I srsly have no idea what to name this im sorry

on a side note, i nearly forgot today is 15/11! i wanted to include someone saying something like 'young, wild and free' but couldnt :(

and im back to normal lectures and club activities btw so updates wont be as fast (what was i thinking)

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“Did you know how worried we were?” Yongguk explodes the moment Daehyun steps in front of them. Monferno cowers behind Daehyun’s legs. “In a forest such as this with that Trevenant and Arceus-knows-what roaming around, the best idea is to be separated? Huh?” He looks threatening even when he is completely soaked by the rain.

“Oh stop it,” Dream says. “What matters is that we found him. All safe and sound.”

Yongguk opens his mouth to speak again, and Daehyun braces himself for more scolding, but Baekhyun holds up a hand. Daehyun catches just the tiniest hint of irritation from Dream’s end.

“Okay, okay. This is a great family reunion—a great cause for celebration—but we have to get out of here,” Baekhyun says.

“The layout of the forest changes all the time,” Dream says, “but Musharna has been leaving dream mist behind us. If we come across purple mist, means we’ve gone the wrong way.”

Baekhyun nods.

“Wait. Hold on a minute. Where the hell is Jongup?” Yongguk turns back to Daehyun with a glare. Meekly, Daehyun can only hang his head and jab a thumb at the building behind him.

“What the —” Yongguk looks like he wants to murder someone.

“I’ll go in to check,” Junhong says, raising his hand like a schoolchild.

“Hell no, none of us are going in,” Himchan declares. “I’m sure Jonguppie can handle his own.”

There’s no denying that Jongup is strong, but whatever’s in there, it has successfully incapacitated two Leaders and nearly done in one. A haunted house is one thing, but the threat of death hanging over their heads if they decide to barge in is another.

Not like they can hang out outside here either. The Boss Trevenant is wandering around, probably looking for its next meal of souls. Which, Daehyun hopes, is not going to be them. Still, he is partly worried for Jongup.

Arceus, he’s worried for the kid. What is this world coming to? Hell, Jongup is probably ten times stronger than Daehyun.

As expected from a haunted house, there comes a scream that has Daehyun turning back, shock painted on his face, as well as everyone else’s behind him.

Unexpected from a haunted house, there comes a giant beam of electricity fired out from the windows.

*

Fire burns all around him. The fiery monsters at the walls, gobbling down the structure without a care in the world. It’s hot. So, so hot. He can’t find them. Where are they? Where are his parents?

Oh Arceus, not this again…

“Mum! Dad!”

Running along the floor that burn hot like cinders, he narrowly misses death by an inch as the roof collapses above where he just stood. Helioptile is by his feet, scampering along with him. Riolu on his other side.

“Mum! Dad!” He calls out, panicked, once more. Down the corridor. Kick open the door. Nothing. Move on. He repeats the process for the next few doors when he sees it. Someone standing there in the corridor, back turned to face him, wearing a cloak with two trapeziums.

On his hands is an unmistakable crimson liquid, dripping from his fingertips to the burning floor. Before the boy can say anything, the man takes off, continuing down the corridor.

“S-Stop! Wait! Shock Wave!”

Helioptile lets loose a burst of electricity, zapping everything in sight, taking down the already-weak structure of the building. Rubble falls from the ceiling, completely blocking the path of the boy. Riolu is quick to step in front of him and hold its arms out, shaking its head.

“Mum and Dad are in there! Let me pass!” Riolu grabs the boy and smacks him in the stomach, throwing the boy back. Above them, a chunk of concrete falls.

*

The Hypno recoils, stepping back as Jongup tears himself from Hypno’s grasp. In one swift move, he throws a Pokeball down and releases Helioptile. The Pokemon’s body glows yellow and releases a beam of electricity towards Hypno. At the same time, Jongup returns a sleeping Lucario into its Pokeball.

Jongup hisses. The smell of rotting flesh is getting to him. He quickly sidesteps a little girl’s corpse and the Hypno, enraged, brings out its pendulum again.

Jongup’s fallen for it once. He’s not going to fall for it twice. Showing him his nightmare won’t weaken him. It would strengthen instead.

Araquanid bursts from the ball and immediately attacks with a Bubblebeam, a stream of bubbles hitting the Hypno full-on. The Hypno goes for a Psychic attack, sending waves of purple at Jongup. Araquanid dodges the attack and goes in for the kill, launching its own Bug Bite attack, dealing massive damage to the Hypno despite the difference in level.

Hypno swings its pendulum and the corpses of the children begin to levitate. It’s a gruesome sight, really, when the rotting bodies of the young kids are floating like lifeless dolls. Upon Hypno’s command, the bodies are at Jongup. Helioptile, without missing a beat, launches a Parabolic Charge, electrocuting the bodies and they drop one by one onto the ground, in various degrees of burned. Jongup feels a little sorry for the families of the children. He’d salvage as many kids as possible.

