Chapter Text
Articuno. There were no words to describe the awe Blanche felt as she gazed into the piercing red eyes of the Legendary Titan of Ice. Its feathers were a clear blue, like the colour of ice reflecting the pale winter sunlight. Its long, shimmering tail blew in the cold wind that seemed to surround it, like a flowing, sparkling waterfall, and the three diamond-shaped crystals on its forehead glowed as the rays of sunlight touched them. But the thing that she found hardest of all to believe - Articuno wanted her as its companion. So… have you decided? A quiet voice, cold, but amazingly so, still gentle, sounded in her ears. I think this will be hard for you. You must learn to open up. I need to know… who you really are. Blanche looked down for a moment.
“I will show you everything,” she whispered, and as her pale green eyes met Articuno’s scrutinizing gaze levelly, it seemed like she had been thrust back in time, all the way to the beginning.
There were so many things she’d never said to anyone before, but it felt… so vastly different this time. It was like Articuno was really part of her, like all this was somehow meant to happen.
“But where do I start?”
Isn’t there anything on your mind? For example, who is this other girl I keep seeing who looks exactly like you?
Blanche froze. “Noire… My sister.” There was a long pause as Blanche struggled to find words to say, to explain it all to Articuno. It was all so complicated…
Where is she now?
“I… don’t know,” Blanche admitted finally. “I think she left because, well, because of… of me.”
Because of you?
She bit her lip anxiously. “Noire was very… ambitious. And so independent…” Her voice trailed off, not able to continue her sentence: Unlike me. “We were very close, but she always seemed trapped, somehow. She wanted to be free, but I just couldn’t let go of her.”
What about Bulbasaur?
Another tough question… “Bulbasaur -” Blanche seemed to turn a shade paler as the name formed on her lips. “I - I let Bulbasaur go,” she said. “I asked it to follow Noire… I wanted her to remember me.”
And, in your opinion, have you succeeded on that count?
“I don’t know,” Blanche replied shakily. “I just hope Bulbasaur’s okay… and that it’s still with Noire. That she didn’t just let it go into the wild.” She thought of her smallest Pokemon, so timid and gentle. Bulbasaur would have no chance over its wild kin who were so much stronger and tougher than it was. At the time of Noire’s departure, it had learnt only one move - Vine Whip. That would hardly give it an edge over any other Pokemon, especially since it was afraid to battle in the first place. A tiny part of her still hoped that Noire would want to remember her, but now, after so many weeks without any contact, she wasn’t so sure anymore.
Tell me… what have you learnt about Pokemon evolution?
The tight knot in Blanche’s chest finally loosened. Here was a topic she could really talk about. “One key thing I’ve learned is that forced evolution never works in the end. For example, making Eevee evolve into Vaporeon with a Water Stone, compared to an Eevee that evolved naturally. A Pokemon evolves, sometimes because it’s gained enough experience to take on a stronger, usually larger form while still maintaining control of its power. Other times, Pokemon evolve because of their friendship with their Trainer. However, there are certain exceptions… for example, most Bulbasaur gather in the mysterious garden to evolve, as do Magikarp, at an island in the Orange Archipelago. Stone-based evolution has its benefits too, for example, Gloom will only evolve into Bellossom with a Sun Stone. Other examples of item-based evolution are Slowpoke and Poliwhirl’s evolutions into Slowking and Politoed respectively with a King’s Rock, or Scyther’s evolution into Scizor with a Metal Coat.”
What about your Pokemon?
“I really want a Vaporeon on my team, but I’d never use a Water Stone on Eevee, Wartortle and Shellder will evolve when they’re ready. Bulbasaur… I promised Bulbasaur, when I got it, that I’d be the one to help it evolve. But I didn’t…”
Bulbasaur will be back with you one day. And, Articuno said as it lifted its head towards the sky and spread its wings, so will I. You are an outstanding child, and I am glad to say that you have proven yourself. All at once, the frigid wind seemed to fade away as Articuno took off in a tight spiral, snow surrounding it like a hurricane and obscuring every last tinge of blue.
***
Blanche leaned back against the rough bark of a tall oak tree. It was hard to imagine, that only a few months ago, the Legendary Pokemon Articuno had spoken to her in this very same spot. Standing here, she could see the small town tucked deep in the mountain range, but no one would see her through the tree’s overhanging branches. Sometimes, a Trainer on their journey would emerge here, seeking to challenge the rumoured ice-type Pokemon Gym that was situated in the centre of the town. But they would be disappointed… Noire was supposed to take over as Gym Leader, but she’d refused the post. She vastly preferred poison types to ice or water. Occasionally, someone would ask Blanche to take over the post, but as she’d never really travelled outside, her only Pokemon were water-types and Eevee. So, as the hope for another Gym Leader finally fizzled out, the large building was left empty, its windows never filled with the warm orange light that every other building had. No one ever went near it. They said it was creepy, too cold, too frozen. Without any form of contact with humans, the Gym seemed to be in a different timeline altogether, from the days when her father was the Gym Leader.
