POKEMON MYSTERY DUNGEON: THE SAGA OF TEAM SUPERNOVA!

Welcome to Pokemon Aus24's official Pokemon Fan-Fic written, created and owned by the talented FocusPresenceEndurance. Below is the introduction and prologue to the story and every so often I will update with a new chapter.

Chapters 1-3 Here
Chapters 4-6 Here
Chapters 7-9 Here
Chapters 10-12 Here
Chapters 13-15 Here
Chapters 16-18 Here


~Chapter 13

A Frigid Battle Goes Wrong! Relief and Regroup.

If there was anything that Frosty Forest was ever known for, aside from the bitter cold, it would be its beauty. It was a serene, snow-covered vista, surrounded by a series of towering, majestic mountains. Truly, this was a spectacle for any eye to behold. It was also a disaster waiting to happen.

It was here, in this tranquil landscape, where two rival rescue teams were about to clash. As the opposing teams drew nearer, each side had already devised their own strategies to defeat one another. On the side of Team Supernova, Totodile stopped, Torchic kept running and Tristan split off to the side. “Okay guys, just like we planned!” he stated as he stepped forward. He initiated the attack, catching Team Supreme off guard with Scary Face. The attack worked like a charm as all three opponents slowed down to recover from the startling attack. “NOW!” he shouted over to Torchic, giving her the cue for her part.

Before Totodile even called out to her, Torchic had already started in on her attack, using as strong a Flamethrower she could, given the conditions. The attack, however, blasted the snow directly in front of her, not even touching any of the members of Team Supreme. She fell back to Totodile's side, panting slightly.

“Ha!” Machop laughed, as he and his teammates returned to their normal speed, continuing up the slope. “How can you expect to beat us with that terrible aim!”

“Just like that! My aim was spot on!” Torchic shouted back, smirking.

Totodile, as if using all his pent up frustration from all his encounters with Team Supreme, let loose with his fiercest Scary Face yet. Glancing back, Tristan shuddered slightly; glad he wasn’t on the receiving end of this attack. Team Supreme practically stopped altogether at this, stepping through a puddle of water created by Torchic.

“Hey!” Machop snapped, “Quit it!”

“Just try stopping me!” Totodile called back.

“You really want a pounding don’t y- WAHHHH!” He looked down to see his feet imprisoned under a thick layer of ice, the ice that was once the snow that Torchic had melted. Though the air was only hovering slightly below freezing, the land was still adjusting to the unnatural temperature. The cold stone of the mountain accelerated how quickly the water froze. “I can’t move!” he exclaimed, as he and Aipom struggled to escape.

“Ha! I told you you’d be frozen where you stood!” Totodile laughed, “Tristan!”

To the far right, Tristan approached, grabbing and hurling his bone towards the two stuck Pokemon with a powerful Bonemerang. It whipped through the air towards them, directly on course. But at the last second, Machop bent forward, barely avoiding the attack and Aipom merely deflected the bone using his hand-shaped tail. Tristan caught the bone again, returning to Totodile. “No,” he thought, “it didn’t work!”

It was Machop’s turn to smirk, as he cracked his knuckles. “It’ll take a whole lot more than that if you wanna beat us!” he yelled, as he raised a fist, punching the ground with incredible strength. The ice shattered into many pieces, freeing him and Aipom from its icy clutches.

“Nice trick,” Misdreavus spoke, appearing directly behind Torchic. “But you forgot that I don’t have any feet!” Torchic turned to see a grin on her face. “But we can’t have you doing that again. Can we?” As she said this, Spite took its effect on Torchic. Torchic couldn’t explain it, but she suddenly forgot how to use Flamethrower. Torchic retaliated with a quick Peck attack but missed as Misdreavus levitated high into the air, out of reach. “I’m ready!” she called down to her teammates.

“Now it’s our turn!” said Machop, already sounding triumphant. “Let’s see if you can handle this!” With that, Machop quickly grabbed the end of Aipom’s tail, using Seismic Toss to launch him high into the air. Aipom rose high into the air, even higher than where Misdreavus was ready and waiting.

Looking down on Team Supernova, Aipom grinned his usual wide mischievous grin. His tail began to shine brightly as he rapidly swung it back and forth. Many bits of energy seemed to flake off his tail, assuming the form of hundreds of tiny golden stars, which darted amidst the falling snow towards Tristan and his team. Misdreavus boosted, and enforced the attack using Psywave, which surrounded the stars in an aura of sparkling an dazzling colours. This caused the attack to come down harder and faster, but as a consequence, it also greatly dispersed it. Watching the stars approach, one would have easily become transfixed as a world of pain approached them.

Thinking quickly, Torchic used Sand Attack on the snow. Clumps of the snow were kicked into the air, acting almost as a shield protecting herself and Totodile from most of the stars. Tristan was unprotected by the snow, but spun his bone in the air rapidly, hoping the stars would hit the bone instead of his body. For the most part, this strategy worked, too. Like miniature bombs, the remaining stars kicked up the snow around them, greatly obstructing their sight.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tristan noticed a flicker of movement, and almost instinctively held up his bone in protection. The next moment, Machop’s hand came down upon it, with a powerful Karate Chop. The stress on the bone was huge, yet still it would not give. A moment passed when the two struggled, trying to overpower each other. Seeing this was going nowhere fast, Machop jumped back. His intention was to rejoin his team, but he jumped short, landing a short distance in front of them.

“Looks like you couldn’t touch us either!” taunted Totodile. “And you said we had a lousy attack!”

“I’m going in!” Tristan said, to both Torchic and Totodile. “I’m gonna finish this now with my linked moves.” Totodile nodded in agreement, and Tristan started into a sprint towards Machop. “TAIL WHIP! BONE CLUB!”

“Linked or not linked!” Machop yelled back, taking up Tristan’s challenge, “It won’t be good enough! KARATE CHOP!”

The two attacks met at the same time, both of them hitting their mark. Totodile, Torchic, Aipom and Misdreavus all winced at the sight of the impacts. Tristan had taken Machop’s strategically placed hand, to the bottom of his skull, the one place where his head was not protected by bone. He held his ground, wincing in pain as he glared at Machop. Tristan’s bone was pressing hard against Machop’s neck, where a painful bruise had already begun to form. He, too, stood his ground, refusing to surrender.