Araquanid uses another Bubblebeam attack, a jet of bubbles slamming into the Hypno and pushing it back, the Hypno losing its footing and tumbling out a window behind the principal’s desk. The glass shatters, shards flying out of the building.

Lightning flashes once more, as the Hypno’s yellow form disappears into the night.

Jongup’s chest heaves as he stands over the window. He feels his knees go weak and he crashes to the ground, arms shaking to keep his entire body from collapsing.

He never thought he’d have that nightmare again. A shadow looms over him. Jongup raises his head to find a black Pokemon looking down on him, almost mockingly. Jongup reaches for his Pokedex, fingers trembling as he flips it open, revealing an image of the Pokemon.

It’s at that moment that he loses all strength, smacking his chin hard against the wooden floor. Blood fills his mouth—he must have bitten his tongue—as the world goes black.

*

“He’ll be fine. Just exhausted.”

Dream is administering some of Musharna’s dream mist, the purple wisps swirling around Jongup’s head as the latter’s head rests on Yongguk’s lap. Himchan has been worried sick, wondering if Jongup needs paracetamol, whether he needs ultracarbon, needs cough syrup, etcetera, to which Dream told him to leave it up to her.

She releases her Sylveon and the Pokemon shines with a bright light as it uses Wish. Whatever wounds Jongup has sustained heal up almost immediately.

The rain is beginning to let up, the clouds getting whiter and now it is nothing more than a drizzle. The Hypno is lying on the ground, tied up with Ariados’s spider silk. The type that’s so strong no one can break out of it. Not even Escavalier’s arms.

“Where’s Daehyun?” Junhong asks as he approaches the group, Clefairy and Croconaw behind him.

“Finding a friend, according to him,” Himchan says. “Youngjae went in too.”

Junhong nods.

It is at this moment that the sun shines its rays, the light filtering thorugh the leaves. The fog starts to fade and thin. The way out is just ahead, past a few trees.

Dream has contacted Baekhyun and he said that Kyungsoo is currently in intensive care. The League has been alerted of the situation, so they’ll be making their way down to the forest to take care of the remains of the children and maybe tear down that school for good, as well as getting that Hypno under control.

When Dream puts the phone down, the doors open and Daehyun and Youngjae step through.

“So, you found your friend?” Himchan is the first to greet them.

Daehyun nods, beaming. “She was glad that the Hypno’s gone.”

“Wait, she’s not a human, is she?” Junhong asks, sounding confused. Confused but not fearful. “Is she a ghost?”

“Yeah, kind of,” Daehyun nods. “She wants to stay inside, so…” his voice trails off as his eyes fall on Jongup’s sleeping form on Yongguk’s lap.

“Is he okay?”

“Just tired,” Dream says, and Araquanid, out of its ball, picks Jongup up, wrapping its Trainer into a cocoon of sorts as Jongup sleeps peacefully.

“I’ll stay a while longer,” Dream says. “Wait for the authorities. You can go on first. Quakemore’s just up ahead.”

Thanking her profusely, the party of six begin to make their way out of Howlbreak Forest towards Quakemore Town.

*

Quakemore Town is quiet, just like the forest it resides beside. The people are friendly, offering Daehyun and company bed and breakfast at their best (and only) inn, the Slugma Shack. It gives off a cosy feeling, like a small cottage on a mountain. The innkeeper is welcoming, asking about their day, and whether they heard of the happenings and investigation in Howlbreak Forest.

“There’s still some light out. If you’d like, you can explore Quartz Cave, just down the road. We go there to harvest Shards and stones sometimes,” the innkeeper says. She informs them that dinner is included in their fee, though they should return back before sundown.

“Or the big monster will come get you,” she says.

Jongup is awake when they check into their rooms, insisting he’s fine even though Himchan tries to force him to bed and to “not wake up until next morning”. Himchan begrudgingly lets him come along when Helioptile won’t stop nipping at his ankles and branded socks. It is around midday when they wave goodbye to the innkeeper and head down to the Quartz Cave, past a narrow dirt road.

The entrance to Quartz Cave is nothing interesting—just a bare rock face and a tunnel leading through the rock face. Inside, there appear to be glimmering stones decorating the walls, embedded in the rock. When they take a step into the cave, they are greeted with sparkling beauties on the walls.

It’s beautiful. Really. Almost like Souldrop Mines or the Ruins of Abundance in Faultmount Desert. As they continue on, it gets colder and colder, almost as if they’re entering a glacier. There is a running stream, the probably-freezing water rushing along the banks. A bridge formed from ice takes them across the stream. Bergmite are playing by the banks. Delibird are gathered in flocks at a corner of the cave. Zubat hang from the cave ceiling, wings folded and sleeping.

“Brr…it’s like winter came early,” Himchan shivers, hugging himself, clutching at his bright orange coat. They can feel wind blowing at them, sending chills down their skin. Wind travels from a higher pressure region to a lower pressure region, so that must mean that there is an exit up ahead.

