Four Island...

Four Island was the smallest among the Sevii Islands, but it had its fair share of points of interest. One of them was the local Pokémon Daycare Center, where trainers could leave their Pokémon so they could rest and relax, and with luck to have some training to learn new moves.

Red never found that appealing: he preferred to train his Pokémon by himself and keep under control the new moves they learned, to be always fully aware of what they could and couldn't do. However, since he was trying different things to try and make his Pokémon happier, he figured it wouldn't hurt to stop by and check what they had to offer.

Despite his initial thoughts, he had to admit it was a good idea to come here. At least Yellow was having some fun, happily riding on Doduo's back as the twin bird raced full speed all over the large garden.

"Giddy up, Doduo! Giddy up!"

He had caught Doduo at the Safari Zone and while he had some ideas to train him, he proved himself to be a very hyperactive Pokémon. Yellow suggested she could ride him and help him burn all that extra energy, and he had been happy to oblige.

As he saw his companion and his Pokémon happily riding all over the place, he found himself wishing he had Yellow's empathy level. She seemed to have it much easier to connect with Pokémon, or with people in general. After all, she had handled herself pretty well with Pikachu in the past week's incident.

By contrast, while he was starting to see the logic behind it, Red still had a hard time understanding the way to connect his feelings with his Pokémon's. There was a lot more than just training to bring out their true potential, but he was still unable to transmit his feelings the same way Ketchum did. Thinking about Ultima's words, at least he was working harder to understand better his Pokémon's personalities. However, there were many things he didn't get.

For starters, his Psyduck had spent the whole day in the same place, gazing at the pond. Red had no idea whether he was an intelligent Pokémon who was deep in thought, or simply fell asleep with his eyes open. Red tried to wave his hand in front of him a few times, but the duck didn't respond until the third time, and his response was a glare that Red interpreted as "don't bother me".

His Nidorino went around smashing rocks all over the garden. If anything, Red could notice he was always pumped up to train, and he could appreciate that enthusiasm. Perhaps he could think of something to make use of that for some special training.

His Persian, on the other hand, seemingly just wanted to take a nap. She was very loyal and obedient, but she didn't like it when her relaxation time was disturbed, so he ruled her out on potential interactions for the time being, letting her enjoy the sun.

So once again, he was left to work with Pikachu and Charizard. And even with them, he was still trying to figure out a way to link their feelings together to try and unlock new powers, if that made sense.

"Charizard, let's try it again."

His Fire-type roared to the sky before taking a battle stance. Red focused in trying to remember each moment they had spent together. The time he found him as Charmander. His first Gym Badge together. The Battle Dome Tournament finals. And last but not least, his evolution in the Fuchsia Tag Tournament, going through everything.

Then he punched the ground. "Blast Burn!"

At the lack of better ideas, he thought about trying to mimic Charizard's movements as he performed the attack. Perhaps that would help him get more 'in-character', so to speak.

Charizard, for his part, charged all his power, punched the ground and…

There was a small tremor, and then a small puff of smoke from the ground. Not even remotely close to the powerful explosive attack Ultima had used.

At that point it wasn't surprising anymore: all of their attempts had ended like that since they had left Two Island. Was the failure due to the lack of the strange ring Ultima had lent him before, or just because his bond with Charizard wasn't still strong enough?

Red didn't want to give it up that easily. A move as powerful as Blast Burn could be a great weapon to have at the Pokémon League, but while he was very close to making it during his battle with Ultima, he hadn't been able to pull it off again since then.

"Failed again?" Yellow's voice called him out. Red perked up his head and saw her approaching, still riding Doduo.

"This isn't working," he said.

"Hey, don't sweat it. You might not have it for the Indigo Conference, but we can come back after you win it and ask Ms. Ultima to help you master it," Yellow suggested.

Maybe that was true. After all, it wasn't like he had any plans after the Indigo League had ended. And while he didn't want to proclaim himself winner before even starting, it was nice to see she had so much confidence in him. He couldn't let her down.

"I guess we should focus on our goal at hand," Red said.

"If you mean that place clearly screaming out loud 'it's a trap, it's a trap', we still haven't found anything."

That was true; since they came to the Sevii Islands, the only hint about their goal was that annoying girl with the Abra. They were nearing half a month in the Sevii Islands and they didn't seem any closer to finding her or her friends. He was even tempted to continue on his path and forget that offer… and then he remembered he had a responsibility with Snorlax and needed to level the playing field with Ketchum. He just couldn't leave it that way.

"Don't you want to join them, lad?" a voice called out to him from behind.

Red turned around, and saw the elderly couple who ran the place approaching. The boy didn't reply, he just stared at them while Yellow came over and hopped off of Doduo's back, leaving the bird to run off on his own again.

"You have a nice place here," the blonde said. "There's plenty of space to run and play."

"We're glad you like it, lass," the old man said. "You know, this is the first time someone brings so many Pokémon to our place at once."

"Hopefully they're not giving you too much trouble." Red scratched the back of her head.

"Oh, no, none at all. It's just that trainers usually bring one or two at a time," the woman said. "You can rest easy, though; we'll give them all the care they need."

"Thank you."

And those were the only words Red spared. He knew the old couple wanted to be friendly and talk to him, but he had no idea of what they could talk about. Luckily for him, Yellow was quick to take it up with them.

"So, do you have any interesting stories about this place?" the blonde asked.

"As a matter of fact, our Daycare Center has earned some prestige in Kanto and the Sevii Islands," the old man said with a hint of pride.

"Your place is famous?" Yellow asked with curiosity.

"Have you heard of Lorelei of the Elite Four?" the woman asked. Red and Yellow nodded, she was of course one of Kanto's strongest and most famous trainers. "Well, she was born and raised on this very island. In fact, it was in this very place she got her starter Pokémon."

"Are you serious?!" Yellow cried out as she widened her eyes in excitement.

"Oh darling, remember how excited was young Lorelei that day?" The old woman sighed with nostalgia.

"Like it was yesterday." The old man seemed to get lost in his memories for a few seconds. "Ah, and she made that baby Seel grow into a full-fledged champion."

And thus, the conversation went that way, with Yellow asking questions about Lorelei and the couple happily answering, even sharing some tales about the Elite Four member's youth. Red didn't intervene, but he listened fully. It was interesting to hear tales about the beginnings of such a remarkable trainer, unbelievable as it was that she once had been a rookie like him.

"But Lorelei never rested on her laurels; she showed great potential since she was a child," the old man declared with pride. "Shortly after she got Seel, she ventured in the Icefall Cave to catch herself a Lapras."

At the sole mention of a Lapras, Red perked up and turned his attention away from the conversation and to the old couple. That definitely was worth talking about.

"You can catch Lapras on this island?"

The elderly couple was seemingly surprised to hear him talk, but they were quick to answer.

"You can find them in the Icefall Cave, but they're extremely rare and hard to see."

"I know that look, Red!" Yellow piped up. "You want to catch a Lapras, don't you?"

That was not a question, it was a statement of fact. Red still recalled that strange dream he had, where he owned a Lapras and used it to fight against Ketchum. He didn't believe in fate, but since then, he had been thinking that a Lapras could be a good asset for his team.

Of course, there was also the possibility that it was just a weird dream and he was giving it too much thought. Like that time Yellow dreamed the Elite Four was trying to take over the world and she had to stop them with only Pikachu's help. She had spent a whole day talking about that dream.

Regardless, Red needed to catch a Lapras urgently. The way he used Gyarados to travel by water wasn't exactly the safest, so he would be better off finding another Pokémon able to carry him before he ended up lost at sea in the worst-case scenario. After all, he had already fought a shockproof Gyarados.

"I'm afraid it might be nigh impossible for you to find a Lapras in the Icefall Cave, lad," the old woman said with a serious tone. "They're usually found in the deepest part of the cave, and they rarely come outside."

"So what?" Yellow asked. "Red is a very strong trainer, he can deal with anything."

"There's a reason why it's called Icefall Cave," the old man said. "Inside it, there's one of the biggest natural reserves of Nevermelt Ice in the planet, so it's a lot colder than you could possibly imagine."

"Nevermelt Ice?" Yellow tilted her head in confusion.

"It's a very rare kind of icy crystal," the woman explained. "It looks a lot like ordinary ice, but much colder. If you touch it with your bare hands you'll suffer frostbite."

"They also say it boosts the power of Ice-type moves," Red intervened. Yellow glanced at him, and he just shrugged. "I read about it."

"Well, if you've read about it, you probably can imagine how cold the inside of the cave actually is. Plus, in the deepest parts, the terrain is rather tricky and a single false step could be fatal. Should you fall into the icy water, you'd suffer hypothermia even if you could possibly get out of it."

"It would take more than that to take Red out," Yellow defended him with her usual confidence.

"Don't underestimate the Icefall Cave." The old man took an even more serious expression. "You enter there at your own risk. You sure you want to go?"

Red just nodded. That was a risk he was willing to take. Thanks to his Charizard Bloodline he was able to endure the cold, so he'd have higher chances to come out of that cave safe and sound. Yellow, on the other hand, didn't have that kind of power, so he wasn't willing to drag her and put her in danger just for the chance of catching a Pokémon.

