“Summer, use Strength!”
The magenta-furred Typhlosion let out a roar as it pushed a large boulder with its paws. Flames blasted out from its neck as it pushed, the boulder tumbling into a massive hole in the ground. The ground shook as the boulder slammed into the level below, followed by a loud splash.
Tia peered down into the hole, seeing nothing but darkness and the hint of flowing waves. She looked up at Summer.
“That was the last boulder,” she said, “Tired?”
Summer answered with a growl and a vigorous shake of the head. Tia knew Summer was eager to face Articuno, but she was worried about her Pokemon’s stamina after moving so many boulders. Seeing the concerned look on Tia’s face, Summer gave a nod and a reassuring smile.
Tia smiled back, then shivered, pulling her coat closer around herself. She looked over to Aidan, who was sitting on a rock with his laptop open. He was as bundled up as she was, and the air fogged up as he breathed. Blaze, his black Charizard, stood nearby, lighting Aidan’s view with his tail.
“What next?” Tia asked.
After a moment, he answered, “We go down to the lower level, then Surf to the far end of the cavern.” He looked at an extensive map of the Seafoam cave system. “That last boulder should’ve slowed down the water currents down below so it’s possible to Surf.”
Tia looked thoughtful for a moment. “If Articuno’s here, it has to know we’re coming,” she said, “We’ve made enough noise to wake the dead.”
“Articuno’s here, all right,” Aidan answered, “Those bright blue feathers we saw a couple of turns back prove it. Not to mention the cries echoing through the walls. And remember what Blaine said about having to keep curious Trainers out of the caverns when they came to challenge him.”
Tia nodded. Blaine had temporarily moved his Gym to the Seafoam Islands after Cinnabar Volcano erupted, before New Cinnabar Island was built. He told multiple stories of Trainers exploring the caverns after earning their Badges, curious about Articuno and cocky enough to try and find it. Those stories rarely ended well, with many Trainers getting lost in the vast cave system and needing to be rescued.
Compared to those poor Trainers, Tia and Aidan were much better prepared. Armed with a map of the cave system, direction markers, and enough provisions for several days, they had managed to pinpoint the exact cave Articuno nested in without getting hopelessly lost.
They carefully climbed down to the lower level of the huge cavern and approached the water’s edge. They returned Summer and Blaze to their Poke Balls, and Tia summoned her Dewgong, Emi. They quietly Surfed toward the far end of the cavern, looking out for any obstacles.
They approached a large slab of rock jutting out from the water, and dismounted onto the rock. Tia returned Emi to her Poke Ball, and she and Aidan summoned Summer and Blaze once again.
As they walked further away from the water’s edge, they came across a large nest, covered in sparkling shards of ice. A bright beam of light shined over it, from a massive hole at the top of the cavern.
“This has to be the place,” Tia said, shivering as she peered at the empty nest. “But where’s Articuno?”
She was interrupted by a loud, majestic call that echoed through the cavern. She and Aidan turned around, and immediately scattered as Articuno swooped down toward the ground.
“Watch out!” Aidan shouted as Articuno blew past them.
Articuno flew upward again, turning to face Tia and Aidan. It stared at them with a knowing look, then let out a sharp cry, as if issuing a challenge to them.
As Articuno prepared to dive again, Aidan turned to Blaze. “Okay, Blaze, get above Articuno and use Flamethrower!”
Blaze quickly flew upward past Articuno, then dove, spraying it with Flamethrower on the way down.
Articuno staggered and sank toward the ground, but still airborne.
“Summer!” Tia shouted, “Hit it from below with Flame Wheel!”
Summer jumped up and curled into a flaming ball, hitting Articuno from below.
Sandwiched between two Fire attacks, Articuno let out a pained cry. Then, with a flick of its wings, it knocked both Pokemon back. It turned to Blaze and shot a powerful Blizzard from its mouth. Blaze tried to dodge the attack, but the Blizzard directly hit his wings, freezing them.
“Blaze, Return!” Aidan called out, as Blaze dropped from the sky like a stone. Blaze disappeared into the Poke Ball moments before he would have hit the ground.
“Summer,” Tia called, “Aerial Ace!”
Summer bounded toward Articuno, managing to dodge Blizzard after Blizzard. She jumped up, and as she closed in on Articuno’s head, she raised a paw to attack.
Before the attack connected, Articuno shot a thick Mist from its mouth, causing the Aerial Ace to miss. The mist grew until it covered most of the cavern, and Tia squinted, unable to see anything.
“Summer?” Tia looked around, feeling uneasy, then heard heavy footsteps rambling toward her as Summer ran back to her side, her neck flame ablaze.
