Gold vs. Frosty

(Co-writen by Gold-- first person. *For better comprehension, read Gold's fics at the Dream League)

Somewhere underwater, Lugia sat watching his special psychic portals. "So, they�re heading back to Cerulean? They shall arrive too soon. They must be there at the proper time. I will make sure that they don't get there �til it is time. Thus, they won't leave before hand. Let me see. That's as good a place as any." Lugia's eyes flashed blue. **********************************************************************

In a flash of light Pikachu, Silver, Kyle, Marko, Brian, Ivysaur, and I appeared on a small tropical island. (It looked like that in pokemon adventures comic.) "Wah! Where are we?" I asked, puzzled.

"Pika pi pika chu! Cha cu pi�(I don't think where in Viridian anymore! I didn�t think I could teleport this far.)" replied Pikachu.

"It shouldn�t be possible to teleport this far at your level Pikachu. I know Ivysaur didn�t help. Gold, check your pokegear for our location," said Brian.

"Good idea." I pushed a few buttons on my pokegear. It started to project a holographic map of the world and a bright Golden dot signified our location. "WAAAAA! We're on Crescent Island of the Seafoam Islands!" I yelled.

"Really? Seafoam. I've heard this is one of the best places for catching water and Ice pokemon. The only other really good spot is the Orange Islands. The caves here are supposed to be really cold," said Silver with excitement in her voice.

"Sounds like the perfect place to look for some pokemon," said Kyle.

"I could use an ice type...Well then, let's go look in the caves." I sent Pidgeotto to locate the biggest entrance. He led us to a dark forbidding opening in a large wall of rock. "Well, this is as good an opening as any. Let's go in!" I said as we ran into the cave. The inside was huge. I could see a small river running of to the side.

After we traveled awhile into the cave, I saw am icy blue structure in the distance. "Hey what's that? It looks like a building." I said curiously.

"What's a building doing in here?" Silver inquired.

"Let's go see," I said, and I took off toward it. The doors slid open and I went inside. �Wha? It's sure cold in here�And the walls are covered with hundreds of wired shells.�

"Hello, may I help you?" asked a feminine voice. Turning towards the source, I saw a young woman at a desk.

"Excuse me ma�am, but what is this building used for?"

"This is the official gym of the Seafoam Islands," she answered proudly.

"I didn�t know Seafoam had a gym...Cool. I'll try and earn a badge! What about you, Kyle?"

"I'll get one later. I don't think my pokemon have enough experience to battle here yet," replied Kyle.

"That's ok. So before I challenge the gym leader, are there any other rules I should know?"

The assistant explained the rules of the gym to me: The doors are shut and locked and remain so until the battle is over, two pokemon are allowed each, and if you melted the ice in the arena then you�re immediately disqualified.

"Thanks. Is it ok if I challenge the leader now?"

"Sure thing. I'll take you in right now."

"I'll battle next. I never got a badge from this gym; I didn�t even know it was here," Brian stated.

"You two will have to wait in here. The gym leader doesn�t like other challengers waiting inside to battle." The assistant explained.

"I don't plan on battling, so can I watch?" Silver asked.

The assistant shook her head. "I should have said, no one is permitted to watch. Only two people allowed in at once- the leader and the challenger." The assistant led me into a second room.

"It's even colder in here. What type of gym is this anyway? Oh I get it�An ice gym. Frosty?!"

Frosty looked up from a book she was reading. "So you found my gym." She smirked. "It took you a whole year..."

"Yeah. Somehow Pikachu teleported us here instead of Cerulean city. How did you get back so fast from Port Avista?*"

"I got tired of waiting around there and rode back on Lapras. I wouldn�t usually leave my gym. The Dream League asked me- well, Misty rather- to attend," she replied softly.

"Well, in any case, I challenge you." I said.

"Ms. Frosty, your challenger," the woman said, nodding to me.

"Alright, Patti, challenger number twenty-six. Gold Guardian, for the record."

Patti, the assistant, nodded kindly, stepped out shutting the huge doors behind her, and echoed a faint boom through the arena as they were locked.

"So Gold, how about three on three so commemorate our first battle?"

"That's perfect," I told her.

"Dewdrop," she called. A Dewgong appeared from a beam of red light protruding from the pokeball she held.

�I'll have to take a chance.� "Go Charmander!" �Fire is resistant to ice. But most ice is also part water. As long as I use the right, attacks I won't melt the floor.�

"Dewdrop, Take Down." Dewgong lunged at Charmander, who flailed and sweatdropped, and hit him hard.

"Charmander, Slash!" Charmander's claws glowed and he swiped at Dewdrop, landing a critical hit.

"Charmander slash it again!" Charmander ran at the Dewgong with extended claws.

"Agility!" Dewdrop glowed and slid out of the way with great speed. "Aurora Beam."

Frosty knew right away that she shouldn�t have done it, but it was too late. Charmander made its way near Dewdrop, and as she shot the beam, it jumped over it and slashed down.

