Daria felt the cold winds try to steal her hat as she looked out from the bow of the Aether Foundation boat. Snowpoint City was drawing closer, shining in the sunlight with layers of the snow it was named for. Daria leaned forward while holding onto her hat, trying to take in more of the city. She could see groups of Wingull and even a Delibird flying above the city, in the water a school of Mantine jumped next to the boat.
As the boat slowed down to dock, Daria was approached by her research partner, Todd Snap. "First time in Sinnoh?" Todd asked. Unlike Daria he wasn't a member of the Aether Foundation, but it was paying him to help out with the mission. When investigating rumors of brand new Pokémon it helped to have a skilled photographer, one whose shots wouldn't be blurry and out of focus.
"And my first real research mission. I hope these mysterious Pokemon turn out to be something exciting," Daria said. "Oh and you know, that we're able to safely observe them and make sure they're safe. Ah, I used safe too much in that sentence." Daria brought her palm to her face.
"It's fine. Enthusiasm will help you out a lot," Todd said.
"I don't know, it feels unscientific. What really matters is getting good data on these Pokemon, assuming the stuff we heard really is about a new kind of Pokemon." Daria looked out towards Snowpoint Temple, which stood at the northern most point of Sinnoh's most northern city. One of the reports they had gotten concerned sightings of unfamiliar Pokémon inside of it, but only brief glimpses. There were reports of a different new Pokemon a reasonable distance from the city as well. She hoped there was merit to the reports, and that she didn't screw up.
The boat smoothly came to a stop in the harbor. Daria and Todd walked off the ramp into the city. Professor Rowan was waiting for them. He was holding a briefcase in his right hand. "Hey professor, good to see you again. This is Daria from the Aether Foundation," Todd said.
"Nice to meet you," Daria said. She gave a quick bow.
"And to you as well. How has Mirror been doing with his recent breakthroughs?" Rowan asked.
"Obsessively studying in his lab as usual, unfortunately. His assistants promised me they'd harass him into taking a break somehow," Todd said. He held the back of his head.
"That sounds like him, always overestimating what can be learned in a laboratory alone. But enough gossip, shall we get going to route 217?"
"Huh, but Snowpoint Temple is right there," Daria said. She pointed towards it for emphasis.
"The local government is very protective of it. We need more time for the required forms to be filled out, and that's with the strings I pulled. It should be ready tomorrow," Rowan said.
"But we got that started before we left Aether Paradise. Ugh, I hate bureaucrats." Daria stomped her foot on the ground. Her new snow boots would get a chance to prove themselves at least, but for the moment they felt a bit clunky to her.
"It'll be fine," Todd said. "As long as there isn't a blizzard there. Which there is most of the time."
"So it probably won't be fine," Daria said.
"Complaining won't change anything. Now let's go and see if there really are new Pokémon awaiting us," Rowan said.
Mercifully, route 217 was not experiencing a blizzard like it was prone to do. It was a calm expanse of snow and evergreen trees wearing a blanket of snow, with snow capped mountains forming a natural barrier for the route. Walking in the snow had proven frustratingly slow and tedious to Daria, it was piled up so high that each step took time to sink in and leave behind obvious tracks. Daria's mood had also dropped when Rowan and Todd told her one angry Abomasnow would be enough to cause a blizzard. As such she made a point of keeping an eye out for wild Snover as they walked, lest one of their parents decide she was getting too close and change the weather. She noticed Todd was starring at a tree with scratch marks on it, which he took a photo of. "What's special about that tree?" Daria asked.
"Those are markings left by Weavile, it's how they communicate. Todd, those pictures are useful, but remember what we're really here for," Rowan said.
"I know, I would have staked out that spot so we could see Weavile reading it otherwise," Todd said. He turned his attention back to what was ahead. "The sightings were by the base of the mountains, so we should get closer to it."
Right as Daria feared nothing would happen or show itself, her foot dropped right through the snow. It felt like taking a normal step, not slowly being dragged down. The next step shared that strange normality. Todd and Rowan had also picked up on the strangeness. Rowan picked up a clump of snow in his hands, revealing a hollow space beneath it. Todd snapped a picture. "I wonder if this is connected to the Pokémon?" Daria asked.
"There!" Todd shouted. Daria looked and only caught a faint glimpse of something entering a cave in the mountain. "Take a look at this." Todd held out his camera for Daria and Rowan. He had captured a picture of the Pokémon just in time.
The Pokémon looked like Paras, with many changes. The mushrooms on its back were gone, a smooth metal coat covered it instead. There was more bulk to it than the normal Paras. The head was larger, with the eyes having also increased in size proportionally. Six metallic teeth stretched out from the mouth with an inward curve. There were no markings on its forehead, two antennae resembling short metal rods stuck out from it instead. Its legs were also longer. And it was a dull grey color, resembling either snow or stone, aside from the dark metallic parts.
"I see, so Paras has adapted to the colder climate here. Tochukaso don't do well in the cold, so the Paras were likely freed of their parasite and that set off all the other changes," Rowan said.
"Great job, you really are an expert photographer Todd. Come on, it should be in the cave." Daria took off towards the cave, taking big steps to lower the chances of stepping on a Pokémon lurking beneath the snow.
