“Mommy, I’ll get my eight Badges, and I’ll compete in the Pokemon League and make you both proud of me,” Melissa told Gary and their mom during her last phone call home.

  “Melissa, I’ll be proud when you just make it back home, safe!” the mom had insisted.

  “I’ll become the Pokemon League Champion, and then, the Kanto region Champ,” Melissa smiled. She then coughed a few times.

  “Melissa, are you okay, baby?” her mom had asked with concern. “Are you coming down with a cold?”

  Melissa shook her head and smiled. “I’m fine, Mom. Just you wait and see when I’m the most powerful Trainer on the planet. The whole world will know my name!”

  “And then, I’ll be coming after you, Sis,” Gary said challengingly to her through the computer screen. “I’ll be even more powerful than you and Ivysaur, and I’ll be the Champion!”

  “Ha! You’ll probably choose a Charmander as your Starter, just to try and beat me and Ivysaur,” Melissa smirked at him.

  “I haven’t decided who I’ll choose at Prof. Oak’s Lab!” Gary said angrily, especially since he had been considering choosing Charmander.

  “You better choose the Fire type,” Melissa taunted him. “You’ll need all the help you can get to beat me, and you’ll still never beat me!” Melissa’s face had then gone serious. “It’s a lot harder out here than you think, little guy…”

  Gary, June and Raichu trudged together through the thick, blowing snow. Although the boy was freezing, his fiery thoughts kept him from focusing on that, or anything else.

  June was silent, her eyes scanning the ground.

  Raichu was the only one making much noise, grunting and stumbling and even attempting hopping to make travel easier on himself, but this was too exhausting and he just returned to walking.

  It can’t be true, Gary told himself. None of it. Melissa... My mom... My dad... It’s all...

  Melissa was crying on the phone, distraught over not doing so well on her Pokemon journey. “I don’t understand why this is so hard for me! We should have been able to win! What am I doing wrong?”

  Gary’s mother sighed. “Melissa, it’s okay, baby. It’s tough out there. It’s okay to cry about it. But when you’re done crying, you pick yourself back up and you give it another go. You give it your all and fight even harder. Are you hurt?”

  Melissa managed a smile and let out a, “Ha.” Sniffling and wiping her eyes, she said, “It’s not me out there fighting, Mom. It’s my Pokemon. I’m fine.”

  Gary laughed with them, but he was the first to stop, a bothered feeling in his heart. He was starting to get used to seeing his mother comforting her, and he hated it. This was his older sister. He looked up to her. Wanted to best her at being a Pokemon Trainer. But more than that, this was his big sister out there, all alone, and he couldn’t even reach out and touch her. It made him want to cry every time, but she was already crying, so there was no room for him.

  He and his mother knew they had to be strong for Melissa. Even when the call ended.

  Lies?? My... family... The reason for my journey. The reason for... so much I went through was... for her. My - sister. Melissa. It was all for - a lie. Gary blinked out tears. Mom. If you wanted me to come home so badly, why’d you wait ‘til now to tell me about this? Why not kill my spirits and get me home sooner? Not when I’m stuck in a damn blizzard terrain. Why am I still going forward, even now? I don’t care about this stupid Badge anymore, or this journey. It’s all pointless now. My drive, even in her death, was to carry on her dream. The dream of my sister.

  “I don’t even see his footprints anywhere! It’s impossible! Electivire might really be lost!” June kept her head down.

  Electivire, Gary thought, looking outward. That’s right. Electivire. “He’s never gone for long! We’ll find him!”

  She looked up at him and smiled slightly, nodding. Her smile then vanished, but she never broke eye contact.

  I hope she can hear me, Gary thought. Bad enough she’s lost hearing in an ear, but in this snow, it must be that much harder. We should stay quiet until we get to New Snowpoint. But, again, what’s the point? We’re going home after this. Or I am, at least. June can- “Huh?”

  “Hm? Gary?”

  “Look!” Gary pointed. “It’s a Froslass!”

  June turned and screamed out, falling on top of Raichu.

  “Chaaaaaaa...” Raichu croaked out weakly, only his head visible under June’s butt.

  June stood quickly but kept her eyes on the Froslass.

  On instinct, Gary reached for his pocket to grab his Pokedex, but he stopped. Or perhaps he froze first. It was hard to tell. On one hand, Gary did want to stop because he had just said he was done with his journey, so filling the Pokedex meant nothing to him.

