Pokemon: Next Generation

Chapter 25: Icy Pryce

Chapter 25: Icy Pryce

Anthony, Daniel, Amanda, and I let our flying Pokemon out yet again, adjusting their saddles. Unfortunately I didn't have a saddle that fit Sadie and would ride bareback again, but it did leave me free to listen to Shelia's story.

"He may not look it, but once upon a time Pryce was a happy-go-lucky guy," Shelia began. "He always loved to train and play with his Pokemon. They were just about as close as family-maybe even closer."

"What's closer than family?" Daniel whispered to me, wrinkling his nose. I decided to ignore him, but he had a fair point.

"What happened?" Brock asked.

Shelia sighed. "Now everyone calls him Icy Pryce."

"Why exactly?" Misty questioned.

"Because he started treating his Pokemon so cold and started specializing in Ice types." Shelia paused. "One memory sticks in my mind..."

She stopped talking.

"Well?" I asked, trying to snap her out of it.

She did, but said, "Well, it looks like you're done putting on the saddles!"

"Oh... yeah." I looked over at my friends who had been waiting for Shelia to finish.

"Um... Brock, Misty, you guys can ride on Fenrir since you're used to him now." Amanda patted Fenrir's head and he sneezed. Misty flinched at the sight of Dragon boogers, but nodded as she climbed on, Brock following her.

We all looked at Shelia who was a pretty large woman and couldn't partner ride without our Flying types falling, definitely without style, to the bottom of the canyon.

Daniel was the first to speak, "Shelia, you ride Smoky by yourself. I'm sure you won't mind riding without a saddle since you're so... adventurous. I mean, it was you who wanted to climb down the canyon wall." He grinned at me as if it was some sort of inside joke. "I'll ride with Emma."

I glared at him, wanting to say, "Uh, no you won't" but I couldn't- we didn't have any Pokemon left for him to fly on. Fortis was being ridden by Amanda and Anthony, Fenrir by Misty and Brock. Sadie was the only one with room.

"Fine." 

Shelia scrambled up on Smoky, who looked sullen, and Daniel climbed behind me, moving his arm to hug my stomach. I refused to notice his hands there as our Pokemon all dove into the cave, circling slowly.

In a minute, we were at the bottom, dismounting, none of us feeling very optimistic- we'd searched the canyon for a mile in each direction and hadn't found Ash or Pryce. Daniel got off of Sadie and held a hand out for me to get off, which I ignored as I slid off.

I accidentally tripped on a rock, but Daniel grabbed my waist and hoisted me into a standing position, beaming at me. I wriggled out of his grasp and joined the others silently.

"Well, I reckon I should finish my story now." Shelia sighed as she slid off Smoky. "Pryce used to have a Piloswine that he treated like family till one day he just got up and left."

Amanda and Anthony took off their Pokemon's saddles as we all listened.

"That's really sad," I said.

Shelia nodded. "Since then, Pryce hasn't been close to any of his Pokemon."

After a minute of everyone feeling bad for Pryce, Anthony stood up. "We need to get going."

"Yeah. We need to find them."

"I mean, we didn't see them from the air, so they must be in a cave or something," Amanda commented.