"Yellow, can you stay with my Pokémon in the Daycare while I go explore that cave?"

His companion looked at him for an instant, before understanding what she was being asked and then she nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry, Red. I'll take care of everything here," she declared confidently.

"Alright. Charizard, you stay here and help Yellow."

His Pokémon silently nodded, though Yellow seemed confused at what he had just said.

"You sure you want to leave Charizard here? It might be better to take him along, considering you're getting into an icy cave."

"Don't worry. I have another Fire-type I'd like to train for a bit."

"You seem determined to go, don't you, boy?" The old man sighed, knowing he couldn't stop him. "In that case, the least we could do is offering you a map, maybe you can use it. There's also a place where you can rent some gear to protect yourself from the cold."

"Wait for a moment, I'll get the map for you," the old woman said, after resigning herself as well.

It had been decided. After thanking the old couple for the map, Red decided to prepare a team to take to the cave. He'd definitely take Pikachu along, even if that left him room to leave another Pokémon resting at the Daycare.

He pondered for a while which of his Pokémon he should leave. Victreebel would definitely be happy to spend some time in a garden like that, though his Dugtrio also needed some room to dig holes at his leisure.

Then a name came to his head: Clefairy.

Since the incident with that Hypno, his relationship with Clefairy had started to improve. Maybe it was time to give him a vote of trust and let him have some fun, within limits. His choice made, he grabbed Clefairy's ball and let him out on the grass.

"Fairy!"

His Fairy-type appeared, once again with that unsettling gaze he always had. Though, Red didn't find it as worrying as before.

Unfortunately, the rest of his Pokémon begged to differ, as they quickly became tense even before Clefairy took a step towards them. Doduo ran off and tried to hide behind Yellow, Persian rose up and hissed with anger, Psyduck continued to watch the pond without moving, Charizard seemed ready to shoot fire at him at any second, and Nidorino stepped back with nervousness.

The rejection from the other Pokémon towards Clefairy quickly saddened the Fairy-type. Red frowned; he expected a reaction like that, and it was understandable, but still... he tried to think of what to say, only for nothing to come back to him. All the while, his team of Pokémon remained on guard, while Clefairy stared at them in confusion. He gulped, mind blank.

And that was when Yellow stepped in between them, turning between Red's Clefairy and his other team members.

"Hey, there, I get why you're all so jumpy. Clefairy was rather nasty in the past, and he's creepy to boot," Yellow said, smiling. "But that's just because he didn't know what he was doing was wrong. He did bad stuff and needs to learn to be good, but he can't do that without your help. Clefairy, you regret what happened, right?"

Clefairy nodded, quickly bowing to the rest of the Pokémon. All of them looked on in surprise, even more so when Clefairy gave them a sad, apologetic look. Yellow smiled and patted the Pokémon's shoulders before he faced the rest of Red's Pokémon again.

"I don't want to force you to forgive him or anything now, but I think with your help, Clefairy can become a friend and a team mate worth trusting, but that also depends on you. What do you say?"

For a brief moment, everybody remained silent, staring at the seemingly apologetic Fairy-type. Clefairy gazed at Yellow and the other Pokémon. They still seemed distrustful, but after a brief pause, Psyduck began walking for the first time in the entire day and stood before Clefairy.

And then, he offered his hand for a friendly shake. The Fairy-type quickly accepted it, along with the vote of trust. Things quickly seemed to improve, as Doduo timidly approached Clefairy, while Charizard and Persian went back to lay on the ground, and Nidorino calmed a bit. Soon, all the Pokémon surrounded Clefairy, and Red could see Clefairy's unsettling smirk turn into a sincere, happy smile, all while Yellow winked and gave the team a thumbs up.

Once again, Red was grateful to have Yellow as a traveling companion.

"Well Pikachu, time to go."

The Electric-type, who at the time was happily playing along with the Daycare's Ditto, quickly turned to the trainer and nimbly jumped to his shoulder. Red checked the Pokéballs with the Pokémon he'd take to the cave one last time, and seeing everything in order, he finally departed.

"Good luck Red!"

The trainer simply raised the arm and waved at Yellow. He'd definitely find a Lapras. If that weird dream had any meaning behind it, it would probably be that. Red was sure he'd be ready to find any kind of danger the Icefall Cave could throw at him.

----------------------------------------

Icefall Cave, a couple hours later…

While his intention in renting the protective gear for the cold was just to cover appearances, Red quickly realized he was going to need it.

As soon as he set foot inside the cave he could literally feel that what the old couple had said about it was no exaggeration. Even with his bloodline he could still feel the low temperature, and the deeper he went in, the more it seemed to descend. It was unbelievable that a tropical archipelago like the Sevii Islands could have such a cold place.

The map the old couple had given him was pretty old (about ten years), but even so it had been pretty useful to navigate. Luckily for him, the cave didn't seem to have changed that much due to earthquakes or something.

At first, from the entrance, all he found were seemingly endless hordes of Zubat and Golbat. Fortunately, all it took to keep them at bay was a Psywave attack from Slowbro. Although the residual effect for being so close sometimes interfered with his Victory Sight, he was actually considering to navigate without it, for a change of pace.

"Let's see… if we go up there, we should have arrived to the very center of the cave."

The climb seemed a bit high, though, and the terrain was a bit too jagged to try and climb by hand. But he had another option: he quickly grabbed Rhyhorn's Safari Ball.

The Rock-type showed up before him, awaiting instructions. It was time to put to practice what he had gotten out of that TM.

"Can you climb up there?" Red asked as he pointed at the jaggy wall. Rhyhorn nodded, so the trainer quickly added. "Can you take me on your back?"

Rhyhorn glanced at the climb a couple more times, before turning to her trainer and nod with a firm "Horn". Red had read somewhere that Rhyhorn riding was a rather popular sport at the Kalos region. He had no idea about the specifics, but now it was as good time as any to try it out.

With that in mind, he and Pikachu hopped onto Rhyhorn's back, pointing forward. "Rock Climb, go."

Rhyhorn's foreclaws enlarged and glowed white. She stepped back a bit to get some momentum and ran forward, her stomping echoing across the cave. She jumped towards the wall, beginning a quick (for her species) ascent. In just a matter of seconds, they had reached the top safely, much to Red's surprise. He hadn't imagined a Rhyhorn could move that fast.

Still, while the ride was somewhat enjoyable, the stop wasn't, as Rhyhorn landed up the hill with a thud. As he hopped off her back, Red decided they had to work on that.

"Good work," he said.

Rhyhorn smiled with satisfaction, and then Red could see where they had arrived. According to the map, there was a very large Nevermelt Ice formation right in the cave's center area. It wasn't wrong: the temperature dropped a few grades as soon as he reached the top. The air around him was so cold that he had to voluntarily use his fire breath to warm himself up, even with the protective clothes, and Pikachu actually asked him to open his jacket so he could take shelter in it.

The low temperature, however, didn't prevent Red from appreciating the natural wonder in front of them. The icy crystal formations in front of him intercrossed in unimaginable ways. It kinda reminded him of that comic about an alien superhero, who had an ice fortress where he went whenever he wanted some solitude. Sometimes he wished he had a place like that for himself.

"So this is Nevermelt Ice," Red mused as he approached to get a better look.

The closer he got, the colder it became. He doubted that even as a Bloodliner he could touch it directly, and indeed, when he tried to rip out a piece of it, his hands went numb after a while, even while wearing his gloves.

He then turned to Rhyhorn, and pointed at the icy formation. "Can you help me? Please?"

Rhyhorn glanced at her trainer for a bit, and then looked at the giant ice crystal. Her horn glowed white and then she charged, ramming it where Red had pointed. Once, twice, thrice before a few good chunks broke off the formation.

Red picked up one shard that fit in his hand, still feeling the cold it radiated, and quickly placed it in one of his backpack's pouches. In the hypothetical scenario of not finding the Lapras he was looking for, he could at least take a souvenir to ensure his visit to the cave wasn't a total waste.

"Thanks for your help," he said to Rhyhorn, whose mouth curved into a smile as Red returned her to her ball.

Glancing at the icy formation one last time, he continued his way. Once he was far enough, Pikachu could get out of his jacket and hop back onto his shoulder. They still hadn't reached the deepest part of the cave, the limit they had marked on the map, so they could still advance a little more.

The further they went into the cave's depths, the more obstacles they found in their path. Those included large rocks, which fortunately Kangaskhan could easily push away or smash with a single kick to clear their way, frozen ponds they had to carefully skate across, and the occasional wall that required Rhyhorn's climbing aptitudes.

He still hadn't had any luck in finding a Lapras, despite trying to follow closely the zones with water. Red had imagined his chances would improve in said areas, but so far he hadn't even seen even one of them. Would he have to venture even further?

Checking the map once more, there was only one more big area left to explore, before reaching the marked limit. However, he had a rather nasty surprise when he saw the fastest route, a natural bridge over a large breach, had crumbled. He could have flown over the gap with Charizard, but he wasn't there.

Fortunately, there was an alternate route, but it would require him to go down a little bit and take a rather long detour. That would take a while, but it wasn't like he was in a hurry to find what he was looking for. He might as well take his time at it.

