Pokemon: An Icy Path

Chapter 40

I take a look at the spread of items that appear on my bed as I accept the rolls from my gacha spins. Most of the items I received are on par with what I have gotten before, two potions, more Mapo Tofu, a remote controlled vibrator, another berry, a pair of silver stud earrings and an all black outfit similar to what Flannery used to wear with a techwear vibe. 

I also received a book called Grids Guide to Clothing Creation, but I tossed it aside as I don’t see myself creating clothes. I might pick it up later to see if I can repair my Qipao but for now it’s just a book. However, the last two items are what really surprise me.

[Congratulations host, you have received an Ice Silk Dress.]

[Congratulations host, you have received a variant pokemon.]

The dress is something I am excited about as the last two times I received this in the gacha I got my Qipao, which is damaged and sitting in my bag, and my battle outfit. I hope this time I get something cute to wear.

This last item has me stumped. I did not know I could receive pokemon from the gacha. How would that even work? If I recall properly, the gacha just pulls random things from a vault somewhere. Has this pokemon been sitting in the vault for who knows how long? 

My brain goes into overdrive as I think about the possibilities of what might happen. Pokemon are not supposed to stay within a pokeball indefinitely as it can cause issues with their mentality or in some rare cases a Voltorb or Rotom is born out of the neglect. A pokemon can still sense the outside world while they are in their pokeball which is why some pokemon will summon themselves if their trainer is in trouble. 

I let my thoughts take their trip through the rabbit hole for a few more minutes before I call my attention back to the messages. I summon the less likely to implode in my face option,  the dress. What appears before me is a black frilly dress that would fall to about mid thigh with lacey white sleeves that end in a deep blue cuff. On the dress there are some purple silk accents, giving the dress a lolita like style. It is not something I would have picked out myself but it is super cute. The silky feel of the fabric is cool against my skin which earns my vote on what to wear tomorrow.

Finally I decide to summon the last non-food reward. I currently have two Mapo Tofu and an Apple Tart, all of which will be saved for tomorrow morning. I smirk a little at pranking my two friends with a spicy treat. I mentally select the notification for the pokemon. Just as I do, my music player starts playing the iconic trade music from the pokemon games.

A black pokeball with a gold band around the center appears in midair and starts to fall before I quickly catch it in my hand. The ball has a different quality to it compared to the pokeballs I normally use and feels almost silky to the touch. On the top half of the ball is an engraved snowflake in an incy blue color, similar to my normal pokeballs, and a blue and gold band. 

I study the pokeball carefully and after a while I recognize it as a luxury ball. I pull out my phone to look up information on luxury balls as I never expected to be able to afford one. From what I can find, the Silph Co. took the concept of luxury and gave it a capital L. Each ball is uniquely designed to provide the pokemon inside with the most comfortable accommodations money can buy. Unlike the games however, each luxury ball is custom made and comes with a price tag to match, one million Poke.

I’m at a loss now. How could I explain to Bea and Flannery that I suddenly have a new pokemon, inside a million Poke ball. Honestly, the gacha could have given me a grenade and I would be able to handle it. This on the other hand? This is a headache waiting to happen.

I sigh as I set the ball on the desk, not bothering to see what is inside at the moment as I don’t have any of my team on hand. In case something goes wrong, I would much rather have some sort or protection.

I go back to my bed and start putting away the different items on the bed. I make sure to hang up my dress on the door so that I can wear it tomorrow. I will try to figure out what to tell my girls tomorrow. Once the bed is clear, I settle myself into the center of the bed in a lotus position before closing my eyes and slipping into a night of cultivation.

*~*~*~*

Some hours later, I let out a breath that sends a small cloud of cold air into the room that dissipates a few seconds later. During my cultivation, I was able to successfully condense a tiny core, no more than a pinhead in size. It seems like this level will take a while to progress through.

One thing I do notice though, is that the room does not feel nearly as warm as it normally does. Maybe with this new level I will finally be able to control the temperature around me. I open my eyes and see the time on my phone listing that it is still quiet early in the morning, but late enough to not be a bother to anyone else.

I crawl out of my bed and hop into the shower to finish waking myself up. I let the water slide across my skin as I stand under the shower, just enjoying the calming effect that an early morning shower provides. After some time, I step back out into the room and my eyes fall onto the extravagant pokeball sitting on my desk. 

With a sigh I grab my phone and open the Pokedex app before tapping the button on the front with the back of my phone. I need to register the pokeball to my Trainer ID or else if a Jenny happens to check my bag and sees that I am carrying an unregistered pokeball I could get into big trouble. 

