Bramble Forest seemed much larger than what Elsa had read in her books. The dense canopy overhead blocked any sunlight to the forest floor. She could barely see a few feet in front of her as she carefully trod through the tall grass. In the distance, she could hear the calls of wild Pokemon echoing through the trees. Elsa tensed as she gripped the straps of her backpack tightly. A small part of her told her to go back to Crocus Town and apologize to Anna and Professor Spruce. No, she thought, I'm not backing down from my dream. Not again…
The howling wind caused Elsa to pull her jacket tighter. Even though it was summer in the Arendelle Region, it was still cold year round. This made the entire region full of ice types, which Elsa didn't mind. Ice types were some of her favorites in the whole world. They were the reason she wanted to become a Pokemon trainer. And she was so close to that dream, until Mom and Dad went missing. Those three years since were harsh for her and Anna. Elsa had to give up everything in order to care for her sister; her dreams, her education, her aspirations. All of them had to be set aside for Anna's sake. At first, leaving without a goodbye seemed like a reasonable choice. However, as the darkness of the forest loomed over her, she began to doubt her decisions.
As she was walking through the forest, avoiding the tall grass, the deafening sound of a Kricketune's "DELELELELE woOOOOOP," caused her to jump up to the canopy. She pulled out her Pokeball and threw it at the floor ahead of her. In a brilliant aurora, her Vulpix emerged, its white fur standing out like a beacon amidst the dark forest. Her parents got it from their trip to the Alola Region, and planned on giving it to Elsa once she turned eight in the place of the standard starter Pokemon. Professor Spruce was understanding when she gave Elsa her pokedex and the Vulpix, along with a couple Pokeballs and Potions for the road ahead. She did feel a little guilty for lying to the Professor about saying goodbye to Anna, but she knew that it wasn't worth it to explain to her.
When the snowy Vulpix emerged, snow began falling in the forest, causing her to tighten her sapphire blue jacket. It must have Snow Warning, Elsa thought as she knelt down to stroke the ice fox's fur. It felt surprisingly soft, like a fresh blanket of snow. Ironically, by stroking the Vulpix's fur, Elsa could feel her fears melt away.
That was, until she heard the deafening sounds of a Kricketune's "DELELELELE woOOOOOP!"
Elsa and her Vulpix let out similar sounding squeaks as the Fox Pokemon jumped into her arms. She sprinted through the trees, eventually cowering behind a rather large tree. As she sat there shaking like a Bayleef, the Vulpix in her arms nuzzled itself deep into her chest, purring in an almost reassuring way. The kind gesture was lost on Elsa, who was still visibly shaken by the whole thing. She was about to turn back to Crocus Town when she started to hear a strange tapping sounds, along with… singing?
" Beedrills buzz, kids will blow Whimicotty fuzz, and I'll be doing what Ice Types should do in summer... "
Looking around, Elsa was incredibly confused. Was there someone else in Bramble Forest? It was on the only road out of Crocus Town, so it had to have been someone from the town. But Professor Spruce said that Elsa was the first in a long time, so who could it be?
She lifted herself from the ground, Vulpix still resting in her arms. She followed the source of the tapping for a few moments, listening it grew louder and louder while the singing continued.
" A drink, in my hand, my Ice up against a Palossand, possibly getting gorgeously tanned in summer. "
Elsa followed the singing to a clearing in the forest. Despite the fact that it was summer, snow laid all over the ground. It couldn't have been from Vulpix Elsa thought, Who could it've been?"
Just then, out of the other side of the clearing, a Mr. Mime emerged. While Elsa had seen a few pink and white Mr. Mimes, this one was blue and white, with an icy tie and thick crystalline shoes. She recognized it as another regional variant, this time from the Galar region. The Mr. Mime began tap dancing on the freshly laid snow as it grinned like a fool.
"C'mon guys! You're missing all the fun!" it said. Elsa stared on in awe. It could talk!? In all of her books, none of them mentioned Pokemon that could talk. She slowly stepped out of the tree line, still cradling the ice fox in her arms until it leaped onto the ground. It mewled in happiness as it slid around on the ice. Elsa cautiously approached the Galarian Mr. Mime, as to not startle it. However, it didn't seem to notice, as it was much too busy singing and dancing.
" Winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle, but put me in Summer and I'll be a- " It turned around to meet Elsa face to face, "Oh, hello!"
Elsa gasped as she fell backwards onto the ice. The Mr. Mime walked up to her and extended its mitten-like hand.
"Oh, wow you really need some practice, don't ya?" It asked in a cheery, upbeat voice. Elsa was at a loss for words as her Vulpix leaped between the two of them. It crouched down low to the ground, ready for a fight. The Mr. Mime simply laughed.
"Aw, she's adorable," the Dancing Pokemon crouched down and stroked along Vulpix's back, "you're one of those Pokémon trainers, aren't you?"
"Y-yes," Elsa said nervously, "uh, h-have you always been able to talk like- like-"
"Oh, right. I've been talking since I was a Mime Jr. My friends always liked it when I talked, so much that they always invite me out to the forest to dance with them."
