Legend of the Ice Drakes

Chapter 4: Old Memories Die Hard

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or anything that it incorporates.

Author's Note: Just in case anyone was curious, Ash and Cynthia will probably be the main pairing. Mostly because in my eyes, her taste is in strong men. And she's hot. And you better bet that my Ash Ketchum is going to be more than enough to suit her needs.

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

Gentle white sparkles danced around in the untamed winds flying past the group. It was the middle of the night, with the only things visible to the human eye being the faraway moon and stars. The normal human eye, that is.

Ash may have been considered normal a year ago, but not anymore. He squinted his eyes to block out the wind and to keen in on any movement outside of the hunting group he was in. He was accompanied mainly by second stage Pokémon whom he had never met before due to spending the majority of his time with dragons too young to hunt just yet. The group was then split apart into smaller pairs and trios to cover more ground and increase their chances of success.

Unsurprisingly, Ash and Zenith ended up being a pair. They had learned to cooperate well together throughout the past year, and Zenith was the best option to introduce Ash to hunting. The sport was vital to supply the clan with enough food to thrive and grow, placing it as an activity of great importance. The two stalked through the freshly snowed ground side-by-side, maneuvering through frozen brushes and trees as they each looked in different directions into the snowy gales. The Gible's keen eyes allowed him to spot a series of small movements in the shrubs meters away, turning to Ash and saying something before stalking towards that very direction. The boy could just barely hear him say "Leave it to me," the sounds nearly drowned out by the harsh snowstorm they were in. He watched as his roommate's figure slowly vanished, leaving him by himself to find his own prey.

A few minutes later he managed to see something. Silently stalking towards it, he made it close enough to observe its form. It was a thin black Pokémon, seemingly quick and nimble. He easily recognized it as a Sneasel before it somehow spotted him, fleeing in the opposite direction as fast as it could. Refusing to let his target run away, he quickly got up and sprinted after his fleeing prey.

Ash could tell it was nearly panicking, most likely running towards the only place it knew. It dove into a crevice under the snow, meaning that he had to have followed it back to its lair. Stepping inside, he noticed that there was something eerily familiar about the new atmosphere he found himself being suffocated by, the cavern walls resembling man-made materials.

"...Don't worry, Ash. We're going to be fine."

And that was the last thing he remembered about that accursed incident. He hadn't heard her voice in a year, but he was still able to envision her face clearly as day in his head. Looking around, he could see frozen cut wires with ice trapped within, the same wires that had once sent flaming sparks into the soft patches of snow around them.

Smoke, fire, crashing, and crows.

He slowly remembered the flock that had attacked the plane he was in, the plane his mother was in. The crows who had sent them crashing into Route 217, with the resulting flames and smoke engulfing the entire aircraft, leaving him as the lone survivor to be separated from the rest of civilization. His fists tightened without warning, and tears threatened to form at the corner of his eyes.

Maternal love was something he lived without for a year. He had already convinced himself that he'd come to terms with what had happened, but visiting the scene again made it clear to him that old memories die hard.

He unknowingly fell to his knees. Uncontrollable human sobs came from within him, a sight no one in the clan had yet to see since he first arrived. At this point, he had forgotten all about his prey, not paying any attention to his vulnerability.

But the prey hadn't forgotten about him. It cautiously stepped forward, an innocent look on its face. It observed the violent tears rushing down his cheeks as his chest shook and throbbed, painful breaths coming out. 'He's nothing but a human child...'

The Sneasel carefully took the hunter's soft chin with the tip of its left claw, lifting his head up, revealing swollen red eyes and creased cheek marks. It had to make sure that its features did not appear intimidating or else the move it had planned would fail. Honestly, the Sneasel would've felt sympathy for him if he hadn't tried to hunt it down. And as such, its hidden right claw was pointed towards the boy's neck, pointed and ready to kill.

Just as the Feint Attack was about to successfully land, the Sneasel was harshly tackled down. The new entity in the room was much stronger than the skinny Dark-type was and was able to forcibly pin it down on the ground to attack. Soon after, it was ruthlessly torn apart and clobbered by the crazed being even as it struggled, its body left beyond recognition from the relentless attack.

Zenith stood up from the dead body of the pesky Sneasel he had just finished off with Rock Smash as he felt the need to intervene after seeing Ash to have somehow fallen for Feint Attack. He began to jokingly talk as he walked closer to the kneeling boy, saying "You still have a lot to learn if you're fooled so easily, Ash. I didn't expect for you to have lost to a Snea-"

The broken expression on his face made Zenith stop in his tracks. Ash's breathing was ragged and unrestrained, almost as if he was being choked. Zenith looked around at where they were, sudden realization coming to his head as he began to pity his traumatized roommate. 'So this was where you lost it all...'

Zenith walked towards his side and pulled him up, letting Ash lean on him for support. Slowly, he helped guide the boy out of the destroyed plane and back towards the rest of the group.

Ash steadily managed to regain his sanity as he was dragged by his friend away from the crash site. His will made it so that the memories that had been uncovered soon became but a dull pain in the back of his mind. He noticed a pile of Snorunts haphazardly stacked on the ground nearby, and carefully pushed himself off of the reluctant Gible to head towards it out of instinct. They must have been the ones Zenith successfully left and hunted for earlier, and Ash didn't want to see his friend's effort go to waste even in his current condition. He began to help the dragon carry his earnings, insisting that he was now fine as Zenith knowingly gave him his space.

The two returned to their shared room from the hunt. Ash slowly laid down on his sand bed as Zenith eyed him while lighting the embers on the walls, trying to determine how stable his condition was. The growing fiery orange glow bathed Ash's form in light and warmth in the normally pitch black den. They had already handed in the pack of Snorunts to be preserved in the storage room alongside the other dragons and their captures from the hunting trip. The food would soon be transferred out in portions at a time, cleaned, and appropriately cut before being served to the Ice Drakes that week.

