Chapter no.416 The Queen of Ice
[ POV Change ]
[ Cinnabar Island ]
In the chaos, the once-serene Cinnabar Island had become unrecognizable. Screams and cries of terror filled the air, carried on the wind that once brought the sweet scent of the sea. The island's inhabitants rushed in a frenzied exodus away from the shore, terror etched deep into their features. Project Kraken, an artificially modified Tentacruel with the activated King's gene, dwarfed the surrounding buildings, its colossal form casting monstrous shadows upon the sand and sea.
Amidst the screams, Pokémon trainers launched a desperate defense. They sent out their most powerful companions, their cries of command melding into the cacophony of the clash. A Charizard's flames clashed with the salty sea air, now tainted with the bitter tang of smoke and destruction. Yet, for all their bravery, the monstrous Tentacruel, its tentacles like the pillars of a dark temple, seemed utterly invincible.
From above, the mechanical buzz of helicopters merged with the flap of wings as elite trainers atop their flying Pokémon dove into the fray. Their mission was clear: halt the terror of Project Kraken.
Lorelei floated into view, her Jynx beside her, a sharp contrast to the chaos below. "It seems we're in a bit of a... chill situation," she quipped dryly, her tone belying the gravity of their circumstance. She brushed a lock of fiery hair from her face, her ice-blue eyes scanning the battlefield below.
"Seems like our friend down there could use a chill pill," she remarked dryly, the beginnings of a plan crystallizing in her mind as effortlessly as ice forms on a winter windowpane.
Jynx, her eyes gleaming with shared mirth, nodded. They shared a love for the frigid and the pun.
"We need to cool this beast down," Lorelei commanded her Pokémon. Cloyster responded with a Rain Dance, summoning clouds that darkened the sky further. Jynx followed with a Hail, sending down a barrage of ice that began to pelt the monstrosity.
As bags o salt from the helicopters mingled with the icy assault, Lorelei observed the changes.
"You know, tentacles are quite absorbent, a veritable sponge for saline solutions," she mused aloud. "Combined with a sudden drop in temperature, we're creating a hypertonic solution on its skin—dehydrating cells and inducing thermal shock."
Around her, the sound of the storm muffled the island's turmoil.
From her aerial vantage, Lorelei called down to the trainers, her voice carrying over the pandemonium, "Keep it up, boys! That's some seasoning worthy of a sea monster. But let's add a little ice to the mix, shall we?"
Jynx's Hail amplified the cold, and the Project Kraken's movements grew sluggish.
Lorelei watched with a scientist's curiosity as the beast's movements slowed. "I guess it's true what they say: 'a Tentacruel's heart is as cold as the ocean depths... unless you actually freeze it."
The creature's colossal form began to stiffen, the temperature drop turning its body into a crystal lattice of ice.
Lorelei watched as the Tentacruel's thrashing slowed. "Time to break the ice," she whispered, a grim smile playing on her lips. Jynx, tuned into her trainer's wavelength, held up a tiny voodoo doll, encrusted with ice.
This was Jynx's destiny bond.
Linking a sculpture with the soul of the individual so that they can torture it since any damage inflicted onto the doll/sculpture is transferred onto the real body.
The Elite Four member reached out, touching the effigy with one gloved hand. "Sometimes the cold shoulder is the best approach," she uttered the incantation. Crushing the doll in her grasp, the ice around the gargantuan Pokémon began to fracture, mirroring the doll's destruction.
An audible series of cracks thundered through the air, as if the creature itself were screaming. The ice, stained crimson from the creature's lifeblood, spider-webbed with fractures. The ocean around it turned a dark red as Project Kraken's body began to disintegrate, succumbing to the combined might of science and sorcery.
The once-mighty Tentacruel's icy tomb crumbled into the sea, disappearing into the depths from whence it came. The island's inhabitants peered from their hiding places, their eyes wide with disbelief. Then, as the realization of their deliverance dawned, their fear transformed into jubilation.
"Well, I suppose that's what you call breaking the ice," Lorelei quipped as she watched the remnants of Project Kraken sink beneath the waves, her voice a counterpoint to the swell of relief rising from the island.
•••••••••••••••••••
[ Fuchsia City ]
Janine's eyes narrowed as she assessed the grotesque creature before her. Project Mothman loomed menacingly, its tattered wings trembling with every labored breath. She knew that she had to act quickly and decisively to protect the people of Fuchsia City. Janine quickly released her Pokémon from their Poké Balls.
"Let's go, Venomoth, Ariados, and Crobat! We've got a threat to neutralize!" she commanded, her voice steady despite the chaos that surrounded her.
The boutique provided a unique battleground, with its display racks and ornate fixtures. Janine strategized rapidly, using her keen intellect and understanding of her Pokémon's strengths to devise a plan.
"Venomoth, use your Stun Spore!" she shouted. The vibrant Pokémon released a cloud of yellow powder, which drifted towards Project Mothman. The creature coughed and spluttered as the paralyzing powder filled the air, its movements becoming sluggish.
"Ariados, use your String Shot to bind its wings!" Janine ordered. The large spider-like Pokémon responded immediately, unleashing a barrage of sticky silk from its spinneret. The threads wound around Project Mothman's wings, further immobilizing the creature as it struggled to free itself.
