Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon (big duh).

Claimer: Jace, Artico/colt/corn, Seraph, Shirasharmi and Radianz belong to Topaz. The jewel league and all characters there in, Creidi, Astral, and Smiladon belong to me. Topaz has permission to use Aquatro. In short if I doesn’t belong to Nintendo, one of use made it up. Please ask before using anything.

Deep in a forest a golden train hissed to a stop. There was a pause. Then two famine figures emerged from the bowels of the machine. The first with knee length cerulean hair tied up in a silver bow and sapphire eyes, she wore thigh length white kamono with blue lining, belt, and matching boots. Wide silver bracelets decorated her wrists. The second had curly black hair that fell to her lower back and bright amber eyes. She was dressed casually in a red tank top, khaki shorts, and tennis shoes. Each had a crimson pack on her back.

The girl’s names were Jace and Creidi respectively and the only witness to the beginning of their Jewel league journey was the silent rising sun. The girls turned to watch the train as it chugged off into the rising light.

"So what does the pokedex say about the Jewel League, Jace?" The raven-haired girls asked her companion as they stepped off the platform and into the dirt below. The girl responded by pulling out her gold pokedex and punching some buttons.

"Not much." She replied, "Mostly the pokemon around here are considered rare or legendary in other places, but are still uncommon here."

"How far to Sapphire City?"

"Three miles." Then after a pause she added snippily, "You know you could use your own pokedex." Creidi was always asking her to look stuff up.

"I hate technology. Give me a book any day." Creidi smiled and brandishing a pamphlet with the Jewel Leagues symbol, a jewel encrusted pokeball, across the front.

"Wouldn’t that book tell you the answer to your question?" Jace asked dryly, as she put her pokedex away. In the back of her mind she knew what was coming.

"Yeah, but I wanted to see if I could make you do it." Creidi teased, then ducked as Jace took a swing at her. "Better start walking." She yipped happily, dancing just out of Jace’s reach. For her part, Jace didn’t really want to hurt her companion, just give her a few long lasting, painful bruises.

Jace and Creidi had met and become friends during pokemon camp two months ago. They had both started with a fire type, Jace a cyndaquil and Creidi a growlithe, and had quickly risen to the top of their class. Jace trained flying types while Creidi specialized in beast pokemon. Despite their differences, or perhaps in spite of them, the girls were best friends.

The dirt padded softly under their feet as they followed the path that had been cut through the woods. Ever though the majority of branches were cleared away, the path was under used and over grown. The confined space made releasing any pokemon of a riding size impossible. The girl’s progress was slow and Jace complained most of the way, but they managed to reach the city before midday and with out incident.

Sapphire City was a bustling metropolis. People of all descriptions hurried to their destinations. Jace and Creidi passed through the mayhem unnoticed, except by those people who ran into them and then received a tough lashing from Jace. The two girls managed to get into the flow of traffic leading into the city and started looking for the gym. Despite their best efforts, after an hour of walking the girls were forced to admit they were lost.

"This is pointless!" Jace snapped. In frustration she planted her fist into a building, then instantly regretted it. She jumped up and down as she cursed. Creidi only shook her head in exasperation.

"Maybe some one in there can help us." Creidi suggested pointing to a hotel that had to be a hundred stories high.

"It’s got to be better then walking aimlessly." Jace agreed, still nursing her hand and cursing to herself.

The two friends pushed their way out of the crowd and through the revolving gold and glass door. The lobby was richly decorated. The floor was of polished marble, as were the decorative pillars leading to the main desk. The creamy ceiling towered twenty feet over head and was hung with several golden chandeliers. A pristine ruby carpet proceeded them to the main desk. The mahogany bureau stretched the width of the room and housed several well-dressed employees. Jace and Creidi walked up to a man who was shuffling papers.

"Excuse me?" Creidi asked timidly, hoping her wasn’t disturbing him. The man looked up from his work. He had a kind young face with brown hair and blue eyes.

"How can I help you?" he said gently.

"We’re pokemon trainers and we’re looking for the gym." Jace said bluntly, why Creidi didn’t just ask was beyond her. Creidi made a face, Jace could be so pushy.

"This is your first time in a level five league isn’t it?" The man asked with mild amusement.

"Yes, sir." The girls answered.

"To answer your question: the location of the gym is a complete mystery."

"But how…?" Creidi began before the man raised his hand to stop her.

"In Level 5 leagues, you must be invited to the gym. The first step in which is to register as being in the city." Their already low spirits sank.

