A fierce wind whipped through the mountains that dotted the Northern frontier of Equestria. Tempest had journeyed far beyond the Crystal Empire in search of the monstrously powerful pokémon that made its home in one of the caverns that dotted the icy mountain range.
Tempest's ambition burned bright, but the blizzard chilled her to the core. In spite of the heavy clothing that wrapped her entire being, the cold still reached in with frigid talons and sent a shiver through her body.
The caverns that Tempest was after were extremely remote, accessible only by hoof. No pokémon save for Articuno could fly in these conditions, and between the rough terrain and temperatures far below freezing, any vehicle was not likely to function for long. But while the conditions were brutal, Tempest was reassured by them. So violent a storm surely meant her quarry was here.
Navigation through the mountains had been tricky. A map would be torn to shreds by the wind, and electronics would not work properly in the freezing conditions. This left Tempest to navigate by eye and by her own gut feeling; if she was wrong, the subzero conditions could very well be the death of her.
The temperature dropped even further as she continued onward. The winds became deafening and nearly her entire vision was obscured by whipping snow. She smiled. This must be it. Tempest pressed forward blindly, following the wind to find the cavern in which it was hiding. One foot after another, Tempest Shadow moved into the howling gale and stinging snow, allowing the wind to guide her onwards to her destination.
At once, she felt the snow stop. Tempest opened her eyes to find herself inside a dark, frozen cave. She fumbled through her bag to find the lantern she had brought with her. Using her body to shield it from the wind, she struck a match and lit the wick inside, casting a warm orange glow across the mirror-like ice of the cave.
While the snow had subsided, the wind remained. It seemed to be originating from deep within the cavern. This has to be the place. There could be no doubt that this cave was the one inhabited by the pokémon she sought. An intense blizzard, howling winds that plunged the temperature far below freezing. It could only be the work of Kyurem.
With her lantern in hoof, Tempest ventured deeper into the cave, sliding across vast sheets of ice. She used the occasional patch of stable ground to redirect herself deeper into the cavern, following the wind deeper and deeper inside.
The deeper she went, the more Tempest noticed inconsistencies in the wind. It would lull for a brief second only to blow again, blasting freezing air through the cavern and beyond. There was no denying it; it was the breath of Kyurem.
Finally, Tempest found herself nearing the cavern's depths. The frozen grotto opened out into a much larger space, which Tempest's lantern could not fully illuminate. Through the darkness, two bright yellow points of light glowed. A low growl shook the room, and thundering footsteps began to lumber towards Tempest. She reached for her pokeballs. At last, she had found the legendary Kyurem.
"KYUUUUUUU!" It roared. With each stomp, Tempest noticed the room growing lighter. Crystals of ice began to glow with a similar bluish gray to the icy parts of Kyurem's body. Each breath the pokémon took sent a freezing blast of air through the subterranean arena, and formed into clouds of frost crystals around its maw.
Tempest had spent entire nights planning out an attack strategy to subdue Kyurem. She threw out a pokéball to match Kyurem, fixing her gaze on her target as she sent out her first pokémon. Banette emerged from the ball, the zipper on its mouth coming undone as it cackled at its opponent.
Kyurem opened the battle with scary face, using its frightening visage and terrible roar to slow Banette. Tempest smiled. It had done exactly as she had wanted. It was already as good as captured. "Banette, use trick. Now." Banette snuck next to Kyurem and gave it the choice scarf it was holding. Now Kyurem was stuck using only one move, giving her all the freedom in the world to deal with it. Another scary face came out, and now that there was no risk of damage, Tempest was free to go onto the offensive. "Will-o-wisp. Go."
Banette afflicted Kyurem with a burn, crippling its already ruined offensive capabilities and sapping away its strength. Tempest allowed the status to slowly wear away at Kyurem's vitality before finally making the move to capture it. She dug through her bag and retrieved the custom-order Heavy Ball she had made just for this occasion. Kyurem's massive weight would make capturing it even easier. She threw the ball with a smug grin of satisfaction as it hit squarely in between Kyurem's eyes.
The ball dropped onto the ice, wobbling around for a moment before ceasing with a click. The crystals providing light in the cave faded away, leaving Tempest's lantern as the only thing casting light in the room as she retrieved the pokéball. She nodded to herself, satisfied with a well executed capture. "Not much of a fight for a legendary pokémon, huh?"
