Part III: The Decree
William was staring outside the window of his house toward the gym. He had been for the past month. Rarely did he leave this post, it was the only place in the house that he felt comfortable and even that was pushing it. It hadn't felt like home since the day that his Grandfather had returned from Mt. Silver alone, his face sunken in despair. He called the event the worst avalanche in the mountains known history. Had it not been for his Mamoswine, he would have been lost as well.
A great service had been held, and all Mahogany town had turned up. She was very much beloved by the people, and the community grieved for its loss. William could not believe it to be true at first. He expected that she would turn up in the middle of the night, covered in frost but smiling like she always did. Many times, he was visited in his dreams by an image of her Glaceon, beckoning him toward what looked like a snowy cave. Whenever he managed to catch up to her though, the dream would end.
He had even become angry with her when she failed to return. But after the end of the first week, he realized that she had never kept him waiting this long even when it came to her best surprises. After that it had taken him another three weeks just to stop the tears. He wanted nothing more than to climb to the top of Mt. Silver himself, to free her from that icy tomb. But that would never come to pass, or at least that's what his father had told him.
In fact, his father had said many things. William had always known his father to be a quiet and reserved man. One that had loved Noelle very much. He had always said that she had spirit enough for both, and that this had been a good thing. But after she was gone, he seemed to slip away into a world all his own. Everything became about business. He was the owner of what had once been a small abandoned shop at the center of town. Many years ago, it had served as a hideout for the villainous Team Rocket. But after acquiring the property he spent years converting the place into an efficient processing plant. Material from all over the region was brought here, particularly the raw ores and minerals dug up from the depths of nearby Mount Mortar.
With Noelle at his side, he had always seen Pokemon as fun, but not crucial to life. Now he seemingly rejected them in every way but business. He had forbidden William from continuing to visit the Mahogany town gym, and had even threatened to release the only Pokemon that he was now allowed to keep. His Sneasel. This decree carried over into virtually every aspect of life. No friends were allowed over that trained Pokemon, nor was William allowed to watch any of the Johto league tournaments or events broadcasted on the television.
As William grew up he found ways to disobey; the presence of his grandfather granting him more comfort than that of the care of home. He began to understand that what his father did was designed to punish the one man whom he blamed for the death of his wife. Pryce Willow. Of course, William never once hated his grandfather for what had happened. Instead, his house became a quiet monument of sadness, and conversation was rarely carried. Even with the loss of his mother though, William had not lost his passion for Pokemon, nor his desire to become a gym leader like his grandfather. He frequently visited the gym in secret late at night, or on days where his father was carried away by business, training with Sneasel. The Pokemon in turn bonded ever so strongly with its trainer, sharing with him in his solitude.
So, the years did pass on, until the small boy had grown into young adulthood. Then on one warm summer day, everything changed.