Chapter 36 - Battle with Ranger Ryder

“Freeze him with Powder Snow and Water Gun. Aria, if he tries to run, use Swift!” Celeste’s voice rang out, sharp and commanding. “Now!”

Pat, usually the slowest on the uptake, unleashed a torrent of water that slammed into Ryder, knocking him back instantly. Simultaneously, Powder let out a bone-chilling howl, the temperature plummeting as icy winds swirled around the Vulpix and dark clouds gathered above them. Before Ryder could regain his footing, the snowy winds enveloped him, threatening to freeze him in place.

Celeste’s jaw clenched with every passing second. The world blurred until Lori jerked her shoulder. “What are you doing?” Lori’s crimson eyes bored into Celeste’s soul.

Reality snapped back into focus, revealing a gathering crowd. Whispers and worried glances surrounded them. As the first hailstones from Powder’s Snow Warning fell, however, the crowd instinctively stepped back, away from the hail’s range.

“Don’t you remember him?” Celeste’s voice trembled as she turned back to Lori. Powder, sensing her trainer’s distress, paused to look back at Celeste.

“Ryder is our new ranger…” Lori hesitated. “I met him a few—”

“From the vision! From the Lapras!” Celeste cut her off, finally meeting her gaze. “He was the one shooting the nets.”

There was a gasp, and her Celeste could see her friend’s pupils darting from her to the ranger. Lori adjusted her glasses, with realisation washing over her features, as she stumbled back. “We... we couldn’t see his face because he was wearing a beret…” she stuttered. Her chest started to move quickly and her heaving breaths almost drowned her voice. “It can’t… How didn’t I…? He wanted me to show him their nest.” Her voice dropped, legs moving back as if she wanted to flee. “I almost showed him...”

Celeste wasn’t about to wait. The fake ranger lay on the ground, seemingly defenceless, but she had to act. “You’re outnumbered,” she declared, her voice steady despite her racing heart. “Make one move, and we will attack again.”

Ryder narrowed his eyes, his calmness unnerving. “Is that so?” he replied coolly.

A shiver ran down Celeste’s spine. Powder tensed as well, and the hail intensified—getting strong enough for Celeste to feel its sting. Beyond the hail’s boundary, she scanned the crowd for familiar faces, but saw none. The voices urging her to stop grew louder, as if they thought she was the one in the wrong somehow.

It didn’t matter. She had to keep control, even if by herself.

“Someone call the police!” she yelled, turning back to Ryder. Her team stood ready, prepared to defend her without hesitation.

The fake ranger let out a twisted laugh. “Cute, but no,” he sneered, brushing off his clothes as he rose back to his feet.

“Huh?” Celeste had no reaction. It was Aria who acted instead, glancing from Celeste to Ryder before firing out a few warning stars at him. Ryder didn’t flinch. He simply stepped back and detached two pokéballs from his belt.

Only when the shock faded, Celeste’s instincts kicked in. “Aria, don’t let him!”

With an actual call to action, the Eevee wasted no time. She unleashed another stream of Swift stars, this time infused with actual speed and power, aimed directly at the Ryder’s hand. The stars streaked through the air but collided with a blur of movement. From one of the pokéballs emerged a large Scyther, its green armour glistening under the festival lights. With precise blade movements, it deflected Aria’s attack effortlessly.

That… wasn’t supposed to happen.

On the Scyther’s blade stood a Sneasel with a large feather on its right ear. Its gaze locked with Celeste’s, and it let out a low, chilling sneer, causing her to stumble back. Recognition only hit her when Powder barked. This was the same Sneasel they had battled in the Icefall Caves. The same one who had taught Powder Ice Shard. The one they left unconscious when they left with Lori.

Damn it.

With its eyes burning with spite and claws glinting with a metallic sheen, the Sneasel wasted no time. It launched itself toward Powder, slicing through the air with a piercing, metallic hiss.

The Vulpix deftly evaded the attack, and the Sneasel snarled, honing its claws in a show of readiness. That last move had been a mere warning... the real battle was about to begin.

