Chapter 4
Winter Wonderland
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? ? : ? ?, March 18, Unified Year 4731 - ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?, Azure Bay (?)
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Waking up from my slumber, my body shivers violently.
It's dreadfully cold today. Despite the fact that winter was well behind us, springtime didn't exactly mean that the cold and frigid weather was gone too. Winteroot town doesn't earn its namesake without good reason. This isn't because Winteroot is so far north. As a matter of fact, it's well below even the most southern of Imperial territory. But because of its altitude and climate, it can still get cold enough during this time of year that I can see my breath fogging up right before my eyes.
It's a little silly, but through my half-asleep mind I couldn't help but find the sight to be amusing. Something about being able to see my breath like this made me feel like an old Torkoal, or perhaps even a fearsome Charizard, puffing out smoke through my mouth.
In all likelihood, I probably left the window open before going to bed. The night time air is still chilly enough that being careless like this is an almost guarantee of catching a cold.
I'm also incredibly dirty. There's dust and all sorts of stuff in my fur, and I hate to admit it but there's a faint scent of body odor in here. It's unbelievable that I could have gone to bed in this kind of state. At the very least, I should have at least taken a shower before hitting the hay.
A shower…
Actually, taking a bath sounds really good. Soaking myself in a tub of hot water sounds so relaxing right around now, especially given how chilly this morning is. I think I've got a bath bomb that I bought not too long ago; now would probably be a fantastic time to try it out.
There's a dull white light that's shining onto my eyes. Despite how dark the rest of my room appears to be, it's bright enough that it's almost blinding. Or rather, it's probably just the sleep that's still in my eyes.
That said, if I recall correctly, the sunlight shouldn't get into my room in the mornings like this. My room has a window facing a westerly direction, so the only time the sun does shine through is late afternoon.
W-Woah, woah, what time is it?
I try to rub the sand out of my eyes. It's a little difficult with all these harnesses strapped onto my body, but I manage to do it.
…Harnesses…?
This isn't my bed. I definitely don't have straps like these attached to my bed.
Now that I can see properly, this isn't my room either. It's way too claustrophobic in here. Nor, for that matter, do I recall having the walls of my room lined with all these white pads and cushions.
A metallic voice abruptly breaks the silent ambience, making me jump in surprise. Its monotone voice made no effort at all to mask how unnatural it sounded.
"Escape pod has arrived at Azure Bay. Current outside temperature is negative eighteen degrees Celsius. Warning. Temperature anomaly. Current outside temperature is thirty-six degrees below database average. Caution. Extreme cold. Take precautions before exiting the escape pod."
There must be a speaker somewhere located inside this place I'm in. There's no other explanation for being able to hear that voice; it's just too small and cramped for another Pokémon to hide inside here. If there was someone else in here, I would have found them by now.
Although, none of what I'm hearing is really making any sense to me. Azure Bay? Negative eighteen degrees? Escape pod? None of these rang any bells in my head. Shouldn't I be in Winteroot town? In my own room, no less? It's awfully quiet in here as well; I can't hear dad downstairs working on his projects like he always does.
Then I remember.
Images of what happened last night start flooding my mind at an unbelievable pace; a phantasmagoria of scenes so vivid and fresh that it felt like a terrible nightmare that I had only just woken from.
But this time, even I knew that the scenes in my head were anything but dreams.
The fierce flames that engulfed the town.
The senseless slaughter of the townsfolk.
The sickening stench of blood.
All of it was real.
I clutch my head as the memories of last night fill my mind, a torrent of information faster than I'm capable or willing to process. I scream from the top of my lungs as my heart begins to beat with thunderous speed, my breaths growing short and raspy as my body went into shock.
The claustrophobic interior of the pod definitely wasn't helping. Something about the walls of the escape pod being so up close and personal makes me feel trapped inside here. It's terrifying enough that it's starting to make me panic.
I need to get out.
Frantically, I start to undo the harnesses that are keeping me strapped into my seat, pawing at the clasps desperately as I tried to free myself, before kicking the hatch with all my strength the moment the straps had come undone. I'm starting to hyperventilate as I tried repeatedly to force the hatch open, each passing moment only serving to catalyze my panicked frenzy.
As the door swung open violently, the silence of the escape pod was immediately shattered by the earsplitting scream of a fierce storm, the startling nature of it stopping me from immediately leaping out of the craft. I poked my head out of the hatch, reeling as the sharp winds snatched my breath away, before quickly looking around me to assess my surroundings.
Before me lay a vast, barren wasteland. Every surface visible was held firmly in the grasp of the icy cold, snow covering every inch of the mountainous landscape before me. Not a single tree or fern was there to grace the dreary grey expanse that stretched out before me, the colour of the snow and the sky so closely resembling each other that it would have been near impossible to tell where the horizon lay. That is, if I could even see the horizon. The raging snowstorm had made visibility so poor that I could barely see ahead of me; a condition not helped by the fact that the winds were making it a struggle to even keep my eyes open.
The painfully frosty winds had, at the very least, snapped me out of my panic. Even the icy interior of the escape pod felt positively warm and cozy compared to the outside air. Taking in a sharp breath, I slowly scanned the area around me for anything that could tell me where I was. Dad said that there was someone here I had to look for, but from the look of the place, it was hard to imagine how any Pokémon could survive in a place like this, let alone live here.
Dad…?
My eyes went blank as memories of him started to come back to me. There was no need to contemplate whether or not it had really happened; the cold wind on my fur was enough of a reminder to tell me that everything that happened last night was not a mere product of my imagination.
I can feel my legs turning to jelly. It's getting hard to stay standing out here, and my breathing has gotten raspy. Despite the howling gale, all I can hear is the sound of my heartbeat thumping away furiously.
Like the rest of Winteroot, he was gone. As much as I wished it to not be true, as much as begged for this to be some terrible joke, I knew that the only other member of my family had disappeared with the smoke and flames. He had gone, taken away from me, leaving me behind with nothing but my memories of our time together.
