At last, our weary, frozen selves made it to the end of the labyrinth. Fortunately, no one had been seriously injured in the fall. Even though most of the equipment had been lost, I still had my three Pokemon and what few supplies were in my backpack. We soon saw that the tunnel led into a massive, beautiful ice cavern as large as a tournament battle field at Indigo Plateau. The whole cathedral-like chamber was bathed in an unnatural blue light. I hesitantly entered the lair, followed closely by Hunter and Tech. I stopped dead in my tracks.

It was Articuno. I had waited YEARS for this moment. Ever since I was just a little boy in grade school, I had always been incredibly interested in the myth of Articuno. It's been my favorite Pokemon for as long as I can remember, even though I wasn't sure if it really existed. Now I was face to face with it. It looked different than I had expected. It was more perfect than I had ever dreamed.

Articuno was perched on a rugged ice column in the center of the cavern. It was captivating and terrifying. It looked directly at me as I met its gaze. In its infinitely black eyes I saw both sentience and raw savagery. If there was ever a living paradox, it was Articuno. It represented both light and shadow, magnificence and malevolence. I stared at it, absorbing every last detail. Its cruel, onyx eyes and sharp beak were set in a face surrounded by beautiful, fine white feathers that almost seemed to be hair. The white led to a brilliant burst of plumage down the front of the bird. The rest of the Pokemon was covered by slick-looking blue feathers. The wings had long, defined flight feathers with darker spots on the surface. Articuno clutched the ice pillar with two large, taloned feet. The majestic bird's tail feathers had been transformed into a breathtaking display of plumage, like the train of a wedding dress. It seemed fluid, rippling and billowing in the sub-zero winds. Seeing this hypnotic effect alone would give an observer the impression that the bird is surreal and probably harmless. Maybe that's an offensive mechanism to trick potential prey into thinking it's a pacifistic creature. It almost worked on me, but then I again saw its penetrating eyes and the three frightening crests on its head. Those were fierce enough to break my trance. I wasn't sure exactly what their use was, so I decided to have the Pokedex scan them later. But first, the task at hand...

All I managed to stutter was a pathetic, "Oh my God." Hunter was silent. Tech stepped up behind me with our one remaining wireless headset, used for error-proof Pokemon battle. He never let his eyes stray from Articuno, but snapped off a quick, "No time to gawk, guys. Let's work!" Time to fight.

Page Seven
Page Seven

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