Pokemon: An Icy Path

Chapter 36

“Frillish, go!”

“Let’s go Lono!”

In the center of the arena a pink and white pokemon that looks similar to jellyfish appears across from my tiny bell pokemon. The size difference, as well as the distance from where the pokemon are, makes Lono look like a little brass colored dot compared to the child sized jellyfish. Luckily I recognize Frillish as a ghost type pokemon and I know Lono has some moves that could work well.

“Lono, Astonish!”

“Frillish, Night Shade!”

Lono and Frillish both glow a pale purple color before Lono makes a shrill noise causing the purple color on Frillish to dissipate before the attack can be fired off. I take this chance to call for a Cosmic Power as well as ordering Lono to move about the field. As he has levitate, the arena is free game for him to move around in. Skadi will have a hard time when she comes out. Lono shines with a rainbow of colors as he becomes a tiny moving target. Hopefully his small size will play out to our benefit.

“Frillish, Water Pulse!” Misty calls out. Her Frillish glows in an ocean blue color for a moment and forms a small ball of water that it fires up and causes it to explode, sending a ring of water flying through the arena.  I watch as the water misses my tiny pokemon.

“Lono, Ominous Wind!”

With my call a baleful wind blows throughout the arena, sending Frillish tumbling through the air once before it quickly recovers. I spot a small glow appear on Lono as it seems like the buff from wind successfully applied as he moves even quicker around the field. I call out for another astonish as Misty calls Frillish to dive into the water. I see her pokemon shiver slightly but it successfully dives into the water. The battle turns into a bit of a lull as Lono doesn’t have any moves that could hit her pokemon while it is under water. I keep thinking about what to do as I watch the water. Lono is still moving around but I can see that he is starting to move slower as time goes on. 

From underneath Lono, the water lifts like there is a bubble about to breach. I quickly call for him to dodge but a huge spray of water erupts as a successful Water Pulse slams into my little bell causing it to fly high into the arena with a bunch of bell-like tings sounding from him. It almost sounds like someone ringing a dinner bell in an old movie. My breath hitches slightly as I watch Lono fall back towards the floor, but just before he would hit, he stops falling and wobbles in the air drunkenly. 

“Lono, use Wish and follow it up with a Cosmic Power!” I hear a ting of acknowledgement as he shines white for a moment, before a ball of white energy shoots high into the air and holds itself there, gradually growing stronger. A jet of water shoots towards Lono as he begins to use cosmic power. Seeing the incoming move, he tries to drop down to dodge it but is too late as he gets hit by the jet of water, sending him tumbling towards me through the air. He recovers but is now floating only a few centimeters off the ground instead of his normal meter. I happen to see Frillish pop it’s head out of the water to fire another move.

“Use Confusion, pull that jellyfish out of the water!”

Not bothering to respond, a deep pink glow surrounds Lono as the water around Frillish starts to ripple wildly and ever so slowly, the pink pokemon comes out of the water. In retaliation, the pokemon fires off a water gun at Lono with high precision. 

Time seems to slow down as I watch the water approach my tiny pokemon as it struggles to lift the toddler sized jellyfish out of the water. I see the first droplets hit Lono and I reach for my pokeball to recall him as the rest of the water hits, followed by a bright white flash. A second later the flash dissipates to show Lono still in the fight but waning fast. 

“Astonish followed by Ominous Wind!”

Lono flashes purple again as Frillish attempts to dive back into the water, only to flinch as the attack hits. A short moment later the baleful wind strikes again just as Frillish glows purple and glares at Lono at the same time. I inhale sharply as I see Lono gently falling to the floor only to hear a splash sound first as Frillish passes out from the attack.

“Both Pokemon are unable to battle! Trainers, please send out your next pokemon!” The announcer calls the result as I recall Lono and tell him he did a great job. I take a look at Misty to see what pokemon she is calling out and I see her eyebrow raised in a questioning way as she looks back at me before grabbing her next pokemon.

“Finizen, go!”

What appears in the water after Misty throws her pokeball is a blue dolphin-like pokemon. I happen to recognize it from Pokemon Violet that I had played back on earth. Recalling that the Paldea region seems to be of a sub-tropical climate, the dolphin pokemon should not care for cold all that much. With the workings on a plan in mind I grab my next pokeball and toss it into the center.

“Skadi, let’s freeze the world!” My cheerful seven tailed friend appears in the center of the arena with a happy cry. I am about to call out a command when I double check and see that she really does have seven tails now. I shelve that information for later as I call out. “Kick it off with a Moonblast!”

“Pix!” Skadi cries out as she quickly forms a ball of neon pink energy in front of her mouth. 

“Finizen, dive down to avoid and then Aqua Jet!” Misty calls out in return. Finizen quickly dives underwater but Skadi never fires off the attack. A moment later Finizen shoots out of the water like a bullet flying straight towards Skadi who still has the ball of energy in front of her. Seeing the other pokemon in the air, she fires off the beam of neon pink energy causing it to slam into Finizen, knocking it off course. With a loud splash, the pokemon re-enters the water disappearing from view.

“Skadi, pepper it with Ice Shard! Force it out of the water!”

Skadi replies with a happy cheer as she fires little icicles into the water at blinding speed. I can tell she isn’t firing blindly as she watches the water and her ears constantly twitch while listening. This game of cat and mouse continues on for about a minute when Finizen jumps out of the water with a blue sphere at its snout that bursts into a wave of water that washes over the center island. Skadi quickly fires off a blast of icy snow at the wave attempting to freeze it, but the water comes too fast and slams into her. 

After the wave passes I notice that her fluffy fur is now completely soaked. She happens to look at herself and then at me and then back at herself. I can see the gears turning in her head as her eyes narrow as she lets out a low growl. She starts to glow icy blue as her anger rises, so I decide to try out one of our moves.

“Skadi, Rhongomyniad.”

She lowers her stance as icicle after icicle start to appear around her, her eyes constantly watching the water again for her prey. As the number of icicles grow, they start to press together to form a spear that spins over her head. Seconds continue to pass as the spear grows larger as it starts to shift from a white color to a deeper blue color starting at the tip. Fearing that Skadi might get carried away, I call for her to stop building and just to hold it. Misty seems to want Skadi to get tired out from holding the move, and I can see her starting to pant. I narrow my eyes and focus on the water.

I search around the island trying to find Finizen when I notice some movement. When I focus on it, I can clearly see the dolphin pokemon leisurely swimming on Misty’s side of the island. I track its movement for a few seconds to see where it is moving towards, just before I call out the order.

“Skadi, two o’clock, fire!”