“Shit,” Celeste muttered under her breath. “Shit, shit, shit.”

She really should’ve thought this through.

Ryder scoffed. “Stop wasting time and attack.”

As the Scyther’s blades began to glow, Celeste took another step back. The Pokémon could slice her in half if it wished, and she found herself dangerously close to its line of attack. One anxious glance at her team made the reality even clearer: none of them stood a chance against it.

But Celeste had faced stronger foes before… allegedly.

Her only path to victory was to take this Scyther out of the picture. “Pat, Yaw—”

She couldn’t finish her command. In an instant, metal flashed and both enemy Pokémon launched at her. She saw streaks of their blades and claws as they cut through the air.

They were ready to kill, and to them, she was butter.

Instinctively, Celeste closed her eyes and turned away, bracing for the inevitable. But instead of pain, she felt a rush of air whipping past her and a loud ringing echoing in her ears.

It was like metal clanging against a wall.

Cautiously, Celeste opened her eyes to find a large, translucent barrier materialised around her and her team. Floating before them was a round creature emanating a chilling mist from its icy body.

The Pokémon was covered by thick, shining armour that outshone even the Scyther’s. It was a solid mass of compressed ice, with small openings revealing glimpses of the creature within. It appeared rough and uneven, resembling a piece of coal with two spikes protruding from the top like horns.

Without lowering the barrier, the Glalie turned around. Its blue eyes, deep within the rock, peered beyond Celeste to someone standing behind her. The Pokémon’s expression shifted from resolve to pride, and it smiled, displaying a set of large, unsettlingly human-like teeth.

“Well done, Silver,” Lorelei said, approaching Celeste. Her head was finally back in the game, ready to fight. Thank Arceus. “My other Pokémon are in the centre,” she said, her eyes fixed on the Scyther. “I’ll take it down. Can you handle the Sneasel?”

Celeste glanced at the Glalie, then nodded a little more confident.

She’d beaten that Sneasel once, she could do it again.

Once the Protect barrier was gone, neither trainer wasted a moment. “Pat, make the ground wet with your Water Gun. Powder, freeze it, then use Powder Snow on the Sneasel. Keep those claws away from us,” Celeste yelled, recalling her previous battle with the Seel in the tournament. Back then, it had created an ice rink over the battlefield. Powder still couldn’t change the terrain on her own, but this would be enough. “Aria, focus on long-range attacks with Swift.”

The hail intensified, stinging Celeste’s skin as larger hailstones pelted down. She gritted her teeth, refusing to back down. The hailstorm would punish the Scyther the most, she thought, her eyes briefly catching the clash between the powerful Pokémon above her.

She had her own battle to focus on, though.

Aria’s Swift attack struck the Sneasel head-on, but it barely flinched as it darted forward. Its metallic-glowing claws shimmered, and its eyes filled with pure hatred. Ignoring the rest of Celeste’s team, the dark-type lunged toward Powder, aiming right for her chest.

Powder, who had the good sense to keep her tails down for increased reaction time, dodged the oncoming attack.

But only just.

The Sneasel was faster than any of her Pokémon. Worse, Powder hadn’t fully recovered from her previous battle. Celeste could see her Vulpix favouring her injured leg, her stance unsteady.

They needed to act fast.

In a split second, the Sneasel turned to pursue Powder, exposing its back to Pat and Aria. Before it could strike again, a combination of Water Gun and Swift hit it, sending it sprawling away from the Vulpix.

“Now, Powder!” Celeste seized the opportunity.

The Sneasel, quick as ever, was back on its feet in an instant and darted towards Pat this time around. Before anyone could react, it closed the distance and unleashed a relentless flurry of claw strikes at him. Aria retaliated with another barrage of Swift attacks, desperately trying to keep their opponent at bay. Meanwhile, Powder froze the wet ground beneath her feet, then conjured the coldest Powder Snow she could muster, finally sending the Sneasel sliding backward.

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Unfortunately, Pat and Aria were also caught off guard. They both lost their footing and began to slide away along with the Sneasel.

Celeste really needed to figure out how to better coordinate her team’s moves.