  On the other hand, Froslass had attacked, blowing a flurry of Ice and wind and snow at them. In seconds, Gary, June, and Raichu were Frozen solid, covered in Ice.

  Shit! This hurts! Gary stressed, the cold actually burning him. I’m dead! This is it! Can’t even breathe... He tried to shut his eyes, but he couldn’t move any part of his body. Just die, he told himself. Don’t fight it. What’s there to even live for? Just let it come and end everything. His eyes were on Froslass, but even in the snow sticking to the Ice coating around his body, he could still just make out June and Raichu. June. Raichu. Our Pokemon... I’m sorry, Gary thought. This is it.

  Froslass was approaching.

  And soon, everything went black for Gary.

  *

  The coughing sound made Gary’s body jerk. Even more coughing made his body tighten up. It took one more cough and Gary to twinge as a result before he realized he was the one coughing! This realization urged him to cough even more. My throat. It hurts! It’s burning. Down to my chest. He choked out some more, his tongue hanging out, his throat strained and aching. He felt freezing cold and groggy. After blinking several times, he raised a fist to his mouth as he squinted around a dimly lit space. Or - he tried to move his hand.

  He looked down and his eyes widened before he went into a complete panic! From his shoulders down to his feet, he was inside of a large block of ice! He opened his mouth and screamed but ended up choking further, his throat stinging. He looked outward in desperation. Where am I? he questioned, trying to make out anything in the poor lighting.

  “You’re better off just relaxing,” came a voice from out of nowhere.

  Gary turned his head sharply. “Aaah!” he let out in pain, his body forcibly stuck in the ice, only able to move his head. His eyes stopped on a large lump of a shape near the end of the dark place he was in. Blinking hard to make sense of it, he could see the flickering light of a fire burning atop thick logs in front of whoever just spoke.

  “You’re dead anyway. You’re only alive right now thanks to the Snowpoint Tamato Berry Ice Cream Bars I picked up from JJMC last week,” was the gruff voice of a man. “The Tamato Berry jelly on the inside is a great way to keep you from freezing to death out here, especially if you’re sitting in a block of ice.”

  Gary’s eyes widened as much as they could, straining to adjust and see clearer. He realized he was in a cave.

  A big man was sitting on a boulder. His face was covered in a graying beard, a white sun hat atop his head, the chin strap pulled up to his neck, and glasses on his face. He was bundled in a big brown coat, black mittens, and black boots. Something was glowing behind the man, out of sight. With a quick, drastic motion, there was a short, sharp clash of a sound, the man swiping something against a smaller boulder over and over. It was a machete maybe half the size of his arm. He stopped swiping to shift his body and raised his other hand to rub at his forehead before continuing to swipe his weapon. “I’m surprised Froslass brought you here. She’s usually quite particular about bringing in handsome males.”

  Gary was mesmerized, terrified, feeling like he was stuck in a nightmare. He couldn’t believe this was really taking place, but he also couldn’t believe he was dreaming this! Not with the pain he was in. Another hallucination? he considered. The Grimer poison? Am I still-? His eyes turned to see something that froze his thoughts. Something horrifying and surreal. He would have screamed if he had the strength.

  It was June, also inside of a block of ice! Like Gary, only her head was free. Her face was red, her eyes closed, her mouth hanging open. Her head rolled to one side and stayed there at what had to be an uncomfortable angle.

  On the ground beside her was Raichu, also in ice with only his head free, awake and alert. His face was chilled blue. He cried out to Gary with a face of despair. “Raichu,” Raichu let out sadly and weakly and then closed his eyes.

  Snow blew into the entrance of the cave from the dark outside.

  “I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” the man went on, swiping against the rock.

  “Wh-wh-wh-wha-a-a-at?” Gary croaked out weakly, his teeth chattering. Nothing makes sense. Help! Anyone!

  “You’re a little lost right now, I’m sure.” The man’s blade kept cutting against the rock, sharpening it. “They say you should look a man in the eye and let ‘em know why before you kill ‘em. So that’s what I’ma do.” He was intimidating just by his choice of words and his focused, stern, purposeful tone. Groaning loudly, the stocky man pressed the palms of his hands against his thighs as he stood. This only added to the terror. He was a decent seven feet at least and built as sturdy as a fortress. As he walked away, the thing that was giving off light behind him could be seen.

  It was an abstract object glowing white. Black sparks appeared around it, coming and going at a steady pace. Almost like a... pulse?

