Mason slept for an hour or so, exhausted from his time alone with Froslass. How beautiful she was, and how she could fare in a real Pokémon battle, he thought to himself. Perhaps she was fair enough to bring a few rival Pokémon down before she did as well. It was a thought process for another day thought; all he wanted to do was relax. Mason was up and out of the bed by an hour and went downstairs in anticipation of his cousin's return. The house was still empty and no truck with wagon in the driveway.
"They're not home yet?" Mason thought to himself, as he looked at the time to see it was almost two-thirty. With nothing better to do, Mason went into the living room and prepared another old tape before sitting down before sending out Froslass, who herself had recovered and was somewhat awake. Froslass stared idle at the blue TV screen that had not yet been commissioned to play another tape as Mason pocketed the Premier Ball that housed her.
"How're you feeling? Sick? Tired?" Mason asked Froslass who turned around to look at him and gave no reply, which Mason took as a yes, hopefully. Mason started the tape from where he had left off from last night, returning with a scene where a group of men spoke only one word each as they held a fierce debate of some type. Mason chuckled quietly as Froslass stared at the TV, seeing more humans and slowly floated over to get a better look in excitement.
"They're not real, Froslass. It's just the tape displaying. You also shouldn't be too close to the TV while you're at it." Mason ordered Froslass, who ignored him for the time being to look closer, to see the humans fade into a sort of blurry mess. "Froslass, I mean it." Said Mason once more to officially drag her away from the screen verbally. At once Froslass pulled away and floated near Mason, thinking hard about what was happening. How Mason was watching and laughing at more humans but how fake they appeared to be.
"It's called comedy; basically stuff that makes you laugh. They don't really speak like this, it's just for our amusement." Mason told Froslass, who hadn't gotten the faintest clue of what it all meant. The two of them watched TV alone for some time, until Mason heard the familiar sound of a door opening. Mason's grandfather and cousins had returned, complete with them calling his name. At once Mason stopped the tape and stood up, telling Froslass,
"I think you should stay here, just for a bit. I'll give a signal for you to come back into the kitchen, all right?" Froslass nodded as she slunk into the chair Mason sat in previously, waiting patiently. Mason went into the kitchen where the boys stood at the door unzipping their jackets. The negotiation appeared to be a success, indicated by the smiles on Daniel and Neil.
"How'd it go?" Mason asked all but patiently to his grandfather, who reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick wad of Pokédollars; eight thousand to be exact. Quite a hefty sum, considering the work that was done yesterday. Mason put his fingers on his chin in admiration of the payment, all too pleased with what was yielded. Eight thousand Pokédollars was hard to scoff at indeed. Daniel stepped in and added his own insights in the matter.
"Eight thousand dollars is pretty great, no? I mean, hey, I would've been happy with five thousand, but eight thousand is a step to a whole new level!" he said with much excitement. Mason's grandfather was pleased with the deal, and Mason could tell behind his wooden face.
"Like I said, my friend would've happily paid any amount for that amount of black walnut lumber. He was more than willing to buy it off of us; money is hardly an issue with him. I'm proud in each and every one of you boys. Now, don't spend it all in one place." He said as he took off the rubber band and carefully allotted two thousand Pokédollars to each of the boys. Each could hardly be more joyous at receiving such a generous bounty. Mason pocketed the money as quickly as he could as he prepared to talk.
"Thank you for this, grandpa. I never thought the wood would be worth that much, but I'm happy to be proven wrong!" convened Mason, hardly containing himself. At once he was more ordered and clam. "And, it just so happens that, I've got a surprise for you." Mason turned his head to the living room and whistled briskly, signaling Froslass to reveal herself in full. Froslass heard the whistle and got up to float into the kitchen. Humbly did she enter, presenting herself to the full gang inside the house, harvesting the stunned reactions of the other humans. Froslass wasn't afraid or shy now of other humans, and even wondered why they were so shocked to see her, as she revealed herself yesterday.