“Whoa,” Daehyun and Youngjae hurry up ahead, towards the cavern exit. While the temperature does not seem to get higher, the sun’s rays make it warmer. The group steps out of the cavern into a field of grass and trees, almost like a forest, but not quite. They’re at the bottom of a giant chasm. The leaves on the trees are covered in snow, much like the grass blanketing the field. A cold wind blows and Daehyun hangs onto his coat a little tighter. Monferno is clearly feeling the shivers, the Pokemon trembling as it hugs its fire tail to itself.

Youngjae’s Misdreavus doesn’t seem to mind the cold. Perhaps it’s because it is a spirit. Lucario, Croconaw, Ariados and Brionne appear to be trudging alongside their Trainers without a care, or, in Croconaw’s case, embracing the draft even.

“Arceus, it’s cold,” Daehyun says, cheeks looking a little rosy. Indeed, the temperature does seem to have dropped by five degrees.

A rock wall covered in what looks to be quartz looms ominously a little off into the distance. Upon closer inspection, there appears to be the entrance of a tunnel carved into the rock face. The white of snow paints the floor of the cave. It feels to be much colder here. It’s as if the origin of the cold is inside.

“L-Let’s g-g-go ch-check it o-out!” Youngjae is practically shivering to the core, teeth chattering so badly that he can barely make a sentence out.

“You’re going to freeze to death,” Junhong says, removing his coat, such that he’s wearing only a grey sweater. He throws it over Youngjae’s shoulders, the latter drowning in the oversized coat. Daehyun doesn’t miss the reddening of Youngjae’s ears (that totally isn’t from the cold) and grins to himself, making a mental note to later.

Himchan demands loudly that Yongguk hands his jacket over, to which Yongguk points out that there’s no way a fifth layer would fit on him. Ignoring their bickering, Daehyun turns to the friend at the back of the group. Jongup is currently preoccupied with his Pokedex, Lucario leaning over his shoulder to take a closer look.

“What’s that?” Daehyun asks, approaching him from the side. Jongup jumps and snaps the Pokedex shut.

“It’s nothing,” Jongup shakes his head, stuffing the Pokedex back into his coat pocket. “Let’s go.”

Needless to say, Daehyun’s intrigued. Jongup walks ahead with the rest of the group. For the first time since they’ve started their journey. Daehyun chuckles to himself, shaking his head and following the group inside.

*

Dream stands where the Hypno once did, before the police get here. While the stench of death hangs in the air, it doesn’t deter Dream from waiting. Waiting as a black entity appears through the black void.

“There you are,” Dream nods. The Pokemon bows.

In one swift move, Dream smacks the Pokemon on the head. The Pokemon gives a cry in pain as it grabs the spot that it was struck.

“Look, I don’t want any of this happening ever again,” Dream says, gesturing towards the boneless bodies of the children scattered around them. In the bright rays of the sun illuminating the room, the sight has become even more ghastly. The Pokemon nods, hanging its head. “The Hypno was a mistake. Please, you’re a Dark-type. Hypno was a Psychic-type. It couldn’t do anything to you even if it wanted to.”

There are sounds from below. The authorities have probably already made their way here.

“Alright, back to the void you go,” Dream says, and the Pokemon doesn’t need telling twice. With a wave of its arm, the black, swirling void appears once more and the Pokemon disappears into the darkness, leaving no trace of it behind.

Dream releases her Dustox, and the Pokemon’s six legs grab the back of her shirt as it lifts her up, batting its wings furiously as it flies through the hole in the window, the canopies of the trees below shielding them from the officers’ views.

Well, one of her jobs is to keep Howlbreak Forest out of trouble.

Another is to keep the Pitch-Black Pokemon, Darkrai, safe.

*

“Well, lookie there.”

Taehyung the head of his Xatu as they look down at the mansion from the tree they’ve made their temporary home. He’d seen it all. The exchange between the girl and the Pokemon, his real target. Now that they have left and the authorities are swarming the place, it’ll be way easier to approach and capture it.

Dream, whose real name is Suzy, is part of the Vigilante Group. Powerful Trainers who aim to take care of the towns and cities. They are not affiliated with the League in any way, but yet may work with the Leaders and Elite Four to keep crime in check and ensure safety of the citizens.

The girl and her Dustox dives down, through the trees, and Taehyung loses sight of her. No matter. As long as she’s out of the way.

Xatu spreads its wings and proceeds to latch onto Taehyung’s shoulders with its claws.

Before Xatu can take off, a loud screeching takes it completely off guard. Xatu loses its focus and nearly falls from the air, if not for Taehyung quickly returning the Pokemon to its Pokeball and he turns to face his assailant. He releases Golbat, the Pokemon lunging forward to strike the attacker with a Wing Attack. The attacker, however, dodges it and swiftly counters with a strong gust of wind.

Golbat is enveloped in a red light and realization dawns on Taehyung when Golbat is thrown back into its Pokeball and Butterfree is dragged out.

And , he’s going to fall.