  Gary’s mouth hung open in disbelief. Unable to get the words out of his mouth, he kept in his mind, What the fuck?

  June suddenly groaned.

  “J-J-J-J-J-June...” Gary let out weakly. He choked again, his body aching in a numbing sensation.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “Ch-Ch-Ch-Chu!” Raichu ended up hacking hard.

  June’s eyes suddenly shot open. “Huh?” In the next instant, she was heaving harshly and nastily.

  “J-J-J-J-J-June.” Gary’s eyes went to her, back to the glowing object, and then to June, and again to the object.

  June screamed, realizing she was frozen in a cave with Raichu, Gary, a stranger with a machete, and something glowing and sparking.

  Whatever it was, it was rounded now. A perfect sphere. Parts of the mysterious object were black, like a stain or paint was put on it.

  June’s scream was cut short as she started choking out. She cleared her throat. “Owww... G-G-G-G-G-G-Gary. Wh-wh-wh-wh-what’s g-g-g-g-going o-o-o-on? Wh-wh-who is th-th-th-th-th-that? Oww... M-m-m-m-my-my throa-.” Her eyes went around the cave, but kept returning back to the strange, glowing orb.

  “Glad you’re awake because I really hate repeating myself.” The man stomped over to June and kneeled down. “Remind me of my wife. When she was younger.” He leaned in closer to her, his beard against June’s face making her cry out in disgust and try to move away. “And alive.”

  Alive? Gary repeated.

  “R-R-R-Raichu!” Raichu called out angrily. “Chu...”

  “R-R-R-Raichu. B-b-b-b-b-baby,” June responded to her Pokemon, ignoring the creep in her face. “I-i-i-i-i-it’s okay. D-d-d-don’t u-u-u-use up-” She swallowed, her face giving away the pain of the simple action. “Y-y-y-y-y-y-your energy.”

  The man pulled away but stayed down by her. He raised his huge blade and pointed it at her throat.

  June froze, Raichu yelling out desperately, Gary watching with horrified eyes. This looked familiar to him, but he didn’t bother reflecting on it right now. “W-w-w-w-w-wait. S-s-sir. P-p-p-p-please!” Gary begged. The more alert Gary was getting, the more his body was suffering in the ice, the cold torturing him with a relentless, frozen grip rapidly milking all the warmth from him.

  “Relax. You’re all gonna die,” the man spoke. “The husband, the wife, the pet/kid. All according to plan. It’s like a cycle.” He pressed the machete against June’s throat and then made a sharp motion.

  Blood started to slide down her throat.

  Gary and Raichu bellowed out together.

  “CHUUUUUUUUUU!!!”

  “JUUUUUUUUUUNE!!!”

  “J-j-j-” June inhaled big. Speaking through exposed, gritted teeth, she grunted, “J-j-just a cut. I’m f-f-f-fine.”

  The man’s weapon was in front of his face, staring at the blood on it.

  We’re gonna freeze to death, Gary realized. My body isn’t trembling properly. We’re all gonna die like this. Me, June, Raichu. But for what? Why is this happening? He looked back to the glowing white object.

  It was now hovering! More parts of it were covered in black and now there were two protruding, glowing black spikes, like horns.

  Gary didn’t know if he should keep his eyes on that, or on the man threatening June’s life. They both seemed of equal importance. What is that, though? Gary thought tensely.

  “Wh-what’s th-th-th-th-that?” June asked out loud.

  “You know the worst thing about her was?” the man asked, ignoring June’s question and paying no attention to the floating, glowing orb. His eyes were fixated on the blood he held on his machete. “Fair skin. Red hair. Her eyes were blue, though. I hated them. But that wasn’t the problem. I just don’t like blue eyes with red hair. Used to joke that I wish she was just wearing contacts so I could just smack them out of her head. Ha ha ha ha ha!”

  Gary’s eyebrows narrowed, his eyes squinting, both acts of confusion. His teeth continued clacking against each other. Was that supposed to be a joke? He looked to the glowing orb again, seeing more definition coming to it.

  The man put the bloody edge of the blade in his mouth, pulling it out with a slurp. “Aaaaah...” he let out with satisfaction and looked to Gary. “Even tastes like her. Soap. It’s the fact she used those eyes I hated so much to flirt with other men. Handsome men. Men who looked nothing like me at all. Not to say it was a race thing or anything like that. They were all sorts. They just looked nothing like me because I’m far from attractive, and they all were.”