"Dewgong-gong-gong�" moaned the seal pokemon as it fainted. Frosty felt a light sweat. She couldn�t allow herself to slip up again.

"Charmander�" Charmander was panting. That Take Down attack had taken a lot out of him.

"Dewdrop return. You�re exceptional with fire pokemon, Gold. But not even your skill can finish this one. Go, Lapras."

"Charmander, slash it!" Charmander quickly racked Lapras with his claws. He ruffled a bit, but didn�t seem phased at all.

"Lapras Water Gun now." Lapras fired a stream of water from his mouth and it hit Charmander right in the face. It collapsed on the floor.

"Charmander! You did a great job. Return. Go�Bulbasaur!"

"Grass? On my ice type?" Frosty felt like it would be an easy victory, but kept alert.

"Bulbasaur Razor Leaf." Bulbasaur fired a stream of razor-sharp leaves at Lapras.

"Mist." A hazy smoke gushed out of his mouth, and its thickness stopped most of the leaves. One hit him without much damage.

"Bulbasaur Vine Whip." Bulbasaur extend his vines and started to slap Lapras with them.

"Lapras�sing you melody."

"Huh? Nothing�s happening, Frosty�"

She grinned devilishly. She knew that her Lapras had that special song that only affected pokemon�

"Bulba�" It strove to keep awake.

"Bulbasaur Tackle! If you can land a hit now, it�ll stop singing!" Bulbasaur ran drowsily forward and rammed into Lapras�s front. The already silent song ceased, but it had drained Bulbasaur. Even though Lapras didn�t appear to have been hurt before, the damage accumulated, and the Tackle finished it. His head lowered in shame.

Frosty�s face flashed a brief look of astonishment. "That�s never happened before�you must train your pokemon well. Anyhow, try your luck with this one, the best is for last. Nepty."

A Vaporeon appeared on the ground and stared angrily at Bulbasaur. Her alien eyes narrowed with concentration.

�A Vaporeon? This is her secret weapon?� "Bulbasaur, Absorb." The bulb on its back began to glow green and he drew energy from the fresh Nepty to heal his wound. Nepty just seemed irked by it, nothing more. It was as if a fly had bit her nose.

"That won't work. Don�t you expect more of my final pokemon? Bite!"

"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf."

Vaporeon, being evasive by nature, dogged the leaves and got inside. She jumped on top of Bulbasaur�s bulb and bit it hard, draining the stolen energy and then some.

"On no, Bulbasaur return! Frosty, can I heal him? He can�t battle anymore, and there�re no PokeCenters I can take him to afterwards�he�s hurt."

Frosty closed her eyes for a moment and made a �tsk� noise. "Be prepared, Gold. The match isn�t over. Let us resume."

I was reluctant, but drew out my next plan. "Go Pikachu!" Pikachu Jumped into the battlefield.

"Pika!"

"Pikachu Thunder, now!" Pikachu fired a massive bolt of electricity that surly would have fainted Nepty, but she ducked away, only hit lightly.

Pikachu stopped his attack. Nepty panted a little but otherwise looked like she could continue to battle.

"Nepty Acid Armor, then catch it in your Quick Attack." Nepty tilted her head back and fired a purple toxin into the air. It floated around her, giving her a defensive barrier. She then darted here and there, confusing Pikachu, and slammed him in the stomach with her head.

I saw through the armor that Nepty was losing strength. I could also read it off of Frosty�s face. "Pikachu, it can�t take much more. Let�s power up now! Maximum power Thunder!"

Pikachu put every last spark of electricity he had into this one. It nailed Nepty and caused a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, Nepty stood still. Gold gasped, but then saw her waver and collapse. Pikachu was breathing heavily.

"That was close. I don't think Pikachu could have taken any more of that speed," I said.

Frosty held out her hand and called Nepty back to her pokeball. "That was a good battle, Gold. You showed impressive skills. A tip for your next battle: choose your types more carefully. Just because Nepty�s weak against electric doesn�t mean at all that she can�t win. Don�t make assumptions any more. Here, you deserve this."

She handed me a Sickle Badge. "I did it. I got the Sickle Badge. I'm one more step closer to battling on Dream Island!" I placed the badge beside my Thunder Badge. "Frosty, I hope you come to watch when I participate in the Dream League later."

Frosty nodded. "I�ll try, but no promises this time. We�ve had our share of those."

Later, after Brian had battled Frosty to no avail, we left the gym. "Goodbye Frosty. I hope to see you again soon!" I called as we walked away.

"It's too bad we didn�t catch any pokemon while we were here," Silver said with a sigh.

"Don't worry, Silver. We�ll come back here later. That'll give us a chance to find some more �teammates�," I said, encouragingly. Frosty had healed our pokemon for us, but at a price. It was fair.

"Pikachu, you and Ivysaur can take us back to Cerulean City, right?"

"Pika Pi!"

"Saur." (You bet we can) With a flash, we were gone.