Glaceon felt like she had accidentally frozen her feet to the ground, upon seeing the three Pokémon advancing towards them. Of course, she recognized the woman who was talking to Luna, but she hadn't realized a pool of dread had been building inside her until the woman's Pokémon had appeared in front of them.
The Roserade on the left was putting out a Sweet Scent, though it did anything but calm her nerves. It was working on some of her teammates and friends, though. Stantler and Rockruff immediately went to investigate, while Bellossom skipped towards Roserade, talking up a storm about the weather, and the sun, and the soil quality. Grass-type stuff.
Togekiss's wide smile was enough to draw in even the most hesitant members of their group; Porygon2, who analyzed everything around it first, and Absol, who was much the same. The Dark-type did say something about seeing if any good luck could be passed over to him, unlikely as that was.
That left Charmeleon and Monferno, who bounded up to Garchomp in awe. She followed them after a moment of deliberation.
"You're her!" Charmeleon began, looking up at the much taller Pokémon. "The strongest Pokémon out there! I'm going to take your title one day."
Before Glaceon could reprimand her idiotic, single-minded teammate, Monferno shoved Charmeleon. "Your head's full of smoke." Charmeleon shoved his friend back.
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
An actual puff of smoke escaped Garchomp's nostrils as she snorted, laughing at their antics. "Ah, to be young and foolish again," the powerful Dragon-type reminisced. Glaceon shifted uncomfortably as the mightiest Pokémon she had ever encountered met her own gaze. "What about you?" Garchomp asked. "Ready to take another crack at me?"
The image of Garchomp flying down from above on her and the feeling of powerlessness against such a foe flashed through Glaceon's mind. Then, the much more recent embarrassment of that Annihilape putting her to sleep with one measly punch did the same.
Glaceon glumly had to stare at the ground, whilst she was grinding her teeth inside. All this time, and she still wasn't even close to being ready.
----------------------------------------
She shook her head out of the memories of yesterday, as Luna was addressing them. Or was it two or three days ago? They had woken up early to train, but surely she wasn't that sleepy, to be so forgetful.
"Our next challenge is going to be the Pastoria Gym, which specializes in Water-types," Luna was saying. "That means, as you might expect, Bellossom is going to be the star of the show."
They all glanced over at their Grass-type teammate, who was quivering with excitement. "I can't wait!" Bellossom burst out with excitement.
Luna smiled at her before she became serious once more. She pounded a fist into her palm. "Water-types are probably some of the best at covering their own weakness. Pretty much all of them can learn an Ice-type move for Grass and Dragon-types, and that's not to mention those with dual-typings, like Tentacruel. I'm almost positive that the gym leader will bring a Gyarados, which is one such Pokémon. Bellossom is going to need threats like that eliminated so she can bring this one home."
Glaceon supposed that was where she came in. Gyarados being part flying made it better against grass, but worse against ice. With Freeze-Dry, she could do some serious damage to it.
That was, if she could use the move by then. It was still proving to be extremely challenging for her. Which was that someone on their team was often willing to bring up.
"Are we sure Glaceon is up to that?" Charmeleon asked, in a particularly foul mood today. No doubt he knew what was coming, since Luna had already told them once before. He had gotten his hopes up with Vivillon's departure, but Basculin's arrival had sent them crashing back to earth.
Luna ignored his muttering. "We're also going to be having some swimming lessons. The battlefield is likely going to be majority water. Even if you aren't a master swimmer by the time the battle rolls around, being able to swim a short distance and pull yourself onto something you can stand on is going to be invaluable."
Even in that, Glaceon mused, she wasn't the best anymore. She was an excellent swimmer, but Basculin could swim circles around her. "The team should be pretty obvious. Basculin, Glaceon, Absol, and Bellossom," Luna continued, to more incensed grumbling and choice words from Charmeleon.
"Any more complaints, Charmeleon, and I'll scrub your mouth out with soap," Luna warned him. "It's not like you're going to be twiddling your thumbs this whole time, I have plans for you too. First though, Glaceon, can you give a demonstration?"
Glaceon dove straight into the lake, hoping that the cool, refreshing waters would help clear her mind of all the doubt that had crept into for what had felt like weeks, as well as jolt her out of this haze and back into alertness.