…

After half an hour of climbing down a jaggy road, he reached an area where the floor was all ice, a large frozen pond at the bottom of a waterfall. The route was pretty straightforward, so he couldn't get lost. All he had to do was slide to the other side and continue his path to the next area left to explore.

"Sneasel!"

Suddenly, without further warning, a shadow leapt at them. When he felt Pikachu tensing on his shoulder, Red stopped and barely had enough time to jump out of the attacker's way, dodging what could have been a deadly slash.

Upon turning around, he could see it clearly: it was a bipedal, dark-furred feline Pokémon with a red feather on his ear and similar ones in his tail. His slim and long arms ended in sharp claws. A Johtonian species he had seen in some of his PokéGear videos, a Sneasel.

"Pika…" Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and sparked through his cheeks.

"Sne, sneasel!" Sneasel replied, making a gesture with his claws that they could easily interpret as 'Get out of here'. However, Red also saw Pikachu increasing the sparks as if he had been insulted or something, and he almost charged in to attack without warning.

"Hold on." Red stopped him. "Let me try something else."

Pikachu stepped back, and Red grabbed the Pokéball containing Ponyta. Aside from wanting to train some of his newer Pokémon, it would also give him a type advantage.

The fire horse snorted and stomped as he flared up. If that Sneasel was protecting his territory, they'd have to beat him to continue.

Victory Odds: 80% in their current situation.

"Sneasel!" Sneasel cried before blowing an Icy Wind at them.

"Flame Charge!" Red called.

Ponyta neighed and stomped furiously before galloping engulfed in flames at the black cat. He dodged by making a quick sidestep to disappear and reappear somewhere else, repeating the process over and over again everywhere.

He then stopped at a short distance and sliding across the icy floor he rushed to try and ram Ponyta by the side.

"Stomp!" Red called.

Ponyta turned around and raised his forelegs, his hooves glowing white. Sneasel stopped, and doing a quick feint dodged Ponyta's stomp before landing a violent swipe behind the neck.

Agility and Feint Attack. His Victory Odds had just dropped to 75% with those two moves. Time to play it safer.

"Fire Spin!" Red called. Ponyta obliged and shot a fiery spiral.

Sneasel however dodged again using Agility, and landed a double swipe with his claws coated in metal.

Victory Odds: 70% and dropping. That Sneasel was pretty fast and had good attacks. He needed to land a Fire Spin to turn the tide. With that in mind, the next step was to match his speed, so Red called again for Ponyta to use Flame Charge to take advantage of the additional effect.

Sneasel kept dodging and countering their attacks, but Ponyta was able to keep up with little difficulty, managing to get closer every time. However, Sneasel's habit of Feint-Attacking its way out to counter them made it hard.

'What if I let it attack first?' Red asked himself, as he saw Sneasel blowing another Icy Wind at Ponyta's leg, although the flame burning in it quickly melt the ice coat before it formed.

When Sneasel was readying another Metal Claw, Red saw his odds for what he was about to do were 55% at best, but he didn't have any better choices, given the circumstances. Everything else was below 50%.

"Stomp!"

Again, Ponyta reared and his hooves glowed white, clashing against Sneasel's metallic claws. The cat defended as best as he could, but one of the hooves managed to hit him on the head, leaving him in a daze. Now was their chance.

"Fire Spin!"

Ponyta jumped back and opened his muzzle to let out another fiery spiral, trapping Sneasel in a burning column without escape. Red palmed one of his empty Pokéballs, wondering what to do.

Should he catch Sneasel? He seemed like a good fighter and had a decent moveset, but he had attacked them rather aggressively when defending its turf. He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with another Pokémon with a hard personality, considering that he was trying to connect with his current ones.

"Sneasel!" Red heard him cry in pain inside the burning whirl.

On the other hand, it seemed like he had inflicted some serious burns, and there was no guarantee Sneasel would be fine if left alone. And in case of not finding the Lapras he wanted, leaving with a catch and the Nevermelt Ice would have made his visit to the cave worth something. Perhaps an extra catch wouldn't hurt just in case.

He finally raised the ball and threw it as soon as Ponyta stopped shooting fire. The ball hit Sneasel and absorbed him, shaking around until the activation button finally stopped blinking, letting out the *PING* of a successful catch.

Red picked up the ball and studied it. If Sneasel was troublesome or not, he would find it out later. Until then, there was still the rest of the cave to explore.

…

After quite a bit more of exploring, Red finally reached the last area following the cave's inner river. Even though he found several Pokémon species in the water, he didn't see a single Lapras. Everything pointed to having to go to the off-limits zone if he wanted to find one.

Before continuing his path, he decided it was about time to take a break. He stopped in one of the least cold areas of the cave, letting the rest of the active team to come out and share a few snacks he had brought along.

Red glanced at his Pokémon. Except for Pikachu, all of them were relatively recent: in the case of Rhyhorn, Ponyta and Kangaskhan, who had been caught at the Safari Zone, or Slowbro, back in Three Island. He pulled out the Pokémon snack bags and gave a handful to each of them.

Somehow, he actually found nice to see their grateful expressions as they began snacking on the offered food.

"I… want to thank you guys," he said, causing everybody to turn around. "I know we haven't been together for long, but… I'm glad you're willing to help me."

He had never been good with words, but it pleased him to see everybody smiling at him. Even Pikachu, who usually kept a serious demeanor, gave a nod of approval.

After eating a couple of energy bars, Red grabbed the Pokéball that had caught Sneasel. Having left the rest back with Yellow at the Daycare, he had the sixth active slot empty. He had reserved it for that Lapras, but now that Sneasel had taken it… perhaps it was a good time to let him out and try to bond with him.

And he might as well cure the wounds from the fight they had before while he was at it.

Taking some distance just in case, Red opened the ball to let Sneasel out. He didn't look so bad, although the burns from the previous fight were still visible. The feline glanced at him with wariness, and tensed as he saw the spray bottle in his hands.

"It's for your burns," Red said. "Let me heal you."

Sneasel seemed to hesitate, but it finally relaxed and let Red apply the medicine. A minute or so, the burns had all but vanished, and with that Red pulled out another bag of Pokémon snacks. One that also had some slices of Oran and Sitrus Berries.

"Sne, sneasel!" the feline shouted after he finished it.

"What?" a confused Red asked. "Do you want more?"

"Sel!" Sneasel nodded.

Red didn't know what else to do at the time. The others had finished their own snacks. He still had a few bags to spare, though. It wouldn't do any harm to give another to Sneasel, right?

"Sneasel, sneasel!" the black cat shouted, as he clanked his claws and grinned in satisfaction after he ended his second bag. Fortunately he didn't ask for thirds; he seemingly had sated his hunger with the second.

"So… did you like that?" Red asked, and Sneasel firmly nodded. "I can get you more, if you come with us."

The feline tilted his head. "Sneasel?"

"I came to this cave hoping to catch a Lapras," Red explained. "But if I can't find it, you're a good fighter. You can have a spot in my team, if you want."

"Sne, sneasel!" the feline happily shouted. Then, he suddenly perked up his feather ear and listened, looking to his left side. "Sneasel?"

"What's wrong?" Red asked.

Sneasel didn't answer, he just kept listening. Maybe he just heard something that alerted him. Would it be just a Pokémon, or maybe someone else was exploring the Icefall Cave that day?

Whatever it was, Red decided that they had rested enough and stood back up. He recalled his Pokémon, and with Pikachu back on his shoulder, he decided to continue his way, so he checked the map once more.

Having already explored all of the 'safe' zone and not having any luck in finding a Lapras, his only choice left was to get into the deeper zone, beyond the limit marked on the map.

On the one hand, he could go back with Sneasel and the Nevermelt Ice shard he had picked up. On the other, if he just had to venture in the cave's back area to find the Lapras he was looking for, would it be worth some extra effort from his part?

Red glanced at the wall in front of him. In order to reach the back of the cave, where the Lapras supposedly were usually found, he'd have to traverse a rather narrow edge, with barely enough room to go by sliding against the wall, and about fifty feet above the icy river that ran through the entire cave.

It was a risk, but if he wanted to achieve his goal, he'd have to take it. As for how safe would it be to cross that little path, his Victory Sight gave him 85% odds at best.

With that in mind, he took a deep breath and began crossing it, carefully watching his step. He placed himself with his back turned to the river so he wouldn't look down, and to avoid thinking about falling into it. He went slowly, watching every single step to avoid slipping and fall off. Meanwhile, Pikachu kept clinging to his shoulder, as he clearly didn't enjoy being there. The sooner they crossed, the better.

However, when they were halfway through some very familiar screeches echoed. He looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. Why did those damned bats had to show up when they needed them the least?

"Pika!" shouted Pikachu as the Zubat swarmed him and tried to sink their teeth on him.

In any other circumstances, they could have easily gotten rid of them without issue, but given their current position, with Pikachu over his shoulder and him having to cling to the wall to avoid falling off, that wasn't possible. If only he hadn't chosen to cross that way to avoid looking down…

"Pikapika!" Pikachu yelled. For some reason, Red had the strange feeling that he was asking 'What do we do?', and having no other choice, he decided to give him an order.

