Chapter Eight: Blizzard The legendary Zapdos growled menacingly as it heard voices in it's tunnel. Those puny bugs were on their way towards it again. Probably after it's treasure. The glowing yellow rock made Zapdos feel much stronger then usual. Cubone marched into the room fearlessly, followed by Marowak and Sandslash. Zapdos screeched and flew at them, striking with Thundershock! Absolutely no effect, of course. Sandslash summoned it's power, and a pile of scrap rock and metal rose into the air! It hovered and then shot straight at the Thunder bird. Zapdos flew straight at Sandslash, and Cubone and Marowak threw Bonemerangs when it got close. "Okay, go!" Uiru shouted. Erin, Eric and Thomas ran around the far side, away from Zapdos. "Onix, go!" Leah shouted. Onix emerged from it's Poké Ball and lunged at Zapdos. Sandslash threw another ton of scrap at the bird. However, it noticed Eric grabbing it's treasure! It squawked in rage and flew at him! Onix literally jumped on the charging Zapdos, and while it was down Cubone and Marowak pounded it with Bone Club attacks. Zapdos quickly recovered, however, and slapped the two away with Wing Attack. "Okay, we got the rock!" Eric declared. "We'll meet you outside!" Erin added. They ran down the tunnel. Zapdos finally sighted the three trainers responsible for distracting it. It flew up above Onix's range and dove at them, preparing a Thunder attack! "Shit! RUN!" Uiru shouted. Standing at the entrance, Heidi knew they'd be fried in seconds. "Jigglypuff, go!" she shouted. "Light Screen!" Jigglypuff bounced in front of the three and summoned it's power. As Zapdos hurled a giant Thunder bolt at Jigglypuff, it threw up it's strongest wall yet. While Zapdos fought Jigglypuff, the others rallied to it's aid. Onix struck with Rock Throw while Sandslash used Rock Slide, and Cubone and Marowak threw their Bonemerangs into the mix. Zapdos fell to the floor, weakened. "Okay, let's go!" Heidi shouted. Leah, Uiru and Jessica recalled their Pokémon, and they tore out of the tunnel. Outside, however... Lauren pointed a gun straight in Eric's face. "Give us the rock," she demanded. "Oh, come on!" Eric complained. "We had to battle Zapdos to get this thing." "And we had to fight Moltres for the Ground Power Stone," Lauren retorted. "Now give us the rock or else." "Might as well give it to her," Thomas stated. Eric held up the stone. "Take it, Doug," Lauren declared. A short little man a bit older then Lauren took the stone from Eric. "Now, back on the chopper!" As Lauren and Doug moved towards their helicopter, a loud crashing was heard. As all trainers present looked around, a line of Magneton headed by a Magnemite flew in front of the helicopter! "Dammit!" Lauren cursed. "What do they think they're doing?" "Out of our way!" Doug shouted at the wall of Electric Pokémon. The Magneton had no such plans. Glaring at the two theives, they combined their Thundershocks and blasted them! "Now!" Eric shouted. "Mr. Mime, Abra, go!" "Nidorino, Nidorina, attack!" Erin shouted. "Rhyhorn, Haunter, I choose you!" Thomas shouted. "Get that rock!" Eric ordered. By this time, Lauren had recovered. She fired a few shots at the wall of Magneton, causing them to scatter. "Kadabra, Charmeleon!" "Onix, Haunter, go!" Doug summoned two of his Pokémon to battle. Onix lunged at Nidorino and Nidorina. Leaping clear, they retaliated with a double Double Kick! Thomas's Haunter and Doug's Haunter started scrapping it out, Night Shading constantly in an effort to prove superiority. Kadabra fired waves of Psychic energy at Nidorino and Nidorina. They weathered the attack surprisingly well and charged with Horn Attack and Fury Attack. Abra tried to use it's Teleport routine to confuse Charmeleon, but it had it's heart set on Slashing Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime brought up a Barrier to protect itself and used Confusion on Charmeleon, then Doubleslapped it while it was still woozy. "Electrode, go!" Lauren sent her Electrode into the middle of the party. "Explosion!" Friend and foe Pokémon alike were blown away by the gigantic blast. "Get in the chopper!" she shouted. "Electrode, Charmeleon, Kadabra, return!" Doug jumped on, still holding the Electric Power Stone. "Onix, Haunter, return!" It's a good thing Doug's Poké Ball knew which Haunter was which, because they both looked identical. "DAMN!" Eric shouted. The door opened. "What happened?" Uiru asked. "We heard a big bang." "Where's the stone?" Jessica asked. "Lauren took it," Eric admitted. "We'll tell you on the way back." Nick and the others weren't having much luck either. Although they had quickly found the Ice Power Stone, they had also disturbed the Stone's owner, the legendary Articuno. And unlike the Power Plant, the spacious Seafoam caves allowed Articuno to chase them just about anywhere. "We gotta try to fight it!" Allison shouted as they ran. "With what?" Nick asked. "I left my nukes at home!" "You got nukes?" Pittman asked. Matt reached over and slapped him in the back of the head. "Electric and Fire Pokémon should work," Geoff declared. "I'll use my Arcanine!" "I've got Arcanine and Magneton!" Allison