Well Sled
With their adventure in the Crystal Empire behind them, the group had begun their journey to Dragonia City to find Flash's final Equestria League Gym Challenge. Having left the city by travelling through an underground tunnel, they were now pointed straight at Mount Tartarus. But to get there, they would need to journey through a snowy wonderland, complete with constant frigid cold that tried to freeze them to their very bones. And as they trudged through the snow, the group began to go slower for a certain reason.
"Fire!" Spike yelled as he threw a snowball, hitting Flash in the back on the head.
"Ow!" He yelped, spinning around to Spike, "Oh, you're in for it now!" He grabbed a pile of snow in his hands before compacting it into a ball and letting it rip. "Take that!"
"Terra!" Peewee roared as he fired an Incinerate attack, melting the ball.
"Hey! That's not fair!"
"All's fair in war!" Spike laughed before making another snowball. But before he could throw it, Twilight grabbed his wrist and pulled the snowball out of his hand. "Hey!"
"No snowball fights!" Twilight growled, "This isn't the right environment for that kind of thing."
"Its snowing! Of course its good time to do that."
"No, its not." Doc added, "You should listen to her. It's okay to play when you're near a warm house where you can use to dry off, heat up and change clothes. But in this environment, a snowball fight's just asking for hypothermia."
"But-"
"No." Twilight interrupted before turning to Flash glaring at Spike, "And don't you start either."
Flash crossed his arms and replied, "Fine." He spun around, the group restarting their trek. They had been walking for almost four hours now, and as it drew close to noon, they began to feel themselves getting hungry, and they didn't appear to be anywhere close to the edge of the forest.
But as they went through another section, they found themselves in a clearing. They stepped out of one line of trees and found a good fifty feet of open snowy field before another line of trees could be seen. Glancing around, they saw a line of treeless snow going up a forty degree hill that curved to the right to their left and another line of clear ground that when down another hill to the right.
"Huh," Twilight hummed, "That's strange." She turned to Doc, "You think this could be a natural occurrence?"
"It's possible...but unlikely."
"It kinda looks like a race track," Spike pointed out.
"Who would be racing all the way out here?" Flash asked, only to hear a scraping sound echo throughout the forest. "You hear that?"
"Yeah. It sounds like-"
"GANGWAY!" A female voice yelled, making them turn to see a pair of sleds suddenly appear around the corner, now shooting down at them. They all leapt out of the way, just in time to avoid the sleds. "Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" She yelped, the girl and the Pokémon behind her being thrown off the sled and sent hurtling into the air. But before they could crash into one of the trees.
"Powder Snow!" The second sled's driver yelled as another Pokémon leapt off the sled.
Flash and the others saw the Pokémon, seeing it was a Frostoak, who pulled down its scarf and unleashed a burst of snowy wind. The attack hit the first rider and her Pokémon, a Magitual, and pushed them away from the trees. They fell toward the second slope, but the Powder Snow quickly created a large pile.
"WHOA!" She cried as she and Magitual hit the snow, protecting both as they crashed.
The second sled came to a more controlled stop on the flat pieces of snow, the driver getting up. They turned to him and saw he was a young man around Doc's age, with white skin and white hair that was wearing a white and blue winter jacket, blue pants and a purple hat and scarf with a trio of snowflakes on the end of it. He removed the goggles he was wearing, his Frostoak landing next to him. "You okay Trixie?"
"Trixie?!" The four asked in unison before turning to the pile of snow, only to see their blue skinned friend pop out of the snow. She was wearing a blue winter jacket with a purple scarf and gloves along with a green hat. The girl also appeared to be wearing her normal clothes beneath the jacket, though she had a pair of white tights on.
"Trixie's okay," she moaned as Magitual helped her up, only to turn to the group, "Oh hey. Long time no see."
"Yeah," Twilight nodded as they walked up to her, "Are you okay? That looked like quite a wipe-out."
"Trixie's had worse," she groaned, "Though thanks to you guys, her victory was just ruined."
"Victory?" Spike asked before glancing over at the sleds.
"She's talking about the race we were having," the other boy chimed in, "Nice to meet you all. I'm Double Diamond." He then gestured to his Pokémon, "And this is Frostoak."
"Frost," it waved back as they did the same and all gave their normal introductions.
"So this is a sled racing course?" Twilight asked as she stared at the slope.
"Yup," Double nodded, "It's one of the resort's less difficult courses. Perfect for beginners."
"Hmmm...so this must connect to the ski resort Cadance told us about." Twilight commented, "I almost forgot about it."
Flash then turned to Trixie, "So does that mean you're staying at the resort?"
"That's right," Trixie nodded. "I won first place at a raffle, which was an all expenses payed ski vacation. I thought it would be a nice treat for myself after winning my seventh badge."
"You've got seven badges now too?" Twilight asked, smirking. "That's just like Flash. We're actually heading toward the city with his last badge right now."
"Cool," Trixie chuckled, "Then I guess I'll see you at the league."
"We'll see," Flash nodded before looking down at the sled. "So this is what you're using to hit the powder? Would have thought you'd be skiing or snowboarding."
"That was the idea," Trixie sighed, "But then I heard about the competition."
"Competition?" Flash asked, his head instantly darting back to her.
"Oh dear," Twilight shook her head.
"Why don't we head back to the resort and I'll explain everything there," Double suggested, the group nodding in agreement. They soon headed up the slope and found a pair of snowmobiles waiting for them. "Oh," he turned to them, "I don't think we're all going to fit."
