He’d… actually been dreading this day, to be honest. Ever since he’d been summarily banished and forbidden from approaching Shoal Cave without the snarky one’s say-so, he…

To be honest Lars hadn’t been able to sleep properly the past few weeks because of the abrupt radio silence in the back of his head.

It’s like—when you’ve gotten used to a particular presence in your thoughts, only for it to suddenly pull out and just leave you hanging in mid-air? Something like that.

For good measure, he’d even thrown his overcoat atop all the layers that Eli had on—he was pretty sure she was freezing her ass off.

Him, however?

He’d turned up and led the way through the cave proper in nothing but his usual attire—which was a plain black shirt, jeans, and boots.

(He is immune to the cold after all.)

Accompanying them was a strange equine Pokémon that looked like it had no eyes—but in reality was hidden by the sharp, icy mane they sported.

“Yeah… and there’s the matter of that.”

He gestured at the extremely thick ice wall—no manner or amount of squinting could reveal what was on the other side of the cavern.

The strange equine Pokémon that accompanied them on this journey was an intriguing Pokémon. Unfortunately they were not here to enjoy a lovely cave-riding lesson.

“Yeah, that wall is an issue.” Elinor spoke.

She took a few steps up to the wall. For a quick moment she had a thought. Perhaps the bird would react to her voice?

She slammed a few heavy knocks into the wall as she loudly proclaimed. “Articuno hiding from your problems ain’t going to fix it!” Her voice was confident as it tried to carry the words through the thick ice wall.

“And I have full intentions of providing my aid, whether you want it or not.” She stepped back retrieving a few Pokéballs from her trainer belt.

She turned her head to Lars and said. “If Articuno doesn’t take down that wall, I fully intend to. So it might get hot here.” A cheeky smile beamed at Lars.

Honestly, she had always wanted to test her fire power against a friendly legendary.

OOC: N/A
LOCATION: SHOAL CAVE -> ARTICUNO'S LAIR

“Look, the last time I was down here that wall wasn’t there. Ever since I was like, what, ‘excommunicated’ and kinda banned from coming down here that wall may have grown there. As to how long it’s actually been there I have no idea. I’m not sure,” he mused quietly as he knocked once, twice, a few times on the frigid wall to ascertain its thickness.

At the mention of fire, though, he visibly cringed.

“I’m telling you now, El, fire and us don’t go too well together,” he added. Which, a few seconds later he realized, made complete and total sense. No wonder he hated the fucking summer.

He’d always been adverse to fire, which was kind of hilarious considering he didn’t have a single active Fire-type in his usual rotation of Pokémon (yet he had quite a number of them on his roster).

(Funny how that shit worked out, wouldn’t you say?)

“Let me try,” he continued, and knocking a few times on the ice, he then stood there, gone all quiet and such.

‘Hey. Are… are you there?’

Lars did not seem inclined to go for the ‘Burn down the wall’ plan.

“That might be. But we have to get through that wall somehow.” She stated.

Though when Lars suggested he had a go at talking with Articuno. She gave an accepting nod, stepping back and letting Lars have a go at communicating with his Patron.

Meanwhile Elinor was fiddling with her Pokéballs preparing to summon her strongest fire types, and those with equally powerful attacks.

Once she had found a set she figured would be adequate for the job, she began a mental countdown.

Come on Articuno… Better start answering…

OOC: N/A
LOCATION: SHOAL CAVE -> ARTICUNO'S LAIR

Instead of being met with the same, familiar voice in the back of his head—there was nothing but…

Dead. Silence.

Never had been so frightening.

Lars never thought he’d break out into a cold sweat so fast his eyes snapped open as he looked over at his cousin.

“I… shit,” he hissed as he shook his head. “I’m not getting anything…”

It was like the ice wall outside the cavern heard him—and in response the already-thick ice grew even thicker than it already had been.

“What—what the fuck?!” he exclaimed as he saw a new layer of ice forming on top of the already-existing layer that was… there.

“Do… do you really have to incinerate the ice?” he grumbled some time later, already mentally preparing himself for the fucking heat wave…

Lars made an attempt.

The only response they got from Articuno was the thickening of the icy walls.

