Pokemon Ether 03

Chapter 3 - Ice Queens

Route 5 - between Bolderton and Draughton

The early morning sun rose above the Paese countryside as it's inhabitants began to stir to life. Wild pokemon were stretching their tired limbs ready for another day, farmers began tending fields, and an 18 year old pokemon trainer desperately fumbled with the zipper on his tent as he attempted to hold back a raging river from being pushed from his bladder.

Zzzzzzrrrt. "Finally!" he huffed as he sprinted, naked as the day he was born, towards the nearest shrubbery. A very audible "Ahhhh" drifted across the makeshift campsite as the dam burst and Finn Drayton was able to relax his aching muscles.

Across the clearing, Ember Pearson was also awake and getting herself ready to face the day. She unzipped her tent just in time to see a white flash speed away from the bigger tent across from hers but was too groggy to make out any details. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she noticed Poppy emerge from the tent she had shared with Finn, barely dressed in a pair of short shorts and a vest that seemed far too small for her.

Seeing that Ember was also awake, Poppy headed around the smouldering remains of the camp fire to join her fellow traveller. "Good morning!" she yawned as she stretched her sleeping muscles.

Time seemed to stand still in Ember's mind as she watched Poppy extend her graceful limbs in front of her. Her mind seemed to take in far more detail than she usually did about a person, from the subtle definition of her toned legs to the tents that were forming under her already tight vest top as the cold morning air made it's presence felt. "Uh, morning Poppy" she said snapping out of the trance. "Sleep well?"

"Mmmmm, like a baby!" she purred.

"I wish I could say the same." Ember mumbled as she was reminded of her less than comfortable PPD issued camping gear. 'Designed for use, not comfort' she was told as they were doled out. She was about to expand on her discomfort when she spotted Finn returning to his tent, happily whistling away to himself as his rather impressive morning wood dangled bobbed away in front of him.

Poppy watched Ember freeze and stare into space behind her. Hearing Finn jump back into their tent, she figured that her fellow traveller had just caught an eyeful. "Yeah, not one for pyjamas, that one." she laughed. "Not that I'm complaining!"

"So you two are err... together or..."

"Me and Finn? I wouldn't say we're together together. I mean, I've only known him for a little over a day."

"A day?" Ember exclaimed, "and you're sharing a tent with him?"

"Oh, we've done way more than share a tent." she winked again. "I don't know why it is but I just trust the guy. If we both happen to be attracted to each other and enjoy some no strings sex along the way, there's no harm in that, right?"

"So he doesn't think you're together either?" she asked, intrigued.

"I don't think so, not that we've talked about it or anything." she pondered.

"You might just be my hero!" Ember laughed. "I'm going to head down to the river to freshen up before we set off. Wanna join me?"

"Sure. I'll just let Finn know where we're going and get him to get some breakfast on the go and I'll be right with you" Poppy replied as she turned to head back to her tent. A few moments later, the pair walked off towards the river, towels in hand, discussing just how much fun Poppy had been having.

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Team Ether HQ, undisclosed location

Mel grumbled as she wiped sleep from her eyes. "Why does the boss have to insist on these early morning meetings" she pouted as she and Max walked through the seemingly normal office workspace of Team Ether HQ. "Surely, her nefarious schemes can wait until 10 or 11am? A girl needs her beauty sleep, you know!"

"Ever hear 'The early Pidgey catches the Wurmple'?" Max teased as he too stifled a yawn. "Though you know, an 11am brief would let me get a good morning work out in! Maybe you can suggest it at the meeting?"

"I might look as dumb as you are sometimes, but I'm not THAT dumb!" she retorted as they entered the conference room and shut the door behind them.

Within the room, they found Meg already waiting, notebook open pen at the ready and what she could only assume was an irritable Alakazam, judging by the agitated look on it's yellow face. As they took their usual seats, Mel watched as Alakazam waved one of his stupid spoons in the air and a projector dropped down from the ceiling. As it whirred to life, a hologram of their boss appeared floating above the table.