"No problem," Trixie smirked, "I have an idea."
Five minutes later...
"Wooooo!" Trixie and Flash exclaimed as they and their Pokémon were pulled through the snow on the sleds. Double and Doc were riding the snowmobiles, Twilight and Spike riding behind them while they pulled the sleds. They soon spotted a large mansion one hill over, which was surrounded by multiple snowy mountains. Taking a closer look, they saw each mountain was covered by little dots that were moving down the sides, along with ski lifts that headed up the mountains.
They continued to drive through the snow, riding down the large hill they were on before heading back up to the mansion. As they headed up, they saw several people skiing, snowboarding and sledding down the hill. Some were alone, but others had Pokémon with them.
When they reached the mansion, Double and Doc killed the engines and turned to the side, the sleds sliding past them...until it hit the end of the tether. "WHOA!" Flash and Trixie yelped as they were thrown off the sleds, hitting the snow along with Springer and Magitual.
The rest laughed as the four slowly got up. They then headed inside the mansion and suddenly found themselves in an oven. The place was incredibly hot, a sharp contrast to the outside as Double Diamond led them over to a wall that had a bunch of photos, each showing a bunch of different people holding a trophy with their Pokémon. They were also holding up a kind of stone, which was light blue and had a snowflake picture on it.
"Is that an Ice Stone?" Twilight asked, Double nodding.
"It's the prize in the Avalanche Sled Race."
"Avalanche Sled Race?" Doc asked, "Sounds...safe." Double laughed and led them over to another frame on the very edge of the wall. As they did this, each picture looked older than the last and eventually they reached a group that was black and white. And on the very end of the wall, a frame with a newspaper's front page could be seen.
ROGLACIER SAVES TRAVELER FROM AVALANCHE
"The traveler in the headline was the man who first built this resort," Double explained, "He went out to explore the area when he got caught in a blizzard. He was trapped wandering around the place, but then a Roglacier that lived in the area saved him.
"Roglacier?" Flash took out his Pokedex and typed the name into it. A few seconds later, the image of a humanoid Pokémon appeared onscreen. It looked like a larger version of a Frostoak, with the same white skin, ice covered claws, and icicle feet. It's blue cloak was now more of a snow poncho and had the same white snowflake patterns. Its hood was up and a long blue scarf was wrapped around it, covering its mouth and trailing over it shoulders and down to just behind the knee.
Name: Roglacier
Category: Snow Wanderer Pokémon
Type: Ice/Fighting
Info: The evolved form of Frostoak. Even in the coldest of environments, it feels nothing. It wanders the frosty mountains and sometimes comes to the rescue of lost travelers.
"And that's exactly what happened," Double chimed in, "The Roglacier took him to a cave it knew about and eventually, the blizzard died down. When it did, they began to head down the mountain....only for an avalanche to happen." Their eyes went wide at this, "To save them, the Roglacier used its ice attacks to create a sled. They used it to slide down the mountain and outrun the avalanche."
"I get it," Twilight added, "So the sled race is to honor that Roglacier that saved his life."
"Exactly," he nodded, "And the prize for winning the race is an Ice Stone."
"Because it's that stone that allows Frostoak to evolve into Roglacier," Doc continued, "Interesting. So when is this race?"
"The day after tomorrow," Double replied, "And if you want, I'm willing to bet there's still a few spots left. The rules are that you have to race down the mountain with one of your Pokémon, just like how the race was first created."
"Awesome!" Flash cheered before turning to the others, "You guys in?"
"Heck yeah!" Spike added, only for Double to shake his head.
"Sorry kid. The age limit is sixteen years or older." Spike's eyes went wide at this, only to growl and complain. Twilight calming him down a second later, they all decided to enter. Luckily, they managed to get three of the remaining four spots.
They went outside next, Flash now grabbing an orange sled while Doc got a dark blue one and Twilight picked a purple one. "Alright," Double told them, "Let's start by getting you used to riding in the sled with your Pokémon."
Springer, Owlicious and Higear all hopped into the sleds, Flash sliding into the sled and grabbing the steering wheel, "Ready bud?"
"Ri!" Springer nodded as Double used his foot to push them over the edge of the cliff.
"WHOA!" He yelped, instantly picking up speed.
"Remember the brake!" Double yelled, Flash looking down and seeing a pedal by his right foot. He hit it and something popped down from under the sled, slowing it down slightly as they reached the bottom of the hill and came to a stop. "Nice." He turned to the others, "Who's next?"
Twilight got in the sled and Owlicious got behind her. "Ready?" He nodded and Double pushed her over the edge, the sled picking up a lot more speed thanks to Owlicious' higher weight. "Brake, brake, brake!" She used it, but the sled didn't slow down fast enough, Owlicious opening his wings to slow them down even more.
"Not bad," Double told her once they were at the bottom. "But be careful about using wings. Flying's not allowed in this race."
Twilight nodded as Doc and Higear got into place. "Allons-y!" He exclaimed as Double pushed him over, he and Higear flying down the side of the hill at double the speed Flash and Springer. "Geronimo!"
"Wow!" Spike gapspd as they watched them go, "Talk about fast." As they reached the bottom of the hill, Doc applied the brakes....only to keep going and they even flew up another hill and stopped a third of the way up.
"Uh oh," he gulped before they began to slide backwards. "Stop, stop, stop, stop!" They soon came to one, right at the bottom of the hill. "I'm gonna have to watch our speed and calculate how long it takes to brake at different speeds."
