Pokémon XYZ: Life, Death, Order, and Chaos (book 2 of the HBoD series)

Chapter 45: Cold Defeat

"Who is she?" I muttered as we trudged along the snow covered path up the mountain. "Who is Sandra?"

"Don't think she'll tell us," Alex pointed out. "She essentially kicked us out."

"Not really," Robert inputted. "We're in a hurry technically. Who knows what Team Flare is up to."

"Yeah, unfortunately we can't just run up the mountain," I watched my breath fade away. "Team Flare could be at the Frost Cavern, but they also might be doing something near it. Can't be too sure."

"Glad we decided to buy the coats when we did," Alex said as she let a snowflake fall onto her gloved palm. "A lot of snow and cold up here."

A cawing noise came from above and we looked up to see Corvisquire circling down towards us. I held out my arm and he landed on it. "Find anything?"

"Caw," he fluttered his wings, pointing his beak up the path. After a few more steps, the ground began to slope down, leading straight to the mouth of a cave.

"Must be Frost Cavern," Robert said. "So they're in there after all."

"Footprints," Alex pointed at the fading prints. "Snow's covering them up fast, but they're leading into it."

"Let's go then," I held up my pokeball. "Thanks, Corvisquire. An ice cave probably isn't best suited for a Flying type like you."

"Caw," he agreed and I returned him.

"Alright," I let out Mawile and Greninja. "We're after Team Flare again. Let's go put a stop to them shall we. Mawile, I need you to be ready to attack at any moment. Greninja, you'll be able to hide in the darkness, so show us your shinobi skills."

Mawile nodded, staring at the entrance of the cave. Once we were right outside of it, we could see the dark blue ice covering the cave floor. Ice stalagmites and stalactites rose and grew from the ceiling, many connecting.

"Dark inside," Alex noted, tossing a pokeball. "Come on out, Pyroar."

"He won't provide light unless he breathes fire," Robert said. 

"At least he'll keep us warm," Alex rubbed her Pokemon's mane fondly.

"Well, lucky I brought these," Robert dug out a couple of flashlights from his backpack and handed one to each of us. "They'll come in handy."

"An understatement," I said, flicking the switch. Three beams of light lit up the cave, making the shadows seem longer. Greninja went ahead of us, sticking to the shadows. The only way I knew he was still there with us was if I searched for our bond.

"Hey," Robert pointed his gloved finger ahead. "There's a light."

Sure enough, a bit away, was a small light, getting bigger the closer we got.

"Lights off," I said, switching mine off, followed by Robert's and Alex's. "Stick to the side of the walls. Hopefully we weren't seen. Mawile, be ready just in case."

Once the light source got closer, we could make out three Flare grunts, two guys and one woman.

"At least we got the easy job," one of the guys said, swinging the lantern out in front of him, none of them looking to the sides of the tunnel wall. "We only need to keep people out. Should be simple enough."

"Easy for you to say," the woman rubbed her arms. "It's freezing in here."

"Can't wait for the new world," the last grunt said dreamily. "There probably will be less of cold places like this."

"Idiot," the woman growled. "It'll be an ideal world for Humans and Pokemon to live in. Where do you expect the Ice types to live?"

"Oh yeah..."