“… Give up yet?” Tristan asked sarcastically.

“Nope,” Machop answered flatly. “You?”

They continued to glare, trying to overpower the other even though each move had already canceled the other out.

A low rumbling began to shake the mountain. Directly above, from the slope of the mountain, the sound of cracking, shifting, and creaking could again be heard. This time, though, the sound was much louder and didn’t stop.

Suddenly, a loud CRACK echoed throughout the forest. Distracted from the battle, both teams looked up to see the cause of the noise. Close to the peak, an enormous slab of the new, wet snow had separated from the older, drier snow underneath. As the snow slid, it gathered volume and speed. A chain reaction was set into motion as more and more of the precariously placed snow broke loose. Moments later, what seemed like all of the snow on the mountainside had sheered off, and began hurtling towards two teams. Torchic, Totodile, Misdreavus and Aipom all cried out in horror, “AVALANCHE!!!”

Tristan and Machop could only stare at the oncoming wall of snow, both still holding the positions that they were left in. Before they could do anything, the beautiful but deadly force was almost upon them. All six team members were enveloped in the leading cloud of snow. A flash of blue! And everything whited out…

***

Hours after the torrent of snow and ice came down mountainside, the air was still silent. The snow continued to fall blissfully, concealing evidence of anything that had happened. Soon, day turned into evening, bringing to the forest the first chills of night.

Totodile lay on his back, where he found himself to be surrounded by the toppled trees of Frosty Forest. He had woken up buried under a few inches of snow, and had to struggle be break himself free. He got up slowly and shook his head to remove the snow. Maybe this was how Torchic felt.

“Torchic!” he thought, alarmed, as his eyes darted from place to place. His focus, however, fell on someone completely different. “MACHOP!” he yelled. Machop had just come around from behind a fallen tree. Totodile quickly raised his claws defensively. “You wanna go?”

Machop, too, lifted his fists, as if forgetting the avalanche entirely. “Ready when you are!”

It took a second, but something in both their minds finally clicked. “Huh!” Machop said, confused, turning his head from side to side. “Misdreavus? Aipom?”

Totodile took similar actions. “TRISTAN!” he called out, “TORCHIC!”

“Where’d they go…?” Machop said, taking a step forward onto his right foot. His knee buckled under the weight and with a cry of pain he fell face first into the snow.

“Machop?” Totodile asked, showing a hint of concern, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Why do you care?” He pushed himself up to his feet once more, but no sooner than he was up he was down again in the snow. Frustrated he gave an angry shout.

“You shouldn’t move Machop, you’re only going to hurt yourself more,” urged Totodile, now even more concerned. “Come on, let me help you.”

“No way!” Machop snapped back, slapping Totodile’s hand away. “How can I trust you? For all I know, you will lead me to a cliff! Oh you’d be happy then, wouldn’t you?”

“I wouldn’t do that…” answered Totodile, offended. “Come on, we don’t have time for this. We need to find the others.” With that, Totodile took Machop’s right arm, and put it over his own shoulders, helping Machop to his feet.

Machop looked embarrassed, and ashamed. “Why are you helping me?”

“We’re both in trouble, and since we’re both on rescue teams, I’d say our comrades should be our first concern. Don’t you think?”

Machop didn’t answer at first. He closed his eyes, tilting his head down. “What happened…?” he eventually said. “What caused us to end up this way?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing. We used to be friends. What happened?”

“Heh… it was so long ago. I don’t remember.”

“Hehe, me neither” replied Totodile laughing slightly, “It was probably something dumb, too.”

The two continued to walk, slowly but surely, back up the mountain to where they’d fought. Hopefully, the other members were heading there too.

***

Meanwhile, Aipom had already recovered from avalanche. He’d managed to escape the last part by grabbing onto a tree with his tail, and hanging on for dear life as the snow carried it away. Now, he jumped from uprooted tree to uprooted tree, looking for his fellow team members.

Suddenly, something in the snow ahead of him caught his eye. Curiously, he went to investigate. There were three small yellow feathers sticking out of the snow. Intrigued, he quickly began to dig, wondering what he’d find. “Ooh ooh, ah ah!” he exclaimed, upon seeing what he’d dug up. “It’s Torchic!”

Looking at her half-buried body, it was clear that she was in terrible shape. She was unconscious and her feathers were cold and damp. No doubt that if she had been here any longer, her condition would have been serious. He pulled her out of the snow, lying her on her back.

“Ooh ooh, wake up!” he said trying to poke and prod her with his hand. This method proved highly ineffective. “Ooh ooh, I never wanted this to happen… what do I do?” His tail came from behind, handing him a Reviver Seed, “I was saving this for myself, but… she needs it much more than I do.”

Aipom attempted to put the Reviver Seed in Torchic’s mouth, but despite his best efforts, he couldn’t manage to get her to eat it. She just didn’t have the strength chew it herself. “Ooh. She’d hate me for this…” he thought nervously, stepping back slightly. He retrieved the reviver seed, popping it into his own mouth, and began to chew. As soon as it became manageable consistency, he kneeled down, bending over her. This was the hard part. He’d been hoping that the first time he ever did anything remotely like this it would have been with another Aipom, or Ambipom of the opposite gender. He closed his eyes tightly as he lowered his head. He’d forgotten what happened after that, but it was something he was thankful for not remembering. Soon, Torchic had resumed a healthy state. The warmth returned to her, but she still hadn’t woken up. From there, Aipom decided to carry her on his back and figure out what to do once he arrived where they had their battle.

***

Misdreavus had almost managed to escape the clutches of the avalanche, attempting to hover above the danger zone. The turbulent wind, however, pushed her back into the snow. Thankfully she didn’t end up going far, and she managed to escape being buried. When the snow settled, she drifted back to the scene of the battle, or at least where she thought the battle was. The rough ride had disoriented her and it took a while before she came back to her senses. She knew that this would be the meeting point for the other team members, so instead of heading out to look for them she decided she would wait there.

The scene was devastating. The avalanche had ravaged through a large section of forest. From here all it looked like was a barren slope of churned up snow.