"Smart idea," Twilight chuckled, "You don't wanna accidently crash into something because you couldn't brake in time." As she said that, Trixie and Magitual slid down and came to a perfect stop.
"Yes!" Trixie exclaimed, "I'm getting the hang of this."
"There's still a long way to go before you're ready to win that race," Double added, the group agreeing before spending the rest of the day practising. They all managed to get the hang of breaking, and then moved on to turning.
"WHOA!" Flash yelped as he turned to hard, his sled flipping over and throwing the two into the snow. "Ow."
"Ri..." Springer pulled himself out of the snow and shook himself.
"You turned too hard," Double commented, "You need to gradually turn, or you'll keep doing that." Flash nodded and tried again, only to flip his sled again. Twilight managed to get hers to turn, Owlicious once again using his wings to help keep them stable. Doc also had difficulty turning without flipping over due to his increased speed.
"YAH!" They both cried as they were thrown off the sled, the pair quickly pulling themselves out of the snow. Doc then made sure Higear didn't freeze up from the cold water getting into his system.
"Careful," Trixie turned her sled carefully, managing to keep herself and Magitual from being thrown off. Eventually, they got to the angle they wanted, and managed to slide vertically down the slope. They kept training for a few more hours and as the sun grew close to the horizon, each managed to pull of a turn and brake without being thrown from their sleds.
"You all did great," Double told them. "I think tomorrow you'll be able to do some of the more advanced moves you'll need to know for the race."
"Great," Flash smirked, "That Ice Stone is as good as mine."
"I wouldn't go that far," Double replied, "Some of the racers in this have years of experience sledding, and even they'll have trouble."
"Have you been in the race before?" Twilight asked as they entered the lodge.
"This'll be my third race," Double responded, "But I've run that course a hundred times before. I really wanna win it this year."
"That makes sense," Doc added, "I'm guessing you wanna win the Ice Stone so Frostoak can evolve."
"Yup. The two of us love sledding, along with snowboarding and skiing. The creator of the race has been our idol."
"Frost," Frostoak nodded.
Spike tilted his head at this, "If you know this course so well, how'd you lose the last two years?"
"Well, the first year, I didn't know the course so well and I went the wrong way. Last year, another racer lost control and crashed into us. But this year, we have a plan for every obstacle we face." He then strode off, heading to the cafeteria. Each shared a glance, wondering what kind of obstacles they would be facing as they followed Double.
The next day...
"Alright," Double commented as they arrived at the top of a rather large hill. "Yesterday, you learned the basics of sledding, but now it's time to learn what it takes to survive in the Avalanche Sled Race." He pointed down the slope and they saw a line of poles in the snow roughly ten feet across. "Watch and learn."
He got in his sled and pushed it, he and Frostoak shooting down the slope towards the pole. Seconds before they reached the first pole, Double turned and the sled moved to the left of the pole. He then changed direction, the sled sliding between the first and second pole to slid past it's right side, the sled continuing to zigzag over and over again until they reached the bottom of the hill, passing the last pole.
He got out of the sled next as he yelled, "See? Now you try!"
Flash was the first to try, and he managed to get past the first pole, but he accidently ran over the second and slid out of control away from the poles. Doc was next, and when he tried to turn between the poles, he lost control and flipped the sled over. Twilight followed, Owlicious able to slow them down with his wings, but he spread them too far and they ended up hitting the to poles. Trixie went last and got past the first two poles, only to turn the wheel too much and went spinning out of control.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" She cried before Frostoak leapt over and grabbed the sled, pulling it to a stop.
Double laughed at this, Trixie growling at him as they headed back up the hill to try again. They spent two hours trying to master the technique, eventually managing to get it down enough that Double stated they would be able to survive. He then moved them onto other tricks, such as turning a hundred and eighty degrees without losing control of flipping over. They then moved onto jumps, moving over to a ski jump.
"WHOOO!!" Flash exclaimed as he and Springer shot off the end of the ramp, soon landing as their sled almost went out of control.
"Nice," Double responded him before turning to Trixie. "Now you try it." Trixie nodded before she and Magitual flew down the ramp, shooting off the edge.
"Yeah!" She screamed, but then felt the sled moving to far forward. "No, no, no!" She and Magitual were then thrown from the sled, crashing into several feet of snow. They pulled themselves up and heard laughter, making her glare up at Double. "Not funny."
"Sorry," Double helped her up, "I'm just remembering back to when I first started sledding. Frostoak and I wiped out all the time."
"Really?" Flash asked.
"Of course. At one point, I thought maybe I should just give up and admit I wasn't meant to be a sledder. But then I thought back to my idol and asked what he'd have done if he let doubt stop him from trying to escape the avalanche. He wouldn't have survived, and this lodge and race never would have come about."
"Maybe," Trixie huffed, "But there's a difference between racing for your life and racing for a prize."
"Maybe, but the focus is the same. Believe in yourself and nothing can stop you, even a wave of snow planning to bury you. So I kept trying and eventually, I grew into the expert snow surfer you see before you. Now," he pointed back at the jump, "Ready to try again?"
They all nodded and headed back up to the top of the slope. They kept trying again and again, getting a little better each time. The entire day was spent practising the different sled techniques, the sun soon going down. By then, the four competitors and their Pokémon were exhausted and ached all over, but they knew they were ready to at least try.
The next day...
