After getting angry with Jimmy, Will found himself at the Snowpoint Gym with Pyro. Determined to prove their strength already, he challenged the Gym Leader, Candice, to a battle. They fought hard, but Will and Pyro ended up losing. Candice urged Will to find another Pokemon and come back, but also wanted to remind him what a journey is meant to be. However, Will left without Candice's message getting through.

Serene-Raven: I'm glad that you enjoyed the battle, even if it was a little short. Will's going to get some reminders throughout his journey about what's truly important. There'll be several characters helping to teach him what it's all about, so eventually he'll learn it's about more than just strength. Thanks for the review!

Blaze Falcon: I'm glad that you liked the battle and that I surprise you a bit ;) I'm guessing you won't be too surprised on who they meet as you seem pretty certain, but we'll see if I'm able to surprise you again. Thanks for the review!

Will's Team:

-Pyro (Torchic): Scratch, Growl, Ember

"How much further do you want to go, Will?"

Pyro was walking behind Will, careful to stay in his footprints since the snow outside the city was halfway up Pyro's legs otherwise. The two had been walking through Acuity Lakefront for almost an hour by that point, much further than they had ever gone before. Despite the heavy snowfall, they had continued on with Pyro staying silent until that moment.

"It's been almost an hour since we left Snowpoint," he said. "This is as good a spot as any, I think."

Will said nothing in response, but he did stop. He glanced around the area and spotted an empty clearing to their right past some trees. He turned back to face Pyro, who had begun to play around in the snow for a bit as he waited for Will.

"Let's head over here," he said. Not waiting for Pyro to respond, Will began walking over to their right.

Since they lost to Candice the day before, Will had been even more tight-lipped than normal. Pyro tried several times that night to crack a few jokes, but while Will would have at least responded to jokes before, he didn't even acknowledge them. Pyro didn't push him, though. If he wanted to train, then that was what Pyro was going to do.

He stopped playing in the snow when he noticed Will walk away and quickly went to follow again. In another minute, the two made it to the clearing that Will spotted, and Will set down his backpack on a stump after wiping off the snow. As Will set up, Pyro tried to warm up.

He stood quietly, slowly inhaling before letting it all out just as slowly. Attempting to focus on the training that was to come, Pyro tried to zone out all of the noises from his surroundings. The sound of the tree branches brushing against each other in the wind soon disappeared, followed by the sounds of the Pokemon scurrying around in the trees.

However, there was one sound that Pyro could not zone out. It was not a sound that he usually heard when they were in this area, so he found himself curious. He attempted to forget about it, but ever the curious one, Pyro couldn't help but walk towards it. The sound reminded Pyro of someone groaning, but he didn't know why he'd be hearing that out in the middle of nowhere.

"Where are you going?"

Pyro blinked twice before turning around and finding Will staring down at him blankly right in front of him. Will's gaze was neutral like normal, but his right eyebrow was ever so slightly raised.

"We're about to start training. Where are you going?" he repeated.

Shaking his head, Pyro replied, "Don't you hear that?"

Will stood silently for a moment, his stoic expression melting into a curious one. Standing up straight, Will glanced around and tried to listen to his surroundings. Like Pyro, he first heard the sound of tree branches in the wind and of Pokemon scurrying in the trees. Immediately after that, though, Will heard the same sound.

A groan.

Will lost his stoic look and instantly went wide-eyed. He quickly looked around to try and figure out where the sound was coming from. Looking behind him, further into the clearing than they had gone, the groan became louder. Without a word, he ran off in that direction.

"Will!?"

Pyro watched him dash off, but didn't stay for long. He hopped into Will's closest footprint and then ran after him. The two weren't running for long before they found the source of the groaning, though. When Will stopped moving, Pyro was still about ten feet behind him due to the relatively tall snow to him, so when he heard Will sigh, he was confused.