She didn’t know how long she waited, but soon enough, from one side of the clearing, two figures were headed her way, one leaning against the other’s shoulder. She turned the other way to see two more figures approaching, one carrying the other on its back. The two groups met where Misdreavus was waiting.

“Torchic!?” Totodile exclaimed seeing her unconscious body, “What happened? What did you-”

“Ooh ooh, ah ah, I found her that way,” Aipom interrupted quickly, as he tried to explain, “I didn’t do anything I swear! I even gave her a Reviver Seed.”

Totodile released Machop, who fell roughly on the ground. “Hey, I’m not a princess or anything, but you could’ve been a little more gentle.”

“Sorry,” Totodile answered quickly. His concern was mostly with Torchic. He thanked Aipom, and then made a few attempts to wake her.

“Machop?” both Misdreavus and Aipom asked, “What happened?”

He gave a slight shrug; acting as if he’d just noticed the injury. “Just a little knee problem, that’s all. Totodile… helped me get up here.”

After a minute of various waking methods, Totodile had finally managed to wake Trochic. “What… happened?” she asked, sitting up.

“You were unconscious,” answered Totodile, “Aipom carried you back here.”

“Aipom did?” she asked, thinking back. She did slightly remember seeing big purple ears when she was drifting in and out of sleep. She also thought she remembered being kissed, but… that part clearly must have been some weird dream.

The two teams stood to face each other, not sure how to proceed in this situation. “This doesn’t change a thing,” Machop finally said. “Right?” he added with a wink.

“Like I said,” Totodile said, grinning back, “Two teams in danger need to help each other.”

Torchic took a moment to glance around the mountainside. There was something missing. “Totodile…” she asked slowly. “Where’s Tristan?” Nobody on either Team Supreme nor Team Supernova had seemed to have seen any sign of him. Horror struck, Torchic asked, “You don’t… you don’t’ think he didn’t make it… do you?”

“NO,” Totodile shouted, making everyone jump in surprise. “Impossible! We’ll find him. How could a little avalanche like that take him out?”

“But where will we look?”

“If it helps,” Misdreavus spoke up, “When I was trying to escape the avalanche, I noticed a flash of blue. Not so long after, I saw a trail of shimmering blue ice heading towards the peak of the mountain.” Both teams exchanged looks, then gazed up to the mountain. The peak was still shrouded in clouds, but the wind up there had seemed to pick up.

“It’s worth a shot,” Totodile replied, looking up, a determined expression on his face. “Come on, Torchic.”

“We’ll help,” Machop said, staggering forward.

“You will?” Totodile asked, surprised.

“I owe you. If there’s one thing I hate it’s owing someone. I won’t let you get away until I’ve paid you back. Besides, it’s like you said, since we’re both on rescue teams, we need to try to help our fellow comrades first.”

“Yes,” replied Totodile, “We need as much help as we can get. Thanks.”

And so, in a temporary alliance to save a missing comrade, Team Supernova and Team Supreme, joined forces to search for Tristan. As the snow continued to fall, they began to ascend the rest of the mountain at the centre of the forest. Both Torchic and Totodile hoped that they would be able to find Tristan safe and unharmed at the top. A slight break in the clouds allowed a view of the sun, which was beginning to set on the horizon, causing the snow to reflect a reddish hue. It was a sight to behold, but the two teams, so focused on their task, did not stop to appreciate the view.



~Chapter 14

Unexpected Allies. Fighting a Legend!

“Hey… Hey!” a faint and distant voice sounded. “He’s coming to!”

“I’m… alive?” Tristan thought, dazed. It seemed like forever that he was drifting through empty space, without a sound to be heard or a sight to be seen. He couldn’t say he was relaxed, though, in fact he was in considerable pain. It was also cold. Colder than he remembered from when he was fighting. “What happened… where am I?” Being enveloped by the avalanche had been the last thing he remembered. He tried opening his eyes, only to feel the stinging pain from a bright white light. Squinting, he could only make out a couple vague shadows around him.

“Hey guys!” the voice called again. It sounded closer now; “He’s waking up!”

“Who’s that?” Tristan thought. He recognized the voice from somewhere, but he couldn’t pinpoint it. Perhaps because he was so out of it right now. “Totodile? No, it couldn’t be him… how about Torchic…”

“It’s about time,” a second, similar sounding voice came. “He’s been out for almost an hour.”

“No…” Tristan continued, “It couldn’t be Torchic. The voices are too young…”

Now a third voice sounded. This one, however, was not familiar to Tristan. It was different, yet similar sounding at the same time. This was probably because this voice too was young. “So, this is Tristan?” it asked curiously.

“Yup,” replied the first voice. Tristan couldn’t help but notice that the voice had a sense of pride to it. “And if there is anyone who can save us, it’d be him!” the voice continued confidently. “He’s the reason we started a rescue team!”

“What the heck!?” Tristan had bolted upright that instant, fully awake, and fully alert. Had he just heard that right? No… it couldn’t be. How could he have inspired someone to start a rescue team? With his eyes adjusted, he was finally able to see his surroundings. His eyes fell to where the last voice had spoken, and was shocked when he saw the startled face looking back. “It’s you!” he exclaimed pointing at Minun. He turned to his other side, seeing another familiar face in Plusle. “And you!”

“Huh?” Minun said, his look of surprise slowly turning into a look of sadness. “You mean… you mean… you don’t remember our names?” Tristan watched, as it seemed like small mouse’s heart was breaking right then and there. “But I was your… But you saved… But we were… But I thought… But-”

“Maybe… he’s been on so many rescues he’s forgotten about us.” Plusle said, shrugging his shoulders pretending not to be disappointed. He did a poor job of hiding his unhappiness, however, showing a huge frown on his face.

“Ah! No no no no no no no!” Tristan exclaimed, waving his hands hastily. He hadn’t meant to insult them, in fact it was the least of his intentions. He also couldn’t help but be annoyed with himself. Why did he always have to say things he’d regret? “I remember your names. Yeah! They were pretty good names too.”

“What are they?” Plusle asked flatly.