Cheers filled the air as a huge crowd of people waited for the start of the race. Atop the mountain course, Flash, Twilight, Doc, Trixie, and Double were there with their sleds. There were several other people there with their Pokémon, including a Lickitung, Granbull, Huntail, Cubchoo, Espurr, Sizzlipede and Starider. The twelve competitors waited as the multiple Glalie and Cryogonal were getting into place. Each one had a camera affixed them, allowing for perfect picture for all those wanting to watch on TV and at the ski lodge.
Spike was watching from inside, sitting on a couch with Peewee and several other people. They all stared at the lodge's giant TV, "Good luck guys."
"Welcome fans," a Glalie carrying a speaker system floated above the competitors, the announcer's voice coming through it, "We're here at the two hundred and fifteenth Avalanche Sled Race. Once again, our competitors will race down the mountain in an attempt to reach the finish line before anyone else. Though it isn't that easy." As he said that, the competitors all looked down at their wrists, staring at a bracelet with five lights: Red, blue, yellow green and pink. "Along the course are a series of checkpoints. When a competitor gets within twenty five feet of these checkpoints, one of the lights on their bracelet will light up. The winner will be whoever crosses the finish line first with all five lights illuminated."
"So just missing one checkpoint could mean game over," Doc added, "You'd have to stop and trudge back up to the checkpoint, possibly losing whatever advantage you had."
"Competitors, get to the start line." The twelve moved over to the edge of the slope, which had twelve metal cage gates. They placed their sleds inside the metal gates and got on board, their Pokémon getting on as well. Once they were in place, the backs of the cages closed before they began to rotate. Soon, all the sleds were pointing down the slope, the metal door now being the only thing preventing their slide down the mountain.
Double turned to the others, "Good luck. Let's have a good race." Flash and his friends nodded, along with two of the other competitors, but the others didn't respond, just glaring at the slope ahead.
"In ten, nine, eight-" Everyone sat in place, not daring to move, gripping their sleds anxiously as the countdown continued, "Two, one...GOOOOO!" The metal cages opened up, the racers now flying out. The twelves sleds all shot down the mountain, all perfectly in line with one another. But after a few seconds, several of them began to pull ahead.
One was Doc thanks to Higear's weight, "That's it!" He cheered to his Pokémon helped him speed up.
"Looks like Time Tuner has taken the lead using the old strategy of using weight to pick up speed. That might help him on the straight, but he'll soon find that more weight means less easy turns. But what's this?!"
"SIZZLE!" Sizzlipede and its trainer suddenly rocketed ahead, the Bug Fire-type using Flamethrower behind the sled to push it forward.
"That's the way!" The trainer exclaimed as he shot past Doc and Higear, "Later losers!"
"Wow! Blast Burner has shot ahead and taken the lead using his Sizzlipede's flames to push himself ahead. But he might find that strategy backfiring as they are about to pass the first checkpoint and reach the mountain's first obstacle."
"YEAH!" Blast Burner added as they shot past the checkpoint, which was a tall post with a pink light on the top of it. As he passed it, the pink light on his bracelet lit up, only to reach the obstacle the announcer mentioned. It was a piece of the mountain that had grown over another piece of the mountain, creating a wave-shaped construct that hung a good twenty feet over the rest of the mountain. This made it into a ramp-like obstacle, which Blast Burner and Sizzlipede shot up.
"WHOA!" Blast screamed as the sled went flying off, but due to Sizzlipede's Flamethrower, the sled's front was pushed down and sent into a spin. "No! No! No! No! No! NOOO!" Was all he could say before he and Sizzlipede crashed into the snow, digging a trench through it and not stopping until they were buried a good five foot.
"Ouch, that had to hurt! Can Blast Burner pick himself up before the others pass him?" In that moment, Doc and the trainers of Lickitung, Granbull and Huntail shot past the checkpoint. They then flew up the ramp and into the air, all managing to stay balanced.
But when the Granbull trainer's sled landed, the movement caused her to accidently turn the steering wheel. "GYAH!" She cried as the sled was sent spinning out of control, soon tipping over. "Augh!"
Spike flinched at the sight before seeing Double pass the checkpoint, followed by Flash, Trixie and then Twilight. "Ice Beam!" Double yelled before Frostoak leapt off the sled, Double applying the brake to slow down.
"FROST!" The Snow Cloak Pokémon fired the blue lightning, hitting the edge of the ramp and creating another slope that went down to the ground. Double's braking prevented him from flying off the edge, instead sliding down the ramp as Frostoak landed behind him.
"Great work!" He exclaimed while Frostoak smirked behind its mask.
"Ready bud?" Flash asked, getting a bark of agreement as they shot off the ramp and into the air. Their speed allowed them to catch up to Double as he reached the end of the ice ramp. "We can do this!" He landed and while he was shaky, he managed to stay on his sled. "YES!"
Trixie was next, following Double's plan and slowing down as she and Magitual headed up to slope. She mistimed it slightly, causing her sled to stop exactly at the top. "Hey!" She yelped, both she and Magitual trying to shuffle forward.
As they did this, Twilight and Owlicious shot up the ramp and flew off the edge. "NOW!" She yelled, Owlicious spreading his wings and grabbing the sides of the sled. This caused them to begin gliding towards the ground in a much more controlled manner than the others.
Back at the lodge, Spike smirked at this, but heard several people complaining.
"Isn't that cheating?"
"There's gotta be a rule against flying."
"No way that's fair."
"Let me take a look at the rules here," the announcer chimed in as he checked a book. "Ah! Flying is forbidden, but gliding is allowed. As long as Owlolar doesn't beat its wings, it'll be fine." And as this happened, Owlicious didn't beat his wings. The pair instead glided down, and he even pulled them in seconds before they hit the ground, allowing them to safely land without any loss of speed.