Elsa looked all over, but didn't see any other Mr. Mimes. "Uh, where are your friends?"
"They're probably just running late as usual. It's only been, what, like three days?" The Mr. Mime started tapping his feet onto the ice, creating a rhythmic clicking sound as he stepped. Elsa and her Vulpix exchanged concerned looks, knowing very well what really happened, as she said, "I uh d-"
Before she had a chance to finish, a rustling in the tree line opposite to them caught their attention.
"See? I knew they would come…" Mr. Mime said as he pranced towards the rustling. Elsa watched as instead of another Mr. Mime or even another Pokemon emerging from the treeline, two lanky men sporting black leather jackets and ripped jeans waltzed into the clearing with their hands in their pockets. Both men glared at the Mr. Mime, who began to shake violently.
"Did this thing just talk?" One of the men said, eyeing up the Pokemon before him.
"Sure did," the other replied, "Ya think the boss would want it?"
"Of course he'd want it! When's the last time you saw a talking Mr. Mime around these parts?"
The two men pulled their Pokeballs off of their belts and chucked them onto the ground. In a brilliant aura, a Mightyena and Purrloin emerged, glaring at the Dancing Pokemon.
"Mightyena, Crunch!"
"Purrloin, use Fury Swipes!"
The two Dark types rushed forward at Mr. Mime, who began to cower in place. Elsa knew that it wouldn't last against them. She needed to act now. Suddenly, Vulpix darted forward and stood between the Mr. Mime and the Dark Types. When it opened its mouth, shards of ice and snow flew at the Dark Types, who were blown back into their trainers. The two men simply sat there in awe as Elsa walked up to her Vulpix, shooting an icy glare at them.
"This is my Pokemon," She bluffed, scowling at them, "Don't even think about stealing him…" She narrowed her eyes at the man, causing them to shake uncontrollably. The mysterious hooligans scrambled up from the ground and dashed back into the tree line. Before they were out of sight, Elsa noticed the odd symbol on the backs of their jackets. It was a crimson embossed letter "S," but it's end was a pitchfork and it had blue devil horns at the top.
Of course… she thought, Team Sin…
No one knew much about the group of delinquents calling themselves Team Sin. All that was known was that they did nothing but cause trouble wherever they went. Why they were here in Bramble Forest, Elsa didn't know. The Mr. Mime began skipping around and dancing merrily around Elsa.
"Oh! Thank you so much!" he cheered, picking her up in a great Ursaring hug.
"I-it was nothing," Elsa replied meekly, struggling to breathe.
"Don't be silly, you saved me from those bad guys! I have to make it up to you somehow."
"Oh, that's not really nec-"
"Oh, I know! Let me come with you!"
Elsa stared at him with eyes as wide as saucers, "Wait, what?"
"You wanna be a Pokemon master, right?"
"Uh, y-yeah…"
"Then you should catch me and we can do that together!"
"I don't know…"
"You already called me 'yours' with those mean guys, didn't you?"
Elsa found it hard to argue with the Mr. Mime's logic. Besides, if she was going to take on the Gym Challenge, she needed to get some more Pokemon on her team.
"Very well," Elsa replied as she pulled an empty Pokeball out of her bag, "But if we do this, you need a proper name."
"A name?"
"I was thinking…" Elsa thought back to her childhood, when she and Anna would make snowmen together in the winter. There was a name that always stuck with her. "... Olaf," She said after a while.
"Ooooh, I like that name!"
Elsa wound up the Pokeball in her hand as Olaf sat in front of her, giving her a warm smile. With as much might as a thirteen year old could muster, Elsa hurled the white and red Pokeball at Olaf, which opened the second it made contact with his chest. The ball fell to the snowy floor and after one… two… and three shakes, the ball snapped shut.
Elsa felt a surge of emotions. Her first ever captured Pokemon, after three years of agony. She was officially a real Pokemon Trainer now! If only Mom and Dad could see it-
Elsa's heart immediately sank to the bottom of her stomach. Her thoughts now turned to Anna and how she had selfishly abandoned her without so much as a goodbye. How would she explain this to Anna? Would she even be willing to accept Elsa's apology. Tears began forming in the corners of her eyes. Just then, her Vulpix nuzzled against her leg, almost purring in reassurance. Elsa bent low and scooped the ice fox up into her arms. She knew things would work themselves out, it was only a matter of time. She walked over to Olaf's Pokeball and used her foot to press the button in the middle. Olaf sprung out of the Pokeball as if nothing had happened before.
"Woof! Man, you should've seen what it was like in there!" He declared, starting to dance, "Okay, so, where are we going?"
"Arendelle City, just beyond Route 2. We need to stop there before we get to Lilac Town, where the first gym is."
"Great, I've never been to the city! Let's go!" Olaf began bounding out towards the treeline.
"Do you even know where you're going?" Elsa chuckled.
"Nope! But sometimes, you just gotta start moving!"
Elsa smiled warmly at Olaf. She knew that this was going to be the start of an interesting adventure, to say the least. Vulpix climbed to the top of her head as Elsa ran after Olaf before he disappeared into the forest.