"Use Thunderbolt to drive them off."

"Pika?"

"Just do it!" Red insisted.

Obviously Pikachu didn't want to electrocute him, but having no alternatives, he unleashed the electric attack. Red shut his eyes and clenched his teeth to endure the discharge. It was good that he was a bloodliner, for an attack like that at point-blank range could leave him catatonic or even kill him if he was a normal human.

Pikachu interrupted the attack once they drove the bats away, but more came over them. Red decided to dare and turn around, and once he verified there was nobody looking, he blew a few fire streams to drive the Zubat away. Once he had a moment's rest, he tried to move to the other side to finish crossing as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, in his hurry he didn't notice a piece of the floor was cracked. Pikachu tried to jump off his shoulder to attack without electrocuting him, but after he did and drove the Zubat away, the floor under his feet gave out and he slipped down.

Red's natural reaction was obviously to reach out for him: he managed to get hold of his tail, but after he stepped forward he also slipped into the crack, and although his other hand instinctively reached for something, all it found was thin air.

They were falling. They were going to fall inevitably into the icy river down below, and nothing could stop it.

----------------------------------------

At the daycare…

Despite being used to go just about anywhere with Red, Yellow didn't have a single moment of boredom while waiting for his return. Besides, no matter how hard his little tour through the cave was, he could take care of himself.

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Aside from Red's Pokémon, there were plenty of others at the Daycare; those who belonged to the elderly couple and other trainers. Normally, visitors wouldn't be allowed to touch Pokémon that weren't theirs, but that time, they decided to make an exception.

"Catch!"

"Rattata!"

A little frisky Rattata who had plenty of extra energy to burn and making a bit of a mess had become Yellow's newest playmate. The blonde had borrowed a couple of flying discs, throwing them and challenging the little rodent to catch them.

She had taken quite a while, but it seemed like he was finally getting tired after jumping and chewing on the red disc she had just thrown.

"One more?" Yellow asked, holding the green disc with the other hand.

"Rat!" Rattata let go of the other disc and kneeled on his feet, ready to jump.

"Go!"

As soon as she let the disc fly, Rattata ran after it. However, Yellow threw it a bit too hard, and it flew a little bit too far away. Rattata jumped to catch it… right above a little pond, and fell in there with a loud splash.

"Oops… sorry." The blonde scratched the back of her head.

Rattata came out of the pond and shook the water off his fur. He approached Yellow, who kneeled to scratch him under the jaw. The Normal-type rodent relaxed himself with gusto, making the blonde smile at it. Afterwards, he left to lay on a patch of grass and rest. It looked like he finally had finished burning that extra energy, and so did she.

"Oof, at last," the blonde said, taking her hat off and wiping the sweat off her forehead. "Boy, now that's a very playful Pokémon."

"Do you want something to drink?" a voice asked from behind.

Yellow turned around and saw the elderly couple approaching with a few glasses full of ice and a large jar. "It's really hot today, and you must be thirsty after playing that long."

"Sure, thanks!" Yellow nodded happily. The old woman poured the lemonade on the glasses and handed one to Yellow, who quickly chugged half of it in a single sip. "Ahh, that was refreshing."

She then turned to another side of the ample garden, which at the time was more like a very big playground. Red's Pokémon were still busy with their own activities, or resting after burning their own energy.

There was a particular image that melted Yellow's heart: Psyduck was playing ball with Clefairy, with Charizard moving his head side to side following the rubber ball as they threw it to each other. At first, the Fire-type starter had only stayed there as a precaution in case Clefairy went on one of his murderous rampages. But now, his expression had notably mellowed out, and he seemed to simply be enjoying the little game between the two other Pokémon, without worries.

As a matter of fact, Clefairy himself seemed to be enjoying the game. The traces of that creepy murderous shadow in his look seemed to disappear by moments. Maybe it helped that Psyduck, not having interacted that much with him before, didn't get such a bad first impression, and thus it was easier to relate to him. That was good.

"Your friend has some excellent Pokémon," the old woman said. "He has raised them well."

"I know, he's a great trainer." Yellow nodded. "I hope I can be as great as him one day, when I'm old enough."

"You still don't have a Pokémon of your own?" the old man asked.

The blonde shook her head. "Not yet. I'm in no hurry, though; I want my first partner to be, you know, special. I think I'll know when I've found it."

"We can understand that." The old man nodded. "As a matter of fact, that's why so many trainers come to us to get their first Pokémon. When they're raised from the egg, they can create a bond that few pairs of trainers and Pokémon can achieve."

"I see." Yellow glanced at Clefairy and the others once more. "Maybe that would help Red with his issues."

The blonde glanced at Red's Pokémon all over the place: Doduo had gotten into a speed competition with a Pidgeotto, Persian continued to lie down and take the sun, Poliwrath was enjoying the water in the pond and playing splash with the local fish Pokémon… they were all enjoying themselves. Indeed; in regards to training and essential care, Red had them all well-covered. But in regards to connecting with them… or with people in general, they still had a long way to go. In fact, sometimes it looked like Yellow could get along with Red's Pokémon (other than Pikachu and Charizard) better than himself.

"Your friend's not very sociable, is he?" the old woman asked. "Did he have a harsh life?"

Yellow nodded. "You could say that. He's not a bad person, but he's been alone for too long, and he finds it hard to open up to others. Pokémon or humans alike."

Yellow noticed how the couple exchanged rather intriguing glances with each other, of the Are-You-Pondering-What-I'm-Pondering sort. However, she couldn't ask about it since a *POP* went off right then, and when Yellow turned around, she realized what had happened.

It looked like Clefairy hit the ball a bit too hard and sent it to a thorny bushel. The pink Pokémon looked at the flattened ball, and then at the elderly couple, with a clearly nervous expression.

"Clefairy, fairy." He raised his hands, as if trying to say "I didn't mean to do that" or something similar.

"Ouch," said Yellow. "Sorry about that, looks like he went a little overboard."

"Haha, there's no need to apologize, lass." The old man shrugged. "We've got more to spare. But in the meantime, can you come with us for a moment? We'd like to propose something for you and your friend."

Yellow nodded, and followed the couple back to the house, though not before glancing one last time at Psyduck and Clefairy, the former crying waterworks over the lost ball while the latter tried to calm him down. Charizard, meanwhile, shook his head at it.

After entering the house again, Yellow saw the wall clock. She realized she had been having so much fun, she lost track of how much time had passed.

'Red has surely taken his time. Should I be worried?' the blonde thought.

Even though Red rarely went off on his own, he usually didn't take long to come back. Then again, maybe the cave was just that deep or the Pokémon he wanted to find was playing hard to get.

She didn't believe Red would run into any troubles, or that he'd need her or anybody else to save him.

----------------------------------------

Back at the Icefall Cave…

The scare of almost falling into the icy river below left as soon as it came.

His right hand held Pikachu firmly by the tail, while the left was pulled up along with him. Once he was back on safe ground, Red could take a good look at his savior.

It was none other than the same blond man he had seen back at One Island, although now he was wearing a dark blue winter longcoat, as well as matching gloves and earmuffs.

"Watch your step. The floor can be treacherous sometimes," he said.

Red would have wanted to say that he had already realized that, but he figured it would be rude, considering he'd just saved his life. First things first.

"Er… thank you."

"Think nothing of it." The man shrugged. "Truth to be told, I was hoping we could meet again. Finding you here is rather convenient, I'd say."

Red arched an eyebrow slightly. It was pretty weird already for this man to be interested in him, and even more that he was conveniently at that place to catch him before he plummeted into the icy water inside the cave.

"I apologize, I didn't properly introduce myself in our last encounter." The man bowed curtly. "My name is Siebold. I'm a trainer from Kalos' Elite Four. It's nice to see you again, Red Tajiri."

Siebold… the name rang a few bells in his memory. And then he remembered: at the Battle Dome Tournament semifinals, the announcer mentioned that his opponent was related to him. In fact, now that he saw him up close, he could see the similarities between him, Misty and the Cerulean Gym Leaders.

"What are you doing in this cave?" Red asked with curiosity.

Siebold just smiled. "I could ask you the same question. Rookie trainers usually don't venture this far into the cave, from what I've been told."

"I… wanted to catch a Lapras."

"Oh yes, I've heard from the locals you can find them here." Siebold nodded. "Any particular reason why you're looking for one of them specifically?"

"Preparation for future battles," said Red. "And perhaps… find Mega Stones."

"Mega Stones… if I'm not mistaken, you have a Charizard, and a while ago I saw you also brought along a Slowbro and a Kangaskhan." Siebold interjected. "Just like your Gyarados, all of them are capable of Mega Evolution. Am I seeing a pattern here?"

Red didn't say anything, but it didn't take a genius to understand what he was doing. Clearly, Siebold had realized his intent to gather as many Mega-capable Pokémon as possible, should he find the right stones. But given the way he looked at him… it seemed like he found something wrong with it.

Whatever it was, though, he seemed to leave it aside for a moment.

"Well, I came looking for something myself. You see, I'm also a chef, and Nevermelt Ice is perfect to cook on the spot, so I figured I could get a bit directly from the source. Plus, I had wanted to see the local Water-types while I was at it."

