Deep in the woodsnow
Under the pines
There lies the answer
Frozen in time

Deep in the woodsnow
Under the pines
There lies the answer
Frozen in time

Waiting for someone
Someone to come
Calling so softly
Oran and Lum

Deep in the woodsnow
Through the soft grass
Down is answer
Covered in brass

Route 217, Sinnoh Region

"Claude, Wood Hammer to clear the snow!" I shouted at my snover whilst partially shielding my face against the gale of snow.

Claude nodded back at me, and then growled, the white cap that was his head glowing green. He leaped forward and plunged into the snow, spinning around to clear the frosty particles away.

I took a deep breath. The progress was slow and this snowstorm wasn't letting up any time soon.

I was on my way to Snowpoint City, the northernmost settlement in the Sinnoh Region. It was there that I was going to become the Gym Leader, by personal invitation of Head Champion Cynthia herself. The previous Gym Leader, Candice, had retired to become the full-time Guardian of the Snowpoint Temple. She took the job seriously, and she wanted to be able to devote all of her time to it.

The only problem was that I was having trouble getting to Snowpoint in the first place.

There was a relentless snowstorm surrounding the city, and I couldn't get in by flying. All of the public transportation that normally went into Snowpoint couldn't get in because of deep frozen tracks and hectic flying conditions. Even teleportation was spotty, as the psycho-kinetic waves that transported molecules through the air got disrupted in the horrible snowy conditions.

It was a snowstorm to beat all other snowstorms and I was right in the middle of it.

It took a long time for me to get up to the cliff-face that led into Lake Acuity, where Uxie rested. I smiled as memories came flooding back to me from my days in Nocturna. I had interacted with Uxie quite a bit back then, but I hadn't seen it in a while.

Finally, after about another hour of slow progress through the drifts of snow, I arrived.

Snowpoint City

As I walked into the deserted city of Snowpoint, I noticed that the wind blew exceptionally hard here. There was no one about, which was strange. Even though the weather was always icy, the people of Snowpoint were always out and about, used to the frosty conditions. I also noticed that the ship that usually dominated the tiny harbor was not there.

"Snover, snow, snow!" Claude called worriedly, his voice echoing around the small town.

There was no reply, which worried me.

Then, out of the blue, I heard a strange shriek, and something barreled into me from behind, knocking me into the snow.

I coughed, and sat up quickly. Claude was stuck in the snow, upside down and wriggling. I quickly freed him, and then looked around to see what had knocked me down, but I couldn't see anything unusual.

"Snover," Claude growled, looking around.

I frowned, glancing at the house to my left. Something was definitely off.

Then, I heard a distinct pokémon call. It was one I recognized quite clearly. A glaceon.

"Glaceon, Mirror Coat!" I heard a female voice call.

"What on earth?" I muttered, starting towards the direction of the voice, which was coming towards the harbor.

I rounded the corner and saw a woman dressed in a black cape shouting orders to a glaceon. They were staring at a sort of wall of snow. I hadn't realized it, but when I walked into the city, the snowstorm had stopped. I looked up and around and saw that Snowpoint was encased in a sort of bubble of snow.

The woman turned toward the sound of my feet crunching the snow. She looked at me, and then called out. "Don't come any closer! It's too dangerous!"

I picked up Claude in my arms and took a step back. "Is there any way I can help?" I asked, still not sure what she was fighting.

Then I saw a blast of purplish energy come down from above the bubble. It slammed into Glaceon's Mirror Coat, and flipped back around, glowing with a new white aura and blasted into the snow bubble. There was a pause, and then the snowstorm seemed to grow less vigorous, and eventually, I realized that a constant ringing in my ears that I hadn't noticed before had stopped.

The woman turned around to look at me, and I realized that it was Cynthia, Head Champion of the Pokémon League.

"Hello Cole. I'm glad you're here. I'm sorry that I couldn't greet you when you arrived, but a situation arose." She gestured back at the place next to the harbor that she had fought at.

"What exactly was that?" I asked, glancing down at Glaceon, who had plopped down next to Cynthia and was now grooming herself.

Cynthia took a deep breath. "That was the Snowpoint Snowstorm, and that is why I hired you as the Snowpoint Gym Leader. I'm going to need your help if this storm is going to go away."

I frowned. "You mean this storm is alive? How?"

She smiled mysteriously, and started off towards a house near the Snowpoint Temple. "Follow me to my house and I'll explain."

I looked down at Claude, who looked back up at me. We shrugged together and I started off after her.

Bonjour!

Thanks for giving this story a shot, first of all! It means a lot to me. Also, know that this chapter has been re-written because it was a little too short to start with. It still isn't very long, but I hope that it's a little bit better than the last one. I hope you enjoy, and constructive reviews are always appreciated! Thanks!

-Cole Escapade