Taehyung releases Xatu once more and the Pokemon grabs onto his shoulders, avoiding the Bug Buzz attack against from his attacker.

“Psybeam!”

Butterfree emits a violet shockwave from its antenna, which lands on the Pokemon, setting it back a few centimetres.

“Confuse Ray!” Taehyung returns Butterfree to its Pokeball and Xatu fires off a beam of magenta. In a flash of red, it hits its target full-on. His attacker crashes through the leaves, landing hard on the ground. Xatu takes Taehyung down—he’s curious about this attacker, plus the Confuse Ray would render them senseless.

When he reaches the ground, all he can feel is triumph. There, lying on the grimy soil, is Suzy and her Dustox. She must have somehow felt his presence and attacked him. She must have known about him. And now, she’s down thanks to the Confuse Ray. Taehyung does a little victory dance in his head. It’s not every day you can subdue a Vigilante.

Oh well, back to the mission at hand. The Confuse Ray isn’t going to last forever.

Then, out of the blue, Taehyung’s ears are assaulted with a booming noise and Xatu cries out in pain.

Shocked, Taehyung whirls around, only to find Suzy picking herself up and returning the Confused Dustox to its Pokeball. Standing there is her Sylveon, having just released a Hyper Voice attack.

“You,” she jabs a finger at Taehyung. “I’m not going to let you go any further.”

Taehyung spreads his arms open, grinning. This woman’s going to be a little bit of a challenge. And he likes challenges.

“Confuse Ray,” he says.

Without missing a beat, Xatu beams the same magenta stream at Suzy, but it is deflected completely by the Sylveon’s blue barrier. A Protect move, huh? That must be what the red light was about earlier, when he had first struck them with Confuse Ray. Suzy must have released Sylveon and used a Protect move, then pretended to be affected.

All to lure Taehyung to the ground.

She must know about the fact that he specializes in Flying-types, then.

“Hyper Voice,” Suzy commands. Sylveon takes in a breath and proceeds to release the attack.

“Ominous Wind!”

A gale blows from behind Xatu as it spreads its wings. The air is coloured a deep purple as the gale picks up and Suzy and Sylveon visibly flinches from the attack. Xatu glows, and just as Taehyung likes—the Ominous Wind attack has granted Xatu a greater power in all its stats.

“Stored Power!”

There is a sparkle from Xatu’s eyes and an unseen force slams into his opponents like a bullet train. That should keep them out of commission for a while.

“I’m not dumb,” Taehyung says, releasing his Wingull.

Suzy looks up at him with her eyes wide. Wingull beats its wings, sending blades of air into the roots of a nearby tree. Caught by surprise, the Dunsparce hiding there leaps out.

“Air Slash,” Suzy commands.

Dunsparce counters Wingull’s attack with its own sword. There is a burst of sky-blue sparkles.

“Anyways, I know I’m not gonna win, so toodles,” Taehyung grins, then takes off, Xatu latching onto his shoulders and soaring into the sky once more, heading for the mansion. The police are most likely already inside and scouring the area for the young childrens’ bodies. He hears Suzy’s yell of “Stop!”, but he doesn’t turn around. Doesn’t look back. He returns Wingull to its Pokeball and lands through the broken window on the first floor.

Voices outside the door. Must be the investigators. Taehyung stands by the door, Butterfree released from its ball, wings rubbing against each other, waiting.

The door springs open and the officers are immediately assaulted with a face full of Sleep Powder, courtesy of Butterfree. They don’t even make a sound before falling to the ground with a thud. Taehyung counts the number of officers. Five. Hmm.

A sharp crack has Taehyung turning around, only to find a white void appearing. It is no darker than the sun, and Taehyung smiles as a purple creature appears from it. Well, purple, yellow and blue, to be exact. Ah, looks like the other one showed up.

Behind the Pokemon, Suzy shows up, carried by her Dustox, her face one of mute shock. The purple Pokemon roars and manifests a pink chakram. Taehyung can literally feel the power emanating from this Pokemon.

“Come on, Cresselia,” he says, taking out a plum-coloured ball from his pocket. Yoongi had better not be kidding when he said this ball can capture anything.

*

Sehun yanks at his hair. As per Irene’s instructions, he had jailed a couple of people who had spread malicious comments about the League as well as those who had supported the death of the Dragonite.

Outside his window, the protests are happening again. People are marching out in the streets, carrying signages and yelling their hearts out. The police are keeping the people in check, keeping them from getting too violent. Those whose family and friends have died in that dreadful incident have the loudest voices.

He has half a mind to just close the blinds of his office window. He wants to get away from all this…this drama.

Then, a beer bottle smashes against his window. The bottle shatters. A tiny crack appears on the window. Sehun jolts in his seat in shock. The drunken man that had thrown the bottle is now being manhandled by a policeman and his Croagunk.

Well, the crowd looks angry.

