Location: Home, Bedroom
Date: July 8th

Okay...Lyra was in a bad mood this morning and she blamed it on my falling asleep on her last night.

I mean, I felt bad for doing that when she was enthusiastically ranting, but...she knew I was tired. It'd been established since morning that I was tired. We went to bed late these past few nights and still got up early these past few mornings. Sleep deprivation is a very real thing, and last night I was simply too tired to listen to her ranting. I apologized and tried explaining that to her, but beyond my apology she refused to listen.

"See, you said you're sorry yet you're still talking meaning you weren't really sorry to begin with."

I asked her if it was so wrong of me to want to explain my perspective, so she could understand why I did that wrong thing? I recognized that I was in the wrong. Was I also wrong to think she wanted to know my side?

Without answering me, Lyra left the room all snooty-like. That...that's not like her at all. Did something happen yesterday? Did she talk with Ampharos or some of the other Society members and somehow develop a sour opinion of me?

Hmm. Whatever her problem, she needs to get the hell over it. I can't make things better if she won't talk to me. Besides falling asleep on her, I didn't do anything wrong that could've upset her. If she's gonna be like this, maybe we should just...not explore together today.

Hm. I was heated when the idea hit me, but as I calmed down, I realized that wasn't a bad idea. A day of doing our own thing sounded nice. We could use some time apart.

Location: Lively Town Plaza

Lyra was gone by the time I got into town. Since I had our Expedition Gadget and Connection Orb, I didn't think she went on a rescue mission. I asked around if anyone knew where she was going. None of the town Pokémon knew, but Buizel came and met me next to Klefki's shop, Rockin' Lock. He said that she was sent off on a mission in the Leafy Highlands.

Wait, so...Lyra had her own mission to go on and she didn't bother telling me? That's a little...

Okay...? Okay. Fine. She wants to keep that to herself, she can. I don't care.

Buizel said that since Lyra's gone, I could chill in town for the day if I wanted. Though I don't mind looking around town, I wanted to use my time productively.

Ah, I still don't have full use of my vines yet. Bunnelby's mission was cancelled this morning, so he's likely still at home bored outta his mind. Surely, he wouldn't mind helping me practice using these stupid floppy things, right?

Location: Training Field

Bunnelby was eager to accept my request, and said he had a special type of training in mind for me. Here I thought it might be target practice, or some kinda vase-carrying minigame. Ahaha...Bunnelby had more uh...extreme training in mind.

He set up horizontal pull-up bars in some grassy field that the Society uses for training. He then told me to, get this, lift myself up and fling myself from them.

Uh...how strong did he think these are? I told him there's no way I can do that, and he demonstrated by using his ears to do exactly that – he flung himself from the bars using only his ears!

Okay, but my vines are not his ears. He simply rolled his eyes and said I'll never get stronger if I don't drop that "can't do" attitude. How do I know they aren't strong enough if I'm not even willing to try?

Ugh. Fine. I gave it a try, using both vines to grab the bars. I was able to get a firm enough grip to pull myself up onto my hind legs so I looked like a bipedal Pokémon, but...that's it. I pulled and pulled with everything I had, but it wasn't enough to lift my feet off the ground.

Bunnelby tried urging me to try again, but I told him that it's simply not possible. My vines are too thin and slender. Although they are attached to my body, they aren't actually a natural part of my body. They're not arms or hands, they can't get muscular or thicker or anything like that. They're just...plants. It's like expecting my leaf to pull up the rest of me – it's a leaf, not a leaf-disguised appendage.

And before he could accuse me of being pessimistic, I told him it's not a pessimistic viewpoint – it's a realistic one. How could he expect a vine to lift up a 14-pound plant creature?

Bunnelby's face told me he wasn't buying that. He told me to toss my vine up over the pull-up bar so it draped down the other side. I did as he requested and was shocked to see him grab it and...and I was nearly lifted off the ground by my neck when he started swinging on it! He went in a half-circle and landed on top of the pull-up bar, then rose an eyebrow down at me.

Fuckin' OW! I retracted my vine into my neck and rubbed my bud while glaring up at him. That doesn't exactly tickle! Ugh, that's gonna be sore. He said that he's only three pounds lighter than me, and I called him insane. There's no way I'm doing that.

Even if I could do it, why would I? I only just found out about these things like a week ago. Now I'm expected to swing from them like some Aipom? In case he forgot, I'm a freaking Chikorita. Chikoritas don't swing.