Lars turned to. Honestly, she wasn’t even mad. A broad smile on her lips.

If that’s how you want to play. Elinor wasn’t about to say no to that challenge.

But Lars did not seem as enthused.

“I am afraid so…” She wasn’t the least bit sorry about it. And with that she summoned the Pokémon she figured would be up to the task. First a Hisuian Typhlosion, next a Hisuian Braviary, quickly followed by a Delphox and for good measure a Salamence.

Four Pokémon in total.

She gestured for Lars to get some distance as she did the same. Once she felt that they had the appropriate distance she would give one single command. “Tear down that wall.”

And with that all four of the Pokémon summoned their strongest fire based attacks, sending it against the wall as a tidal wave of hungry heat.



OOC: N/A
LOCATION: SHOAL CAVE -> ARTICUNO'S LAIR

Three of the four Pokémon looked familiar, one of them… looked like a Braviary? Only with different feathers—

“Oh, you bet your ass I’m getting the hell back,” and to prove what he just said he made to rush some distance away—because the way the heat haze would be rising off the flames in waves was going to definitely make him uncomfortable.

All too soon aforementioned heat haze reached where he stood, the four Pokémon trying to scorch the ever-loving shit out of the thickening ice wall—

Only, instead of the ice thinning out, an equally-cold wind blew through the area, chilling the place even further than it already had been.

Clearly someone behind the wall of ever-thickening ice wasn’t taking this well at all.

“Oh, boy.”

Even the frozen equine galloped away, seeking refuge closer to Lars as the heat haze threatened to melt their shaggy mane of frozen ‘hair’.

A dance of Fire and Ice. Both beautiful and terrifying.

Arms protected her head as the wave of pressurized air from the two forces colliding sent her hair flying backward. She barely managed to stay standing. But as the battle raged on, she managed to sneak peaks and honestly it was beautiful. The haze of heat, the vapor rising into the air.

But her Pokémon were not deities. They were powerful for sure. But in the end the Icy gales of Articuno pushed the fire back and the four Pokémon were forced to relent.

They quickly joined at Elinor’s side protecting her from the consequences of her own actions.

But with them by her side or not, Elinor still felt a certain boldness in her breast, and so she loudly yelled. “ARTICUNO TAKE DOWN YOUR WALL OR I WILL DO IT FOR YOU.” She took a moment to breathe, reading her next Pokémon.

“LARS IS WORRIED ABOUT YOU!”




OOC: N/A
LOCATION: SHOAL CAVE -> ARTICUNO'S LAIR

“You think that’ll work?!” he hollered from his position, leaning on one side of his Glastrier who was now nervously pawing the ground because holy shit the air within the cavern was getting uncomfortably warmer now due to the rising heat haze coming from the four Pokémon—two Fire-types and two that knew some kind of Fire-type attack.

“It only got colder, apparently!”

This was just him observing, because even though he was immune to the cold, his cousin wasn’t, obviously referenced by the reaction the four Pokémon did when they approached to shield her from the arctic wind blowing through the place.

Ugh… why did shit have to be like this?

A few moments later, what appeared to be a mass of icicles—of multiple sizes, mind, not just one single uniform one—formed from the same direction where the wind was blowing from before hurtling towards where they—

Lars knew exactly whose tactic this was and yelled, making a mad dash forward and attempting to stave off the incoming attack with his own conjured icicles—which were smaller than the ones that were hurtling their way!

“I don’t THINK it will. It IS working.” She proclaimed confidently. She had its attention. That’s all she needed. Now she just had to get through to it.

But alas Articuno was intent on fighting back, as one did when interventions were had.

And as Lars had warned her, Articuno was not about to shy away from deadly attacks.

But Elinor had faith in her Cousin, in his willingness to protect her as she stubbornly continued.

Articuno’s icy gales had defeated the flames of her four Pokémon. But that didn’t leave her without options. She summoned another Pokémon. This one a far cry from the fiery force already there protecting her.

The Metallic beast roared announcing its arrival to the entirety of Shoal Cave, and then no more than a moment later a bright light enveloped the Aggron, before it emerged bulkier and more dangerous looking.