"Were do we do that?" Jace asked.

"Well, it can be done at a pokemon center, police station, or any hotel." The man said in a happy voice.

"Can you register us?" Creidi asked hopefully.

"Just let me see your pokedexes." He replied with an out stretched hand. The two girls complied by handing over the dexes. The man turned to his computer and slipped the dexes in one at a time like floppy disks. After each he typed in a series of keystrokes.

"Are you two traveling together?" he asked. The girls replied to the affirmative and he hit some more keys.

"All registered." He said with a smile as he handed their dexes back.

"Great! Now what?" Jace questioned.

"Well, you need to impress one of the gym leaders assistants."

"How do we do that?" Jace asked, her voice rising in excitement.

"The assistants are under cover, so you never know when one is a round. They are usually impressed by show of great skill, kindness, or bravery. You can also get in by recommendation from other leaders. How you got into a gym and how you do go into a permanent log, that can be accessed by any gym leader at any time. If you are caught doing anything that the league would frown on, it also goes into the log. And don’t worry about one of you not getting an invitation, traveling companions are always invited together."

"How long does it take to get invited?" Jace inquired, the excitement in her voice had faded.

"That depends on you. Oh, and here are your room keys." He handed them each a hotel card key with A0125 on the back.

"We can’t afford to stay in a place like this." Creidi said sheepishly as she handed back the key. Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. Jace really didn’t want to camp out, but she followed Creidi’s lead.

"Don’t worry. Trainers stay free. The league reimburses us." He said as he reached be under the desk and came back up with a handful of pamphlets, which he handed to Creidi. "Now the hotel is divided into four sections (A, B, C, and D), each with 25 floors. The letter is the section, the first two numbers is the floor for that section, and the last two numbers is your room number. Those pamphlets are for all the pokemon related things to do in the city. Can I help you with any thing else?"

"No, I think we’re good." Jace replied. She was thrilled to know that they wouldn’t have to camp out very often.

"Thank you." Creidi said with a smile. The girls found their way to the elevator and took it up to the very top floor. They followed the soft red carpet to the room with the number 25 on the door. Jace swiped her card and opened to door.

The room was plush, to say the least. The chamber was split into two sections. The one that the door opened into was a living room like setup. There was a couch, coffee table, and big screen TV/ VCR/ DVD player towards the back of the room. A small kitchen was off to their right. A little out from the kitchen was a small dinning table with four chairs. On the back wall was a sliding glass door that led to a balcony. The second section was the bedroom/ bathroom. It had two queen size beds, two dressers, and a smaller TV. On the right side of the room was a small bathroom. The whole place was done in white and blues.

"I could get used to this." Jace said setting her pack down and falling into a cushy chair.

"Me too." Creidi agreed flopping down on the couch and going through the pamphlets. "This city has everything. Adoption center, training facilities, parks, racetrack, everything. What do you want to do first?" Creidi asked she mentality crossed her fingers and hoped for Jace to say the racetrack, she loved horses.

"How about eat." Jace suggested to the tune of her stomach growling.

An hour later, and after eating, the girls found themselves outside one of the parks that had been in one of pamphlets. It looked just like any other city park you would expect to see. Grass, trees, fountains, food stands, people, and pokemon. Several people were playing with their pokemon, others were exercising them, and still others were battling.

"Hey! Are you two pokemon trainers?" a blond boy of 10 asked.

"Only the best." Jace replied coolly. Creidi rolled her eyes.

"Then I challenge you both to a battle! All of your pokemon against all of mine!"

"Ok kid," Creidi said looking skeptical, "But I think your biting off more then you can chew." The two girls followed their challenger to a clearing. Other trainers began to gather around as the battlers prepared.

"I’ll start," Creidi announced, "Go Arcanine!"

"Then I’ll use my strongest pokemon," The boy said coolly, "Go! Metapod!"

"Metapod!?!?!" The trainers all said at once.

"It’s amazing isn’t it? I probably have one of the few Metapods in the world." The boy crowed.

"You don’t know much about pokemon, do you?" Jace asked, a bit of ‘dear god help me not to kill him’ in her voice.

"I refuse to be part of this slaughter. Arcanine return." Creidi added.

"So I win by forfeit. Good thing too, my metapod would definitely have trounced your stupid puppy." The boy snorted.

"If it makes you happy to think of it like that." Jace called back snootily as her a Creidi headed off.