“Aidan?” Tia called out through the mist.
“I’m here,” he answered. “Be careful.”
There was an eerie silence, as the mist swirled and Articuno was nowhere to be seen. Tia pulled out a Legend Ball, thinking Articuno might be already incapacitated.
Then a sudden blast of cool air blew, slamming right into Tia and Summer. With a shout, Tia was thrown into the air and landed painfully on the slippery ground. The Legend Ball landed nearby.
“Tia!” Aidan shouted, running to her. “You okay?”
Tia nodded. “Yeah. But Summer…”
The mist finally subsided, revealing Summer, frozen solid within a large block of ice.
“Oh, no!” Tia shouted, “Summer!” She quickly got up and ran toward the frozen Pokemon, ignoring Articuno’s attack cry.
“Tia, wait!” Aidan called out.
Bright red lights suddenly flashed from Articuno’s eyes, focusing directly on Tia and the frozen Summer. The lights blinked once, then faded away.
Aidan’s eyes widened. Mind Reader. He’d seen this attack once before, in a Battle Tower match. It was the last thing his Pokemon saw before being hit head-on with Fissure. A one-hit KO…
“Tia!” Aidan shouted, “Get out of there! Articuno’s going to use Sheer Cold!” But Tia couldn’t hear him.
Heart in his throat, Aidan quickly pulled out a Poke Ball and threw it toward them. He hoped it’d make it in time…
Meanwhile, Tia was desperately trying to thaw out Summer. A Full Heal wasn’t enough, so Tia pulled out a Full Restore and quickly sprayed it all over Summer. After a moment, the ice started melting rapidly. Once Summer’s head thawed out, she let out a warning cry.
Tia looked up fearfully as Articuno let out a cry, followed by a massive blast of supercooled air, too fast for either of them to escape it. Tia squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to be frozen stone cold dead. But nothing happened.
Tia opened her eyes to see a curious-looking green Poke Doll tumble to the ground, frozen solid by Articuno’s attack. A Substitute! She looked behind her to see a tall, rugged-looking Tyranitar standing there.
“Tatra, use Ancientpower!” Aidan shouted.
The Tyranitar levitated a group of boulders and hurled them at Articuno. Some of them connected, knocking Articuno out of the sky. Before it hit the ground, Articuno banked its wings and hovered.
Tia’s mind whirled as she looked at Articuno, then at Summer. Articuno’s current position seemed low enough for…
“Summer, Thunderpunch!”
Summer’s paws crackled with electricity as she rushed toward Articuno, made a giant leap, and lunged toward it, fist outstretched.
There was a loud boom as the attack connected, and Articuno let out a cry and struggled as electrical waves surrounded it. When the electricity faded, Tia and Aidan watched cautiously, anticipating another attack.
But Articuno remained still, slumped over on the ground and struggling to move.
“I think we paralyzed it!” Aidan said. He looked over at Tia urgently.
Tia nodded. She ran toward the weakened Articuno, scooping the Legend Ball up from the ground. It was ice cold, which was expected after being hit by subzero temperatures, but warm enough to hold in her hand. The heating circuit had done its work.
Tia’s grip tightened around the Legend Ball, then she flung it toward Articuno with all her strength. The Ball bounced against Articuno’s head, then came open, sucking Articuno inside with a flash of red light.
Tia and Aidan watched as the Legend Ball wobbled once, twice, a third time… then went still.
They looked at each other with tired but ecstatic smiles.
“We did it!”
“It worked!”
They hugged each other, laughing. Then Tia ran over to give Summer a big hug.
“Thank you!” Tia said, relishing the warmth given off by Summer’s fur.
Aidan looked over at Tatra and nodded, thumping him on his rocky shoulder. “You did great!”
The Legend Ball yielded the following data when plugged into Tia’s workstation:
Articuno
Level 70
Element Type: Ice
Lowest Temperature: -50°C
Capture Rate: 3.96
Tia nodded. According to the schematics, the Legend Ball was designed to withstand temperatures from approximately -100°C to over 700°C. Articuno’s attack temperature hit well within the Legend Ball’s lower bound.
“Good data?” Aidan asked.
“Very good data,” Tia answered. She placed Articuno’s Legend Ball carefully into her pack, then smiled up at Aidan. “Our first Legendary capture!”
“We should celebrate,” Aidan said as they packed up, “Hot chocolate, some nice hot soup, and some flaming hot curry!”
Tia laughed. “You know it’s the height of summer outside these caves, don’t you?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Aidan said, “I’ve had enough of the cold to last me a lifetime... Or at least a few months!”
Tia smiled as they began the journey back through the cave system, wondering how their next Legendary encounter would go.