So he was a chef. Well, that explained that tacky outfit he was wearing when they met back at One Island, and his strange speech littered with terms about ingredients, dishes and stuff. Now it all made sense.

"But let's not talk about me," Siebold continued. "I saw you when you competed at the Battle Dome. Actually, my initial interest in that tournament was because my youngest cousin was competing. She certainly has the talent to be the second coming of our late grandmother. But after you defeated her, I also took an interest in you. I can see you too have an interesting potential."

"I… am flattered," said Red. He wouldn't show it openly, but getting such a compliment from a high-caliber trainer meant a lot to him.

"Come with me, there's something I'd like to show you." Siebold beckoned him to come along.

With Pikachu back on his shoulder, Red followed the Elite Four member and chef away from the cliff and to a safer zone. Specifically to a rather large pond with an exit towards a deeper part of the cave.

As he stopped by the bank, Siebold grabbed two Pokéballs and let their occupants out, releasing them in the water of said pond.

One of them was the same Gyarados Red had seen before. He could see the Mega Stone-bearing crown much more clearly. In contrast with his own Gyarados, it was rather calm, but no less intimidating. Perhaps even more so.

The second was a Blastoise, who also carried a Mega Stone on his head, except it was held by a brown leather headband. It looked much bigger and stronger than others of the same species he had faced during his journey, and he could only imagine how powerful it could become once the Mega Stone's power it carried activated.

"Mega Evolution is one of the most mysterious powers among Pokémon. There's so much about it we still don't know, but the one thing we know for sure is that its source comes from the bonds a Pokémon can form with its trainer," said Siebold. "Blastoise and Gyarados here represent, in a manner of speech, the two faces of the same coin as to how we can achieve that power."

He approached Blastoise first, placing a hand on his shell. "Blastoise was the first Pokémon I had. We've been together since I began my trainer career, and he's grown into one of my most trusty partners. We've both grown together and gone through many experiences together, always relying on each other to grow stronger."

"Gyarados, on the other hand, was a real challenge," he continued as he approached the marine serpent, who lowered his head so he could touch the crown. "We met for the first time as enemies, and per his species' nature, he takes great pride in his power. Generally, they won't accept a human as their trainer unless said human earns their respect. And usually the best way to do so is to show them your strength."

Red gazed at both Pokémon intently, especially Gyarados. Inside he couldn't help but do some personal comparison: Siebold was literally leagues above him with his own Gyarados, whom he could only control with threats of punishment.

He could accept that an Elite Four member, a veteran trainer like Siebold was able to control a beast like that to get his loyalty and obedience. And yet, a trainer who couldn't be that much older than him had also been able to get one of them to obey her, almost inflicting him his first legitimate defeat had it not been for his Victory Sight. Was it a family thing maybe?

"Mega Evolution is an astounding power, but it's very hard to achieve. The effort was worth it: having both of them helps me have more variety in combat, and I can leave my opponents doubting which of the two will be my trump card. But it's already hard enough to work with only one Mega Pokémon, let alone multiple."

"So, what you're telling me is that…"

"Your plan, while it could sound logical at first glance, wouldn't work in the long run," Siebold replied to his unspoken question. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's impossible, but attaining Mega Evolution usually requires time. In order to earn your Pokémon's trust, you need to focus on them as individuals."

Siebold turned to him after a pause. "So let me ask, do you think you could do that with, say, ten of them?"

Red slightly turned away. Now that he saw it that way, it made sense. He had no time to do something like that. Perhaps with a long term plan, but not for an upcoming competition such as the Indigo League.

"So what can I do?" he finally asked to break the silence.

Siebold approached him, never losing his smile. "From what I can see, you're making a genuine effort to connect with your Pokémon. No doubt you're making progress, but there are still things you need to learn. I can tell you're someone who prefers to rely on experience and what you've learned, and that's good. But that makes you less open to try new things, to break out of the norm."

Red stared at Siebold's eyes. His expression hadn't changed one bit. Once upon a time, he would have thought the Elite Four member was looking down on him, perhaps even mocking him, but not now. He was just stating a fact; nothing more, nothing less.

"Do you know what Pokémon battles and cuisine have in common?" Siebold asked. "In theory, anybody can cook a recipe from a book, and as long as you have the ingredients and follow the steps, you have the certainty that it will be good. But when it comes to experiment, to create a new dish, the result is fifty-fifty at most, split between your own personal experience and what you're willing to try."

"And why take that risk?" asked Red. He didn't get what merit could be in taking such a chance, without certainty of what could happen.

"Isn't it obvious? The less you know what's going to happen, the more fun it becomes," Siebold replied.

Red raised both eyebrows. Looking back now, and though he had forgotten it due to their conflict, when he fought against and alongside Ash at those tournaments, he felt something he hadn't felt before.

Having his Victory Sight always telling him what could happen, somehow it lacked… excitement, was that the word? The battles where Ash was involved turned out to be more interesting than any other he had since he began his journey.

And all because he actually had no idea of what was going to happen. Was that the reason why Ash tried those unorthodox tactics, and was able to think of unpredictable moves on the oft chance they could work on his favor?

"And since we're talking about experimenting, I think this place is perfect for you to try something new," Siebold continued. "From what I have been told, in the deepest part of this cave there are big pods of Lapras, but they almost never let themselves be seen. They're very timid and mistrustful of humans."

Red perked up to attention again. Was Siebold going to help him with that?

"The locals say that zone is a bit dangerous, but if you want, I could come along with you. You said you want to catch one of them, right? Well, you might have to try a method out of the norm, namely, to try and earn its trust outside of battle. What do you say, would you like to try it?"

Red exchanged glances with his Pikachu, pondering on the Elite Four member's words. So far he hadn't caught any Pokémon that way. But if Siebold's words were true, it was time to start trying new things, to take more chances. If he didn't, he would hardly progress from his current status, and wouldn't be able to fight on equal grounds against an opponent as unpredictable as Ash Ketchum.

Taking a deep breath, Red nodded, and the Elite Four member smiled pleasantly. Hopping on his Gyarados' head, he gestured for Red to hop onto Blastoise's back. With that done, they both began venturing further into the depths of the icy cave.

…

Red quickly understood why the cave's backside was off-limits for casual visitors. What followed after leaving the safe zone was a series of long waterfalls the old map couldn't represent accurately. The terrain surrounding them was too jaggy for the best human climbers, and only the strongest and fittest Pokémon (namely those who could use the move Waterfall) could have been able to ride to swim them up.

He had to hold onto his hat to avoid losing it when they rode down the stream, as he used his other hand to grab onto one of Blastoise's cannons. He was surprised to see Siebold remain unfazed all the while on Gyarados' head, as if he had done it before many times, and he couldn't help but feel envious.

Once they reached the bottom, Red and Siebold hopped of the Pokémon, and the Elite Four member returned them both to their balls while Red took a look at their surroundings. The waterfall seemed quite a lot higher from below, and he was quite surprised to have taken the ride from that height. While he couldn't deny he had… enjoyed it to an extent, he preferred not to do it again, unless he absolutely had to.

"I don't see any Lapras around here," Red said as he looked around.

"Patience, boy. Sometimes, the things that you seek find you before you expect."

Red wanted to argue about that statement, as he didn't like to wait for things to find him, but he said nothing. He didn't want to give the Elite Four trainer a reason to recant the help he had offered before.

And just as they took a couple of steps, Siebold stopped Red.

"Listen… can you hear that?" he asked.

Red didn't hear anything, so he held his breath and listened attentively. At first he couldn't make it out, but slowly it became a bit clearer.

It sounded like fighting noises, although a bit distant. Amongst them, he could hear every once in a while some guttural growls Red didn't recognize… and Lapras cries.

"That's…"

"Yeah, we're getting close," said Siebold. "Let's go carefully, we don't want to get caught in the crossfire."

Red and Siebold walked forward, guided by the fighting noise. Despite the jaggy terrain, the path was rather straightforward and there was no way to get lost. A few minutes later, the sound became louder and stronger, mixed with splashing and earth rumbling as they approached the source. It was most certainly an intense fight.

Siebold walked ahead to check things out as they went through a narrow passage, especially when the rumbling became clearer, sounding more like a stampede. Once he checked it was safe, he gestured for Red to come closer and see what was going on.

And as it turned out, he wasn't that far off on his assumption of a stampede when he saw the fighting going on. They had found a lone Lapras, who was fighting against a Pokémon Red didn't know. A strange wooly-mammoth/warthog hybrid, with brown fur and a pair of tusks almost as long as its body. Said Pokémon was stomping furiously and charging to ram with its giant tusks, while Lapras countered firing water streams or ramming with his horn trying to get it to back off. But judging by the amount of bruises and cuts all over his body, he was fighting a losing battle.

"It's a Mamoswine," Siebold said, revealing the unknown Pokémon's species.

"Why is it attacking that Lapras?" Red asked.

Siebold glanced at the ongoing fight intently, and then realized something else. "That Lapras is quite a bit smaller than average. And unfortunately for him, Mamoswine can be territorial and aggressive when it comes to defending their turf. But then again… it might just be what we're looking for."