"Why don't you swim out to that rock over there and back?" Luna suggested, gesturing to a large boulder mostly submerged in the lake, about forty of her body lengths away from them. As soon as she took off swimming, Basculin was by her side, offering a greeting.
"Hello, Glaceon. Today is a fine day for a swim."
"Sure is," she managed, not nearly as good at talking while swimming as her new teammate. "How are you?"
"I am as well as I can be, I suppose," Basculin replied. "Another day that I come closer to my demise. But it is also another day that I have escaped death's jaws."
"Right," Glaceon said, looking up and seeing she was halfway to the rock. She shook her head. They had just started! When she glanced back, she was still pretty close to the shore.
What was wrong with her today? Glaceon redoubled her swimming efforts, putting her head in the water and trying to think.
Absol, due to his solitary existence on a mountain for most of his life, and lack of interaction with almost anyone before joining their team, lacked social skills. He rarely participated in conversations, and spent most of his time doing his own thing, having mastered the art of appearing to be daydreaming though somehow remaining extremely perceptive at the same time.
On the other paw, Basculin had extremely good social skills. Even though they had basically nothing in common, Glaceon found it wasn't difficult to hold a conversation with him. The issue with him was that he had straddled the line between life and death, as Luna had put it. And that sort of experience changed you.
He certainly talked about the afterlife enough. Perhaps he would know something about ghosts that the average Pokémon wouldn't. "I have a question, Basculin. Since you know so much about spirits, can you tell me anything about Ghost-type attacks? I'm learning Shadow Ball, and while I know all the motions and I can create a small one, fully forming it is proving difficult for me."
"Likely, you are drawing inspiration from the wrong sources. Tell me: why do you think so many Normal-types can learn Shadow Ball?"
Glaceon didn't actually know. "I have no idea. They're opposites, right? It's like me learning a Fire-type move."
Basculin started swimming circles around her. "A common misconception. In truth, it is because of the circle of life and death. It is completely natural, and normal. Life ends with death, which gives way to new life. What seem like opposites are simply two halves of a whole. Ghost-types draw upon the same energy we do, to use their powers. Even in these calm waters, violence and destruction are always present. Especially these."
"What did you mean by these waters being especially violent?" Glaceon asked suspiciously, as they rounded the rock.
Basculin's smile was extremely fishy. "You'll see," he replied shadily. "But also, I cannot help but envision this water being stained red with blood."
Before she could ask him about that extremely ominous statement, Basculin disappeared into the depths, to where she could not see him. When he returned, it wasn't to make conversation.
Glaceon flailed for a couple as she was grazed by Basculin using an Aqua Jet. "What are you doing?!" she shouted, through a mouthful of water.
It was Luna who answered her question, yelling from the shore, as Basculin disappeared again. "Remember, we're going to be fighting! You have to be ready for being attacked while you're in the water!"
Oh, so that was the purpose of this. Basculin wasn't trying to draw her blood, at least. The Water Gun fired next was also aimed to barely graze her, though the attacks were extremely disruptive.
She realized, after struggling to dodge a few, that she couldn't let Basculin freely attack her. She needed to give the Water-type something to think about. Glaceon froze the water around her into a coat of armor, and shattered it, flinging the projectiles Basculin's way.
He still charged straight into her with Take Down, despite being hit with her Ice Shard, flinging her up into the air. "Feel the pain!" Basculin advised her. "Enjoy it! It sharpens your mind, and your decision making! There's no forgiveness in the water!"
Their newest teammate was also a bit of a sadist, judging by the way they had seen him ram into things with something akin like joy. Glaceon didn't know if Basculin actually wanted to head to the afterlife, but when she opened her eyes, she realized it was decent advice.
Instead of crash landing painfully on the water, she gritted her teeth and made sure she dove into it instead, using the momentum to gain distance. Basculin came in, snapping his jaws, but she returned the favor, lashing out with Ice Fang and forcing him away. He made a couple more runs at her, but Glaceon had gotten the hang of this, and she made it to the shallows where Basculin couldn't attack without risking beaching himself.
"Well done," Basculin offered, as she froze all the water covering her and let it fall to the ground as ice.
"Thanks," she replied, looking back at the water. "Your advice was pretty good, actually."