I had never felt sorrow so deep, so boundless as I did now. Despite having no visible wounds on my body, my heart ached like it was torn from my chest. It hurt so much that, for a moment, I wonder if I had started to suffer from a heart attack. It seemed impossible that my raging emotions would be able to cause me so much hurt.
But as I pressed down against the fur on my neck, I felt something unfamiliar. Something that I had not felt before.
It was small, cold and hard; distinctly unlike the fur around my collar.
Dad's pendant.
I let out a shriek upon remembering the locket that dad had given me, dropping back into the escape pod with frantic speed and shutting the hatch above me with renewed strength and speed. As if my life depended on it, I immediately reached into the fur on my collar to fish it out, before holding it before me with trembling paws, handling it with care like it was the most valuable thing that was ever given to me.
No… This is the most valuable thing ever given to me.
Its metallic body was cold to the touch, its surface scuffed slightly on both sides, most likely from all that rubble back in the town centre. That said, despite all that it had gone through, the locket was in surprisingly good condition, having lost none of its sheen or sparkle since last night.
With the smallest sliver of hope, I opened the locket. My disappointment was undeniable when I was only to be greeted with an empty photo frame.
I… I'm such a fool.
I can't believe I threw away that picture of dad over a reason so trivial as mine.
I hate myself.
Closing the locket with the greatest of care, I'm flooded by an emotion so immensely hopeless that I can feel my soul giving up inside of me. I'm filled with guilt so mortifying to behold that tears began to roll down my cheeks again.
No matter how I looked back at what had happened last night, the only conclusion I could come to was that dad would have been alive if I wasn't there.
Dad… I'm…. I'm so sorry… It's all my fault.
Clutching the locket with my front paws, I pressed it tight against my chest, before curling up into a sobbing wreck.
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? ? : ? ?, March 18, Unified Year 4731 - ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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I'll admit, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the snow.
While looking at falling snow from the comfort of my own home makes it appear fantastically beautiful, it definitely doesn't have the same appeal when I'm stuck outside with it. Especially when I have to walk through snow this cold and deep. It's not just that the fur on my legs and stomach get all cold and wet, but also the fact that, since I'm so small, walking through snow that's piled up like this is challenging and exhausting work.
It's been a few hours since I've left the comfort of the crashed pod, but just how many hours I can't tell. While it definitely was warmer inside there, I could feel the heat of the burnt rocket engines slowly fading away as time went by. As much as I would have liked to stay inside there for longer, getting too comfortable in that pod will almost certainly mean that it will also double as my coffin.
I've also come to the conclusion during the few hours that I've been walking that, wherever this place is, it most definitely isn't Azure Bay. I don't recall having ever heard of that place before today, but all the signs are telling me that this place can't be it.
No, this place most definitely isn't it. After all, the pod said that the current outside temperature was far too low. Not to mention the fact that, as far as I can see, this place is nothing but a frozen wasteland; a far cry from what I would consider to be a bay.
I vaguely recall dad telling me to go find someone… Was it Earnest? It's all a bit of a blur given how quickly and abruptly dad told me all that information. Not that it matters though. I'm rather sure, no, I'm certain that he's not going to be here in this wasteland.
Dad...
I trudge through the snow with heavy paws. Every step seems like a daunting endeavor, even more so now than ever given how bleak everything seems. I'm not over the realization that I'm all alone now; I want nothing more than to just stay in the pod and cry my existence away. No matter how I looked at it, there was nothing for me to possibly do in this situation, and with Winteroot gone, I had no place for me to return to. Not that it really matters though. With my lack of survival skills, I don't think I'll make it through five days in this winter wonderland.
Of course, if I gave up now, dad's sacrifice would have been for naught. Even if my eventual demise is a certainty by this point, I have to at least try my best to stay alive. For dad's sake.
I've been walking in a straight line ever since I left that pod. At least, I think I am. The fierce winds of this snowstorm keep pushing me around; it's a struggle to just stay standing in this gale. Not to mention that I have nothing around me to indicate that I'm keeping on course to wherever I'm heading. Of course, I could look up at the sun for some sort of rudimentary navigational guidance, but I have no idea what time it is right now so I can't tell if the sun is at the east or the west. Not that I can see it; the snowstorm is so strong that it's completely blotted out the sun. All I can see through my eyes are the greyish white of the snow and sky.
It's a little hard for me to tell if I'm still crying or not. The tears that stained my cheeks from bawling my eyes out earlier had completely frozen on my fur. I'm not sure if the tears have stopped, or if they're simply freezing solid the moment they roll out of my eyes, but I can't feel them flowing out any more. That's not to say that I don't feel like crying. As a matter of fact, it's taking all of my willpower to not just break down and cry on the spot. But I have to keep moving; If I stop to cry now, I'll never get going again.
I'm terrified. This isn't the first time I've been out in the wilderness; I've been to the forests around Winteroot with dad and Clay before. But I've never been in a place quite as desolate as this. Nor for this long. Or alone, for that matter.
It's certainly not helping that I have no idea where I am. I don't know of any place within the Federation that snows during the spring, let alone hold a snowstorm for hours on end. There's also a persistent thought in the back of my mind that hidden within the blizzard around me is a danger just waiting to strike. If that really does happen, I'm as good as dead; I have no defenses for myself.
Of course, the more pressing concern I have right now is to find nourishment. I'm incredibly hungry. Not so much that I feel faint, but I'm hungry enough that it's become a possessive thought. I'm reminded of the leftover soup that I had for dinner last night, and just thinking of it is making me long for it so much that, should the opportunity present itself, I might just commit a sin just to have another bowlful.
Not that there would be any soup in a place like this. I shake my head, trying to clear my mind of the thought. Such reckless thinking is going to be dangerous on my long-term well-being.