At the same time, Trixie and Magitual managed to push themselves over the edge and slide down the ice ramp. "Finally! Dark Pulse!" Magitual pointed its staff behind itself, creating a bunch of dark energy rings that destroyed the ramp, preventing anyone else from using it.
Several of the remaining competitors soon shot into the air, the Huntail and Starider sled landing while Espurr used its psychic powers to keep them steady. But the Cubchoo sled began to turn and hit the ground at an angle, digging into the snow and throwing the pair off. It was at this moment that Blast Burn and Sizzlipede pulled themselves out of the snow, Sizzlipede shivering after the snow extinguished its fire.
"As our competitors head to the second checkpoint, it's Time Turner in first place, followed by Taste Tester and Double Diamond's in third. And what lies between them and the second checkpoint, you ask?"
The TV screen changed to show a large cluster of trees, the Glalie filming it flying into them and revealing a post with a green light in the very center of the forest. "Aw man," Spike groaned. "There's no way to get close enough to that thing without going through the trees."
"We might be seeing a couple of crashes," one of the crowd added as the screen changed to show Doc approaching the trees.
"We need to slow down!" Doc yelled as he hit the brake.
"You snooze, you lose!" Taste Tester cried as he shot past him and into the trees. He began steering left to right, barely missing the trees. "YEAH!" He then spotted the checkpoint a ways off, "Lickitung!" The Licking Pokémon extended its tongue and wrapped it around a tree, using it to whirl them around until they were pointed toward the checkpoint. Doc, Double and Flash right behind him, going slower but still managing to keep up as he shot past the post and lit up his green light.
"YES!" He cheered, only to see a group of trees that were to close together to slide between. "GYAH!" He tried to turn, but his picked up speed caused him to slam into the far left tree.
Everyone watching flinched at the sight, then seeing Doc, Double and Flash slide past the checkpoint while avoiding the three trees. Twilight and Trixie weren't far behind, also managing to avoid hitting the trees while the Huntail trainer clipped one of the trees and lost control as well. As he crashed, the Espurr trainer shot past while using its Psychic powers to keep them away from the trees. The Starider was also able to avoid them, the Star Spider Pokémon using its webs to move around the trees the same way Lickitung had used its tongue, though at lower speed.
Back at the lodge, everyone watched and waited to see who would be the first out of the treeline.
"And now in the lead is...Double Diamond!" The sledder flew out of the trees, his experience now helping him as he easily dodged the trees. Doc came next, followed by Flash as they left the forest.
"Go guys!" Spike cheered as the three slid away, Twilight and Trixie not far behind them. "Yeah TWILIGHT!" Espurr and Starider followed behind as they approached the next obstacle they would need to navigate.
"Our racers are heading for the bump field," The field was filled with compact snow piles that were almost impossible to break through with a sled. Their shapes were purposely made that if you hit one, you would be catapulted into the air. And in the middle of it was another post, this one with a yellow light. "Will they attempt to go around them, over them, or something else?"
"Ice Beam!" Double yelled as Frostoak stood up.
"FROST!" He roared, unleashing the lightning that created an ice road with inch high walls that went between the bumps, the sled sliding onto it as Frostoak continuously forged it.
"Who needs to go around it when we can go straight through it! Springer, Aura Sphere!" Flash added.
"RI!" Springer jumped onto the front of the sled, firing an orb at a bump and smashing it to pieces, and then fired another at the one behind it. This allowed Flash and Springer to simply slide forward without issue, allowing them to shoot pass Double.
"Angle of lift off, plus wind-speed and current weight." Doc whispered before turning to drive toward one of the boulders, reaching it at great speed and shooting up it to take off. Those watching gasped at the sight, only to see him tilt the sled forward as he began to fall. "Touchdown!" He yelled as he landed on another boulder and slid down it without issue. "That's the way!" He then spotted another bump and yelled, "Gear Grind!"
"HIGH!" Higear threw its hands at the boulder, cutting it half as the sled slid up it, but only flying a few feet before landing between two boulders.
Their strategies allowed Flash and Doc to take the lead over Double, both reaching the checkpoint as their yellow lights illuminated. Twilight and Trixie then reached the field. "Our time to shine!" Twilight added as she and Owlicious accelerated and shot up the bump as fast as they could, soaring through the air.
Trixie spotted Flash's path and decided to use it, picking up speed. "Psyshock!" Magitual pointed its staff behind them and fired a blast of psychic energy, which struck the snow piles, causing them to explode and rain snow down on the path.
"NOW!" Twilight then yelled as they began to fall down, Owlicious grabbing the sides of the sled and opening his wings. They glided past the checkpoint, only to land and hit another bump, flying back up and landing again with ease.
Meanwhile, the Espurr and Starider sledders entered the field. Unfortunately, Starider couldn't use its webs to navigate the fields, and Espurr was beginning to tire from its overuse of psychic powers. As such, their trainers just tried to clear the field themselves. But when they hit bumps to zoom up into the air...each aimed for the same one and met mid-flight.
"OW!" Everyone in the lodge yelped as they flinched at the sight of the impact.
"That had to hurt." The screen changed to show Twilight land outside the field, following Flash and Doc down the slope with Double, Trixie now bringing up the rear. "Wow! Double has gone from first place, to second, to last. Now, as they head toward the fourth checkpoint, will he be able to make up the distance?"
