew along with the stalactites and became encased in ice as they did so, thus gaining the properties. Getting his pickaxe, he chipped a bit off which shattered into three shards. Getting a towel out Ash placed them inside it before putting them inside his bag. He honestly had no clue about the Ice Stone so decided to give up trying to find it. As he was walking away from a dark recess of the cavern he was suddenly hit in the face with snow. Spluttering he looked around trying to find out who had hit him. Shaking his head of snow he looked up and narrowly dodged another flurry of snow. His eyesight had quickly become impaired but thankfully Ash was an expert in aura and hit the culprit with an Aura Sphere making it cry out in pain. Rubbing his eyes, he gradually cleared them and couldn't believe what he was seeing. In front of him lay a knocked out shiny Snorunt. It was a beautiful colour. Immediately something in his brain said to capture it so he did. Scanning it with Dexter he was very surprised. It was clearly only a baby.
"Snorunt, Pokedex Number 361, the Snow Hat Pokémon. This Pokémon is female, has a Bashful nature and the ability Inner Focus. Snorunt live in regions with heavy snowfall. In seasons without snow, such as spring and summer, this Pokémon steals away to live quietly among stalactites and stalagmites deep in caverns."
As he pressed the button to deactivate the Pokedex Snorunts pokeball disappeared from Ash's hands. He already had six Pokémon on him, so Snorunt was back with Professor Oak. Taking out his pokegear he snapped many pictures, even getting a sneaky video of Articuno with her baby before walking back over to her.
"We're going now. I found one of the two items" Ash said "Someone else will have to try and find the other. I'll speak to my sponsor about making sure no one comes here for the next few months. Hopefully by then you've gone to your new home wherever that might be."
"I thank you Chosen One" Articuno said. Her attitude and ego had taken a beating after meeting him. He had effortlessly beaten her, in just two moves. She certainly would not be letting her mother, or her cousins know as she would never hear the end of it. "Our main nest is out of reach for human beings up in the mountains. It's tradition to be born here though."
Nodding Ash called out Charizard, regathered Pikachu and flew off out of the hole. It took a minute to reach the end but when they did, they flew straight out of Seafoam and shot into the air. Looking down they saw that they weren't on the same island they had landed on. They had come out of a very tiny island attached to the back that was surrounded by razor sharp rocks. It was utterly inaccessible from sea. "So that's how no one found their home" Ash muttered before telling Charizard to head for home.
Several hours later Ash landed at Professor Oaks lab. Walking in he greeted Sam and handed over the Nevermeltice. He told him of his explorations and what he had found. He showed him the pictures and the video of the huge cavern he had also discovered.
"I won't ever be releasing the Articuno pics professor" Ash said. Surprisingly Sam wasn't surprised. "for centuries Articuno have used it to give birth safely to their offspring in safety. I won't be the one to make it become a tourist attraction."
"No worries, Ash" Sam said sighing as he leaned back. "We have another issue though. I take it you haven't spoken to your mum just yet?"
"No" Ash said immediately standing up "is she ok?"
"She's perfectly fine" Sam said waving away his concerns "I'm sorry to have worried you. No, you'll find that tomorrow you'll likely have a visitor. Less than an hour after you gained Blaine's badge, he was found dead on the beach in Cinnabar. And as you were the last one to see him the police and Elite Four have questions. Now from what I know there is clear evidence of you leaving and him still being alive. The CCTV has corroborated that. I think it's just going to be routine questions."
"Hmmm" Ash said looking out of the window "I went straight to the Pokémon centre after our battle and then onto Seafoam. Will I need to prove that?"
"I'm not sure" Sam said "however you caught a Pokémon inside the caverns which places you at Seafoam at a time it would be impossible for you to have taken part in his death. You'll be fine Ash. We all know you had nothing to do with it."
"Thanks Sam" Ash said standing up "for the information and help. Oh, I need that new Pokémon for tonight. I plan on transferring ownership to someone else. I'll deactivate Machoke for now from my roster, but he'll be coming home with me."
Nodding Sam stood up and gathered his Snorunt "who's it for?" he asked taking out some paperwork from a drawer.
Ash gave a name which surprised Sam but when he explained why he nodded as it made perfect sense. "I'll send Charizard with her in the morning. He deserves a rest after what he's done for me lately. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow when I put Machoke back onto my active roster."
Leaving Ash headed home where he spoke to his mum. He decided to wait until after the visit from the police to go through the information he had found.
Elsewhere
"Sir" the receptionist said over the PA system "we have agents Jessie and James here to report news of a sensitive nature to you. They've said it cannot be delivered to anyone but you directly and refuse to do otherwise."
"Let them through" cam a curt voice. Instead of acknowledging him she simply pressed a button on her desk which released the door lock. Hurriedly Jessie and James walked through the door, down a small hallway and into the boss's room. This place always freaked them out. On one side was a huge TV that connected to various places he owned, behind him was a massive window overlooking the city they were in. In the office, his face hidden in shadows was the boss, at his feet was a Persian who didn't even acknowledge them. Surprisingly though in a seat opposite him was Agent Domino. Gulping they walked forward and stopped at a line on the floor.
"Speak" he said, "Domino stays."
"Sir," Jessie said "we arrived on Cinnabar to meet with your contact to find Blaine. We waited at the designated place that was arranged for us an hour before we were due to meet only he never arrived. We waited for a few more hours in case they were late, but they never turned up. We walked back towards the Pokémon centre when we were stopped and questioned by police from the town."
"So, he never turned up" the boss said "he will be dealt with. Domino, I want you to hunt Blaine."
"There's no need sir" James blurted out surprising himself with how bold he was being "the police were questioning us because Blaines body was found on the beach. They were asking us questions because we're known associates of the last person to have seen him in person alive."
"Which was" Domino asked.
"Ash Ketchum Sir" Jessie said. "he had a gym battle with him."
"And why are you known associates with him?" she asked menacingly.
"We don't report that to you" Jessie said defiantly "if the boss wanted us to divulge that information you would already know. We gave him our plan, and he approved."
Sulking and seething with anger she turned to face the boss "They're correct Domino." he said with finality "they have my full approval on their mission. They have already provided me with more information on the boy in a month than the last few scouts ever have." Facing Jessie and James he continued "continue with your mission. Dismissed."
Nodding Jessie and James left as quickly as they could. Domino was still very angry about being left out of a plan. She had worked her way up to be the right hand of the Boss himself, and he had left her out of a mission? That was unthinkable. She was startled from her inner monologue of what torture device she would use on those two should she be given the chance by the Boss standing up and looking out of the window.
"Someone hunted and killed Blaine. And while I would normally be happy our target was eliminated it begs the question of why. The answer is because they knew we were after him too, which means they likely have the information I seek. Put together a team to find his killer. They report to you, you report to me. But Domino" he said turning to face her "do not dare be so openly defiant in my presence again. Not even you are indispensable my dear. Dismissed." Turning back to face the window he narrowed his eyes. Yet again Ash Ketchum was on the scene of one of his missions. And yet again a convenient alibi was produced. Looking down at his ruined right hand he scowled. Red had left a mark on him; it seems his son was just as troublesome. Sitting down at his desk he phoned his receptionist "get agents Cassidy and Butch in here. They need to start repaying us for their failures." Yes. There had been too many of those lately. Far too many.
