A Pokemon Tale, Part III: Chasing Shadows

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Legend of Articuno

 

Ice Mountain, Seafoam Islands-

            If cold was skating across the ice on Lapras on their way into the Seafoam Islands, Blue didn’t know what this was called.  It pierced through every inch of her clothing, even her double-socked feet through her shoes had no effect.  I could kill for a Fire-type Pokémon, she thought.

            They had tried to stop a couple of hours after they had left Tony’s village, but they couldn’t sleep because of the shaking.  For once she agreed with Red that they had to keep going to keep the blood flowing through them so it wouldn’t freeze.  The sooner they got this little adventure over with, the better. 

            Red led the group of three trainers, well, if Tony could really be called a trainer.  Blue followed second.  She had tried to let out Venusaur and ride it up the mountain, but the huge Grass/Poison-type Pokémon was hindered by the cold more so than its Trainer as its flower petals dropped lifelessly and every step seemed to take minutes.  Venusaur was her strongest Pokémon, but in the cold and cloudy weather, it might as well have been her weakest.

            Every step they climbed, Blue felt herself getting colder and colder.  They were halfway up the mountain by now, and the fresh-powdered snow had turned into a glacier of ice that may have forced the three companions to turn back, if not for Blue’s idea.  She had sent out her little Poliwag, a tiny cute tadpole with a spiral pattern on its belly.  She had instructed Poliwag to use a Water Gun attack at the ice in front of them.  The ice was so cold that even the chilly water that Poliwag sprayed was enough to raise the temperature for it to crack. 

            Red’s Wartortle and Tony’s Golduck followed suit.  With the three Water-type Pokémon softening and cracking the ice in front of them, Red had also sent out his Machoke to break and clear the broken ice away out of their path.  Of course, this was going uphill and they had to move fast (this lead to sore calves, which Blue was convinced would look like a man’s legs when they finally returned from whatever it was they were doing).  The broken ice and trickling water would immediately freeze behind the Trainers if they didn’t keep up in the exact spot.  Going uphill was tough and tiring.  Going back down Ice Mountain was going to be deadly.

            Blue could tell that the cold was beginning to get to Red, too.  He was shivering, but Tony behind her just seemed to keep up his spirits and walk without the slightest care.

            “Fat Tony, ha!” he said as he laughed.  “Look who’s laughing now.  It looks like my Thick Fat ability keeps me warm an insulated.  I’m willing to give some to you guys if you want it.”

            “No thanks,” said Blue with a smile.  Traveling was hard, but she had met many new friends on her journey and she loved all of her new Pokémon dearly.  Even Snorlax, who could be difficult at times (all the time), was really quite jolly once you got to know it.  Yet her biggest fear was if and when her journey came to a close, she would be so hungry that she might just develop her own Thick Fat ability from lack of walking all the time. 

            “War! Tortle!” Red’s funny and furry eared Wartortle was standing on a boulder and beckoning for its Trainer to look at what it had found up ahead.  A little cave in the mountain, devoid of ice and snow. 

            “Good job, buddy!” Red smiled and scratched his blue turtle Pokémon behind the ear.  Let’s get there and finish strong! We can rest up for a while!”