“Dig!” she told Aria while fetching her Slowpoke’s pokéball. She quickly recalled Pat and re-released him closer to her, away from the ice. Though visibly injured, the determined look in his eyes assured her he could continue the fight.

Celeste pressed her lips together, her mind racing with possibilities.

She hesitated, contemplating asking Pat to use Yawn, but before she could commit, Lori yanked her to the ground. Just in the nick of time. Two powerful moves clashed overhead, their force shattering the surrounding air.

The Scyther had twirled its blades, syphoning the air away and unleashing a Vacuum Wave at Lorelei’s Glalie. In a split-second reaction, the Ice-type countered with an Ice Beam. The collision set off an explosion, shards bursting into the air and blanketing the battlefield in dense mist, obscuring everything from view.

This was the chance Celeste had been waiting for. Knowing that Powder could sense her surroundings without relying on sight alone, Celeste quickly devised a plan. Last time they battled the Sneasel, they won because Powder had tapped into her Fairy-type energy.

That had to be the answer.

“Mooncracker,” she commanded cautiously. This fast yet weaker version of Moonblast was probably their best bet against the Sneasel. “Use your tails to guide your aim!”

A tense silence settled as faint lights flickered within the dissipating mist.

Too faint.

Celeste’s heart sank when she realized Powder was still worn out from the battle against Lorelei. If she pushed her Vulpix to use Fairy moves too hard, she would collapse like before. She needed to try something else quickly.

“Stay hidden, Powder,” Celeste said, doing her best to keep her voice steady and confident. “If the Sneasel comes close, Powder Snow it away.”

The mist was almost gone, but Powder was safe for now. Still, this was a chance she knew she shouldn’t squander. They needed to go on the offensive. Determined to win, Celeste tapped the ground with her feet, hoping to catch her Eevee’s attention underground. She knew Aria would be listening intently.

“Whenever you’re ready,” she muttered, more to herself than to anyone else.

The silence was finally shattered as Lori’s Glalie got launched skyward like a cannonball right above them. Its battered armour was missing a chunk at the bottom, revealing the rocky core beneath. In a flash, the Scyther zoomed past the trainers, its blades radiating a blood-red glow.

“Silver, Protect!” Lorelei commanded, unshaken, but the Ice-type had no time.

Before the barrier could form, the Scyther broke through, its blade piercing the Glalie’s forehead, sinking into the icy armour.

With brutal force, the bug pressed on. Still drilling deeper, it spun sideways, thrusting its opponent higher and tearing away another chunk of the armour.

“Swords Dance,” Ryder, who had remained silent throughout most of the battle, ordered. “Then aim for the exposed core. Finish it on the next move.”

Cold sweat trickled down Celeste’s neck as her focus shifted to the lingering haze where her Pokémon battled. Time was running out. She needed to defeat the Sneasel and help Lori somehow. If her Glalie was taken out, that would be it for them.

There was enough visibility now for her to see the dirt on the ground shifting just before Aria burst out from beneath the Sneasel. It managed to evade. Struggling for traction on the ice, the Eevee quickly retreated underground again. Meanwhile, Powder seized the chance to intensify her Powder Snow, relentlessly driving the opponent back.

Celeste glanced at Pat beside her. “Can you hit it with Yawn from here?”

Their fastest path to victory was putting the Sneasel to sleep, and she needed to end this now.

“Sink your claws into the ice for traction,” Ryder instructed his dark-type, before refocusing on the aerial battle.

“Oh no, you won’t!” Celeste yelled. The ice was their greatest advantage, and she couldn’t afford to lose it. “Aria, if it can’t stand, it can’t run.”

No more words were necessary. The Eevee emerged from the ground with renewed force, while Celeste turned to the escalating aerial conflict.

The Glalie had recovered, but that allowed the Scyther to complete its Swords Dance. A faint halo enveloped the bug-type as it let out a piercing screech and lunged toward its icy opponent.

Celeste saw Lorelei’s eyes widen and her jaw clench.

That couldn’t be a good sign.

