Chapter Twelve: Stitches

Sinnoh's Snow Route 217 has always been seen as a bit of a challenge, with vicious blizzards testing any and all that dare enter. Even the pokémon inhabitants are among the hardiest you will find, surviving in the harshest of environments. If you're not an Ice-type pokémon, well insulated, or just extremely stubborn, it wouldn't make much sense to be out this far from anywhere.

The snow rises to depths of several feet, the winds blow fiercely, and the few trees that manage to endure the deathly conditions are seen in a heavily stunted form, some of them reduced to mere branches. The only traces of life are the occasional log cabin, inhabited by 'adventurous' hikers who offer shelter to anyone else crazy enough to be out here.

And one determined Emolga.

Shivering viciously, and halfway buried in snow, Sparky has her blue scarf wrapped as tightly around her upper half as she can manage. She can barely see a thing in front of her, with painful snow invading her delicate eyes should she open them more than a mere crack, but she pushes forward with all she can. In spite of the impending sense of futility that's looming after her, like a deceitful shadow of regret, Sparky the Emolga keeps going. It's a marvel that she can still keep going in weather like this, however she can just about make out the silhouette of a tall mountain in the distance, scarcely contrasting against the ominous greyscale of the sky. She doesn't even know if it will accomplish anything, but the very sight of that mountain on the horizon is enough to keep her going. Because, at the very least, that mountain's peak may just provide her with answers…

Sharp blades of snow chisel their way into her skin, causing her to wince with every hit. Tears have frozen sideways across her face from the pain, and she lost sensation in her tiny feet ages ago, but this Emolga refuses to give up. Trudging forwards at an almost desperately slow pace, even she doesn't know how she's still going, however she does know that she has to keep going if she wants to keep going. If she stops, even for a second, she knows she won't start again…

At danger of losing consciousness at any given moment, Sparky makes for a pitiful sight. It's hard to believe that a tiny, frail Emolga can stand the sheer ferocity of this blizzard. She has to tiptoe carefully around deeper snow trenches, because she knows she's done for if she falls into one of them. However, some of them are several metres wide, forcing her to side-track completely just to avoid them. And this just takes longer. Should she turn any direction except for headlong into the wind, the vicious gusts just push her back…

"C-c-c-c'mon!" She mutters to herself, wrenching her numb feet forwards through the deep snow, "N-nearly… there!"

The mountains in the distance are scarcely any closer than they were hours ago, however Sparky tells herself this because she has literally no other options. The only thing keeping her going is the foolish belief that she will somehow find something atop the tallest mountain in the distance; the so called 'path of souls'…

*crunch*

*crunch*

*crunch*

Her stumbling footsteps are about the only thing she can hear, other than the furious winds that are all but ready to burst her eardrums. There is no shelter to protect her, not even a stray tree. Frozen blades continue to pierce their way into her already sore skin, weathering away what little of her vitality remains. Her spirit may be strong, but there's only so much a tiny, starving Emolga can take.

And then it takes her.

Without so much as a warning, her legs give out on her, and the Emolga collapses face first into the freezing snow. With a pitiful squeak, she attempts to struggle further forwards, but her tiny body is simply spent…

So exhausted that even her thoughts are strained, Sparky the Emolga slowly loses consciousness. Her eyes closing, all she can see is white.

"I'm sorry, Miss Holly. I-I tried."

Her vision whites out completely, and she faints amidst the howling blizzard; not a soul aware of her plight…


*Fsh!*

Against all odds, it seems as though Sparky isn't the only one out in this blizzard tonight.

Slicing through the thick snow like a knife through butter, a dark shadow flits. Advancing at an incredible pace, the mysterious creature appears to be searching for something. Even the vicious blizzard can't hold it back as it happens across what appears to be an unconscious young Emolga.

Without much more than a snide chuckle, the creature brandishes six inches of razor sharp claws, and slowly stalks towards the freezing, comatose pokémon.

*feeeeeeeeeeeeep!*

In a surprise move, this creature raises its claws to its mouth, and lets loose a shrill whistle.

"Found her!"