"Good morning, everyone" the head spoke. "Glad to see you all could make it, even if you two kept me waiting!" The head turned to glare at Mel and Max, who both gulped simultaneously at the rebuke. "We're meeting this morning to discuss our next steps in Project Overwatch." the boss' head faded away to be replaced by some info graphics as her presentation continued. "Now, as we all know, legend dictates that a thousand years ago, 5 artefacts were hidden across Paese that are all linked to a Pokemon of immense power, known then as the Psydrake. Team Ether is now in possession of the Eye of Psydrake, which means that A.) the legend is real, and B.) that there are 4 more artefacts out there that are waiting to be found."

Mel and Max watched as the hologram displayed an image of the orb that they had discovered. The graphic morphed so that Eye and four other slots were visible as the boss carried on.

"Now, from what our team of researchers have managed to dig up so far, we believe that the other items we are searching for are the Claw of Psydrake, the Heart of Psydrake and something called Psydrake's Bane. These are the only clues we have so far. We don't know anything more about them, least of all, their locations."

Meg looked up from taking notes. "What about the fifth artefact? Do we have any idea what that is?"

"Unfortunately no. One of our researchers dug up an ancient account of the Psydrake that mentions the five artefacts, but only states the four names I've mentioned."

"So, how do we proceed?"

"Our researchers interviewed almost all historical and ancient botanical academic figures in Paese as part of their research. However, a few reported back that some of the interviewees were either holding something back, or were deliberately leading our team astray. We believe that if we can turn one of these academics to our cause, or otherwise retrieve the information we need from them, that we would have a much better starting point to locate the other artefacts." The hologram faded away, only to be replaced by an image of a handsome middle aged man who had been unknowingly photographed. "This is Professor Douglas Fir. He is the head of the Ancient History and Classics department at Paese University. He initially refused to be interviewed until we donated some money to his department, but even then, all he would tell us is that the Psydrake was a myth and that we were wasting our time." The hologram shifted again back to an image of the Eye. "This proves that he is either lying, negligent or worse, incompetent. We need to know which it is. Meg, I want you to head to Camford Town. Track him down and find out what he knows. Bring him in if you have to."

"Yes, Ma'am. Right away."

"Max, Mel, I'm sending you a list of other people of interest. Track them down and find out what they know. Remember, it is still too early to draw attention to ourselves so please be discrete. We'll reconvene here when our assignments have been completed. Are we all clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" The three admins replied.

"Good. And before I leave, Mel? Be a dear and keep your thoughts on Alakazam's spoons hidden a little deeper. He is awfully sensitive."

Mel recoiled and looked at the powerful psychic pokemon at the other end of the room. It stared daggers at her for a solid few seconds before vanishing into thin air.

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Route 5, between Bolderton and Draughton

The river water had finally begun to lose it's chill as the sun continued to rise overhead, either that or she had somehow managed to acclimate to it. Either way, she was happy and relieved to have finally dragged herself to the river bank and out of the strong river current. After resting a moment, she stood and shook off the worst of the water and started to move along the river, looking for food.

Upon hearing voices, she snuck closer to see two women laughing and chatting as they bathed in the river. Where she was from, all travellers carried packs with food to steal but she couldn't see anything by them. It was then that a delicious scent was carried by her nostrils by the gentle morning breeze. Food! She turned away from the women and left the river bank in search of her breakfast.

______________________

Route 5, between Bolderton and Draughton

Finn was by no means a dab hand in the kitchen but enjoyed preparing food when possible. The academy had provided most meals for the students but still arranged classes for trainers intent on travelling after graduation, seeing it as a necessary skill to survive out in the wild.

He was making a simple porridge and preparing some fruits to go with it. Not knowing what the girls liked, he decided to go for variety over quantity and sent Nuz out to gather as many different fruits and berries as he could find. He figured whatever they didn't eat, they could use as snacks for the road.

The porridge was boiling nicely on the revitalised campfire, so Finn started slicing the fruit that Nuz had dropped off so far. Hearing a crack from the fireplace, he turned his back on the fruit and checked on the porridge, turning back to find an empty chopping board. He looked around the campsite and so no sign of any fruit thieves, instantly picturing the face of the Zigzagoon that pilfered Poppy's berries on the night that they had met. Since he had plenty fruit left over, he carried on slicing until he heard a series of faint pops emanating from the newly cooked porridge. Taking the porridge off the fire, he turned back to find yet more fruit had disappeared without a trace.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, he thought. Finn let out a loud, shrill whistle and started chopping fruit again, when he had chopped a small amount, he turned around to pretend to tend to the porridge.