She’d watched many challengers, so many battles. Some won their badge, most didn’t. There were so many types of Pokemon to study. Trainers from almost every region would come, bringing their unique team, and together they’d try to earn a Gym badge. While volunteering at the Pokemon Centre, Blanche had seen unimaginable numbers of Pokemon that were never found in the Kanto or Orange Island region. One of the more unique ones was a shiny Chikorita, its red eyes closed as it slept, the golden leaf on its head resting on its yellow body like a blanket. Then there was
that one match
that she just couldn’t forget. A Dragonite arrived with its Trainer in the town, diving from the sky even faster than a bullet. The girl on its back seemed hardly any older that Blanche, which made the fact that she had a Dragonite on her team even more unimaginable. Seeing anyone with a Dratini was rare enough, let alone someone this age with a Dragonite. It was too bad that she never got to see it battle much. Since dragon-types were weak to ice, no matter how strong that Dragonite was, it still resulted in a quick defeat. Blanche had to admit, though, that the girl was certainly an adept Trainer. After Dragonite’s defeat, she’d pulled out fire-type after fire-type, restoring her advantage over the opposing ice-types. That badge was certainly a well-deserved one, and, even as Blanche helped to treat the injured Dragonite, she had wondered how it was obtained. Where could the Trainer have gotten such an exquisite Pokemon?
But those were just memories, from so far away, just memories, images…
Her mind was still wandering, thinking about that Dragonite, and the way smoke rose from the ground as it landed… But this was too real… The smoke that filled the air around her was hot and heavy… the screams from the people, the way her Eevee trembled in her arms… This wasn’t right, something had gone terribly wrong…
As Blanche strained to see the Gym through the thick smoke, she saw the faint outline of it, and a bright white light was shining through one of the windows… it winked, deceptively, and as it swallowed the whole building, there was a ground-shaking bang, and the last Blanche saw was the hungry flames spreading through the whole town as she and Eevee were slammed backwards against the tree’s hard trunk.
Down below, in the midst of the destruction, a lone figure stood, her almond-shaped, pale green eyes reflecting the orange flames, and her long, silver hair rippling softly, seemingly in sync, yet so out of place, with the blazing inferno surrounding her.
***
Noire. There she was, after so long, just down in the valley… and yet Blanche found no pleasure in seeing her twin again. She knew what Noire wanted, and it would be a matter of time before Noire found her. Her mind was racing, and so was her heart. “Pathetic,” she murmured. She couldn’t even focus long enough to plan a strategy?
A part of her told her that there was no point, that Noire would see her anyway… And just as she managed to silence that thought, her sister turned in her direction - their eyes met.
***
Blanche and Noire stood, face to face, atop the hill. “You know what I want,” Noire said pleasantly, with a fake smile that didn’t fool anyone. “News of a Legendary Bird has spread very far, Blanche… now give Articuno to me.”
“No,” Blanche said stiffly. “No.”
“You leave me no choice, then…” Noire reached for her Pokeballs. “We’ll settle this with a battle.”
Far away, in the Orange Islands, a flash of blue was seen gliding in the air.
“Go! Tentacool!”
“Bulbasaur, go!”
“Use Poison Sting!”
“Jump and Leaf Storm!” Using its vines, Bulbasaur catapulted itself into the air and sent a barrage of leaves flying towards Tentacool, cutting through the poison attack.
“Use Water Gun!” Tentacool’s jet held Bulbasaur’s leaves at bay.
“Bulbasaur, use Tackle!”
“Dodge it. Change your target.” Noire’s voice was deadly, and Blanche winced as Bulbasaur fell to the ground with a thud. As Tentacool turned towards Blanche, preparing to launch another attack, its body was suddenly surrounded with ice. Like a jet, Articuno shot out of the sky with a long screech, the column of snow around it exploding and covering the hill with frost.
“Now it gets interesting…” Noire said, her face breaking into a grin that Blanche had never seen, and didn’t want to see again as long as she lived. Her eyes began to glow blue, and her image seemed to blur, as did Articuno’s. A raging, howling blizzard blew in, making both Blanche and Noire’s ponytails slap against their faces, but neither cared.
Blanche raised her hand and, right on cue, the snow began to spin in a tight spiral, like Articuno’s entrance. It followed every slight movement of her hand, and began twirling faster and faster, with steadily increasing strength. Although the blue colour in Blanche’s eyes had begun to fade, the column showed no signs of fading away. With one last, sweeping movement, the column headed straight for Noire and her Pokemon, and after hitting its target, enveloped the valley below with gleaming snow.
Destruction… we are capable of this… I don’t know what I was thinking… never, never again…
Blanche whispered incoherently to herself as her hand slowly fell back to her side. It was as though she had snapped out of a trance.
Articuno… she thought sadly, watching the Legendary. Why did you do that?
How else would I save you… Your Pokemon cannot handle hers, not yet.
I don’t need saving! Blanche’s tone was icy and sharp. What I need… her voice returned to its usual soft tone… is control. I have proven to Noire that I am not her shadow. Now, she declared, turning to Articuno with a steely glint in her eye, now I must prove that to you.