Erina sympathized deeply with Boy and Millie. The lapras had suffered a major, life-threatening injury, and Boy felt responsible. But Erina could not see any way for him to make good on his promise of saving her. He had always made sweeping statements like this, ever since she came to know him back at Master's so-called pokémon school. Granted, he had actually been able to keep a number of them, but one could not ignore the other promises he had failed to realise. Those were the ones that played on her mind now, at a time when things could not be more serious. A life was on the line, and there was no place for empty words.
But Erina noticed a change in her friend. His words did not feel empty, they were weighty and filled with determination. It was clear that some things had happened, but she decided to ask him about it later. As he wiped stray tears away while navigating his newly-acquired pokédex, she could not help but believe in him and whatever plan he was about to set in motion. She knew that Boy cared deeply for the lapras, since they had practically grown up together. Boy made no secret of his desire to become Pokémon Champion – until recently, something the others, including Erina, had laughed off as a flight of fancy – so she rescued Millie and transported her here, to Viridian, and waited for Boy. Millie deserved to be saved, and she would help in any way she could.
"Ah, here it is," said Boy, talking to himself. He tapped something on the pokédex and raised it to his head. So it was a mobile phone in addition to a pokémon encyclopedia. "Professor Oak! I'm so glad you picked up! Yes, yes I've arrived at Viridian, but listen..."
Erina watched as Boy sought the help of the great Pokémon Professor. It was hard to believe that he'd managed to become friends with someone he'd idolized over the years. Even though the Professor was known to be quite an affable character, she was sure there was a story there, a little anecdote that had forged the friendship so quickly. Boy looked like he was about to lose his composure, speaking urgently into the phone. Erina stepped towards him, but something the Professor said seemed to calm him down. A plan was forming, by the sounds of it. One that would draw on Professor Oak's vast experience with pokémon. If there was something he knew that a trained professional like Nurse Joy didn't, Erina would not be surprised.
"Okay, okay, see you soon," Boy ended the call and looked at Erina. "He'll be here soon," he repeated. He took a deep breath to steady himself and collect his thoughts. "How did you know I would be here?"
Erina smiled weakly. "Well, you've spoken about your dream for so long I think I know it off by heart now."
Boy returned the smile. "Oh, yes." He let out a short laugh. "Well, thank you. How'd you get here so quickly?"
"You know, I'm usually the one full of questions," Erina chuckled. "I used an abra."
Boy's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? Whose abra?"
Erina hesitated. The answer to that question would not please Boy. His face betrayed his thoughts, he'd already guessed that Erina had asked Max for help, and that he had let her borrow his abra. There was an unpleasant history between Boy and Max, but Erina had no other choice given the circumstances. Using an abra to teleport Millie to Viridian City was the quickest way to get her out safely and to get her emergency treatment. She could have gone to Saffron City, with its cutting-edge medical marvels, but she'd decided in the moment that going to Boy was a better choice.
"Yes," she confirmed. "I went to Max, but Millie was fading fast so I had to hurry. She needed you, Boy. That's why I'm here."
Boy relented, suddenly looking tired. "Okay. Thank you."
Somewhere in the middle of their conversation, Nurse Joy had stepped out. She returned in clean, dry clothes with Professor Oak in tow. The Professor's eyes widened at the scene as he entered, but he took in the situation and quickly recentered himself.
"Boy! We have no time to lose, we need to leave now." The Professor pulled out a few pokéballs and released the pokémon. A clefairy and an alakazam appeared in front of them. "We're going to use teleportation. I assume you are familiar with this mode of transport?"
Boy groaned audibly. "It's my least favourite mode, but this is an emergency and Millie needs help. Let's go."
"Wait, where are we going, exactly?" asked Erina.
"The Sevii Islands. Four Island, to be exact," Professor Oak replied.
"You don't have to come, Erina. You've done enough already. Millie would be... gone without you, and I don't want you to be on the receiving end of another one of Master's wrathful attacks," said Boy.
He was genuinely concerned for her safety. Erina was touched. "It's okay, Boy. I want to go. Let's save Millie together."
Boy gave her a meaningful look, and she smiled in return.
"I don't think this abra's been to the Sevii Islands, would you mind if I hitch a ride with you?"