Sense the girls and their pokemon had been on a train for the past week, they all took the opportunity to stretch their legs and/ or wings. They were only challenged to a few other battles during the time they spent at the park.

The next stop was the mall. The five-story shopping center had everything anyone could want. There was even a food court with over 200 restaurants in it, though only one restroom. At 15 years of age the two friends could do two things well, pokemon and shop. They spent the rest of the day in the mall, coming out with mostly pokemon-related items; including a piece of charcoal each for Arcanine and Quilava.

It was dark by the time the girls got back to their hotel room. They had just popped some corn, released their pokemon, and were settling in to watch a movie (Boondock Saints) when there was a knock at their door.

"I got it." Creidi said getting up. After wading through all 10 pokemon, she opened the door to a butler looking man holding a silver platter on his right hand. He gave a deep bow and presented said platter to her. On it was an old fashion letter sealed with wax. After Creidi had taken the letter, the butler turned and left without a word. Creidi, still a little confused, closed the door behind him.

"Who was that?" Jace asked as Creidi took her place next to her on the couch.

"Haven’t got a clue." Creidi answered holding up the letter, "But he gave me this."

"So, open it." Jace said taking a hand full of popcorn. Creidi shrugged and carefully pulled the wax away from the paper and unfolded the letter. In hand written blue ink script was the following:

Creidi read the letter aloud for all to hear. Jace had stopped in the middle of her hand full of popcorn with her mouth still hanging open.

"Well," Jace said after a long pause, "That didn’t take long. Of course we are the best, so it’s no surprise."

"Ever heard the phrase ‘Pride comes before the fall’." Creidi cooed. She knew all too well that she couldn’t bring Jace down off her high horse, but it was great fun to tease her.

"Nope." Jace replied simply. She wasn’t going to give Creidi the satisfation. Creidi shook her head and smiled.

"These must be the map chips." Creidi said pulling two computer chips looking squares off the bottom of the letter. "I wonder how they work?" Jace took one of the chips and pulled out her dex. After several minutes of fiddling she found a small slot along the base of the dex and slipped the chip inside. At first nothing happened, then the small screen lit up. On it was a map of the city and surrounding area. On the top of a mountain in the northern most part was a small blue blinking light.

"What is that place?" Creidi asked over Jace’s shoulder. Jace typed a few keys on the keypad in response. She paused, Creidi was at it again.

"Look it up in one of your books." Jace retorted. She wasn’t going to get taken twice in one day, especially by the same bit.

"Fine" Creidi said and pulled out her Jewel League book, "Says its called Frost Mountain. The whole thing is supposed to be made of ice. It’s 2,000 ft to the summit. That’s about it."

"And the gym is at the top?" Jace asked in a ‘please god no’ voice.

"Looks that way." Creidi confirmed, she wasn’t looking any more forward to climbing a giant ice cube then Jace.

"Guess, we need to get an early start." Jace said calmly, even if the thought of getting up early didn’t appeal to her.

**********************************************************

The next morning started with the insistent buzzing of Jace’s alarm clock, followed closely by the crash of it being thrown in to the wall. The girls got ready for the day in sleepy silence. After feeding their pokemon and themselves they headed out. When they got to the street, they found the usual hustle and bustle had yet to start. The maps lead them through the city, into the surrounding woods and to the base of Mt. Frost. The closer they got to the mountain the colder it got. The trees and grass slowly gave way to snow and ice surrounding the small mountain range. The girls wished they had brought something warmer to wear.

"Any ideas on how to get up?" Jace asked. The sleek glass like surface of the mountain loomed over them.

"It’s made almost totally made of ice…" Creidi mused, ("That’s stating the obvious." Jace chimed in.) Creidi ignored her, "making it too cold for most of your flyers. Articolt isn’t sure footed enough to climb a mountain. We sent the Smiladons to live with our Prof. Elm until they were older and my Flaffy to keep and eye on them. I think Arcanine would be our best bet."

"Sounds good, but let’s have the others on stand by. We don’t know what we will encounter on the way." Jace added. Creidi nodded as she released her firedog. Arcanine lay down and allowed them to climb on before charging up the mountain. The going was pretty easy, at the start; but the higher they got, the steeper the slope became. Soon Arcanine’s brut strength wasn’t enough.

"Arcanine, you’ve done enough, return." Creidi sighed. The two girls were on a large ledge. Above them was the virtually vertical second half of the mountain. "Now what?"