added. "That's it!" Robert announced. "Everything else we have is weak against Ice!" "Okay! While you guys fight, we'll go back and get the Stone!" Nick declared. "Good luck!" Nick, Robert, Pittman, Matt and Patrick ducked out of sight, and then when Articuno wasn't looking, ran past it. "Arcanine, Magneton!" Allison shouted. "Arcanine!" Geoff declared. Spinning like a top, Magneton flew up at Articuno and unleashed a Thunderbolt straight in it's face. Squawking with indignation, Articuno blasted it with a Wing Attack, then shot an Ice Beam after it that Magneton barely dodged. Geoff's Arcanine opened up with Fire Spin while Allison's used Fire Blast. Magneton shocked Articuno with Thunder Wave, which slowed down the beast considerably. However, Articuno began beating it's wings! Crystal chunks of ice rained down on the Pokémon and their trainers. "OW! What's it doing?" Allison asked. "Looks like Blizzard, Articuno's ultimate attack!" Geoff declared. Although the attack technically didn't damage the Arcanines very much, the sharp shards still cut them up. "We should recall them!" Geoff shouted. "Wait! What's Magneton doing?" Allison asked. Magneton flew in front of the two Arcanines and unleashed a powerful thunder wall! It used it's Electric power to form a barrier that caused the icy chunks to turn into harmless snow upon contact. The Arcanine pair unleashed dual Fire Blast attacks which went right through Magneton's shield and melted most of the ice, then blasted Articuno! Nick ran up to them, holding the basketball-sized Ice Power Stone. "Okay, we got it!" he shouted. Both Arcanines launched Fire Spin moves that would slow Articuno down for a moment, allowing them to escape. "Where's the exit?" Patrick asked. "Up ahead!" Geoff replied. "I think..." "Yeah, there it is!" Nick pointed. In a few moments, the trainers were safely aboard their helicopter with the Ice Power Stone. Rising high, Nick piloted them back to the Lavender Pokémon Center. A few hours after Uiru and pals arrived, Nick and the others made it back. "How'd it go?" Jessica asked. Nick held up the Ice Power Stone. "Check it out!" he declared. "Cool!" Heidi looked at it. "It's so cold!" she exclaimed when she put her hands on it. "We didn't notice until we got back in the chopper," Matt stated. "It was freezing in there anyway, and we had to deal with Articuno!" "You too?" Uiru asked. "We fought Zapdos." "So...?" Pittman asked. "Where is it?" "Where's the Electric Power Stone?" Allison asked. "Was it there?" Robert asked. "It was," Eric admitted, "but Lauren took it." The Seafoam adventurers cursed. "She mentioned they had the Ground Power Stone as well," Uiru stated. "They battled Moltres for it." Pittman nodded. "That means they've been to Victory Road," he said. "Where's that?" Jessica asked. "It's the final training ground for budding Pokémon masters," Pittman explained. "After collecting the eight Badges from the eight Gym Leaders, you go to Victory Road. If you can get through it, you go on to battle the Elite Four. Defeat them, and you become a Pokémon Master of the Pokémon League!" "Is it like that where you guys are from?" Leah asked. "Sort of," Uiru answered. "Except you don't NEED to collect Badges. The more you have, though, the better your chances of getting into the PLM's Arena challenge. Three times a year, the PLM holds a tournament on an island. Trainers are tested first in their knowledge of Pokémon, then their ability to battle. After that, though, the trainers pool all their Pokémon together and pull out six, and THEN they battle. Of the three or four hundred applicants, twenty five are chosen as the finalists, then they have one more sudden death tournament with their own Pokémon. The winner of that tourney becomes a Champion Pokémon Trainer." "I didn't know that," Jessica stated. "When's the next tournament? I want to give it a shot." "We just missed it," Uiru replied. "I think the boat left about a week ago." "You two KNOW that if you made it, you'd both battle for the crown right?" Nick asked. Jessica paused. "Hm. I never thought of that..." "As if we'd even make it to the island," Uiru stated. "I've seen some of those battles on TV. Those trainers have dozens of Pokémon, and they change their teams every time so their opponents never have any idea what's coming. They're all incredibly powerful- one Electrode that used Explosion left a crater 20 feet across. Their Onix are so strong their skin has turned black. Gravelers are the size of small trucks. Dragonites 10 feet tall! A few years ago, they had to set up a ring of Mr. Mimes to use Light Screen to protect the audience! A Charizard's Flamethrower actually lit a boulder on fire! A Dugtrio's Earthquake caused giant cracks to appear throughout the arena, and because of it Earthquake was banned from all but the final matches! You aren't allowed to use Fissure at all! A Jynx's Blizzard caused the ground to be completely frozen! They only have matches 3 times a year because they're constantly replacing the dirt on the arena floor!" "Sounds like fun!" Jessica declared. "I say we try it when we get back!" Geoff declared. "We probably won't