"Sure." Boy walked over to Millie with the alakazam, preparing for the jump. Nurse Joy gave him a small box, and explained to him how to administer the sedative.
"I guess that means you're with me," said Professor Oak. "Unfortunately, we don't have much time for introductions. Please brace yourself."
Boy placed one hand on the still-sleeping Millie, and the other on the alakazam's shoulder. Professor Oak and Erina each held one of the clefairy's hands. They all said goodbye to Nurse Joy, and Oak called out to his pokémon.
"Alright, alakazam, clefairy, we're going to Four Island. Teleport!"
The jump was instantaneous. One second, Erina saw the Nurse Joy in Viridian, the next, she was in a different Pokémon Center with a different Joy. Teleportation had no effect on her, but Boy staggered and almost fell. The resident chansey caught him and propped him up as he recovered. His aversion to teleportation was strange, he was the only one out of their entire class to display such a strong reaction. When he explained the sensation, he summed it up simply as vertigo. It passed relatively quickly and he thanked the chansey for her help.
Millie had jumped without issue. She was floating a few inches above the ground, asleep. The alakazam was using Telekinesis continuously, which Erina knew was an impressive feat. The Professor must have trained it well.
There was someone else waiting for them. Notwithstanding the current urgent situation, Erina immediately felt starstruck the moment she saw her. Her arms were folded, and she was discussing something with Four Island Nurse Joy. She was wearing a black, tight-fitting, short qipao with a revealing slit up the skirt on one side. She wore ruby slipper shoes on her feet and an intricate bracelet on her arm. The ensemble reminded Erina of someone between a librarian and a teacher, and yet neither of those while at the same time having impeccable style. But this was no time to fawn.
Lorelei of the Elite Four adjusted her glasses as Erina's group approached her. "Hello everyone." She appraised Millie, and frowned. "I can see why it would have been dangerous to place her in a pokéball. Let's move."
"Thank you for your assistance, Elite Lorelei. I appreciate it, and I am sure these young trainers do, too," said the Professor as they hurried outside. Erina and Boy both nodded in agreement.
"I'm sure you know, Oak. It's just a rumour, a folk tale that the people on this island have passed down through the generations. I've learned of bits and pieces growing up here, but nothing definitive. This is a one-in-a-million shot, and there are too many variables to guarantee that this would even work." Lorelei glanced at Millie. "I hope it does, though. I hope it does."
"I hope so, too," whispered Erina. Whatever it was, she yearned for it to be true.
They swiftly reached the eastern side of the island, where a small body of water stood. The water sparkled in the sunlight, and Erina thought it looked different from the puddles and the pond near the Pokémon Center. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it looked clearer somehow.
Beyond the water was the entrance to a cave. There was a small pier with a boat moored nearby, and next to that was a wooden sign.
Erina read it out loud: "'Icefall Cave. Beware of the falling ice!' Shouldn't we get some equipment and warm clothes before entering the dangerous icy cave?"
"I'm going in now," said Boy, already loosening the knots on the rope that secured the boat.
"We don't have much time, I'm afraid. We will proceed with both haste and caution," the Professor added.
The group travelled the short distance on the boat and entered Icefall Cave. It was freezing. Erina, Boy, Oak, the clefairy, and the alakazam all shivered as a gust of wind blew through the cave. Lorelei was unfazed, even though her clothes were the most ill-suited to being in a place like this.
She pulled out a pokéball and released a jynx. Neither Erina nor Boy had seen one before, and it was as strange as it looked. The jynx sashayed as it walked, it's rhythmic movements almost comical, at least to the new trainers. Lorelei directed it to freeze the body of water that was blocking their path, and they decended further into the cave.
Erina thought it strange how the walls of the cave shimmered with a dull light, and all she could come up with was that the large swathes of ice reflected the little light that came in through the entrance, though that did not explain the steady luminence as they ventured further into the cave. The temperature seemed to drop the deeper they went, Erina's breath frosting over in seconds.
There was a loud crash somewhere further along the path, which shook the ground so much that the group struggled to keep their balance. Falling ice. Erina feared for their safety, but Boy's resolute face gave her the courage to keep going.