Eve the Weavile folds her arms with smug satisfaction, and a distant rumbling begins to sound, with some large, hairy object seeming to charge towards the pair. Eve kneels down to assess Sparky's health, and the smirk is wiped from her face when she realises just how weakly the Emolga's heart is beating, "Hurry Mo! She's cold, dammit!"

"Ah'm a'comin', Eve!" Mo the Mamoswine grunts from a few metres away, crashing forwards as quickly as his stumpy legs will allow, "Good job findin' her, lass!"

"What're we gonnae do w' her?" Mo asks Eve, shuffling to a heavy halt besides his reluctant companion, "We takin' her backtae Lassie?"

"Let's just get her warm first." Eve mutters in a curt fashion, beckoning to the giant Mamoswine, "C'mon, pick her up already!"

"…oh, right!" Mo stammers, carefully scooping up the ice-cold Emolga with his trunk and placing her on his back, amidst the mounds of warm shaggy fur, "Think ye can help? Ah cannae."

"Don't look at me, I've got claws for hands." Eve deadpans, shaking her head in disapproval, "You want her made into shish-kebab, then sure, I can help. But you'll need someone else if-"

"Not you, Eve…" Mo chuckles, a nasally trumpeting escaping from his trunk, "Ah was asking Glace!"

"Of course, Mo!" Glace the Glaceon responds from the depths of Mo's shaggy fur, "I am rather good at keeping things warm!"

"…oh." Eve sighs, narrowing her eyes and staring coldly at them both, "Why'd you bring Glace along? Ros told me to go out and find her, and I asked you to come with in case I needed some muscle. Why's Glace here?"

"Sparky needed a friendly face, a'righ'?" Mo responds simply, "She knows Glace the best, so ahh thought-"

"No, you didn't." Eve shoots him down instantly, "Glace doesn't have an off switch. Now the entire journey's gonna be endless stupid questions. Are you happy with yourself?"

"Says the lass who didnae know he was here." Mo states, raising a pair of bushy eyebrows.

"…fine." Eve concedes, "But if Glace asks me a single dumb question, I'm leavin' you guys behind, got it?"

"Don't worry, Eve!" Glace calls from amidst Mo's fur, "I will concentrate on keeping friend Sparky warm! You won't even know I am here!"

"Pff, like that's possible-" Eve begins, but another condescending eyebrow waggle from Mo has her moaning with frustration, "Al-right! I get it! Can we go now?!"

"Right y'are, lass." Mo answers, moving to start charging again, "But err… where we goin'?"

"Kid said she wanted to go to the Path of Souls, right?" Eve says, pointing in the direction of the tall mountain range, so far away that it harmonises with the horizon, "So we go there. Solves both problems at once."

"B-but Ros said!"

"Ros said go save her." Eve interrupts Mo's protest, "She didn't specify what we had to do afterwards. She ain't here, and she sent me, so I'm in charge, got it?"

"…right y'are." Mo follows orders, in spite of his reluctance. With Glace keeping the tiny Emolga warm on Mo's back as he charges, and Eve flitting past alongside them, simply darting about as she pleases due to Mo's 'slow' speed, the small group heads towards the towering peaks in the distance…

'Stupid kid…' Eve thinks to herself, dashing about in the snowy fields whilst waiting for Mo to catch up with her, 'She seriously thought she'd make it there on her own? And exactly what was she gonna accomplish once she got there?'

In spite of the disdain Eve has towards the naïve young Emolga, she can't help but feel a smidgeon of respect for Sparky, "She's got guts, I'll give her that."

"Hunh?" Moe trumpets, not quite hearing Eve's muffled muttering through his charging and the howling blizzard, "What'd ye say, Eve? Didnae catch that!"

"I-I wanna tear someone's guts out!" Eve lies back, flustered at almost being heard, "But don't you worry about that! You just focus on keepin' up, dammit!"

"Gotcha!" Mo bellows back, stamping down the snowy pathways towards the mountainous peaks in the distance, "How's she daen', Glace?"

"Nothing yet, Mo!" Glace calls back to the Mamoswine, snuggling up against the ice-cold Emolga and willing her awake again, "She is really very cold!"