Arriving beside Will a few seconds later, Pyro understood why he had groaned. Laying down unconscious in the snow was a Snorunt. Obviously, the two couldn't know if this was the same Snorunt that they encountered two days before, but just the sight of another Snorunt made the two wary. Whether this was the same annoying Snorunt or not, though, Will scooped it up in his arms and began to make their way back to their training ground in the clearing.

As soon as they made it back, Will sat the Snorunt back down on to the snow and reached into his backpack. Pyro watched from a few feet away as Will grabbed a star-shaped object out from his pack. He then bent back down towards the Snorunt and slowly fed the revive to it.

The small healing item was easily swallowed by Snorunt, even unconscious, causing Will to then go back to his bag. He brought out a spray bottle—a Potion, Pyro knew—and sprayed it at the scrapes that Snorunt had around its body. Will then stood up and walked over to a tree stump a few feet away and sat down.

"Knowing our luck," he began as he sat down. "This is the exact same Snorunt."

Will didn't have to say which Snorunt, because Pyro knew exactly what he meant. While they had met dozens of Snorunt in the years that they lived in Snowpoint City, only one had left a negative impression.

"Well even if it is, maybe Snorunt will be so grateful that you helped it that it will stop its pranking," Pyro suggested, always the optimist.

Rolling his eyes, Will said, "That's probably why it was unconscious anyways. It probably annoyed the wrong person."

Trying to move to a more pleasant conversation, Pyro moved on past their previous encounter with Snorunt. "Who knows if this is the same one anyways," he said with a smile. "Whether it is or not, though, you did a really nice thing helping it, Will. I'm proud of you."

Will just nodded his head in response and, with a straight face, replied, "It's what any not-horrible person would have done. The whole point to being strong is protecting others that aren't. That's what strength is for."

To that, Pyro had nothing to say. He simply sighed and sat in silence for a bit. It didn't last long, though, because Will stood back up.

"We should get back to what we came here for, Pyro. We need to train."

Pyro quickly blinked three times as he remembered why it was they came to Acuity Lakefront. After finding the injured Snorunt, he had nearly forgotten that they came to train. However, he remembered that there was another reason that they came here. So, as Will walked towards the targets—five pillars of snow—that he had set up earlier before Pyro heard Snorunt, Pyro walked over to Will's backpack by Snorunt, unzipped it, and grabbed something inside with his beak, careful to make sure that Will didn't see.

Pyro quickly set an unused Pokeball next to the unconscious Snorunt before Will turned around and dashed over to his place twenty feet away from the targets. Just as he arrived, Will turned around, standing off to the left side of targets, far enough away that it was unlikely a stray fireball would hit him.

"Let's get to it then, Pyro. Focus on the targets, ignore the cold, and aim true."

Having said his peace, Will stood still and crossed his arms. Pyro knew what it was that Will wanted to see, so like before, he zoned out his surroundings as he began to inhale. The ambient sounds no longer mattered; Pyro was focused solely on the targets on the other side of the clearing. He tried to ignore the cold, but as he was standing in the snow, Pyro found that to be more difficult.

Exhaling the deep breath, Pyro opened his beak and fired off his first barrage of fireballs across the snow-covered clearing. Pyro aimed directly at his first target, the one furthest to the right and watched as the fireballs rocketed towards it. They cleared the distance in mere seconds and vaporized the snow instantly.

Pyro was pleased with himself, but he knew that there were still several more targets to go. Breathing in once more, he directed himself to the next target, focusing only on it. He unleashed another Ember towards it as he exhaled, and once again, his aim hit dead-on. The target vaporized once more, leaving only three.

Will watched with his usual stoic expression, so when Pyro glanced towards him, there was no sign of approval. He expected nothing less, though. His problem wasn't hitting targets in the beginning; it was continuing when he was tired. Unfortunately, between the training and frigid cold, he beginning to feel that exhaustion.