Sehun drags a hand across his face as he attempts to block out the situation, the crowd and the screaming and the yelling outside the Gym. He’s going to have to give a statement sometime soon—tomorrow is probably best—and he really, really wants to work on it.

The fury and despair radiating from the crowd is suffocating. People continue yelling, raising their signages, calling for the death of Feral Pokemon. Some try to barge past the police, but are quickly subdued by said police and their Pokemon.

Sehun’s phone rings. He picks it up without even checking the caller ID.

“Jongin.”

“How’re you faring?”

Apparently, there has been a bit of a protest at Souldrop as well, just not as serious as Stratuseon’s. Stratuseon is a big city after all.

“Great. People trying to throw glass bottles at me,” Sehun says, leaning back in his chair and glancing once more at his people. It’s like a stab to the heart how the people he’s been trying to protect for so long suddenly ganging up on him like this. It almost makes Sehun want to cry. “What ‘bout you?”

“Excellent,” Jongin says. “Had to send authorities down to the mines ’cause some teenagers decided to make a statement by blowing it up. The Electrode and Forretress were close to exploding when they arrived.”

Well, at least no one has decided to bomb them yet.

“You know the kid incident?”

“Yeah?” Sehun says. The Howlbreak Forest incident that just occurred. The one that the League is investigating now.

“Quakemore doesn’t dare to speak up,” Jongin continues. “Heatstorm’s getting a little messy too. Chanyeol told me there’s this gang going around beating people who have Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon up.”

Sehun blanches. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Yeol’s barely out of the hospital.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe it either,” Jongin sighs, and Sehun can almost see him shaking his head from here.

“And I thought we had drama.”

“Same.”

There is a pause for a while. The sky’s getting dark, Sehun notices. “What’s the real reason you called me?”

“Oh, that,” Jongin says, voice dropping an octave. “There was this pink Pokemon that appeared in Howlbreak.”

“Pink Pokemon?”

“Wasn’t in the archives,” Jongin says. “But guess what? It was captured.”

“Captured?”

“By Team BTS. You know, that group that goes around terrorizing people.”

Sehun his parched lips, cringing at the sound of screaming. “You serious? You’re calling me on my phone to tell me this? What if they’ve got bugs planted or something? What if they can trace this line?”

There is silence, because Sehun can just see the look of realization dawn on Jongin’s face. Battle of the idiots indeed, Jongin. Look who’s the idiot now.

“Oh ,” Jongin breathes. “Okay, I’ll meet up with you, okay? Sparkridge Fifth Avenue.”

Before Sehun can say anything else, an empty dial tone pierces his ear. He puts the phone down and continues to hunch over his desk. He’s got a statement to prepare, after all.

*

“Whoa.”

Whoa indeed. Encased completely in ice, frozen in a battle stance, is a Pokemon. A grey Pokemon with a whitish head, icicle-like appendages sprouted from its back, is glaring straight ahead, mouth open in a fierce roar.

“What is that?” Junhong walks forward to take a closer look.

Jongup doesn’t like the look of that thing.

It looks like a dragon. A dragon that commands ice. It also looks like it can freeze their asses off if it gets mad.

“Maybe it’s a Pokemon,” Himchan says, scratching his head.

“Well, only one way to find out.”

Jongup watches as Daehyun slips the Pokedex from his belt and flips it open. There is the sound of whirring as the device comes to life, displaying a picture of the Pokemon as well as the information.

Kyurem. Level 95. Type: Ice/Dragon. Moves learned: Hyper Voice, Outrage, Glaciate, Endeavour. Ability: Pressure (forces foe to lose PP more easily). This legendary ice Pokémon waits for a hero to fill in the missing parts of its body with truth or ideals.

Kyurem. Level 95. And it’s a legendary—a pretty big deal.  Does the League have it documented?

A rumble suddenly has everyone on guard. A wall of aurora blocks their escape, the multi-coloured veil sealing off their exit. Icy smoke surrounds the chamber. From icy cliffs above, two Pokemon leap down to confront the intruders.

Jongup himself takes out his Pokedex. These Pokemon don’t appear to be friendly. And they don’t look weak as well.

Sandslash (A). Level 50. Type: Ice/Steel. Moves learned: Icicle Spear, Blizzard, Hail, Swords Dance. Ability: Slush Rush (increases Speed in hail). After fleeing a volcanic eruption, it ended up moving to an area of snowy mountains. Its ice shell is as hard as steel.

Ninetales (A). Level 50. Type: Ice/Fairy. Moves learned: Dazzling Gleam, Sheer Cold, Captivate, Aurora Veil. Ability: Snow Warning (summons hail). The reason it guides people all the way down to the mountain's base is that it wants them to hurry up and leave.

Level 50. Way out of their league (no pun intended) if they are to engage in a head-on fight. Not to mention that the Alolan Ninetales has already thrown up an Aurora Veil, halving all damage to both it and Sandslash.

Still, the place is so barren apart from quartz crystals, icicles hanging overhead and the frozen Kyurem that it’s hard to apply any tactic here.