My best chances are going to be wild berries and plants… If I can find any in this snow at all.
If they're under the snow, then I should be able to smell them out. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll be able to find one sticking out from the snow, like…
…Like that…?
From the corner of my eye, I notice that there's something jutting out from beneath the snow, it's texture and appearance suggesting that, whatever it is, it's made of some sort of wood like material.
Is that a branch…? Then… could it be… a berry plant?
I run over towards it, leaping over the piles of snow since it's impossible to make any good progress by ploughing straight through it. I don't even care if they end up being oran berries. All I could think of as I dug the snow around it was that, whatever it was, if it was edible, I'll eat it.
Clearing the snow from around it, I stared down at my discovery, panting breathlessly as I examined it.
It's an old wooden sign.
I sigh upon the revelation. Not being rewarded after all that effort is a real blow; I can feel my energy draining away from me. Though, at least I've been lucky enough to find a sign that was mildly interesting.
The sign itself is old. Old beyond belief. Despite being mummified by the snow and ice, large portions of the wood have already rotted away, making the text on the sign that much more difficult to read.
R̷̡͔̯͆̎̾͠ō̴̢͈͘ừ̵̜̟͓̠̂t̷̩̭̙̗̉̍̍̕e̵̢̪̦͛ ̸̢̺̽̈́͝͝2̸̭̳͋̂̌1̴̗̾7̴̫̪͔̥́̊́
Rou… Two… Seven…? Urgh…
It's Old World language. Remnants of a civilization that had faded from existence long ago.
My ability in the language of the Old World isn't very good; I only know how to read and speak it in the most basic of sense because I got dad to teach it to me. It's not a subject that is widely taught, even in higher education, so only a tiny handful of Pokémon are really able to understand what it means. As a matter of fact, practically nobody even knows anything about the Old World, other than the fact that it was run by an intelligent bipedal species that weren't necessarily Pokémon. I'm sure that, if dad was here, he would have been able to make sense of it. But to me, given how faded the letters on it are, I can't make heads or tails of what it means.
Regardless of what it says, this isn't something edible.
By all means, this situation should have been a great disappointment. But as I kicked the snow back over the sign, I notice from the corner of my eye a dark opening within the hills of snow not too far from me.
Despite my search for sustenance, realistically speaking, food simply isn't my main concern. It hasn't been a full day since I've eaten, and despite the bleak wasteland before me, I'm still somewhat hopeful that I'll be able to find something to eat in this place.
No, the real question here is finding shelter. It doesn't matter if I have all the food in the world with me. I can feel my body heat leaving me with each passing moment. My jaw hurts from my teeth chattering for so long. If I can't find someplace where I can hide away from this relentless blizzard, I won't last another day.
Which is why, upon closer inspection, I'm as thrilled as my circumstances will allow me for having discovered this cave.
It's not just the simple matter of short-term survival. My hours of trekking through the frozen hills and mountainous terrain is enough for me to know just how remote this place really is. As much as I want to believe it not to be true, the chances of me getting rescued out here anytime soon are slim; even more so since it's unlikely that anyone is even aware of the fact that I made it out.
The reality of the situation is that I'm more than likely to stay here for quite a long time, hence why it's so important for me to find a proper place of, shall we say, residence, as opposed to a simple, rudimentary shelter. And as far as I can tell, this cave seems perfect for an extended stay.
Or so I thought. My elation is short lived, my enthusiasm fading quickly as I entered the cave entrance. The cavernous insides don't feel remotely comforting at all, and something about the way the entrance is shaped is making the sounds of the frosty gale outside echo with brutal loudness in here.
Worst of all is just how cold it is. The cold ice beneath my paws barely feels any warmer than the snow just outside, and neither does the air inside here, either. As a matter of fact, apart from the lack of wind cutting through my fur, it's just as numbingly cold in here as it is out there. Certainly, it isn't colder than the blizzard just outside, but that isn't a particularly high bar to set, nor should it be an expectation that needed to be addressed in the first place.
Hoping to escape the cold and the sheer volume of the howling winds, I carefully trudged deeper inside. But as I reached the end of the cave, I instead found an ominous looking crack in the icy floor.
Closer inspection revealed it to be a crevasse several feet wide, an opening significant enough that it made me think twice about jumping across it. Crawling up towards its edge, I cautiously peered down to find that the two walls of the split ice went down so deep that the bottom was completely shrouded in darkness. The sheer depth of it was so great that it made my head spin. Falling down this could be none other than lethal for the unfortunate victim.
I think I'll pass on this cave.
I turn around, intending to set out back into the snow when something catches my eye. Looking outside, I'm stunned to notice just how rapid evening was approaching. Either it be due to me having been walking out for so long, or simply because the sunlight fades so quickly around here, I can't tell. Either one of those would be remarkable as an answer; the daylight is fading so quickly and so soon that it's a little unbelievable.
I'm no expert on wilderness survival, but even I can tell that it would be suicide to keep walking through that blizzard at night. As cold as it is in here, staying here for the night would be infinitely better than freezing out in the open.
Making my way back into cave, making sure to keep a safe distance from the crevasse, I curled up on the icy floor, clinging onto my tail for even the smallest semblance of warmth.
At the very least, I can't smell the scent of anyone other than myself in here, so I'm sure that I won't have any unexpected visitors during my night here.
…I think I'll look for a better place to stay tomorrow.
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Approximately one o'clock, ? ? ? ? ?, Unified Year 4731 - ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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It's been about a week since I've first come to this place. Or at least I think it's been week. My perception of time is all messed up because all I've been doing since I got here is forage for food or sleep. It's just too exhausting to stay awake and suffer the relentless cold.
I can't really use the rising and setting sun to mark the passing of each day, either. The hours of sunlight per day are so terribly short, serving only to punctuate the long and cold nights that fill the rest of my waking hours. So short, in fact, that I'm certain that I must have slept through a few days' worth of daylight. There's no other explanation as to how these nights can be this long; I swear that they go on for longer than a whole day.