"Yep, the same Froslass you all saw yesterday. I caught her earlier, and she's quite the figure, isn't she? She shouldn't be afraid of you, and you shouldn't be afraid of her." Mason said with pride, crossing his arms and smiling. Neil cleared out his throat being the only one brave enough to reply,
"She's beautiful…" he admitted, looking at her purple face concealed by her mask and dress; essentially a second layer of flesh. "Did she fight at all?"
"She just, sort of accepted me. I caught her with this," Mason replied as he showed off the Premier Ball in his pocket. "She didn't put up any sort of fight and willingly got captured."
"I trust you will treat her well," said Mason's grandfather, "Pokémon are marvelous beings, and it would be a sin to neglect her…" Mason propped himself a chair the others sat down as well and listened for what more he had to say. Mason spoke of how he actually met Froslass two days ago, wanting to keep their relationship a secret. He spoke of how she was so intrigued by humans, and of her banishment of her friends from the woods because the black walnut tree was chopped down. The group listened well and believed every word that was said about Mason's marvelous Pokémon. Froslass herself couldn't help but feel so noble and dignified in their presence while she was the main topic.
"I can't stress how wonderful it is that we found each other in the woods and how we've become such close friends," Mason said with his heart, "I only wish we met earlier." Mason felt very relieved to inform his family about Froslass, no longer was it a controversy relationship that was forced to be bottled up and kept in secret. It wasn't the fact they had made love in their absence; Mason truly loved her.
"So, with that out of the way," Mason brought up to his grandfather, awkwardly changing the topic at hand, "Is there any more work in store for us?"
"Firewood is always valued in the winter. More help is always appreciated for me, which in turn means more money for you. Not as much as the black walnut payment, I doubt we will run into another one of those again, but still good and honest money none the less." Answered back Mason's grandfather. Right as he finished, Neil intervened again,
"But wait Mason, didn't you say that your Froslass was banished from the woods because of the black walnut being chopped down? Won't she feel sad or angry?" Neil said, bringing up a valid point from the Pokémon's perspective. In truth, Froslass could hardly care less if the forest was harvested for its precious wood. Ever since she was evicted and captured by Mason, shed held an indifference to the fate of the woods; while she would be saddened if it did perish and was destroyed or erased, at the same time she did not care much if it did happen. She thought back on the words spewed at her from last night,
"You obviously don't need us, so we don't need you!"
In a way, Froslass was right. She had Mason, all she wanted ever since she first laid eyes on him. Froslass couldn't go back to her home, lest she wanted herself to be bogged down. When the moment came for Mason to ask Froslass if it was okay to cultivate more of the forest, she made adamant nods with upmost approval. As long as the gang had the energy, trees would be cut down, money would be made, and personal achievements between humans and Pokémon would be made.
For a couple of long, winter weeks did the humans cultivate the forest and harvest its wood to trade for money. Every day they got up and hacked down trees to load onto the wagon until it couldn't hold any more, and hauled it far away to buyers to snatch it up at bargain prices. Little by little did their wealth grow out of honest work, as little by little the forest declined one tree at a time. Life was indeed prosperous for Mason and his cousins, for the time being. A week later Mason's grandmother returned and helped by driving the lumber into the city to sell, easing the burden from their shoulders. Mason's grandmother also heard the story of his Froslass, and praised him.
A week and a half from that, Mason had his share of tree-cutting for the winter as he prepared to leave his grandparent's property to return to the city. Content with his profits, nearing fifty-five hundred Pokédollars, he packed up his belongings as he waved goodbye to his cousins and grandparents, loading up his car to drive off and return to his home. Mason thought about all he experienced during his winter visit, from the first sight of Froslass to making love to her to earning himself a very fine amount of money. He started up his car and gave one more goodbye wave to his grandparents' house as he drove off beyond the trees onto the several hour drive towards the dark night sky back to Eterna City, where he lived in an apartment.