Not to mention...I don't know how much force it'll take to pop one of these suckers out of my neck. I don't know if that's even possible, but there's definitely a length limit. Would losing one of my vines be enough to kill me? I'd rather not find out through training...

He sighed and leapt down in front of me, then apologized. He said he was hoping to visit a certain village today, but it's too vertical a climb for him to carry me – I'll have to use my vines. I asked if it was really worth it if it'll cause me this much pain, and he said that the pain will wear off eventually. I just need to practice. But yes, in his opinion, it's worth it. But what if my vines pop out of my neck? He rose an eyebrow at that and said that won't happen. Maybe if I tried hoisting a Wailord they would, but myself? No.

Hm...I don't fancy having sore spots on my neck, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in discovering this village. Plus, this was certainly a...unique type of training. Being able to swing from stuff or climb up stuff using my vines - it's bizarre, yet compelling. And I mean, if Bunnelby really is only three pounds lighter than me, then it shouldn't be that much harder to lift myself. Right? It's outlandish, but possible.

Well...okay. I looked back up at the bar and sent out two vines this time, one from the sore spot on the left side of my neck and one from the right side. I gripped the bar with both vines and pulled myself up onto my two back legs. I then pulled...and pulled...and pulled.

When it was clear I wasn't making progress, Bunnelby reached up and used his ears to pull my vines over the other side of the bar. His pulling lifted me off the ground! I was hoisted up high enough to grab the bar with my front legs and pull myself up on top of it albeit not completely – my back legs still hung off, but at least the pressure was off my neck buds now.

The pain will wear off eventually? I certainly hope so, because that sucked. My neck is still sore as I'm writing this. Sure, we proved I could be hoisted and that my vines will support me, but the pain...oh Arceus, the pain. At least now I had some control over when I felt it.

Bunnelby decided to put two metal loop things in the ground opposite of me and told me to grab those with my vines. I did, and immediately caught on to what he wanted. I now had to fall back on the opposite side of the bar and just kinda endure the pain while hanging there.

Oh Arceus...this bunny's trying to kill me.

Well, I did as he wanted and fell back. And I endured the pain for a grandiose total of...like half a second. Next thing I knew, I was on my side on the ground underneath the bar with two vines sprawled out to my sides and two very sore spots on my neck.

Urgh...I know this wasn't the best time for puns, but that training was a literal pain in the neck.

I told him I've had enough for one day, and he said he'll leave the setup out there in case I decide to try again. I have my doubts I will, but I appreciated his efforts. I told him that and apologized for being a negative nelly. And wimping out on his training. I guess we weren't going to the village today after all.

Aaaand the jerk pulled a freaking climbing harness outta nowhere and said that we are going to the village. That portion of training was just phase one. Now it's time for phase two. He added that I need to learn how to climb places since the Mystery Dungeon we'll be going to in our outing won't be entirely inside. There will come places where I need to climb, and since Lyra doesn't have the means of doing so...it falls to me.

Ugh. Great. So, I'm covering Ms. Cranky during our outing.

I thought about telling Bunnelby about our little uh...spat, I guess you'd call it, but decided against it. He didn't need to get dragged into our problems, and if it was something caused by one of the Society members...they didn't need to hear me talk shit about them from Bunnelby.

Anyway, he allowed me time to rest after that uh...intense first round. Now I gotta prepare to climb a mountain with my sore neck.

...y'know, it only just occurred to me how ridiculous that might sound to a human.

Location: Citruse Mountain Base (near Odd Field)

So, I kinda underestimated how annoying this climb would be.

I had to grab stuff with my not-sore vines and pull myself up while Bunnelby anchored me to the mountain in case I lost my grip or made a mistake. Ironic that the lighter of us was the anchor, but to his credit Bunnelby didn't budge an inch whenever I dangled precariously in the harness. Guess he has as much experience climbing as digging. No matter how often I messed up or slipped, he didn't complain or voice his annoyance. Maybe carrying me didn't bother him. If so, he's a lot stronger than I gave him credit for.

My vines are what made the climb so annoying. I don't know if you've ever tried climbing a mountain with vines sprouting from your neck, but for those of you who haven't...it ain't easy. My vines don't have grippers or sticky slime, and I'm not as dexterous with them as a more experienced Chikorita might be. Climbing was difficult, slow, and frustrating. Bunnelby tried giving me suggestions, but they didn't work.