I've decided to stay in the cave that I had found when I first got here. It's definitely too cold in there for me to be comfortable, but the shelter does give me some respite from the relentless gale blowing outside. For now, even this is a blessing.
It's true that the smart thing to do now would be to get some sort of fire going, especially since the only thing missing from this cave is heat. That said, it's not so easy when there's hardly any usable firewood in this place. All that I can find are either too wet or too rotten to start a fire. There are a few dry sticks that I've managed to collect, but so far, I'm having no luck with them at all.
Ah… If only I could be a Flareon right now… Being able to conjure up fire at my will sounds so nice.
There's also the issue of food. My original plan to harvest winter berries from around this place have completely backfired on me for the sole reason that berries simply don't grow around here. Either that or I'm looking for them all wrong, even though I'm sticking closely to what the textbooks from school had taught me. Regardless, I've given up on looking for edible berries in this frozen wasteland.
Instead, I'm forced to strip the bark off trees, eating nothing but that for nourishment. I never expected myself to have to survive in this way, but as things are right now, this is the only way for me to survive.
It tastes disgusting. It's coarse, flavourless, and swallowing it huts my throat.
There probably isn't any nutritional value to it either.
But the feeling of my stomach getting filled is just too euphoric for me to care. Even if eating the bark off trees is detrimental to my own health, for the sake of short-term satisfaction, I've chosen to keep eating it. After all, being cold and hungry would just be too much for me to take.
Even now, out here on the snow-covered plains and mountain sides, the only thing I'm looking for are trees for me to eat. There're a small number of trees that I've found here, but I've decided to try looking for other sources of food today in hopes of finding something better to eat. Today's search is starting to look like yesterday's search: so far, no luck. There's only snow and ice as far as I can see. It's not all bad though, since the snowstorm had finally decided to die down today. Even if it's only momentary, the respite from the endless winds pushing me around is greatly appreciated. Even the sky has cleared up; it's the first time I'm seeing blue skies since I've first gotten here.
As for water, there's plenty of snow and ice around me, but no way to melt it into any form of liquid. It's probably not a wise decision, especially given how low my current body temperature is, but I've resorted to eating snow for hydration.
This sort of lifestyle behaviour is almost certainly destructive to my well-being, but all I can think of as I'm out here in the open fields of snow is that I need to find anything at all to eat.
The short window of daylight also has the added problem in that it greatly reduces the amount of time I can spend per day foraging for sustenance. Once the sun sets, there's no possible way for me to go out. It's not just the fact that it's far too dark to see anything out at night, given that the flurry of snow and wind blocks out the stars and the moonlight, but also the fact that it's simply too cold at night. I'm certain that the temperature here drops another ten to twenty degrees in the middle of the night; it's suicidal to go out during those times.
Of course, this does mean that I never seem to have enough time to look for food. Which means that, regardless of what I end up eating, there just never is enough to fill myself up completely. It's not just the fact that I'm desperate to eat tree bark, it's that I'm desperate to eat anything at all.
Speaking of destructive behaviours, I have to admit that I've begun to develop a rather unhealthy hope that dad might actually still be alive. I mean, it's unlikely, I know. But I didn't see him die with my own eyes. Not to mention the fact that, despite first impressions, he's actually one of the strongest Pokémon in all of Winteroot town. If anybody could fend off those Imperial soldiers, it was going to be him.
As a matter of fact, I've started praying. It's absurd, given that I'm not religious in any way, shape or form, but I've started begging to God, telling him or her or whoever it is that I would willingly give up my life if it meant my dad would be okay. I've been looking for a sign that would prove to me that my prayers will be answered, but so far, no luck.
On a different note, I had managed to track my way back to the crashed pod not too long ago. It wasn't easy, given that I barely remember how I got to my cave in the first place, but I somehow managed to do it.
I had made the trip back in hopes that I would find supplies in there. My thinking was that, since a life raft would carry with it some rations and supplies for the stricken seafarers, wouldn't the escape pod have something of the sort as well?
Unfortunately for me, that didn't seem to be the case. Once I did get there, all I found inside were some academic textbooks on the sciences and the Old World. There wasn't even a bottle of water.
To be fair, it's a miracle that this thing even worked that day. This thing had been sitting around in our living room for the better part of sixteen years, so the fact that dad had managed to get it in up and running order during the short time that I was out in the streets is more than an admirable feat.
Of course, now that I think about it, it makes sense that there would be nothing inside the escape pod. The thing was supposed to send me to... where was it again? Liar's Bay? Az… Azel Bay? I can't really remember where it was but it definitely isn't here. And if that thing did get to its correct destination, then food almost certainly wouldn't have been something that I needed to worry about like this.
Also, my hunch that I got when I first arrived here turned out to be right. The once warm interior of the escape pod had turned deathly cold over the few days, the heat from its rocket engines having long gone with the wind. Had I chosen to stay in that thing for any longer, I would have almost certainly frozen to death long ago.
As for the books, I ended up bringing them back to the cave. The smart thing to do would have been to leave them there; there isn't a real need for these sorts of books when survival is the only thing that matters right now, not to mention the fact that those books are properly heavy to have to carry through the snow for hours on end. But now that I have so little that I can call my own, I'm desperate to hold on to whatever little thing I can that reminds me of the home I used to have, of dad and the times we had together. Not to mention that they give me something to do other than sleep during the long nights.
Of course, if I really wanted to, I could simply just eat the pages out of the books. They'd probably have the same nutritional value as what I'm already eating since they're pretty much the same thing, not to mention the fact that paper would be substantially nicer to eat. As a matter of fact, if I wasn't so attached to those books, I recon I would have probably already eaten a good number of pages by now.
Ack… This is bad… I'm starting to drool from the thought of eating paper.
