PS031: Difference between revisions

'''The Art of Articuno''' (Japanese: '''VS フリーザー''' ''VS {{tt|Freezer|Articuno}}'') is the 31st chapter of the [[Pokémon Adventures]] manga.

On the second floor of [[Silph Co.]], {{adv|Red}} sees {{adv|Blue}} on the verge of taking another blow from [[Koga]]. Red sends out [[Poli]] to intervene, but Koga is quick to send them both flying with his {{TP|Koga|Golbat}}. He laughs as he steps towards Red, silently commanding {{p|Grimer}} away from Blue to keep Red immobilized. He considers that his presence here must mean that he defeated [[Lt. Surge]], and promises not to underestimate him, deciding to deal with him after finishing off Blue. Red begs Blue to wake up, but Koga knows that he's fully incapacitated after taking the full {{m|Razor Wind}} attack. Koga aims Golbat's wing precisely over Blue's neck, and moves to decapitate him.  

Suddenly the impact is stopped, as Blue's {{p|Pidgeot}} impacts Koga in the chest. As Koga recovers, he's left flustered, unable to understand how someone could take a Razor Wind to the heart and still be moving. Blue reveals that the attack only struck a pendant given to him by his {{adv|Professor Oak|grandfather}}, and knew he would eventually call off Grimer if he pretended to be knocked out for long enough.

Koga smugly sends in [[Legendary birds (Adventures)#Articuno|Articuno]], a {{m|Blizzard}} suddenly whipping through the room. Jumping back to Red, he tells Blue to keep his distance or else he'll decapitate Red, positioning Golbat's wing against his neck. Recognizing the name Red, Koga gives his thanks for enabling them to catch Articuno. He talks of their encounter on the [[Seafoam Islands]], how they almost failed to capture it until it expended all its energy to save Red and his Pokémon from danger. Amused that the same Pokémon to save him will now destroy him, he orders an {{m|Ice Beam}}, directly impacting Red. Blue wonders to himself how Koga can control Articuno so easily, Koga explaining that it's the power of [[Team Rocket]].

 

Blue notices Koga holding up a {{badge|Soul}}, and he explains that [[Badge]]s aren't just souvenirs, but the power within them both increases a Pokémon's power, and allows the Badge holder to control them. Articuno is currently under the power of four Badges, held by Koga, [[Sabrina]], Lt. Surge, and their leader. As ice begins to {{status|freeze}} Red's legs in place, Blue starts to escape in response to Red's urgings, but is quickly forced to react to Articuno's attacks as Koga redirects his focus. Having nowhere to run, Koga is able to freeze one of Blue's feet as he blows a hole in the wall. Commanding Articuno to use its full power to freeze the room, it leaves Red, Blue, and Pidgeot helplessly frozen solid in ice.

 

Just as Koga turns to leave, he comments that the two boys really made him work up a sweat. Suddenly struck in the back by an attack, he turns around to see Red and Blue completely free of the ice, both prepared to fight. Blue's {{TP|Blue|Charizard}} heats up the room from the outside as the two boys command {{TP|Blue|Porygon}} and [[Pika]] to strike Koga with {{m|Tri Attack}} and {{m|Thunder Shock}}, respectively.

 

After Koga falls to the ground, Blue explains that he took advantage of the hole he blasted into the wall earlier, allowing Charizard to keep the room heated up from the outside to reverse his attempts to freeze it from the inside. The Soul Badge drops out of his hands onto the floor, which Blue picks up. With the two boys both covered in scorch marks, Red chastises him for heating up the whole building. Blue sends out his {{TP|Blue|Golduck}}, but is unable to use his {{t|Psychic}} powers to find Professor Oak, commenting that it appears a Psychic pulse is blocking the connection to his [[Pokédex]]. Instead calling on Koga's Golbat, it provides a view of Professor Oak bound up in what appears to be the building's basement.  

 

As they begin to move, a scream rings out, stopping them in their place. Remarking that it sounds like {{adv|Green}}, Blue tosses the Soul Badge to Red, telling him to make good use of it, and the two boys begin running in opposite directions towards their separate goals.  

* The Japanese title of this chapter is the same as the one used in ''[[PS025|You Know...Articuno!]]''.