"Pain is an illusion," Basculin told her. "And so is death."
Whatever that meant. Glaceon wondered if she looked as uncoordinated and discombobulated as Absol did when he went for the swimming exercise. At least he had a couple of things going for him; the lessons on swimming that she had given him over the course of their journey, and the ability to use Detect, even while in the water, to dodge a few attacks.
Absol emerged, looking as disheveled as Glaceon had ever seen their usually composed friend. Even shaking out the water from his fur made Absol look like some sort of shaggy, misshapen Dubwool.
They stifled their laughter the best they could as Absol approached them. "How was it?"Glaceon asked the Dark-type between giggles.
"Challenging," Absol answered, after a moment to think. "There is something primal and terrifying about being in the water, knowing that something is lurking underneath you but not being able to see it until the last moment. Absol shook his head slightly. "I don't much like it."
Apparently, Bellossom didn't either. It was her turn, and she was hesitating to even take a step in the water. Luna pulled up her pants to her knees, took off her footwear, and waded in to demonstrate how easy it was. "Come on, Bellossom. I've seen you get hit with powerful Water-type moves! This is nothing in comparison."
Bellossom put a foot in, grimacing the whole time. "Yeah, but that's different! I wasn't actually in the water!" Despite her words, she continued to slowly take steps towards their trainer, who was coaxing her gently along.
When it came to the point of having to keep your head above water without our feet on the ground, which was admittedly pretty soon for Bellossom, the Grass-type couldn't take it any longer.
"Eeek!" she shrieked, lifting her leafy skirt up, spinning around and scrambling out of there as fast as her short legs could manage. Bellossom twirled around in rapid circles, sending water droplets flying in spirals, like some sort of contest appeal.
"Aren't plants supposed to like water?" Charmeleon asked under his breath, though Bellossom was still able to hear him. She didn't wobble at all when she came to a stop, despite all her spinning.
"That doesn't mean I want to be totally underwater!" she said, throwing her hands up into the air demonstratively. "Do I look like a Lotad to you?"
"Coulda fooled me," Charmeleon shot back. "You certainly act like a Ludicolo. Prancing along without a care in the world."
Glaceon was getting a headache again, stumbling over her words as she tried to break up their argument, to no avail.
Luckily, Luna stepped in quickly. "Alright, it's ok if Bellossom isn't comfortable right now getting in the water. We'll get there by the time of the battle."
Both Bellossom and Charmeleon seemed a bit skeptical, if Glaceon was being honest. Or maybe she was still sleepy. Their faces did seem a bit fuzzy. She blinked several times to try and clear her vision.
"I'm going to be working with Basculin again today, so I can get up to speed on these water arena battles. Glaceon, if I explain everything I want, everything that I want to be practiced, can you supervise the rest of the team?"
Despite Glaceon not feeling up to it at all, she nodded, doing her best to hide her discomfort. She didn't want Luna to think she was incapable of something as simple as overseeing training.
Their trainer gave her a quick thumbs up. "Great. Bellossom, I know we've discussed learning another Grass-type move, something that has more power that Magical Leaf but without the drawbacks of Petal Dance, but then I figured, why go backwards when we could go forwards."
"Let's keep enhancing what you're best at," Luna told the Grass-type, to which Bellossom cheered. "Let your creativity shine! I know you can do something with Magical Leaf that makes it better than it already is. As for Petal Dance, something people often use when they get woozy or tired are smelling salts, which essentially is a really strong scent that snaps you back into alertness."
She certainly could use something like that right now, Glaceon thought to herself.
"I think you can come up with something to counteract Petal Dance, considering you know Sweet Scent, and Aromatherapy, and because you were, uh," Luna tripped over her words, trying to find a polite way of stating that Bellossom was once a stinky, repulsive Gloom, but her message had been received.
"You can practice against Charmeleon." The Fire-type interrupted Luna's monologue with a groan.
"Is that all I'm going to be doing while we're here?" he complained. "Being a practice partner?"
Their trainer held up a hand to cut him off. "Can you let me finish? I've been knowing you wouldn't be a participant in this battle for a while, after all. Bellossom is going to use Sunny Day while you spar."
Charmeleon's head perked up at that. Luna gave him a genuine smile. "You've really impressed me with your control recently. I think you're ready to train with your ability."