"Great work! Keep 'er up!" Mo puffs, charging faster still in an attempt to keep up with Eve, who is lazily slinking through the snow ahead of them, seemingly ambivalent.

The truth is, Eve is wracked with concern. She's keeping her distance from Mo because she doesn't want the Mamoswine to see her showing emotions, but the cold-hearted Weavile is worried about Sparky.

"Why the hell's she wanna come all the way out here anyway?" She asks no one, making absolutely certain she's out of earshot, "There's literally nothing here, yet the dumb kid wandered halfway there in a howling blizzard on her own? Is she just stupid, or does she know something we don't…?"

The cynical Weavile's thoughts are torn. On one hand, she simply doesn't understand why Sparky would trek out all this way, because as far as Eve is aware there's nothing out here to see. That side of her secretly wants to know why Sparky wanted to come out here, but she's also seriously tempted to just abandon the Sparky at the foot of the mountain, and leave the Emolga to her own devices.

"Kid woken up yet?" She calls back to Mo, as the mountain approaches.

"Anythin' yet, Glace?" The Mamoswine asks, glancing behind him towards the Glaceon on his back.

"She is still very cold, Mo." Glace responds, carefully nuzzling the tiny Emolga, who has warmed up considerably, but shows no signs of waking just yet, "I-I do not think she will be awaking soon."

"Gotcha." Mo says, taking in a big breath to yell back to Eve, "No' yet, Eve! Mebbe not fer a while, lass!"

"…dammit." Eve curses under her breath, "Ros'll kill me when she finds out that I skipped out on her to go save the kid…"

She envisions Phil the Abomasnow trying to quell the Froslass' rage while she inevitably searches for the three of them…


"Phil!" Ros demands, staring down the colossal Abomasnow with a glare that could've turned him to stone, "Where are the others? Lady Candice has a challenger!"

"Umm…" Phil hesitates, looking around nervously for some excuse to pin it on, "Th-they're out having a snowball fight!"

"Oh really?" Ros asks, raising a cynical eyebrow and seeing straight through the yeti's obvious lie, "Care to explain how Glace is playing? He can't throw snowballs."

"…referee!" Phil stammers, flailing for answers, "It's a one on one, and they called Glace out there to keep things fair!"

"And why are you in here on your own?" Ros narrows her eyes, "Don't you love snowball fights?"

"I-I do, but…" Phil sighs, "But I-I have a bad leg, see?!"

He points vaguely at one of his legs, trying to extend the obvious lie further, but Ros is far from impressed.

"I'm disappointed in you, Phil."

Summoning up dark blue flames, the Froslass sighs, narrows her eyes, and launches them at Phil. "THAT is for lying to me."

The gigantic yeti runs around in pain, blue wills of the wisp licking at his vulnerable hide, and Ros asks, "Why didn't you just tell me that they'd left to go save the Emolga?"

"I-I didn't wanna concern you…" Phil grunts, wincing in pain from the burn he's just acquired, but deflates in defeat, "…sorry, Ros. I guess I was being dumb, huh?"

"You were." Ros states bluntly, "But thank you for coming clean. I'll deal with the other three later."

Phil looks sheepishly back at her, and she says, "I still need help with Lady Candice's challenger however, so you can come with me."

The Abomasnow just sighs reticently, and limps after Ros, now actually sporting an injured leg.


With a shudder at the thought of thinking what horrors Ros will inevitably have planned for her and the others, she chuckles darkly, "Ehh, he'll be fine."

Standing at the mouth of a dark cave and folding her arms, she says, "no point in goin' back any time soon though, so we might as well take the kid up too. Hear that, Mo?"

"…hear what?" Mo asks, sliding to a clumsy halt and crashing to the floor beside her.

Eve sighs, and says, "We're going up, k?"

"W-we are?!" Mo splutters, stunned, "…w-wow. Didnae think ye were so-"

"I'm not." Eve forestalls Mo's incoming compliment, "But you guys'll whine if I say otherwise, so I figured I'd just keep you happy, that's all."

"B-but Phil…" Mo mumbles, concerned for the yeti's safety, "Ros wullnae be happy wae him…"

"Phil will be fine." Eve deadpans, folding her arms and staring up at the giant Mamoswine coolly, "He's a big boy now. He can take care of himself."