A moment later I hear a ding and a popup appears on my phone. I look at the popup and see that it shows the information of the pokemon I just registered to my ID.

[Beldum, the Iron Ball pokemon.]

[Beldum keeps itself floating by generating a magnetic force that repels earth’s natural magnetism. When it sleeps, this Pokémon anchors itself to a cliff using the hooks on its rear. They converse with one another by using magnetic pulses. In a swarm, they move in perfect unison.]

[This Beldum is of the shiny variant.]

[Beldum has the ability Clear Body.]

[Beldum knows the following move: Tackle]

So my newest teammate is a Beldum. I had thought about getting one when I go to Sinnoh as Metagross are fearsome pokemon with how smart and powerful they are. Any Psychic or Steel trainer would want to have one in their arsenal. 

Unfortunately, trying to evolve my new Beldum is going to be a huge pain. I would need to either catch three more, or find some way to induce its evolution without fusing with another Beldum.

Letting out another sigh, something I seem to be doing a lot recently, I dismiss the message on the phone and shrink Beldums pokeball down to carry size and store it in my bag. I will wait until after Surge to try and explain it to my friends, but I will get my team to meet them during our training.

I finish grabbing the rest of the stuff I have not put away and stuff it into my bag as well before grabbing my new dress off the hanger. I find a simple zipper on the back, making this one of the easiest outfits I have to put on, and slip into the silky fabric. Once I zip up the back I take a look at myself in the mirror and do a little twirl. I leave my hair down for a change instead of my normal ponytail as it wouldn’t look as cute and also put on just a tiny bit of makeup to complete my look.

 I do a final check of the room to see if I put away everything before I head down to the lobby. I find a smattering of trainers, the early risers, in the lobby going about their morning routine, not paying any attention to me. I head over to the Joy at the desk with my phone out.

“Good morning Nurse Joy. I was wondering if my pokemon are able to be picked up?”

“Oh my, isn’t that a cute outfit. It looks good on you.” I blush slightly and murmur a thanks at her compliment that earns me a kind smile. “Lets see, Frost Oak… Your pokemon seem to be all healed up and ready to go. Please give me a moment to have someone bring them out.”

A moment later, a Blissey in a nurses cap bounces over in an adorable way while happily singing as she moves. The Blissey comes up to me with the tray she is carrying that has my three poke balls waiting for me. I grab them and attach them to my holster.

“Thank you Blissey.” I say with a smile.

“Blissey!”

I wave to Nurse Joy and Blissey before making my way to a table. Before I sit down, I let Lono and Skadi out of their pokeballs.

“Pix~.” “Ling~”

Both of them let out happy sounds at the sight of me as I sit down in the booth and Skadi jumps up into the seat next to me. Now that I have the chance, I examine Skadi closely as I thought I saw that she had more tails. I softly brush her cool fur, causing her to purr like a cat, as I use my hands to examine any changes. 

Much to my surprise, Skadi actually has seven tails now. I know that the Vulpix line grows more tails the stronger they get so the fact that Skadi has seven tails makes me wonder if she could evolve into Ninetails without an ice stone. I pull out my phone and scan Skadi to see if she has learned any new moves due to the gym battle and her new tail.

[Vulpix knows the following moves: Powdered Snow, Tail whip, Howl, Moon Blast, Iron Tail, Disable, Spite, Ice Shard, Icicle Spear, Icy Wind, Confuse Ray, Ice Burn, Frost Breath, Aurora Beam, Extrasensory]

“Congratulations sweetheart! You seemed to have learned two new moves. Now we need to spend some time training.”

“Ching!”

“You want me to check you too Lono?”

“Ling! Chingling!”

“Alright I will.” I move my phone over to scan my little bell pokemon as well.

[Chingling knowns the following moves: Tackle, Growl, Cosmic Power, Wish, Astonish, Confusion, Ominous Wind, Yawn, Entrainment, Hypnosis]

“Wow buddy! You got three new moves. At this rate you will be a powerhouse in no time.”

Both of my pokemon make happy sounds as I pamper them. A few minutes of pampering later I get a message on my phone from Bea and Flannery saying that they will be down shortly for breakfast. Seeing this a small smirk appears on my lips as I see the red flashing notifications from last night. I quickly open the notifications and send them a message back that I have already ordered breakfast for them and it will be waiting for them. Once the message has been sent I summon the two bowls of Mapo Tofu on the other side of the table for the girls and the apple tart in front of me.