"But remember," Luna warned, as Charmeleon bounced up and down excitedly. "You're only defending, and training your stamina right now. The goal is to not completely burn out with one or two attacks, but be able to consistently fight with the sun powering you up. "
She turned to Absol. "I still have extremely high hopes for the combination move we've been developing, and I don't want you to stop working on it. That said, you can also start thinking about other moves. Future Sight is one I've heard Absol can learn, and it would synergize well with Detect. I think you have the capability of learning Ice, Rock, Electric, or Fire moves as well, so give that some thought."
Finally, it was Glaceon's turn to hear her training for the day, and she already knew what was coming. "The goal for you is still mastering Freeze-Dry and Shadow Ball," Luna said apologetically. "Freeze-Dry is really going to turn around all your matchups against Water-types, and Shadow Ball is a really good neutral move to throw out against opponents who resist ice."
Glaceon sighed internally. The logic was extremely sound, and she really couldn't dispute any of it. She was disappointed in herself, more than anything. Everyone was progressing forwards, and she had become stuck in quicksand somewhere along the way.
"Alright," she began, once Luna had gone back to the water with Basculin, leaving them to their own devices. "Who wants to go first?"
"Me!" Bellossom and Charmeleon said at the same time. Apparently, the anger from their earlier spat hadn't faded away as of yet.
As Bellossom intensified the morning sun's rays with Sunny Day, which normally made it feel like late in the afternoon, though she wasn't feeling the effects, Glaceon tried to get her friends to calm down. She didn't have a silver tongue, but for some reason even words were feeling heavy in her mouth!
"Why don't you stand back so you won't get burned," Charmeleon told her dismissively, though Glaceon could see that he was already perspiring, despite his calm voice.
"Yeah, stand back!" Bellossom said, agreeing with her opponent. She immediately spun in a few circles to summon a Magical Leaf around her, but instead of directing them at Charmeleon, Bellossom fused the leaves together, into four, rainbow colored crescent shaped blades circling around her.
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Even Charmeleon's eyes widened upon seeing the display. "What is that?" he asked, with the barest hint of trepidation, as the blades slashed against each other frenetically, sendings sparks into the air.
"They're a new technique I've been thinking about debuting!" Bellossom told him, advancing while whirling two of the blades. "And I think I've found a dummy to test them on!" She lashed out with the two blades that were stationary, with the distraction of the spinning ones catching Charmeleon off guard.
This attack looked powerful. Had Charmeleon not been a Fire-type, he certainly would have done more than grunted upon impact. As it was, he narrowed his eyes and blocked the next couple attacks with Metal Claw, before swiping out with Fire Punch and forcing Bellossom to dance backwards.
Glaceon felt a twinge of jealousy. She remembered when she was the one with cool unique techniques. Now everyone was getting one.
She was startled as someone spoke next to her. "They are certainly enthusiastic today," Absol said, eyeing her oddly. "I wasn't trying to be sneaky. Are you feeling well?"
"I'm fine," Glaceon lied through her teeth, hoping Absol wouldn't detect it with the sixth sense he seemed to have. "A little tired, is all. What do you think that move is, the one that Bellossom is using?"
Luckily, Absol didn't notice or chose not to comment on her clumsy change of subject, instead looking towards the battle. Charmeleon had burned through two of Bellossom's creations by this point, though the sun was taking its toll on him, with his labored breathing and the sweat pouring off him as evidence.
"It appears to be Bellossom's own take on Leaf Blade," Absol mused. "Most Grass-types that can use the move, such as your counterpart Leafeon, for example, have long leaves on their body that they can convert into a blade. Bellossom has managed to circumvent that by creating her own. She's even copied my Swords Dance simply from observing me. Rather impressive."
What was also impressive was Bellossom's control of the Leaf Blades, allowing her to attack without putting herself in range of Charmeleon's attacks, since he wasn't allowed to use Flamethrower.
Case in point, Bellossom hurled one of her remaining blades at Charmeleon and grabbed the other in her hands, charging forwards with a battle cry.
Again, the distraction was effective, as Charmeleon narrowed his eyes, trying to track the path of the spinning Leaf Blade. He batted it out of the air with a Fire Punch, but that did leave him wide open to Bellossom's final strike.