Red glanced at Siebold with a questioning expression, unaware of what he meant, but then he saw Lapras' wounded state and how he seemed to be reaching his limit. The Elite Four trainer gave him a nod.

"Do you want to do the honors?"

Red got the message, and immediately left his hiding place. He then rushed at Mamoswine as he pointed forward for Pikachu to attack.

"Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu unleashed the discharge, but Mamoswine shrugged it off as if it was nothing, leading Red to deduce that it was Ground-type. His Victory Odds quickly showed 25%, so he quickly gestured for him to back off as he threw a Safari Ball. Ponyta materialized and neighed, awaiting his orders right when Mamoswine turned his attention away from the fallen Lapras, who seemed to be at his limit.

"Fire Spin!"

The flaming horse unleashed a spiral fire stream against the mastodon, stopping his charge momentarily with the heat. Judging by his bellows and the resulting burns in his skin, the attack had done supereffective damage. Victory Odds: 70%.

"MAMO!" Mamoswine cried out, as its tusks took on a blue coating and began stampeding at them, like a heavy tank about to roll over them.

"Dodge and use Flame Charge!"

Ponyta leapt aside and setting his entire body on fire, he charged against Mamoswine's side, interrupting his charge. All the while, Siebold remained still, but had his own Pokéball in hand, ready to intervene if needed.

Mamoswine bellowed again and raising its forelegs, stomped hard on the icy ground shaking it, and leaving Ponyta immobilized. After the Earthquake was over, its tusks coated in ice again, ramming Ponyta and sent him flying through the air. Victory Odds: 45% and dropping.

"Maybe I should give you a hand." Siebold threw his Pokéball and let his Blastoise out. "Hydro Pump."

"Blast!" the large turtle shouted as he aimed his cannons. With a pair of powerful high-pressure streams, the tusked mastodon was sent flying and crashing against a wall on the other side of the river, falling with a slump.

A minute or so later, Mamoswine glared at them again, but seeing that he couldn't cross the river, snorted through the nostrils and retreated, disappearing from sight through a nearby passageway. Red immediately returned Ponyta once the danger was over.

"That solves a problem," said Siebold. "Now, the rest should be up to you. Do you have medicines with you?"

Red nodded. Fortunately he had brought plenty of potions and a first-aid kit in case of any potential eventuality. And seeing Lapras' current state, he'd be needing it.

"Lapras are rather empathetic Pokémon. They can sense the emotions of humans and other Pokémon rather easily," Siebold explained. "You might not know this, but just as they're famous for helping people lost at sea, the reverse is also true. It's possible to earn their loyalty if you help and show genuine kindness to them."

Red nodded. That part he understood well, but it had never occurred to him it could be handy to catch a Pokémon. Nevertheless, he was starting to see what the Elite Four trainer wanted to show him. All he needed to do was heal Lapras to earn his trust. How hard could that be?

"Here I go." Red took a deep breath as he approached with a potion bottle in hand.

As soon as Lapras saw him through the corner of his eye, he tensed and tried to slip away, though that evidently caused his wounds to sting. Red stopped for a moment to glance at him; it was clear he didn't want him close.

"Easy," he said. "I just want to help."

Red waited a couple seconds before stepping forward again. As soon as he did Lapras tried to shoot a water stream, forcing him to duck. When he looked again, he saw Lapras was trying to drag himself across the ice towards the river, but he was in pain and shrieked constantly as he did so.

"Wait!" Red called. Lapras did stop, but he just turned around and tried to leave again, though his wounds didn't let him go too far.

Again, Red turned towards the Elite Four member, asking him silently what to do. In normal circumstances, Lapras' current state would have made it easy for him to just throw him a Pokéball. But he couldn't do that: it would break the whole point of what he was trying to do, and in the worst case scenario it would be Gyarados all over again. He was supposed to earn Lapras' trust outside of battle.

Siebold remained thoughtful for a while, before pulling something out of his coat, a jar of Pokémon food. "It's my special recipe for Water Pokémon. It might help you win him over easily."

Grabbing the jar, Red glanced at the wounded Lapras. That Mamoswine had done quite a number on him, and he had a rather nasty gash on one of his front flippers. That made him realize that, even if he got to the water, it would make it hard for him to swim.

Red sighed; his Victory Sight was mostly useless in those situations.

"Don't overthink it," Siebold said. "Just approach carefully, and make him see you want to help."

Red glanced at Siebold one more time, and taking a deep breath, he approached again. When Lapras noticed his presence, he tensed again, but he had no strength to attack, more than a simple headbutt Red dodged by stopping in time.

"I'm trying to help you." He opened the jar and grabbed a handful of food, which he extended to Lapras.

Seeing he had gotten that far, he would take it all the way. He almost wished he had brought Yellow along, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He had to do it himself.

Carefully, he raised his free hand in a pacifying gesture while moving the other to Lapras' mouth.

Lapras remained still, all of them staring into Red's eyes. The trainer did his best to keep calm while the Pokémon sniffed the food. After a rather tense minute, he finally opened the mouth and let Red place the snack into it. He chewed on it slowly, tasting it… and the fact he swallowed it shortly after instead of spitting made him guess he liked it.

Encouraged, Red grabbed another handful and gave it the same way. Even if he was still tense, Lapras accepted it with less wariness. The black-haired trainer glanced at Siebold, who smiled with approval.

"Give it all if you need it," he said. "Don't worry, I can always make more."

Nodding again, Red grabbed another handful and gave it to Lapras. He repeated the process until the jar was empty, and a few minutes later, the effect became apparent. He could move again at least a little bit, though he still needed to heal the rest of the worse wounds.

Taking that as a gesture of trust, Red kneeled next to him and checked the gash on his flipper. Seeing it up close he realized it wasn't bad enough to be life-threatening, though it could leave a good mark without proper treatment. Of course, that was what he was there for.

He slowly and carefully sprayed the potion on the wound, but as soon as the spray made contact, Lapras cried out as it felt the sting, and swung his neck to knock Red aside, causing him to fall flat on the ice.

"Ouch!" Red winced as he tried to get back on his feet. Lapras had tensed again and was glaring at him with mistrust.

"I think you rushed a little when applying the medicine," said Siebold. "He's a young one, so he probably hasn't had any contact with humans. You should have warned him of the effect."

Red moved up until he was in a sitting position, glancing at Lapras as he grabbed the medicine bottle. Lapras made a gesture as if he wanted to step away, as he obviously he didn't like the sting.

"Sorry," Red apologized. "I know this is going to hurt a bit, but it'll heal you much faster."

Lapras gave him a wary look. Red tried to glance at Siebold in search for assistance, but his look and his head shaking clearly said 'I can't help you with this'. It was all up to him.

"Look, it's not my fault this hurts," said Red, after thinking for a while. "I can apply it slower so it stings less. This will help you, I promise."

That was all he could think about. If Lapras were as empathetic as Siebold said, he'd have to realize he was telling the truth. It was weird to be staring at the eyes of a Pokémon allegedly peaceful by nature and feel intimidated, but after another uncomfortable minute of silence, he finally relaxed and extended his wounded flipper.

Taking that as a gesture of trust, Red went back to apply the medicine. Once he finished, and once the gash was completely covered, he added some healing ointment to fully close the wound, wrapping it with compress and bandages. Lapras started moving his wounded flipper, as if it didn't hurt anymore, and then glanced at Red. He was still somewhat wary, but not as much as before.

Feeling he was on the right track, Red came closer to check the rest of his body, looking for more wounds. Aside from some dents on his shell, and minor bruises here and there, he didn't seem to have any damage that required more than one or two potion sprays, even if he still cried when he applied it. He was fine now.

"So… what's next?" Red asked.

"Hmm… how about a little reward for being a nice patient? Do you have some snacks to give him?"

Red checked inside his backpack. He still had a few unopened packs from the vending machines from Two and Three Island, with energy and candy bars for him and his Pokémon. Maybe Lapras would like one of those.

While he was at it, he also felt that it was similar to what he did with Sneasel a while ago. Then again, Sneasel didn't make it too hard for him. Maybe it had something to do with having been caught already, but he couldn't be sure.

He first took a pack of Rage Candy Bars. He had several of these with different Berry flavors, including Oran, Sitrus, Cheri, and many others. He ripped it open to let him taste it… and after chewing on it he spat it out. Not Oran, definitely not.

He tried another, this time Sitrus. The Water/Ice-type sniffed it slightly before opening wide his mouth and chew on it. After swallowing it, he let out a happy cry, and Red grabbed a few more once he saw he liked them. And he repeated it again, and again, until he ran out of packs.

Moving his fins, Lapras extended his head to rub it against Red, being careful to avoid hurting him with his horn. The boy was caught off-guard, and for a moment he didn't know what to do, so he turned to Siebold, who simply nodded. Somehow, Red understood and rubbed the Pokémon's head. That was a good sign, right?

No doubt his visit to the Icefall Cave had been quite eventful. He had learned something: offering food to some Pokémon was a way to befriend and earn their trust. It had worked with Sneasel, and now with Lapras. The only question left now was, how would he convince him to enter a Pokéball to take him along? Should he try the same as with Sneasel, offering him more snacks?