Ten agonizing minutes passed before the first words were uttered by the dragon in the room. He knew that he had to be careful or else he might unknowingly trigger another breakdown. "...If it makes you feel any better, my father told me something else yesterday, too. It looks as though you're ready to get started on some real training, Ash." The words were enough to make Ash lazily roll around to face Zenith, curious of what he had just said.

"Training? What do you mean, training?" He partly covered his eyes to shield them from the ember's shine that bent around the dragon's body.

"I mean that starting tomorrow you're going to leave the Nursery to get someone to teach you how to really fight. You won't have to learn anything else from watching babies mess around in the dirt anymore." The thought of getting stronger managed to make Ash smile a bit, a feature the Gible thought should always belong on the lively boy's face.

The son of Zarbon gladly grinned back, relieved of the overbearing tension that previously occupied the room. They both eventually snuggled down into their respective beds soon after their short conversation ended, with one of them mentally and the other physically drained from the night they just experienced. Their exchange of words did manage to leave Ash excited for what was to come of him in the future, inwardly berating himself for his weakness earlier. This only served to motivate him further in wanting to grow into a powerful being, to prove himself as an elite Ice Drake. Before he fell completely asleep, he swore that he would find the most powerful trainer available to teach him the art of true combat.

Zenith and Ash once again were walking through the main tunnel, this time able to see a wide range of Dragon-type Pokémon beginning their nights. The Gible was only supposed to guide him there, or so Ash had believed. Along the way there were a variety of species all coexisting in the tunnel, including Deinos, Vibravae, Gabites, and even Dragonites. They each filled their own purpose in society, whether it was to grow into the next generation of Ice Drakes or to work and support the current one. Either way, they all were able to prove themselves as being important members of the clan of dragons.

Zenith came to a halt in front of the large entry door to the Combat Room guarded by an elderly Garchomp. The fully evolved Pokémon had already been informed of the situation by a young messenger, a Gabite if he'd remembered correctly, sent by their leader, as he opened the door and stepped back to gesture for the two boys to enter. He told them that the one they were seeking was waiting for them in the middle combat ring.

Goliath shards of ice were thrown around as feared beings of legend were smashed into walls by their opponents, teeth and claws being buried savagely into bloody, armor-like scales. Almost all of the room's occupants were scarred, bruised, burnt, or frozen in some way as they continued to wage war in the rings. Ash and Zenith sweat dropped as bodies were flung over their heads as some fights were even taking place above ground. The two slowly made their way towards the middle of the giant room carved out from inside the mountain the Ice Drakes resided in, stopping once they met the greenish-yellow back of a tall Dragon-type.

The muscular beast turned around, revealing sharp red and black tusks on a scarred body. The marks and unhealed dents on his skin could only hint as to what battles he must have fought and lived through. Without delay, the Haxorus started to eye them up and down, almost as if he was able to judge their worth and potential by doing so. His red eyes finally landed on the nervous stares of the severely outmatched human boy and Gible as he thought of a way for them to show what they already knew. In a voice of authority, he spoke.

"I didn't tell you two to meet me in a ring for no good reason. Boy," Ash stiffened at his mention, "and son of Zarbon," Zenith straightened his posture as well, "go ahead and fight one another with everything you've got. I want to see what I have to work with before we begin your training." The two youngins gradually eyed one another, one smirking as he wriggled his claws as the other raised a curious eyebrow.

"You're joining me?" Ash asked.

"More like you're joining me. I'm supposed to train to be the leader one day, my dad only put you in for fun." The statement's explanation of Zarbon's reasoning wasn't exactly true, but it fulfilled its purpose anyways as a tiny tick mark formed on Ash's forehead. "Besiiiiides, it wasn't as if you could get rid of your best bud that easily." The cocky look on Gible's face as he joked around made Ash grin against his will. The two got into their stances in preparation to fight.

Ruthless energy was formed as Zenith's body tightened in preparation to charge while icy auras manifested around Ash's forearms and fists. A curious crowd had gathered around the ring at this point, wanting to observe the quarrel between the two newest members. In nearly an instant, the Take Down collided with both Ice Punches at the center, consequently resulting in a thick cloud of dust to form around them as the two forces met. Hunter gave a pleased smirk as he saw them exchange blows after blows even in the tainted air, marveling at their strength and speed. He envisioned them as two rivaling dragons trying to take each other's lives, yet he could see that they could effortlessly team up to become undefeatable in the not-so-distant future, their movements able to merge and synchronize.

'So he decided to send me his own son and the boy from the crash, both appearing to be natural-born fighters. They have a far way to go, but with their level of potential it's difficult to imagine just how strong they'll become and how little time they'll need to do so. His son shows as much potential as he did when he was but a Gible, but the human boy is something else entirely. He seems especially talented, a prodigy as proven by the progression rate I've been told about but also obviously humble, an impressive combination indeed. Maybe this is going to be worth it for me coming out of retirement like Zarbon had promised. But what does that brat know? He's still the rowdy kid I taught all those years ago...'

Ash

- Dragon Rage

- Ice Punch

Zenith

- Dig

- Dragon Claw

- Rock Smash

- Sand Tomb

- Slash

- Take Down

Author's Note: I'm trying my best to get to the part when Ash finally leaves to go on his much-anticipated journey, however writing takes much more time than I thought it would, and rushing too fast would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Another thing to add is that age is going to be different for some characters as I find that ten is far too young to be going into dark alleys, forests, and caves alone as one travels across an entire region. These changes will also conveniently make it easier for yours truly to set Cynthia and Ash up ;D

See y'all next time!