It definitely isn't helping that I've been daydreaming about food all day. I hadn't been able to find anything to eat yesterday, and given how little I can find to eat around here, I'm absolutely famished. I'm craving food so much that I swear I can smell the sweet scent of ripe berries.
Then I stop.
I sniff the air again.
Pecha berries.
I wasn't imagining it. This is the unmistakable sweet aroma of a ripe pecha berry. Even with my severely dulled sense of smell, the cold having stuffed my nose, I can still pick up on the luscious scent of the berries.
My body tenses up as I kick myself into high alert. The smell of it would have been enough to drive me into a ravenous frenzy, and in all likelihood, I probably would have immediately made a run for the source of the smell were it not for the other odor that accompanied the sweet perfume of fruit.
The unmistakably cheesy whiff of body odor.
Somebody else is there with the berries.
I'm momentarily stunned at the realization. Ever since I had arrived here, I had thought it impossible for anybody to actually be here. So much so that the fact that I had not met anybody during my time here seemed perfectly reasonable to me.
If it's a resident of this hostile territory, then it's not entirely out of the question that their personality would reflect the landscape. I can't just charge in for the prospect of earning a berry or two.
Now definitely isn't the time to be rash and reckless.
…But I still need that berry.
I swallow hard, trying to force down the lump that had formed in my throat. Despite salivating like a rabid Poochyena, my throat feels dry from just how nervous I'm starting to feel. I'm undeniably feeling on edge just from imagining the confrontation that might occur, but this isn't an opportunity that I can pass by.
With tense determination, I step towards the smell.
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Approximately one o'clock, ? ? ? ? ?, Unified Year 4731 - ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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I guess there really are other Pokémon that live here.
That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I looked down at the scene from my vantage point atop a snow-covered mound. Despite the irrefutable evidence before me, it was still a little hard to comprehend the fact that there really was someone who lived up here on this barren wasteland. Is he the only other Pokémon to live here? Or does his existence mean that there are others here as well?
He's definitely not some sort of explorer or backpacker. For starters, he has no exploration gear. And I don't imagine explorers to be carrying armfuls of berries. It seems like such an inefficient method of bringing supplies on a long voyage. Not to mention that they'd probably have something to eat that would last longer than pecha berries. No, this Pokémon is definitely a resident of this place.
It's a little disheartening to find out that he's not a voyager of some sort. Along the way here, I had dared to let myself hope that whoever I met was going to be an explorer of some sort; perhaps then I might actually have a chance of getting off this wretched landscape. But as things are now, my mind is so preoccupied with other things that my disappointment is less than fleeting.
Beneath me, at the foot of the mound was a lone Abomasnow. Male, holding about ten pecha berries, and absolutely massive in size.
Were Abomasnow always that big…?
I hadn't really thought about it until now, but now that I'm seeing him it's occurred to me just how intimidating it would be if the Pokémon I met was much bigger than me. I'm hopeless at social interactions with normal Pokémon, even more so with those that have a terrifying first impression or appearance.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I should have expected this from the moment I chose to come here. Now isn't the time to shy away from talking to someone else. The first step is always the most nerve-racking, but it's easy to keep walking downhill once I start moving.
Moving down the mound, I'm starting to see him with more clarity. There's no mistaking the fact that he's incredibly powerful. Despite how large he is, even I could feel the immense amount of strength and energy that lay beneath his shaggy fur. Like his stench, his aura of strength is overwhelming.
There was something quite primeval about the sort of energy that I was feeling from him. His body didn't have the bulky, pumped up look of a body builder or a well-trained soldier. As a matter of fact, it would be an understatement to say he was overweight. That said, despite his layers of fat and fur, even I could tell that he was fit; his body toned in a way that only years of hard living could make.
There's another question that's arisen in my mind. Is his sense of smell not as good as mine? I'm only a few feet behind him now. Surely, he must be able to tell that I'm here. After all, given that I hadn't washed once since I got here, I'm certain that I must be giving off a rather ghastly odor myself.
I'm tempted to just wait here until he realizes I'm here, but the sound of him eating those pecha berries is driving me crazy. I don't want to, but…
…Looks like I'll have to start the conversation.
"Umm… E-Excuse me…? Mister…?"
I pause, contemplating the best way to approach the request.
"C-Could… C-Could you please spare j-just one berry for me…?"
I have to admit, I'm feeling rather proud of how I managed to say my line. Given that I'm usually so hopeless at this, I'm feeling pretty good about how I managed to say what I needed to say without stammering or stuttering too much.
It's a shame, really, that the Abomasnow in front of me hasn't noticed. Or maybe he couldn't. He wasn't able to smell me when I got near, so it wouldn't really be a surprise if he can't hear me as well.
Maybe he'll hear me better if I speak up a little.
"Umm… M-Miste-"
"I heard you the first time. Piss off, kid."
Well… That's certainly one way to introduce yourself.
It may be silly, but his response was in some ways a little relieving. Of course, it wasn't the response I was wanting, but it certainly was better than the response I was expecting. Hearing him speak with that low, rumbly voice of his was reassuring in the fact that I was talking to someone who was capable of speech, or even normal social interaction, for that matter. As a matter of fact, I couldn't help but be slightly thrilled upon finding someone who was capable of communication. I hadn't realized how much I had craved the company of someone else until now.
Of course, this doesn't detract from the fact that he isn't willing to share. I've started talking with him, so I might as well keep pushing.
"P-Please, mister, I haven't had any proper food since I got here-"
"Ain't my problem."
It's rather demoralizing to have him cut me off mid-sentence when it's taken me so long to muster up the courage to talk to him. I'm not quite ready to throw in the towel, but I have to admit that this approach isn't working. If he's not willing to share any of his berries, then there must be a different way for me to get some food.
"T-Then can you please t-teach me how to look for berries?"
He smirked in reply, a toothy grin that sent shivers down my spine.
"Teach? Heh, sure. I'll teach you how to suck my dick, that's what."