However, the question was interrupted when he heard some familiar cries echoing through the cave. They definitely sounded like a group of Lapras, and the young one replied in the same way, to call their attention for them to come. In less than a minute, they had arrived.

"Looks like Lapras' family has come," said Siebold.

The newly arrived Lapras pod came and began gathering around the river's edge, while the little one skidded across the ice to meet with them. As Red watched, it almost looked like he was being scolded because they were worried, or something like that.

Despite everything, after the lecture they all started rubbing amongst each other affectionately. The image brought a warm feeling to Red's chest, along with some happy memories of his childhood. Of one time he got hurt for trying to go out to play without notice, and his mother scolded him when he came back with scrapped elbows and knees. Of happier times…

And then the realization nailed him in the head.

The purpose of coming to the cave in the first place was to catch one of them, but after spending that little while with him, he realized other things. Looking at the Lapras pod, they weren't just a simple pod: they were family. As such, they'd look after and protect each other, especially the bigger ones protecting the smaller ones, like a parent to a child.

He finally understood: taking him away would separate him from his family. That caused him a sting of guilt as he realized his intentions. He just didn't have the heart to take him like that.

"We should leave," Red said, breaking the silence. "Do you think you could lead me out of the cave?"

"Leaving already? I thought you'd catch one of them," Siebold said, a little surprised at his decision.

"I…" Red glanced at the Lapras, still gathering around the small one and relieved that he was fine. "I can't take him. Not like this."

"Hmm… are you worried about taking him from his family?" Siebold asked.

That shouldn't even be a question. Catching a Pokémon outside of battle was more complicated than he imagined. The traditional method was much easier to handle: he didn't have to deal with so many unknown factors beyond the usual ones. Those his Victory Sight could help with somewhat, or at least learn so they were useful in the future.

"You haven't even asked him if he wants to come along," Siebold pointed.

"Should I?"

Siebold glanced at the Lapras, all of them so mild and loving, but especially two in particular who stood out from the rest, possibly the small one's parents. It was a beautiful picture, and he didn't have the heart to break it.

"Alright, if that's your decision," Siebold said. "I can ask Blastoise to take you through the cave's back exit."

Red nodded, but right when Blastoise approached the water to allow him to ride, the young Lapras he healed shrieked, as if he was calling out to him.

The trainer was left confused, even more when said Lapras began crying out. "What's wrong with him?"

Siebold just smiled. "If I didn't know better, I think he has taken a liking to you, and doesn't want you to leave. Or maybe… he liked the snacks you gave him and wants more. One of two, or maybe both."

Red didn't know if the last part was meant as a joke, but then he glanced at Lapras. Indeed, he was quite small compared to the rest of the pod, but somehow, that almost felt like he had bigger potential. More room to grow, in a manner of speaking.

"You… do you want to come with me?" he asked. "What about your family?"

Lapras turned towards the pod, and Red followed suit. While it didn't seem like they wanted to attack him, they didn't seem quite keen with the idea of letting him take their little one.

"Usually, when you catch a Pokémon, you do it thinking about what said Pokémon can do for you," said Siebold. "Have you ever caught a Pokémon thinking about what you can do for them? Think it over, is there something you can offer them?"

The trainer pondered on the Elite Four member's words. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how serious his non-socialization problem was. Maybe he never bothered too much because he never needed it before, but now it was different. To be honest, he had always seen things from his own perspective, never putting himself in someone else's place.

Was that a determining factor in his argument with Ash Ketchum, not bothering to try and see things from his point of view, and assume things based on his own life experience?

"It's not as hard as you might think," said Siebold. "The things you need your Pokémon for, and what you can offer them aren't mutually exclusive. Just try and think how you can connect both."

Red gave it some thought. Primarily, his reason to get inside that cave was to find himself a Lapras, a Pokémon who could carry him through water, and more docile to handle than his Gyarados. That was what he needed. On the other hand, as a trainer… what could he do for Lapras?

Maybe if he had brought Yellow along she'd know what to say. She'd probably say something like… being his friend. It wasn't much, but it was a start. There was also the Pokémon food and the snacks he offered before. If he had enjoyed them, he could easily give him more.

And then it hit him: it was so obvious he almost scolded himself for not realizing before. The primary goal of a Pokémon Trainer was to compete, which meant to go to the outside world, to see and experience many things. In other words, it was to go far beyond his home. With that in mind, he jumped off of Blastoise's back, and walked up to the Lapras pod. They were empathetic, so they'd surely understand what he was about to say. He had to speak… through his heart, as Yellow would probably say it.

"Listen," he said after a rather deep breath. "I admit I came here because I needed to catch one of you guys. I know it sounds selfish of me."

Red paused. He wasn't used to long speeches, and preferred not to talk more than necessary. And when it was necessary to talk a lot, he usually let Yellow do it for him, but with her not around, and deciding not to ask for Siebold's help on it, he went for it.

"But… I'd like it if we could become friends. We can go travel to many places, see the world together. Would you like that?"

The Lapras glanced amongst each other, as if they evaluated his words. Red had tried to be as sincere as possible about his intentions, but having gone up to that point, he decided not to push him further than needed. He understood what he was asking them: he was asking for a family to part with one of their youngest members, leaving him under someone else's care. And he had no way to guarantee whether they could trust him or not.

They continued to mutter amongst each other as they discussed the situation. Finally, they glanced at the small one, and the two assumed to be his parents gave him a little nudge, pushing him to go towards Red.

"Well, I think that just leaves one thing to do. Ask him if he'd carry you out of the cave."

Red gave the Elite Four member an inquisitive look. The older trainer hadn't lost his smile, despite keeping his rather imposing demeanor, worthy of a veteran. It was a combination Red found rather… admirable.

"Like I said before, Lapras are known for helping people lost at sea, and if you ask them kindly, they're willing to take you wherever you need to go. If he accepts your request… then that means he'll follow you anywhere."

Red glanced at the plesiosaur pod. Not even one of them was tense, nor were they looking at him with wariness. They seemed to have accepted or at least tolerated their presence, but that was no guarantee. He turned back at the Elite Four, whose expression clearly said "Just do it".

"Hey… Lapras." All members of the pod set their sights on him. "I'd like… to exit the cave. Could you… help me, please?"

The little guy among his peers glanced at the trainer for a bit. Then, they exchanged a few glances with the other members, and a few sounds of ineligible speech. Red imagined he was probably asking his parents for permission to leave, if that made any sense. But, after a few seconds, they turned around to see Red and nodded. The adult Lapras swam back to make way, and the small one approached the edge, prompting Red to jump on his back.

For a brief moment, Red felt his mouth curving into a slight smile. It really had worked, and it hadn't been as hard… beyond finding the right words, of course.

"Thank you," he said as he hopped in, and Lapras sailed through the stream calmly, heading for the cave's back exit.

However, before leaving, Red glanced at the Elite Four member, who smiled with approval, and waved at him. There was still one more thing to do before leaving.

"Hold on a moment," he asked, and hopped off of Lapras' back to approach Siebold. "Before I leave… is there any last piece of advice you could give me?"

Siebold was surprised for a moment, but he took a finger to the chin and gave it some thought. After a few seconds, he glanced at Red intently.

"Sometimes, there are things you can't see or analyze as if they were data. You need to feel to understand them," he said. "It might come across like a corny movie quote, but sometimes the best approach is 'Feel, don't think'. Remember that the next time you run into a problem you can't solve, whether it is about Pokémon training, or in general."

Red was a bit surprised, but after reflecting on it, he could see what he was getting at. Sometimes, he overthought things and it led him nowhere. And now, having experienced something, to feel it, made him get close to the Pokémon he was looking for. He finally began to understand.

"I'll try," he finally said. "Thanks for your help, Siebold."

"I'll be following you closely. Don't let me down. And I'll be looking forward to our next meeting."

Nodding one last time, Red pushed Lapras to get going. The young plesiosaur rowed with his fins and let the stream take him, while the trainer glanced at Siebold as he waved goodbye at them.

His visit to the Icefall Cave wasn't everything he hoped it would be, but it hadn't been a waste at all. And in many ways, he had found a lot more than he had expected.

----------------------------------------

Back at Four Island's shore…

Seeing that Red was taking a bit too long to come back, Yellow had decided to go out for a walk. Luckily for her the Daycare was near the beach, so she could easily enjoy the marine breeze. It felt good, but she was starting to wonder what could take him that long.

"Did he get himself into trouble?" she wondered. "He should be back already."

Among other things, and in case his search for a Lapras turned out fruitless for whatever reason, the elderly couple had a little offer to help him with his current issues. But he had to come back first. She wondered if she should have gone along, but then again, what could she have done?

"Hmm? What's that?"

Glancing at the water, she saw a small figure approaching, surfing across the waves. It looked like it came circling around the island from the other side, and when it came closer, she saw it was somebody riding on a Lapras' back.

But it wasn't a simple somebody: that hair, hat and the Pikachu over his shoulder were unmistakable. The blonde ran up to the shore and letting the water wash over her bare feet, she waved her arms to get his attention.

"Hey, Red! Red, over here!"