Apart from the irregular, muted rumblings of breaking ice somewhere deep in the cave, it was eerily quiet, and Erina noticed several zubat sleeping on the ceiling. She was sure they noticed her group, too, but they did not seem concerned. In a few of the pools on each side, she briefly glimpsed some curious seel and psyduck, popping their heads out of the water to observe their passage through their domain. They did not seem hostile at all. Erina wondered if they knew Elite Lorelei, but dismissed the thought as silly. She had spent her childhood here, but that did not mean she had tamed all of the pokémon in the cave. Or maybe she did?
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"We are looking for a large, bright cavern that is supposed to be made of something called True Ice," Lorelei began. "According to legend, it is colder than absolute zero, nothing can break it, and nothing can melt it. Apparently, it was discovered by a lone adventurer who had lost his fingers to frostbite while traversing this cave, and when he touched it, his fingers grew back." Lorelei scoffed. "That's ostensibly where this belief came from, that True Ice contains tremendous healing properties." She paused, adjusting her glasses. "If it's true, it would be the miracle we need to save this lapras."
They came upon a waterfall, about four meters high in Erina's estimation. Lorelei again commanded her jynx to freeze the water, hopping the makeshift ice ledges and climbing up. Erina considered the creative use of Ice Beam, sharing a small smile with Lorelei.
She helped the Professor and the clefairy up, and followed Boy through another opening.
In this part of the cave, there was a large frozen section of water, smooth as glass, reminding Erina of a natural ice rink. Lorelei indicated another crevice-like opening at the other end, and slowly negotiated the ice field towards it, with the rest of the group following. Erina stepped on the glacial mass last, and it was slippery. She held her breath as she nervously slid over the ice.
She was making steady progress when there was a sudden loud, booming thunderclap overhead. Erina's head snapped up, but there was no time to react. A huge, odious stalactite fell right in front of her, wedging itself in the ice sheet with a deafening crash. The ice gave way, and Erina screamed as she plummeted into a dark void.
Erina rasped and wheezed as her eyes adjusted to the dark cavern she had fallen into. Miraculously, a flat piece of ice had broken her fall, and she survived with just a sore backside. As the dust and rubble cleared, a continuous glimmer seeped into the darkness, and Erina realized that even down here, Icefall Cave's walls emitted some degree of light.
She heard someone coughing nearby, and anxiously tramped over to help. She saw the clefairy, trying her utmost to help up Professor Oak. Erina took over, bearing his weight as he got to his feet. He winced and coughed again. It looked like he'd injured his ankle in the fall.
"Are you alright down there?" Boy shouted, somewhere above them.
"Uh, y-y-yeah, we're okay! Professor Oak has sprained his ankle, though!" Erina replied.
There was a short pause, then Elite Lorelei yelled: "Teleport back to the Pokémon Center!"
Erina knew they should have prepared better for this. She could not see anything that could be used as a splint, and neither of them had any medical supplies.
Professor Oak called to his clefairy, and both him and Erina were set to teleport. He commanded her to use her ability, but nothing happened. He tried again, with the same result. The pokémon was clearly making an effort but it was not working, and she had a look of confusion on her face. Erina and Oak regarded one another with a feeling of dread.
"Would my abra–" Erina began.
"No, I don't think so," the Professor answered.
Oak cleared his throat and yelled: "It appears Teleport has no effect here! We'll make our way out, you keep going!"
"What? Why? Stay right there, we'll come get you!"
"No, no! We don't have time! The lapras is in a critical condition, you need to find the cavern with True Ice! Just keep going!"
Another pause. "Okay! Just please be careful!" And they were gone.
Erina hoped Boy and Lorelei would find this mystical cavern soon. But she had a new objective now: finding the exit and escaping this cave safely with Professor Oak and his clefairy.
She surveyed the hole they were currently in, squinting through the dimness. There was a tunnel leading out and not much else. Erina moved carefully, supporting Professor Oak as they shuffled along the passage. It opened up into a grotto, and there were three more shafts connected to it. Unfortunately, one had caved-in, and another was too small for any of them to crawl through, even the clefairy. So they pulled through the third and found themselves in a large chamber, which was completely hollow except for a pool on one side, and a few openings past some ledges just above them.
They had travelled a fair distance, and Erina was becoming a bit concerned. Just how deep had they fallen?
"Well, it looks like there's time for introductions after all," quipped the Professor, leaning awkwardly against a wall. "I'm Pokémon Professor Oak, what's your name?"