Pyro inhaled once more, but this time, his breathing was more ragged. Standing in the snow, Pyro was also starting to shake. However, he released another barrage of fireballs like before towards the original middle target. The first few struck the snowy pillar but did not quite melt it. The final couple of fireballs shot towards the target, but only one of them hit it, finally melting the snow. The other two landed against the snow on the ground, dissipating instantly.

Will shook his head as he watched, filling Pyro with disappointment in himself.

"You need to focus entirely on what you're doing," he said, frowning slightly. "If you let the cold and tiredness get to you now, what are you going to do whenever you face Swinub again? He was more than able to stall us out before, and you and I both know that he and Candice will be training more before our rematch."

Pyro nodded his head in agreement, recalling how easily Swinub blocked his Ember attacks the day before. Sighing, he once again tried to zone out his surroundings, but before he could, Pyro heard a weak voice from behind him that caused him to jump slightly in surprise.

"Sno…Runt…"

Knowing exactly who the voice belonged to, Pyro spun around and dashed over towards the laid-down Snorunt, the empty Pokeball still sitting in the snow beside it. He arrived at its side just as its eyes opened up slowly. Upon seeing Pyro, Snorunt's eyes instantly went wide.

Quickly shaking his head, Pyro eased it, saying, "Don't worry, we don't want to hurt you. We helped revive you after we found you unconscious in the trees over there."

Pyro nodded his head in the direction that they had found Snorunt. It slowly began to sit up and looked over in that direction. No sooner than it had looked over there, Will arrived and sighed quietly, feeling near-certain that he knew who this Snorunt was.

"Are you alright?" he asked casually, never looking directly at Snorunt.

It turned towards him when he asked and nodded its head slowly. It blinked a few times, as though trying to fully wake up. After doing so, it stared directly at Will and after a few moments, smiled devilishly.

"Sno…Sno runt!"

Will shook his head and sighed once more. Looking right at it, he asked, "You are the same Snorunt from a couple days ago, aren't you?"

Snorunt nodded its head, and fully awake at this point, jumped onto its tiny feet. It was a foot taller than Pyro, but was still dwarfed by Will. However, the height difference didn't seem to concern Snorunt at all as it grinned madly once again.

"Well we need to get back to training," Will began, turning away from Snorunt. "I'm glad you're feeling better, so feel free to leave and go wherever."

If Snorunt was shocked by Will telling it to go away, it didn't reveal anything. Instead, Snorunt's grin grew even wider as it began hopping in place.

"Sno! Runt!"

It stared right at Will, who glanced over his shoulder before walking away. His face was blank, but it was clear that he was not pleased. Pyro's eyes went wide for a moment when he heard what Snorunt had said, he recovered quickly and faced Will.

"Snorunt said that it…" Pyro trailed off, unsure of how to explain it to Will. His partner shifted his gaze from Snorunt directly on to Pyro, waiting for him to continue. "It doesn't plan to go anywhere if you're staying here."

Letting out what felt to him like his hundredth sigh of the day, Will replied, "Then we'll leave, whatever." He walked forwards towards the stump Snorunt and Pyro were standing by, picked up his backpack, and began to walk away. "Let's go, Pyro."

However, even as Will began to walk away, Pyro didn't budge. After making it about fifteen feet away, Will noticed that Pyro wasn't following him, though, causing him to stop and turn around. His usual calm demeanor was beginning to chip away.

"C'mon, Pyro. If Snorunt is going to stay here, then we'll just leave."

Shaking his head, Pyro responded, "I'm staying here because Snorunt is." Will opened his mouth to reply, but Pyro cut him off. "Don't you remember what Candice said? We need to have another teammate, and that will help you grow."

He stood silently upon hearing that. Pyro wasn't completely sure what to make of it, but he took this as a chance to try and persuade him.

Taking a deep breath, Pyro continued, saying, "Candice called this the magic of an adventure. Growing with a team of Pokemon where everyone cares for each other is what will help make us strong. If we try to do this with just the two of us, then we're never going to become strong enough, and that would be on no one but yourself."