“Well, uh… What are they? Well… you see,” Tristan began. He took a big gulp of air as he looked up into the sky, as if the answer were somehow drifting among the snowflakes. His mouth began to play with the names as he tried to grasp them. “M… M… Min… Minin… Mini… Minnow… Minute… Minun? Yeah, Minun! And P… P… Pl… Plus… Plusplus… Plus what? Plus Plus… Plusle! That’s it! Minun and Plusle!”

In what seemed like an instant, Minun had lost his frown, replacing it with an enormous smile that stretched from minus sign to minus sign and displayed almost every tooth in his mouth. It was as if the last minute hadn’t even existed. “Yay!” he cheered happily, jumping up and down, “You do remember us! I knew you wouldn’t forget!” A smile of relief also returned to Plusle’s face, as if he’d just finished with the worst moments of his life.

“Barely…” Tristan thought; though he didn’t share this with the rest of them. He felt ashamed that he’d almost forgotten.

Attempting to block this moment from his mind, Tristan turned his attention to whatever came into his mind first. “What are you doing here anyway?” He glanced around to look at the surrounding landscape. He was still surrounded by snow but there were many things that were different compared to before. There was not a single tree to be seen. Wasn’t he supposed to be in a forest? Maybe the avalanche had completely wiped it out. They were also surrounded by a strange thick, white fog that, when accompanied with the falling snow, made seeing far all but impossible. Despite this he still could see from place to place huge, sharp and jagged black rocks protruding out of the snow. “Where is here anyway?”

“Well,” Minun began who had finally managed to calm down, “we came here on a mission.”

“But while searching for our client,” Plusle continued, “we were captured by Articuno and he brought us here. He told us if we valued our lives, we wouldn’t move.”

“We’re on the top of the mountain that centers this forest,” said a third voice. This one was the one Tristan couldn’t recognize. Tristan looked beside Plusle to see a small green caterpillar with a yellowish underbelly. “You were dropped here not long ago.”

“Hold on, hold on, just a second!” Tristan shouted. It was as if his skull had deflected most of the information that had been given to him. If it was possible, there were even more questions flowing through his head, making him even more confused. “You were here on a rescue mission?” he asked dumbfounded, “But that would mean… would you by any chance be Team Charge-Net?”

“He knows our team name…” Minun said blissfully, almost fainting out from happiness.

“Yep, that’s us,” Plusle answered in Minun’s place. “Surprised? This was supposed to be our first mission. We screwed up, though.”

“Yeah…” Tristan responded absentmindedly; glad to see he was getting somewhere with this. “And what is this all about with being captured? Who’s this Articuno? Why did it bring us here?”

“Articuno is the legendary Pokemon who watches over the forest,” the caterpillar answered. Plusle was now busy as he tried to snap Minun out of his dreamy state. “Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of him.”

“Nope,” Tristan answered bluntly, “but since our mission is to rescue you, and since this so called ‘legendary Pokemon’ doesn’t seem to be here, I don’t see the need to wait for him to come back.” He walked a bit away from the group, until he came to what seemed like the edge of a plateau. Looking down, he could see an enormous, steep slope of snow, with more of those jagged black rocks. He couldn’t see very far because of the fog, making it seem like a very long way down.

“We’re on top of the mountain…” he mumbled to himself. “This fog must be cloud then…” He became increasingly satisfied as he began to make more sense of his situation. He turned back looking a little past Team Charge-Net to where he’d been lying. Beside his imprint on the snow was a small clear box that seemed to contain a series of discs. “My link box!” He ran over to pick it up, thankful to see that it wasn’t broken. Next to it was also a Revive Seed, which he also picked up for safekeeping. He turned back to Team Charge-Net, “That just leaves one more question.”

“Yes?” asked Minun curiously.

Tristan pointed at the caterpillar. “Who are you?”

Both Minun and Plusle’s jaws dropped. They’d been preparing to answer a long complicated question. “… That was anticlimactic…” Plusle muttered.

“Oh,” the caterpillar said in surprise. “I haven’t given you my name yet? Sorry, my name’s Caterpie.” He smiled shyly as he gazed up at Tristan. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“So it seems,” Tristan replied, glancing at Minun, whose eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked back. Apparently, even though it was hard for Tristan to believe, he had a fan. It wasn’t really a comforting thought, though. Why would anyone choose to admire him? He couldn’t think of any quality that would cause this. He was just Tristan. That was all, nothing more. Again he brushed the thought away, returning to the mission at hand. “So if you were captured, how did you send an S.O.S.?”

Minun came back to his senses, looking confused, “S.O.S?” he asked.

“We didn’t send an S.O.S.” Plusle answered, shrugging his shoulders as he glanced from Minun to Caterpie.

“Well it said on the mission that it was from Team Charge-Net,” Tristan explained, “but if you didn’t send it, then who did?” A small gust of wind blew from behind, the sound of something-large landing in the snow behind him. Suddenly, the air became considerably colder, as if it wasn’t cold enough.

“That,” a mysterious voice said, “would be me.”

Tristan turned slowly, wondering what would meet his eyes. Towering over him was an enormous blue bird. On his forehead was a fairly simple crest, consisting of three dark blue, rhombus-shaped feathers. His long, streamer-like tail, which blew gracefully in the wind, was also a similar colour to the feathers on his head. His body was a sky-blue colour, which grew lighter on his chest and belly. His most distinctive feature was his large wings, which looked as if they were made of ice. He also had a small gray beak and similarly colored, thin legs. Tristan took a step back, awe-struck by the sheer size of this Pokemon. It was easily five times his height. In a way, this Pokemon also looked slightly familiar.

“So,” Tristan said, masking his fear, “you must be this Articuno I’m hearing about.”

“Tristan!” Minun whispered in his ear. “Be careful! That’s a legendary Pokemon you’re talking to!”

“So?” Tristan replied indignantly. “That still doesn’t change the fact that he captured us.”

“Hold on!” Plusle said to Articuno. “You sent the S.O.S. with our name on it? But why?”

“Why did I send the S.O.S., you ask?” Articuno answered with a smirk. “It’s quite simple really. I used you as bait to lure a fellow by the name of Tristan. And you worked like a charm.”