Its hind-claws dug deep into the icy floor as it charged forward, a silvery sheen clad its head as the Mega-Aggron charged at the icy wall hoping to break through.



OOC: N/A
LOCATION: SHOAL CAVE -> ARTICUNO'S LAIR

“You really went for the big guns, huh?!” he hollered as he watched an Aggron hit the frozen ground before literally roaring its challenge to the entire of Shoal Cave, so much that the ceiling shook and several stalactites snapped off and fell a dangerously close distance to where she stood.

“Che cazzo!” he grumbled a few moments later as the smaller icicles were easily snapped and broken in half—there was no way he could use the Z-Move right now as that directly involved the actual source of the current ‘problem’ that was causing the coming of the next Ice Age to spew forth from deep within the underbelly…

The Glastrier then galloped forward, their own body suddenly glinting with a metallic sheen as the Iron Defense was cast, before standing in front of the other four Pokémon that were crowding around her; another wall of protection against whatever the fucking hell the Iceborne Mirage was going to throw at them—

The Mega-evolved Aggron slamming into the frozen wall clearly pissed off the one that was hiding behind it, and the thick layer of ice refused to budge—with some tendrils of frozen energy reaching out in an attempt to inflict some form of frostbite on the Aggron!

“Oh, come on!” he yelled, this time clapping his own two hands together before conjuring up the perfect-sized shard of ice and then hacking away at the creeping frost that was spreading across the Mega-evolved Aggron’s scales.

A goofy grin on Elinor’s lips as Lars acknowledged her efforts. That felt nice.

But alas a simple Mega Evolution did not seem enough to break through. Only further angering the deity, to the point where Lars’s Icy Equine jumped in front to offer protection alongside her own Pokémon.

Meanwhile Aggron kept fighting, the sensation of frost biting into its steel skin hurting painfully. But, that would not stop it.

“Keep at it, Gron. You are doing good!” Elinor proclaimed! Though she wasn’t blind to Lars’s struggle protecting Aggron.

“Gron no holding back!” Elinor commanded.

The Aggron relented for a moment, jumping backward to get some distance. At first it might seem like it gave up. But far from it. It needed the distance to build up speed as it charged for the icy wall once more.

But when next it hit the wall, it was not a measly Iron Head that was used, but instead the phenomenal Z-move CORKSCREW CRASH that sent the Aggron drilling into the icy-barrier.



OOC: N/A
LOCATION: SHOAL CAVE -> ARTICUNO'S LAIR

At the same time the Glastrier had rushed forward to protect the other Pokémon that were now literally pressing up as close to his cousin as possible, even more icicles formed from the frozen energy that permeated the cave came flying from the opposite direction—and had said frozen equine not used Iron Defense once again those shards may have ended up in places… that they were not supposed to end up.

The icicles bounced off harmlessly against the tough skin of the Glastrier, who held their ground while Lars worked away at hacking away at the frostbite that was starting to spread across the Aggron’s legs—frostbite never really was a good thing in the long run, but good grief…

He had a split-second to roll out of the damned way as the Aggron came crashing forward, throwing all of its power and force into a Z-Move that forced a crack to spread across the ever-regenerating wall of ice that was denying them access to what lay beyond said cavern entrance.

“Damn, Eli, you really pulled that one from out of nowhere!” he exclaimed as the crack widened, spreading across the thickening surface…

“WHY AREN’T YOU LETTING US THROUGH?!” finally came from deep within him, out of sheer frustration as he finally pulled out the Heavy Ball he’d refrained from so much as touching—because they were going to need his own firepower as well thrown into the mix.

Backing away as Ro the Metagross finally appeared, the second monolith let out an angry grating noise, before Lars gave Eli this stare before tapping the ring he wore and the silver beast was surrounded by his own burst of light before growing even bigger in size and—

“Ro, Dragon Hammer! Help her Aggron out!” he roared, not taking this lying down any longer as his own Mega-evolved Metagross charged forward, all of its claws glowing with a terrifying light as the beast crashed against the ever-spreading crack, causing it to spread even more, despite the efforts of the Mirage hiding behind it to thicken the layers—