Disclaimer: Pokemon and characters related to the popular game and television franchise belong to The Pokemon Company and its associated affiliates.
Author's Note: This story takes place after the events of "Hidden Power". As pokemon are fictional creatures, the capitalization of their species names is under debate but usually left up to the writer's discretion. They are capitalized in this story to catch the eye better ("Ditto" indicates a pokemon, whereas "ditto" does not, etc.) and the species names are capitalized in the Pokedex.
It had taken two days of hard climbing, but Gary Oak finally crested the pass of the tallest mountain in the region, with his grandfather and the other members of the research team following close behind. The mountain's narrow peaks jutted overhead, soaring skyward for a hundred more feet. A gentle snow was falling, pattering against Gary's waterproof parka. He knew the snow would soon fall in flurries, once the sun set and the temperature plunged deeper into the negatives. But for the moment, the falling snow veiled the surrounding valleys like a mist. Who knew what sort of mysterious pokemon made this mountain their home? Gary felt a thrill of excitement as he imagined finding a new species. He wished he had gotten into pokemon research sooner. Leave those stupid battle challenges to the kids - scientific research and discovery was the real path to mastery. He was glad his grandfather, Professor Oak, had agreed to give him this internship. They were surveying this mountain for rare or undiscovered pokemon species. The Professor theorized that the permanently frozen peaks would be home to ice type pokemon that could not be found elsewhere in the region. So far, Gary had seen nothing but the usual mountain dwellers - Geodude and Graveller and the occasional Golem, Machop and Fearow and Onix. He thought he saw some Vulpix tracks in the fresh snow, but they weren't defined enough to tell.
"Gary, slow down will you? I'm not as spry as I used to be."
Professor Oak came to stop beside his grandson, huffing as he caught his breath. He cast a glance over the valley, smiling.
"Beautiful, isn't it? I remember the first time I saw this. I was about your age, at the time."
Gary tried to imagine his grandfather as a young man. He couldn't.
"What were you doing here?"
"Oh, training." The Professor shrugged. "I never took part in the Pokemon League challenge, but I wanted to strengthen my team and myself. What better way than climbing a mountain?"
"Is that why you had us hike up instead of fly on Fearows?" Gary asked dryly.
"Er, no. Fearows would not have been able to carry our equipment."
Gary looked back at the other researchers. They were setting up camp, pulling supplies from large crates that were being carried by five parka-clad Machoke.
"I guess you're right."
"Quite right. Now, let's help dig in and set up before the snow gets heavier."
By the time the sun had set, they had set up several large walk-in tents and covers for the observation equipment. They had a pair of Flareons melt the snow and ice, so that they had dry ground to place everything on. After a quick meal of dried berries and reconstituted pasta, most of the pokemon were returned to their pokeballs and everyone went to their tents to catch some sleep. No one was worried about missing anything - the cameras they had set up would be recording through the night. And an Arcanine was left outside to guard the camp from any wild pokemon that got too curious.
Gary was sharing a tent with his grandfather. The tent material was thin, but specially designed to trap in heat. They were quite snug in their sleeping bags, especially with Gary's Flareon giving off heat while lying curled up in the middle of the tent. Gary felt drowsy, but for some reason he couldn't sleep. He listened to his grandfather's low snoring and the snow tapping on the outside of the tent. He lay with his eyes closed for a long time, but sleep did not come. Finally he slipped out of his sleeping bag, pulled on his snow gear, and grabbed a flashlight. He slipped out of the tent without waking his grandfather or his Flareon, and zipped up the tent behind him.
Outside, the strings of lights set up around the camp were dimmed, but bright enough to see by. The Arcanine strode up to Gary and nuzzled his hand.
"See anything?" Gary whispered.
The Arcanine shook its head.
"Well, it is only the first night," Gary sighed. He clicked on his flashlight and walked back to the place where he had looked out over the valley. It was pitch black now, and he couldn't see anything. It was a bit spooky. He nervously checked his pokeball belt. There were five pokeballs there, since his Flareon was back in the tent. He pulled one free and let the pokemon out.
"Hey Charizard. I'm glad to see you!" Gary said. His Charizard licked him in the face, obviously glad to see him too. The flame on the tip of the Charizard's tail lit up the area a little more, and Gary relaxed.
Suddenly there was a flash in the darkness, and Gary saw a streak of light plummet from the dark clouds. It crashed into the mountain, slamming into a ridge a few dozen feet above them.
"We've got to check that out!" Gary cried. "Let's go!" He jumped on his Charizard's back, and they flew through the snowy air. Gary trained his flashlight on the spot where the meteorite had hit so that the Charizard could see it. In a minute, they were there. Whatever had slammed into the mountain left a large, smoldering crater. Gary urged his Charizard closer. He saw something at the bottom of the crater. It glinted in the beam of his flashlight. Was it some kind of stone? He strained his eyes trying to get a better look, but the snow was falling heavier now, and it was getting in his eyes. He wiped it away in frustration to look again...and the shiny thing was gone.
"Eh, we'll come back in the morning," he grumbled as he turned his Charizard back toward the camp.