“Sorry, this one might hurt you,” Lorelei half-turned to Celeste before refocusing on her Pokémon. “Blast it away with Blizzard!”

Celeste’s heart raced as she glanced at Aria, realising the danger. She didn’t know the Blizzard’s range, but her Eevee was too vulnerable. “Back underground!” she wasted no time.

In a split second, before Aria could act, the Sneasel attacked with blinding speed, leaving deep footprints dotted by spiky shards of broken ice where its claws touched. It hit Aria with a Quick Attack, then pivoted back to Powder, only to be hit by the combined force of her Powder Snow and the growing Blizzard around them.

As Glalie’s Blizzard built up, chaos ensued.

The move was like Powder Snow cranked up to a thousand. The wind roared with extraordinary force, barely leaving any room for respite. Powder’s relentless hail persisted, but within the grip of Glalie’s snowstorm, icy rings spiralled around the Ice-type, drawing the hailstones closer at breakneck speed. Farther away, where Celeste and Lorelei stood, the storm was weaker, yet they struggled to maintain their footing.

Beside her, Pat started to slide away. With a grunt, Celeste dropped to the ground, grasping tightly onto him, ensuring they stayed together. His Yawn was still too valuable in this battle—she couldn’t recall him just yet.

Further ahead, Aria, clearly injured, fought against the assault of ice and debris, trying to regain enough balance to dig underground for protection. It was too much for her. Celeste needed to think fast.

Her eyes shifted to Powder, who at least looked fine while diligently keeping the Sneasel at bay with her Powder Snow. No way she could ask for a Moon attack from her. She turned to the Slowpoke in her arms, trying not to panic. “I could really use that Yawn right about now.”

She’d barely finished speaking when a metallic, tingling sound filled the air, followed by a swift swoosh and a desperate wail that pierced Celeste’s ears.

Her eyes snapped forward, and her chest tightened.

“Powder!” Celeste yelled.

At the Sneasel’s feet, Powder had fallen, two deep claw marks staining her side with dripping blood. Despite her injuries, the Vulpix wasn’t out yet. She twitched and contorted, desperate to get back up and continue the fight.

She almost made it to her feet, but her injured leg buckled, and she collapsed again.

With a sneer, the Sneasel kicked Powder’s face, its claws glowing with a metallic sheen.

Frantic, Celeste looked to Aria, who fought fiercely against the blizzard but was too far away.

Tears streamed down Celeste’s face as she reached for Powder’s pokéball. Before her trembling hand could grab it, the Dark-type raised its paw, ready for the final blow.

And then it stopped, frozen mid-motion.

“W-what?” Celeste barely managed to ask.

Enveloped in a strange glow, the Sneasel seemed restrained by some sort of energy.

“Pro... tect,” a deep yet sweet voice echoed in Celeste’s mind. “Fam...ly.”

Her eyes widened with understanding, and she wasted no time, swiftly recalling Powder into her ball.

Dark types, after all, were strong against psychic energy.

The red beam from the pokéball had barely dissipated when the Sneasel broke free from the psychic hold and struck the ground where Powder had been. Its claws sunk deep within the dirt, rather than Vulpix flesh. The dark-type’s gaze shifted from Celeste to Pat, whose body still glowed with the faint pinkish hue of psychic energy.

With a sharp hiss, the Sneasel struggled to free its claws from the ground. But before it could move, a torrent of stars, larger than anything Celeste had ever witnessed, rained down upon the dark Pokémon.

Aria was angry.

An enraged groan echoed from Celeste’s side, snapping her attention towards Ryder. His eyes shifted from the ground to the sky as he issued his command to the Scyter, “X-Scissor.”

In the battle above, the blizzard ravaged the skies. The Scyther had kept its distance to avoid the worst of it, but it wasn’t enough.

At Ryder’s command, the bug Pokémon screeched, crossing its scythes in a protective stance as it launched itself toward Glalie. It seemed that being slowly battered by the ice wasn’t any better than charging recklessly. Honestly? Its relentless determination to press on despite the icy onslaught would be admirable if not so concerning.