Or it would have, had he not been able to breathe fire. Right as Glaceon was opening her mouth to yell at Charmeleon not to do that, Bellossom stumbled, also realizing what was about to happen. At the last second, Charmeleon let loose a puff of smoke that had Bellossom coughing, and spun in a circle, letting his tail take out Bellossom's legs and knock her on her behind.
The harsh sunlight faded away, and Bellossom popped right back up, her pride more bruised than her body. "Cheater!" she accused her opponent. "Charmeleon's a cheater!"
"I followed the rules," was the snide reply. "You're just mad because you fell for it."
"You tricked me!"
"Maybe you shouldn't fall for it next time!"
"Are you going to break this up?" Absol bent down and whispered in her ear.
Glaceon knew that was what she was supposed to do, but again, her body and mind felt so sluggish, and she could not find her voice to save her life right now.
Meanwhile, Charmeleon and Bellossom were not calming down. "Just admit it.," Charmleon was saying. "You're all flash, and tricks, and no substance. Quit being an airhead, playing around, acting like this is a game! Start taking this seriously, because if we lose this, it will be all your fault!"
"You're the worst!" Bellossom shot back at him furiously. "You always make things about yourself. Well, this battle isn't about you. We're going to prove that we can win this without you. That we don't need you!"
Charmeleon stilled, and for a moment Glaceon feared that he would actually attack, but instead he directed his flames to the side before falling into a furious silence. Glaceon took the opportunity to finally intervene.
"Why don't you guys cool off for a minute before you start working on Solarbeam-"
"I'm not doing anything with him!" Bellossom shouted angrily, turning her back and waltzing off.
"Not like I'd learn anything from you, anyways!" Charmeleon said, firing a parting shot at Bellossom's back. "Whatever. I'm going to take a nap." He glared at Glaceon as if hoping for a response, but when Glaceon couldn't find it within herself to go back at Charmeleon, he scoffed, kicking pebbles as he too left.
At least it hadn't gone completely terribly. They had both still improved. Marginally. She gestured to Absol. "Your turn."
The Dark-type was still glancing at her in concern. "Are you certain you are feeling well? You're not acting like yourself."
"I'm fine, Absol," Glaceon snapped at him. "All I need is a little rest, which I'll get once we're done. Happy? Now go ahead and do your thing."
He got the message and didn't reply this time, instead building up the two swirling tornadoes in front of him that normally would serve as the base for Razor Wind. He then fired Dark Pulse into the left tornado, letting the spiraling motion of the move align with the whirlwind until it was a much larger, darker and funnel-shaped tornado, which quickly bled into and converted the right one as well.
There was good reason that Luna was so insistent on getting this move to work. The power was obvious to anyone who saw them working on it. Even a safe distance away, Glaceon anchored her feet to the ground with ice, because just looking at the two swirling tornadoes made her feel like she was going to get picked up and tossed around by the raging winds.
But when Absol sliced through it, like he normally would for Razor Wind, the tornadoes collapsed upon themselves. There was the slightest bit of dissatisfaction on Absol's normally stoic face.
"That is what continues to consistently occur whenever I try to attack with the combination of moves. Any suggestions?" Absol asked her.
Glaceon tried to cast her mind back to when he had tried to utilize the move previously, but her memories continued to elude her, probably as a result of her not feeling well, and she was drawing a blank. Absol was still looking at her expectancy for an idea, so Glaceon tried to make up one on the spot, every word a chore to get out of her mouth.
"Er, you could try and make several, uh, smaller tornadoes? Maybe those would be easier to control. Because of their, ah, smaller size?"
She got the sense Absol was silently judging her. "We've already tried that," he said slowly. "As well as creating one giant one. Perhaps you should rest now, as opposed to later."
"If you're going to be so insistent, we can skip the rest of your training and go straight to mine. Have you decided what you want to work on next?" Glaceon managed through her gritted teeth.
Absol took a moment to ponder the question. "Rock or Electric," he quickly decided. "Ice and Fire are more than covered, after all."
Had she been in an ideal state of mind, Glaceon would have probably taken that statement as a compliment. Instead, it was another blow to her pride, because Glaceon didn't really feel like she was living up to her reputation as the Ice-type specialist on this team.