However, I wasn't incapable of climbing. Slow and clumsy progress was still progress. I had difficulty grabbing certain ledges, but I was able to grab others and slowly (and terribly shakily) pull myself up by retracting the vine into my neck. The ledges I couldn't grab, Bunnelby helped me up. Other inclines weren't so vertical, and I simply grabbed boulders sitting atop the mountain and pulled myself along.

Ugh. Those vertical parts were the worst. Made me grateful every mountain we'd ascended until now had set paths we could take. Can't imagine we woulda been in for a good time if, say, Glittering Mountain had vertical climbing portions.

And oh, Arceus, the soreness. I told Bunnelby that if I had to climb with sore neck buds, our adventure wouldn't end well. He said he had a salve back home I could use to ease the soreness, but...it was made for sore muscles. It probably wouldn't work.

When we finally got to the top, there was...something I was not expecting. A giant tree stump coated in thick ice. From the jaggedness of the stump, it looked like the tree that'd been there was removed after it was frozen.

I...how? How?

I had so many questions! How did a freaking tree grow atop this mountain!? Why was it frozen when the weather's been unusually warm lately? None of this made sense!

I wanted to ask Bunnelby one of my many questions, but...he looked so dismayed. He silently approached the stump and knelt in front of it. He set his small paws on it and muttered something as he rested his forehead on it.

Uh...this...I didn't get what was so devastating. Before I could ask him anything, Bunnelby looked off into the distance and...oh. Oh.

A uh...giant frozen tree had left a path of destruction from the stump to a...frozen village. A ruined frozen village just downhill. Homes and shops were utterly demolished. Debris littered what I guess used to be the plaza. Literally shattered homes and buildings...everything was coated in ice. It looked like a blue disaster.

And...uh...this incident hadn't been victimless. There were bodies. I won't give specifics, but let's just say that it was...uh...intergenerational. Indiscriminate. And, you guessed it, frozen.

Neither of us said anything as we stared at the gruesome display. Who could have done this? Was it an accident? It had to be, right? Who'd intentionally destroy a village and kill so many? Could this tie into the stone incidents?

After a while, I...I couldn't take the somber silence. I asked Bunnelby what's going on, and he said the Society doesn't just help Pokémon in need. They also hunt the scourges that plague this world. While they have many reputable allies, they also have endless enemies. One such scourge is responsible for the destruction of this village, as well as countless others. He's a cruel and vicious Pokémon known only as Cold Snap.

Ah. So, this wasn't an accident.

Bunnelby fell quiet. Lost in thought. Maybe he decided he shouldn't share the gruesome details with "a kid". It took a bit, but I managed to regain his attention and he changed the subject immediately.

The mountain was Citruse Mountain and the village was Citruse Village, named after the unique fruit tree that overlooked it. Bunnelby had been hoping to show me around the village and maybe have me try the "strange tangy fruit" that grew on the tree, but...

This was so awful. The ruined homes, destroyed families and lost lives...could something like this happen to Lively Town? Or...or even Serene Village?

...No. We can't let that happen. We won't. I don't care what it'll take. Even if I gotta track the cold bastard down myself.

Something caught my eye. A shadowy figure dipped into one of the frozen homes before I could get a proper look. Whoever they were, they had a large red mane with black tips. I pointed it out to Bunnelby, and he merely nodded as he started walking...oh jeez. He was going towards the carnage. That meant that if I wanted to follow him, then I had to...eugh.

I reluctantly followed him into the village and tried desperately not to slip on the ice descending the hill or look at any of the victims. I prayed to Arceus they had some kinda plan for clearing this place of the corpses before they thawed, or they'd have terrible smells to contend with as well.

The home wasn't a crude tree home like those in Serene Village, but a properly constructed wooden shack complete with wooden planks, area rugs, a fireplace, wooden furniture and everything. Instead of a hay bed, there was a leaf hammock set up between two wooden poles. If not for the terrible coat of ice, it'd look quite cozy.

The mystery Pokémon was one I had never seen before. If I pulled myself onto my back legs and Bunnelby stood on my shoulders, we still wouldn't match their height. They were bipedal and mostly gray in color. They had large red claws on their hands and feet. They wore a black cloak with a jagged yellow circular design on the back, and just as I'd seen before they had a massive red mane that was kinda pulled back into a ponytail at the end with a yellow bangle thing.

Bunnelby greeted the stranger, calling them Eris.