As soon as she noticed her presence, Red had Lapras turn and sail towards her. Yellow ran up to him enthusiastically, and as soon as they touched land, Red jumped off of Lapras' back as Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder. She noticed he was carrying his rented winter jacket wrapped under his arm.

"Wow, you surely took your sweet time!" the blonde exclaimed. "What took you so long in there?"

"Sorry," Red apologized. "A lot of things happened in the cave."

"A lot of things? Ah, you can tell me later," Yellow said. "But you did it, you caught a Lapras! I knew you could make it!"

"Actually… I haven't caught him yet."

Yellow tilted her head, giving the boy a confused stare. He had spent the whole afternoon inside that cave to find a Lapras, he had come back riding one, and now he said he hadn't caught it? That… made no sense. At all.

"Care to explain yourself?" Yellow asked, placing her hands on her waist.

Red didn't answer immediately, instead looking at her for a while. Yellow could see he was thinking deeply about the answer, which usually indicated an interesting story was coming up. Or at least, it had been that way in the few occasions she had gotten him to talk more about his life.

"I met someone in that cave," said Red. "He suggested me to try another approach to catch a Pokémon. To do it without battling."

"Oh?" Yellow arched an eyebrow. Yeah, that definitely sounded like she was about to hear something interesting. "Hmm, and how did you do that exactly? Did you become friends?"

Judging by the glance he gave her with the last question, she had hit the bullseye. Red looked at her, and for a moment she spotted traces of a smile in the older boy's face.

"Something like that. He was hurt and I healed him… and then I gave him some snacks. It was… unusual."

"Wow, I would have loved to see that." Yellow smiled. "But well, are you going to catch him or not?"

Red then approached Lapras, who lowered his head for him to pet it. Yellow found it rather endearing, and regretted not having a camera. It would have made a memorable picture.

"There's no turning back now," said Red. "You sure you want to come along?"

Lapras let out a happy cry and shook his flippers, nodding over and over again. If that wasn't a "YES", she had no idea what it was. Red finally nodded and grabbed an empty Pokéball, tapping the plesiosaur with it. The sphere only shook once before emitting the capture sound, and then shrunk to locked mode.

Yellow couldn't help but smile herself. She had been present for most of Red's Pokémon captures, but now, she was definitely looking forward to hearing the story behind the events that led to this particular one, and still a bit annoyed to have missed what she imagined was a great adventure.

"Well, we should go back to the Daycare," she said. "Now you have to tell me everything that happen, and don't spare the details. In the meantime, you won't believe this, but Clefairy really behaved himself with the others, even…"

As they made their way back to the Daycare, Yellow told Red everything she and his Pokémon did during the afternoon. In turn, Red began telling her about what happened from the moment he entered the cave, up to now he had come back out.

Yellow listened attentively, and as she glanced at Red, she noticed he seemed to have subtly changed with the experience. Perhaps the little surprise awaiting at the daycare would be the cherry on top for what had been a very fruitful day for him.

…

Yellow could barely believe half of everything she had heard. Then again, he too was surprised about half of the things he had gone through in that icy cave, and how everything had turned out. He had achieved his main goal, and a little more.

"Awesome! To think you met and talked to an Elite Four trainer in the flesh! Ah, now I'm mad I didn't come along, I would have loved to meet him too!" the blonde shouted as she pumped her fists.

Red didn't know whether he should apologize about that, but he understood her reaction. Not anybody could have had a chance to meet up close a trainer of such high caliber, let alone talk to him directly. The cherry on top would have probably been having a battle with him, though he didn't believe he stood a chance. Then again, Siebold did say he was looking forward to see Red again, so maybe they would have another chance. Maybe sooner than they expected.

Once they finally returned, Red found that the elderly couple was waiting for them, and they seemed rather happy to see them.

"Oh, you're finally back, lad," the old woman said. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

Red nodded, as he handed them the borrowed map. "Thank you. It was very useful."

"Don't worry, it's our job to help any trainer who visits our place," the old man replied. "And speaking of, your friend here told us about… some of your issues."

Red glanced at Yellow. It wasn't like he was accusing her or something, but… sometimes it annoyed him that she'd talk about him behind his back. He hoped she hadn't touched any sensitive topic.

"She told us you have trouble to connect more with your Pokémon," the old man continued. "And we can see you find it hard to open up to other people as well. Don't feel bad; you're not the first trainer who has those problems. We've seen many like you."

"But, we think we have something that can help you with it," the old woman added. "Could you come with us to the back?"

Curious, Red nodded and followed the couple back into the house. Through the corner of the eye he gave Yellow a quizzical glance, as he suspected she knew exactly what they were talking about.

"I'm not telling anything." She gave him a smug smile. "You need to see it yourself."

Red rolled his eyes, but he accepted it. As they went through the corral, Red saw how his Pokémon were still the same as when he left, save for one thing: Clefairy was playing catch with Psyduck using a rubber ball. They seemed to be enjoying the game… and not in a creepy way.

They finally reached a small shed by the other end of the corral, and the couple opened the doors. Red had no idea of what to expect on the other side, and was rather surprised to see plenty of wall racks, all of them filled to top with eggs of as many different colors and designs as he could possibly imagine.

"Many trainers come to us to breed Pokémon eggs, so we often find ourselves with plenty to spare," the old woman explained. "And we often hand eggs to new trainers who for any reason can't get a traditional starter Pokémon, or want something different."

"According to Professor Elm in Johto, raising a Pokémon from the egg helps developing a closer bond with its trainer," the old man continued. "Think of it as a parental bond of sorts; many Pokémon imprint the first living human they see upon hatching as their parent. Tell us, lad; have you ever looked after a Pokémon egg?"

Red shook his head as glanced at the elderly couple, and then turned to the racks full of Pokémon eggs. Were they about to say what he was thinking?

"Looking after a Pokémon egg is different from looking after a Pokémon caught in battle in many ways," the woman said. "They require special cares, and a greater sense of responsibility, but it's great for developing empathy with your Pokémon. Would you like to try it?"

Red didn't know what to answer. It did sound interesting, but he wasn't sure if he should accept. Was there a catch behind it?

"You don't have to pay us for it, if that's what you're worried about. As you can see, we've got plenty to spare. Pick the one you want, and as long as you promise to look after it, it'll be enough for us."

"C'mon Red, accept it!" Yellow insisted. "You know you want it!"

Red stared at them, still unsure about the whole thing, but as they continued to insist, he finally agreed. If it was to help him with those lingering issues, and he knew he needed to solve them, there was no way to refuse. Besides, after the events with Lapras, somehow he felt more confident.

With resolve, he nodded and giving a quick 'Thank you', he approached the racks to pick one.

There were too many eggs to choose from: red, blue, green, yellow, striped, dotted, and even some with specific signature markings of Pokémon species he knew, very hard to mistake. He could probably have chosen one of those to have certainty of the species, or he could have taken a chance with an unknown one, hoping that it would be a Pokémon he needed or wanted specifically.

And then, he stopped in front of a very particular one. Its design was unique: dark brown on the upper and lower parts, and a cream-colored, jagged stripe circled around the center between the brown parts. He couldn't explain why, but this one was more… enticing than the others.

With that in mind, he placed his hands on it, carefully lifting it off the rack.

"Is that the one you want?" the old man asked, and Red nodded. "Alright, that'll be the one. Do you need a Pokémon Egg Caring manual? We can give you a copy if you want."

Red nodded again, staring at his new egg. In turn, Yellow came closer to give it a better look, her expression full of awe.

"Wow, I wonder what Pokémon will hatch from it. Some aren't that obvious at first glance. Then again, why ruin the surprise?"

Red wasn't in a hurry to find it out. If looking after it helped him grow out of his issues, it'd be worth it. In fact, come to think about it, his tour across the Sevii Islands as a whole was turning out to be well worth his troubles. He had found plenty of things, even without what he had originally come looking for.

There were still three islands left to explore, but with everything he had gotten so far, it had been far from a waste.

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OMAKE (by partner555): Siebold's ascension.

This was it, all his hard work was paying off.

Siebold stood before the Champion of Kalos, Diantha. One of the previous Elite Four had retired, leaving the spot open for all aspiring Trainers to compete over, and after a series of hard battles, he won.

Now, he was before the current Champion who would make his ascension to the Elite Four official.

He couldn't deny he was nervous as he sweated.

Diantha began to speak, and he tensed.

"Why aren't you wearing a swimsuit?"

Wait, what!?

"I thought all Water-type specialists wear a swimsuit." said Diantha as she rubbed her chin as she looked him over. "I wonder how you'd look in it?"

Siebold blushed as Diantha walked around him and imagined him in one. Her mumblings did not help. He was pretty sure he heard her say 'would those trunks emphasise that butt?' at one point.

Thankfully, Drasna came to his rescue.

"Stop embarrassing the boy," she said. He'd take issue with being called boy, but given the current situation, he let it slide. "Hurry up and give him what he wants."

"What?" asked Diantha. "Oh yes. Siebold, as Champion of Kalos, I hereby declare you the latest member of the Kalos Elite Four!"

Siebold allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief, before he smiled at the Champion.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," she said. "Now, about your swimsuits..."

Siebold suddenly felt a sense of dread. What had he gotten himself into?