Freeze-Dry had to be mastered by the end of today, she decided. But first…
She recalled Basculin's words this time. Don't overthink this, she thought to herself. Even here, blades of grass were being crushed, leaves were falling off trees… Now that she was searching for it, death was all around them.
But at the same time, there was nothing unnatural about it. It simply was the way of things. Glaceon breathed in, trying to put aside the issues she was having today, and started calling upon that energy, building it into a black and purple ball at her mouth.
Normally, this was the point she would fail, but this time Shadow Ball was growing larger, to an acceptable size for a proper attack. The only mistake Glaceon made this time was not taking into account whatever was wrong with her today. When she reared back to throw the attack, her vision went foggy again, and she whipped it accidentally towards Absol.
Thankfully, her teammate was a Dark-type, and he caught the attack on his horn, only bothered a little. "There," he said with finality. "You did it. Now can you go get some rest?"
"No," Glaceon refused, even though she was struggling for breath and words were still slow coming out and she could hardly see a few feet in front of her. "I still need to master Freeze-Dry, too."
"Glaceon, you are ill, please-"
"Enough, Absol! You don't understand! I'm supposed to be the leader of this team, and I'm falling behind! Just because I evolved earlier than everyone else doesn't mean I'm still not capable of getting better! I need to do this! So, unless you're going to physically stop me, then I suggest you stay back and be silent!"
She knew that direct confrontation wasn't Absol's style, and therefore Absol conceding to her demands and backing off was not a huge surprise. What followed was, however. "If you aren't willing to listen to me, I'll get someone that you will listen to," he warned, stalking off.
Glaceon ignored him. She'd be done by the time he got back with Luna. She knew what to do. It was just a matter of making it happen.
Freeze-Dry was unlike other Ice-type moves. Instead of freezing water she created, or water in the air or around her, she was trying to freeze the water inside an opponent. The body naturally heated itself, so she had to breathe out air as cold as possible, to rapidly cool an opponent to the point of freezing.
She aimed at what she thought was a small tree, starting out with Icy Wind, but as powerful as she could make it, so she simply wouldn't frost over the tree, but freeze it from the inside.
Come on, come on, she chanted internally, putting everything she had into this one attack, until her body was quivering and shaking from the exertion. It seemed like she had been successful, and Glaceon couldn't help but grin when the blurry image of Luna came running in.
"Look! I did it!" she said, pointing to where she thought the tree was.
Luna only had eyes for her. "You're shivering," she whispered concernedly, dropping to her knees.
Glaceon could have scoffed. Shivering?! She hadn't shivered since she evolved-
A sense of dread gripped her, and for the first time, she realized exactly how much was wrong with her. She could hardly see, her tongue was heavy, her legs were struggling to hold her weight, and Glaceon could barely register her own heart beating. Worst of all though…
She couldn't get the words out, but the thought crossed her mind, as her vision went black, like she was going to fall asleep for a very, very long time.
I feel cold.
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I try my best not to panic, but it really starts setting in for me when Glaceon collapses to the ground with a whimper. "Hey! Glaceon, are you alright?! Can you hear me?!"
No response. I put my hand on her forehead, and recoil, because touching her is like touching a block of ice. Yes, she's an Ice-type, but she's only adapted for living in the cold. She's not made out of ice like a Glalie or something.
"Where is everyone else?" I ask Absol, somehow sounding calm. When he shrugs, I really have to keep my emotions in check and not yell at him. "Go find them and bring them here. Now."
He runs off, and I grab all the spare jackets and blankets and towels from my bag that I have, setting a few aside and wrapping up Glaceon as best I can. Even through all the layers, my hands are still getting numb from being in contact with her freezing body.
"Come on, Glaceon," I beg my first ever Pokémon, voice cracking. "Don't do this to me…" It feels like an eternity for Absol to return with Bellossom and Charmeleon, even though it's probably been a few minutes.
They both look extremely surprised, both at Glaceon's condition, and about how roughly I address them. "Bellossom, use Aromatherapy. You, warm that pile." Charmeleon gets to work, breathing on my linens, but even with the healing aroma Bellossom is putting out, Glaceon isn't getting any better.