Glancing into the darkness of the cave, she says, "Any progress on the kid?"

"I don't think so, Eve." Glace answers from amidst Mo's shaggy fur, "She is still very-"

But the Glaceon is stopped mid-sentence by a weak shuddering, "O-oh, perhaps not!"

Glace stares enthusiastically as a pair of bleary eyes force themselves open. "Hello there, silly! You gave us a fright, you did!"

"…huh?" Sparky mumbles, her brain not quite computing what Glace said, "Wh-what…where… who?"

"You fell asleep in the snow!" Glace chimes, his face overbearingly close to the still drowsy Sparky, "S-so we saved you, friend! And now we're climbing the Path of Souls!"

"B-but I…" Sparky mumbles, barely stringing sentences together, forget attempting to understand Glace's 'unique' way of explaining things, "But I… have to go… alone."

She flails a bit, in an attempt to sit up, but her exhausted body can't even manage this simple task.

"But you can't." Eve deadpans from below, which confuses Sparky, because she still believes she is on the ground. "C'mon kid, you can barely even move right now, forget climb the Path of Souls. Accept help when you need help, dammit!"

"You're one te talk, lass." Mo 'whispers' into Eve's ear, his loud voice echoing loudly through the cave, and causing loose dirt to be shaken from the ceiling.

"But… but…" Sparky gasps, wrenching herself onto her side so she can attempt to get moving again. However, only now does she realise that she's resting upon a giant Mamoswine, and a good four or five metres off ground!

"Whoooaaa…" she murmurs, glancing down towards the ground from amidst Mo's shaggy fur. Her vision still blurry and shaking, she tumbles backwards again, and says "Really high up…"

"Look, friend Sparky!" Glace chips in enthusiastically, "You are still very dizzy, yes?"

Unable to do much else, Sparky simply nods in agreement with Glace.

"A-and you can't go on by yourself, correct?"

"I-I guess."

"Well, then it is settled!" Glace finishes jubilantly, "You cannot continue on your own, and Eve is scared of-"

"Glace, I'm warning you." Eve growls through gritted teeth, pointing at the Glaceon with one of her sharp, two foot long claws, "Don't make me use these things on you."

"Agggh, quit yer whining, Eve." Mo laughs, "Lissen, wee lass, we're takin' ye up the Pathae Souls. Ye cannae dae it on yer own, an' we're worrid. That a'righ' wae ye?"

"…whuh?" Sparky mumbled, barely understanding a word the Mamoswine just said, "What… wh-what did he-"

Eve grimaces at all the stupidity on display, and shouts, "ALL-RIGHT! Shut up, everyone!"

Three pairs of eyes stare nervously back at the Weavile, and she momentarily smirks with satisfaction at what she's accomplished.

"We're going up the Path of Souls. We all have our own reasons. So less talk, more walk, got it?"

"Got it!" Two out of three voices respond, and the small party finally enters the mouth of the cave, prepared for whatever may lie ahead.

"S-so…" Sparky shivers, "Wh-what's your reason?"

"We are assisting you, friend Sparky!" Glace answers excitedly, still snuggling up alongside her for the sake of warmth.

"That, an' Eve doesnae wanna go home yet." Mo chips in, "She says she wants tae help ye, but ahh think she's afraid'ae-"

"I said SHUT it, Mo!" Eve snaps at the giant Mamoswine, striking him with a painful shard of ice as a warning.

"A'righ', A'righ' Eve, I got it!" Mo sighs, speeding up a bit to try and keep pace with the Weavile in front. "She's scared'a Ros." He continues with a whisper, using his stomping to mask his voice.

Eve's eye is twitching from stress over the entire ordeal; however progress is finally being made. The little group slowly ventures through the twisting tunnels of Mt. Coronet; the Path of Souls.


*later…*

Beads of sweat drip down her slim, lithe body as she somersaults about, making an impressive effort to avoid attack. Her assailant, a giant floating totem known as a Bronzong, whirs closer towards her. Bronzong are generally slow and clunky, however this specimen seems to have a unique intelligence about it, and knows that, to outwit its agile opponent, it must be unpredictable.