“W-What do they want with us?” Youngjae takes a step back as Ninetales steps forward menacingly, hackles raised, nine tails aimed at them.

“I think we’re in prohibited territory,” Yongguk gestures towards the frozen Kyurem.

“You mean, like, guardians?”

“Pretty mu—!” Youngjae curses as Sandslash turns its back to them and sends giant icicles towards the group.

Jongup is quick to counter with one of Lucario’s Aura Sphere, the blue spheres crashing into the icicles. Youngjae hurls a Pokeball to the ground and Lopunny bursts from the ball, fists poised, ready to engage in combat.

The other members have sent out their Pokemon as well. Pokemon that are going to partake in this battle. Daehyun and Monferno, Junhong and Meditite, Yongguk and Ariados and Himchan and Spearow.

Ninetales growls, and Snow Warning activates. Tiny blocks of ice begin to swirl around them, pelting them with their sharp edges. Considering the ability of the Sandslash, Slush Rush, this is not good for them.

“Ariados, er Punch!”

Ariados acts on the command and a sphere of shadow socks Sandslash’s spiky back, taking the Pokemon by surprise, but doesn’t do too much damage. Sandslash counters with a Blizzard attack, the icy wind threatening to freeze them all up. Jongup’s face is starting to feel numb.

“Lucario, Aura Sphere!”

Sandslash is unprepared for that attack and attempts to dodge it, only to be chased by the blue missile. It is unable to outrun the sphere and the Aura Sphere crashes into its back, sending the Pokemon sprawling forwards.

Jongup’s eyes get wider ever so slightly when the Sandslash gets up without a problem, brushing its claws of ice. It didn’t fall? But it has a strong weakness to Fighting-type moves…his eyes dart over to the Ninetales, lips curled up in a smirk even as it does battle with Yongguk, Youngjae and Junhong. He glances back down at the Pokedex.

Ah, it must have used Captivate on Lucario. Captivate lowers the foe’s Special Attack harshly, and since Aura Sphere is considered a Special attack, along with the fact an Aurora Veil has been set up and that Lucario doesn’t have good Special attack to begin with, the Sandslash must be feeling pretty relieved.

Looks like he’s going to have to attack this from another angle.

“Bone Rush!”

A light green bone-shaped mass of energy forms in Lucario’s hands and it rushes Sandslash. This is going to deal neutral damage, Jongup knows, because this Sandslash is part-Steel-type. The green bone hits Sandslash once, twice, thrice before it fizzles away into nothingness.

“Monferno!”

At Daehyun’s call, Monferno dives forward, landing a Mach Punch on Sandslash before the Pokemon can even react. It slides along the icy floor, the spikes on its back crashing into the ice block encasing Kyurem.

“Spearow, Aerial Ace!”

Jongup has opened his mouth to yell the magic word “Stop!”, but Himchan’s Spearow’s beak drills into Sandslash’s exposed soft belly, damaging the Sandslash by a severe degree. The Sandslash’s back digs further into the ice, and Jongup can see the beginnings of a hairline fracture in the ice.

It’s only a matter of time…

“Lucario!”

Lucario sends an Aura Sphere at Sandslash, pushing the Pokemon away from the ice. Sandslash curls into a spiky ball, the glimmering icicles on its back looking sharper than ever. Must have used Swords Dance.

“Flame Wheel!”

Monferno coats itself with a cloak of fire and charges Sandslash, crashing hard into the Pokemon. Sandslash flinches and screeches as the icicles on its back begins to melt. It fixes Monferno with a hard gaze and promptly sends another Icicle Spear attack at the Pokemon, firing icy projectiles from its back.

Jongup mentally breathes a sigh of relief as the ice block with Kyurem in it stops shattering, but the cracks are still visible.

White flames catch Monferno off guard as Ninetales strike from behind, having bypassed Yongguk, Youngjae and Junhong’s defences. The Dazzling Gleam attack hits for neutral damage, but this gives the opening that Sandslash needs to fire a Blizzard attack. At least three of their Pokemon get frozen, the ice keeping them from moving.

Jongup returns the frozen Lucario to its Pokeball and releases Minun.

“Electro Ball!”

The attack is aimed at Ninetales. Minun fires off a sphere of electricity at Ninetales, who blocks the attack with its tail. Frost begins to form at its mouth as it readies its own attack.

Sandslash ups its Attack once more with Swords Dance. Minun hops away from Ninetales and claps out an Encore at Sandslash, managing to put it out of commission for a few minutes.

“Fury Swipes!” Yongguk booms. Ariados skitters forward, claws at the ready, slashing profusely at Ninetales. Ninetales roars and from its mouth spews a blast of cold, aimed directly at Ariados. Ariados smashes into Yongguk, sending both of them sprawling onto the icy floor.

“Guk-ah!” Himchan is dashing across the ice, followed closely by his Spearow.