get very far, but at least we'll get in some training!" Matt announced. Uiru fell down animé style. "Nobody listens to a word I say, do they?" he muttered to himself. "Nope," Eric replied. "Excuse me," the nurse inturrupted. "Are you Fire Strike?" "Yes," Uiru answered, getting up. "I just got a call from the Pokémon League," she informed them. "They want to hear your case regarding the Sunder Force." "Amazing, they managed to do something right for once," Leah declared. "We might be getting somewhere with this!" Robert added. "They want you to fly over there right now," the nurse replied. "They said to land on the No. 3 Helipad." "How do they know we have a helicopter?" Nick asked. "Maybe Booster told them," Allison suggested. "Or maybe the six of us are really Pokémon League spies, sent to gather data on your movements and activities," Eric stated darkly. "Eric!" Heidi kicked him. "That's mean. We aren't spies." "It would be an interesting plot twist though," Nick said to himself. "Thanks for telling us," Uiru said to the nurse. "Well, shall we go?" The Pokémon League HQ was built on the plateau of a large mountain. Helipad 3 wasn't hard to locate as it had a giant '3' on it. Upon landing, the fourteen trainers were instantly met by a suit with dark glasses. "Are you Fire Strike of the Pokémon Liberation Movement?" he asked. Uiru nodded. "Come with me. The League supervisor is waiting." The man led them through a complex maze of corridors and staircases. "This is what I mean," Leah hissed to Matt in the very back. "Their building is as crooked as they are." "Shh!" Matt hissed. After a few minutes, the group finally reached the chambers of the current Pokémon League champion. "Please step inside," the man stated simply. Uiru and the others thanked the man and entered. Inside sat the biggest bimbo of a secretary they had ever seen. "Um, hello," Uiru greeted. "We're here to see the supervisor." "Oh, you must be Fire Strike," the obviously blonde girl exclaimed. "Mr. Oak is right in here. He's been expecting you." Uiru could see that Leah was making a concentrated effort not to look completely disgusted. Uiru thanked the girl and they entered Oak's office. Oak looked up from whatever he was doing. Surprisingly, he was their age. "Oh, hello," he hailed. He got up and came around his desk. "My name's Oak, Gary Oak. You must be Uiru." He shook Uiru's hand. "Yes, I'm Uiru," Uiru replied. "Pleasure to meet you, sir." "Hello everybody," Oak said to the rest. "I'm sorry there aren't enough chairs, it's not every day we get a group of internationally famous trainers in here." "Internationally famous?" Allison asked. "Yes!" Oak exclaimed. "A surprising number of people know about Fire Strike, and Booster of the PLM had nothing but praise for you guys." "Excuse me," Jessica inturrupted politely, "but how is it that you came in charge of an entire country?" Oak smiled at her. *She's a cutie*, he thought. "Quite simple, um..." "Jessica," Jessica answered. "All right. Quite simple, Jessica. It was pretty much luck, and my own incredible skill. Most trainers who defeat the Elite Four are older and more experienced. However, I was lucky to catch an incredible team of Pokémon, and with them I hammered through the Pokémon League's best." He pulled a Poké Ball out of a drawer. "Me and Flareon have been together for years. It's one of my best!" He put it back. "Since I'm still just a teenager, the Elite Four act as my advisors." "How long do you stay in office?" Matt asked. "Whenever I get beaten. However, it hasn't happened yet and I don't think it will for a long time! However, every year I have to defend my title at the League championships." Oak sat down behind his desk again. "Anyway, to business. The PLM has informed me that the Sunder Force has taken over many of the towns in the southern region." "That's correct," Eric confirmed. Beside him, Leah was doing her very best to not yell at him. "We'd like your permission to throw them out of your cities," Uiru requested. Oak nodded. "I've heard Fire Strike has quite the reputation when it comes to liberating towns," he declared. "I believe most of the western continent owes their freedom to you." "Well, I wouldn't say that," Uiru replied. "We are just a unit of the PLM." "And I've heard that many of the giant Pokémon seen in the area were defeated by you," Oak continued. "That's quite a feat." Oak pulled out some business cards. "Just flash these and anyone who asks will know you're under the authorization of the Pokémon League." Uiru took the cards, and distributed them to his friends. "And that's about it! Is there anything else you'd like to ask me?" he asked. "No, that's about it," Uiru declared. "Thank you very much." "Thank you," Oak replied. "Good luck!" Uiru and the others left. Oak put his feet up on his desk. *This job is pathetic!* he thought. He paged his secretary. "Linda, get me Sabrina on the phone." "Right away sir," she replied. *I can see the headlines now... Pokémon League saves world from Sunder Force. The people will love me! Those guys will clean out my domain, and in the peacetime that follows...* Oak leaned back and laughed.