"Ahh crap. Not again!" Eve gasps, pirouetting behind a rock for cover as the levitating bell begins to spin at a high speed, "Take cover everyone! Another Gyro Ball!"

"Zonnnng." The Bronzong drones, its low monotone echoing painfully through the cave as it launches itself forwards at an impressive speed. The rock Eve dove behind poses no obstacle, being smashed into pieces with little effort, however the bell was not expecting Eve to attack from behind it!

"Take that!" Eve cries, sinking its claws deep into the Bronzong's metallic torso and knocking it back a few feet. The Bronzong groans with pain, having Weavile's massive claws penetrating its sturdy membrane with relative ease, and struggles to set itself free.

"Get moving, you three." Eve grunts, trying her best to hold the thing back, "I'll catch you up, OK?"

"B-but what if-"

"No buts, Glace!" Eve rages, "The whole point of climbing this thing was to shepherd the kid to the top, right? Wouldn't it be a huge waste of time if none of us got there?!"

"But yer strugglin', lass!" Mo shouts, "Ye sure ye don't need some help?!"

"None of you can touch it, Mo!" Eve retorts, resorting to a bodily tackle in order to keep the Bronzong back, "It floats, so don't even think about trying an Earthquake!"

"But we don' wannae see ye get hurt, Eve!" Mo protests, stamping forwards in an effort to make his presence better known.

"And if the kid gets hurt?" Eve asks, diving out of the way once again to avoid the Bronzong as it swings past, "Then this whole thing'd be pointless, wouldn't it?"

"B-but that doesn't mean we can't help, Eve!" Glace cries, readying himself to leap forwards, "Sorry, friend Sparky. I must go!"

The Glaceon carefully separates himself from Sparky, before jumping from Mo's considerable height, landing somewhat clumsily on the cave floor, and taking a deep breath, "Hold it still, Eve! I have an idea!"

"Grr…" Eve growls, less than pleased at being ordered around by someone she didn't even want here in the first place, "You better know what you're doing, Glace!"

The Bronzong charges forwards with another powerful tackling move, so Eve counters with a slashing attack of her own. The Bronzong is knocked back a few feet once again, and temporarily stunned from the attack, so Eve cries, "Alright Glace, whatever you're doing, you better do it now!"

"Of course!" Glace sings happily, expelling a powerful Ice Beam from his depths and launching it at the Bronzong!

"That won't work!" Eve cries, "Bronzong's a Steel-type! Ice moves won't do jack!"

"Ye don't need damage, lass." Mo intercepts, speaking in Glace's stead simply because he cannot right now, "What else is ice good fer?"

"Freezing shit." Eve starts smugly, "Whaddya take me-"

But Glace's Ice Beam starts to accumulate, covering more and more of the Bronzong's body, until the entire thing is engulfed in a wall of ice!

Eve stares in amazement at the Bronzong, completely immured and helpless inside the ice, and follows it up with a smirk, "…alright, not bad." She says to the Glaceon, turning to Glace and actually sounding genuine, "You did pretty well there, Glace. For that, I will grant you exactly one dumb question, OK?"

"See lass? Toldye she'd be useful!" Mo chuckles, watching the frozen Bronzong's face. Its eyes are darting around ceaselessly, however its body remains immobile. "D'ye wannae get goin' again?"

"Might as well." Eve answers in her usual deadpan, "Time's a-wastin' otherwise. Hit us with that question, Glace!"

"Whuh? Now?" Glace responds, dumbstruck, "I, umm…"

"Of course now!" Eve scoffs, "This 'one dumb question' deal might've been as thanks, but it's a time sensitive deal. Like I said, time's a-wastin'!"

"Well err, ermm…" Glace hesitates, not used to being pressured into asking, "D-do you think being frozen would be like time travelling?"

A long silence punctuates for a while after Glace asks his question, leaving the other three pokémon literally dumbstruck by it.

"Well, err…" Mo stammers, unable to think up an appropriate response.

"I-it's a question, I guess." Eve asks, burying her face into her palm, "Why doncha ask the kid? She was basically a popsicle when we found her."