“Wait! What do you want with me?” demanded Tristan, taking another step back. “And where are my friends?”

“Your friends?” Articuno asked. “You mean that filth that was tarnishing my forest? Most likely they died in the avalanche.”

There was a moment of silence, as Tristan was taking in what he had just heard. No… that couldn’t be… He couldn’t believe it! Dead? “You…” Tristan began, his voice trembling as he tightly gripped his bone. “You… killed my friends!?”

“Well, I couldn’t just let them desecrate my forest now could I?” replied Articuno arrogantly, “Dirt like you has no place here.”

What fear he’d had before had now evaporated, allowing his anger to surface. “How… How could you!?” He thought a moment of his two friends, and how much they meant to him. He’d only known them for a short while, but he still felt a heave of sorrow when he thought of them being gone. They were, after all, his first friends in such a long time. “They… they were all I had!” he cried out in anger. “They… they were my only friends! They accepted me when no one else would! They meant so much to me! And you killed them! You killed them without a shred of remorse! I can’t forgive you! I won’t forgive you!!” With that, Tristan sprinted over the short distance that separated him from Articuno, putting all his force into a leap as he used Head Butt.

Articuno gracefully lifted off into the air, smirking to see Tristan miss by inches below him and continue on his path until he crashed into the cold snow. “Touching, but there is no need to be so upset. You will join them soon enough.”

“Come back you coward! I’m not through with you!!” Tristan hollered, whipping his bone up towards the ice bird with Bonemerang. The projectile spun through the air, heading directly for its target.

Articuno began to beat his powerful wings, conjuring a strong gust of wind as the attack approached. The bone slowed gradually, losing its spin until it seemed to stop in midair all together. With another powerful stroke of his wings he sent the bone flying, landing in the snow a ways behind Tristan. “You want to die so soon?” he asked amused. “Very well, I shall fulfill your wish.” He landed in front of Tristan; wings outstretched preparing another gust attack.

All Tristan could do was gaze up in horror as he saw the wings beat down. He’d never felt wind so strong. He was easily lifted off the ground and was flung through the air like a toy, until his back connected with one of the rough, jagged outcroppings of rock. He tumbled off the rock, landing with a thud face first in the snow.

“No! Tristan!!” Minun shouted, running to Tristan’s side, along with Plusle and Caterpie. They gasped in horror at the sight of him.

Tristan winced in pain as he slowly lifted himself from the ground. He was thankful that he had a protective skull, but every other place on his body suffered excruciating pain. Looking down, he saw that the snow was stained red. The rock had scratched and punctured his skin in places, and now blood began to trickle down his back. It stung in the searing cold, but in moments, the cuts and scrapes had already begun to freeze shut. He felt stiff all over, making it even harder to move. Despite this, he staggered forward, stubbornly trying to ignore the pain. “You… you won’t stop me that easily!”

“As expected from a defiant human like yourself,” replied Articuno. “You know, I knew the avalanche wouldn’t kill you. Just like when I tried to blow you into the river during that storm. I learned that night that nature couldn’t always be reliable. Some things you just have to do yourself.”

“You… You know I’m human?” His memory also shot back to the night of the storm. That’s where he’d seen Articuno! When he’d fallen off the bridge, he remembered seeing a large blue bird above him. But why was he doing this? What had Tristan ever done to him?

“I don’t just know you’re human Tristan. I know so much more about yourself than probably even you do.” The bird of ice laughed cruelly at this, upon seeing the look of terror on Tristan’s face.

“Hang on!” Minun interrupted, “Tristan’s a human?”

“Just like Dave!” Caterpie exclaimed. “Now I know why he’s your hero!”

“Don’t you dare mention that name in front of me!” Articuno’s voice boomed, as he turned on the small caterpillar, bracing his wings for yet another gust attack. If he were to attack, Caterpie would be blown off the mountain for sure.

“I am your enemy!” Tristan shouted, finding the strength somewhere in him to jump up to whip his tail fiercely into Articuno’s face. This was followed immediately with the strongest Bone Club he could muster.

Caught off guard, Articuno was struck hard in the wing causing him to fall back into the snow. He got up again, stretching his wings in anger, perhaps to try to intimidate Tristan and Team Charge-Net. This was accompanied by a gust of cold air that swept the mountaintop. “Gyaaaaaaaaaah! You dare strike me? I am the Warder of Ice! Nobody strikes the Warder of Ice!”

“QUIT THE BIG TALK!” Tristan hollered back. “It’s people like you I hate! Acting all high and mighty as if you are the only thing that matters! You say I’m dirt do you? You say I’m filth? You won’t be saying that when I’m finished with you! And I will make you pay for killing my friends!”

“ICE BEAM!!” Articuno shouted as a small orb of energy appeared in front of his beak. It shrunk in size, until it was almost too small to see, then suddenly, in a very pale blue stream of ice and mist, a beam shot from it, hitting the ground near Tristan. The beam kicked up the snow as it moved rapidly towards him, making him have to dive to avoid it. Even then he felt a small stinging pain on his tail where the beam had come too close. He landed back near Team Charge-Net, desperately trying to figure out what to do.

“Now do you see my power?” the bird asked as he gazed over to the exhausted Tristan. “Do you finally see how hopeless this battle is?”

“You’re no match for him, Tristan!” Plusle urged, from behind. “You’ll kill yourself if you keep fighting!”

“He’ll kill me anyway…” replied Tristan angrily, “besides… he killed my friends!”

“Then we’ll help!” a voice came behind.

Tristan whirled around in surprise at this announcement. It was Minun who said it. By the looks of it, both of his teammates were surprised to hear this too.

“This is my fight,” Tristan answered.

“C’mon!” Minun urged, “we’re a rescue team too! We should help! Please, there’s just gotta be something we can do!” He looked to his teammates for support, both of them thought a moment, but nodded in agreement.

Tristan thought a moment. He was reluctant to get them involved, but right now he was getting nowhere fast. Perhaps they could help somehow, even if it was just a little. “This Articuno is extremely fast,” he commented. “It’d be a help if we could slow him down somehow.” Thinking of this reminded him of Totodile, and his Scary Face attack. No, now wasn’t the time to be thinking such things. He’d first get even with Articuno, then try to figure out what to do then.