The blue checkpoint was before a large wall that was forty foot high and covered in holes. The holes lead to tunnels that went straight through the mountain and came out in different points, meaning going through the wrong hole meant the racers would shoot out miles away from the next checkpoint.
"Which way to you think, bud?" Springer glanced at all the holes and smirked before pointing at one.
"Ri!"
"Alright!" Flash exclaimed as he pointed the sled at one of the holes and shot past the checkpoint, his blue light turning on before they entered the hole. "WOO!"
It was here that Twilight and Doc reached the checkpoint, both choosing their own holes, "Haha!" Twilight laughed as she and Owlicious glided down the tunnel, even managing to do a loop.
"Geronimo!" Doc added as he and Higear found themselves on a zigzagging path.
Trixie and Double soon arrived at the checkpoint and flew pass it, Trixie heading into the same hole Flash went into while Double smirked. "Ice Beam!" Frostoak once again unleashed the blue lightning, forming a ramp that shot them into one of the higher up holes. "YEAH!"
"The racers have selected their chosen holes. We have camera waiting at each of the exits, so that we can see who will be coming out where." Spike and everyone else watched anxiously, all hoping their chosen racer would be the one to come out of the best exit.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Doc yelped as the sled reached an area of the tunnel covered in bumps.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Twilight cried as she and Owlicious went down a spiraling downward cave.
"Which way?!" Flash asked as he and Springer spotted a fork in the tunnel ahead, Springer unable to reply fast enough. "Aaah!" Flash turned left and shot down that tunnel, two minutes later Trixie and Magitual now arriving.
"Left or right?"
"Mag...itch!" He pointed right and Trixie headed in that direction.
Meanwhile, Double and Frostoak glided down the tunnel with a smirk on their lips. They then shot out of the end of the tunnel, finding themselves in a large chamber. Behind them were a wall of holes, multiple tunnels leading out,with only one of them being the one that lead right to the final checkpoint.
And as he flew for it, he heard a voice. "WHOA!" He looked back and saw Flash and Springer shooting out of a tunnel and hitting the snow next to him.
"Look out below!" Twilight yelled as she and Owlicious shot out a hole ten feet up, the Owlolar gliding them down.
"Allons-y!" Doc and Higear shot out of another hole and landed along with Twilight.
"AAAHHH!" Trixie screamed as she suddenly shot up out of a hole in the ground, landing as on the far side and looking around to see the others in line with her. They were all neck and neck, and only one lead out. "Hey!" She yelled, pointing at Double. "You know which holes to go through because you've done this before, don't you?!" Double shrugged back. "Well not this time! Magitual, Smokescreen!"
"Magi!" Magitual opened its cloak and unleashed a cloud of smog, filling the entire chamber.
"TRIXIE!" They cried, everyone now blinded. They began to swerve around, all now consumed by the smoke. And when the cloud faded, the chamber was completely empty.
Everyone continued to watch the exits on the TV, the announcer speaking up, "Looks like someone's coming out of an exit. But was it the right one?" They stared at the screen, the Cryogonal floating up from the mouth of the cave.
"YEAH!" Flash cheered as he shot out of a hole....only to see he and Springer were on flat ground. "No, no, NO!" He yelped as the sled slid along the ground, soon coming to a stop. "Aw c'mon!"
"Looks like Flash Sentry is out of the running. Oh, there's another racer exiting another hole." The screen changed to show Twilight shooting out of a hole, only to find herself heading towards a cliff-face.
"AHHH!" She cried as they went over the edge, Owlicious spreading his wings, but couldn't grab the sled in time. Twilight also lost her grip of the sled and the two began to fall, only for Owlicious to grab her as the sled fell off the cliff. "Aww..." she moaned as she stared down at the sled, glancing back up next to see the cliff now above them.
"Twilight Sparkle is out of the race. There's no way she can get up there in time without flying."
"Ah...Shiinotic," Spike snapped his fingers while the screen changed to show another exit.
"YES!" Doc cheered as he and Higear flew out, only to notice they were going upward. The hole they used actually pointed back up the mountain, meaning the sled slowed to a stop before it began to move backward. "NOOOOO!" They yelled as they fell back into the cave.
"Ouch, too bad. He'll be trapped in a vicious cycle until he finds a way to stop. But he still might be able to win if the others didn't pick the right hole."
The screen changed to show another hole, this one Spike guessed was the proper exit, as someone appeared out of it. "WHOO-HOO!" Trixie screamed as she and Magitual shot out and hit the snow, the two heading for the final checkpoint. At the same time, Double and Frostoak appeared out of the mountain.
The hole they were in was close to Trixie's, but was pointing away from the finish line, and instead pointed to a bunch of trees. "WHOA!" He yelped, trying to avoid them but eventually clipped one of the trees and spinning out of control. "AAAAAUUUGGGGHHHHH!" They both screamed before eventually being thrown from the sled, catapulting into a tree.
"OW! Too bad for Double. Looks like Ms. Lulamoon will be-" The announcer stopped when he noticed something, Double glancing back at this. The scream he made had caused the snow on the hill above him to shake and come loose, which now caused them to roll down...and form an avalanche.
"Oh no..." he whispered, "RUN FROSTOAK!"
The two began to make a run for it, Double glancing to his Pokémon as an idea rang out in his head. "Frostoak!" The Ice-type turned to him, "Use Ice Beam and make a sled!" Frostoak nodded and pulled down its scarf to fire the lightning, creating the best sled it could.