*Thump*

He turned around sharply to see Nuz standing over another pokemon by the chopping board. He rushed over to see that the dark fur and sharp claws of a Sneasel cowering under his pokemon's stern gaze.

"Nuz, nuz leaf" Nuzleaf barked at the Sneasel, who had not moved a muscle from the moment Nuz had levelled it. However, as soon as Nuz looked to Finn for instructions, the Sneasel leapt up to it's feet and slashed a claw at Nuzleaf's head. Nuz reacted instantly to the movement and dodged just in time to evade the attack. Both pokemon leapt at each other and started to scrap like a pair of feral meowth, levelling camping gear and bouncing off tents until they were able to find separation just outside the campsite. Finn caught up with the action as the two pokemon eyed each other up.

"Still wants to battle, huh? Okay, Nuz, keep it at bay. Use Razor Leaf!" Finn ordered.

Nuz fired off a stream of leaves at the Sneasel, who simply moved it's claws up to its body and braced as they bounced off it's body without causing a scratch. Looking back up at Finn and Nuz, the pokemon raised a claw and invited them on. "Wow, it's a cocky little thing, I like it. Nuz, get moving, let's see how fast it is."

Nuz leapt into a run and started to circle the Ice pokemon, looking for opportunities to strike. The Sneasel, however, just stood and watched as Nuz manoeuvred around it. "Use Leaf Blade!" shouted Finn, as Nuz darted in for his first attack, mirroring the tactics used against the Rhydon a couple of nights ago. As Nuz's green leaf blade danced towards it's still foe, there was a flash of movement and a strong claw blocked the attack. The Sneasel smiled without attacking as Nuz leapt back out of arms reach.

Suddenly, the Sneasel took a deep breath as if emerging from under water and forced the air out through it's body at high speed. Finn could feel the temperature plummet as the freezing cold air enveloped Nuz from a distance.

"It knows Icy Wind! Be careful Nuz." As the attack ended, Nuz visibly shook off the effect as best he could, but Finn could tell that it had slowed him down. "Okay buddy, use Fake Out!"

Nuz lurched forward and managed to catch the cat like pokemon on the face, staggering it.

"Keep up the pressure with Leaf Blade again."

This time, Nuz swept his green blade towards his target in a long sweeping arch. As he brought it down upon his opponent, he was stunned as the Sneasel took a deep breath and unleashed a powerful screech, the force of which stopped him dead in his tracks and visibly shook him for a moment. Nuz recovered and swept a long leaf blade slash, only to see the same glint of light followed by the appearance of Sneasel's claws to block the attack, only this time, they followed up the block with some swipes of their own, Nuz dodging frantically to avoid being slashed to ribbons.

"It knows Screech and Metal Claw, neat" Finn said to himself. Nuz was still dodging admirably awaiting his next instruction. "Nuz, move in close and look for an opening."

Nuz began to duck and dive around the wild Sneasel's attacks as it began to visibly tire. "That's it, Nuz! It's tiring. Look for an opening and attack."

When the attack came, it was surprising to all involved. Nuz dodged a wild swing of Metal Claw from Sneasel, getting in close and going for what Finn had thought would have been a leaf blade, only for the blade that emerged from Nuz's arm to strike the torso of the Sneasel to be black instead of green. "That's a dark type move. Feint attack maybe?"

"Nuz, do that again!"

Nuz evaded another wild swing and attacked again with it's new dark move. This time, the attack was well placed enough to bring the pokemon down to it's knees. Finn wasted no time in grabbing a poke ball and flinging it at the stationary pokemon. The ball struck true and the pokemon disappeared in a flash of light into the poke ball. As the ball hit the floor, it shook from side to side, as if battling to keep the pokemon contained. After a few nervy moments, the ball stopped shaking and all in the forest clearing became still again.