"I don’t know," Jace snapped, "but if we don’t think of something soon, we’ll freeze." The girls began to pace as they mulled over their problem.

"I got nothing." Creidi confessed after what seemed like an eternity.

"But I might have." Jace said thoughtfully, "Do you remember how I got through the obstacle course back at camp?"

"Yeah you used natu’s psychic powers. But Xatu would freeze out here."

"I know, but Espeon wouldn’t." Jace smiled. Creidi matched it.

"Espeon, go." The delicate dawn-tinted pokemon flashed into existence. "We need to get to the top of this mountain." Espeon raised her opal eyes up to the summit, then nodded. The small ruby colored jewel on her forehead began to glow. An orb of violet light formed around the three of them and they began to rise up the side of the peak.

"This is so cool!" Creidi exclaimed as they rose through the air.

"Isn’t it." Jace agreed.

Before the girls would have liked it to, the ride was over and they were at the top. The crest of the mountain had been flattened out and made into an arena. Espeon set them down in the challengers box before being recalled. Across the arena was the gym leader. She was a girl of about 16 with azure hair and eyes. She was dressed warmly in a black and cobalt. In her hand were two blue pokeballs.

"I am Crystal of the Sapphire City Gym. You will fight as a team. I will use two pokemon. You may use up to but no more then four pokemon. I choose Jynx and Jynx. You choose wisely." The two humanoid ice types appeared before her.

"Me thinks she’s been on this mountain too long." Jace said from the side of her mouth. Creidi nodded.

"I choose Arcanine and Houndoom!" Creidi called.

"Quilava and Umbreon, Go!" The four pokemon charged out to the defense.

"Jynx and Jynx, Blizzard!"

"Fire Fountain!" Both girls called out. The twin Jynx brewed up the icy storm. The three fire pokemon created the dome of fire that shielded them and umbreon from the attack.

"Houndoom! Hades’ Crush!" Creidi ordered. Houndoom released his Fire Fountain and did what looked like a faint attack, except when he reappeared he Crunched onto one of the Jynx throat and fired a Flamethrower. Houndoom was quick to retune to the safety of the fountain. The Jynx was badly hurt but wasn’t out of the fight.

"Psychic!"

"Umbreon, Shadow Cloak!" Umbreon’s rings glowed blue and a thin veil like orb formed around the four pokemon and rendered the attack ineffective.

"Now Quilava, Volcanic Blast!" With out leaving the safety of the cloak or fountain, the fire rodent shot out the familiar mushroom blast. The blaze struck the second Jynx full on. Despite the visible damage the Jynx remained standing.

"Umbreon! Quilava!"

"Arcanine! Houndoom!"

"Dark Inferno!" Both girls yelled together. They had perfected this move just before the end of camp and had been looking for a chance to use it. The fire and dark types released their defense and shot out a blast of black flame that engulfed both ice type humanoids, effectively ending the match. Crystal simply raised her hand and recalled her pokemon.

"I commend you. You are among the few trainers who can work well as a team. I am proud to give you each a Glacier Badge. You should be warned, however, the gyms here are not all this easy. I offer you a ride down." She gestured towards a small building off to the side of the arena.

The girls recalled their pokemon and followed her inside. There they found a healing machine and a gondola.

"I will let you use my machine. You can not tell the location of this gym."

"Oh we won’t." Creidi said turning away from the machine, "Thank you very… much? She’s gone!" Indeed Crystal had vanished without a sound.

"What about the badges she said we earned!?" Jace snapped in confusion and anger. No one was going to cheat her out of a badge.

"Here they are." Creidi said, she had turned back to the machine to find two badges sitting among their pokeballs.

"That girl is strange." Jace snorted as they climbed into the gondola and started down the mountain. As they glided down Mt. Frost the girls examined their first badges. It was a sapphire cut into the shape of an ice crystal.

"Wow!" Jace breathed, "They don’t scrimp when it comes to the badges do they?" The gondola gave a jolt and the two disembarked. Almost instantly the gondola was retracted up the mountain and out of site.

"What do you want to do with the rest of the day?" Creidi asked.

"Let’s grab some lunch and our stuff and head for the next town."

"Sounds good to me. What is the next town any way?" Jace whipped out her pokedex and began typing away.

"Emerald City. Not quite the size of Sapphire and a good 20-mile walk. Fortunately, we can fly, so it shouldn’t take us too long." She said with a smile, but it faded when she saw Creidi’s face.

"Got ya again!" She yipped and danced out of reach as Jace swung at her.