I stood, staring straight at him, shocked at his response. I was expecting him to be unhelpful but I certainly wasn't expecting this.
It's only now dawned on me that this Abomasnow was about as wild a Pokémon you could find in this day and age. There's no society here, no order, and no law. There's nothing here to stop him from sexually assaulting me other than my own strength to defend myself. The fact that he was from a different egg group as mine isn't going to stop him either; it's well known that Pokémon from different egg groups can still have sexual intercourse; they just can't successfully create biological children.
I'm just starting to realize that expecting some random stranger I just met in the middle of nowhere to be as civilized as the rest of the Pokémon I knew was incredibly naïve of me.
Closing my eyes shut tight, I braced myself, expecting him to make a move on me. But having felt nothing happen for quite a while, I slowly opened my eyes to realize that he was still eating his berries with his back towards me.
As a matter of fact, he hasn't looked at me once this whole time.
It wasn't that he has no intention to do what he claimed he was going to do. It was just that, through his eyes, I was such a minor annoyance that it wasn't worth spending any time or energy to actually deal with me.
My stomach, indifferent to the situation, grumbles loudly, upset that it hasn't been fed yet.
I take a deep breath, pushing my worries to the side.
This isn't working.
It dawns upon me that coaxing him to donate a berry for my cause isn't going to work. Perhaps things may have turned out different if I was a smoother talker, or even just a less awkward Pokémon. But the reality of it is that I'm not. I'm left with the option of either giving up and walking away, or try to take it from him by force. None of those seemed appealing.
Were it any other day, I would have just gone back home, or in this case, my cave. But it's been a week since I've had any actual nourishment and I'm growing increasingly desperate for food with each passing day. Sure, eating tree bark will fill me up, but even I know that it was only going to be a short-term solution.
It's also clear by this point that I'm not going to be able to forage for berries. The only time I'll find substantial food is in a situation like this, and given how long it took me to even find this Abomasnow and his stash of pecha berries, I don't think I'll survive to see my next opportunity if I don't get some today.
As it stands now, the only way I'll survive for a few more days until my next lucky break is to get one of those berries. Now. Giving up on it will mean that I'm as good as dead.
I look back up towards him. He's completely preoccupied on his armful of berries, his back towards me.
It would probably be smarter to think this through a little, but with the opportunity having presented itself, I can't afford to waste time.
I never thought I'd actually find a need for this move… Thanks, dad.
I start running towards him, keeping my eyes locked onto him. I've never used this move before, but I know I can do it properly. I was born with it.
I don't put any effort into running as fast as I can. After all, my objective isn't to hurt him.
No, what I'm looking for is the second ability that this move has.
"…Covet."
I whisper the attack under my breath to activate it, not wanting to let go of the element of surprise. It's the perfect tool for a thief; so much so that I could never use it in the past due to my own overly self-righteous conscience. But desperate times call for desperate measures. When my life is on the line, I have to do all that I can to survive.
I leap up towards him, aiming straight for him. Just as I'm about to make contact with him, he turns around and finally notices me making a move on him. He sidesteps to try and avoid me, but he's a fraction of a second too late. My move only grazes him, but that's more than enough for my attack to do its thing. In a blink of an eye, I'm back on the ground, holding a pecha berry between my teeth.
Without hesitation, I immediately begin eating it.
Despite having frozen solid, the pecha berry was overly ripe, bordering on the rotten. Had I found this in the fridge while I still lived at home, I would have most definitely thrown it in the trash.
There was a faint, alcoholic whiff to its aftertaste; no doubt a result of the pecha berry beginning to decompose. But it was nowhere near enough to distract from just how sweet and delectable the berry was. As a matter of fact, I relished its juicy flesh as I ravenously ate it. After a week of tree bark, this pecha berry tasted like the most delicious thing I had ever eaten.
I was still basking in the residue flavours of the pecha berry when I was suddenly hit on the head by a small, hard lump. I looked up, confused and a little irritated that something had interrupted my meal, when I realized that the sky had turned dark.
A hailstorm had started to brew around me, its intensity blotting out the sun.
Turning around, I noticed that the Abomasnow had gotten himself into a battle stance, his body rearing to fight, the armful of pecha berries laying on the frozen earth by his feet.
This hailstorm isn't natural. He's making it happen with his ability.
And if his ability had activated, then there's no denying that he's serious about fighting.
"You just signed yer own fuckin' death warrant, kid."
His voice was cold and harsh. His words drained the blood from my cheeks.
I was expecting him to get angry or upset. Perhaps even a confrontation. I definitely wasn't expecting a fully-fledged fight.
I don't even bother explaining myself to him. If he wouldn't listen to me when I asked nicely, he's definitely not going to listen to me now.
I turn around and start to run.
Despite the terror of the earth shaking with the Abomasnow's heavy footsteps, I have to say that I'm feeling pretty good. That pecha berry had left me finally feeling properly full for the first time since I got here, and I can already feel energy flowing back into me. I have the strength needed to get away from him. It's also somewhat of a relief that the one chasing me is an Abomasnow. They aren't known to be fast or agile Pokémon, and seeing the one chasing me lumbering behind me kind of proves that point. I'm not a fast runner, but I have no doubt that I'll be able to outrun him.
Or at least I thought.
My fragile enthusiasm was shattered when the Abomasnow's foot came crashing down right next to me. Though it didn't hit me, the force of it coming down had kicked up so much snow that it sent me tumbling over to my side. I hurriedly get back on my paws, scampering away just in time to avoid his other foot.
He… He caught up to me!
I'm shocked at the realization that he's faster than me. Only just, and by a slim margin, but he can definitely outrun me. And with this hailstorm that he's conjuring up, it simply isn't possible for me to run as fast as I normally can.