Erina understood that the Professor was just trying to lighten the mood, and chuckled despite herself. Things could be worse, so she decided to play along. "Erina, my name is Erina. Nice to meet you, Professor."
"And you. I guess we at least have some options," he said, pointing out the five or so openings that would require climbing to reach. Since he was injured, that would be more difficult than usual.
Erina grunted. "Why didn't Teleport work?" she groused to herself.
"I've been thinking about that," offered the Professor. "You see, there are places in the world where some abilities are ineffectual. Those places are unusual, and research is ongoing. My personal view is that those locations are special for good reason, and often have some mysterious history connected to the region's myths and legends."
"So... there might be some truth to the old folk tales about this place?"
"It's somewhat likely, yes. It may seem like we came here on a wing and a prayer, but I think there is some grain of truth to this particular myth. Since Teleport appears useless here, I am optimistic that this fabled True Ice might actually exist."
Erina was heartened by the Professor's words. It would be a wonderful miracle if Boy managed to find the place and save Millie. She cursed her ill fortune, having been separated from him and being unable to help in the search.
Professor Oak noticed her disappointment, and changed the subject. "So, how do you know Boy?"
Erina was surprised that the Professor hadn't asked about the strangeness of the name. She supposed he simply accepted it without judgement. It had taken her a bit longer to reach that point when Boy had declared to his class that he had claimed the denotation as his identity. A pang of regret struck her, but she shook it off and answered the Professor.
"We were in the same class together," she replied. "He was actually the one who first met Millie."
"Oh, I see how deeply he cares for her," the Professor smiled. "That sort of bond is rare. It is very, very strong."
Erina agreed. She was a bit envious of their relationship, but tried not to show it on her face. "His pokédex registered her as his starter."
"Oh! It probably assumed the first pokémon it scanned would be his starter. It's a happy software bug, and I'll keep it in, I think. It wasn't entirely wrong, after all." The Professor chuckled, and petted the clefairy. "This technically isn't my clefairy."
Erina gave the Professor a quizzical look.
"She belongs to my granddaughter, Daisy. And the alakazam belongs to Blue, my grandson. They worry about me, you know?"
Erina smiled. She wondered idly if Max had let her borrow his newly-acquired abra because he was worried about her, too. It was a nice thought.
She was fairly competent as a pokémon trainer, even earning a commendation from Master once, but as she grew older she came to realise that her interests lay elsewhere. She preferred solving puzzles more than the allure of pokémon battling. Still, she felt compelled to keep up with the rest of her class, and was confident in her ability with pokémon.
There was a lull in the conversation, and Erina walked to the pool.
"Erina, do you know what happened to Millie?" the Professor asked.
"She was attacked," Erina said, peering into water.
"I am troubled by the nature of her wounds. They looked... excessively vicious. Do you know who attacked her?" the Professor prodded.
Erina knew exactly who had attacked Millie. She was there when it happened. She remembered seeing the purple arcs streak past her, she heard Millie's terrible cries of pain, and she felt the instantaneous wave of cold hit her when Articuno reacted far above them.
She stared into the pool of water, at her own reflection, but could not maintain her focus as she recalled the horrific events that had transpired a mere hour or so ago. Her thoughts became fuzzy, clouded. Who was it that had attacked Millie? The name seemed obvious in her recollection, but it failed to reach her lips for some bizarre reason.
"Erina?" Professor Oak called, concern apparent in his voice.
Erina shook her head in an attempt to clear it, to no avail. "I'm sorry, Professor. I don't know. Except I do, but..."
"Don't push yourself," Oak replied. There was a sort of recognition in his expression, and Erina took a deep breath and released her line of thinking. Her thoughts immediately harmonized, even though a little self-doubt remained.
What was that?
"Let's get ourselves out of here," the Professor said, with renewed vigour. "Up we go."
The Professor had picked a random exit and shrugged when Erina briefly looked askance at him. There was nothing to lose, so she helped him up and carried the clefairy as she scaled the wall up to the ledge.
A long passageway stretched out before them. Acting as his support once again, Erina and the Professor hobbled along slowly. The tunnel weaved left and right, inclined and disinclined, but was oddly uniform in shape. Erina and Oak both discerned the salty scent of the sea at the same time, and excitedly picked up the pace. It was well-known that the end of Icefall Cave was connected to the ocean. They would be out in minutes, and safe.