"Eve!" Mo grunts in anger, "Ye daft eejit! When'll ye learn tae be a wee bit-"

But his rage is cut short, and replaced with a mixture of fear and surprise when the surrounding area begins to shake, and cracks begin to form!

"Uh-oh…" The hulking Mamoswine mutters quietly, very aware that it could've been his own voice which caused the shaking.

"Now who's the 'daft eejit'?" Eve groans, glaring at the Mamoswine with exasperation as the ice surrounding Bronzong begins to crack, "Dammit Mo, it's gonna free itself!"

"S-sorry…" Mo murmurs, shuffling his feet self-consciously, "B-but ye-"

"Save it for later!" Eve scolds, sharpening her claws for combat once again, "Looks like the bell has a toll to pay!"

"Zzzzzonnnng!" The Bronzong drones, smashing free from its icy prison and charging into Eve with unexpected force!

"D-dammit!" The Weavile gasps, slowly pushed back by the big bell's assault, "Can't… hold it!"

"Wh-what can we do, lass?!" Mo splutters, feeling both worried for his friend's safety, and guilty for causing the situation with his own loud voice.

"Get the hell back!" Eve growls, beads of sweat tricking down the side of her face. The Bronzong's superior weight, coupled with the surprise value of its attack, means that she is losing ground fast. Mo and Glace both look on helplessly, and Eve herself is far from confident right now. That is, until…

"Nooooo!" A small voice squeaks, and a bright yellow flash bursts onto the scene, crashing into the Bronzong from the side and knocking it back!

"Zzzong!" the huge bell whines, colliding with the cave wall behind it and causing a huge rockslide. Dozens of heavy rocks crush the Bronzong from above, and all it can do is drone in pain as the mountain punishes its attacker.

"Zzz…" it pulses, the glowing red lights around its body slowly fading away, and the pupils of its eyes disappearing into nothingness. A few feet away, the bright yellow flash is covered in bruises from the collision, gasping for breath, down on one knee and, once again, scarcely conscious.

"Ho-ly crap." Eve mutters, both stunned and impressed, "Didn't see that comin'. Well done ki- err… Sparky."

Glace and Mo stare at Eve expectantly, and, feeling pressured, she adds, "A-and I'm sorry. Didn't mean what I said earlier…"

"N-no… problem!" Sparky puffs, attempting to stagger back to her feet, "I-I just… had to… help. S'all…"

"Well, ye did a great job, wee lass!" Mo laughs, scooping up the tiny Emolga with his trunk and carefully placing her onto his back again, "Wh-where'dye learn that?!"

"M-my master taught me…" Sparky whimpers, her fatigued expression slowly dissolving into one of wistfulness, when reminded of her trainer Holly, "S-she-"

"She trained you well, kid." Eve commends, folding her arms approvingly and actually smiling up at the tiny Emolga, "To take on something like that, you can tell that your trainer knew what she was doin'. I can see why you wanna climb this thing now."

Glace scrambles back onto Mo's back, preparing to once again keep Sparky warm, and asks, "S-so… was it like time travelling? W-when you got frozen and stuff?"

Eve slaps her palm to her forehead once again, however she's unable to suppress a grin this time, while Mo lets out a weird noise that sounds like a cross between a sigh and a chuckle. Meanwhile, Sparky answers simply, "Umm… I think it was more like going to sleep, actually."

"Oh, really?" Glace asks, "S-so you don't remember any-"

"And that's your quota reached for today, Glace." Eve interjects, "C'mon, Sparky's tired. Let her rest a bit?"

"Aww…" Glace sighs, however he smiles regardless, and snuggles up next to Sparky to help her stay warm. The small group continues their ascent up the mountain, not necessarily knowing what they may find, however whatever it may be, they're as prepared for it as they can be.


Author's note:

I'M SORRY! D:

So sorry for not updating in ages, guys!

I haven't had reliable internet access for the past few months (read; any), and thus haven't been able to update. A lack of motivation has also pushed this way back too, meaning it's taken AGES for me to get anything done. I'm really sorry!

But yeah, here's an update! :3

As always, I'd really love some feedback. Only three chapters to go, so please let me know your thoughts!

A big thanks to anyone who's still reading this. You're all awesome. :D