“Well…” Caterpie spoke up nervously, “I have String Shot.”

“And we have Thunder Wave,” said Plusle and Minun together.

Tristan took another moment to quickly plan out a strategy. If Articuno is a bird Pokemon, then he would be weak against electricity, these three might be able to help after all. Coming up with a plan, he pointed at the members of Team Charge-Net, saying, “Okay, just do as I say.”

With this, the four dispersed, Tristan having briefly directed in certain directions to go. He hoped dearly this would work and that he wouldn’t have to deal with anymore deaths on this forsaken mountain.

“What foolishness,” Articuno muttered as he watched their approach.

Tristan, who positioned himself a short distance in front of Articuno, started with Bonemerang. It was astonishingly powerful considering how much was against Tristan right now. Articuno almost couldn't believe his eyes as he jumped to the side, allowing the bone to pass by. “How is this filth still alive?” he thought to himself, partly in awe, and partly in aggravation. “What’s keeping him going? Any normal Cubone would be dead…”

Suddenly, two of his little hostages came charging at him on either side, sparks flying out of their cheeks as they drew closer. Articuno chuckled slightly as he began to spread his wings out. They might have been brave, but they were definitely not intelligent. As he spread his wings, however, they became stuck, tangled in something. The bird looked down to see his third hostage already beginning to crawl away. Somehow, without realizing it, he had already covered him head to toe with long thin strings of silk. “That human had no intention of hitting me…” He thought quickly, “He wanted me to jump into a trap!”

He looked on either side of him, just in time to see the two mice leaping towards him, landing on either wing. He struggled to get them off, but before he could do this, each of them unleashed a powerful Thunder Wave.

Waves of electricity surged through Articuno’s body, causing his very nerves to short-circuit. Now paralyzed, Articuno could only watch as Tristan approached again from the front. With a clear shot this time, Tristan was able come down full force on the bird with his linked moves. He put all his might into his Bone Club, swinging it horizontally, hitting Articuno square in the head causing him to not only fall back, but also to crash into the snow.

“NOW!!” he shouted over to Minun and Plusle, who both ran up to the fallen bird, following with up Spark. This was to ensure that Aritcuno would stay down.

“We… we…” Minun struggled to speak, partly out of exhaustion, but partly out of disbelief. “We beat a legendary!”

“Wow, Tristan…” Caterpie said, as his eyes sparkled with admiration as he rejoined his friends. “You’re just as awesome as Dave!”

“It was nothing,” Tristan replied, waving it off. “Let’s get out of here.” The sun was beginning to set, and as they began to leave, the dread of what he would do now without Torchic and Totodile started to settle in. His attention was quickly distracted, though, when he heard a noise behind him from the place he least wanted to hear. He knew it seemed too easy. He just knew it.

Looking back, they could see Articuno stagger back to his feet once more, a look of disgust on his face. “How dare you,” he growled, “HOW DARE YOU!!” He stretched out his icy wings, causing another squall of snow to blow across the mountain peak. “GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!! I’m through with playing games! Now feel my wrath!” He launched into the air, creating a blue sparkling trail behind him. In a moment he was directly above Tristan and Team Charge-Net. Suddenly, a terrible feeling came over Tristan, as if something huge was about to happen. “SHEER COLD!!” Articuno hollered!

“Oh no!” cried Minun.

“I’m freezing!” Plusle followed.

“I… I can’t move!” exclaimed Caterpie.

Tristan remained silent, as he gazed down at his feet. Solid ice had already began to creep up his body, as if the very air around him was freezing. Everything the ice touched stung like a thousand piercing knives, and became unbearable by the time it got to his back. Through his pain, he desperately tried to think of something to do, the ice was already up passed his waist, and climbing! No! It couldn’t end like this! He wouldn’t let it! He hadn’t even avenged his friends yet!

A ways away, Articuno landed back on the ground with his back turned to his frozen opponents. He fanned out his wings once more, to remove the remaining silk, and to assess the damage. He had to admit they’d managed to put up a satisfactory fight. He hadn’t intended to fight his hostages, though. If they had just kept their noses out of this they’d have gone unscathed. Oh well.

“Well…” he sighed, beginning to walk away, “That’s that. Just as instructed.”



~Chapter 15

Struggle to Survive! Into the Shadow of a Greater Threat.

It was a silent few moments atop of the peak of the mountain centering Frosty Forest. The snow had ceased falling, and the wind had died down to only a gentle breeze. A break in the clouds revealed a beautiful view of the sky scape around the mountain and of the setting sun. The clouds, which blanketed everything below from view reflected a bright orange hue, almost blinding to the eyes. Finally, a moment of peace could be enjoyed. Or, perhaps it was just the eye of the storm.

Articuno took a moment to revel it in. However, he couldn’t help but be annoyed with himself. Looking again at the damage he’d taken, he shouldn’t have received as much as he did. He had been bruised on his right wing, which would definitely impair his ability to fly. He also had another bruise on his cheek. Both of these places were where the human had struck him. If he’d known the battle was going to be tougher, he’d have used Sheer Cold earlier. He also was still having trouble moving, after being double hit by Thunder Wave by his two little hostages. “Grr…” he grunted, “how shameful.”

Articuno spread his wings to take off, dispersing hundreds of tiny, shimmering, blue ice crystals around him. Before his feet could leave the ground, however, a strange sound from behind reached his ears.

“Nah… it couldn’t be,” he thought, turning towards the sound, “Impossible…”

Before him were the frozen figures of his hostages: Minun, Plusle and Caterpie. Just where he’d left them. But next to them… Was he seeing things? Before him stood the human Pokemon, unfrozen, and fully conscious.

“IMPOSSIBLE!!” Articuno shrieked in shock.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Tristan asked, as he glared at the legendary Pokemon with anger, and venom in his eye. In his mouth, the bitter after-taste of a Reviver Seed lingered. “I’m not finished with you yet!”

“Hehe…” the legendary chuckled, “You would have been better off freezing to death, it’s more peaceful, I hear.” It was true Articuno had taken a beating from this human, but upon closer inspection, he saw that this human was in much worse shape, with many places on his skin suffering frost bite, and deep cuts all over his back. It would be no problem finishing off this weakling now.