Eris turned and rose an eyebrow at us. They returned Bunnelby's greeting and said they should've known the Society would be quick on investigating this. They asked who I was and Bunnelby introduced me as one of the Society's newest members.

I tried desperately not to look at it, but Eris had a vertical scar that originated somewhere in their mane and ended at their right eye. Wonder what kinda fight they got into to get that. Oh, but I was being rude! I gave them my name and said it was nice to meet them. They narrowed their fierce golden eyes at me in suspicion, but after a few seconds they smiled warmly. They found my politeness amusing and said there was no need to be so formal. They wished we could've met under happier circumstances.

Bunnelby explained that Eris is a Zoroark who used to be part of the Society before she left to find her childhood friend. She added that some clues she uncovered led her to this village. She was here before the incident occurred and was able to help rescue a few folks. As for the others...

When asked what happened, she said she was talking to the villagers when one of the kids came running from the tree's direction. At first, they feared that a kid had fallen from its branches or off the mountain, but the kid yelled that a "huge white Pokémon" froze their friend. And suddenly, as if from some grotesque nightmare, blue ice raced along the ground and encased the village! She hardly had time to grab a few villagers and race them to safety, but she could hear the horrible screams, pained groans, and otherworldly crackling behind her as the others met their doom.

A huge white Pokemon...to a kid, a huge individual could be an adult anything. A kid's description of the culprit being "huge" didn't narrow things down. White Pokémon aren't exactly rare, either. Especially among ice-types. Vanilluxe, Abomasnow, Froslass, Glalie, Beartic, Dewgong...we need more information to work with if we were gonna catch this scum.

Eris fell totally quiet as she glared at one of the frozen walls. We waited for her to continue, but when she didn't, I looked at Bunnelby in confusion. He shrugged helplessly at me, then decided to press her for further information.

"And then...?"

She shook her head and apologized – it brought up unpleasant memories is all. When she returned, the frozen village had been destroyed by the broken tree. She hadn't seen the scoundrel as he fled, and he obviously didn't return. She admitted it was awful risky to return to the scene of the incident, but she needed to investigate before authorities locked the place down.

Eris was asking around about the owner of this shack we were in before the attack. She had reason to believe that it belonged to the biological mother of her friend. She...didn't seem keen on sharing further details, so Bunnelby said we should be looking around for survivors. Eris told him not to bother – the villagers were frozen solid. One of the folks she grabbed was a fire-type, and after thawing one of the victims...they were gone. There was no saving them.

I...remember feeling so disheartened when I heard that. Not one villager encased in ice survived? Jeez...

Eris asked Bunnelby if this was one of the Society's targets, and he nodded. Cold Snap's back. Ice-related murders and disasters ceased years ago, but Eris said she should've known better than to assume he vanished forever. They wanted to label the investigations as cold cases, but that didn't seem appropriate.

Ah...Bunnelby was gonna explain what a cold case was, but I told him I already knew. It meant the culprit got away with it because the investigators didn't have enough information to continue their work. The trail went cold. So, whoever this Cold Snap guy is, he's done this before and gotten away with it. If we can't find enough information to track him down, he could get away with it again. Meaning the folks here in Citruse Village...

I think Eris could tell I was sickened by the thought because she offered to help us descend the mountain. Said it'd be faster than going it by ourselves, and her investigation couldn't continue until she met the owner of the shack anyway. Whoever they were, they were lucky to have been away during the attack. Bunnelby took her up on that offer.

I had a few questions I wanted to ask Eris, but I was apprehensive. After what we witnessed, it seemed inappropriate. Besides, seeing that village in ruin gave me all the encouragement I needed to practice using my vines more. If we run into that white fuck, I wanna make sure I'm in top physical condition to make him pay for the lives he took.

Seriously, how evil must you be to enjoy destroying a village like that? Cocky son of a bitch. I'll Cold Snap his neck!

Location: Home, Bedroom (night)

The sun was starting to set by the time Bunnelby and I returned home, but I didn't want to report that awful scene to Ampharos. I decided to get some "swing training" in before dinner and was working on that when Eris dropped by.

I didn't even hear her at first. I'd gotten a little hay bale and increased the height of the pull-up bar. After setting up a pile of hay to catch me on the other side, I kept leaping off the bale and swinging from the bar into the pile. It was, admittedly, a little reckless and perhaps even dangerous, but I was getting better results than simply pulling myself up or hanging and enduring the pain. Swinging still hurt my neck, but after seeing that disaster...I can live with the pain.