Ninetales takes this chance to fire off another Dazzling Gleam attack at Himchan. The white fireballs from the tips of its tails are sent in Himchan’s direction. Spearow lets out a loud caw and it flies right in the path of the Dazzling Gleam.

And is engulfed in a bright light. From the light emerges a large bird Pokemon with a long neck and wings spread wide.

Fearow. Level 20. Type: Normal/Flying. Moves learned: Mirror Move, Aerial Ace, Fury Attack, Pursuit. Ability: Keen Eye (prevents accuracy loss). Carrying food through Fearow's territory is dangerous. It will snatch the food away from you in a flash!

Drawing up a shield of green energy, Fearow deflects the Dazzling Gleam attack. The white flames bound back against the shield, burning Ninetales’ body, leaving burn marks against its previously-pristine body.

Jongup thinks that it’s just a lucky save. After all, Himchan’s Pokemon appear to be capable of battling even without Himchan’s commands. Ninetales, being unable to recover in time, becomes the victim to Youngjae’s Lopunny’s Return attack, the Pokemon aiming at kick with its powerful legs at Ninetales, landing right in its jaw.

The impact is so large that Ninetales crashes into the ice block that houses Kyurem. Immediately, a large crack begins to form and Jongup can almost hear the Pokemon’s enraged roar in his head. Deducing from its furious expression, the Pokemon has been frozen against its will. Should they release it…

Ice begins to chip off, and water droplets trickle down the edge of the ice block as Ninetales snarls and flames begin to appear at its tails’ tips again.

The ice continues to melt.

.

At the same time, the Aurora Veil disappears, returning the battlefield to a blinding white colour. They are free to exit.

Water drips from the icy appendages of Kyurem.

It’s probably best to flee. Jongup, from the corner of his eye, sees Yongguk recovering from the attack and returning Ariados to its Pokeball, only to bring out Houndoom.

“Move! Run!” Jongup bellows, raising his voice to its maximum. The ice continues to melt as Ninetales sees its chance and launches fireball after fireball as it stands guard right in front of the Kyurem statue. With Sandslash stuck using Swords Dance thanks to Minun’s Encore, they have the opportunity to flee now.

One of the appendages begins to move.

Youngjae notices and stops and stares, Lopunny returning to his side.

Holy .

Without another word, Jongup grabs Daehyun, who happens to be standing nearest the ice block, and he makes a break for the exit. Daehyun stumbles in Jongup’s grasp, but rights himself quickly, Monferno by his feet. Junhong and the others appear to get the memo. Youngjae hesitates, but when he sees the ice block already halfway melted and that Ninetales is adamant about burning them alive, he begins to run. Himchan and Yongguk head out as well, shoes slipping and skidding on the ice.

Just as they reach the outside of the cavern, there is a loud roar from within. Jongup’s heart pounds as he can only imagine the level 95 Kyurem awakening from its frozen form. To be able to freeze such a menace, not to mention that the Pokemon itself is Ice-type, is a miracle, possibly performed by a Pokemon with such an excellent command of the power of ice.

The Quartz Cave is right ahead, and once they get through that cavern, they’d be back in Quakemore. By now, the sun has already set. Darkness envelopes them as they makes a mad dash for the Quartz Cave entrance.

A loud roar sends a group of huddled Delibird flying into the sky, their red-and-white bodies clearly visible in the black. Chancing a glance behind them, Jongup sees a large figure make its way towards the entrance of its cavern.

“Go, go, go!” Yongguk shouts, Pokephone in hand, placed at his ear. Youngjae and Junhong scamper in, followed by Himchan.

“!”

Jongup wants to scream.

Daehyun ing slips.

He falls on his painfully and tries to pick himself up. Kyurem is now visible, having emerged from his cavern. It gives an angry roar and icicles begin to form around his body. Daehyun scrambles to pick himself up, wincing as he presses his palms flat against the ice.

“Servine!” Returning Minun to its Pokeball, Jongup releases Servine, the Pokemon leaping in between Daehyun and Kyurem’s Glaciate attack. Kyurem gives a cry and the icicles rush Daehyun, the sharp ends sailing through the air at jet speed.

“Leaf Tornado!”

A whirlwind of leaves fights the icicles, weakening the icicle spears. Some of the spears even drop to the ground.

Daehyun starts running again, Jongup right behind him. Daehyun’s Monferno dashes ahead, fear clear on its face. Yongguk ushers Daehyun in. Jongup returns Servine and releases Helioptile as he continues sprinting. His legs feel like they’re on fire. He can barely breathe as he commands Helioptile to use a Razor Wind attack.

Not at the Kyurem.

At the roof of the Quartz Cave.

Just as the roof begins to collapse, Jongup slides in at the very last moment. He slides hard on the near-frictionless glass-like floor. Stalactites, rocks, boulders and ice crash down behind him, sealing the entrance to that giant chasm and trapping Kyurem behind it.

The room is one of tension and relief at the same time. For one, they can hear the angry shrieks of Kyurem from behind that wall. Youngjae is the first to collapse against a rock wall, scaring away a group of Snorunt.