"That's only because it's only half a pokémon." A voice echoed throughout the chamber, causing the buzzkill remark to reverberate in Tempest's ears.
Tempest stepped back and assumed a defensive stance. "Come out, whoever you are. If you think you can steal this pokémon from me, you'll find out that I'm a lot more than you bargained for."
Sombra's laugh came from every direction at once as the Dark-type master approached Tempest. "Why would I ever do something such as that? You captured that Kyurem all by yourself, quite masterfully I would add."
"I suppose I should be flattered?" Tempest growled as she locked her eyes firmly on Sombra. "How did you follow me? It shouldn't be possible to trail somepony in that blizzard."
"You forget, I call the shots around here," Sombra grinned, "I know everything that goes on around the Crystal Empire, and I know what's in every one of these peaks. Once I knew you were coming here, it was as simple as making sure I was right behind you."
Tempest was quickly becoming tired of the conversation with the Crystal Gym Leader. "Why did you come here anyway? And don't give me some charming lie, like you were concerned about a trainer getting lost in the mountains. We both know you aren't that kind of stallion. So what's going on?"
"Straight to the point, just like when you came to challenge my gym," he laughed, "I knew there was something special about you when you came through all those months ago. You see, my position as gym leader at the Crystal Empire is but a mere façade. In truth, I am the leader of Team Umbra. I've been searching Equestria for powerful trainers to join our ranks. You're just the mare we need."
"Team Umbra?" Tempest raised an eyebrow. In truth, the revelation surprised her little. Of every pony she had met in her travels across Equestria, he was undoubtedly the most likely candidate to be the boss of that criminal organization. His fighting style was uncharacteristically brutal and underhoofed for a gym leader, and his entire gym had a suspicious air to it that Tempest had been unable to figure out until now.
"The same Team Umbra that will very soon be flying their flag from the spires of Canterlot Castle," Sombra declared. He held out his hoof to Tempest, giving her a business card stamped with the purple eclipse that represented Team Umbra. "Join our ranks and I can guarantee you power that has been denied to you under Celestia's rule. Under our rule, the strong will finally be allowed to rule over the rest of Equestria, as is our right."
"Are you done?" Tempest asked, unimpressed. She rolled her eyes at Sombra and gave him his card back. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not interested. I'm happy by myself. Other ponies are just a nuisance."
As Tempest walked out of the grotto and toward the entrance of the cave, Sombra snickered knowing. "And, I could do something about your… disfigurement, of course." The remark stopped Tempest dead in her tracks as she wheeled around back towards Sombra. "We have the intention of capturing a great many legendary pokémon. I'm sure one of them is capable of fixing your horn. Say, Jirachi for example?"
"I'm in!" Tempest exclaimed, losing her calm and collected visage in an outburst of desperate passion. She paused for a moment to recompose her icy demeanor, "Just tell me what you need from me."
"That's what I like to hear," Sombra grinned wickedly. He laid a hoof on Tempest's shoulder and walked with her out of the cave. "My current admins have been running into a few snags as of late that have set our operations back a few weeks. We need a new officer to make sure our plans continue without interference."
"What kind of setbacks?" Tempest asked. As enticing as Sombra's proposal was, if Team Umbra was running into serious difficulties with the Princesses already, she would want no part in it. The last thing she wanted was to end up in jail or banished because she had cast her lot in with a sinking ship.
"From what I understand, a young Unicorn who has been working for Princess Cadence has been getting in our way. For the most part we have been able to succeed despite her, but I want to have her removed before she creates any more setbacks."
"If your admins aren't doing their job, why not just take her down yourself? You're probably one of the best trainers in all of Equestria. Why not just crush her?"
Sombra gave a haughty chuckle that irked Tempest to no end. "Rule number one of business my filly is that a good boss needs to learn to delegate. At present, nopony outside of my organization knows who's the one running Team Umbra. I would prefer to keep it that way until we're ready to make our move to take Equestria. Once we get you in uniform, I’ll have you out for a job right away.”
“What kind of job?”
Sombra’s grin showed a glint from his teeth as he chuckled at the question. “We’ll be capturing that meddling mare, and disposing of her personally.”