"Come on, guys! We're almost out of here, just a little further!" echoed the cheerful voice of a young female trainer. She occasionally adjusted the green scarf that rested around her neck on top of her tan winter jacket. Not far behind her strode a pair of other trainers of similar age. Alongside her bounded a fluffy, red fox-like Pokemon, which she smiled at as she continued. "Once we get out of Mt. Coronet and up to Snowpoint City, we'll get you some more food, right Flareon?" The fox replied with a happy bark in affirmation.
The black-haired male of the group, who walked with his arms folded with a Gallade at his side, agreed. "The sooner we get out of here, the better, Frida. I'm sick of caves." He kept himself warm by hiding his gloveless hands under the sleeves of his dark blue coat. He also wore a pair of black jeans that kept the cold from reaching his legs.
The red-headed boy grinned as he fixed his red baseball cap in place and took his hands out of the pocket of his gray sweatshirt. "Well when we get to Snowpoint I'm challenging the gym right away!" he exclaimed with a pumped fist, the action repeated by his loyal Infernape. He glanced over at the black-haired trainer. "Maybe you and I could have a battle there as well, Luke. It has been a while, you know."
Luke, identified as the black-haired boy among the three, nodded. "Sure thing, Phil."
"When you guys battle I want to watch, okay?" The girl asked as she looked back without stopping her merry skipping.
Phil stretched his arms, with his hands behind his head with a smile. "Of course, Frida." Frida smiled as well and followed the path with her full attention once more.
The group continued on, until the energetic Flareon came to a halt behind its trainer, who continued to skip along until she noticed it after several seconds, and stared at a gaping hole in the cave wall. "Uh... what is that?" Phil scratched his head as he tried to think of what could be inside.
"No idea," Luke replied, also pondering. He cautiously stepped toward it, slowing as he drew closer. Just as he was about to enter, he stopped and a chill ran up his spine.
"What is it, Luke?" Frida questioned worriedly.
Luke shook his head. "I'm not sure, but whatever it is it's unnatural. I felt instantly colder when I was about to walk inside of it." He scanned the area around the hole. "Even the rock wall around it looks strange, almost altered. It looks like it may have been made only recently." He gave Phil a look when he walked past him into the cave. "Phil, what do you think you're doing?"
Phil smirked. "I bet you there's a Pokemon in there causing all this, and I'm gonna catch it!" With that, he ran into the hole in the wall.
"Phil!" Frida yelled as she ran in after him. Luke stood still for a moment, realizing what Phil had just done, and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Great," he muttered before he ran to catch up with them. The cave went on for a ways, each second being inside caused Luke to shiver more and clench his numbing fingers. Luke had noticed that with the increasing cold, the presence of ice along the walls also became more evident. He asked himself aloud whether he should turn back and wait for the others to come back. Just when he had decided that doing so would be a good idea, the end of the tunnel appeared and he sighed in relief before sprinting the final stretch.
"Whoa..." Luke breathed in awe once inside. The room was round, and it seemed to have only one exit: the way he came. The room was mostly covered in ice. Luke felt another chill go up his spine. Frida was here too. "Phil! There you are... what are you doing?"
Phil faced a statue that seemed to be some sort of ice-type Pokemon. Six golden dots reflected the light that bounced off the ice surrounding the figure as it stood motionless. He grinned and took another step toward it. "Phil, don't!" The lifeless golden circles lit up as a screech echoed throughout the icy temple.
"Rejjia-a-a-aice!" The three young trainers covered their ears to drown out the sound.
"T-That's a Regice! What the heck is it doing here, of all places?" Phil shook, not only from the cold presence in the room but because of what had caused it. He took several steps back to stand with Frida and Luke once again.
"For whatever reason, it's here now so we have to fight it. I doubt it would just let us go at this point," Luke stated with a frown. He looked over to Phil. "You ready?"
Phil grinned once again. "As always. Infernape, Close Combat!"
"Gallade, you do the same!" The two fighting-types charged toward the Iceberg pokemon and readied their fists. The golden dots that seemed to be the monster's eyes flashed twice and it raised its thick icy arms in front of it and projected several yellow spheres of compact electricity. Phil and Luke decided not to think much of the attack because of how slow the attacks travelled. But the closer Infernape and Gallade came to attacking Regice the closer they came to the Zap Cannons. The two fighting-types were instantly defeated once they came into contact with the electrified attack: Zap Cannon, because of its high concentration of electricity, the attack always paralyzes its target. Just one hit would not have been enough to knock out both Pokemon, but due to the barrage of Zap Cannons that Regice dealt out Infernape and Gallade did not stand a chance. Both trainers recalled their Pokemon with reluctance.