  He speaks strange, Gary noted. It’s all over the place. He’s insane. We’re all gonna die!

  “She denied it, but I knew she was lying. Said it was all in my head. Said I was nuts. But our daughter was dating several men at once! Huh?! What kind of shit is that?! It wasn’t so much that she was cheating on me!” He grabbed June by the hair and yanked her head back sharply.

  June shrieked as Gary and Raichu shouted out.

  “It’s that I couldn’t cheat back!!” he screamed in her face before shoving her head away and standing. Gary was both shocked and frightened to see tears were in the man’s eyes. The maniac was crying! “I’m too ugly to even cheat! I tried! Believe me! I’ve tried to strike up little affairs or just have girls wanna talk to me online! I wasn’t gonna have sex with ‘em. I just wanted to know that I could! That someone out there thought I was attractive!” He started openly sobbing to Gary. “It’s so easy for everyone else!”

  Now even more details were becoming evident on the glowing ball. The glow had dulled, and what appeared to be teeth were appearing inside of a possible mouth! There were indentations on the body. Eyes! That’s some kind of creature! Gary realized.

  “I didn’t want to kill ‘em! My rage simply took over!” The man shrugged and his machete fell from his hand, but he paid it no mind. “And so I took the bodies and fled. Took them with me out here to get away. And I did. I got away with everything. A Glalie manifested from my dark emotions out here in the cold and ate their bodies. No evidence. I can go back home whenever I want. There’s just... so much blood back there.”

  The remaining glow from the orb went away, revealing a monster! It was a black creature covered in ice and snow. Its face held a mean glare from blue eyes and a sneering mouth with white teeth. The two black horns were pointy and looked sharp. It yelled out.

  “P-P-P-Pokemon!” Gary let out.

  The guy still didn’t look back and instead stared at the ground. “See? They keep appearing when I get emotional. Glalie.” The man’s voice calmed down some, and he was no longer crying, only sniffling a little. “Whenever I get worked up or stressed. Absorbing the regrets I have about my family. And the rage I feel, when I need to let out my anguish by killing. Just like her mother. Just like her mother. She got her mother’s looks, and her infidelity. Froslass was more than happy to help me find the most attractive men and women possible, also children, and freeze ‘em for me to kill. Glalie eats the bodies, and I believe Froslass eats frozen souls, so we all win in this. Funny.” He stared at Gary darkly. “Well, not for you two, right? Ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Turning to June, more laughter came out as he kneeled down again.

  Something suddenly appeared from out of thin air, hovering over the cackling man. “Froslass,” the Pokemon spoke. She first looked down at the man, and then to the stationary victims.

  “Oh, there you are, Froslass,” the man smiled at her.

  This is too much! Gary thought. It burns! It hurts so bad! I’m dying! Right here! Right now! Like it’s nothing! Dying and about to be killed!

  “Why’d you choose this couple?” The man reached to get his weapon. “Was there really no better guys out there? You coulda left him behind. But I guess it fits. She reminds me so much of... h-h-her. And he looks about as unattractive as me.” He went silent, his eyes on Raichu. “But my daughter wasn’t a fatty like that Raichu,” the man sneered.

  Raichu just silently bared his teeth.

  “Eh,” the man shrugged. “Nothing can be perfect. Let’s get this over with.”

  Seriously? Is this guy really judging my looks right now?? Gary couldn’t believe his ears. This is nuts! He could feel tears building up in his eyes. With a blink, and against his will, a pair fell out and rolled down his cheeks. He was hurt by the man’s words, even knowing he was going to be killed soon. Like I don’t think low enough about myself as it is, he thought.

  The guy stood again, his eyes on his weapon as he turned it around back and forth. “Sometimes I just let the bodies freeze to death. I wake ‘em up, keep ‘em up long enough to hear why I’m killin’ ‘em, and then leave ‘em to die. Other times, I do the dirty work myself. Today?” He turned to June. “I’m still a little thirsty, Paola.” His last sentence was spoken as if he’d become possessed, his voice low, gravelly. Distorted? He quickly raised his machete.

  June’s face was full of fright and had gone pale blue, her lips darker.

  “Las?”

  “Glai!”

  There was a large, white zip that moved in front of Gary, gone in the next instant. Before the boy even registered this, a yellow monster about a foot shorter than the killer delivered a powerful punch to his stomach!