Finn walked over to pick up the poke ball and immediately releases the pokemon from the ball. Sneasel materialised again on the clearing floor in front of him and immediately took up a pained defensive posture. Finn held up his hands and dropped to his knees, "Whoa there, it's ok. We're not going to hurt you." he said. Finn reached over to the pile of fruit that had been left on the floor and picked up a selection. He placed one on the palm of his hand and offered it to the pokemon who stared at it suspiciously. "It's ok, take it."

The Sneasel approached slowly and carefully sniffed the offered fruit before snatching it from Finn and shoving it in her mouth before anyone could take it off her. By the time she had finished, Finn had grabbed a few more fruits and had sent Nuz off to find some more. Sneasel happily ate a surprisingly large amount of fruit directly from Finn's hands before sitting back and feeling it's full stomach.

"Arceus! What the hell happened here?" came cry from the edge of the clearing, making Sneasel jump out of her skin. Poppy and Ember had returned from the river to find the campsite in disarray following the battle.

Finn laughed and scratched his head before motioning to the floor next to him. "We, er, had a visitor steal on through. Poppy, Ember, say hi to Sneasel."

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The Crimson Crawdaunt, Camford Town

Prof Douglas Fir sat perched in his favourite chair, at his favourite bar, looking out over the sun kissed terraces of his favourite place to be, Camford Town, Paese. His thoughts drifted like the ice cube in his glass, unable to pin down or focus without unconsciously drifting somewhere else. He always found that when his mind wandered like this that it was evidence that he needed to unwind and recharge, and the best way to do that was with a stiff drink and some pleasant company.

He looked around the bar for someone to strike up a conversation with, but it was filled with students and business men, and he had no time for either. The ice clinked in the bottom of his tumbler as he swiftly downed it's golden contents before savouring the intense heat flowing down his throat. A nearby waitress spotted an empty glass and swooped in to pick it up and offer the professor another, which he graciously accepted, once again proving to him that this was the best bar in town.

Suddenly, a waft of sweet smelling perfume enveloped his senses as a lady walked by him, looking for a seat. She was tall, or at least taller than most women he knew. He would have guessed a little over six foot, with long hazel brown hair effortlessly floating above her shoulders. She wore a sleeveless white blouse with a tight pencil skirt that dragged attention towards a ass that you would only normally see in your dreams. Tight and round, he shamelessly imagined the lurid things he would want to do to someone with a ass like that.

Just as his thoughts drifted off into far more graphic ideas, the woman turned around and noticed the empty chair across from him. Eyeing him briefly, the woman walked up to his table, whiskey tumbler in hand. "Mind if I join you?"

From his vantage, she looked to be in her late twenties but carried herself in a way that suggested she was older, maybe mid thirties. Her dress sense and body language told him that she was a professional for sure and her physique told him that if she was not still an athlete, she had been until very recently. He motioned to the chair and offered "Please, be my guest."

"She settled down into the chair and let out a held breath. "Thanks, you're a lifesaver. Why is it so busy in here?" She offered her hand to him. "I'm Clare, by the way."

He took her hand and shook it softly. "Doug, nice to meet you. This place is always busy. Great views, great drinks and a music low enough that you can actually have a conversation without shouting."

She smiled warmly and took a sip of her drink, settling back into her chair as the warmth of the golden liquid spread down her throat. "I see your point." she said as she watched the locals frolic on the terraces below. "It is nice here."

The two sat in silence for a few moments and appreciated the atmosphere a little before Clare spoke up. "So do you come here often?"

"Not really, only when I need to recharge my batteries a bit. You new in town?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure it's a rule that you have to have drank here at least once before they let you stay."

"Ha!" she cackled. "Well I guess I better start looking for houses."

Doug enjoyed her sense of humour, her laugh was deep and hearty rather than being light and giggly, and had the added bonus of making her chest jiggle.

"So, Doug, what is it that you do here?"

"I'm an archeologist, but I also teach a class over at Paese University."

"No kidding, I'm actually looking for an archeologist."

"There's a sentence that has never been said before!"

"No, really. I'm writing a novel about ancient legends and wanted to pick the brains of someone who knows what they were talking about to make sure I don't make an ass out of myself with my publisher. Would you mind if I ran a few things past you?"

"Er, sure, why not" he smiled as she removed her laptop and a dictaphone from her bag. "Do you have any in mind? I'm quite familiar with Kanto, Hoenn and Sinnoh legends."