It was more of an ice slab with a curved front, but Double would take it. Frostoak climbed on and Double pushed the ice forward, then hopping on as it began to pick up speed. It slid down the hill, the snow right behind them as they tried their best to escape.
"WOW! Double Diamond is reliving the tale of the first Avalanche Sled Race. But will he be able to escape it?" Spike was wide-eyed as he watched, now seeing the avalanche coming for both Double and Trixie now.
Trixie had heard the avalanche, now glancing back and saw Double about to be devoured by the rampage of snow. "Oh no." She quickly hit the breaks of the sled, pulling it to a stop.
"What are you doing?" Double asked as she got up and took out a Pokeball.
"Slowking, go!" The ball opened and in a flash, a large pink Pokémon with a shell crown appeared. "Use Psychic!"
"Slow!" Slowking's eyes glowed as it held its hands up, creating a mental energy barrier that stopped the oncoming snow. But with every second, more snow slammed into it. "Slowking!" it flinched, now feeling the pressure of the frozen water.
"You can do it!" Trixie yelled as Double and Frostoak slid past them. Double then pulled the sled to the side, causing it to stop as he and Frostoak got off.
"You can't hold it back forever!" He told her.
"Well, what else are we supposed to do?!" Trixie asked as she pointed at the snow, "We can't let it get too close to the mansion!"
"I know," Double replied, only for another lightbulb to appear in his head as he turned to his Pokémon, "That could work. Frostoak!" The Ice-type turned to him as he cupped his hands. "Use Ice Beam and freeze the snow in place!"
"Frost!" He nodded and ran up to leap into Double's hand. As soon as he did, Double threw him high, "FROSTOAK!" With that, the blue lightning shot out of its mouth, hitting the snow pile right behind where Slowking was holding it back. It swept across the snow and began to freeze it in place, even freezing the snow beneath the avalanche, creating an ice block that was half buried beneath the snow, keeping it from sliding free.
He managed to create a good twenty foot wall of ice before falling back down, Double catching him and throwing him back up as he fired again.
"Incredible," the announcer gasped. "Trixie and Double are working together to stop the avalanche." The crowd cheered at this, as the pair continued to make a wall strong enough to hold back the snow.
"One last time!" Double exclaimed, throwing Frostoak before he fired another Ice Beam. The wall formed at this attack was enough, Slowking releasing the remaining snow. It then began to fall, hitting the wall, building up behind it and forming a triangular shape that caused the rest of the snow to slide around and over the edge, but enough to go away from the lodge.
"We did it!" Trixie cheered, she and Double high-fiving as Frostoak and Magitual did the same. "Thanks Slowking," she told the Royal Pokémon. It nodded as she returned it, leaving her, Double and their partners alone on the slope. "Now what?"
"Now we finish the race," Double replied, he and Frostoak going to their ice sled while Trixie grabbed hers. "Ready?"
"Ready," she nodded, "On three."
Double nodded as they stared at the finish line, seeing the final checkpoint several meters in front of it. "One...two...THREE!" They both pushed the sleds, leaping in as they began to pick up speed.
Everyone in the lodge watched the two go down the hill, now neck and neck as the announcer said, "It's anyone's game at this point." They watched as Double pulled forward, but the sled drifted slightly to the side. "Double's in the lead, but his ice sled will be difficult to steer. He may end up missing the checkpoint entirely."
"Come on!" Double yelled as he stuck his foot out and slowed himself down, now turning as Trixie shot ahead.
"Hahaa!" She cheered, she and Magitual reaching the checkpoint first, their red light lighting up.
Double quickly approached the checkpoint, holding his arm out, the red light lighting up. "YES!" He pulled his arm back before he and Frostoak got as close to the sled as possible, trying to make themselves more aerodynamic. "COME ON!" They sped up and began to catch up to Trixie, who saw this and tried to do the same.
The audience watched on the edge of the seats, Double pulling up to Trixie as the pair were now neck and neck. They approached the finish line, both moving straight as the pair felt the force of the wind on their faces. As this happened, Double's sled began to crack from the force. He could feel the treads beginning to rock beneath him, one now snapping off.
"Ahh!" He yelped as he felt the edge dig into the snow, but then tilted to the right to balance it. And as he did this, he kept his speed, only to feel the other front tread cracking.
And as the two got within inches of the finish line, they both made one final attempt to speed up...only to cross the finish line.
"IT'S OVER!" The announcer exclaimed, right as the second tread of Double's sled broke off.
"WHOA!" He and Frostoak yelped as they were thrown from the sled, hitting the snow as Trixie came to a stop.
"Double!" She and Magitual got up and ran over to him, sighing in relief when they saw them get up. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," he groaned, "Who won?" He and Trixie turned to a big screen at the side of the race track, which changed to show an image of the two from above. It then zoomed in to show whose sled had crossed first, though it was only by a few inches. And the winner was-
"Double Diamond!" The announcer screamed, "Double Diamond and his Frostoak were the first to cross the finish line with all five lights lit up! They are the winners!"
"YEAH!" Double cheered as he and Frostoak jumped on the spot, Trixie letting out a sigh, but smiling all the same before turning to him.
"Congrats," she held out a hand and Double happily shook it before the people in the lodge walked out to congratulate the winner. And when the rest of the racers returned from the mountain, they all cheered for Double as he was placed up on a podium with Frostoak and handed a trophy.
"Congratulations," the announcer said as he passed the trophy onto Double. He then reached into his pocket and took out a box. "And of course, your prize."