My hands are trembling as I clumsily put her in the heated blankets, which quickly start to chill as the heat is sucked out of them into her body. "We need help," I whisper, picking her up and cradling her to my chest in an effort to try and give her some of my body heat.
Absol realizes what I mean, and nudges Bellossom, before they both run off ahead of me to find someone, but I call Charmeleon back as I stumble forward. "Stay and keep breathing hot air on her," I tell him, to which he slides his gait to walk backwards in front of me, while I stoop down as best I can to make it easier for him.
He's acting a little strange, so I address him. "Don't blame yourself. If anything, I should have noticed this earlier." I mean, what's wrong with me? My first Pokémon is on the verge of collapsing, and I couldn't tell? I know I have a lot on my plate, but that's no excuse!
Clearly my head isn't in the right place, because I'm spinning in circles, trying to find someone, anyone, to give us some aid, but finding that someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack right now.
Where are all the lifeguards? What way is it to the Pokémon Center? Why can't I find help in my time of need, with Glaceon an unresponsive block of ice in my arms?
Finally, even though my eyes have quickly started to become blurry with tears, I see a giant plume of petals in the sky, which is almost certainly Bellossom, and I take off in that direction.
The people Bellossom has found wouldn't be my first choice, considering they're Ash and friends, with a random yet rather familiar brunette girl in a green bandana with them as well, but…
I rush towards Brock, not offering any greetings and generally ignoring their stunned faces for now. He treated Paul's, now Ash's Chimchar in Hearthome. Surely he can do something for us!
"Brock, I know you're not a real doctor, but you have an Audino, and you help out nurses sometimes, right? Glaceon just collapsed earlier, and she's freezing cold, and I've been trying to keep her warm, but nothing's working, and I don't know what to do!"
He appears to understand some of my frantic rambling, and places his own hand on Glaceon, before pulling it back with an extremely concerned expression on his face. "She's completely lost the ability to regulate her own body temperature," he tells me grimly. "She needs to get to a Pokémon Center, immediately."
"Can that happen to a Glaceon?" the mystery girl asks worriedly. I look at her for just a second, and had not been panicking out of my mind, I might be asking questions of why she's here, since I know this chick.
As it is though, there are far more important things. "I- I can't find my way to one," I say miserably. Brock puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"It's going to be alright." He turns to May with all the authority of a gym leader. "Have Blaziken take Glaceon to the Pokémon Center of Lake Valor. Luna's right. She needs to be kept as warm as possible."
I reluctantly hand over Glaceon to May's Blaziken, when she summons the tall, fully evolved Hoenn starter. As it wrists light up with flame, and it takes off running, I look around for my team, and when I see a flash of white in the trees, indicating Absol is there, I sprint as fast as I can right after Blaziken, tuning whatever the twerps were saying to me out. I'm not getting left behind.
Of course, Blaziken is way faster than me, but it's the principle that matters. We burst into the Pokémon Center, and I immediately run up to Nurse Joy, since I see Blaziken leaning up against the wall, with Glaceon nowhere in sight.. "My Glaceon was just carried in," I tell her breathlessly. "Where is she?"
I can't find it within myself to appreciate the nurse's kind face right now. "Ma'am," she begins slowly and disarmingly, with her hands out in front of her, "your Pokémon is receiving the best care possible, but every second is vital right now, and-
There's a direction sign for urgent care on the wall, and based on Nurse Joy's words, I think that's where she is. Barely two steps on my way there, and Nurse Joy is there in a flash, blocking my path. I peer around into the hallway as she speaks.
"Ma'am, I can't have you interfering with any of our staff-"
"Let me see her," I interrupt softly, and she finally relents, after I add a please or three.
"Fine, but looking through the window only for now," she instructs, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me to the correct room.
Even if I were to plaster my face to the window, it would be near impossible, considering Glaceon is in some sort of large incubator, similar to the one I keep my egg in, with a gaggle of medical workers with their Chansey and Blissey are bustling around her, talking up a storm and taping IV tubes to my Pokémon.
Nurse Joy keeps one hand on the doorknob while eyeing me to see if I'd make any sudden movements, but she shouldn't have bothered. I already feel defeated.
I was just rubbing elbows with the Pokémon Champion! How could this all have gone so wrong?!