Eris asked what I was doing, and I simply said training. She found that amusing and said I had an unusual idea of what training was, but she crossed her arms and watched me for a few minutes nonetheless. She then walked over to the hay pile and caught me in midair.

"Y'know, flinging yourself to and fro isn't gonna change what happened to Citruse Village."

No, but if I can get better at using my vines and utilize them to increase maneuverability, I might be useful to the Society and have a chance against that brute if...no, when we find him. Eris laughed at that and asked what made me think I wasn't already plenty useful.

I...ugh. Okay, maybe I was being a little hard on myself. It just felt like there should've been something I could've done. So many innocent Pokémon were dead, and I wanted to believe I could've stopped it.

Eris nodded understandingly and chewed her bottom lip in either contemplation or guilt. She...her eyes betrayed a hint of hurt. Whatever she was thinking about, it wasn't...pleasant. I felt conflicted. I wanted to ask her, but I also didn't because it's really none of my business and it's obviously painful for her and I don't wanna prolong that.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, she simply told me that sometimes horrible things happen and the most we can do is try to help when and where we can. She was there when it happened, and she couldn't save everyone. She accepted that fact and was proud that she saved those she could.

Hm...her answer made sense, but I didn't like how powerless it made me feel. So many lives wouldn't have been lost if we could've prevented it, right? Simply accepting the destructive forces of another and cleaning up after them didn't sit right with me – I wanted to prevent the disasters by stopping the culprit.

"I know. However, you do realize that there's always another one, right? You prevent Cold Snap's disasters by destroying him, and another scourge is off destroying lives somewhere else. While you're stopping him, another one crops up. And another. And another. You can try, but there are always gonna be more victims. You can't prevent that."

Ugh. She was right. I hated it, but she was. They were always gonna be one step ahead. Most we can do is try to stop them and minimize the suffering they cause along the way.

I was still grumbling by the time she set me down on the ground. I admitted that I wasn't just bothered by that. It...ugh, it was such a de-escalation compared to the topic we were just talking about, but I told her anyway. My best friend and I were going through a rough patch, and it was still kind of eating at me. Funny how that's the big thing on my mind despite seeing a whole village frozen and destroyed. Pathetic, huh?

Eris said that's not pathetic at all. Having a best friend is wonderful, and when there's a rift in the friendship it's going to be a little distracting. I know I shouldn't have divulged that information to someone I just met today, but I decided to tell her what happened this morning.

The moment I mentioned Lyra's a Torchic, Eris had this big grin on her face. She said that back in her Zorua days, her best friend was also a small boi with just feet and no arms or appendages. She said he was very self-conscious and often felt like he was dragging her down and "being useless", and she had to remind him of how much she valued him multiple times. Being a quadruped hanging out with an appendage-less friend is tough because there are so many things you can do that they just can't. However, they don't stay that way forever. Most Pokémon who start out that way get appendages by their second evolution.

Hm...now that I thought about it, every member of the Society except for Lyra had arms or wings of some sort. I mean, Lyra has wings as well but they're too small to be useful. I don't really have arms, but I have vines. Could it really be as simple as that? That's what was bothering her?

It was getting late, and I needed to head back. I thanked Eris for her advice and asked if there was anything I could do to help her with her investigation. She said it was sweet of me to offer, but she doubted I could tell her anything the others haven't shared already. The Pokémon she's looking for is extremely evasive, but her investigation at Citruse Village brought her one step closer at least. I hope the one she's looking for is okay. I wonder why they're so evasive?

During dinner, it was announced that our big outing will be tomorrow. I tried being enthusiastic, but that horrible sight at Citruse Village kept plaguing my mind. I don't know how Bunnelby found it in him to be excited. Then again, he said it wasn't his first time facing Cold Snap's work, so maybe he was desensitized to it? Well, whatever.

After dinner, Lyra and I didn't talk as we turned in. I wanted to ask her about her mission or ask her some of the things Eris brought up, but she just went straight to bed once we got into our room. I thought about stubbornly waking her so we could talk, but...I don't know how exhausting her mission was. I don't know what she endured today.

Wait, what am I writing? Fuck that. Whatever she endured, it couldn't have been worse than Citruse Village being fucking frozen.

...

Ah, but ol' anxiety-laced apprehension. My old nemesis. I'll talk to her tomorrow before we make our preparations.

Also, it only now dawned on me how insanely long today's entries are.