As they reached the end of the tunnel, they realised that they were mistaken.
Erina and the Professor stood on the precipice and gazed awestruck at the view in front of them. The place was huge, easily bigger than any of the other holes they had travelled through. It was properly deserving of the descriptor "cavernous" and extremely bright, illuminated by the ice like it was daytime. Erina witnessed the brilliant blue colour of the ice, dazzling almost like it was alive. There were giant pillars of the stuff around the space, and as Erina looked down she observed a large, near-perfect oval pool of water at the bottom, clear as crystal and sparkling in the light.
It felt providential: Erina and Oak had accidentally discovered the cavern of True Ice.
Professor Oak had pulled out a notepad and was sketching the panorama when he gasped audibly, snapping Erina out of her wonder. He pointed down with his pencil and Erina followed his direction.
There, standing at their own cliff face, were Boy and Lorelei, along with the jynx, alakazam, and Millie. They were also astounded by the sheer beauty of the place. Erina shouted joyfully and waved her arms. They had managed to find the cavern, too!
"Hey, Boy! Elite Lorelei! Hey! We're up here!"
A few minutes later, after a bit of climbing, the group reunited at a middle point. Erina was especially cheerful, because they'd actually done it, they had found the mythical cave. All around them, shards of True Ice were scattered, and they wasted no time in collecting a few in piles and constructing a makeshift bed for Millie. The folk tales were true, the True Ice was exceedingly cold, but the group persevered and managed to gather enough for their purpose.
Erina couldn't help but think, miracles do happen, after all.
Boy asked the alakazam to place the still-sleeping Millie gently on the stacks of ice. As soon as the Telekinesis was broken, Millie moaned softly, and Erina felt a wave of relief.
Lorelei had Oak seated up against a wall, and had set a piece of the True Ice on his swollen ankle. The shard was pulsating with light, and it diminished as the ice itself shrunk down to nothing. It didn't melt, it just... dwindled. There was no wetness, or anything to indicate that the ice had been placed there. Lorelei, the Professor and Erina all witnessed the phenomenon, but could not believe it. The Professor got up and performed an assessment of his ankle by shaking, kicking, and jumping with it. It was as good as new.
"Millie? Millie, are you okay?" asked Boy, sounding distraught. Erina turned around and saw the lapras, eyes still shut tight, her long neck dropped low and hanging limply. "What's happening?” he asked, panic entering his voice. "Why isn't it working?"
The group was baffled. They had just seen the True Ice in action, but they could not answer Boy.
He put his ear to her body, and listened to her heartbeat. His face betrayed his alarm and he frantically set about retrieving more True Ice, bare-handed.
"She's fading, I can barely hear her heart, guys please help me find more True Ice, quickly!" he pleaded. Erina stood, frozen in shock. Why wasn't it working? Millie's head was practically on the floor.
"Erina, please!" Boy implored, and she snapped out of it and gathered more of the ice around the dying lapras. Professor Oak and Lorelei were doing the same, all of them galvanized into action, including the other pokémon. By now, the ice had fully covered Millie's bottom half, but none of it was reacting to her presence. There was just the usual continuous light, and nothing more.
Then Millie whimpered and slumped completely onto the floor, the accumulated shards scattering all over as her considerable mass succumbed to the force of gravity.
"No!" Boy screamed. Erina felt his anguish, and tears began to form in her eyes. She pushed the displaced ice back onto Millie, willing for it to activate, but nothing happened.
Down below, the pool of water at the bottom of the cavern began gurgling ominously, becoming louder and more agitated by the second. The water sloshed and churned, spinning round in an angry whirlpool. Some of the cold water splashed up to the group, and they all stopped to look in apprehension. The pokémon trembled in fear, hiding behind Professor Oak and Lorelei. Something was coming, and it was the worst possible time.
The sound ended abruptly, but a few seconds later an enormous body of water rushed skywards, almost touching the cavern's high ceiling. Erina blinked and raised her arm reflexively, expecting the water to rain down on her, but it evaporated in a cloud of steam instead.
She perceived the almighty wingbeats of two tremendous creatures in the air above them, and took in a sharp breath.
"The gods of Johto," Professor Oak whispered, his mouth agape.
Lugia and Ho-oh had appeared.