“That was…eventful,” Yongguk breathes.

“Let me just…catch my breath,” Daehyun pants, sitting down on the ground as well.

Another death-defying escape, Jongup thinks.

“We should stop getting ourselves into these kinds of situations,” Himchan groans, joining Youngjae and Daehyun on the floor. His cheeks are flushed, whether from the cold or the adrenaline, Jongup can’t tell.

What matters right now is that they’re all alive. They’ve got to get back to Quakemore and sleep it off. Today has already been too much of an adventure.

But first, Jongup thinks, as he sits down beside Daehyun and company, let’s just take a break.

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

Pokedex entries gathered:

Kyurem

Sandslash (A)

Ninetales (A)

Fearow

Cameo appearances:

Darkrai (Suzy's friend in the haunted house)

Bergmite (in Quartz Cave)

Delibird (in Quartz Cave)

Zubat (in Quartz Cave)

Dustox (Suzy's Pokemon)

Xatu (Taehyung's Pokemon)

Golbat (Taehyung's Pokemon)

Butterfree (Taehyung's Pokemon)

Wingull (Taehyung's Pokemon)

Sylveon (Suzy's Pokemon)

Dunsparce (Suzy's Pokemon)

Cresselia (Taehyung trying to capture in haunted house)

*********************************
Daehyun's Pokemon:

-Cottonee. Level 26. Type: Grass/Fairy. Moves learned: Giga Drain, Growth, Poison Powder, Leech Seed.
-Monferno. Level 26. Type: Fire/Fighting. Moves learned: Mach Punch, Flame Wheel, Taunt, Fury Swipes.
-Bagon. Level 25. Type: Dragon. Moves learned: Crunch, Dragonbreath, Focus Energy, Headbutt
-Plusle. Level 20. Type: Electric. Moves learned: Encore, Bestow, Spark, Helping Hand

Youngjae's Pokemon:

-Petilil. Level 26. Type: Grass. Moves learned: Growth, Magical Leaf, Stun Spore, Giga Drain.
-Lopunny. Level 25. Type: Normal. Moves learned: Jump Kick, Baby-Doll Eyes, Return, Endure.
-Braixen. Level 25. Type: Fire. Moves learned: Psybeam, Tail Whip, Flame Charge, Fire Spin.
-Cubone. Level 19. Type: Ground. Moves learned: Focus Energy, Leer, Bone Club, Headbutt.

Jongup's Pokemon:

-Helioptile. Level 31. Type: Normal/Electric. Moves learned: Charge, Parabolic Charge, Quick Attack, Thunder Wave.
-Lucario. Level 32. Type: Fighting/Steel. Moves learned: Feint, Aura Sphere, Swords Dance, Bone Rush.
-Araquanid. Level 29. Type: Water/Bug. Moves learned: Bite, Bug Bite, Bubblebeam, Aqua Ring.
-Servine. Level 28. Type: Grass. Moves learned: Mega Drain, Growth, Leaf Tornado, Slam.
-Minun. Level 25. Type: Electric: Moves learned: Encore, Copycat, Electro Ball, Fake Tears.

Junhong's Pokemon:

-Clefairy. Level 25. Type: Fairy. Moves learned: Wake-Up Slap, Sweet Kiss, Minimize, Magical Leaf
-Weepinbell. Level 26. Type: Grass/Poison. Moves learned: Vine Whip, Sleep Powder, Poison Powder, Acid.
-Meditite. Level 28. Type: Fighting/Psychic. Moves learned: Hi Jump Kick, Confusion, Calm Mind, Force Palm
-Croconaw. Level 21. Type: Water. Moves learned: Ice Fang, Scary Face, Water Gun, Bite.

Yongguk's Pokemon:

-Rufflet. Level 27. Type: Normal/Flying. Moves learned: Hone Claws, Scary Face, Fury Attack, Aerial Ace
-Houndour. Level 29. Type: Fire/Dark. Moves learned: Beat Up, Ember, Howl, Bite
-Ariados. Level 28. Type: Bug/Poison. Moves learned: Infestation, er Punch, Scary Face, Fury Swipes
-Grovyle. Level 25. Type: Grass. Moves learned: Fury Cutter, Leaf Blade, Leer, Pursuit.

Himchan's Pokemon:

-Floette. Level 24. Type: Fairy. Moves learned: Fairy Wind, Razor Leaf, Lucky Chant, Wish.
-Kirlia. Level 25. Type: Fairy/Psychic. Moves learned: Draining Kiss, Heal Pulse, Confusion, Magical Leaf.
-Brionne. Level 24. Type: Water. Moves learned: Icy Wind, Encore, Disarming Voice, Bubblebeam.
-Mightyena. Level 24. Type: Dark. Moves learned: Assurance, Roar, Howl, Swagger.
-Fearow. Level 20. Type: Normal/Flying. Moves learned: Aerial Ace, Fury Attack, Pursuit, Mirror Move.