Will continued to sit in silence, seemingly processing what Pyro had just said. Snorunt, meanwhile, was surprisingly standing still, not bouncing around like before.

Suddenly, Will spoke, asking, "How did you end up unconscious in the clearing?"

That wasn't what Pyro or Snorunt were expecting him to say after the long silence. Pyro turned slightly towards Snorunt, curious himself. Snorunt, meanwhile, looked sort of out of character. It was standing almost completely still, as if frozen. However, it was shaking ever so slightly, and both Will and Pyro quickly spotted that.

"S-Sno…Runt."

It looked straight down at the ground, not meeting either Will's or Pyro's gaze. Both of them were shocked at the reaction. While they hadn't known the Snorunt for long, seeing the prankster look as terrified as it did worried them.

"Are you alright?" Pyro asked, patting Snorunt on its back with his wing to try and comfort it.

It nodded its head slowly before saying, "S-Sno. Runt. Sno!"

Pyro's eyes went wide when Snorunt finished and he turned towards Will with his beak agape. Will's eyes also went wide in response, unsure what happened but certain that it was serious. However, he quickly recovered, and his neutral expression returned.

"Snorunt…was attacked by another wild Pokemon after a prank, and…" he trailed off, telling Will pretty much all he needed to know. Pyro continued, though, confirming his fears. "It left Snorunt to die in the cold."

Will heard the statement, and even if he was expecting it, it hurt. He knew that situation all too well, but he couldn't let it bother him then.

No, he thought. I cannot allow this to break me. Not now. Not ever again.

With a forced straight face, Will said, "I'm sorry to hear that, Snorunt. But now that you're healed, you're free to go do whatever you'd like, so please don't let us keep you."

Snorunt shook its head and replied, "Sno. Runt. Sno."

Translating, Pyro explained, "Snorunt says that it—she, I mean—wants to travel with us, too." Staring Will dead-on, he continued, "And I think that we should let her join us. You said it yourself, she's strong."

Will furiously shook his head. "Snorunt attacked us two days ago! Have you forgotten that!?" Speaking directly to her now, he added, "I'm sorry for what happened to you—I truly am, but I can't just look past this that easily!"

Dejected, Snorunt slowly turned around and walked away, back to the woods. However, before she could, though, Pyro stuck out his wing in front of her.

"Just wait, Snorunt," he said. Then, facing Will again, he argued, "If you want to get strong, and seriously mean it, then you know that we have to grow out our team." Will opened his mouth to interject, but Pyro cut him off, continuing on with his argument. "Snorunt has some great potential. You and I both know it. Heck, you admitted it to her yourself."

On a roll, Pyro continued, saying, "Sure, she likes to prank people. Sure, she can get out of hand with that. But she didn't intend to hurt anyone, us included!"

Will simply stared at Pyro. Pyro could tell that he was thinking of something—likely a reason why Snorunt could not join them, but he wasn't saying anything. Instead, the two had what looked like a staring contest: both were looking at only each other, as though daring the other to be the first to look away. This wasn't normal behavior for Pyro, Will knew, and that in itself seemed to say something to him.

What is he thinking…? Will wondered. I don't understand why he thinks that we need this Snorunt on our team… But I also haven't seen him this certain of anything in quite a while.

"I still don't understand why you think we need her on our team," Will said aloud. "But—"

Completely cutting Will off, Pyro turned back towards Snorunt with a broad smile and said, "Perfect! Just tap this button right here!"

Bending down, Pyro grabbed the Pokeball that he had stashed away right after they found Snorunt, grabbed it in his beak, and directed it towards her. Will wasn't sure what Pyro was doing until he saw what it was that he was holding, and by that point, it was too late for him to do anything.

Knowing exactly what Pyro was doing, Snorunt eagerly tapped the button in the center of the Pokeball and was zapped inside in a bright flash of light. Pyro released the capsule into the snow as soon as Snorunt disappeared, allowing the Pokeball to wiggle on the ground as it captured her.