Inside the cave, Daria caught sight of the Paras with her own eyes. It was scooping up a small rock into its mouth. There were two other Paras looking for a good meal. Another ran in between Daria's feet. She looked behind and saw a small opening in the snow, or rather start of a tunnel through the snow. Todd and Rowan caught up to her, stepping over the snow just outside the cave to maintain some part of the snow tunnel.
Todd snapped several pictures, one was of the snow tunnel entrance, the rest were of the Paras. Daria held out her Unovan model Pokédex and activated the type scanner.
"Wow, they're not even bug types anymore, this says these guys are pure steel type," Daria reported.
"That is surprising. I know Paras's grass typing was due to the mushroom parasites, but these ones still look like bug types. My guess would have been both bug and steel for their typing," Todd said.
"Maybe they stopped being bug types to make sure the parasites stayed away? Ah I'm sorry that sounds so unscientific," Daria said.
"Don't apologize for and degrade your own observations. It isn't hard to see how anti-parasite measures would spread amongst Paras, even to the point of a complete typing change," Rowan said. As they spoke another new Pokémon came into view from further in the cave, a variant of Parasect.
Without the Tochukaso to drain and puppeteer it, Parasect had more bulk and height than its Kantonian counterpart. The eyes were like those of its younger form, wide and alive, and it had a peaceful expression on its face. It kept many of the traits the Paras around it had, only scaled up, such as its teeth and antennae. The ends of its antennae now resembled eyes. On Parasect's back was what resembled a small rocket launcher, the kind found on top of a tank, with six slots forming a circle that had a seventh in the center. The six that formed the circle were loaded with icicles.
Parasect came upon a boulder and began pushing it. Then Parasect stopped and stepped backwards. The antennae retracted. One of the icicles on its back was shot out, colliding with a stalactite on the ceiling of the cave. The stalactite fell and crashed into the boulder, shattering it. The Paras cheered and began dining on the debris. Parasect scooped up a large chunk of rock into its mouth, antennae extending back out. It formed a new icicle in its back to use as ammunition.
"I had no idea Parasect would be so cool without the parasite to hold it back," Daria said. She pulled out her Pokédex to run another scan. "Steel and ice."
"Ice type you say? The route outside happens to be home to a certain rock with the same evolution inducing abilities as an ice stone, only spread out in a wide radius. That may have been a factor with these Parasect's evolution, or not, that remains to be seen. I have an ice stone and other evolution triggers in my briefcase we could use for a test, but for now we should observe with minimal interference," Rowan said. Todd's hands fidgeted. Rowan raised an eyebrow.
"It's fine, I'm just resisting the urge to throw fluffruit at them to see what happens. And I don't even have any fluffruit on me," Todd said.
"What? Why would you just randomly throw fruit at Pokémon?" Daria asked.
"To see if they like fruit, how they eat, and how they react to a fruit hitting them in the head? fluffruit are very light so it doesn't do any harm," Todd said. He took pictures as he talked. Daria opened her mouth, Rowan gave her a look. Daria closed her mouth, with how Todd responded she doubted he would understand her point about throwing fruit at Pokémon being mean. She figured that if he had actually harmed Pokémon the Aether Foundation wouldn't have hired him.
"We should stop blocking the exit," Rowan said. He walked to the side of the cave, at a distance from the Paras and Parasect. Daria and Todd joined him. Parasect moved towards the exit, stopping to look at the humans. Then it faced outside and retracted its antennae. Snow blasted out from the center of the launcher on Parasect's back, the sound Parasect made before launching reminded Daria of an ice machine. It fired in repeated bursts until the snow was piled up. Then it used its forelegs to dig a tunnel through the snow. The Paras followed behind it.
"That was amazing! Parasect is so smart, now I really can't forgive what the Tochukaso did to its relatives in other regions. And those Paras were so cute, did you see how happy they looked when Parasect broke up the boulder for them?" Daria remembered herself and cringed. Rowan raised a finger to his lips.
"Your love of Pokémon needs no retraction. It's why Parasect didn't consider us a threat, allowing us to observe it so closely. People like you are what we need to learn even more about the Sinnohan form of Paras and Parasect. Was what we saw a normal or abnormal social group? How does Paras become Parasect in Sinnoh, is the icy rock's presence a coincidence or the key? The research has just begun, but it is off to a strong start. So be proud of yourself," Rowan said.
"Thank you professor," Daria said. The words didn't feel like enough to Daria, but she recognized that doubting herself would go against Rowan's whole point.
"Let's head back to Snowpoint City and report our findings. I got some great photos," Todd said. Daria took point as the group left the cave. She wanted to see where Parasect and the Paras had gone, but it was best to let the Aether Foundation know about the discovery first so a larger research team could be assembled. And there was also the other reports of unknown Pokémon in Snowpoint Temple to investigate. She was so excited that the deep snow barely registered as an annoyance to her.
A/N: Aside from this and the next chapter, the rest should be standalone. This fic is less of a story and more a showcase of ideas for regional forms for Pokémon, so updates will just be whenever I get ideas. Though at the moment I have quite a few.