In the end, the outcome of this sky battle hinged on whether the Scyther could reach Glalie. If it succeeded, that would be the end. The only question was whether it could.

With worry, Celeste turned to her friend, only to be startled by the smirk on her face.

“Stop,” Lorelei simply said.

In an instant, the ice storm dissipated, as if it had never existed. The starry night sky came back into view, oblivious to the chaos that had consumed it. Without the opposing winds, the Scyther suddenly exerted too much force on its forward momentum and hurtled past the Glalie, spiralling out of control.

“Regain your balance!” Ryder’s shout was too desperate and too late.

The Glalie wasted no time positioning itself above the tumbling Bug-type and unleashing a mighty Ice Beam that struck it down with force.

As the Scyther crashed to the ground, Lorelei’s voice remained calm but resolute. “Press on until it’s knocked out.”

“Cripple the enemy and take it out with a barrage of attacks. She did have a preference,” Celeste thought, letting out a long breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

Then she shook her head, refocusing.

On the ground, Aria panted, her fur ruffled and eyes blazing with fury. The barrage of stars had subsided, but the Sneasel still stood, battered but defiant. It limply lifted a claw, swinging it between Aria and Pat, but hesitated to commit to an attack.

“Pat,” Celeste nodded, no further words needed. Without hesitation, he finally released his Yawn, forming a gentle bubble that seemed almost too gentle for the intensity of the battle.

“Don’t just stand there,” Ryder’s urgent voice pierced through the turmoil as he recalled his Scyther.

The Sneasel attempted to evade Pat’s Yawn, but it was no use. Aria seized the opportunity, launching a Quick Attack straight into the opponent’s chest. The Dark-type tumbled into a puddle of water, a mix of melting ice and dirt from the battle. It struggled to rise, snarling and defying the drowsing effects of the Yawn bubble that burst in its face.

“Aria, finish it! Quick Attack once more!” Celeste’s voice thundered with newfound confidence.

Before the Eevee could launch her attack, another voice sliced through the air, halting the battle. “I think that’s quite enough,” Chief Jenny declared, as the crowd parted to let the police through.

Aria didn’t stop until she completed her move, though. The battle was all but over. Celeste lifted a reassuring hand, signalling her Eevee it was okay to stop. Despite the last attack, the Sneasel wasn’t entirely out, but Pat and Lorelei’s Glalie closed in, surrounding their foe.

“It’s over,” Celeste said, turning to Ryder.

But his expression… it was too unsettling. He wasn’t angry or lashing out. A smile danced on the corner of his lips, as if suppressing a maddening burst of laughter.

“What...?” Celeste’s voice trembled as her eyes shifted to the approaching police officer.

Lorelei started to explain, but Jenny’s glare silenced her.

Ryder then limped toward the officer and the girls, his eyes still glimmering with madness, but his expression and body language had turned sombre and serious. He was the perfect picture of innocence.

“I would like to press charges,” he said unemotionally.

Jenny’s gaze softened with compassion, and she shook her head gently. “You need medical attention first. Don’t worry about charges. Multiple witnesses saw the attack on you. We can take your statement once you’re in better shape.”

Celeste shot a scared glance toward Lorelei, who subtly shook her head, silently urging her not to do something rash as Jenny redirected her focus toward them.

Desperately looking for an out, Celeste’s breath caught in her throat as the full extent of the battle’s aftermath came into focus. The stage lay in ruins, prize boxes thrown about, their contents spilled in a chaotic mess. Amidst the wreckage, a cleanly severed speaker served as a reminder of what exactly she had been fighting.

Celeste pressed her lips tightly together, her heart pounding, as Chief Jenny called out their names.

“For assaulting a ranger and recklessly endangering others by initiating a battle without taking necessary precautions, you are both under arrest. Please recall your Pokémon into their pokéballs and come with me.”

The words ‘under arrest’ sent shockwaves through Celeste’s body, her mouth going dry, and a surge of panic rising in the pit of her stomach.

“You have the right to remain silent,” the officer added, almost as an afterthought. “Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law.”