I wonder if it's because he's so huge that he's that fast. I mean, he doesn't appear to look very quick on his feet, but his sheer size does mean that his stride covers a gigantic distance with each step. Is this the benefit of evolution? I know that it can increase one's capabilities, but the fact that an Abomasnow could outrun an Eevee seemed ridiculous.
Or maybe it's because I'm so small compared to him. I'm a lot nimbler than him, that much I can tell. But no matter how fast I move my paws, I can't cover quite as much ground as he can.
Is that it? Is that why I can't outrun him? Because I'm smaller than the average Eevee? Curse my tiny size!
I turn around to face him, panting a little as I looked him in the eye. He has an absolutely terrifying glare that held my attention against my will.
If running away won't work, my only option now is to wear him down. Once he's exhausted from using up his moves, I'll finally get my chance to escape.
There's only a slim chance that it'll work; I'm not even sure if I have the stamina to last that long. But as of right now, that's my best option. Or rather, it's my only option. Either that or surrender to him. And if he chooses not to kill me after I throw in the towel, then…
Err… I'd rather not think about that.
The Abomasnow had also stopped chasing after me, slowly coming to a halt a good distance away. Despite his incredible bulk, he doesn't appear to have broken a sweat from all that chasing.
"What, yer actually gonna try and fight me? Even while yer legs are shaking like a newborn Deerlin'?"
He threw his head back as he roared with ferocious laughter, his cackling so loud that it made the ground tremble.
Contrary to what he said, this isn't a fight. No, this can't be a fight. Under all circumstances, I have to make sure that this doesn't turn into a fight. There's no way in hell that any of my attacks will have any meaningful impact, and I have a bad feeling that getting hit by any one of his moves will prove fatal for me.
The Abomasnow hunkered down, getting ready to attack.
"Don't underestimate me, kid! Icy Wind!"
He roared with a deafening voice as he summoned up a gale of fierce winds towards me. I braced myself for the attack, but the frigid winds still forced me to gasp as it blew onto me, sucking the air out of my lungs as it drained the heat out of my body. The frozen winds were so violent that the air whipped against me with staggering strength, leaving cuts and gashes all over me as I struggled to weather the storm.
Then I start getting pelted by hail.
His attack is blowing all the hail towards me; I'm being bombarded by thousands of the frozen pellets, the rock-hard lumps of ice battering my head. I duck down, pressing my body against the ground as I was assaulted with frozen winds and ice, waiting for the attack to end.
It felt like an eternity, but the frosty gale slowly died down. His attack over, I slowly stagger back up onto my paws, breathing with slow, heavy breaths. I'm battered and bruised all over, but I'm still standing. I guess the past week of living here had trained me up a little bit.
Even the Abomasnow looked surprised as I looked back up at him.
"Yer not dead?"
Something about catching my opponent off guard like that was oddly satisfying. Surviving his initial attack was a great confidence boost too. Now, more than ever, I'm determined to see this through.
"Yer tougher than you look, kid."
His surprise gave way to a sinister, toothy grin.
"Looks like I'll get to have a little fun then. Mist."
The ground around me suddenly began to accumulate a low hanging haze with surprising speed, the fog-like mist seemingly appearing out of nowhere. In my attempt to look for its point of origin, I had managed to lose track of where the Abomasnow was, finding myself surrounded by the vision obscuring clouds.
Hearing the snow crumple behind me, I quickly turned around, only to be met with more of the same greyish haze. Almost immediately after, my ears picked up on the same sound to my right, but once again I was greeted with nothing but a blurry void. I don't think I'm imagining this sound, but I can't fathom what it is that's making it.
I grit my teeth as I start looking around me. The only thing I can think of that can possibly be making that noise is that Abomasnow, but it seemed impossible that someone as big as him could move around me that quickly. Have I been underestimating his capabilities up until now? Or is it something else entirely?
Are my ears playing tricks on me…?
I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts.
Focus, Kiteki. Now isn't the time to lose concentration.
With my sense of vision giving me nothing valuable, it was crucial now more than ever that I pay attention to my surroundings with any of my other senses. It would be all too easy for him to sneak a surprise attack on me right now.
I'm in the middle of trying to calm myself down when the Abomasnow's loud voice abruptly echoes around me.
"How'd you like it, kid? Not bein' able to see someone as big as me when I'm right next to you? Terrifying, ain't it?"
He's got me there; this isn't a pleasant experience.
"But I've only just begun, kid. Ice Shard."
A spear of ice flashes past me, slicing through the air just a fur's length away from me. Startled, I immediately jumped away, just in time to dodge another frozen lance that had struck the snow right where I had once stood, the icicle sticking out from the ground like a thrown dagger stuck to a wall.
That… That was close…!
The mist filled with thunderous laughter, his voice seemingly coming from everywhere around me.
"I've got plenty more where that came from! I wanna see you dance, kid!"
My ears twitched, alerted to the incoming attack by the sound of ice crystalizing rapidly. I dived to my side as a salvo of shards sailed past me with blistering speed, leaping back onto my paws as I prepared to dodge the next strike.
My body's starting to ache from how much I'm exerting myself. My heart is pounding in my chest, and were it not for the adrenaline rushing through my bloodstream, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to keep doing this.
That said, I'm not the only one here who has a limit. The Abomasnow doesn't look like he's breaking a sweat, but every Pokémon has a finite amount of times he or she can use their attacks. He can't keep doing that forever.
I just have to keep this up until he expends all his power. It's not going to be easy, but given how quickly he's launching those ice shards at me, it'll come sooner rather than later. It'll take a while, but if I can just keep this up, I should be able to weather the storm.
Of course, that's what I thought. Right up until my paw snagged against the shard of ice that had impaled the ground next to me just a short moment ago.
Ah… I… I forgot about that…
Tripping over the lump of ice, I landed face first into the snow below. It was surprisingly soft, the gentle coldness soothing against my battered and bruised body. I begged my body to get back up, but it demanded that I stay on the soft snow for just a moment longer.