“If I did that,” Tristan replied, exhausted, “then I wouldn’t be able to pay you back for killing my friends.”

“What is it about these… friends you fight for?” Articuno said curiously as if trying to find out how Tristan's little mind worked. “What is so special that you fight so hard for them?”

“Like you’d ever know,” Tristan answered angrily, “You don’t have any!”

“Why you little piece of… FILTH!!” Articuno roared with rage. With his anger, fierce wind returned to the mountaintop. With the peaceful calm now gone, snow and cold came in to fill its place.

Tristan stood defiantly, holding his ground, refusing to back down. In reality, he could barely keep holding onto his bone, his hands being so numb from the cold. Other parts of his body were also beginning to become numb. The cold in the air leaked through the scratches on his back, causing him to become still weaker. His mind knew what it wanted, but how long would his body last? How much further could he push himself before he could push no more?

Stepping towards Tristan, Articuno said with a sound of mocking, “Is moving your mouth the best you can do? Do you think petty insults will save you? Do you really think I’m going to let you live after saying a thing like that?” Now directly in front of Tristan, Articuno raised his large blue wings and smirked once more, “Say goodbye, you filthy human.”

A fresh blast of wind swept across the mountain peak bringing what seemed to be all the snow in the forest with it. The wind met at the center of the plateau, where the wind swirled and spun. Seconds later, the wind and snow formed an enormous icy column that reached and disappeared into the clouds above. In the middle of this mammoth cyclone Tristan stood, trying to hold onto what little that he had left. Each individual snowflake felt like a miniature dagger piercing into his skin.

Why did he have to die? What did he do wrong? These among other thoughts swirled in his mind like the snow in the wind. Why did it have to end this way?

He remembered how Totodile and Torchic were the only ones willing to believe he was really a human. How he was welcomed into their team with open arms, when they so easily could have just left him behind to be lost and confused. He remembered the feeling of excitement, and accomplishment they all shared after completing their first mission. How he was able to support his friends in their time of need, and vice versa. They meant so much to him. What would he do without them? It was almost to the point that they were like family. Now, he felt alone. Again.

“No!” he thought, drawing strength from his will, “I won’t let it end like this!”

Another gust of air from the blizzard swept him back, pushing him out of the clutches of the blizzard. Beside him was the miniature toolbox of Team Charge-Net. It was open and inside was a familiar blue looking berry. Without thinking he grabbed the berry and shoved it in his mouth, chewing as quickly as possible to feel its effects. As the energy began to return to him he looked beside the toolbox, seeing another familiar item.

The link box! Maybe it wasn’t so hopeless after all. “First things first…” Tristan thought, grabbing for his bone. With it, he flung it towards Articuno, who jumped aside once more to dodge it. This diversion finally caused the blizzard to cease, and gave Tristan the time he needed to use his link box. In desperation, he linked all four of his moves at once. No sooner had he done that had he began to charge directly for Articuno, ignoring any pain that tried to hold him back.

“Oh please…” Articuno sighed, watching Tristan’s approach, “What surprise do you have for me this time… another head butt?”

“I’ll show you!” Tristan shouted, moving to strike Articuno with his bone. Tristan couldn’t help but be impressed with the speed of this bird. How many times had he dodged his attacks? And this time was no exception. Now at Articuno’s side, Tristan was left fully exposed.

“It’s as I thought,” mocked the legendary ice Pokemon, raising his wings again to whip up wind. “Another predictable attack. You’re strong, I’ll give you that, but this will be your downfa-”

Wasting no time, Tristan initiated his actual attack. Every single move he had, with all his strength he unleashed on Articuno, aided by the fire of his inner fury. “BONEMERANG!” He shouted, sending the bone flying directly past Articuno’s head. Articuno flinched slightly, expecting the attack to hit. “HEAD-BUTT!” he continued, springing up into the air, finally managing to make a connection with his skull and Articuno’s. At the same time, Bonemerang was returning, and before Articuno could correct himself for a safe landing, he met face to face with the bone.

“OH SHI-,” Articuno, thought in the only moment he had. The downward spin on the bone caused him to be whipped clean out of the air, landing back first in the snow, knocking the wind out of him.

Tristan jumped high above the downed bird, catching the bone, and allowing gravity to bring him upon his opponent. “TAIL WHIP! BONE CLUB!” he finished, stomping down on Articuno’s chest, while striking hard with his bone on the side of his neck. He felt the bird’s entire body flinch beneath him at this, and causing Articuno to shriek in pain.

“YOU HAVEN’T FELT THE HALF OF IT!!” Tristan roared, bringing his bone down upon the bird once more. He hit again and again and again. He kept hitting over and over again, his anger overpowering him, as if he could not control himself. “This is for Totodile!” he cried, tears streaming from his eyes; “This is for Torchic! This is for-!”

“Enough!” Articuno finally choked, flailing wildly to get Tristan off. He staggered to his feet battered, bruised and practically pulverized. Tristan rolled to a stop and like Articuno, staggered to his feet. He just now realized he’d not only hurt the bird, he’d hurt himself in the process. All his thrashing about caused the cuts and scrapes on his shoulder to reopen. It was dusk now, and any trace of the sun had vanished, not that they would have seen it through the thick cloud and snow anyway. It was very dark now, and Tristan found it difficult to see far past Articuno.

“No more!” the blue Pokemon said, gasping for air “Please. No more.”

This sparked another flare of anger in Tristan. “Oh! And what would you have done if I said that?”

“Ignorance… that’s one thing I hate about filth.” Articuno grumbled, looking down into the snow with a look of detestation and humiliation. “I’m not as heartless as you think. It’s not in my nature to kill mercilessly. My role in this world is to be the guardian of the forest, and its inhabitants. And it is a job I take seriously.”

“You act pretty heartless to me! What with trying to kill me an-”

“You!” Articuno interrupted, “Are different.”

“What? Why me? What did I do?”

“How should I know?” Articuno replied, “You must have done something, or nobody would have told me to kill you.”