"Well if we can't attack up close then maybe we can melt it away from a distance!" Frida shouted. "Flareon, use Flamethrower!" The fire-type fox tilted its head back slightly then spewed a large stream of flames toward its icy opponent. Regice became invisible behind a pillar of flames. "Yes! Got it!" Just as she spoke, the pillar of fire was forcefully pushed away, revealing a Regice with arms spread offensively. The legendary Pokemon was not affected at all.
"What the-!" Phil was unable to finish his sentence in surprise of what he saw before him. Regice positioned its arms in front of it. Between its icy fingers formed a light blue sphere that steadily grew bigger.
"Get out of the way; that's an Ice Beam!" Luke shouted. The sphere then produced a powerful thin zig-zag beam of light blue energy. As the ice crystals slowly consumed the trainers, they hoped that someone would swoop in and save them from their terrible fates.
The last sound heard inside the cave was the deadly screech of the Iceberg Pokemon.
"Rejjiyice!"
The cold, mist-filled air of Snowpoint City came as a shock to a certain person as the door opening to the boat's exterior. The pit-pat of a pair of running shoes sounded off the wooden deck. The wearer of the shoes stretched her arms then immediately folded them from the sudden temperature drop. "Man," she sighed, "I knew it was going to be cold here, but this is nothing like I had experienced in Unova."
The girl approached the edge of the boat and shivered as she paced down the steps to ground level. She studied her surroundings and wore a confused expression, as if disappointed. "This is it?" She thought aloud. "I know Snowpoint is supposed to be relatively small, but this is just... wow." Even considering the fog that blanketed the city, there was not much at all to see. Deciding that she should get to the Pokemon Center as soon as possible to get further details on why she was sent to Sinnoh, she shuffled in the snow that rose above the level of her heels. With her arms folded, she continued to examine the city that surrounded her. No human life was present as far as what could be seen. Only a few residential houses stood , and some even looked deserted. "It's like a ghost town out here. It's ridiculous..." She continued to trudge along until she reached the familiar red-roofed building. Upon sight she sprinted in through the doors and sighed in relief once the warm air reacted with her skin that had begun to numb.
A woman with pink hair wearing a nurse's outfit and cap looked up from the magazine that rested at the desk and smiled. "Hello, there. You must be Hilda." The trainer, known as Hilda, nodded. The nurse wheeled her chair to the computer to her right. "Come over here, dear. I will read to you what the Professor has sent you here for." Hilda stepped up to the counter as the nurse typed away on the keyboard and opened an e-mail. "Ah, here it is. The Professor wants you to investigate the Regice attack at Mt. Coronet."
Hilda raised an eyebrow. "Regice attack? What happened?"
Nurse Joy raised an eyebrow herself. "Have you not heard? A group of three young trainers were found frozen in ice after they had explored a previously unknown passageway within Mt. Coronet."
"But how does anyone know what happened to them?" Hilda questioned.
The nurse's expression softened. "The rescue team, who were sent once someone noticed that their GPS position remained the same for a long time and that they were located in a place that was not previously known... could only save one of them." Hilda's face showed remorse as well. "The doctors at the hospital that their bodies were taken to had tried everything they could. Only one of the trainers came out alive, even so he barely made it. He told the story of what had happened."
Hilda remained silent and lowered her head.
Joy continued, "But enough about that. Professor Rowan and Professor Juniper spoke about the manner and thought that you would be fit for the job, what with your expertise and ability to handle the Plasma crisis in Unova." Hilda nodded. "Now, the Regice could be anywhere, as the rescue team did not see one during the rescue. The Professors do not ask that you go back there to investigate, but to look deeper into it... a legendary Pokemon does not normally leave its home region unless it has a reason. Your mission is to find that reason and do whatever you can to solve the matter before there are any other incidents."
Hilda hesitated. Accepting the mission would mean dealing with a legendary Pokemon, and likely more. Not only that, but traveling a region that she had never been to before. But remembering the fact that she had done the same thing in Unova when she brought down Team Plasma with Reshiram, she made up her mind. "Tell the Professors they have nothing to worry about. I'm on the case!"
She smiled. "I'll let them know immediately." Hilda nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, and one more thing." She halted and turned to face the nurse once more. "The Sinnoh region isn't quite the same anymore. Strange things have been happening lately, and the Regice attack has made things much worse. Many people have lost their trust in Pokemon trainers since then because of how dangerous Pokemon are. They think of trainers as dangerous because they associate themselves with Pokemon."
Hilda frowned, noticing how the situation could prove to be a challenge if not the general public could help her. Pushing the thought aside, she smiled. "I appreciate your help, Nurse Joy. This whole situation will be resolved in no time. And I'll be sure to come back and visit you sometime - Snowpoint is so quiet so I'll give you some company."
Nurse Joy gave one more genuine smile before Hilda left. "Thank you, dear. Good luck on your mission."
Hilda left the Pokemon Center with confidence in her step. Once she opened the door, she wrapped her arms around herself again to keep warm. "Okay then... guess I had better get started."