Janine knew that they had to incapacitate the creature quickly, before it regained its strength. She directed her attention to Crobat, the final member of her team. "Crobat, use your Air Slash to knock down the chandelier!"
Crobat screeched and launched a powerful gust of wind towards the glittering chandelier above Project Mothman. The force of the attack severed the chandelier's support, causing it to plummet down, crashing onto the immobilized creature.
Project Mothman was pinned beneath the weight of the chandelier, its once-menacing form now tangled in a mess of broken glass and twisted metal. Janine approached cautiously, her eyes never leaving the subdued creature.
"Alright, team," she said, her voice filled with pride, "you've done a fantastic job. Now let's get this thing out of here and make sure everyone is safe."
...
As Janine rushed out of the store, she was met with a nightmarish scene: hundreds of Mothman creatures writhed on the ground in pain, their bodies contorted in agony as they suddenly combusted, shrouded in smoke and flame. The air was thick with the scent of charred flesh and acrid smoke. The sight was horrifying, yet Janine knew she couldn't afford to let her emotions overwhelm her – there was still work to be done.
A piercing scream cut through the air, drawing Janine's gaze upwards. There, towering above the city, was an enormous, 20-foot Mothman, its grotesque features distorted with rage. But this monstrous beast wasn't free to wreak havoc upon Fuchsia City – it was restrained between two buildings, caught in the clutches of her father Koga's Pokémon.
Koga's Muk, a massive pile of sludge, had wrapped itself around the giant Mothman's body, holding it in place while Ariados' sticky webs clung to the creature and the buildings, further immobilizing it.
Meanwhile, Koga's Arbok, a serpentine Pokémon with hypnotic patterns on its hood, had coiled around the monster's neck and sunk its fangs into its flesh, injecting it with a potent, flammable poison.
The giant Mothman writhed in pain, its eyes wild with fury as it attempted to free itself from its captors. Koga, a seasoned ninja and Poison-type Pokémon master, remained calm in the face of danger.
Koga, eyes narrowing, noted the creature's desperation. "Janine, watch closely," he instructed, his voice a calm over the storm. "True mastery lies in control, not just power."
He reached for a weapon, a shuriken that gleamed with deadly intent. With the flick of a wrist, it sliced through the air, striking true. Koga's heart remained steady, even as his mind acknowledged the risk of their gambit.
And then, the true spectacle began. From his Poké Ball emerged another creature of his command—a Salazzle, sleek and dark against the twilight sky. It stood poised, its form exuding an air of dangerous beauty. The Pokémon's eyes held a spark, the prelude to the maelstrom of fire it was about to unleash.
As the Salazzle's throat glowed with an inner light, Janine watched, transfixed, as a sphere of flame grew before it. This Will-O-Wisp was unlike any other; it expanded, becoming a conflagration in miniature, until it was hurled towards the Mothman. The resultant blaze was a column of blue fire that stood as a beacon, visible to every corner of the city.
The air turned arid, heat licking at every surface as Janine touched her lips, only to find them parched, the moisture stolen away by the intensity of the flame. Turning back to the epicenter, she saw nothing but remnants—the Mothman, now just a shadow turned to ash.
"Magnificent," she breathed out, looking up at Koga with a mixture of pride and awe. "Your strength never ceases to amaze me."
Koga, watching the ashes scatter, remained unsatisfied. "I am still not there," he murmured, almost to himself.
Janine frowned, puzzled. "What's wrong? That attack—it was formidable."
Koga looked at the fading embers and then to his daughter. "That attack," he said with a heavy heart, "wasn't like the original It was just a shallow attempt at mimicking his power."
Janine's eyes widened with curiosity. "Who?"
Her father's gaze met hers, carrying a weight of respect and a hint of something unfulfilled. "From the hero of Kanto, the strongest trainer across our lands and Johto. The man who toppled a corrupt nations and dethroned champions," Koga paused, "Red."
•••••••••••••••••••
[ Omake Paragraph ]
Metapod and Kakuna are renowned for their hard shells, but are far from invincible; Pidgeot and Fearow drop them onto rocks and break them with relative ease. This is not the case with Pupitar, however, for those few Skarmory brave enough to try and eat them soon find that Pupitar more than live up to their reputation as a virtually indestructible pokemon, often beaten but never slain.
The earth's atmosphere, which burns up meteors so easily, is equally incapable of harming Pupitar. Some say they climb into space with their rocket propulsion to search for a better mountain than their decaying Mount Silver, and quite a few have developed craters from these strange, armored pokemon. It is lucky for the world that they are still outnumbered by even the endangered Torterra, so that mountains continue to be born faster than Larvitar can eat them. Others merely claim that they do this because one must see the world to rule the world, and every Tyranitar, like its name implies, strives to rule the world. Although ethics obviously prevent direct testing, eyewitness reports imply that Pupitar can also survive dynamite and even nuclear explosions.
It is odd to think that Pupitar, so expertly camouflaged against Mount Silver's terrain that few among the trainers great enough to enter notice them at all, even bother to hide. Some speculate that they once had natural predators, who have since went extinct. Others claim that they hide from the fratricidal violence of other Tyranitar, for the only thing which can break a Pupitar is a Tyranitar, and Pupitar only evolve once they are strong enough to smash through their own cocoons.