“Wh… What?” Tristan asked, slowly beginning to calm down. His anger, bit by bit, was replaced by confusion. “But, who?”

Articuno glanced up over through the cloud to the edge of the plateau at something Tristan could not see. “You will know soon enough,” was his simple reply, “Whoever is doing this seems pretty desperate. You won’t be left alone for long.” Again, he looked over to the edge of the plateau. Something had caught his eye, Tristan just wished he knew what. He looked back down at Tristan, and for the first time, Tristan thought he saw a hint of sympathy in his eye. “Cherish what moments you have left.” On this final note, with great difficulty and pain, he spread his wings and lifted himself into the air, and being far from graceful, began to depart from the mountain peak.

“Wait…” Tristan moaned, as the last of his energy drained out of him quickly. He was now able to fully realize the shape he was in. Frostbite covered him from head to toe, and he was beginning to slip in and out of consciousness. “Who… who wants to… kill me? Wh… what’s going… going… going…” But before he could finish, he finally fell into the depths of fatigue.

The last things he saw were several shadowy figures approaching him through the fog. He thought he heard faint voices, but whatever they said, he did not know. He began to fall forward, but did not remain awake long enough to feel the landing.

Strange… he thought he ought to know those voices...

***

Tristan opened his eyes to see the bright light of the sun glinting in his eyes. It was strangely warm here, wherever “here” was.

“Hmmm…” he thought, “Is this death?” as he sat up and scanned to see where he was. He was back in the comfort of the team base; the warm afternoon air seeping into the base made for a good contrast after the freezing night. At his side were Torchic and Totodile, who’d been having a quiet conversation up until now. Tototile looked pretty relieved to see Tristan up. Perhaps it was because Torchic was distracted from getting on his case. “Oh…” Tristan said, still half awake, “I must be dead.”

“You’re not dead!” Torchic shouted, irritated “Is that the first thing you say after all that’s happened!?”

“With what he’s been through,” Totodile said towards Torchic, “I don’t blame him.” He turned to Tristan, “Taking on a legendary, how on earth did you manage that?”

“Hang on,” Tristan said holding out his hand to stop them. “What happened? I was told that you were all killed.”

“Who told you that?” asked Totodile.

He sighed. “That ‘oh so legendary Pokemon’ Articuno.”

Torchic shook her head; “We’re fine, as you can see.”

“That’s a relief,” Tristan said. Either Articuno underestimated his friends, or he didn’t try to kill them after all. He paused a moment to think. “So… what did happen?”

Totodile, aided by Torchic, began their explanation of everything that had happened since the avalanche. How everyone, including Team Supreme, managed to survive, and how they joined forces to find him. Tristan found it hard to believe that they joined forces, it had been less than a day ago that they were at each other’s throats. They continued to explain that when they neared the peak they saw Articuno retreating from what seemed to be a battle, evidently injured severely.

“When we arrived at the top of the cliff,” Totodile continued, “we were all shocked to find that it was you who had caused Articuno all that damage.”

“How did you do it Tristan,” Torchic asked, “what happened?”

This time it was Tristan’s turn to explain his side of the story that had unfolded on the peak of the mountain. He explained that he’d found Team Charge-Net there, and that Articuno had used the novice team as bait to bring Tristan there and how he had been told that both Totodile and Torchic had died. He also mentioned how Team Charge-Net tried to help him with his battle, but ended up becoming frozen as a consequence. Finally he explained how a Reviver Seed, an Oran Berry and a Link Box all saved his skin and helped him win the battle.

“You’re amazing Tristan,” Totodile said in awe, “if only we could have helped in some way, though.”

“Well, I’m really impressed,” Torchic added. “But what could have caused you to pick a fight with Articuno in the first place? He’s not supposed to attack innocent Pokemon, like that.”

“Eh, uh…” Tristan answered nervously. Articuno had mentioned that someone else had wanted him dead. Should he tell them? What would happen if he did? Would they abandon him? Would they say that he was too dangerous to be around? He didn’t want to worry them either. Perhaps nothing would came of it anyway. “I… don’t know why.” Tristan began to feel uncomfortable when he said this, and quickly tried to change the subject. “Anyway, what happened to Team Charge-Net?”

“They’re fine now, but you were much worse than they were,” Totodile said, “As soon as we got back we took you to Nurse Chansey to look after you guys.”

“She said that if you had been exposed to the cold any little longer,” Torchic continued, “your frostbite would have been incurable. Your limbs were black when we found you, and your back was…” she shuddered at the thought. “Oh I can’t even imagine what happened to you. Thankfully, she said you’d make a full recovery. All you need is rest.”

“Alright,” Tristan commented. He noticed for the first time that he was practically covered from head to toe with bandages. That nurse they were talking about sure must have worked hard if she’s done this much. One question, though, took priority over all the others. “When can we rescue again?”

“Well…” Totodile said, “she recommended against rescue missions.” He then gave a broad grin and whispered into Tristan’s ear, as if Chansey were nearby, “I’m sure we can go on a few easy missions, though. As well, since you got to Team Charge-Net first, we got to keep our bronze rank. And we don’t have to worry about Team Supreme anymore, they promised to leave us alone.”

“That’s good…” Tristan replied.

As the day went on, the team continued their conversation, eventually deciding to prepare for a mission the next day. As the team visited the Pokemon Village, the warm weather felt comfortable to Tristan after his cold encounter, though he still didn’t appreciate how humid it was. Tristan de-linked his attacks at Gulpin’s link shop before helping Torchic and Totodile prepare for the mission. The team also caught word that Team Blue would be leaving early the next day for another long mission.

With that, Tristan was left for the night at the team base, while Torchic and Totodile departed for their own friend zones. As Tristan watched the sunset, he decided on his plan of action the next day. He would wake up early, before Torchic or Totodile could arrive at the team base. He would then head for the Pokemon Village. His goal would be to encounter Dave alone, and try to talk with him. Just like Gardevoir had asked him to do. With that in mind, he went indoors and as night fell, he prepared for bed.

“Dave,” he thought, “the first time I met you, you didn’t recognize me. But I’m sure that if I explain everything, you’ll remember. Please… remember…”

Before long, he drifted into sleep. What would tomorrow bring?

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