Will, feeling blindsided, could only watch in place as the ball shook. He blinked each of the three times that the ball wiggled, sighing when the button dinged, signifying capture. Will glared at Pyro and asked, "What are you doing!?"

Smiling slightly despite the harsh glare, he replied, "I'm doing what you know is best, whether you admit it or not: expanding our team."

He then bent down and poked the Pokeball's button with one of his talons, releasing Snrount back into the snow. She grinned broadly at Pyro.

"Thanks, Pyro!"

A feminine voice came from Snorunt rather than the androgynous voice humans generally heard when speaking with a Pokemon without a translator. Snorunt then turned towards Will, the same broad grin still across her face.

"I'm happy to join the team," she said, sounding genuine despite the jokester grin she wore.

Will sighed and nodded his head. He opened his mouth to say something but paused, as if taking a second to think. Pyro stared at him expectantly while Snorunt just continued to smile. Will exhaled slowly, and then, after breathing in deeply, finally spoke.

"I'm… willing… to look past our history if—and only if—you work hard," he said. The tension in his shoulders lessened as he continued. "You can have your own goals while we travel—I welcome it actually, since it would give you something to fight for—but I need you to work hard. If you can do that…" Will paused again and swallowed, as though prepping himself for what he was about to say. "Then…I guess I can work with you."

Both Pyro and Snorunt were gleaming when Will finished. They turned to each other and began to bounce excitedly, all the while chanting, "Yay! Yay! Yay!"

Will watched them and rolled his eyes. However, despite the fight he had just put on over this, he didn't outwardly appear disappointed. Will simply watched the two dance around with his usual stoic expression.

After a few more moments of their cheering, Pyro and Snorunt stopped and turned back to Will. Both of them stared at him with determined looks in their eyes.

"I think we're ready to train now," Pyro told Will.

Grinning devilishly and nodding her head, Snorunt said, "I agree. I'm ready to kick some ass."

Will opened his mouth as if to reply, but before he could, Pyro's eyes went wide in realization. He turned towards Snorunt and asked, "Wait! Before we train, we still need to give you a name, Snorunt!"

Her eyes went wide upon hearing that and she nodded her head ferociously in agreement. She bounced right up to Will's height and before either he or Pyro could say anything, a dozen more copies of Snorunt appeared, surrounding Will.

"I want a nickname as well!"

Every Snorunt said the same thing in unison, causing Will to groan. He glared over at Pyro for a moment before facing what he believed to be the original Snorunt right in front of him.

"What do you want to be called?"

As though she hadn't thought that far ahead, Snorunt glanced back towards Pyro, who gave her an encouraging nod. She turned back to face Will again, and after a short pause, Snorunt said, "Dawn. I want to be called Dawn."

Will nodded his head and turned around. He began to walk towards the targets Pyro had been shooting at earlier. Calling back to his now-two teammates, he said, "Let's get to training then. Now that we have another member on the team, I wanna beat Candice as soon as possible."

Pyro and Dawn shared one more grin before they followed behind him, clearly excited about what was to come.

We're almost through with Snowpoint City! Only two chapters left to go! We're almost through the first milestone for TQG, and I'm thrilled. My goal is to have Snowpoint completed before spring semester begins (just under a month from today). The updates started off pretty slow, but they've gotten much faster. I'm also happy to say that my schedule for spring semester looks much easier than fall was, so I hope to continue updating quickly. :)

1. What is your first impression of Dawn now that she's a member of the team?

Next Chapter: A New Dawn

With their new teammate, Dawn, alongside them, Will and Pyro decide to go train since they know they need to be stronger to beat Candice. They have a lot of things to learn before they can beat her. Will they be able to learn what they need!?

Strength Arc:

Snowpoint City:

Chapter 8: Avoiding the Avalanche!