I'm halfway through staggering back up onto my paws when a blow hits my shoulder, hard enough to knock me off my paws and back onto the ground.
For a moment, I'm stunned. I don't recall seeing anything come towards me. It felt like a hard punch, but I don't recall seeing the Abomasnow charging up towards me during the brief few seconds that I was down on the ground.
I turned to look at where I had been hit, expecting to see a large bruise.
Instead, I see a shard of ice as big as my ear sticking out from my shoulder.
The icy lance was lodged deep into me. So deep that I could feel its deathly chill on my bones, though whether it was because the shard was touching my shoulder bone or because it had punched right through it, I couldn't tell. Despite the frosty coldness of the ice shard, my body felt disgustingly warm. The pain of having been impaled by his attack was only just starting to come to me, leaving me feverish and gasping for air. The embedded icicle, which was once a crystal-clear blue, slowly stained red as my blood oozed out from my stab wound.
I can't feel anything below my wounded shoulder. I can't even move my body without feeling a staggering amount of pain. I tried to get up, but the agony left me feeling light headed and faint.
My run was over. I'm done.
The Abomasnow slowly appeared through the thick mist, walking slowly over towards me. It's a little hard to read his expression; my vision is starting to fail. Everything's starting to turn a deepening shade of red.
"Yer a disappointment, kid. Fer a second, I thought you was gonna impress me."
I guess it was silly of me to expect myself to be able to keep up with a veteran of this frozen wasteland. My plan was bound to fail from the start.
I gasped with a pained voice as the Abomasnow reached down and pulled out the frozen shard, my body writhing in agony as blood gushed out from the gaping open wound. The pain was excruciating, but by this point I had worn myself out so much that I could do nothing other than squeeze my eyes shut and let out a sigh in defeat.
"It's over, kid. Wood Hammer."
All I could do was wait patiently as the Abomasnow readied to strike his finishing blow, my eyes having glued shut from the blood that had dried between my eyelids. A part of me wished for him to hurry up; the release of death seemed so sweet compared to the agony that I was going through.
As I'm lying here, blood spluttering out of my open wound, I can't help but grin upon the realization that I was about to die because of a berry. I mean, sure. It was certainly the most important berry of my life, but it was still just a berry. And a rotten one at that.
He must have spotted my grin because, for a brief moment, he stopped charging his attack, letting out a surprised grunt as he did so. I can't blame him; the sight of a half broken Eevee grinning enthusiastically while bleeding profusely was understandably disturbing.
"…Crazy brat."
I hear the air whistle as he brings his arm down towards me.
"Don't you think that's far enough, Ivan?"
His strike doesn't connect.
A silky voice suddenly disrupts the ominous ambience, her voice soothing in comparison to the Abomasnow's harshness. I don't hear his arm coming down at me either; whatever the owner of the new voice did, she's managed to save my life.
I stirred on the frozen earth, trying unsuccessfully to find the owner of the newfound voice. Of course, it was all meaningless, given that my eyes were still glued shut.
"Wisteria? The fu-… When'd you get here?"
His response to her entrance made my head race with a slew of thoughts as I tried to comprehend the situation.
My savior's name is Wisteria…? And wait, Ivan? Is that the Abomasnow? These two know each other? Wait, does… Does this mean that there are others as well…?
"You're letting off so much malice, dear. It's making everyone quite tense."
So, there are others out here.
I'm amazed at how calm this Wisteria Pokémon is being around Ivan. Now that I have some semblance of understanding on just how powerful the Abomasnow really is, I could never imagine myself being so calm and collected around him like she was being. Unless, of course, I was somehow just as powerful as he was.
"Stay outta this. Y'know this is how things work around here."
Ah… So, he's always this unamiable. I thought it was just me.
Despite that, Wisteria didn't sound to be fazed by his response at all.
"My, my~. What a big, strong Pokémon you are, threatening to kill a mere child."
Yes… Wait, yes! Yes! Finally, someone with a modicum of common sense!
If I could, I would have applauded her response. Her almost mocking reply felt like a breath of fresh air after what I had gone through. I can't tell if she's a friendly soul or not; I don't even know what she looks like. But whoever it is, I like this Pokémon already.
Even Ivan seemed disgruntled by her, letting out an unsatisfactory grunt as he grumbled back at her.
"…Bitch."
Though my lips refused to move, my soul smiled victoriously upon hearing him swear. I may be broken and bleeding, but I feel like I've won in the end. After all, I got the pecha berry and I'm still alive, if only just.
Though, I have to say, I'm still a little confused about the slender fingers that were scooping me up from the frozen earth. These definitely aren't Ivan's chunky fingers, so it must be Wisteria who's picking me up.
Ivan speaks up. He's noticed it too.
"What're you doin'?"
"I'll be taking her with me, thank you."
Wait… What…?
Today's being a real rollercoaster of a day. Finding the pecha berry would have made today more than an eventful day, but all of the things that happened afterwards is something I could really have done without. And now Wisteria's taking me with her? Taking me where? I'd love to ask, but my body's far past it's limits; I can't move my body at all, let alone talk.
"Whatever."
Ivan doesn't seem to really care, seeing that he's not that invested in killing me. Or is it because of Wisteria? If so, then just what kind of a woman is she?
At least, wherever this Wisteria is taking me can't be worse that where I am right now. As a matter of fact, I've never felt as safe as I do now since getting here. My body aches from being lifted up off the ground, but it's undeniably comforting to be held in her arms like this.
"It'll be alright, dear."
A gentle breeze ruffles my bloodstained fur. She's started to move, but I can't feel her footsteps, making it an uncannily smooth and comfortable experience.
I let my thoughts fade as I sighed with a heavy breath. I don't really care anymore where she takes me. It's a hunch, but I've got a feeling that I'm going to be alright.
For the first time since I arrived in this winter wonderland, I let myself relax as I slipped out of consciousness.