Double took the box and opened it up, seeing the Ice Stone sitting inside. He took it out and turned to Frostoak, who looked up at him as he knelt down. "Ready?" Frostoak nodded before Double gave him the stone. As soon as the Snow Cloak Pokémon's hands grasped the stone, it lit up and Frostoak followed suit. Everyone watched as his form grew to just over five feet, the light then fading to reveal the Roglacier.
"Row," he looked himself over and Double could see he was smiling under his scarf. Everyone cheered at this, happy to see the Pokémon that inspired this great race. Once Roglacier got over his evolution, the people headed back into the lodge to enjoy a party being thrown to celebrate the race for both the competitors and winners of the contest.
The following morning after a fun night of enjoyment, Flash, Twilight, Doc and Spike all prepared to head out.
Double had gotten them a pair of snowmobiles, and with Flash and Trixie on sleds behind them, he lead them along the snowy trail until they reached a more flattened area on the edge of the ski resort's border. Off in the distance, Mount Tartarus stood proudly. According to the people in the lodge, it was roughly a week's walk to the mountain with light snow, which meant all they needed was decent weather to get there in time.
"Well," Twilight commented once they got off, "I guess this is as far as you can take us."
Double nodded. "Any further and we wouldn't have enough fuel to get back. It was fun racing you all. If you ever want a rematch, you know where to find me."
They all nodded before turning to Trixie, "You staying?"
"I've still got two more days of free vacation to enjoy," Trixie replied, "Then I'm off to get my last badge." She turned to Flash, "So I'll be seeing you at the league." Flash smirked and after giving her a nod, the four and their Pokémon now beginning to trod through the snow. Trixie, Double and Roglacier waved them off before turning the snow-bikes around and zooming away.
The group then turned to the far off mountain, their sights set firmly on the city nestled behind it. Their brief stop at the ski resort had been fun, but now it was time to focus on their next destination. To carefully wade across the desert of snow and avoid any danger it might throw in their direction. As the journey continues.
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Nice Double Diamond filler chapter.
I wonder will the next Gym Leader except Flash's challenge, If I was the gym leader of a dragon themed gym and it was often the eighth gym trainers seek a badge from, I wouldn't accept the challenge of someone that 1) Didn't have at least two pokemon that had at least Fairy or Ice as a second type and 2) had a team composed half of starter pokemon.
The reasoning, I think is straight forward, if you're that skilled of a trainer to have 7 badges, you have to have a descent roster, and since my gym is Dragon themed, one would think that you'd use pokemon that either have a type advantage or have access to moves that go around Dragon types. Also that late in one training's career before going to the league... well there is a reason the first three pokemon you can choose from are not called Finishers.
Awww man, that just was unfair, poor Spike, if i was Spike, I would be upset to be excluded just because of my age, It is bad enough that in this world, the age to be a trainer is 16, he deserves to win some competition in this fic (individual competition), please tell me that he will have some time to shine in the next chapter.
10866864
Thats some cool rules for a Gym Leader, specially if the trainer have 7 badges
10866875
and a dragon themed gym. Basically if I was running a gym, if you don't have the tools to counter my Pokemon and or you're using, let's be sincere, under powered Pokemon, I'm not wasting my time. If you're not going to take the challenges the gym poses seriously, then why should the gym leader entertain your challenge for a badge.
10866961 That doesn't sound very fair. What if your gym is the closest gym to their home town. You gonna turn them away because they chose to make you their first gym.
10866964
In my case i will ask something like "How many badges you have" or something, to give them a fair battle.
PD: question, Spike will have his great moment in this fic?
10866968 Spoilers
10866972
Thanks
10866964
If my gym is over 70 % used by trainers to get their 8th badge, then yes. Also it's a great way for trainers that live near my gym to cap off their journey before going into the league, they return the conquering hero.
10866964
unlike being the ogre at the threshold that bars the way out that most other gyms are. (that's a Hero With A Thousand Faces reference)
10866964
Another thing, since when has Life ever been required to be fair? I'd love a citation.
This was a much lower stakes chapter, but after everything that happened in the Crystal Empire everyone could use a breather.
It was a big surprise getting Double Diamond, but an even bigger one for Trixie to appear too. Great to see her Slowpoke finally evolved into a Slowking, plus she has seven badges just like Flash. Looking forward to seeing her in the League.
We got yet another race here, even though this one had lower stakes than usual. Still pretty fun seeing how everyone tried to get through the course, and the dwindling competition as everyone started to crash or become unable to continue.
I get the feeling that Spike was about to say a different word and changed it at the last second. Language Spike!
Nice to see Trixie is not far behind on badges. Another good chapter
10867018
I can't blame Spike for that language, being excluded because of his age feels like a kick in the balls (metaphorically speaking and in the most polite sense of the word).
10867428
Okay two things.
1. Spike’s language wasn’t because he was excluded, it was because Twilight, his sister, was just eliminated.
2. I understand you like Spike and wish he had a bigger role beyond just being the tag-along kid, but do you really need to repeat it in every single comment? If you aren’t hoping he plays a major role you are voicing your displeasure about his age.
10867446
Oh yes sorry, i think i overreacted
Nice breather after all the high stakes we went through at the Crystal Empire. I think the winner was a bit obvious when it came down to just Double Diamond and Trixie, and the avalanche interrupting the race partway through only for things to continue afterwards like nothing happened felt just a tiny bit like it broke the tension too much. But besides that the race was pretty fun, like something out of Mario Kart.