  The man’s face held open-mouthed shock and wide-eyed confusion at the sudden attack as he soared through the air, his machete flying away from him. He dropped harshly, his glasses tumbling from his face. After several seconds, he let out a weak, continuous groan.

  “E-E-E-E-” Gary couldn’t even get the name “Electivire” out of his mouth.

  It was the black-and-yellow powerhouse that had arrived! The Pokemon’s body was outlined in white from using Strength attack.

  Froslass was first to move, flying forth and extending her arms.

  Electivire’s body stopped glowing and he used Quick Attack, charging at her with blinding speed but flying right through her body.

  Quick Attack won’t work on Ghosts, Electivire! Gary wasn’t even trying to speak anymore.

  Froslass turned around to attack Electivire.

  Electivire whipped around quickly and met her flurry of Ice and snow with his Flames he exhaled. He overtook her attack, and soon the Pokemon herself, and Froslass collapsed.

  But Glalie was right behind her! Flying out the instant Froslass dropped, the Pokemon’s open jaws neared Electivire.

  “Leeeeeeeect!” Electivire’s right hand balled into a fist and burst into flames before swinging out with a “Viiiiii!!”

  Glalie wailed out as it was dropped by the Fire Punch. Both it and Froslass were beaten.

  Electivire flexed and his body was outlined in white again. He walked over to Raichu first, pulling back his arm to strike.

  Raichu looked panicked, calling out frightfully.

  Electivire stopped and then mumbled, the white glow going away. His fists were set ablaze and he gently put one to the ice.

  In a moment, the ice melted and Raichu was free! He collapsed on his back, breathily heavily.

  Electivire stared at June for a minute before doing the same thing to her, using his heated fists to free her, and lastly Gary. Then, dragging the body of the man by one leg, he walked to the mouth of the cave.

  Several minutes later, June was trembling on her knees by the fire, Raichu wrapped up inside of her coat shivering, Gary curled up in a ball shaking by the same heat.

  “E-E-E-Electivire...” June got out.

  He was still by the entrance, watching the snow.

  Gary looked away, first to the madman’s still body, and then to the two Fainted Pokemon. A lot of thoughts swirled in his mind.

  “G-G-G-Gary?”

  Gary didn’t look over to June.

  “A-a-a-a-a-are y-y-y-y-ou th-th-think-think-” She finally gave up talking with a shaky sigh, and Gary was glad.

  He was afraid of what she might ask, and didn’t want to give the answer if she really did ask it.

  The crazy man groaned, struggling to push himself back up. He coughed out helplessly as Electivire slammed one foot on his back and forced him back down.

  Gary breathed out through his nose tiredly. Don’t tell me we have to walk back to Insect Town to get the police. We came this far through all this just to go back? But we’re not any closer to New Snowpoint City, either. Damn it! I’m so tired of dealing with the police!

  June hugged Raichu tighter and gave a hard shudder, letting out a sound expressing her cold and desperation to warm up.

  *

  “You’d think we were the murderers and not that guy! What’d they call him? Fred Frost?” June asked, Raichu keeping at her feet.

  Gary nodded, looking to the snowy ground. “Fred... Frost. Serial killer suspected of murdering his family, and fled here where he kidnapped and killed several people, generally attractive, men and women and even children. We just barely escaped a serial killer. And his killer Pokemon.”

  Kirlia kept close by Gary.

  “I’m so glad Kirlia could Teleport us to the police and then back! Saved us a couple of trips! Shame we can’t just get to New Snowpoint that easily!”

  Gary just nodded, but he didn’t look back at her. Fred, he kept to himself. What a coincidence. Do I tell June about-?

  “I wasn’t sure if you’d capture those two!” June added.

  Gary finally stopped walking, Kirlia bumping into his leg and falling backwards. He looked back at June, and then to Electivire who was far behind them all, barely visible in the wildly blowing snow.

  He remembered earlier when June struggled to ask him something in the cave. Something he was glad she hadn’t asked. A question he didn’t want to face. Because the fact was, he didn’t want to address why it would even be a question. There shouldn’t be an issue with capturing Glalie and Froslass.

  Those Pokemon had killed, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Pokemon kill. It happens all the time. Both humans and Pokemon can be victims. It should just be another day.

  But it wasn’t. Not in the hands of Team Solace. This would only be more fuel for them once the killer named Fred Frost confessed to his crimes and that hit the news. He was a murderer, aided willingly by wild Pokemon, some of which were manifested by his own inner demons.

  It was an undeniable win for Team Solace.